He interrupted. “What? I did no such thing.” It seemed like he was surprised that I had seen the levitation trick. “Go.” He motioned me away with his head. “Go to your friends. You should stay away from me. I mean it. I’m not good for you.”
I didn’t want to leave him. A burning desire to know the truth about his mysterious ways blazed through me. I knew there had to be explanations. I wanted to be near him. I didn’t want to leave.
His head tilted to the side. I detected a streak of cruelty in his eyes. His expression became cold and indifferent. “Don’t bother me anymore, silly girl.” His voice was mocking, but he didn’t turn away. Instead, he stared at me unwaveringly for a long moment.
Chills ran through my body. I had never seen him act like that.
He stood perfectly still with a blank expression on his face, but his eyes were on fire. “Go to your playmates.” His tone seemed condescending. And with that, he strutted away.
Hatred rose up in me. What arrogance. I wanted to kill him. I didn’t know what was happening to me. I had never been so frustrated in my entire life.
I just stood there, furious, until Agatha ran over to me. “What’s going on?” she asked in her high pitched curious voice.
I couldn’t talk; I didn’t want to talk. More than anything I wanted to chase after Laurent and demand answers. I knew he wouldn’t be forth coming with me though. “Give it time,” I commanded myself futilely.
Even if I died trying, I would find the truth. But a part of me feared that uncovering the answers could be my death. I remembered how I heard Pascal say, “Grace will surely die.” And even Laurent cautioned me to stay away from him tonight. Was there some sort of danger connected to him?
“Are you all right?” Agatha asked me as she waved her hand before my face. Her hair was feathered and she was wearing a Sesame Street t-shirt.
I looked away from Laurent’s distant figure moving away toward the boardwalk. “Surprisingly, I’m fine.” I turned to Agatha now.
“What do you mean by ‘surprisingly’? Did something happen between you and Laurent Moreau?”
Ashton with his surfboard and Danny with Agatha’s board caught up to us now.
“You’ve already been surfing!” Ashton touched my wet hair as he laughed, but his expression looked more reserved than usual. I got the feeling that he was disappointed to see me talking to Laurent. “You really are a fish.”
Danny looked tired as he laid Agatha’s board down in the sand. “She’s a piranha.” He commented in a slightly irritated tone.
“What do you mean?” I objected with feigned annoyance trying to sound as normal as I could even though my mind was flooded with thoughts of Laurent.
“What I mean is that it looked like you were getting a little feisty with Moreau. What’s the deal with that?” Danny asked me as he scratched his nose.
“I was wondering the same thing,” Agatha said in a concerned voice.
My body stiffened. “Actually, I think I almost drowned and I think Laurent might have saved me.”
“What!” Agatha shrieked. “What happened?”
With that comment, the three of them were all staring at me intensely now.
I looked at them and shrugged. “The story doesn’t make sense, but from what I remember, I think the surfboard tether that was attached to my ankle got wrapped around the ski rope of a moving boat.”
Their eyes widened and Agatha gasped.
“I couldn’t get untangled and the boat was dragging me through the water out to sea.”
“Are you kidding?” Danny asked anxiously. His voice was tight.
“Keep going.” Agatha was rolling her hand in the air for me to continue. It was obvious that she was anxious to hear what happened.
“I don’t remember anything after that.” I shook my head. “The next thing I knew, I woke up on the shore and Laurent was giving me CPR.”
“Oh, my gosh!” Agatha looked faint like the information was too much for her to fathom.
“You need to go to a hospital, Grace,” Ashton insisted. “I can’t believe that Moreau didn’t take you himself.” He looked a little angry.
I laughed out of exasperation. “He said I was just fine now and didn’t need to go to a hospital.”
“What do you expect?” Danny rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. “All the French exchange students are unusual. They don’t seem to be operating on the same plane of existence as the rest of us.”
“I think he’s right,” I insisted. “I feel even better than normal.”
“Yes,” Ashton spoke with assurance. “You feel good, but you could have internal injuries. You need to go get checked out. Laurent’s not a doctor.” He shook his head side to side in exasperation.
“I think Ashton’s right,” Agatha agreed.
Danny’s voice became condescending. “Let’s hope he’s not right.”
“Really—I’m fine.” I looked at each of them. “I can’t go to the hospital anyway because my father will kill me if he finds out I was surfing in the ocean. The doctor will probably have to tell him.”
“Oh—you’re right,” Agatha spoke in a supportive tone. She turned to Danny and Ashton. “It would be worse for her father to find out—believe me.”
“I don’t feel right about that.” Ashton sounded concerned. “You said Laurent gave you CPR. That means you weren’t breathing. Don’t you want to have a doctor examine you? Maybe you need a certain treatment after something like that.”
Agatha seemed flustered. “Why don’t we tell the doctor you tripped and fell in my swimming pool and that I tried to give you CPR? Then your dad won’t know you were in the ocean.”
“That’s a great idea,” Danny chimed in. “Ashton’s right. You ought to see a medical professional.”
“No, no, no!” I interjected adamantly. “Really! I AM FINE. I’m not going to the doctor because I feel better that ever. It would be pointless—really.”
Ashton put his hand on his chin and ran his fingers over the light stubble growth. “Well, you can’t go surfing after all that. I’m not letting you go in the ocean to drown from some kind of aftershock seizure.”
After he said that I looked over at the water and saw what looked like swimmers out there at a distance. “Well, Dad,” I said teasingly to Ashton, “I don’t want to surf now anyway.” I kept thinking about how I thought I saw the très beaux swimming in the water before my accident. As much as I didn’t want to let my curiosity run wild, it already was. I wondered if that was them in the ocean. Had they helped me out along with Laurent? I figured now that the people I saw must have been them, like I thought, because Laurent had to have been in the ocean to save me.
“Well, I’m glad you don’t want to surf,” Ashton said in relief.
I started laughing. “I don’t want to surf, but I want to go swimming!” I saw all three of their faces drop, but before they could say anything I was running right for the ocean. Only maybe fifteen minutes had passed since the accident. The swimmers I thought I saw could be the très beaux. I wanted to find them! I would make them tell me what really happened.
Paper, Scissors, Rock
I ran into the ocean. It felt peculiar to be back in the wake of the cool black ocean. I wasn’t thinking straight. After what I had been through, how could I even think of going back into the water? I just felt off balance. I felt reckless like I was losing control. I needed to get a grip on reality. My obsessions were driving me mad. I knew what I saw, but it just wasn’t possible.
For a short time I swam around looking for the très beaux. But again, I couldn’t find them. I wondered if it had only been wishful thinking that I would discover them out there. I knew I was sane, but nothing was making sense.
As I thought about it, I realized I was lucky I didn’t find the French exchange students swimming about. It would have been stupid to question them about Laurent. They already acted so bizarre around me; it was absurd for me to think they would be forthcoming. It would be
more likely that they would try to drown me.
With my thoughts, I just waded in the dark rhythmic waters. I could see Agatha, Danny, and Ashton discussing amongst themselves on the shore, but I intentionally tuned them out of my consciousness. I lifted my head back and gazed at the millions of stars twinkling brilliantly in the night sky.
Shortly thereafter, I swam back to shore.
All three of them hovered around me again.
I inhaled deeply. “This is not my night. Maybe I should go home.”
Ashton put his hand on my back. “How about we go out for pizza and see how you feel.”
“I’m in,” Agatha said adamantly. “You said your parents and Lucy were going out to the movies. I don’t want you to be alone.”
Danny rubbed his stomach in a goofy manner. And in a low grumbled voice resembling the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street, he said, “Yum, yum—I want pizza.” With that, he chortled in a horsy guffaw which made everyone laugh.
They went with me to return my surfboard to the shop. The blond guy who asked me out for coffee the day before was there. When he saw me with good looking Ashton he acted a little bent out of shape which really surprised me. He had a cocky attitude with Ashton and acted particularly nice to me in contrast.
Nobody said anything about the clerk at the surf shop until we were on our way. Then as the four of us drove to the restaurant, Ashton started teasing me. “Everybody’s in love with Grace. Everybody’s in love with Grace…” he chanted in a singsong voice.
“That’s not usual for me,” I half-laughed. “Typically, I’m a wallflower.”
Ashton scratched his chin. “Now I know that’s not true. You bewilder me with your perceptions of yourself. I have no idea why you are such the loner…”
“Hey,” Agatha protested. “Grace is hardly a loner. We’re always together.”
“You know what I mean,” Ashton continued. “I just think it’s weird that Grace keeps to herself when she could easily be a part of the popular crowd.”
I burst out laughing. “Yeah right,” I responded sarcastically. “Can we take the focus off of me?” I didn’t like the way this conversation was going.
“That’s what’s special about you,” Ashton said. “You don’t care about being popular. You just do what you want.”
“What I want is an entire pizza to myself.”
“I want two pizzas,” Danny snorted.
Agatha giggled. “I want three.” Then both Agatha and Danny kept laughing and laughing while Ashton and I rolled our eyes.
I thought it was nice that Ashton noticed details about me and saw me in such a positive way, but it made me uncomfortable for some reason. I just didn’t know how I felt about him and I didn’t want him to get hurt. The idea of me breaking a boy’s heart seemed absurd. I couldn’t imagine myself having such an impact on any guy.
Mostly, I just couldn’t stop thinking about how Laurent saved me in the ocean in an unnatural way. As much as I replayed the event over and over in my mind, I could not figure out how he swam up to me at such a speed and then cut the rope with his teeth. No matter what, I could not make sense of it.
I wasn’t used to all this male interaction. Until recently, it was rare that any boy paid any attention to me. I didn’t think I looked or acted any different. My brown hair was a little longer than in the past and I had a slightly more shapely body. Maybe the new combination? As far as I could tell, I looked very average. Possibly plain was coming in style.
The rest of the night passed as a blur to me in many ways. Ashton talked a lot about his summer vacation in Hawaii and some about competitive swimming. Some of his stories were funny and interesting, but I kept finding myself drifting off to other thoughts.
Agatha and Danny kept telling silly jokes and laughing hysterically amongst themselves. They seemed to get along great. Really, they were the perfect couple, but I couldn’t tell if Danny was interested in her romantically or not.
I was glad that Ashton didn’t try to kiss me when he walked me up to my apartment door. I didn’t want my first kiss ever to happen in an awkward moment with a boy I hardly knew. Maybe it would be nice for it to be with him, but I didn’t know how I felt about him yet.
I got the feeling that he had rules in his mind about dating like don’t go for the kiss on the first date, open and close her car door, compliment her on some of her attributes, etc… He was almost the perfect guy in some ways, kind and considerate.
When I walked through the door, my parents were waiting in the living room for me anxiously. My mother even had homemade cookies and milk waiting for me as a little celebration. It was only around 10:30 pm, but they wanted to hear all about my first date with popular dream boy, Ashton Benson. They knew who he was from past swim meets. He often took first place.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at their surprising eager interest. “What?” I laughed. “It was no big deal.”
My mom patted the couch between where she and my dad were sitting. It was kind of funny and dramatic.
I walked over and sat down, helping myself to the cookies. “These are great, Mom,” I mumbled with my mouth full. I was trying to prolong all the attention they were showering upon me.
My dad wasn’t as interested as my mother, but he played along well. “So, kiddo, were did Mr. Benson take you?”
I swallowed and then smiled for a moment before speaking. “We went to Sam’s Pizza. That’s all.”
“You were there a long time,” Mom said.
“He didn’t get fresh—did he?” My dad asked in an angry tone.
“No! It was nothing like that. We played the video games and laughed at Agatha’s and Danny’s laughter.”
My dad nodded. His massive demeanor was calmer now. “Are Agatha and Danny dating now?”
“This was their first date. And I think Danny just went because Ashton invited him. But really, they should go out because they get along so well.”
My mom looked anxious to hear more. “So what did Ashton talk about?”
“The date wasn’t that thrilling actually. He was friendly and nice, but there was just a bunch of small talk.”
“Did he ask you on another date?” She probed, buttoning the top button on her nightgown.
I paused for a moment. “Actually, no.” I shook my head.
Mom’s bright eyes looked concerned now. “Oh, don’t worry. He’ll probably ask the next time you see him.”
“I’m not sure if I want to go out with him again.” I looked down at my hands.
“What!” Mom’s eyes popped wide open. “Of course you do. He’s such a great boy. He’s sure to get into an Ivy League school. Maybe you can even go to Berkely together.”
“Mom!” I said in an exasperated tone. “I don’t even know if I like him.”
“Give it time.” She patted me on the leg and carried the rest of the cookies back into the kitchen.
My dad was already flipping through the channels on the TV. “Give it time,” he repeated Mom’s words, seemingly unaware of what he was saying. It appeared as if he lost interest after my assurance that Ashton didn’t get fresh. Once he knew I was okay, assuaged, he tuned out.
“I signed that permission slip for your school trip to Catalina Island,” Mom called out from the kitchen. “I put it on the refrigerator.”
At that, my dad looked up from the TV suddenly. “Catalina? What the hell are you going to do there?”
“It’s just a field trip to the Catalina Historical Museum.” I rolled my eyes.
My mom walked over to my dad and put her hand on his shoulder. “The school is taking the students over to the island on a ferry. Nothing’s going to happen.”
He got up off the couch. “They think they can just take a bunch of kids out to sea?” His hands were waving in the air from anger.
“Dad!” I looked at him astounded. “It’s just an innocent day trip.”
“I forbid it.”His face was red. “Absolutely not.”
I sighed. “Oka
y. Just calm down. I won’t go.”
He looked relieved. “Good,” he grunted and then walked out of the living room into his bedroom.
Now I turned to my mother looking at her in frustration. “Why’d you have to tell me about the permission slip in front of him?”
“I know. I know. It was stupid.” She shook her head and shrugged. “I wasn’t thinking. But, you can go anyway,” she whispered. “He’s going to be out fishing that day and the next. He won’t even know.”
I nodded, relieved and frustrated at once.
After all that, I needed to be alone. On the way to my bedroom, I stopped off in Lucy’s room and kissed her forehead while she slept. She looked like a little angel with brown curls around her face.
But when I got into bed, all I could do was think about Laurent. I fell asleep dreaming about him.
He and his friends were these beautiful beings, almost ghost like. They swam in the depths of a deep blue sea. The underwater scenery sparkled and was a colorful array of sea weeds and coral reefs.
There were people around them drowning in the ocean. It was a shipwrecked crew. The très beaux were attacking the people in frenzy, the way sharks attack their prey. Flesh was torn and floating in the water. There was blood everywhere.
Lost in the dream, I watched and I watched. And I couldn’t leave even though I knew I should. Even though I knew they were killers.
***
The weekend was relatively uneventful. Mostly, I studied the whole time. My only relief was on Saturday night when Agatha and I watched movies at her house. I spent the night and we went for a night swim under the crescent moon that drifted behind gray and white storm clouds. She was so excited about Danny and couldn’t stop talking about him.
The week days became more eventful. The sky cleared mostly and I was excited about the trip to Catalina Island. After arriving at school on Monday, we took busses to the nearby Fisherman’s Village in Marina Del Rey and from there we took ferry boats over to the island.
The ferry ride was about an hour and a half of endless blue ocean. Because the boats weren’t big enough to hold the entire junior class, we were divided up into groups. And before the trip, we picked partners. Of course Agatha and I chose each other, so we hung out together on the deck sipping sweet drinks through twisty straws while we watched for whales. We actually saw a few of the gigantic creatures and even some dolphins and sea lions too. The sky was a pristine blue with big white puffy clouds.
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