"All right, then you'll have to run fast!"
Before turning around, he winked at me. It didn't take more than that for me to find myself on a little cloud. I was looking forward to meeting him after school.
Inside the amphitheater, the social science course had not yet begun. Standing near the entrance, I was reassured I'd go completely unnoticed. It was swarming with people, with voices from all over. A real artistic mess! I did not settle down too close or too far from the stage. When I was setting my things out on the table, I accidentally dropped my binder on the floor. As I bent down to pick it up, beautiful long red nails gave it back to me.
"Are you new here?"
Sparkling and amused eyes questioned me.
"Yes," I said, so happy to introduce myself to someone.
"I'm Asarys Anderson. I'm from New York."
"Zoe Reyes—"
"You wear contacts, don't you?" she interrupted me.
The question must have burned her lips.
"No, it's my true color," I told her, used to this assumption.
"Incredible," she breathed in amazement. "Where are you from?"
"Paris, France."
"Paris!" she shouted with a big smile.
"Yes. I'm here with the university exchange program."
Asarys, with a dream physique and African American origins, had light hazelnut eyes that made her eyes very special. Her dark lipstick seemed to be her only makeup on her perfect, flawless matte complexion. Standing in front of me, she looked tall. Her curved silhouette was like an hourglass. She dressed in a chic and sober style at the same time. With a wave of her hand, she called another girl at the other end of the amphitheater to join us.
"Zoe, this is Alexia."
Asarys turned to her friend and added,
"She comes from Paris, and those are NOT contacts," she said, thus taking the lead on possible recurring questions.
I couldn't help but smile.
"Great, a Frenchwoman," exclaimed the young woman, apparently happy with this news.
"You can call me Lexy," she added, "I'm from Bordeaux. Did you also come with a program?" she asked me.
"That's right."
Asarys looked at her friend while a smile.
"Like you, Lexy. You two have a lot in common."
Lexy had a slightly rounded silhouette and was of medium height. Her large black eyes were highlighted by a light line of eyeliner, which in turn highlighted her light complexion. Her long, caramel streaked hair fell to her shoulders. Her glamorous, simple look gave her a crazy sex appeal.
"I'll get my things and come and sit next to you, Zoe. Between French!"
As she walked away, she stuck her tongue out at Asarys. This gave her a false angry look as she took her place in front of me, which made me smile.
The social science teacher made his entrance. During the class, Lexy briefed me on this year. She told me about the prerequisite courses, the two semesters for the first cycle, but also about the general atmosphere in the seminars. I listened to her while taking notes on our morning course. After three hours in the amphitheater, the bell rang. Immediately the books closed and the voices began to rise again. Asarys got up and joined us to continue questioning me. The three of us headed for the exit while we were talking.
"What part of LA are you in?"
"Elora."
They looked at each other at the same time and exclaimed,
"Oh my God, are you serious?"
"That is one of the most popular neighborhoods!"added Lexy, excited.
"I don't always realize my luck," I told them.
"Lexy, where are you? It's not bad, either," Asarys continued.
"Yeah, it's nice, too. It's Downtown, Piero Residence. Well, it's not Elora, so be careful!"
"It's a huge residence with all the services we need. You have no reason to go out anymore, except to go to class," Asarys said.
Before leaving the place, she added,
"And you don't have a host family. Your parents bought your apartment for the duration of your studies."
Their smiles suddenly froze at the sight of Faïz, who was waiting for me outside. These girls, so relaxed and talkative, became mute in front of his dark, intense eyes. I blushed, surprised that he was there.
"Everything went well?" he hastened to ask me, staring at me with his piercing eyes.
Breathless, I forced myself to breathe deeply. My new friends, on the other hand, moved slightly away to give us some privacy.
"Yes, the morning went well," I confided to him.
He looked at my friends with questioning eyes.
"This is Asarys and Alexia. We're in the same classes," I explained to him.
The girls nodded shyly and courteously.
"I'll wait for you after school to take you home," Faïz said to me.
"Uh...By the way, I won't have the two hours of classes at the end of the day today that I'd normally have. So Asarys and Lexy asked me to take a little tour of LA before taking me back to Elora."
Faïz frowned. He put a hand in his hair as if to think, taken aback. He asked me,
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay? I could take some time to show you the city this weekend if you really want to."
I was torn at the thought of saying no, but deep down, it was clear that it was out of politeness that he was offering to take me.
"Faïz, I have to fit in here. You encouraged me this morning in the car. I think this is the opportunity," I pointed out to him.
The features of his face softened. He is so beautiful, I thought at that moment. He nodded, understanding, and walked away, continuing on his way through the university hallway. The girls jumped me.
"That guy is hot, Zoe! Is he your darling?" asked Lexy.
"No, he's Faïz, the son of my host family."
My whisper piqued their curiosity.
"You seem to have him completely under your skin," insinuated Asarys.
We resumed our march towards the cafeteria.
"I've only known him for two days, and most of the time, he annoys me," I said in an angry tone.
"You blushed as soon as you saw him, Zoe," Lexy insisted, not convinced by my words before continuing,
"If I were in your shoes, I'd trap him in a corner of the house and give him a party!"
Asarys looked up to heaven and finally came to my rescue.
"You're sick, Lexy, and…Zoe may already have someone?"
At that moment, my two friends stared at me with insistence. Thanks, Asarys, it's a lot worse now! I had no desire to tell them that my only love adventure had been in sixth grade, and that it had lasted a week and two days. Really nothing extraordinary.
"He's the one who has someone!" I said in a dry tone in order to have peace.
Dismayed by my answer, they pretended to be done with Faïz.
All three of us took our seats in the campus cafeteria and began our meal while having a lively discussion. After a few moments, a group of about ten girls entered the room and settled down not far from our table. Surprised by their So Chic style from another era, I stared at their long-flowered skirts and their trousers, which were reminiscent of the hippie period. Some were wearing long braids, while others wore headbands. Their jewelry further accentuated the style. I focused for a moment on these young women.
"What is that?" I asked my two sidekicks in a low voice, amazed.
Asarys sighed, apparently annoyed by this small group.
"Even I don't understand," she growled.
"They look like Mormons from a television series."
"I call them scouts," Lexy added, amused.
At that moment, the woman who seemed to be the group leader turned to us and stared with a scornful look in her steel-blue eyes. Her headband was spilling her blond, smooth hair backwards. She was dressed in a broad, shapeless, pastel-colored lace dress, which did not suit her.
"Damn it, Lexy, you couldn't have kept your voice down?" whispered Asarys, mad with rage.
; "Oh my God, Barbie is coming towards us!" exclaimed Lexy, excited.
She tried to smother a wild nervous laugh with her hands. Still under the shock of this baroque character, it was impossible for me to take my eyes off her. The young woman came towards us with a step that was both confidant and graceful. Underneath her cheeky hippie looks, her doll’s face showed a certain beauty. When she reached us, she looked down at the three of us in silence. I leaned over to my two friends.
"Do you think she'll sing us a musical?" I whispered.
"Shut up, you idiots!" said the young woman in front of us.
We were speechless and confused by her words. The atmosphere in the cafeteria had become icy.
"She's Vulgar the Scout, on top of everything," added Lexy once the shock had passed.
I never thought I'd be put in my place by this kind of character. Shaking my head to get my mind back, I could not contain myself anymore and burst out laughing while protesting,
"Excuse me, but we don't know each other, and you've come to our table and insulted us. Are you sure things are going well up there?"
"You are new, and you're passing judgment on people you know nothing about!" she roared in a threatening voice.
This fury is as bad as a cheerleader. Pointing her threatening finger at us, she added,
"If I were you, I'd stay quietly in my place. We can make the year impossible for you. It will be a real nightmare!"
Her blue eyes were as cold as her voice. We were the spectacle of the cafeteria. No one dared to flinch in front of these young authoritarian women. And to think that I'd wanted a discreet start to the school year. You had to admit that was ruined.
"When you have finished revising your play with a tragic destiny, can you let us finish our meal?" Asarys asked with great disdain, far from impressed by the threats.
Our angry red opponent squinted. She finally turned on her heels and left as gracefully as she had come. No doubt we had just started a war.
"Frankly, girls, I would have preferred a musical," I confessed in an annoyed tone, stabbing a little vegetable on my plate with my fork.
"They're worse than a gang, this group!" Lexy said. "How do we know they don't have an M16 hidden in their petticoats? Under her farm Barbie appearance, she might actually be Chucky the crazy doll!"
Despite the tense situation, that still made us laugh.
Our literature course had just ended. By midafternoon, the three of us were gathered in the campus parking lot near Asarys's Red Bentley. I looked over the parking lot.
"What are you looking for, Zoe?" Asarys asked.
"Faïz has probably already left. I can't see his car," I answered.
As we were about to get into the convertible, a black BMW X6 stopped in front of us and a male voice called out,
"Hey, girls, what are you doing?"
Two young men were sitting at the front seats. The driver revved the engine.
"Baudoin, Lucas!" shouted Asarys, apparently happy to see them.
She turned to me.
"Guys, this is Zoe. She arrived today. She's from Paris."
"Hello, Esmeralda," the driver kindly shouted to me. "I'm Baudoin."
I looked at the second one, who waved to greet me.
"And you are Lucas," I guessed.
"Yes, madam."
"We're go to Venice Beach to skate. You want to come?" suggested Baudoin.
Lexy turned to us, putting her hands together and begging us to accept. I had noticed that she was literally eating Lucas with her eyes. Asarys looked at me and I accepted without hesitation.
"We'll meet you there," Asarys told them.
The BMW went off in a hurry and Lexy jumped up and down on the spot, clapping her hands. Asarys looked up to the sky.
"It's about time you made a move, Lexy, since you've been hanging around together!"
"How long has it been?" I asked Asarys.
"A week," she confessed to me.
"Only one week? Is this a joke?" I asked.
I climbed into the back of the Bentley while Asarys laughed. When it started, Taylor Swift's voice invaded the car's speakers. We left, singing at the top of our lungs, our hair in the wind, towards the beach.
Wilshire Boulevard was endless. After swallowing many kilometers and waiting in traffic jams, Asarys finally turned off the engine in the Venice parking lot. We could already hear music coming from the beach in the distance.
"There are groups that settle here and play all day," Lexy explained to me. "There are a lot of them, especially on weekends."
"A real open-air museum," Asarys added as she got out of the car.
She immediately looked for Baudoin's car.
"There they are!" she exclaimed, waving her arms at them.
Venice Beach offered a permanent spectacle where painters, musicians, and many other communities rubbed shoulders. I looked all around. There were more or less atypical people with a diverse culture. The cult of the body and beauty seemed to take an important place here. Lexy walked in front of us with Lucas, laughing foolishly with them. Baudoin, skateboard in hand, began a conversion with me.
"So, Zoe, how was your first day?"
At my side, I realized how big he was, with square shoulders and an imposing build. His short, brushed hair gave him an almost military look.
"I'm happy to have met the girls. I was very apprehensive about that first day," I confided to him.
"Do you sleep on campus like Asarys?"
"No," Asarys said, "Zoe follows the same program as Lexy. However, she is with a host family."
A group of dancers surrounded us. One of them had a Bluetooth speaker in his hand that played a hip-hop beat.
"The later the night gets, the better the atmosphere," Baudoin shouted in my ears to make himself heard in the middle of all the noise.
After a few minutes of the show, the dancers walked away with a good-natured atmosphere. I then resumed the conversation by addressing Asarys.
"I didn't know you lived on campus."
"I live with the Alpha Mu sorority. I just finished my rush period."
She went through her bag and proudly showed us her brown t-shirt. Her sorority's signature was marked with a yellow letter.
"You'll get us into your VIP parties," I said, smiling.
"I intend to do that," she said, replying with a broad smile.
Asarys then addressed Baudoin.
"Zoe's looking for a job on campus. As captain of Baylor's football team, maybe you could play your connections?"
Baudoin thought for a moment before saying,
"In the cafeteria they're looking for someone to help David with the service. I'll go and find out tomorrow," he promised.
We stopped in front of an oil painting stand. The painter was focused on his work. I admired it, with its magnificent landscapes that seemed so real. One of his paintings caught my attention. You could see the rooftops of Los Angeles bathed in sunset. In the foreground, on one of the roofs was a silhouette that could be seen from behind. Its immense shadow covered the city. There was something melancholy about this disturbing painting.
"It's The Black Shadow," Asarys whispered to me.
"A legend of this city," Baudoin told me.
"I heard about it yesterday on the news. Do you think it really exists?" I said.
"No one can say for sure. It's an urban legend. The man is supposed to save us from the end of the world,"Asarys replied.
"You mean, like a modern-day hero?" I insisted.
The mystical old man holding the stand stopped painting and turned to us.
"The fire of hell cannot reach him. It is in darkness that we can meet him."
At that moment I wondered if the old man was talking about The Black Shadow, or the evil Asarys had referred to.
We finished our walk on a crowded skating rink. Lucas and Baudoin rushed to it. That was when Lexy approached me.
"In Venice, skating is a religion. It's not for nothing that this place has the reputation
of being the world capital of roller skating," she explained to me.
"We're between Marina Del Rey and Santa Monica," added Asarys, pointing to the Ferris wheel in the distance.
Indeed, as if it were a mirage, behind the mist of the waves I saw an amusement park, which gave the impression of floating on the water. The sun was coming down. I took a quick look at my watch. It was getting late. I borrowed Asarys's cell phone to call Lily to alert her that I was leaving the beach.
"I'm going to stay with Baudoin and Lucas for a while," Lexy told us.
"No problem. We'll call you tonight," Asarys said to let her know that she would like to know everything about the end of her friend's evening.
"Is that where you live?"
Asarys opened her eyes wide, visibly dazzled by the large villa, like I was for the first time.
"Don't worry, I'll show you around," I promised her.
"And then you'll have to get me out of there by force!"
We burst out laughing.
"I had a great day. Thank you, Asarys."
"I'll see you tomorrow."
As I got out of the car, I saw Faïz leaving the villa and coming to meet me.
"You better make a move, Zoe, or I'll take care of him!" Asarys threatened me.
From afar, she greeted Faïz and left immediately. I tried to guess his mood as I approached him, but tonight he seemed impenetrable.
"I thought you'd come home sooner," he said.
"I didn't notice the time pass with Lexy and Asarys."
I didn't want to mention the name of Baudoin and his friend, feeling that this was not the right time. He took off the jacket he was wearing and put it around my shoulders. I didn't realize until then that I had left my perfecto in Asarys's Bentley. Touched by this attention on his part, I wanted to throw my arms around his neck, but I held back. His suede jacket smelled like his cologne, which intoxicated me. I hugged him tightly so that his scent got into all the pores of my skin.
"Thank you," I whispered.
Standing in front of him, I stared at him intently. Caught unawares, an unexplainable frustration crossed his eyes.
"We should go home."
Once my mind was in order, I started breathing again, completely disturbed by my irrational thoughts. We returned to the villa.
DARK FAÏZ Book 1: Every hero has his legend Page 3