Blue Moon (Book One in The Blue Crystal Trilogy) (4 page)

“No, we’re fine, aren’t we
Tash?” I spoke to Tash’s back.

She turned and said in a flat
voice, “Yeah, absolutely fine.” We carried on walking down the
hill, the conversation stilted and awkward, despite Seth’s best
endeavours to keep things going.

The next day proved no
different. Tash and I seemed to have little to say to one another
and I found myself looking forward to seeing Violet with undue
interest. As the bus approached her stop, I looked in vain for her
golden hair, but she wasn’t there and I felt disappointed.

Our first class was once again
English Literature with Miss Widdicombe, but the desk next to mine
remained empty and I began to wonder if I had imagined meeting her
the day before. Then, at break time, as I walked into the locker
area, I saw her mass of blond hair. She was standing talking to a
striking blond-haired boy, who had to be Theo, I reasoned, and for
a few seconds, I stood watching them closely.

No doubt about it, Theo was
absolutely gorgeous. Just like his sister, he too could be a model.
He was tall and well proportioned, wearing faded jeans and a white
T-shirt, and exuded a grace and style that came straight from the
pages of a fashion magazine. Even his hands, I noticed, were
elegant and expressive, giving him a sophistication way beyond his
years. I hovered uncertainly, unsure whether to approach them. They
seemed to be deep in conversation and while I didn’t want to
interrupt them, I was conscious that break time would soon be over
and I might not get another opportunity to meet him on my own. If I
left it until lunchtime, he’d probably be surrounded by adoring
girls and wouldn’t notice me. At least now I would have his
undivided attention. So, heart beating loudly and with a sudden
rush of excitement, I walked over to them.

“Hello Violet,” I said,
excitedly, “I wondered where you were.”

Too late, I became aware they
were in the middle of an argument. They both stopped talking
abruptly and you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. Violet
turned and looked at me with a look so cold it took my breath
away.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, backing
away and feeling confused. Then the coldness disappeared and she
gave me a dazzling smile.

“Emily,” she said, in her
crystal clear voice. “How nice to see you, I was just telling Theo
that there was one girl he simply had to meet.”

“Were you?” I said, going red
with embarrassment. “Er, who’s that?”

“You, of course,” cried Violet,
laughing at my awkwardness. “Theo, this is Emily. Emily, meet
Theo.”

The blond haired boy opposite
Violet smiled at me.

“Very pleased to meet you,
Emily,” he said, in a voice similar to Violet’s in its clearness
and clarity, but with a depth and resonance that sounded like pure
music. “Violet’s been telling me all about you.”

He went to shake my hand.

I looked into the face of the
most beautiful boy I had ever seen and was instantly captivated by
the tousled blond hair, the ivory skin, the even white teeth and
the perfect features. Gazing into his eyes, I was lost in their
intensity. It was like looking into the bluest sky and carrying on
to infinity. I felt mesmerised, hypnotised and transfixed all at
once.

Time slowed to a standstill and
became a series of freeze frames, enabling me to recall every facet
of our meeting in detail. I remember the hustle and bustle of the
locker area as students hurriedly got out their books ready for the
next lesson, and someone nearby laughing abruptly, their voice
sounding muffled and faint, as if they were far away. I remember
feeling mild panic in case my handshake was too sweaty, as my
nerves kicked in big time and adrenalin flooded my system, and then
feeling relieved that my hand was actually quite dry. But more than
anything else, I remember his hand touching mine and feeling the
soft warmth of his skin, the firmness of his grip and the slight
pressure from his nails as they touched the palm of my hand. It was
one of those perfect moments and such was its intensity I felt I’d
lived my whole life just to come to this point.

No sooner had our hands joined
and I was experiencing the most wonderful sensation of well-being,
than I felt what I can only describe as a bolt of electricity shoot
from the centre of his palm into mine, white-hot and burning,
searing my skin with a scalding pain. I cried out immediately,
registering the sensation and shock with disbelief, and then, as my
reflexes took over, jerked my hand upwards out of his reach,
forcing us apart. For a split second he stared at me, seemingly as
shocked as I was, unable to speak and trying to comprehend what had
just passed between us.

I looked down at my hand,
expecting to see some kind of mark, a burn maybe, some evidence of
the scorching pain I’d just felt, but there was nothing. No wound,
no redness, no indication that anything out of the ordinary had
just occurred.

“Sorry….” I gasped, feeling
stupid and embarrassed, rubbing my palm with the index finger of my
other hand.

Recovering quickly, he laughed
awkwardly and said, unconvincingly, “Static electricity – that’s
what comes of wearing the wrong shoes on a nylon carpet. That was
quite something, wasn’t it?”

“It certainly was,” I murmured
faintly, glancing up at him again and feeling a little weak as I
looked into his perfect face.

While his words offered a
seemingly rational explanation, his eyes told a different story.
There, I saw pure panic swirling amidst the deep, hypnotic blue,
and he seemed to struggle to control himself. With a huge effort he
broke his gaze and looked down at his watch, saying, almost too
quickly, “Hey, look at the time. I must fly. I have a tutorial.
Don’t want to be late on my first day.”

He darted away and reached the
double doors at the end of the corridor in less than two seconds. I
watched him go, wondering what on earth had just happened between
us, willing him to turn round and look at me one last time. Just as
he went through the doorway, he turned and our eyes locked once
more. For a split second, we stared at each other, both unsure what
had just happened. Then, he was gone, the double doors swinging
violently against an empty space, and I turned back to find Violet
staring at me, but with quite a different look. This was one of
suspicion and mistrust and, if I wasn’t mistaken, fear.

I smiled at her weakly but she
was clearly shaken by what she’d just witnessed and, making some
excuse about needing to go to the school office, she picked up her
bag and jacket and abruptly left the locker area. There was no
doubt in my mind she was going after her brother.

For some minutes after she’d
gone, I stood going over in my mind what had just happened, trying
to rationalise it and failing totally. If I’d thought Violet had a
powerful effect on me, it paled into insignificance compared to the
connection I’d felt with her brother. This was like nothing I’d
ever encountered before. It was all-consuming, all-powerful and
quite simply beyond my sphere of experience. Some deep inner
instinct warned me it might also be dangerous, but this simply
added to his attraction and, if I’m honest, gave me the greatest
thrill of all.

Hearing the bell, I reluctantly
went to my next lesson and tried to concentrate as best I could on
double History. But I may just as well have been trying to get my
head around time travel as the dissolution of the monasteries, my
mind felt so unsettled.

At lunchtime, there was no sign
of Violet or Theo and so I sat in the café with Tash and Seth.

“We’re honoured,” said Tash
sarcastically. “Where’s Blondie?”

“I don’t know,” I muttered.
“Look Tash, what’s the matter? Are you jealous of Violet, is that
it?”

“What’s there to be jealous
of?” quipped Seth, “Perfect skin, gorgeous hair, looks like a
fashion model. Can’t see why Tash would be jealous of that…”

“It’s not the way she looks,”
said Tash slowly, “it’s something else… I can’t put my finger on
it. She’s too perfect, somehow. There’s just something that’s not
quite right about her. And look at the way she zoomed in on you. It
was almost as if she chose you out of the rest of us.” She faltered
and started playing with her silver bracelet. “Look, I don’t know
why I’m saying this, but don’t get taken in by all her golden
charm. Just be careful, that’s all. What d’you know about her and
her brother? Have you checked them out on Facebook, or googled
them?”

“No, of course not. I’ve only
just met them. Why should I?” I asked indignantly.

“Good thinking, Tash,” said
Seth, taking out his laptop. “Let’s see what we can find out.” He
quickly opened his Facebook page and typed in Violet De Lucis. He
pressed the search button.

“Nothing,” he said. “Okay,
let’s try her brother.” Again, there was nothing.

“So, they’re not on Facebook,”
I said. “A lot of people aren’t. And they have just come from
Egypt, maybe it was safer not to be on Facebook.”

“What about Twitter or
Instagram or MSN?” suggested Tash.

Seth tried them all, every
social networking site we could think of, but every time he drew a
blank. There was nothing.

“Okay,” said Seth, “let’s try
googling de Lucis. See what comes up about the family.”

I kept quiet, feeling
protective of Violet and her brother, but not sure why.

Once again, his search brought
up nothing. There wasn’t even a mention of the family.

“Try Hartswell Hall,” suggested
Tash.

This proved slightly more
successful and a holding page appeared on the screen informing us
that Hartswell Hall was undergoing a massive restoration programme
and would be opening for business as an international conference
venue mid-May. It said nothing about the new owners of Hartswell
Hall.

“All very strange,” said Seth.
“You’d think there’d be something about the family, particularly
the parents. After all, they are supposed to be international
business people. I would have thought Google would throw up
something. It’s like they didn’t exist before they came here.”

“Maybe they’re just very
private people,” I said, defensively. “Honestly, I think you’re
making a mystery where there is none.”

“Seems to me you’re being very
defensive, Emily,” said Tash. “I still think there’s more to Violet
than meets the eye. I don’t like her and I don’t trust her. Anyway,
I have to go. I have some library books to take back.”

She got up quickly, throwing
her bag over her shoulder and leaving her lunch tray behind.
Without looking back, she walked quickly out of the café.

“What was all that about?” I
said, looking after her.

“If you ask me,” said Seth,
“it’s a question of two’s company, three’s a crowd, and she’s
feeling a bit crowded out. How about I take Violet off your hands,
Emily, and you can make up with Tash?”

“Thanks, Seth,” I grinned at
him, “but what makes you think a girl like Violet would be
interested in someone like you?”

“Hey, there’s more to me than
meets the eye as well, you know,” he cried. “I have hidden depths,
too.”

“Yeah, depths of depravity,
more like, and you’d certainly be out of your depth with a girl
like Violet,” I informed him. “She has high standards. Don’t even
go there.”

For some reason, the thought of
Seth asking out Violet was not an idea I liked. He’d always been
there for me, as a friend, and so far there’d never been a serious
girlfriend to come between us. I didn’t like the thought of that
one bit. Besides, Violet was my friend and I didn’t feel inclined
to share her with anyone.

“I gotta go, too,” said Seth,
closing his laptop and putting it into his backpack. He stood up.
“I’ve got rugby practice, and the way things are looking, I am
going to get picked for the team this weekend. You watch, the
girls’ll be crowding round me.”

“In your dreams,” I called
after him, as he left the table and slouched his way out of the
canteen.

After he’d gone, I sat and
thought how things had suddenly changed in the last couple of days.
Tash was not happy about my friendship with Violet, whom she
clearly saw as a threat, and I was more than a bit put out at the
thought of Seth getting friendly with Violet. And what had Tash
meant about Violet being too perfect and selecting me? I remembered
back to the moment she’d first come into the classroom and how she
stood at the front, looking at us all, as if searching for the
right person. But surely it was just coincidence she’d sat in the
empty desk next to mine? Oddly enough, I couldn’t remember that
desk ever being empty before, but as hard as I tried, I couldn’t
recall who usually sat there. And what did Tash mean by telling me
to be careful? Surely she was just jealous that Violet was so
attractive and had chosen to make friends with me?

That was the thing when you
were beautiful – you chose your friends, not the other way round.
But why was there no mention of the family on Google? Surely there
should have been something? Tash’s words had unnerved me, and she
didn’t even know I’d met Theo yet. Now, that had been strange and I
really didn’t know how I was going to tell her what had happened.
If she thought I needed to be careful of Violet, what would she
think about Theo?

That got me thinking about
Theo. Beautiful, charismatic, handsome Theo. It took my breath away
just remembering the look he’d given me, let alone the electric
handshake. I’d never seen such blue eyes. They were the kind of
eyes you’d look into and simply melt, the blue of a scorching
summer’s day, smouldering, sensual and hypnotic. And what about
that handshake? I didn’t buy his excuse of static electricity. I’d
had static shocks before and they were nowhere near as intense as
that. This was something more, there was some kind of connection
between us and it had obviously surprised him as much as me,
because after it had happened, he couldn’t wait to get away from
me. And then there was the look that Violet had given me. What was
that all about? Was she jealous? Had she seen what had happened
between us?