Bluehour (A Watermagic Novel) (11 page)

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. “Okay. 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.

The principal must have allowed the French
exchange students to ride together because they were all on another
ferry. As usual, Danny accompanied them. And I’m not sure what boat
Ashton took, but it wasn’t ours.

Once I saw the island in the distance, I
began to hear the call of seals and it almost sounded like
beautiful music. Chills ran through my body. The sounds were
alluring. Somehow, it reminded me of my dream of the très beaux
this past weekend.

But as we arrived in Catalina’s town of
Avalon, the music faded and I was surprised to see how charming it
was. Open storefront shops, cafés, and quaint hotels lined the
cobble stone promenade before the harbor. It was a dreamy setting.
The sun was bright and cheerful. There was a light breeze with the
scent of eucalyptus trees and wild fennel.

We had most of the day to shop around and
sight see, but at 3:00 we were all to meet at the museum for a tour
before returning home. I thought it was strange that I didn’t see
the très beaux all day. They got off the ferry and then went away
by themselves to the beach. I watched them go into the ocean for a
swim, but I never saw them after that.

Danny and Ashton joined Agatha and I for the
day. Ashton took charge and showed us around the town. He knew the
island well because his parents owned a condo there and he had
spent many summers there.

I tried to have fun, but my mind was still
preoccupied with Laurent and his miraculous abilities. Since the
très beaux came to Santa Monica, everything seemed surreal. Laurent
seemed like a magical being and I got the feeling that his friends
were of the like. I wanted to confront him again about how he saved
me in what seemed like a superhuman way, but he had vanished.

Even if I had approached him with my
questions, it would not have mattered anyway. With his friends
around, I intuited that my implorations would be futile. By now,
with all their confusing stares and curious behaviors, I assumed
that they didn’t like me interacting with their friend. I supposed
they didn’t like me period.

Agatha was combing her hair that had frizzed
more than usual in the damp sea breeze as she looked out at the
harbor. “I want to go on one of those semi-submersible subs I heard
about,” Agatha exclaimed excitedly to Danny, Ashton, and me. She
was pointing at a tourist boat.

Danny’s face lit up. “Those are so cool—glass
bottom boats! You can see the underwater animals and stuff.”

“Let’s do it,” Ashton said as he placed his
baseball cap backwards on his head.

“Hell yeah!” I joined in. My mind lit with
excitement.

“All right then.” Ashton motioned us ahead
cheerfully.

The boat was beautiful. There were only a few
other passengers aboard which was nice. There was a lot of room to
move around and enjoy the ambiance. After boarding, we looked
around before we set out. It was relatively large in size with a
nice deck. The glass bottom cabin was a lounge area with a
mini-bar, sofas and big submarine windows that stretched across the
walls. The room dropped down low in the water like a half submerged
submarine. It was a fantastic sight to see the underwater
beauty.

At first we leaned against the rails on deck
and enjoyed the sunshine and sea breeze as the boat set in motion.
But shortly thereafter we headed down below. The captain navigated
the boat out to a coral reef with stunning scenery. He cut the
engine. We took seats on the plush furniture in the cabin and gazed
in awe at the magnificent underwater views.

I enjoyed relaxing and talking on the sofas
as we watched the fish swim around and through the kelp. Some
colorful sea anemones rested on the impressive coral reef. I
noticed that the prettiest fish were a bright golden yellow. The
gold contrast with the pristine blue water was breathtaking.

The captain called us on deck for drinks and
snacks. Everybody headed up, but I had to run back down because I
forgot my sunglasses downstairs. “I’ll be right back,” I said to
the others.

Agatha wasn’t paying attention to me. She and
Danny were playing Rock, Paper, Scissors and laughing up a storm,
but Ashton nodded and said, “Hurry up.” He winked playfully. “I’ll
be waiting.”

When I got downstairs, I had to stop and look
at the beauty beneath once again. I marveled at the varying types
of seaweed and underwater life. I saw a baby shark swim by.

But, then the most surprising thing happened.
I saw a boy swimming. His hair was flowing wild in the water. He
came alongside the window of the boat and looked at me. I was in
shock. It was Laurent.