but I pull back.
“You wish,” I say. “Let’s get to work.”
He brings in another chair, and we sit at his desk, creating a study schedule. Then, we start writing out family trees with names we’ll research in computer lab.
A while later, I’ve made a list that’s a good combination of fake names and names of real ancestors who never set foot on land and won’t come up in any databases. I feel Clay’s eyes on me, and I look up just as he looks down. It’s probably nothing. Maybe he was staring off into space, or maybe I have lint on my sweater. I turn my attention back to my work.
We continue in silence, but I still feel like Clay’s watching me.
“Lia?” he finally asks. “Can I ask you something?” His voice is quiet and uncharacteristically serious.
“Sure.”
“Why … why did you stop hanging out with me last year?” He’s looking down now, his eyes fixed on his paper.
Because you’re human. Because I can’t like you . “Because I got super busy. Y’know, first year at a new school.” That sounds lame even to me. “Everything was a little overwhelming.”
“I wasn’t trying to overwhelm you.”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just had a lot going on.”
“So, you just stopped returning my calls?” He’s trying to keep his tone casual, but hurt slips into his voice. I wish I could explain to Clay that I put distance between us for his own good.
“I’m sorry.” It’s the truth. He finally looks up, and his eyes bore into mine. For a second, they’re filled with something raw and sad. Then, just as quickly, he breaks eye contact, and his trademark smirk slides back in place.
“Well, I just had to find out how anyone could blow off a guy as awesome as me. I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while, but we’re somehow never alone.”
“I didn’t blow you off.” Except I did.
“Hey, I just thought we were friends, Nautilus, that’s all.”
“We are friends.” We shouldn’t be—not when I feel this way. But I say it anyway.
“Promise?” His small smile is genuine now.
“Promise,” I say. And I mean it.
Chapter Five
My house is too quiet. I don’t hear music blasting from Lapis and Lazuli’s room, or the telltale clanking of pots in the kitchen that means my dad is cooking dinner, or even Emeraldine’s complaints that she’s trying to study and everyone better keep it down. A strange stillness fills the house, putting my nerves on edge.
“I’m home!” I call out tentatively, dropping my backpack by the door. “Dad?” No response. “Em?”
No one’s in the living room. I check the kitchen and the den. No one. The dining room. Empty. I run upstairs and search but don’t find anyone. Could they all have gone somewhere without letting me know?
If they did, they must have told Amy. I head down to the grottos, shedding my jeans and shoes along the way. No matter how cute and lacey it can be, underwear is an unnecessary hindrance I gave up on a long time ago.
The moment I open the door to the antechamber, the chatter of voices makes me breathe a huge sigh of relief. I can even make out my mother’s voice, which means she’s home early from the Foundation. Curious, I step into the canal, lower my now-naked bottom half into the cool water, and relax. The rushing sensation of invisible tides flows up and down my legs as they meld together into one strong, golden tail that propels me into the main ballroom, then into the hallway as I follow the voices to Amy’s room.
“What are we doing?” Everyone turns to look at me from around Amy’s bed, huge smiles on their faces.
“Lia! Look!” Amy squeals. I look, but all I see is Amy, lying on her sponge bed with a soaking wet blanket covering the top half of her tail.
“What am I looking at?”
“Just give it a second, will you?” she answers back.
In a flash, Amy’s shining purple tail disappears. In its place is a pair of pale, gangly legs! It only takes half a second for her
“You wish,” I say. “Let’s get to work.”
He brings in another chair, and we sit at his desk, creating a study schedule. Then, we start writing out family trees with names we’ll research in computer lab.
A while later, I’ve made a list that’s a good combination of fake names and names of real ancestors who never set foot on land and won’t come up in any databases. I feel Clay’s eyes on me, and I look up just as he looks down. It’s probably nothing. Maybe he was staring off into space, or maybe I have lint on my sweater. I turn my attention back to my work.
We continue in silence, but I still feel like Clay’s watching me.
“Lia?” he finally asks. “Can I ask you something?” His voice is quiet and uncharacteristically serious.
“Sure.”
“Why … why did you stop hanging out with me last year?” He’s looking down now, his eyes fixed on his paper.
Because you’re human. Because I can’t like you . “Because I got super busy. Y’know, first year at a new school.” That sounds lame even to me. “Everything was a little overwhelming.”
“I wasn’t trying to overwhelm you.”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just had a lot going on.”
“So, you just stopped returning my calls?” He’s trying to keep his tone casual, but hurt slips into his voice. I wish I could explain to Clay that I put distance between us for his own good.
“I’m sorry.” It’s the truth. He finally looks up, and his eyes bore into mine. For a second, they’re filled with something raw and sad. Then, just as quickly, he breaks eye contact, and his trademark smirk slides back in place.
“Well, I just had to find out how anyone could blow off a guy as awesome as me. I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while, but we’re somehow never alone.”
“I didn’t blow you off.” Except I did.
“Hey, I just thought we were friends, Nautilus, that’s all.”
“We are friends.” We shouldn’t be—not when I feel this way. But I say it anyway.
“Promise?” His small smile is genuine now.
“Promise,” I say. And I mean it.
Chapter Five
My house is too quiet. I don’t hear music blasting from Lapis and Lazuli’s room, or the telltale clanking of pots in the kitchen that means my dad is cooking dinner, or even Emeraldine’s complaints that she’s trying to study and everyone better keep it down. A strange stillness fills the house, putting my nerves on edge.
“I’m home!” I call out tentatively, dropping my backpack by the door. “Dad?” No response. “Em?”
No one’s in the living room. I check the kitchen and the den. No one. The dining room. Empty. I run upstairs and search but don’t find anyone. Could they all have gone somewhere without letting me know?
If they did, they must have told Amy. I head down to the grottos, shedding my jeans and shoes along the way. No matter how cute and lacey it can be, underwear is an unnecessary hindrance I gave up on a long time ago.
The moment I open the door to the antechamber, the chatter of voices makes me breathe a huge sigh of relief. I can even make out my mother’s voice, which means she’s home early from the Foundation. Curious, I step into the canal, lower my now-naked bottom half into the cool water, and relax. The rushing sensation of invisible tides flows up and down my legs as they meld together into one strong, golden tail that propels me into the main ballroom, then into the hallway as I follow the voices to Amy’s room.
“What are we doing?” Everyone turns to look at me from around Amy’s bed, huge smiles on their faces.
“Lia! Look!” Amy squeals. I look, but all I see is Amy, lying on her sponge bed with a soaking wet blanket covering the top half of her tail.
“What am I looking at?”
“Just give it a second, will you?” she answers back.
In a flash, Amy’s shining purple tail disappears. In its place is a pair of pale, gangly legs! It only takes half a second for her
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