Dark Days (The Childe Series, #2) (27 page)

Standing by her locker, Cat was showing everyone the signed copy of Robert Craven’s new novel. “‘To my number one Cravenite!’ That’s awesome, Cat!” Amanda whispered trying not to draw any attention to their group.

“I can’t believe you brought it to school, Cat, especially after our talk last night,” Julie reprimanded.

“Oh Julie, you and I both know I’m terrible at keeping secrets. Especially when it’s a secret like this,” Cat said.
Well, I guess that’s not completely true,
she thought to herself after she said it.

“Can I hold it?” Elle asked with her eyes full of envy. Cat placed the book into Elle’s outstretched hands and she began scanning it as if it were a bar of gold. “So, have you read any of it yet?”

“Of course not, we have a pact, don’t we?” she answered.

“That didn’t stop you before,” Matt interjected.

“Matt, that’s so unfair. It was only that once,” she replied.

“So what are you all plotting?” Mrs. Rosenbaum asked, standing behind Elle and looking over her shoulder. “Is that the new Robert Craven novel? How do you have it? It hasn’t come out yet,” she asked excitedly. Matt gulped as he stared at her slightly unbuttoned blouse. Amanda noticed what he was doing and stomped on his foot, making him yelp.

“Cat is Craven’s number one fan, so he sent her a signed copy,” Amanda said.

“Amanda!” Cat groaned at her as she grabbed the book from Elle and shoved it in her messenger bag. Amanda turned to her and shrugged, mouthing, “What?”

“Very interesting,” Mrs. Rosenbaum replied. “You must tell me how it is, Cat. I’m a huge fan. See you in class.” As Mrs. Rosenbaum walked away, Duffie and Leif approached the group.

“Hey guys!” Duffie called out as Leif waved to everyone, semi-hiding under his gray ski cap.

“Hey, Duffster,” Matt said, still distracted by Mrs. Rosenbaum’s exit. 

Leif’s eyes filled with panic as he looked down the hall. “Uh, I’ll, see you guys, later,” he muttered, and then took off the opposite direction he was looking. Moments later a parade of females blew past them, obviously hurrying after Leif.

“What’s that all about?” Cat asked, watching the girls scurrying after him.

“This kind of happens all the time,” Duffie explained while giggling. “Leif is, as we say, popular with the ladies.”

“Hey Matt, you could take some pointers from him,” Amanda joked, patting him on the back. He glared at her and then she smiled innocently, making the group laugh.

“So, you’re all coming to the grand opening of my dad’s store, right?” Duffie asked.

“Definitely, wouldn’t miss it,” Cat replied.

“Can we dress up?” Amanda asked with a gleam in her eye.

“Sure, why not? I’m sure there will be gobs of Craven fans there dressed up as well,” Duffie explained. Amanda smiled mischievously and everyone looked at her, wondering what she was planning.

“Can we bring a guest?” Elle inquired, causing everyone to stare at her in disbelief.

“I don’t see why not,” Duffie replied.

“A guest, other than us?” Matt asked with narrowed eyes.

“Well, yeah-” Elle began to reply.

“Who is it, Elle?” Amanda probed.

“Uh, um, well,” she answered sheepishly, dodging their stares.

Ryan came up from behind Cat, grabbed her around the waist, and squeezed her in a hug. “Oh brother, all right everyone, that’s our cue to leave the happy couple alone,” Amanda groaned. Cat rolled her eyes at Amanda. As everyone dispersed, Cat turned to Ryan.

“So how’s Mom?” Cat asked jokingly.

He smiled at her and replied, “Fine.”

“Got any plans for this Saturday? Want to come with us to the grand opening of Duffie’s dad’s store? It should be fun.”

“I’m busy Saturday night.”

“Oh really? Should I be jealous?” she asked with one eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, maybe. No, actually I’ve got a family thing, a meeting really,” he replied. Cat looked deep into Ryan’s eyes and knew something was up, but didn’t want to pry. She just said, “okay” and kissed him softly on the lips. Pulling away slightly she gave him a quick smile as the school bell rang and they headed down the hall hand in hand.

After swim practice, Cat made her way to Mr. Pierson’s classroom. He had asked her during seventh period if she could spare a couple of minutes to talk to him at the end of the day. She held back a giggle at the sight of him sitting in his chair, his hair sticking up from running his hands through it all day. He was so focused that he didn’t realize she was standing in front of his desk until she cleared her throat.

“Oh Catherine, sorry, have you been standing there long?” he asked, putting his pen in his pocket protector, and adjusting his glasses, which were slightly crooked on his face.
He’s so cute,
Cat thought,
in a geeky sort of way.

“No, just got here. What’s wrong? You look a little frazzled.”

“So much work. But that’s actually why I asked you to stop by. I need a teaching assistant, or TA as you youngsters call it.” 

Cat held back another giggle as he didn’t look much older than her. “So Amaya, I mean Miss Amaya, said you’d be perfect for the job.”  He looked pleadingly at her.

“She did, did she? Well, I’d be honored.” She watched as he slumped in his chair, relief written all over his adorable face.

“That would be wonderful. I’d only need a few hours of your time a week. I know you have swimming, and I’m here until all hours anyway. But you just show up when you can. I’ll be eternally grateful.”

“I’m available most days, except for the ones I have swim meets on. Do you need any help tonight? Practice went short, and my boyfriend Ryan is still in football practice. Tell me what you need me to do.” Cat watched in delight as a huge smile erupted on his face. Mr. Pierson dug into his bag and withdrew a huge stack of papers, plopping them down in front of her. Cat looked at the stack with wide eyes as she grabbed a chair and pulled it up to his desk.