Bluehour (A Watermagic Novel) (13 page)

“That’s right. I forgot that he works for the
post office.”

“I asked Danny for the address before, but he
never came through. I was thinking that if you pushed him, he might
get it.”

“Me? If you weren’t able to get him to get
it, how could I?”

“You can be very convincing, Agatha.”

She smiled at that. “That’s true.” Now she
giggled. I think she liked the challenge I had set her up for.
“I’ll try,” she agreed.

We arrived at school and walked through the
parking lot to homeroom together. The rain had let up, but there
were lots of puddles on the ground. I found myself looking through
the halls for Laurent, but I didn’t see him. When I got to English
class, I saw that all of the French exchange students were present
except for Laurent.

Emotions rushed through my body. I wondered
if he wasn’t in school because of me and what I said to him in the
museum. That was egotistical, I told myself. Certainly, he wouldn’t
miss class just to avoid me. He could stay away from me just as
easily if he was in school. All he would have to do was ignore me
which would be pretty easy considering I wasn’t the type to
instigate conversation. After I decided that, I began to wonder
where he was.

Without Laurent present, the day passed
dreadfully slow. Ashton invited me and Agatha to his lunch table
again. An attractive blond girl named Victoria acted jealous that
Ashton was giving me attention. Anytime I started to talk, she
would find a way to interrupt and overpower the conversation.
Eventually, I gave up and just listened to her. That was more
comfortable for me anyway. In my melancholy mood, I certainly
wasn’t up for chatting.

Toward the latter part of lunch I finished my
Spanish homework. Last night I was too down to work on it. Ashton
teased me about being a bookworm, but he was one to talk. He also
had high grades and studied a lot. I didn’t even want to do it
actually, but I kept reminding myself about how much I wanted to
get into Berkley.

When we were walking out of the cafeteria, it
started to pour again. Tears for Laurent, I thought. Luckily, I had
my umbrella with me, so Agatha and I crowded under it as we ran to
our locker. Some of the other kids weren’t so lucky. They got
drenched. The sky was grumbling a lot and I even saw a flash of
lightning. I couldn’t help but wonder what it was so angry about.
Maybe it was frustrated like me that Laurent wasn’t in school.

At swim team practice, Coach Sanchez lectured
us about the upcoming meet. I was going to compete in the 200
medley relay and the 100 backstroke. This would be my first time
swimming the 100 backstroke. Even in my mood, I was kind of excited
about it. I liked trying different things and I didn’t care all
that much about making a fool of myself. I was used to that kind of
thing. That’s the funny thing about being a geek, you get used to
looking inept and that kind of frees you to take more risks. You
can’t fall much farther, so there’s just that possibility of rising
up to meet your highest potential.

After practice, Ashton walked me to the
lockers. “Did you hear that Laurent Moreau quit the swim team?”

“What?” I was shocked at the news. “Why did
he quit?” I asked in a melancholy voice.

“You sound sad about it. Are you?” He was
scuffing the ground with his flip flops.

“I just thought he was going to be a star
asset to the boys’ team.”

“You’re probably right. Coach Yarber seemed
more than disappointed. I think he had big hopes of getting into
CIF with Laurent’s scores.” He had a big smile on his face.

“You don’t seem upset about it.”

“That guy was trouble. I sensed that. I’m
just glad to have him out of the way.”

“So you can win?” I couldn’t believe I said
that. It was just that I felt so frustrated.

“Hey, that’s not nice.” He smiled at me
wryly. “You’re a sassy one today. Aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I just have a lot on my
mind.”

“Can I give you a ride home today?” His eyes
widened.

“Actually, I’m just going to walk. I need
some time to myself.”

His expression fell. “Just remember, I’m
there for you if you need me.” He leaned over and kissed my
forehead.

I didn’t like that, but I didn’t know what to
say so I just mumbled faintly, “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Then I turned and went into the girls’ locker room.

That evening I walked home in a haze. My
thoughts were so glum. I couldn’t help but obsessively wonder if I
was ever going to see Laurent again. Maybe I was being
unreasonable; after all, he was only absent one day. I hoped that
he would be in school the next day.

When I walked into our apartment, Lucy ran
over and hugged me. “A boy called,” she said in a teasing voice.
“Grace has a boyfriend.” Her face was beaming.

“Silly.” I tried to make my voice as cheerful
as possible. “Did he say his name?”

“Mom knows,” she giggled as she ran back into
the living room where she was building a house of cards on the
coffee table.

I guessed that it was Ashton calling to check
up on me and maybe even ask me out again. If it was him, I didn’t
think I could accept another date. It would be our second and he
would probably try to kiss me. Somehow the idea of kissing him
upset me. It didn’t seem right when Laurent was the one
overwhelming my thoughts.

“Hi, Mom,” I mumbled as I walked into the
kitchen. She was making tostadas.

“Hello, honey bunch,” she said as she spread
refried beans on the crispy corn tortillas. “How was school?”

I took a glass from the cabinet and filled it
with water from the refrigerator. “It was dull. Nothing exciting
today.”

“You look sad.” She glanced at me with
concern. “You wanna talk about it?”

The idea of discussing Laurent with her was
out of the question. How could I explain that I couldn’t stop
thinking about someone from France who’s probably planning to go
back to his own country and probably has superhuman powers? “No.
I’m fine. I think I’m just tired from swim practice.”

I tried to change the subject. “Do you know
who called? Lucy said it was a boy.” I laughed lightly. “Did you
get the name?”

“Some boy named Laurent something,” she said
shaking her head. “Who’s he?”

My face lit up when she said his name. This
time I would definitely call him back. “Oh, he’s just someone from
school. He was out today so he probably wants to know the
assignment.”

She nodded in a distracted manner as she
sprinkled the cheese and shredded lettuce on the tostadas before
setting them on the table for dinner.

1. Song of My Heart
   

Right after dinner, I excused myself from the
table and went into my room to call Laurent. My adrenaline was
rushing. I felt so nervous to make the call, but I regretted
hanging up the last time before he answered.

I had no idea what I was going to say when he
answered. I was afraid my voice would crack or I would get tongue
tied. Trying to calm myself, I sat on my bed and dialed his
number.

As in the past, the phone just kept ringing
and ringing and nobody answered. My heart fell as I hung up. I
wondered why he had called. What did he want to say to me? I wanted
to try again, but I didn’t want my number to show up over and over
again on their caller id.

The rest of the night was torture. I tried to
do my homework, but I couldn’t concentrate. Every time I tried to
read Romeo and Juliet for English class I just kept drifting away
from the story to thoughts of Laurent. I thought that if I tried to
do something less romantic than read about star-crossed love, I
could steady my thoughts. But when I attempted my Spanish homework,
several of the words came out in French. Finally, I was able to do
my boring Trig problems, but I had to admit the sixes looked a lot
like hearts.

Once I finished as many of my assignments as
I was humanly able, I worked out very hard. The weight training
helped release a lot of pent up energy, but I was still focused on
trying to figure out why he called.

Right before I went to bed, I decided to give
it one more try. I took a deep breath and pressed his number into
the phone. It rang three times and then he answered.

My pulse raced about a mile a minute upon
hearing his breathtaking voice. But right after he answered, I
heard yelling in the background and somebody grabbed the phone from
him.

“Who is this speaking?” It was a woman’s
voice that I didn’t recognize. Maybe it was Ms. Josette something
or other. I couldn’t remember what Danny said her last name
was.

My voice wavered a little. “This is Grace
Waters. I’m returning Laurent’s call.”

“I’m sorry, dear.” Her voice was beautiful
like the others, but it had a more mature, huskier tone to it.
“Please do not call our home anymore. Laurent is not coming to the
phone.” She hung up the receiver without waiting for my
response.

I was dumbfounded. Why did he call if he
wasn’t taking calls? I got the impression that his family of
exchange students and chaperone were trying to keep us apart. But
why?

Curiosity overtook me. I dialed the number
again. After one ring, a girl answered the phone, it sounded like
Brigitte. Her voice was sweeter and less breathy than Marine’s.
“Hello?” she sang lightly.

“Hi. Is Laurent there?” I decided to act like
I must have dialed the wrong number before.

“Who is asking?” The voice sounded concerned.
Then she whispered to someone else.

“I tried to call before. I hope I dialed
wrong because the person spoke very oddly. Is this Brigitte?”

“
Oui
,” she whispered. “Grace?”

I was surprised she recognized my voice.
“Yes, this is Grace. I’m returning Laurent’s call. He must have
wanted to ask about homework in English class.”

There was more whispering and then someone
grabbed the phone. “Don’t call anymore.” It sounded like Marine’s
indistinguishable voice. But with that, she hung up the phone.

Now, I was even more frustrated. I couldn’t
figure out why they were so determined to keep me away from
Laurent. Even the chaperone didn’t want me to talk to him. These
beautiful creatures were so odd. Everything they did just drew me
in more. If I wasn’t obsessed before with figuring them out, now my
obsession doubled. I was uncontrollably drawn into their mysterious
world. I had to find out what they were all about. But even more
than my curiosity, I just plain missed Laurent.

That night my dreams were torrent and all
about how I imagined their strange world. I woke up with a start at
sunrise. The sky was dim as I dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. Even
though it was still early, I grabbed a muffin and walked to school
instead of taking a ride with Agatha or my mother. I needed time to
gather my thoughts. And even more than that, I needed time to walk
around Ocean Avenue to see if I could find Laurent.

The early morning traffic was heavy and there
were a lot of people out. It wasn’t likely that I would by chance
run into Laurent, but maybe I would see the très beaux’s car parked
in a driveway and from there, I could discover which house they
lived in. I knew they all drove together in a 1957 black Ford
Custom 300. It was a noticeable car, so I thought I had a
chance.

I didn’t have a lot of time before class, but
I made my way to Ocean Avenue and took a look around at some of the
houses in the area. There were several neighborhoods, so it was a
bit of a long shot figuring it out. My best bet was spotting the
car or seeing one of the exchange students in a yard or through a
window.

I saw a man watering his lawn at one of the
big houses off of Ocean. “Good morning,” I said to him.

“Morning,” he responded with a smile. His
wide eyes told me that I had startled him.

“I’m trying to find my friend’s house, but I
left the address at home by mistake. He lives around here with
several other teenagers and a chaperone. They’re French, very good
looking. They all have long hair. His name’s Moreau. Do you know
them?”

“Sounds familiar,” he said.

My eyes lit with enthusiasm.

“But, no,” he continued. “I don’t think I
know anyone like that.”

“Oh, okay.” I tried to not show my
disappointment. “Thanks anyway.”

I looked around a little more. My mood was
becoming more and more melancholy by the minute, so I caught a bus
and went to school.

Once in English class, I kept my eyes on the
door hoping Laurent would show, but he never arrived. None of the
très beaux showed up that day. It was difficult for me to
concentrate on anything in any of my classes. And swim practice was
depressing without Laurent there. The drills kept getting on my
nerves. I just wanted to go home and burry my head in my
pillow.

Ashton walked me to the locker room again.
“How about we all go to a movie this Friday night?” he asked,
hopeful.

I couldn’t help but tense at his invitation.
I hoped he didn’t notice my discomfort. As much as I was able, I
tried to cover. “I’m behind in my school work and I have to study
all weekend.”

His face fell slightly. “Oh.” He paused as he
scrutinized my expression. “Why don’t we study together?”

“That’s so nice of you to ask.” I smiled at
him. “I just can’t concentrate when other people are around.”

“I understand.” His lips pressed together.
“I’ll miss you.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled as politely as I
could.

“You need a ride home today?” he asked
somewhat hesitant.

“Thanks so much for asking. I don’t need one
today. Maybe another time though.”

He put his hands in his pockets and shifted
his weight to the other leg. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow. Study,
study,” he said teasingly and then he headed to the boys’ locker
room.

Once I changed out of my swimsuit, I decided
to go to Ocean Avenue and just walk around. Maybe I’d give it
another try; I might find Laurent. As I set out in stride down the
busy Pico Boulevard, my mind kept obsessing over how I shouldn’t
have told him to leave me alone.