He hesitated, but then said, “Not while someone was awake. That takes a strong desire on the part of the Leprechaun to invade the person’s mind—to inflict harm. Leprechauns can be a devious race, but we’re not evil.” He shrugged. “Well, not most of us. When I was younger, but in more control, I slipped into people’s minds—people I knew—and saw their dreams.” He smiled. “I was a bit of a rascal and sometimes I would interfere in a dream, or tell a girl I liked that she should choose me…things like that.”
Eva was appalled. As a Banshee, she was forced to see people die, but Leprechauns, of their own free will, could go anywhere they wanted, and enter anyone’s mind. That was an abusive and terrifying power.
She held her face in her hands. “I can’t believe I’m going to live with such…such—”
“What?” His voice was wary, but with a slight cold edge.
She turned to him. He was her elder and her new headmaster. She didn’t want to insult him, but she couldn’t help it.
“Horrible people!”
He turned away from her, staring at the seat in front of him. “We can’t help who we are, Eva, just as you can’t stop seeing death, but we have to accept it, and try to control it.”
“But I don’t want to see people dying!” she exclaimed.
Suddenly, the male flight attendant started walking their way.
“Quiet!” Mr. Quinn ordered in a harsh whisper.
Eva fell silent. She didn’t want to cause a scene, and eventually the annoying attendant left.
“I don’t want to be a Banshee,” she whispered harshly. “I want to be normal, and I don’t want to go to bed at night thinking some boy is going to invade my mind.”
He turned to her. “That won’t happen,” he said softly. “Leprechauns can’t enter a Banshee’s mind.”
Well, that sounded good.
“Why not?”
He gently touched her temple. “No Leprechaun has ever been able to see inside a Banshee’s mind. There’s a barrier keeping us out. Your mind is concealed, containing your curse, your omens.”
“But…it’s possible?”
“Many things are possible.”
“Except immortally,” she reminded him.
He nodded. “Except that, but a Leprechaun would never want to enter a Banshee’s mind, even if he could.”
“Why not?”
“Take no offense at this, but to a Leprechaun, a Banshee’s mind is…messed up.”
Eva didn’t disagree. It was messed up to see people die and cry for hours about it.
“A Leprechaun is all about…pleasure,” he continued. “We want to have excitement, not visit a place of…death.”
So as far as Eva understood it, Green Clover Academy was full of weeping girls and player boys. It was sort of like regular high school. Except everyone was either a cursed Banshee, made to suffer for an ancient deception, or a Leprechaun, descended from the offspring of a witch and a warlock. And they all lived together.
She leaned forward, resting her head against the seat in front of her. The captain came over the intercom and announced they were landing at Boston Logan International Airport in ten minutes.
“Thank goodness,” Mr. Quinn said.
But Eva couldn’t share his joy. They were about to descend to a faraway place where legend was real. And she didn’t know what was true and what was false. It was a bad feeling to have just before the start of school.
5
Vision, Interrupted
The airport was full of people, departing and arriving. Eva held on to her bag, allowing Mr. Quinn to navigate a trail through the crowded airport.
“The students at your school…do they come from all over?”
He nodded. “Yes, all over.”
“The world or just America?”
“Just America. Of course, we’d accept anyone from another country, but Green Clover is for the American descendants of Banshees and Leprechauns. However, the school is run by wealthy benefactors back in Ireland, who run their own grand school as well.”
Eva had been excited, thinking she would meet someone from Ireland, wondering if the student would greet her with a stereotypical, “Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!”
“So? No Irish?”
They separated to allow a family of six with a screaming baby to go through, and then resumed their earlier position at each other’s side.
He smiled. “Well, no one from Ireland, but we’re all Irish in a way…just born in the good ol’ US of A.”
“Where were you born?”
“Chicago.” He adjusted the brown and orange patchy cap on his head. “Miss it sometimes, but my home is Boston with my children.”
“You have kids?” She viewed his left hand, but didn’t find a ring there. Not even the trace of a wedding band.
He held the door open for her that led outside. “A good hundred,” he answered, smiling.
Eva exited the airport building and immediately felt the afternoon sun on her face. It was warm in Boston, and she was comfortable, despite being so many miles from home.
She shook her head. “I meant biologically.”
He kept the door open for a couple holding hands, obviously newlyweds by the wide grins of their faces. Eva watched Mr. Quinn, noticing a touch of sadness on his face. The couple nodded their appreciation to the headmaster and went inside.
He closed the door. “No, no children of my own. You and the other ninety-nine youngsters at Green Clover are all the children I need.” He smiled weakly, as if he truly didn’t believe that.
For some reason, she felt very close to Mr. Quinn, as if he were a second father. She loved her own dad, but after the divorce, when she lived with her mom, her dad didn’t come around that often, except on the weekends, when he would take her to the movies. That seemed like a lifetime ago.
Her reverie was interrupted by a car horn honking. She turned to see a metallic gray BMW with black tinted windows and black wheels, parked alongside the curb.
Mr. Quinn shook his head. “Finally.”
“What?” Eva asked, confused.
“Our ride,” he explained, holding out his hand for her bag.
She gave it to him, hearing the trunk pop open. Then the driver door opened and out stepped a tall guy, older than her, but still a teenager. He had sandy blond hair that fell below his ears, glistening under the sunlight. He was tan, well-built, and had a surfer look to him. Very cute.
After Mr. Quinn put Eva’s bag in the trunk, he approached the young driver, and said sternly, “I’ll take the keys.”
The guy sighed, handing them to the headmaster. Then he walked over to Eva, smiling. His outfit was plain, but she thought peculiar, like a uniform: black dress shoes, black pants, a white short-sleeved dress shirt tucked neatly inside, a black slim tie, and a black vest with a green shamrock stitched on the upper right side. In the crook of his arm was a black cap styled like the headmaster’s that he removed and adjusted on his head.
“Hey,” he greeted, holding out his hand.
She held out her hand, trying to contain her trembling. “Hi,” she squeaked back.
He took it and gently squeezed. She felt a rush of excitement when their skin touched, and didn’t want it to end, but he let go, slowly.
“I’m Lucas Daly and you must be Eva Nolan. All the school is talking about you.”
“Me?” she asked, nervous.
Back at her old school, everyone did talk about her, but only to call her “that crazy chick.”
“Yeah. We always love it when someone new arrives.” He smiled, looking at her as if she were extra special to him.
She looked in his warm blue-gray eyes, like soft clouds on a tranquil rainy day. “You…love it?”
“Yeah, sure,” he said, nodding. “We’re all outcasts in the world.” He glanced at the travelers. “We’re called freaks, but at Green Clover, we’re all the same, except of course for the differences.” He leaned in closer, smelling of intoxicating cologne, but al
so of tobacco, and she assumed the cigarette odor had attached to him from the last driver. “You know about Banshees and Leprechauns, right?” he whispered.
“The headmaster told me.” She tried to answer evenly, despite her heart thumping against her chest. “You’re a Leprechaun, right?”
He smiled and leaned back. “Yep! And in my fourth year.” He thumbed in the direction of the car. “That’s why I was allowed to come and pick you two up, and I’m also the most reliable student at Green Clover,”—he smirked—“but I do have my moments.”
Despite his good-boy charm, Eva sensed that he could be a rascal if he wanted to, and it filled her with a rush of that “bad boy” excitement that girls secretly crave in guys.
“Daylight’s burning,” Mr. Quinn said loudly, staring at them from where he stood next to the driver’s side.
Lucas rolled his eyes. “Well, back to it. C’mon!” He opened the back door and held it open for her.
She smiled, amazed at his chivalry, and got inside, settling on the forest green leather seat. Mr. Quinn finally sat on the driver’s seat. Lucas walked around to other back door, and got inside next to Eva with only a small space between them.
“The tank’s almost dry,” the headmaster remarked, narrowing his eyes at Lucas from the rearview mirror that had a green shamrock air freshener around it. “Where have you been?”
Lucas hesitated, and then said, “Uh…well, there was a lot of traffic. Had to…drive around. Find a…spot.”
“You used a whole tank of gas to ‘find a spot?’” The headmaster furrowed his brow, not believing a word of Lucas’ story.
Lucas clenched his lips, trying to contain his grin. “Yep,” he finally said, nodding.
Eva turned to face the window, trying not to laugh.
Mr. Quinn sighed. “We’ll have to stop off and get gas.” He said it more to himself than his passengers.
As the headmaster pulled out of the airport lot and onto the road, Lucas turned to Eva and gave her a wink. Her heart was about to explode out her chest.
“So you’re from Miami?” he asked.
She nodded, unable to speak.
He smirked. “Exciting down there?” His eyes trailed slowly to her clasped hands, resting on her lap.
Eva felt excited and embarrassed at the same time, hoping he didn’t notice her blushing cheeks.
“Yes, it’s…exciting in Miami. Well, I guess it is. I was…away from it all…for some time.”
She didn’t know how much the students had been told about her, but she thought it was awful if Mr. Quinn had told them about the psychiatric hospital. The other girls, being Banshees, could’ve gone through the same experience, but still, she didn’t want them to know. It was an embarrassment to her.
Lucas didn’t prod. “Yeah, I’m from Long Beach, so always something going on there.”
She smiled.
He returned her smile. “What?”
She shrugged. “You look like you would come from California. Surfer.”
He took off his black cap and studied his face in the rearview mirror. Eva noticed that Mr. Quinn had removed his as well, placing it on the passenger seat.
Lucas ruffled his blond locks. “Guess I look like one, don’t I?”
“You’re a surfer, right?” she asked, trying not to be stereotypical.
He placed his black cap in the space between them. “Used to be.” His eyes fell, but then he cheered right up, and smiled. “But that was long ago. I have a new life now.” He tilted his head to the side, giving her a long stare, as if he were trying to look into her soul. “You’re from Miami, and don’t take offense, but your complexion, it’s—”
“Ghostly pale,” she said, smiling. “I know. My…well, a girl I knew, she’s Hispanic and has a natural tan. It was always odd to see us together at school with me so pale. I think I looked like a vampire next to her.” She turned to Mr. Quinn. “Are vampires real?”
It was a sensible question since she found out there were Banshees and Leprechauns in the world.
“No,” the headmaster answered. “Just a myth.” He turned on the blinker, waited for traffic to clear, and pulled into a gas station.
“It could be true,” Lucas countered, rubbing his chin with day old stubble on it that made him look even hotter.
Mr. Quinn parked alongside a pump. “It’s not.”
He didn’t sound casual, but more aggravated, as if he’d had this type of dead-ended conversation before.
“Can you get us something to drink?” Lucas asked, quickly changing the conversation. “A Coke?” He turned to Eva. “Want a Coke?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
“Anything else, Mr. Daly?” the headmaster asked in a mock tone, staring at Lucas from the rearview mirror.
“No, that’ll be all,” Lucas said, mimicking a stiff English accent.
Eva laughed. Mr. Quinn sighed, got out, and shut the door. Eva and Lucas were silent, avoiding eye contact, as the headmaster pumped gas into the tank. When he was done, he went into the store that also served as a hamburger joint with lottery tickets.
Lucas finally turned to her, smiling. “He’s all right. Better than any principal you would find at a regular school. He’s a Leprechaun, so he knows what it’s like to have…abilities.”
“Can you disappear?”
He nodded. “Before, like all Leprechauns, it happened when I became nervous or upset. Now I can control it, and I try not to get…upset.” He smiled. “I try to stay positive.”
“Can you also…enter someone’s mind?” she asked, nervous.
He furrowed his brow, as if he weren’t sure how to answer. Finally, he said, “I’ve been inside people’s minds before, but in the beginning it wasn’t something I did at will—always by accident. When I grew older, and if I felt like being…bad, I could enter a mind easier—if I was feeling devious.” He threw his hands up. “Well, I’m not like that anymore. I’m the good guy now,” he continued, smiling sweetly.
“So you don’t want to enter me?” she asked, touching her temple.
It was such a bold question, as if she had just asked him if he wanted to have sex.
He shook his head and her heart sunk. “We can’t see inside a Banshee’s mind.”
“Yeah…the headmaster told me.” She was so embarrassed. “Sorry, I know that sounded like—”
But she couldn’t finish her apology. Right there in front of Lucas, she clamped her hands against her head, falling forward against the seat in front of her.
She was having a vision.
It was daylight. She was standing on a railroad track, in front of a man, with unkempt gray hair, wearing a crinkled blue suit. Tears were falling down his cheeks, as a train, not far away, was speeding towards him. Soon, it would hit him, and he would die. She couldn’t stop it. She could only wait for it to pass.
She waited for the inevitable, but someone new appeared—Lucas. He stood between her and the man, and then he embraced her, resting her head in the crook of his neck.
“Shhh…Shhh…Eva. It’s all right. I’m here. I’m here now.”
She felt the ground shaking, as the thundering train came closer, but she wasn’t worried about the man’s death because Lucas had calmed her sorrow.
He raised her chin gently with his hand. “Eva?” Their eyes met. “What’s going on?”
Suddenly, she was back in the car. Lucas was holding her in his arms—their bodies teeming in hot tension and confusion. And they were still alone.
She felt her face, noticing it was dry. She hadn’t cried one bit.
“You-you entered my mind,” she said, astonished.
His eyes were wide, shocked. “I don’t know what happened. You were having a vision. I knew it from the other girls at school. I rushed over to you. That’s what it’s like at the school, but we, I mean, us guys, we don’t do that. The other girls help you get through your visions. But I couldn’t bear to see you in pain, so I kept talking to you, hoping I would make a breakt
hrough, hoping that your torment would be eased, and then I was there…with you.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it.
Eva couldn’t believe it either. In one way, he was her savior, but in another way, an intruder. He wasn’t supposed to enter her mind—the mind of a Banshee. Mr. Quinn, the wizened headmaster, had been wrong. Or else he didn’t fully reveal the truth.
“You did help,” she finally said. “You saved me from seeing blood, from seeing death, from crying.”
He clutched her hand. She jumped at the contact, like static electricity and fire, but didn’t pull away.
“Please, don’t tell the headmaster. I-I don’t know what he’d do to me. I could get expelled. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
She held his hand in hers, staring at his gray stormy eyes with the blue of the sky waiting to peek out. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” She smiled. “In fact, I would like it if you could do that all the time.”
He blushed. “If I can ever comfort you, I will, but I won’t take advantage. I won’t…enter…if you don’t want me to, but I don’t see how I could’ve in the first place. You’re a Banshee.”
Feeling bold, she gave him a quick kiss on his warm cheek. “Maybe there are some things that defy myth.”
Like a connection. Like love. Did she love him? They barely knew each other, yet…
Yes, she could love him. With Lucas, it was only too easy.
He leaned in and brought his lips to hers, but didn’t touch. She parted her lips, waiting…waiting…
Suddenly, the car door opened, and they scrambled away to opposite ends of the back seat. Lucas snatched up his black cap that he had inadvertently sat on when he rushed to Eva’s side. He held it on his lap and placed his arm along where the door met the bottom of the window, tapping his fingers, cool as a cucumber.
Mr. Quinn didn’t seem to notice, handing each of them a cold Coke. He got a Pepsi for himself.
“Thanks,” she said, taking the drink.
She guzzled a sizable portion, relaxing, as the cool liquid chilled her fiery insides. Lucas did the same.
The headmaster settled inside and strapped his seatbelt on. He smiled in the rearview mirror at Eva. “All right back there? Lucas not giving you any trouble is he?” He shot Lucas a look of disapproval, but then smiled, as if he accepted some of Lucas’ transgressions.
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