Avalon High - Мэг Кэбот 8 стр.

Its his boat. Until my mom married his dad

lets put it that way.

 And then the moment of warmth between us fizzled like sea spray when Marco suddenly

shot Will a look I could only describe as

 But then Will, who hadnt noticed the look, asked, What do you think, Elle? We gonna

make a sailor out of you?

 And I forgot all about what Marco had said, because Will looked so handsome standing

there at the wheel, with the wind pushing back his hair, calling me Elle.

 Absolutely, I said, meaning it. I was going to have to talk my parents into buying a

boat. It would be hard, since they knew as much about the sea as they did about

swimming pools. But this was really too good not to do on a regular basis. It even beat

floating by a significant percentage. Because you cant have a picnic lunch while youre

floating. Well, you can, but its messy.

 Marcos mom had packed all sorts of delicious stuff in this hamper, including crab rolls

and a homemade potato salad that was even better than Red Hot and Blues. Theres

something about being surrounded by blue water that makes you ravenous. As we ate,

everybody talked about the party the night before and who had hooked up with whom (I

noticed Jennifer talked about this the mostmaybe in an attempt to ward off any

Well, we didnt even have a station wagon,

well, not nice. No, not a nice look at all.

discussion about where she had disappeared to for the majority of the party?) and who

had been wearing what.

 I made a mental note to tell Liz that this is what the In Crowdthe female members,

anywaydoes after parties

 It was only as lunch was winding down that I got a chance to ask Will something that

had been bothering me. And that was what was up with the name of his boat.

 Marco, hearing the question, laughed out loud.

 Yeah, man, he said to Will. Tell her whatPride Winn means.

 Will shot Marco a mock dirty look, then said, looking embarrassed, It doesnt mean

anything, actually. Its just a name that popped into my head when my dad and I first

started talking about buying a boat. And it sort of stuck.

 Sounds like a grocery store, Lance said, his mouth full of crab roll.

 Jennifer kicked him playfully in the foot. Thats Winn-Dixie, she said.

 Still a lame name for a boat, Lance said.

 It wasnt until the conversation eventually drifted from fellow students at Avalon High to

teachers that I remembered Mr. Morton, and, abandoning all hopes for a private word

about itand other thingswith Lance, I said, Oh, Lance, I almost forgot. Mr. Morton

stopped me at the game and says he wants to see us in his classroom first thing tomorrow

morning.

 Lance looked up from the bag of barbecue chips he was polishing off.

 Are you serious? he asked, with a pained expression on his face. What for?

 Um, I said, suddenly aware that everyone was listening to us, and feeling embarrassed.

I think something to do with our research paper proposal.

 Didnt you hand it in? Lance asked, looking dismayed.

 Of course I did, I said. Its just that

somehow that you didnt have any part in writing it.

 Because it wasnt riddled with grammatical errors and run-on sentences like everything

else Lance hands in? Will teased.

 You know Im not good with that stuff, Lance said, with a groan. Aw, man. That

blows.

talk bad about everyone who showed up behind their backs.

I dont know. He seemed to be able to tell

 Sorry, I said. Hes all hot to trot on the whole working-with-your-partner thing.

 I wonder why, Marco said, in a tone that suggested he, for whatever reason, knew

perfectly well why.

 But when I looked his way to ask what he meantnot that I was so sure I wanted to

knowI saw that Marco wasnt even paying attention anymore. Instead he was gazing out

across the water at an ancient and very small motorboat that came chugging slowly by.

After a second or two, I recognized it. It was one belonging to the same bunch of guys

wed seen down at the dockthe ones with the inner tube. The boat was so crowded that a

couple of the pudgier guysand none of them were actually all that slenderwere sitting

so far over the back of the boat, their backs were getting wet from its wake.

 Oh, hey, Marco said, observing this delightedly. Check out the lardasses.

 No one laughed. In fact, Will said, sounding tired, as if it were something he had to say a

lot, Marco. Cut it out.

 But Marco ignored him.

 Watch this, he said.

 And he reached for the wheel that Will had let go of in order to eat his lunch.

 Marco, Will said, as Marco started to swing our boat around. Leave em alone.

 But Marco only laughed and set thePride Winn on what appearedto me, anywayto be a

collision course with the tiny boat.

 That craft does not appear to be seaworthy, Will, Marco said. I just want to make sure

they realize the error of their ways.

 But it looked to me like he was going to do a lot more than that

motorboats driver, realizing Marco had no intention of turning, suddenly jammed his

wheel to the right, causing the boat to lurch abruptly to one side

and causing one of the guys on the back of the boatthe chubbiest oneto fall

overboard.

 Did you see that? Marco cried, laughing. Oh my God, that was hilarious!

 Real funny, Marco, Will said, as we watched the kid flounder in the frothy white wake.

 Hey, Jennifer said. He doesnt have on a life preserver.

especially as the

.

 And then, as the other guys on the motorboat clustered around the side of the craft, trying

to pull the chubby kid back up, we saw his spiky crew-cut bob once

finally disappear altogether beneath the waves.

 Great, Will said angrily, pulling off his deck shoes. Thanks a lot, Marco.

 And then, before any of us could say anything, Will had dived from the side of thePride

Winn , his long, lean body vanishing as the dark water closed over it.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  This wasnt the clear, still water of my pool back home.

 This was deep, opaque seawater, choppy with waves. There were probably sharks down

there. And riptides. As Wills head disappeared beneath the dark surface, I sucked in my

breath, wondering if hed ever resurface.

 I wasnt the only one, apparently, with this concern. Lance, scanning the waves for some

sign of Will, growled at Marco, as menacingly as Cavalier had the night before.

 If anything happens to him, Lance snarled, youre a dead man.

 If anything happens to him, your lifell get a whole lot easier, Marco said evenly.

Wont it?

 I saw Lances face flush darkly, then noticed him exchange glances with Jennifer. On her

pretty face was an expression of naked fearbut was it fear for Will? Or fear for herself,

over what Marco had said?

 A second later, Wills dark head popped up from the waves. Then he began swimming,

with long, hard strokes, toward the spot where Crew-cut Kid had disappeared.

 Turn us around, Jennifer commanded Marco, in a sharp voice I couldnt help but

admire. She, at least, wasnt taking any guff from this guy.

 Fine, Marco said, his jaw tightening, twisting thePride Winn s wheel. Then, noticing

that I was staring at him, he grinned. I dont get what the big deal is. Theyre just a

bunch of tourists.

 Then, when I just glared at him, he said, Joke! Im joking. God, nobody around here

then twice

can take a joke. Remember that, new girl.

 Maybe its justyour jokes, I said. They arent really very funny.

 The motorboats driver had cut his engines, and now he, as well as most of his

passengers, were clinging to the side of the craft, scanning the water for some sign of the

missing boy. Will, reaching the spot where Crew-cut Kid had gone under, disappeared

once more beneath the waves.

 Where are they? Jennifer, standing beside me, reached out and took my arm and

squeezed, staring tensely at the water. Whereis he?

 And I felt a surge of guilt for every mean thought Id ever had about her. Because her

anxiety was real. No one is that good of an actress. Yeah, she was in love with Lance. But

I got the feeling that a part of hera big partstill loved Will as well

always love Will, no matter what ended up happening between them

or what ended up happening now.

 Id been looking at Jenniferat her pretty face transfixed with anxiety, her blue-eyed gaze

scanning the water. Suddenly, I saw her expression change. She smiled and flushed with

relief.

 I glanced back at the water to see that Will was towing Crew-cut Kidsputtering

seawaterback toward the motorboat.

 Thank God, Jennifer said, and seemed to sag against me. Lance had gone visibly pale

beneath his dark tan. Marco, for his part, yawned and went to open a new can of Coke for

himself.

 We sat in tense silence until Will returned. At least, Jennifer and I did. Lance kept up a

running commentary on what was going on over on the other boat: Okay, they got the

kid back on board. Hes heaving up a lot of saltwater, but hell probably be fine. Looks

like Wills gonna swim on back. Okay, here he comes

 Marco just ate another crab roll and fiddled around with the radio, trying to find a station

that wasnt playing oldies. When Jennifer looked at him in annoyance, he went, What?

all innocently, like he couldnt imagine what was wrong with her.

 When Will finally got back to thePride Winn , his face was tensely drawn.

 Theyre not going to call the harbor police, Will said, after Lance had helped him back

onto the deck.

 Marco made a derisive sound. Why should they? he wanted to know. Then the cops

would know they were flagrantly flaunting shipboard safety regulations, cramming that

and would probably

.

.

many people onto such a small boat. Besides, it was that stupid kids own fault. He

shouldnt have been sitting so

 That stupid kid nearly drowned, Will interrupted, his blue eyes crackling. Come on,

Marco. What were you thinking?

 Gee, I dont know. Marco lifted a single brow. Maybe I just couldnt take the tension

anymore.

 What tension? Will asked exasperatedly.

 The sexual tension, Marco replied.

 And I saw his dark-eyed gaze flick toward Jennifer, who stood near the bow. She had

been getting a towel for Will, but now she froze, the towel limp in her hands, watching

Marco warily.

 Oh, dont tell me you havent felt it, Marco said, glancing from Will to me to Lance

and then to Jennifer, and then back again. My God, it was making me nuts!

 I think, I said loudly, certain I knew what was coming next, and wanting to avoid it at

all costs, that we should go back now. Dont you, Jennifer?

 Jennifer hadnt taken her eyes off Marco. It was like she was watching

wondering if it was the nice kind, like the one Id fished from the pool, or the deadly kind

that was going to send her into a coma.

 Yeah, she said, at last. I agree with Ellie. I think we should go.

 Lance started to say something, but happened to glance at Jennifer. She must have sent

him a warning lookalthough I didnt see itbecause he fell silent. Will, whod crossed to

take the towel from Jennifer and now stood with it around his neck, said, sublimely

ignorant of what wasreally going on, The girls want to go, well go. Lance, lets take

down the sail. I think we should power back

 Oh, right, Marco burst out, as Lance began untying the knots that held the sail in place.

Better take down the sail, Lance. Better not think for yourself, Lance.

 Lance suggested that Marco do something Im not entirely sure was anatomically

possible.

 Will glared at Marco with dangerously narrowed eyes.

 What is yourproblem ? he asked his stepbrother, in the same voice Id heard him use

with the jock, that day outside Mr. Mortons classroom. It was so cold, it seemed to come

from the very depths Will had just snatched that kid out of. It scared me a little.

well, a snake,

 Whatsmy problem? Marco let out a bitter laugh. Why dont you ask Lance whathis

problem is?

 Because I donthave a problem, Campbell, Lance said. Except for the one Ive got

with you.

 But Marco just laughed some more at that.

 Oh, right, he said. I forgot. You like being Wills lapdog, doing everything he tells

you to.

 Lance was beginning to flush. I dont

 Oh yes, you do, man, Marco said. His voice dropped into a somewhat uncanny

imitation of Wills: Take the sail down, Lance. Tackle that lineman, Lance. Gotta protect

the QB, Lance. Then, in his own voice, he said, God, its no wonder you couldnt take it

anymore. I dont blame you, man. I really dont.

 My heart starting to pound, I looked at Lance, silently begging him not to respond

 But it was too late.

 I dont know what youre talking about, Lance began, the muscles in his neck bunching

menacingly. But

 Just ignore him, Lance, Jennifer said quickly. Hes just trying to cause trouble.

 Imcausing trouble? Marco flung a disbelieving look in Jennifers direction. You

thinkIm the one causing trouble? What about you? he demanded. Why dont you ask

your precious friend Lance here where he was during most of your party last night, Will?

Huh? Go ahead. Ask him.

 Jennifer blanched, while Lances flush, on the other hand, increased. But he managed to

choke out, You dont know what youre talking about, Campbell.

 Really, Marco, Jennifer said, her voice sounding uncomfortably shrill. Just because

you dont have any friends of your own

 Yeah, well, then Im a lot better off than old Will here, arent I? Marcos smile was

snide. I mean, with friends like you guys, who needs

 Marco, I said, taking a step toward him, my heart in my throat. Dont.

 You really do have it bad, dont you, Lily Maid? Marcos gaze on me was almost

pitying. But you still dont seem to realize youve fallen for the wrong one

. Then he

raised his eyebrows. Or is Lance the one youre trying to protect, and not Will?

 Lance went for him then. I doubt he even knew what Marco was talking about. But to

Lance, it clearly didnt matter. The QB was under attack, and it was Lances job to protect

himeven if, as in this case, the fault was all his own. Lance lungedall two hundred

pounds of hard muscled guard, aimed at Marcos gut.

 Who knows what would have happened if the two of them had connected? Surely at the

velocity Lance was moving, theyd have both plunged over the side of the deck and into

the cold water of the bay.

 But they didnt connect. Because at the last possible moment, Will reached out to seize

Lance, pinning both his arms behind his back.

 Meanwhile, a slim, tanned shadow slipped in front of Marco, crying, Stop it! All of

you! Just stop it! Jennifers voice broke off with a sob.

 Campbell started it. Lance hurled the words at the world in general, breathing hard as

Will struggled to hold him back.

 Oh, I think we all know who started it, Marco said insinuatingly.

 Have you both gone insane? Will wanted to know.

 Dont listen to him, Will, Jennifer cried urgently. Everything he says is a lie, and

always has been.

 Oh, thats rich coming from you, Jen, Marco sneered. Why dont you just tell him

where you were last night when he looked all over the house but couldnt find you? Why

dont you tell him?

 Will had let go of Lance now. Not because Lance had stopped struggling to be set free.

But because it was like suddenly Will forgot to hold on.

 Whats he talking about? Will asked, looking from Jennifer to Lance with a stunned

expression on his face. Then, when neither of them replied right away, he said, Wait.

Why do you guys look so

 Because theyre in love, Marco said, with obvious relish. Theyve been seeing each

other behind your back for months now, while you just

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

 Marco never got to finish his sentence. Because Lance, without Will to hold him back,

flung himself at Marco with all his might. The two of them crashed to the deck of

thePride Winn with enough force to cause the boat to lurch. I had to grab on to some

rigging to keep from falling overboard at the impact of their bodies.

 By the time I righted myself, Lance had managed to subdue Marco. All it took,

apparently, was a single blow to the face. Marco lay in a ball, moaning.

 I cant say I felt too sorry for him.

 But Will. Will, on the other hand, my heart went out to at once. Because he had fallen

back onto one of the boats padded benches as if his legs had simply given out beneath

him, his face as white as the sail snapping above us, despite his tan.

 Its not true, Jennifer was saying to him. She had hold of both his shoulders, and was

crying. Really crying. And not prettily, either, the way the cheerleaders at my old school

had cried after losing a game or whatever. There was actual snot involved.

 Hes lying, Jennifer was saying, in an impassioned voice. We would never do that to

you. Would we, Lance?

 When Lance didnt answer right away, Jennifer flung a nervous glance at him.

 Would we, Lance? she repeated. Lance?

 But Lance still didnt answer. Thats because he was standing in the middle of the boat

deck, his fists at his side, staring at a point just between Wills feet. As I stood there

watching, Lance slowly lifted his head, as if he were straining beneath a great weight,

until, finally, his gaze met Wills.

 And then Lance said the words that were to change everything forever after:

 Its true.

 One of Jennifers hands flew to her mouth. She swung her stricken gaze from Lance to

Willboth of whom were completely immobileand then back again.

 No one spoke. No one breathed. The ocean breeze snapped at the sail above our heads,

but that was the only sound on thePride Winn

Marco had been playing with earlier.

 Finally Jennifer took her hand away from her mouth and said in a voice I will never

forget, it was so filled with genuine sorrow and remorse: Will. Will. Im so sorry.

except for the tinny noise from the radio

 Will didnt even look her way. He was still staring at Lance.

 We couldnt help it, Lance said, with a shrug of his heavy bare shoulders. We tried not

to. Honest, Will.

 Jennifer, tears running freely down her face, said, We did. Really. We were going to tell

you. But with everythingwell, with your dad, and

right time

 Is there ever a right time? Marco inquired nasally from where he lay with his hands

over his face. To tell a guy youre scamming on his girl, I mean?

 Shut up, Marco, I said.

 Marco took his hands from his face and looked at me with a lopsided smile. One side of

his mouth was rapidly swelling.

 But I had no interest in whatever he was about to say. I had eyes only for the scene

unfolding in front of me.

 Will. Lance still stood where he was, his gaze never having strayed from his friends

face. Say something, man. Anything. Or hit me. I dont care. I deserve it. Just

something.

 Will was the one who lowered his gaze first. He looked down at his bare feet. He hadnt

yet had a chance to put on the shoes hed shed to dive overboard and save the Crew-cut

Kids life.

 When he spoke, his voice was devoid of any emotion at all. It was still as cold as the sea.

 Lets go back, he said.

 And he got up to start undoing the main sail.

 The ride home was terrible. Terrible and silent. Well, except for Marco, who complained

bitterly about his split lip, until I fished out one of the cooler packs and handed it to him,

just to shut him up.

 Theres as much to do, it turns out, when youre coming back from a sailing trip as when

youre heading out on one. So we wrapped and tied and cleaned and put things away, all

in utter silenceexcept for when Will asked one of us to do something

course, who continued to whine about his lip and how everyone shoots the

messengeruntil finally, when thePride Winn was safely anchored in the harbor, Will

said, Lets head to shore.

Well, there just never seemed to be a

and Marco, of

 So we climbed into the motorboat and headed for shore. We were probably the soberest

group ever to head down Ego Alley. As the afternoon had worn on, more and more people

had gathered in the deck chairs belonging to the bars around the dock. I could feel the

tourists envious gazes on us as we motored by. They all sat there in their white slacks

and loafers, clutching beers and diet sodas, with no idea that in our boatthe one going by

them right at that very moment, the one they were so jealous ofthree hearts were

breaking.

 I wasnt counting my own heart, even though it seemed to hurt a little more every time I

looked at Wills drawn face. As Marco put it, when he turned to help me from the dinghy

once we reached shore, Dont look so stricken, Lily Maid. This doesnt have anything to

do with you and me.

 Which is exactly why, I said to him, you should have stayed out of it.

 Hey, you had your chance at Lancelot, he said. Its not my fault you blew it.

 How was I even supposed to reply to that?

 Behind us, Will was lashing the boat to a nearby mooring post. Jennifer reached out and

tried to touch his shoulder.

 Will, she said, in a voice thatin my opinion, anywaycould have melted the hardest

heart.

 But Will just turned away and started walking toward his car.

 He and Marco had apparently come in the same vehicle together, since the latter gave me

a courtly bow and said, It was a pleasure, Lady Elaine, before trailing after Wills

departing figure.

 Which left me alone with Jennifer and Lance, neither of whom seemed to be able to look

or at each other.

at me

 Um, I said. Since it seemed like someone needed to say something. Well. I better go.

So. Bye.

 They didnt even acknowledge me. I left them standing there together by the statue of

Alex Haley. I dont think Id be exaggerating, either, if I said it looked to me as if the

bottom had just fallen out of both their worlds.

 I called my parents from a pay phone on the corner and asked them to come pick me up.

They seemed surprised to hear from me so soon

and Id led them to believe Id be gone through dinner.

it was only a few hours since Id left,

 But when they asked me what had happened as I climbed into the car, I just shook my

head. I didnt want to talk about it. Icouldnt talk about it.

 They didnt press me

stairs from my bedroom and walked past them in my bikini, headed for my raft.

 To give them credit, they didnt say anything like, Not again, or I thought wed finally

moved on from the floating thing.

 Instead, Mom just went, Pizza for dinner okay, Ellie?

 And I nodded my assent.

 Then I went outside.

 The sun had disappeared beneath a towering column of gray clouds, but I didnt care. I

climbed onto my raft and lay there, staring up at the leaves above my head.

 I couldnt believe what Id just witnessed. I really couldnt.

 The thing is, stuff like that just doesnt happen to me. I mean, not that any of it had

anything to do with meMarco was right about that, anyway.

 But the fact that Idbeen there

believe.

 I knew why Marco had done it. And I couldnt say I blamed him, really.

 But to have done it like thatin front of Lance and Jennifer

hadnt really been necessary.

 But then, Marco probably felt that way about the death of his dad.

 I hoped Will was going to be all right. But really, what could I do to help him? Nothing, I

guess. Except be his friend. Except be there for him. Except

 go to the ravine, where I was sure hed have gone after what had happened, and ask him

if there was anything I could do.

 Yeah, that was it. I needed to go to the arboretum. Now. Right now

 But no sooner had this thought occurred to me than Id opened my eyes, and saw Will

sitting on top of Spider Rock, looking down at me.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

 I didnt scream this time. I cant even say I was all that surprised to see him. It seemed

almost natural, in a way I couldnt explain, that hed be there.

 Hed changed out of the wet clothes hed worn on the boat. Now he was in jeans and a

different T-shirt.

 But he was wearing the exact same expression hed had the last time Id seen him

expression completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever. I couldnt see his eyes, because

he still wore his sunglasses, even though the sun was hidden behind the clouds.

 But I suspected that even if I could have seen his eyes, theyd have been as unreadable as

the rest of his face. Even his voice, when he finally spoke, seeing that Id opened my eyes

at last, was totally neutral.

 Did you know? he asked me tonelessly.

 No Hi. No How are you, Elle?

 Not that I supposed I deserved one, since I had known and hadnt told him. Still. I wasnt

going to lie to him. Hed been lied to enough. So I said simply, Yes.

 No reaction. At least, not any that I could see.

 Thats why you were acting so weird last night? he asked me. At the party. Outside

the spare room. You knew they were in there?

 Yes, I said, though it felt as if the word had been wrenched from me.

 But what else could I say? It was the truth.

 I leaned up on my elbows, expecting recriminations

them. If nothing else, Will and I were friends, and friends dont let friends

know that their girlfriend is cheating on them with their best friend.

 But to my surprise, he didnt say any of the things I expected him to. There was no