I rolled my eyes. “Well, that’s great.” My voice was sarcastic though I was highly intrigued.
He made a chirping sound that reminded me of a dolphin. At that, Pascal got out of the passenger seat and scooted into the back with Marcel and the girls. Laurent opened the door chivalrously and turned his gaze on me.
My body tingled when he looked at me with his electric blue eyes in that way. It was like everything he was feeling was boring into my body and the sensations were intense.
At first, I was hesitant, but then I decided to go for it. Really there was no choice. He had me the first time I saw him at the beach before the first day of school. Even though he was wild and dangerous, reason and logic could not stop me. I moved in closer.
He flinched back slightly at my near proximity and his jaw clenched just slightly, but then relaxed.
I sat down on the light gray plush cushions and breathed in the splendorous scents. The interior of the car with the très beaux inside smelled like all the perfumes of the ocean, a breezy, fresh scent that was indescribable, but heavenly.
Laurent shut my door and walked around the dark car to the driver seat. “You ready for a ride, Grace?” His tone was teasing. And before I could answer, he pulled out of the parking lot with a screech.
I just sat there not knowing what to say. The situation seemed so surreal and unexpected. Suddenly, the buildings and palm trees that lined the boulevards seemed new to me. The most mundane experiences were charmed in Laurent’s presence.
“Welcome to our school,” Brigitte said in her rosy, musical voice.
I was puzzled by her statement.
“She means welcome to our group of friends. We call our clan a school,” Laurent explained while he pulled up to a stoplight.
“Thank you,” I managed to respond as I looked back at her, admiring her soft skin and long dark eyelashes. Her hair was so black and shiny with long tresses of curls. It was hard to look at her up close—the beauty was too enchanting. Quickly, I turned back around and kept my eyes on the road. I couldn’t believe I was in the same car as Laurent and his school.
The light turned green and he moved out with the flow of traffic. He didn’t say anything for some time and when I looked over at him, I noticed that he was clutching the steering wheel much too hard. The vein above his temple was raised on his tight face which gave me the impression that his blood was coursing fiercely.
“I’m glad you made your way home safely last night.” Laurent spoke in a controlled rhythm.
“Don’t make Grace feel like she is all alone,” Marine almost sang the words in her soft, breathy vocals. “Laurent made us follow that cab you took to make sure you arrived in one piece. That’s how we know where you live.”
“Oh?” I looked over at Laurent. He held a blank expression though the skin on his knuckles was so stretched that you could see the white cartilage beneath from his firm grasp to the wheel. “You were worried about me?”
The slightest hint of a smile formed on his face. “I’m not going to allow Sabine to kill you, now. Am I?” He sat perfectly straight in his seat. My eyes kept shifting to the gentle rise and fall of his perfectly formed chest. Though he seemed unaware of it, everything about him was sensual.
“We tried to scare you away,” Marine interjected.
As I looked back at her perfect smile, I noticed Pascal and Marcel were cracking something with a nut cracker and popping the flesh into their mouths. They looked like they were thoroughly enjoying their morning snack.
“What do you mean?” I asked Marine.
“The fight on the beach…” she blushed at that memory, “…the threatening looks, the physical intimidations.” She brushed her blond locks away from her face with her fingers and puckered her full lips like those exotic kissing fish people keep in aquariums. “Nothing worked though. You were a stubborn one. Now all we can do is to try to protect you.”
Marcel lifted his hand in a fluid motion waving it upwards like a serpentine as he spoke. “It’s probably too late to turn back now. It’s most likely Sabine and her school picked up your vibrations when you visited Laurent at the house. Naughty girl,” he shook his head. “Now you are our responsibility.”
“Hope you like overprotection,” Pascal chuckled lightly as he tied his long black hair into a knot.
They made some clicks and squeaks and they all spoke at once for a moment and then nodded in agreement. I had no idea what they said, but they all seemed to communicate in a manner that was entirely foreign to me.
“Poor Mandy Bowers,” Brigitte whispered. The jewels of many colors around her snow white neck sparkled in the sunlight as she spoke.
“What happened to Mandy?” I asked.
There was a light hum exchanged between Brigitte and Pascal before he continued for her. His masculine voice was melodic as he spoke, “Sabine and her school lured the child into the ocean, mesmerized her with their songs, and tore her flesh to pieces. No one who loves Laurent will live in her presence.”
“The jealous, witch,” Marine sang with a hiss.
“Stop frightening, Grace,” Laurent said calmly as he parked the vintage car in the school lot. “I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”
Everything they were saying was a bit overwhelming. Just their near presence, unusual mannerisms, and sounds were a foreign experience that both intrigued and scared me simultaneously. “I’m fine,” I managed to say to Laurent. I didn’t want them to know that I wasn’t entirely comfortable with them yet.
Laurent walked around to the passenger door and let me out. I wasn’t used to such gentlemanly manners, but I liked it more than I would have guessed.
There were a lot of people in the parking lot and in the halls. Everyone who saw me with the très beaux looked shocked. They seemed to notice that I was walking beside Laurent and the questions in their eyes and whispers revealed varying emotions ranging from extreme jealousy to bewilderment.
We walked past a crowd of kids who were standing before Mandy Bower’s locker where a memorial of flowers, pictures, and a cross had been erected. The halls were abuzz with talk about her death which took some, but not enough of the attention away from Laurent and me. Poor Mandy, I kept thinking, realizing, maybe for the first time, what danger I was in. Fright was bitter on my tongue.
What surprised me most was how all five of the French exchange students escorted me to class. They hovered over me like they warned. I didn’t know what to think about that.
Agatha’s eyes nearly popped out of her round pale face when we walked up to homeroom together. Laurent smiled at me and said, “I’ll see you after the bell. Try to convince Agatha to sit with our school at lunch.”
“That will be no problem,” I laughed through my morbid thoughts as I considered how thrilled she would be to sit with their escort, Danny.
“OMG,” Agatha giggled when I sat down beside her in homeroom. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I went to his house after you gave me his address. It went well. Then, this morning when I left for school, he was waiting in our parking lot for me with the other exchange students.”
“Did he drive you to school?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes!” I was smiling now too. “Can you believe it?”
“Sorry, but no!” She laughed as quietly as she was able so to not attract too much attention.
I noticed a lot of people were looking at us, so I tried to keep a blank expression on my face. “He wants us to eat lunch with them.”
Her eyes lit up. “That’s great.” She sounded happy. “I just don’t know if Danny has any interest in me at all.”
“I think he likes you. He went on that double date with you, me, and Ashton, right?”
“Yeah, that’s true.” She contemplated for a moment. “Poor Ashton. Has he seen you with Laurent yet?”
My face kind of dropped. I didn’t want to hurt Ashton. “No, I don’t think so, but I’m not one hundred percent sure if Lau
rent likes me romantically like that.”
“Of course he does or he wouldn’t be hanging around with you. He doesn’t spend time with anyone but the other French exchange students and Danny. He wouldn’t give you the time of day if he wasn’t really into you.”
“I wonder.” I looked over at the teacher who was putting the roll call paper in the envelope at the door. “My dad and I got in a fight today.”
“Oh, no.” She frowned. “What was it about?”
“Did you hear about Mandy Bowers?”
She shifted in her seat. “Yes. Isn’t that scary? Just horrible. I didn’t really know her that well.”
“Me neither, but my dad heard that she was last seen with some long haired kids with good looks and now he forbid me to associate with anyone who has long hair and is attractive.”
She burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be like this after what happened to Mandy, but your dad is crazy.”
“That’s how I feel. I can’t just avoid everyone on the planet, so I told him.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing. I didn’t give him a chance. I just stormed out and that’s when I saw Laurent in the parking lot.”
“That means that if you start seeing Laurent, your dad will forbid it.” She looked upset.
“I love my father. I don’t want to hurt him.”
“You can’t let him know about Laurent.” She held her finger to her forehead like she was thinking. “Unless you can get Laurent to cut his hair.”
I knitted my eyebrows together. “I wouldn’t do that to him. It’s just too weird. My dad is just going to have to revoke this rule.” The idea of upsetting my father pained my heart. I felt torn not knowing how to handle his demands. I knew I was too enamored with Laurent to deny him anything.
The bell rang and we all gathered our stuff. I swung my backpack over my shoulder and walked, somewhat bothered, with Agatha to the door. I couldn’t help but worry that Laurent would forget all about me and neglect meeting me after homeroom like he promised.
But there was no need to concern myself. When I stepped out of the room, he was right there, leaning against the wall with Danny and his friends, waiting for me. A spark of electricity involuntarily rushed through my body. I tried to mask my attraction toward him by keeping a blank expression. But when our eyes met, a secret smile just between us played on his lips. He must have sensed my ever growing loss of control in his presence.
Agatha giggled a bit and then said hello to Danny.
“Hi, Agatha,” he snorted awkwardly as he pointed at her.
They did some sort of secret handshake that they must have made up sometime or other. Both of them laughed because Agatha forgot the last snap and slap. But after a moment of small talk, they said their goodbyes and Agatha hurried off to her next class.
Laurent and I walked in silence to English class, the electricity dancing between us, as the très beaux followed behind. I reasoned that the energy was too intense to not be mutual. That idea excited my mind.
It was difficult to notice anyone else but Laurent, but I did glimpse that Marcel and Pascal were playing some sort of handheld video game while Brigitte and Marina chatted quietly between themselves.
As we neared the classroom, Laurent asked me what my parents were like. I was surprised by the question, but glad to distract myself from the fireworks going off in my mind.
“My mom…” I paused trying to figure out how to describe her. “She works as a cocktail waitress and looks a little like me, but her hair is shorter. Her personality is pretty outgoing.” I thought for a second. “We get along.” At that, I hesitated for another moment, pondering whether I should describe my dad. Really I was angry at him and I was afraid that would show in my portrayal.
“And your father?” He looked at me curiously as we walked into the classroom. “I know you have one because he answered the phone one of the times that I called.”
“Why did you call that first time?” I asked sharply. I was happy to turn the conversation on him and still curious about that original phone call.
We stopped at my desk. As I sat down, he looked at me with smoldering eyes. We were closer in proximity than usual. “I don’t know why I called.” He glanced over at the chalkboard as he placed his long fingers on my desk. When he turned back to me, his fingers were dancing upon the hard surface. The taps were rhythmical and pulled at my attention, further increasing my desire to touch him.
I noticed that other students kept glancing at us. I think they were surprised to see Laurent talking to anyone other than the other exchange students. The feeling was a little like being on a stage, but I didn’t care—my concentration was focused on him.
“I’m going to sit down now,” he whispered.
“Okay,” I grumbled, trying to catch my breath.
His fingers slid across the smooth wood surface as he turned and I could feel the vibrations of his touch through the wood on one of my legs that was pressed up against the desk. My body reacted to that uncontrollably. Tingling sensations rushed beneath my skin.
To my surprise, he looked back at me and smiled wickedly. I got the feeling he knew exactly what I was experiencing.
The rest of the class period I couldn’t concentrate on anything the teacher was saying. I just felt this intense energy connecting Laurent and I even though he was across the room from me. It was all consuming. I had never felt anything like it.
When the bell rang, I rushed out of the room with my backpack. I needed fresh air. I needed to touch reality. Without looking behind, I hurried as fast as I could out to the parking lot. I wanted to see the sky. I wanted to catch my breath.
Everything was spinning around me. I felt like I was falling too hard, too fast. This boy owned me. I would do anything for him. I would give up my life to save his given the chance. Did I love him? I must have. Even though I barely knew him, my feelings were too powerful to be anything other than love. It was like he was me and I was him. We were one. And it didn’t matter, as crazy as it seemed, that my feelings were unreasonable or that he was more beautiful than a Greek god—he was all I wanted. College didn’t matter; nothing mattered… but Laurent.
I looked up at the sky and watched the clouds pass across the blue expanse. As bizarre as it seemed, I just started laughing. I must have laughed for nearly a minute straight. But I was interrupted—I heard a pretty song coming from behind the trees lining the lawn across the lot. I was so drawn to the music. The feeling was enchanting. I wanted to take a look.
But then, suddenly, without any warning, somebody grabbed me by the waist. I swung around. It was a stunning girl with cherry red hair and an elegant face.
I didn’t have any time to fight her off. She locked my wrists together with one arm and threw me over her shoulder. Her strength was shocking.
“Now you know the power of a real mer who gains its strength from human meat,” she said in a strained voice as she overpowered me. Her breath came out in rapid pants. I got the feeling she was controlling herself from devouring me right there.
Simultaneously, I heard footsteps racing through the parking lot. “It’s Sabine,” one of the très beaux called. There were squealing sounds.
I saw Laurent’s face as I struggled to get away. It was just a glimpse, but it was enough. His skin was pale, his eyes piercing.
I fell to the hard concrete. Sabine was on top of me. Immediately, Laurent and Pascal pulled her off. She scratched and kicked at them fiercely, but they hooked the sides of her mouth with their hands and pinned her face down on the ground. The rest of the très beaux started to pull her away…
But someone from the school, yelled out, “Fight! Fight in the parking lot.”
Kids hurried to the scene, yelling and talking amongst themselves excitedly. With the new attention, Marcel, Brigitte, and Marine had to release her, probably to keep from being exposed for what they were. Sabine looked at the crowd, gaining her equilibrium which had been compromised, and rushed aw
ay in a strange sporadic, fluid motion, much like a fish who darts away only to wade in the water for a moment before darting again.
Before I had any time to think, Laurent scooped me up into his arms. His nostrils were flared as he rushed with me over to his car. He unlocked the door at once and placed me in the passenger seat. With that, he ran around to the other side. And in seconds, we were speeding out of the school lot.
Rebellion
“Are you okay?” Laurent asked as he drove the black car at high speed toward the freeway entrance.
“I’m fine.” I sucked in a sharp breath when I looked at the fierce expression on his face.
“Did Sabine hurt you?” He glanced at me for a moment as he held fast to the steering wheel. His grip was much too tight.
I shook my head trying to cover the fact that my mind was still spinning from the horror of it.
His dark brows drew together in worry. “You don’t know how lucky you are to be alive. Usually Sabine is with her school. When they sing the mer call in unison, humans surrender completely to them. They lure them away to the ocean with their beautiful music where they tear their flesh to pieces.” He paused for a moment, his fist balled up a before his mouth. “She must feel desperate to stray from her school...” He bit down on his knuckles.
I glanced at my arms and noticed the fine hairs standing on end. “Why didn’t she just tear me to shreds right there in the parking lot?” I tried to steady my voice as I inquired.
We merged onto the freeway. He was driving way too fast, weaving in and out of cars. “A couple of reasons.” His jaw clenched making his cheekbones appear more pronounced and fierce. “She doesn’t want to get caught killing a human in broad daylight. It would bring undue speculation and danger to our kind. And, more than that, the flavor is a thousand times stronger and more pleasurable in the water.”
I inhaled a jagged breath. “What about the head? How come they didn’t eat Mandy’s head?” I shivered at the imagery in my mind.
“Sabine likes to leave a trophy.” His voice was matter of fact as his hand started to relax on the steering wheel. “Mermaids are vain creatures.”
Bluehour (A Watermagic Novel) Page 13