Seven Deadly Sins

Another day, another new school.

When your father is a travelling trainer for a nationwide company, things never stay the same for long. By now, Noah Greene was used to starting over every few months. He had been to school in 37 states and three provinces in Canada, but he was hoping this time would be different. He was only three months from finishing his Senior Year, so now he would finally know the school he would be graduating from- Ashton High School.

By the time his alarm sounded, Noah had been up thinking for hours. No amount of practice could erase the anxiety of being the “new kid” all over again. He rolled out of bed, dressed, and went downstairs to find his mother waiting with breakfast on the table- something he expected his first day of school and never again.

“Hey there, my little crop duster!” Noah’s mom said cheerily as he sat down and pulled a plate of bacon closer.  

“Mom” he replied, rolling his eyes, “How many times do I have to tell you, that’s not the mascot. We’re lions… for some reason.”

“Did you stay up all night reading about your new school?” She pulled the bacon away and pushed forward a bowl of oatmeal.

“Of course not! I slept a good two hours too.”

Sooner than he would have liked, Noah was backing out of his driveway with the school’s address programmed into his GPS. Every block he drove past looked nearly the same- corn and wheat with the occasional building thrown in to break the monotony. Why his dad’s company even had outpost here in the middle of nowhere was a mystery, though Noah felt he would like it more than Chicago, where they had just left.

Noah stopped by the office for the usual registration forms and picked up his new schedule. He snuck into class trying to be unseen, which worked pretty well since everyone from Chemistry II was in the lab watching the effects of pure sodium on a mild mannered glass of water. As the class returned and filled in around him, Noah tried to blend into the periodic table on the wall behind him. It seemed to work; at least, nobody asked who he was or why he was in their seat. Mr. Argon started back into his lecture after, to Noah’s horror, pointing to him and announcing him as the new kid. The other students stared, but eventually turned back to the front. A cute girl sitting in front of him whispered a quick hello before continuing a giggly conversation with her friend.

Try as he might to pay attention to Mr. Argon, Noah could feel his attention slipping. His leg bounced and his hand twitched, so he pulled out his notebook and started to draw- the only remedy he had found to cope with his ADHD. He drew fractals and spirals and sweeping geometric figures that took up whole pages. He started an intricate atom figure and took notes on the side, but became so involved that he didn’t notice the bell ring and didn’t even look up until he heard a voice behind him.

“Woah, that’s amazing, noob!”

Noah looked up to see a tall boy with shaggy brown hair peering at his notebook. He self-consciously slammed it shut and pushed it in his backpack.

The boy smiled and said “Where did you learn to draw like that?”

Noah blushed and started to walk to the door, but the boy followed expectantly, so he said “I didn’t learn, I just do it. And my name isn’t ‘noob’ it’s Noah.”

“Hey noob, where are you headed next? I can show you around if you like.”

“Still Noah.” He sighed but handed over his freshly printed schedule, which the boy glanced over and grinned.

“Alright! Your next period is with me, I’ll take you there! I’m Ronan, by the way.”

Noah, confused at this level of support and kindness from a boy his age, cautiously followed Ronan up the stairs to the English hallway. Making friends was never this easy, and he hoped Ronan didn’t have plans to be anything more than casual acquaintances. As they walked through the door, another boy ran over to Ronan and started talking over plans to meet up at such and such a time that weekend. Noah tried to sneak past them and find a seat in the back corner, but Ronan threw his hand across his chest to stop him.

“Where are my manners?” he practically shouted. “Noah, this is my good friend Leo. Leo, Noah. He’s a noob, but he’s totally cool. I think he just might be the answer to our prayers, dear friend.”

If Ronan didn’t scare Noah before that, his introduction just pushed him over the edge. He didn’t want to think of what he and Lion Boy had been praying for, and he certainly didn’t want to be the answer to that. He ran to an empty seat between two girls and avoided eye contact with the boys across the room, though he could see them whispering and looking at him repeatedly. He pulled out his notebook and tried to forget about it all, and then jotted notes to the side of his drawing as his English teacher- Miss Eyre- prattled on about iambic pentameter.

Noah was ready for the bell this time and ran out of his seat as soon as he could, escaping Leo and Ronan in the sea of Sophomores and Juniors spilling out of other classrooms. He followed the tide, hoping it would lead him to the cafeteria. He bounced in place as he waited in line, hoping this school lunch might somehow be better than all the rest. Waiting in lines was the worst because he couldn’t draw to distract his hyperactive mind, so he got bouncy and anxious fast. As soon as his tray was securely in his hands, he ran to an empty table and started eating as he perfected his drawing from English- a looping series of five circles with sentences written in iambic pentameter around the outside.

Before he realized what was happening, three trays crashed down on the table around him. He looked up to see Ronan with a boy and a girl.

“Hey noob, this is Darby and that’s Darwyn. They’re twins. I was just telling them about your drawing… mind if they take a look?”

Darby, a girl with long black hair, smiled mischievously in a way that made Noah feel she would just as soon take off with his wallet as look at his drawing. Darwyn, with short blonde hair that made him look nothing like his twin, simply looked curious.

“Actually, I kind of do mind… I don’t like showing off my drawings.”

“That’s alright; you don’t have to show them now.” Ronan looked disappointed at Noah’s refusal but couldn’t ignore his idea. “Look, Noah. We’re getting together with some of our friends this weekend and we want you to be there. You will understand once we’re there. But please bring your notebook and be mentally prepared to show your amazing skill to an appreciative audience.”

Ronan wandered off before Noah could refuse, so he mumbled to the twins that he guessed he could go. Darwyn made small talk as Darby stared out the window.

“What is it that Ronan was talking about?” Noah eventually asked as he saw Ronan at a table nearby talking to a girl and pointing at him openly. “Is it like a party? Because I still have a curfew and…”

“No, nothing like that….” Darwyn started.

“Like those dweebs would ever throw a party.” Darby whispered.

“It’s like a project that we’ve been working on, and I guess he thinks you can help us out. We’ve been missing a design guy.”

Noah thought about what Darwyn was saying, but before he could answer the bell rang. Darby walked him to his next class which was next door to hers and had a satisfying lack of Ronan.

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That weekend, Noah found himself bouncing and self-consciously fixing his hair as he waited for an answer at the door where Ronan had told him to meet. Ronan answered, smiled, and led Noah inside and downstairs, into a dark room with six chairs in a semicircle in front of a white board on wheels. Five of the six chairs were occupied, and Noah guessed that the last one belonged to Ronan. A boy Noah hadn’t seen yet scurried out the door saying he would find another chair for Noah. When he returned with a camp chair, Noah sat down as everyone stared at him. After an awkward minute, Ronan stood up and spoke.

“Welcome, Team Hoag. I’m glad to see you all here, and I am pleased to introduce the newest candidate to our team- Noah. He draws. Show ‘em Noah!”

Noah stood up and opened his notebook, showing his favorite pages to each person individually. Each face showed surprise and awe and quickly the people were talking about his drawings with great detail and passion.

“Great! So, all in favor of adding Noah as our Lead Designer, hands up!”

All hands shot up; two from Ronan.

“It’s official! Welcome to the team!” Ronan cheered as Noah sat down, blushing but pleased to be included in… well, whatever the heck Hoag was.

“Alright, let’s start with some introductions. I am Ronan, the leader and founder of this team, and clearly the most awesome.

“You already know Darby,” Ronan said, and Darby waved her hand once, and then turned her attention back to the wall. “She’s our head of defense, and she helps us get into prime locations for our work.

“Next to her is Calvin.” He pointed to a boy Noah had never seen. “He’s the head of agriculture. He provides insider information on the best types of plants to use as medium.

“There’s Leo. You met him.” Leo nodded. “He’s head of labor and our go-to math guy. He maps out the formulas and hands them off to Hannah,” the girl Noah had seen in the cafeteria smiled from the seat next to Leo, “Our treasurer, who plugs them into her computer and hooks up all the gadgets.

“Last but not least, Darwyn.” He smiled from the farthest seat. “He’s the head of education, leading the research and tracking out news stories to help us plan our next move.”

They all smiled at him expectantly until Noah, confused, said, “So wait, what do you even do? Rob banks?”

Hannah laughed and said “Oh, I like him!” and then blushed heavily. To cover her embarrassment, she pulled out her laptop and stood in front, showing off some amazing pictures on her screen.

“This, Noah. This is what we do.”

A series of green and brown pictures flashed on the screen, mostly with simple geometric designs.

“Are those… crop circles?” Noah shook his head, thinking he got involved with a bunch of crazy conspiracy theorists.

“Yes, well spotted.” Leo chimed in. “See… we make crop circles. The town goes crazy for them. Some people think aliens are responsible, some think it’s some crazy terrorist group, but most people adore them. It’s an art form, something that has brought us together and lets us get some revenge on people around here without any harm.”

“But, as you see, they suck.” Darby said. “You draw pretty things, cool designs, which is why you’re here. People won’t be astounded by a couple of circles forever.”

“Well, that. But also, I’d like to point out that a group of seven is way better than a group of six. Nothing cool comes in six… half dozens of donuts maybe.” Calvin spoke up for the first time. His voice was deeper than Noah had expected, but it suited him well.

“Good point, Cal. Seven days of the week, seven colors of the rainbow…” Hannah said.

“… Seven wonders of the world…” Leo chimed in.  

“Seven Harry Potter books!” Ronan practically screamed.

“Seven dwarves” Noah whispered.

“Yes! I call Dopey!” Ronan laughed so hard, everyone else joined in.

Noah soon found himself standing up to the whiteboard, sketching out a fractal while the others chimed in suggestions. They decided on something fairly simple for Noah’s first time, and then loaded up in Ronan’s van as Calvin directed them to their target- his grandpa’s field.

They ran through the rows of corn in a line until they reached the center. Everyone had a job and worked methodically. Hannah and Leo stayed in the middle and hovered over Hannah’s laptop. They tracked the movement of the rest through tracking devices each held in their pocket and called out directions over walkie talkies. Calvin and Darby walked clockwise, Calvin holding a rope to keep the circle perfect, and Darby following behind to make sure the stocks were bent properly. Ronan and Darwyn did the same thing counterclockwise. Noah walked to and fro, taking it all in and making sure the results matched the design. They worked under a clear night sky and admired the stars, wondering aloud if other creatures did exist out there, and if they did… would they really speak to us through designs etched into fields?

Suddenly, bright lights shone from somewhere and everyone hit the ground. They army crawled back to the center, where Darby quickly concocted an escape plan and whispered it to the rest. They heard dogs barking in the distance but coming closer, and they scattered. Each would wait on the side of the road until Ronan drove to each spot to pick them up. Noah ran, worried about ending up in jail on one of his first outings with friends, but also proud of his work. He waited by the mile marker they told him to find until the van pulled up and Darby opened the door. As Noah jumped inside, he heard yelling in the field that was drowned out by the Fall Out Boy song Ronan was shouting along to. They drove away, laughing and talking, and stopped for ice cream at a Mom and Pop store in the middle of town.

That night, Noah couldn’t sleep. His mind was running wild with designs and he had to get them down on paper or lose them forever.

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At school on Monday, Team Hoag crowded around a newspaper article Darwyn had clipped out and stowed in his Calculus book. It talked about another in a recent series of crop circles in the area and mentioned the source was currently unknown. At the top of the article was a picture of their masterpiece, taken seemingly from a helicopter. When everyone had finished relishing their fame, Noah pulled out his notebook and, smiling, showed them his next masterpiece- six circles surrounding one in the center, each with a different design, but all supporting the theme. At the bottom, Noah had penned the phrase “Seven Deadly Sins” and designed each circle to match one of the infamous transgressions. Darby grinned up at him and said “I like it, noob.”

Noah smiled shyly at Darby as the rest of the group made plans to turn the design into a crop circle, and decided on the perfect place to put it.

Ashton High wouldn’t know what hit it.