Jade Moon (Celestial War Book 1) by Julia Richards Read Free Book Online

yes….I understand, yes.” She was talking loud and fast.
    Slowly his eyebrows rose and he looked at me across the desk with a clear mixture of pity and discomfort.
    He listened for a very, very long time as I sunk further and further into my seat.
    “Yes, ma’am, I understand completely.” He hung up and gave me another pitying look. “Well, that was….interesting. But I’ve done due diligence and notified her. She was…rather fervent in her concern for your well being. Let’s call that done. Go ahead back to detention until the last bell. We will see you on Thursday.”
    He winked as I left.
    Mr. Ransom really must just wink at everything.
    Back in detention, I closed my eyes, thinking about home. I remembered those first few days when I didn’t know anyone, didn’t understand how anything worked. Just like now.
     

 
    Mayor Rabbit
     
    We arrived in Belize at the end of rainy season. Mr. Ek picked us up at the airport in a beat up old van. Everything was hot and damp and smelled of rot. After an unbearable, jolting ride, we stepped from the stuffy van into the middle of nowhere.
    On the side of that remote gravel road, I saw the jungle for the first time.
    Something about the jungle forces you to question your own reality. There is no certainty in a place that shifts and tilts beneath you, sounds of death constantly on your ears. The rustle of a poisonous pit viper striking from the dry leaves. The chuff of a jaguar right behind you. The squealing of the peccary, wild boars that will shred you with their sharp tusks. Hell, even the turkeys in Belize could kill you.
    As a little girl I was convinced that mystical beasts wandered the jungle. That wondrous and terrible things could happen among the tangles of shadow and dark caverns exhaling cool, musty air. In the jungle it is easy to wonder if magic might actually exist in that primeval place.
    Despite the uncertainty of the jungle, San Pedro quickly felt like home thanks to Mr. Ek and his tiny schoolhouse among the sacred Ceiba trees. From his small hut with an old chalk board and lizards on the walls I was introduced to the joy of books. With no school nearby, Mr. Ek guided me through the complex and fantastical worlds accessible only through literature. Letting me follow my fancy, Mr. Ek would disappear for a few days only to return with a bag full of new books, everything from Dickens to Le Guin.
    After lessons, he would tell stories, almost always about Mayor Rabbit, the cleverest, and sometimes cruelest creature of the jungle.
    My favorite story was the tale of rains from a rabbit sky.
    “Clever rabbit was starving.” Mr. Ek stood at the front of the small classroom. Though I was the eldest of the village kids, I still secretly loved when he told us stories. “Rabbit went to Mother Moon and asked her for food. She agreed to provide Rabbit with a delicious garden full of squash and corn if he would bring her the skins of five animals. A talented musician, Rabbit came up with a plan.”
    As he spoke, magic flowed from Mr. Ek’s mouth, story coming alive like watching a movie. “Mayor Rabbit climbed up Sacred Tree where Falcon sat. ‘Falcon,’ Rabbit said, ‘why don’t I play a song for you?’ Falcon was lonely and agreed, and so Rabbit began playing the drum. Poor Falcon didn’t realize that Rabbit’s drum was magic. Falcon began dancing, and couldn’t stop. Rabbit drummed so quickly that Falcon jerked and flailed until his own skin began to shed. Eventually, Falcon’s beautiful feathers fell to the ground and Rabbit snatched them up and ran away.
    “Next, Rabbit traveled along the Green River until he found Jaguar. ‘Jaguar,’ Rabbit said, ‘why don’t I play a song for you?’ Jaguar agreed and soon Rabbit forced him to dance out of his beautiful golden pelt. Rabbit found Snake hiding under Struggle Rock and played his drum, forcing Snake to dance from his scaly skin. Rabbit found Turkey at the base of Witz Mountain and played his drum,