Avalon High - Мэг Кэбот 7 стр.

and said, Oh, right. Well, come on. Ill walk you out.

 He started for the door to the stairs, Cavalier close at his heels. I followed, with Marco

tagging along behind me. As we headed back down to the second floor, Marco asked,

Arent you going to introduce me to your friend? in a voice I didnt really like all that

much

though I couldnt say why.

 Oh, sorry, Will said. Elaine Harrison, my stepbrother, Marco Campbell. Marco, this is

Ellie.

 Hi, I said to Marco, over my shoulder, as we entered the hallway.

 Marco grinnedone of those grins Ive sometimes seen described as wolfish in books.

 Pleased to make your acquaintance, Elaine, he said. Then, to Will, he said, I think

someone said they saw Jen go through there. He nodded toward the door behind which

Id found Jennifer and Lance making out.

 Oh, great, Will said.

 And he started to place his hand on the doorknob

 No, wait! I cried, before I knew what I was saying.

 Will looked at me questioningly. So, for that matter, did the dog. Marcos look was the

only one that wasnt questioning. His was surprised.

 Which was when I knew.

 Suddenly I felt like throwing up all over again. Except that I didnt have time to be sick.

 W-wasnt that just her? I stammered.

 Wills hand continued to hover above the doorknob.

 Where? he asked.

 Wasnt that her just now, calling you? Practically falling over my own feet, I hurried to

the top of the stairs to the first floor. Hell be right there, I called down. Some people

standing at the bottom of the staircase looked up at me like I was insane.

 But it didnt matter, because Will couldnt see them.

 Shes downstairs, I heard myself say to Will.

 And his hand, to my immense relief, fell away from the doorknob.

 Oh, he said. Great. Well. See you around.

 And he started toward the stairs.

 Thats when it happened. The thing that afterwards, I was never quite sure how to

describe, even to myself.

 All I know is, Will started toward the staircase, and I glanced at his stepbrother Marco, to

see if hed follow

 Only to find Marco studying me with an amused expression on his face, as if I were a cat

that had suddenly started reading the want ads. Out loud.

 Will, he said, not taking his eyesas dark as his stepbrothers were lightfrom me.

Why dont you invite Elaine to come sailing with us tomorrow?

 Oh, hey, Will said, pausing at the top of the stairs, and looking back at me, thats a

great idea. Do you like sailing, Elle?

 Elle. I couldnt help swallowing.

 Uh, I said. What was going on here? I wondered. Thrilled as I was to be included in

any plan of Wills, I couldnt help wondering why Marco wanted me to come along. He

didnt evenknow me.

 And from the way he was looking at me, I wasnt all that sure he evenliked me.

Especially after what we bothMarco and Iknew Id just done.

 I dont know, I said uncertainly. Ive never been. We dont sail much, back in

Minnesota.

 Oh, youll love it, Marco said. Wont she, Will?

 Yeah, you will, Will said enthusiastically. Meet us by the Alex Haley statue at the city

dock tomorrow at noon. You know where that is? When I nodded, he said, Great. See

you then.

 And then he hurried down the stairs to look for Jennifer. Leaving me alone with Marco

.

with whom I wasnt about to stick around and make small talk.

 Well, see you tomorrow, I said, and started toward the stairs myself.Get out , my heart

seemed to be saying with every beat.

 But I didnt move quickly enough, since Marcos voice snaked out across the landing

like an arm, almost physically drawing me back toward him when he asked, in an

insinuating tone, You didntreally hear Jen just then, did you, Elaine of Minnesota?

 I froze, one foot on the stairs, and one still on the second floor. For some reason, my

blood had run

 Sorry, I said. I

 Oh, I think you do, Marco said, with a wink. Then, as I stood there watching him, he

went up to the door Will had come so close to opening, and thumped on it, once, with the

side of his fist.

 Jen, he shouted through it. You in there?

 There was a pause. Then a thin voice called through the door, Um, yeah, just a sec! Ill

be right out.

 Marco looked back at me and shook his head.

 Nice try, he said. But hes gonna find out about them sometime.

 So Id been right. Hed known. Hed known all along. Hed wanted Will to open that

door and find the two of them in there.

 What kind of sick persondoes something like that?

 Wills stepbrother, evidently.

 Um, I said, trying to play dumb.Hed known . But that wasnt the weirdest part.

Idknown hed known. I have to go

 Marco wasnt falling for it, though. Not only did he keep talking, but he crossed the

space between us in two long strides and snatched up my arm in fingers that were so cold,

they burned. He held me in a grip of iron, so that I couldnt even dart down the stairs the

way Id planned.

 What were you trying to do, anyway? Marco asked, with a sneer. Protect him?

 Let go of my arm, I said in a voice that shook a little. Something about his touch was

well, cold.

I dont know what you mean.

really creeping me out.

 I wasnt the only one it bothered, either. Hearing a low sound coming from somewhere

near my feet, I looked down and saw Wills dog, Cavalierwho hadnt, as Id thought,

followed her master downstairscrouching on the white carpet, growling softly up at

Marco.

 Really. Growling. At Marco.

 He noticed, too, and said, in tones of disgust, Leave me alone, you stupid mutt, to the

dog.

 Then Marco thrust me away from him, hard enough to cause me to stumble to my knees

and have to grab hold of the banister to keep from falling.

 But Cavalier stopped growling. She hurried over to me and licked my arm where hed

touched it.

 Oh, please, Marco said very sarcastically, when he observed this. Then, staring at

memy rapid breathing, my white-knuckled grip on the banisterhe shook his head once

more and said, You arent even supposed to be on his side. Youre supposed to like the

other one. What kind of lily maid are you, anyway?

 I just blinked at him. Lily maid? Oh, right. The Lily Maid of Astolat, which was another

name for the Lady of Shalottthe one I was named after. Funny.

 Not.

 And sort of random, for a guy with a tattoo.

 I dont know what youre talking about, I said, in a shaky voice. I felt a little bit braver

with Cavalier beside me. B-but I think you should leave Will alone.

 Marco seemed to find this hilarious.

 You think I should leaveWill alone? he asked, in a voice dripping with derisive

laughter. Isthat how it is, then? Christ, did Morton ever have it all wrong.

 Morton?Mr . Morton? What was he talking about?

 You think what Wills going throughnow is bad? Marco shook his head, the wolfish

grin back, wider than ever. Are you in for a surprise.

 Then the door to the spare room opened, and Jennifer came out, tucking some of her hair

back into the clip it had slipped out of.

 Hi, guys, Jennifer said breezilytoo breezily. Sorry, I was just on the phone with my

mom. Somebody was looking for me?

 I just stared at her. I couldnt believe anyone could look so great, and be so

 Well, cold.

 Then, when Marco didnt say anything, and Jennifer looked from him to me

questioningly, I stammered, Y-you need to move your car. I was still feeling sick to my

stomach, but I tried not to let it show. Its blocking their neighbors driveway.

 Jennifer looked blank. But I parked in the Wagners driveway, she said.

 I glanced at Marco. He winked.

 Sailing tomorrows going to be fun, he said. Dont you think, Elaine?

CHAPTER TWELVE

 Stacy and Liz werent exactly thrilled about how long it took me to join them at the car.

 God, whatd you do? Stacy said, when I finally staggered down the hill toward them.

Take the long way?

 Sorry, I said to them. I really meant it, too. Iwas sorry.

 Just not for the reason they thought.

 I was quiet on the ride home. Maybe too quiet, since Liz asked, Are you okay, Ellie?

 I said I was. Except I knew it was a lie. How could I be okay after what had happened?

 Which was part of the problem. What exactlyhad happened? I didnt even know, really.

 So I had found out Jennifer was cheating on Will. With his best friend. So what? It didnt

have anything to do with me.

 And so what if Id met Wills stepbrother and had had a fairly strange conversation with

him? Big deal. Guys are weird in general. And guys whose fathers were killed by their

mothers new husbands are probably weirder than anybody. I mean, what did I expect?

 But the thing with Marco just seemedI dont know,weirder than anything that had ever

happened to me. The way the dog had growled when hed touched my arm. And the way

hed been talking to me as if we were continuing a conversation wed had in the

pastexcept that we had only just met! And what had that thing hed said about the Lady

of Shalott been all about? And his reference to Mr. Morton. What did Mr. Morton have to

do with anything?

 Unless

 Hey, I said, leaning forward in the backseat of Stacys car. Who was the teacher

Marco Campbell was supposed to have attacked?

 Liz was fiddling with Stacys CD player, trying to find a track she liked. I heard it was

Mr. Morton.

 God, Liz! Stacy burst out laughing. Gossip much?

 Well, Liz said defensively, my mom heard it from Chloe Hartwells mom who heard

it from her cousin whos a dispatcher on the Annapolis police force.

 Oh, Stacy said, still laughing. Then it must be true.

 Why did he do it? I asked. Try to kill Mr. Morton, I mean?

 Liz shrugged. Who knows. Marcos not exactly all there, you know what I mean?

 Did I ever.

 Stacy pulled up in front of my house and said, Dont forget, you still have to let us

know when you want to be initiated.

 I will, I said. And thanks, you guys. For coming with me tonight.

 My first party with the In Crowd, Liz said with a sigh.

 And my last, Stacy said dryly. Then she waved, and they drove away.

 When I got inside, my mom and dad were still up, watching the news.

 Hi, honey, my mom said. How did it go? Did you have a nice time?

 Great, I said. I had fun. Avalon won. Tomorrow Im going sailing with Will.

 That sounds nice, my mom said. Is Will an experienced sailor?

 Sure, I said, though technically I had no idea whether or not this was truejust that he

and Lance had sailed up the coast over the summer.

 Youre not going to wear that skirt on the boat, are you? my dad called to me, as I ran

up the stairs to my room.

 Dont worry, I wont, I called back. Night!

 Because after everything that had happened, the last thing I wanted to do was sit around

and chat with Mom and Dad. I needed

 I didnt know what I needed.

 I showered, changed into my pajamas, and climbed into bed. Then I stared at the rose

Will had given me. It was in full bloom now, its petals lustrous in the glow from my

bedside lamp.

 I was sleepy, and yet I knew if I turned out the light, I wouldnt doze off. I was too wired.

All I could think about was Marco. How had he known Id been named after Elaine, the

Lily Maid? This is not a literary character with whom guys his age tended to be familiar.

 And was that crack about my liking the wrong guy supposed to mean that it was Lance I

should be in love with, not Will? Because Elaine had liked Lancelot?

 God, how lame. It wasnt even funny. I love my parents and all, but why did they have to

name me after someone so pathetic? The only thing my namesake and I had remotely in

common was a mutual love of floating

pool, whereas Elaine of Astolat favored floating to her death in a boat

 I suppose, by Marcos reasoning, if I were Elaine, and Lance was Lancelot, that meant

Jennifer was Guinevere. Which was kind of funny, actually, since the name Jennifer

comes from the name Guinevere

the daughter of two medieval scholars.

 And if you wanted to think along those linesyou know, Lance being Lancelot, me being

Elaine, and Jennifer being Guineverethen Will could only be King Arthur. Which meant

Marco had to be Mordred, the guy who ultimately kills Arthur and brings down Camelot,

after the whole Guinevere thing.

 Except from everything Id read, Mordred was Arthurs half brother, not his stepbrother.

 Still, all that, coupled with the fact that the school we all go to is Avalon High, home of

the Excaliburs?

 Freaky.

 Maybe Marco hadnt meant it to be funny. Maybe hed meant itliterally .

I needed

although I preferred to do mine on a raft in a

.

just a little something you cant help knowing if youre

 Yeah. And maybe tomorrow, my dad would let me borrow the car and drive it by myself,

without a licensed driver in the passenger seat.

 Well, what did I care, anyway, if Wills stepbrother wanted to compare me to some chick

whod killed herself over a mythical knight from Camelot? As insults went, it wasnt even

that cutting. He couldnt have known, of course, about my great antipathy toward all

things medieval.

 Which just made the whole thing even lamer.

 Except

 Except that none of this explained the coldness of his fingers. Or the way Cavalier had

reacted when Marco had touched me. Or what hed meant about Mr. Morton. Or why

Marco had wanted Will to find out about Lance and Jennifer in that horrible way

 Still feeling a little sick, I rolled over and turned off my bedside lamp. As I lay there in

the semidarkness, I heard a thump. A second later, Tig joined me for her nightly snuggle.

 Only tonight, for some reason, she couldnt seem to settle down. She kept sniffing where

Cavalier had licked meand Marco had touched meeven though Id washed all those

parts when I showered. When I peered at Tig in the moonlight that spilled in from behind

my blinds, I could see she was wearing an expression Geoff called Cat Faceher mouth

partly open, like shed smelled something bad.

 Then, giving my arm a last and final sniff, she threw me a look that clearly indicated Id

betrayed her somehow, then stalked off the bed and left to sleep elsewhere.

 Which meant she wasreally peeved.

 I lay there thinking to myself that things were really going great if my own cat didnt like

me anymore. What hadhappened at that party, anyway? And what was I going to do about

it?

 Whatcould I do, anyway? I mean, I supposed I could talk to LanceI was going to have

to talk to him, anyway, about the whole World Lit thing. Maybe while I was doing that, I

could convince Lance to come clean with his friend. It had to be better for Will to find

out that way than the way Marco had planned on having him find out

 I wished I hadnt agreed to go sailing with Will and the rest of them the next day. I had

no desire whatsoever to watch Will and Jennifer holding hands, however sweetly they did

it, knowing that the whole thingwell, as far as Jennifer was concerned, anywaywas just

a scam.

 And I was fairly certain Marco was going to do something to upset everyoneor Will, at

.

leastbecause he hadnt managed to do so successfully tonight.

but part of me wanted to go sailing with Will. The part of me that wanted to do

 But

anything with Will, just to be around him. The part of me that was in love with him,

despite his having a girlfriend already. The part of me that, every time I saw a rose now,

started thinking about Will

 God, I had it bad.

 Sadly, that part of me seemed to be stronger than the rest of me, since, when I woke up

the next day, I knew without a doubt that I was going sailing with A. William Wagner and

Company.

 And not just so I could hang around with Will, either. I woke up feeling like it was my

duty to go. Becauseor so I told myselfthat way I could keep an eye on Marco myself.

He was definitely out to stir up trouble for his stepbrother.

 Only

why? Why would he want to hurt Will in that way? I couldnt imagine that Will

had done anything that hurtful to him. Was it just because of what had happened between

their fathers? Was Marco really that resentful of Wills dad marrying his mom? I could

sort of see why he would be, if the part about Admiral Wagner assigning Marcos dad to a

post where he was sure to be killed or whatever was true. But why take it out on Will? It

was Admiral Wagner he should be worried about punishing, if you ask me.

 Just as he said hed be, Will was waiting for me by the statue of Alex Haley that sits at

the end of what the locals call Ego Alley, the city dock at the end of Main Street in

downtown Annapolis. I could see as my parents and I pulled up why they call it Ego

there are all these yachts there. And to get them out to sea, you have to sail them

Alley

past all these outdoor cafés and bars where people sit along the water all day, watching

the boats. Its like a fashion show at the mall or something, only with boats.

 Alex Haley, who wrote the bookRoots , must have lived in Annapolis, because the whole

dock was devoted to him. There was a big statue of him, with these smaller statues of

kids lying around on the ground beneath him, like he was reading them a story. Will was

leaning against one of these kid statues, waiting for me.

 The minute I saw him, my heart did that somersaulting thing inside my chest. Thats

because, for a second, I thought he was there alone

just the two of us out on his boat. But then I saw Jennifers golden head bob up. She and

Lance and Marco were waiting in a rubber dinghy in the water just below the dock, the

dinghy that would take us out to Wills boat, anchored a short distance offshore. My

heart, instead of doing more gymnastics, fell.

 It fell more when my parents decided to actually get out of the car and go over and chat

.

that, by some miracle, it would be

with Will, whom I guess they considered their big friend now, since theyd let Will chow

down on all of our pad thai and wear my brothers bathing suit, and all.

 Hey, my dad said, leaning an elbow on Alex Haleys shoulder. Nice day for a sail.

 Yes, sir, Will said, straightening up and smiling at us. He had on a pair of Ray-Bans to

keep out the glare of the sun. The warm breeze tugged at his dark, curly hair and the open

collar of his blue shirt. To me, he said, Glad you could make it.

 But before I had a chance to reply, my mom started asking Will all these worried

questions, like how long hed been sailing, and whether or not he had enough life

preservers

mom would ask the guy you have a major crush on when hes invited you to go sailing

with him.

 Not.

 Wills answers must have satisfied my mom, since she finally grinned at me and said,

Well, have a nice time, Ellie. And my dad went, See you later, kiddo. Then the two of

them climbed back into the car and went to have brunch at Chick & Ruths Delly.

 I looked at Will and said, Sorry.

 No problem, Will said, with a grin. They care about you, is all. Its cute.

 Please just shoot me now, I begged him, and he laughed.

 Can we go? Jennifer called from the dinghy. Were losing prime tanning time.

 And God forbid the homecoming queen should be pasty, Marco said, causing Jennifer

to take a playful whack at him. Lance, holding the rudder, just sat there grinning at the

two of them, looking godlike in a throwback that showed off his grapefruit-sized biceps.

 Im with Jen, he saidan unfortunate choice of words to those of us in the know. Im

sick of these tourists staring at us.

 It was true that some people wearing T-shirts that screamedDON T HASSLE ME,I M

LOCALhad come up and were asking Will and me if we knew where the line to

theWoodwind , the tour boat that went around the bay, was. Will showed them where they

needed to go, then handed something to me that he took from the floor of the dinghy. It

was a life preservernot, thankfully, one of those big orange puffy ones that make the

people who wear them look like the Pillsbury Doughboy, but a slim and stylish navy blue

one.

 I was busy fastening it when a group of kids about our own age showed up by the Haley

statue and started piling into a small motorboat a few slips down from ours. They had one

that kind of thing. You know, the kinds of things you always wished your

of those big inner tubes with them, and as they swung it into the boat, it bumped into the

boat beside ita much fancier one than ours, with an older man and woman in it, just

getting ready to set out toward their yacht.

 Sorry, I heard one of the kids say, and he pulled the inner tube back into his own boat.

 Youre sorry? The older man looked disgusted. And angry. Im sorry. Sorry they ever

started letting people like you have the run of the place.

 I stopped fastening my life preserver and just stood there, totally shocked. Nobody ever

says things like that back in Minnesota.

 Hey, man, one of the other kids in the motorboat said. He didnt mean anything

 Why dont you people go back where you came from? the older man wanted to know,

while his wife looked on, tight-lipped, her knees pressed firmly together.

 Why dontyou go back where you came from?

 But this didnt come from any of the boys in the motorboat. It came, I was startled to

realize, from Will.

 The old man looked just as startled as I was. He flung Will a surprised look from beneath

his little captains hat, then said, in a disapproving voice, I beg your pardon, young man,

but I was born in this countryand so were my parents.

 Yeah, but weretheir parents? Will asked him. Because unless youre Native American,

I dont think you can go around telling other people to go back to their country.

 The wifes mouth dropped open at this. Then she elbowed her husband, and he furiously

started his outboard motor.

 This used to be anice place to live, the man said pointedly, as he chugged away.

 We watched as he and his wife made their way down Ego Alley

glances.

 Some people, Will said to me mildly, have more money than sense.

 I sighed. You can say that again.

 Then Will handed me down into the boat

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 Which wasnt easy, seeing as how there wasnt a whole lot of room in there. I sat down

and found myself squashed between Marco and Lance, while Jennifer found herself in the

uncomfortableor enviable, depending how you looked at itposition of being crammed

between Lance and Will.

 Not that it appeared to bother her.

 What was that all about? she wanted to know.

 Oh, that was just Will, Marco said, in a bored voice. Playing the White Knight again.

 Ready? Will asked, ignoring his stepbrothers jibe. This is your last chance if you

need something from shore. We wont be seeing land again for a while.

 When no one protested, Will started the motor, and the motorboat began putt-putting

toward the spot where Wills sailboat, thePride Winn , was anchored in the harbor.

 I knew right then that, in spite of that unpleasant scene in Ego Alley, Id made the right

decision in coming. Oh, not that it was such a pleasure to see Will and Jennifer sitting so

close together that their shoulders touched (with Lances shoulders brushing hers on her

other side). Or that it was so fun to watch Marco make rude gestures at the people sitting

in deck chairs outside the bars, watching us as we motored by (clearly no one had ever

talked to Marco about Image).

 It was just so nice to have the salt spray in my hair, and the cool bay breeze on my face.

It felt good to feel the water rushing beneath us, and see the ducks, with their little lines

of ducklings, hurrying out of the dinghys path.

 And then, when we finally got to Wills boat, seeing it sitting there, so long and

gleaming, all glossy white with wood trim and a tall, slender mast, made even the

unpleasantness back at the pier seem worth it.

 Theres lots you have to do on a sailboat, it turns out, before you can take it out to sea.

So we scrambled around doing what Will, and sometimes Lance, told us to do. At least,

Jennifer and I did. Marco seemed to do what he pleased, although a few of the things he

did appeared to have something to do with getting thePride Winn sea-ready.

 Mostly, though, he just grinned at me whenever Jennifer, scrambling over the deck,

would find Lance in her way, and have to say, Excuse me, in a polite voice that I highly

doubted she used when it was just the two of them together.

 By the time wed finally set sail, I was pretty sick of Marcos secret smiles at me. Id

been hoping to have a moment for a word alone with Lance before we set saila chance

to tell him about Mr. Morton, and then casually slip in the fact that I was on to him and

but even worse, so was Marco. And ask him if he could do something about it.

Jennifer

Such as come clean to Will.

 But its not easy to find any privacy on even a fair-sized boat like thePride Winn , and

there was never a moment when I could speak to Lance without fear of someone

overhearing.

 And then when the sail suddenly billowed out and we were moving, gliding fast over the

water, not even feeling the hot sun because of the cool ocean breeze, it was hard to feel

worried about any of the stuff that had happened back on shore. Everyone seemed to feel

the exhilaration of it, even the ever-sardonic Marco, who caught my eye and said, with a

grin, This is the life, eh?

 Really, I said, meaning it, and thinking maybe Id been wrong about him. Maybe he

wasnt so bad after all. Youre so lucky.

 Lucky? He looked at me curiously. Why?

 Well, because youve got a boat, I said. All weve got is a station wagon.

 He gave me a smile that actually looked sincere and said, Im not the lucky one. Will is.