Read Online Bluehour (A Watermagic Novel) by Brighton Hill - Free Book Online Page A

Laurent’s peculiarities
were growing. I just couldn’t figure him out and my curiosities
were getting to me. Yesterday Laurent wasn’t at swim practice and
again today he wasn’t in English class.
    But, as before, the other French students
were there. When I walked into the classroom, I thought I saw
Pascal Beaudoin, with his long black hair that was tied over his
shoulder, give me a dirty look and then turn back to Marine where
he continued in conversation.
    I was confused and felt uncomfortable. I
considered the possibility that maybe the look I thought I saw may
not have been directed at me. If his expression was nasty as I
feared, maybe he was thinking about something negative and just
happened to look at me at that moment, that the expression on his
perfect face wasn’t for me.
    But, then, a little later as I watched the
French students from the corner of my eye while the teacher
lectured, I noticed Marcel Paradis in particular. While he was
leaning back comfortably in his chair, he ran his fingers through
his long dark brown hair. I stiffened, sensing that he was looking
at me. I turned to him. At once our eyes locked. I sensed anger in
his stare. I wasn’t sure, but his expression felt threatening.
Goosebumps lifted on my arms. It seemed like he held his gaze a
little too long. My face went pale.
    I didn’t know what to do. I feared these two
friends of Laurent. What could I have possibly done to them? The
day before the whole group kept glancing at me. Their expressions
were neutral, but today, the male très beaux seemed to be
intentionally trying to intimidate me. I was scared.
    For the rest of the class, I didn’t even look
at them. I kept my eyes on the teacher or on the notebook on my
desk. When the bell rang, I rushed to my Trig class to avoid any
confrontations in the halls.
    At lunch, I kept a distance and when Agatha
went to the lunch line to talk to Danny, I didn’t follow. Instead I
walked to the other side of the cafeteria and leaned against the
wall as I quickly ate my food. I was relieved when Ashton came over
to me and invited me to his table.
    I could hardly listen to his friendly
conversations because my heart was racing so fast for fear of the
French students. But, I was glad to be with him because I figured
the très beaux wouldn’t bother me if I was in his presence.
    He tried to engage me in conversations with
his popular friends and I did my best to be polite and seem at
least moderately interested. I was relieved when Agatha joined us,
but my mind wasn’t present even then.
    I just couldn’t figure out what had happened
to Laurent. Two days he had been absent and he never tried to call
me again. I had to know what had happened to him. Why wouldn’t the
très beaux tell Danny why he wasn’t in school when he asked? If he
was sick, wouldn’t they just say it? And now that Pascal and Marcel
may have been giving me negative looks, I could only wonder if it
had anything to do with my interactions or lack of interactions
with Laurent.
    No, it wasn’t possible. I couldn’t imagine
that I could be that important at least not to these beautiful
creatures that had most of the kids in school spellbound with their
alluring manners and dreamlike qualities. It was egotistical to
think I had any impact on their lives. But, I did—otherwise why did
Marine Thibault attack me on Santa Monica Beach?
    I just couldn’t stop thinking about it all.
My inquisitiveness was maddening. I had to figure out what was
going on. So, later that day, I found Danny by his locker and asked
him to find out where Laurent lived.
    “Why Grace?” His eyes widened. I guess he
thought it was a strange request.
    “Please don’t say anything about it to the
exchange students, but I want to give something to Laurent and I
don’t want them to know about it.” I looked around to see if anyone
in the halls was listening. There were just some freshmen girls
giggling amongst themselves as they walked by.
    Danny glided