She nodded, feeling the sincerity in his tranquil blue-gray eyes. “I do.”
He smiled. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
So was she. She was glad to be at the school, to be in Lucas’ arms, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Devin, and why he had vanished. From what she knew, Leprechauns disappeared when they became nervous, just as Lucas had done in her room when he’d almost declared his love, and misread her shocked expression.
But what did Devin have to nervous about with her?
8
The Mystery of the Missing Nail Polish
Eva didn’t know what to expect when she entered the cafeteria that looked like an elegant dining hall with finely carved wooden tables, chandeliers, and paintings. But she didn’t expect to see about five girls on their butts, crying, with their uniform skirts splayed on the floor.
Some of the chairs had been knocked over. A few girls, who weren’t crying, were on the floor, holding the Banshees in mourning, while the rest of the girls sadly looked on. The guys sat quietly in their seats, not eating, staring at anything but the wailing girls.
A woman with a blond pixie cut, and dressed in a cafeteria attendant’s white uniform, was crouched down, patting a girl’s shoulder. A man with a similar uniform, and brown hair in a buzz cut, held the receiver of a black phone to his ear. He talked every so often, but never took his eyes off the scene in front of him.
If Eva was anyone else, she would’ve thought she had just entered a crazy dream, but this was real life, and these girls were witnessing people dying.
Lucas steered her over to the wall, while they waited. He was silent, holding her hand.
After a few seconds, she whispered, “The next time that happens to me, will you be there? Will you help me?”
He kissed her gently on the cheek. “I will, Eva. All you have to do is call out to me, and I’ll be there, okay?”
She smiled, unable to get over the fact that she had the most perfect guy in the world, and it didn’t matter that handsome, aloof Devin didn’t like her. Lucas did and he was her guide out of the terrors she was cursed with. None of the other girls had that connection with him, and she didn’t know why he could enter her mind, but she welcomed it, desiring to put an end to her torment. And he was the key.
The girls had finally stopped crying and resumed their seats. The guys went back to their meals. The female cook went back to work, and the male cook hung up the phone.
“That’s it?” Eva asked.
“Yeah, when it happens during class, we guys just sit and wait, out of courtesy, or whoever is crying leaves the room, and a few girls leave with her, to console her.”
“Is there crying all time?”
He shook his head. “Only the first and second years do most of that. The third and fourth years have learned to control it…mostly. It helps them to talk about it.” He nodded over to the girls, whispering to each other.
Some of the food trays had been spilled on the floor, and now the male cook, along with Colin Black, who she had met earlier, were cleaning it up.
“Hey, Lucas!” A guy shouted a guy from the other side of the room. “Brought the new girl?”
Now all eyes were on her. Colin looked up momentarily, shook his head, and then went back to cleaning up the floor. Eva gave them all a little smile and a quick wave.
One of the girls squealed and jumped off her chair. She was petite with her skirt falling below her knees; her curly red hair bounced as she did. A bit of freckles on her nose displayed an almost doll-like appearance. She had been one of those in mourning, but now ran to Eva with a big grin.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” She launched herself at Eva, holding her in a tight hug.
Eva looked down at the mop of red hair, buried in her chest. “Hey,” was all she could manage to say.
She was baffled at this unexpected greeting from someone who had been crying, with her green eyes a bit hidden from her puffy skin.
The girl looked up at her. “I’m Meghan O’Shea, but you can call me ‘Meg.’ I’m a second year and we’re roommates!”
“Great,” Eva said, trying to act pleased.
Meg seemed very nice, but a little too nice and bubbly, especially since she had just seen an omen of death.
Well, at least she wasn’t stuck-up.
Another girl came forward, of average height, with chestnut brown hair, and brown eyes to match. She smiled too, but didn’t make an attempt to hug Eva.
“Hey, I’m Corrine Doyle, second year and also your roommate.”
“Nice to meet you.” Eva shook her hand.
Already, she had met two out of her three roommates, and even though Meg didn’t care about boundaries, like the other redhead she’d met, Liam, they were both very personable, and the kind of people Eva could be lifelong friends with. Corrine was also nice, but in a more subdued kind of way, like Finn.
Corrine and Meg each turned to Lucas and blushed. “Hey,” they said in unison.
He gave them a sweet smile. “Hey.” He turned to Eva, lifted up her hand, and kissed it. “You’re going to love your new roommates.”
The girls gasped, and then smiled. They didn’t seem jealous, but she would understand if they were. From her quick scan of the Leprechauns, Lucas was the hottest guy in the school. Devin was also hot, and if Green Clover Academy held a competition for “Sexiest Leprechaun,” he and Lucas would definitely tie.
But something was wrong with him.
Out of all her warm welcomes, he was cold, ignoring her enough to vanish. But she couldn’t get him out of her mind. Why did he leave? Why did she feel an urge to be with him? Why did she want kiss to him, as if they had been separated for years, and now had finally been reunited?
“Lucas, Lucas,” sang a high-pitched voice.
Another girl came forward. She was tall with blond hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. Like the rest of the girls, she wore a black skirt, but it came up mid-thigh, showing her long tan legs, and her white capped-sleeve shirt was very snug around her chest. Some of the girls wore their green caps, but not this one, and Eva imagined that she didn’t want to mess up her golden locks that were very similar to Lucas’. She was gorgeous just like him too, but with Tahitian blue eyes. They looked perfect for each other and now Eva, pale with black hair, felt unworthy next to him. Gently, she let go of his hand, but he didn’t seem to notice, and didn’t try to reclaim it.
“Bree,” he said with a slight nod, but didn’t smile.
That’s all they said, but Eva could tell there was something more. Obviously, she had been one of his conquests.
Bree turned to Eva and gave her a polite, but not-too-friendly smile. “I’m Brianna Kelly, third year and also your roommate.” Her forced smile faded, and Eva noticed that she didn’t extend her hand in a welcome shake. “Don’t touch my stuff.”
Meg rolled her eyes. “That’s no way to treat the new girl! And no one cares about your thirty shades of pink nail polish!”
Bree held up her forefinger, showing Meg her shiny coat of pink nail polish. “I know someone took one! There’s one missing! And they’re not all pink! They have different names!”
Meg snorted. “What? Very Pink? Pink-Pink? Pig-Tail Pink?”
Bree just growled, throwing her hands up. “I’m out of here!” She marched off down the hallway with her clogs stomping all the way across the hardwood floor of the Commons Area, and then up the grand staircase.
Meg waved her hand in air, smiling. “Don’t worry about Bree. She’s actually not bad.”
Corrine just shrugged, but Eva didn’t like the fact that she would be sleeping in the same room with someone who kept a tally on fingernail polish bottles.
“All right, that’s enough drama,” Lucas said. “Eva needs to eat.”
“Ooh, we’ll join you.” Meg looped her arm through Eva’s and pulled her away from Lucas.
He gently pulled Eva’s free arm, luring her back to him, while Meg still held on tightly to
her other arm.
“Later,” he whispered seductively against her ear, and then gently let her go.
She almost melted on the floor, consumed by his touch. She watched him leave, but she didn’t have time to miss his departure with Meg pulling her to the cafeteria line, and Corrine trailing along.
“All the food here is great, isn’t it Ms. Dempsey?” Meg asked the female cook with the blond pixie cut.
The cafeteria attendant had just placed a fresh batch of apple cobbler down into a metal slot along the serving line beneath a thick glass to prevent contaminating the food.
“Why it is Meg,” she responded, smiling.
“That’s Augusta Dempsey,” Meg informed, “and that’s James Clarke,” she continued, pointing to the male cook in the back, who was stirring something in a large silver bowl.
“Hey, Meg,” he said, smiling. “Feeling any better?”
“Much better now that Eva is here!”
“That’s great,” he said, and went back to stirring.
Eva guessed that Augusta Dempsey and James Clarke were in their late thirties, and wondered if they were just like everyone else here at Green Clover Academy. Colin Black, the groundskeeper, was most likely a Leprechaun. He seemed feisty enough and he was still there, but didn’t take any classes. Eva assumed that once everyone graduated, they could choose to continue on at the school, but just in a different capacity, or leave. If she was at a regular school, she would flee the moment she received her diploma, go out in the world, and finally be free, with no one telling her what to do. But the reality was that the world didn’t want people like them: girls who had visions and boys who vanished. Green Clover Academy was the ideal place for Banshees and Leprechauns.
She wondered about Lucas. This was his last year, but he could stay on after, and help Colin tend the grounds. That way he could still be with her, but she knew given their dislike of each other that sun-kissed Lucas would rather shovel snow in Antarctica.
Meg pointed to the beef stew. “That’s very good. You should get some.”
Eva took the large serving spoon, scooped up a sizable portion of the stew, and then placed it on her shamrock-decorated tray.
“Do they serve green eggs in the morning?” she joked to Meg, placing the spoon back.
Corrine laughed, but Meg furrowed her brow. “Green eggs? Eggs are yellow.”
Corrine sighed. “She was talking about the book.”
Meg still seemed confused, her brow furrowed, thinking. Then after a few seconds, her face relaxed, and she laughed. “Oh! That’s good! You’re so funny!”
Eva just smiled, resisting the urge to shake her head. Instead she took a set of tongs, and picked up a fresh-baked honey roll.
“You’re from Miami, right?” Meg asked.
Eva almost dropped the roll on the floor, but she managed to set it cockeyed next to her beef stew. Given Meg’s personality, she worried that the redhead would ask all about her life, and she didn’t want to tell anyone about her year long stay in the psychiatric hospital.
Eva set the tongs back. “Yeah.”
“Hot down there, huh?”
Eva nodded. “Yep. Hot.”
“I’m from Washington,” she said. “The state, not the capital” she added with a nod.
“Ah, got it,” Eva said, nodding back too.
“I’m from Ohio,” Corrine said. “And Bree’s from Maine.”
“Maine? I would’ve thought she was from California.”
“Why?” Meg asked.
Eva shrugged. “Well, Lucas is from there, and I don’t know, but they look so…alike.”
“Yeah, they do now that I think about it,” Corrine agreed.
“Yeah, I guess,” Meg said. “So…you’re with Lucas?” she asked, grinning.
Eva felt her face get hot and it wasn’t from the steaming beef stew. “Um…maybe.”
They hadn’t officially declared themselves as boyfriend/girlfriend, but Eva knew they were more than just friends.
Meg squealed. “Ooh, that’s great! You know, he used to date Bree, but that was last year. She’s into Devin now.”
“Devin?” Her heart did a back flip in her chest.
“Yeah, have you met him?”
“Briefly,” Eva answered in a dejected tone.
“Well, they had a little fling after her and Lucas split, but she wants more.”
“And he doesn’t?” she asked, confusingly hopeful.
Corrine shook her head. “No, they say he likes to play the field, and after he ended it with Bree, he did, but now he’s single.”
Meg gently jabbed Eva in her side. “Bet he was waiting on you, the new girl, but now his best friend has you!”
Best friend?!
“Have you met Liam and Finn?” Corrine asked, oblivious to Eva’s roaming thoughts.
Eva nodded. “Yeah, they’re nice, especially Liam.”
“Yeah, he’s funny,” Corrine said. “I used to date Finn…last year.”
“Oh? What happened?” Eva asked, excited to get it on the juicy gossip.
Corrine shrugged. “Didn’t work out.”
Meg shook her head. “He’s such an idiot for breaking up with you.”
“What was his reason?” Eva asked.
“That’s the thing,” Meg answered in an annoyed tone. “He didn’t even give a reason!” She put her hands on her hips. “Can you believe that?”
“Sorry,” Eva said to Corrine. “I didn’t think he was like that. He seemed so nice.”
“The nice ones will fool you,” Meg said with a wizened nod. “Get some apple cobbler,” she continued, pointing to the sweet dish at the end of the line.
After Eva ate, she was introduced to the rest of the students in the cafeteria. Everyone seemed nice, and she truly felt that Green Clover Academy would be the best place for her. And the home-cooked food was much better than what she was served at her old school and the hospital. She could get addicted to Ms. Dempsey’s apple cobbler.
“Let’s go back to our room,” Meg suggested, skipping about with excitement, her red curly hair flying around her face.
“Uh, yeah, sure,” Eva said.
She felt tired after her journey, and all the drama, but she knew bouncy Meg wouldn’t let her sleep. The clock on the cafeteria wall—a large green shamrock—read eight-thirty. If she was back at the hospital, there would be only thirty minutes until bed time, but she wasn’t sure about this place, even though the loud billboard notice specified lights out at ten. She assumed lots of midnight parties, and she wasn’t far off when she left the cafeteria with Meg and Corrine. When they walked past the east wing of the school, she heard music, but loud like a rock concert.
Eva pointed to the noise at the Leprechaun side. “What’s that?”
“Practice,” Corrine answered. “The Four Leaf Clovers.”
“The who?”
Meg twirled around in front of Eva. “Devin, Lucas, Liam, and Finn,” she answered, counting on her fingers. “They play in a band—the Four Leaf Clovers. Get it? Four?” She wiggled four short fingers at her, smiling.
Eva was excited to be with Lucas, an actual musician, but even more excited that Devin was one too.
“They’re really good. What does Lucas play?” She didn’t dare ask about Devin.
“The drums,” Corrine answered. “Finn and Liam are on the guitar. Devin plays guitar too while being the lead singer.”
Lead singer? How awesome! As if she didn’t need another reason to be excited about him.
“Can we hear them play?”
She wondered if Devin would disappear on her again, but she had to look at him again—to know that she hadn’t lost her mind, to know they had never met before this day.
Meg shook her red curls. “No. They don’t like us staring at them during practice, but they’ll probably do a show soon.” She smiled. “We’ll have lots of fun then.”
“Finn used to let me sit in on the practice sessions, even though the other guys didn’t
really like it,” Corrine said with a noticeably sad look, but then shrugged, and smiled. “All well, that was in the past.”
Meg bounced up to Corrine and squeezed her hand. “Forget about that Finn! He’s stupid for breaking up with you, and you don’t need a stupid boy.”
Corrine smiled. “Thanks.”
“Besides”—Meg looped an arm with Corrine and Eva—“all boys are stupid. Yes, they’re cute and sexy and gorgeous and have stubbly beards and deep voices and muscular arms and rock-hard abs…” The redhead trailed off, staring into space.
Eva laughed. “What was your point again?”
Meg shook her head. “Oh…um…well, yeah, but they’re all stupid. Especially when it comes to girls.”
“I hope Lucas doesn’t break your heart,” Corrine said to Eva with a sad look.
“Don’t jinx it,” Meg reprimanded, lightly slapping Corrine’s arm. The redhead turned to Eva. “I can tell he’s different. He really, really likes you. He didn’t act that way around Bree. They hardly ever talked, if you know what I mean.” She winked, clicking her tongue.
Eva just smiled and nodded, but a veil of worry fell over her. She knew Lucas, the guy she liked, maybe loved, had been not only with Bree, but with lots of other girls. She never had someone really, really like her before. So it was a big step for her to kiss Lucas, but she didn’t need to be pushed.
However, despite the attraction she felt to Lucas, and the realization that she had the “the guy” that all the girls swooned over, she still couldn’t stop thinking Devin—lead singer and guitar player, with his cologne and tobacco scent, and his vanishing act. Not even a smile and wave. He just disappeared like she was too unimportant for him to even care—which was odd since most of the student body—with the slight exception of Bree—seemed to really welcome her.
When the girls made it to their room on the fourth floor, Eva noticed that the seven on their door hung loosely, looking like a lopsided L. She tried to fix it.
Meg waved her hand in the air. “It does that a lot. Just leave it.”
Prophecy Girl Page 7