Read Online The Suburban Strange by Nathan Kotecki - Free Book Online Page A

protested. “I don’t know if I’m interested, but he is, well . . .” She studied the boy the way one searches for lightning in the night sky or peers down over mountain cliffs from an airplane window. The danger was beautiful as long as it stayed at a distance. As unexpected, as unprecedented as it was to be stared at this way by a boy, Celia wasn’t disconcerted by it. She had been transported to an alternate universe where everyone was brilliant and stunning, and everything was perfectly appointed, and all the new secrets she cherished were brought out into the open; why wouldn’t there be a brooding, handsome boy waiting there for her to arrive? Celia wasn’t about to question the rules of this new world, whom it would contain or what role he might play. And she wasn’t about to exert her own will, either. She had gotten this far with barely a single decision of her own. Celia was keenly aware that she wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for the Rosary, so if Regine and Liz told her to be wary, she would play by their rules.
    Throughout the night Brenden gave her background details about the music she heard. “Ah, this is a classic! Killing Joke, ‘Love Like Blood.’ I’ll make a copy of it for you. The lead singer decided the world was going to end, and he moved somewhere like Iceland to prepare for it, and then it didn’t happen, at least not yet. The words are really intense.” Celia made another mental note to look up Brenden’s blog the next day.
    “How did you find this place?” she asked Liz.
    “Ivo found out about it. But if you start looking around for places to hear this kind of music, there really isn’t anywhere else. When Ivo and I started coming here, it was like we had found Wonderland. We never expected to hear these songs anywhere outside our own houses, and we definitely didn’t think there were all these other people who loved it, too! We were so reverential about it, we didn’t talk to anyone here for six months,” Liz said. “Brenden was the first to crack. He was hearing songs and having no idea who they were by, and it drove him crazy, so he started asking Patrick. And then we gradually met the rest of Patrick’s regulars.”
    Too soon it was midnight and Ivo rounded them up to make their departure. Celia stole a final glance at the silver-eyed boy as they started off. She had a twinge, wondering if he would be there next Friday, if she would feel the strange current flow through her again. When she looked over at him she thought he could tell she was leaving, and he almost seemed to be fighting the impulse to approach her, but that could have been wishful thinking on her part. She processed with the group to the booth, where Patrick kissed them all again. “Leaving so early?” he asked.
    “We’re still earning Celia’s mother’s trust,” Ivo told him. “So it’ll be early for a little while.”
    “You could stay,” Celia said to the other four, hoping Regine wouldn’t resent her for having to take her home.
    “No, we’re a group. We arrive together, and we leave together,” Ivo said firmly. Celia was touched. It was the clearest demonstration the Rosary had made that they considered her one of them. She wished they could have stayed until Diaboliques closed.
    They made their way through the other rooms, down and out to the cars. The aura of Diaboliques gradually lifted as Celia traveled farther from the inner sanctum where Patrick was king and mysterious tall boys waited. Rufus called her Paperwhite again and wished them good night.
    “Did you have a good time?” Marco asked as the other four walked ahead.
    “I loved it! Thank you so much for bringing me,” Celia said.
    “Well, we do it every Friday. It’s like church,” Marco joked. “Were Regine and Liz keeping you from talking to that guy?”
    “I wouldn’t have talked to him anyway. They’re just being protective.”
    “Sure.” Marco’s tone was a little sarcastic. “And the two of