Seventh Mark (Part 1 +2) (2 page)

“Well, maybe
I’ll see you around.” I stared at my runners. Brilliant, Rouge.
Brilliant
.

“Welcome to
Port Coquitlam, Rouge.” He started off without a glance back.

I stood
admiring his…could jeans really fit that perfect on a rear
end
?
I forced my eyes away. “He’s a guy, not a god.” My gaze
flicked back when a low, bouncy noise sounded.
Did he just
laugh?

His pace never
slowed nor did he turn around.

I started
slowly jogging home. My heart stuttered and flopped against my
chest. I didn’t know if it came from the near fright or the
closeness of the very hot boy.

Michael was on
my mind that night and again when I woke the next morning.
Where
did he live? Would he be at school?
He seemed so cool and
together. Usually I avoided guys in general, and if one did catch
my eye, dark-hair, brown eyes and brooding were the
prerequisite.

The next
evening, I jogged to the cemetery, grinning when I passed the
angel, and gave her a wink. Then I headed north, the way Michael
had gone when he left last night. What were the chances I’d
actually find his street, let alone his house? I stopped mid-street
and turned to walk home—stalker wasn’t one of my personality
traits.

Friday morning
I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to get out of Jim and Sally’s
house to escape and clear my thoughts. They’d been bickering non
stop about fixing the house, Sally’s job, Jim’s lack of a job and
anything else which seemed to pop into their heads.

Through the
grey clouds, the air hung heavy with a cool breeze hinting at an
end-of-summer storm. The sun kept trying to poke its way through
the dark.

As I headed out
the front door, I grabbed a baseball cap in case it rained and
walked towards the high school. Figuring out where a few of my
classes were would save wandering the halls next week.

The limestone
near the front entrance of the high school had 1922 imprinted on
it. The buildings were created with copper red brick throughout and
had large windows on both floors. The school might be small, but
its structure was unique. An architectural plaque, showing the
school’s layout, hung plastered into the brick. In the center lay a
courtyard, like that of an old castle.

The very posh
building and grounds reminded me of the kind of boarding schools in
movies or books. It made me nervous. I hadn’t fit into the big high
school back in Niagara Falls. What were the chances I’d fit in
here, a small school? I kicked a pebble on the sidewalk. It was
only one year, so it didn’t really matter what happened. I just
needed to keep up my grades to score some sort of scholarship.
Thank goodness school came easy – science, math, even English –
just don’t put me in choir or art, and I’d be fine.

Running up the
wide steps, I made my way inside the building. The school secretary
was busy printing off papers and stuffing them into envelopes. She
glanced up as the office door creaked. She wore a frilly dress that
matched her horn-rimmed glasses. She might have been here when the
school first opened. She smiled and walked towards the front
counter.

“You must be
Rouge Riding. Welcome to Port Q High. I’m Ms. Graid.”

“It’s Rouge,
like row with a ‘g’ sound at the end. Spelled R-O-U-G-E; like the
way the French spells red.” One day, I’d shake the crap out of the
person who named me
.
I smiled. “My last name’s actually
Rid-ding. Just spelled like your driving in a car.” Someone had a
good laugh writing my birth certificate. “I thought I should come
by before school started to make sure all my transcripts came
through.”

“Just printed
off your schedule.” She chirped like a bird. Those glasses gave her
owl eyes and didn’t flatter her round face. “You don’t have any
free time this semester, but from the looks of your grades, you
won’t have a problem.”

“Thanks.” I
took the papers she held out and glanced over the schedule.

Ms. Graid
handed me a map of the school, with my classes numbered and
highlighted. This woman had too much time on her hands. She’d
organized and color coordinated my class schedule with additional
highlighting and smiley faces. I made a mental note to memorize the
map before I got caught holding it when school started.

“Thanks again.”
I smiled. I was sure she meant well.

“Be sure and
check in any time. I’m always here to help.” She hummed some
ancient, classical-sounding tune as she returned to stuffing
envelopes.

I walked out of
the office and decided to follow her little map around the school
while it was empty. It didn’t take long to find my way around; the
setup of the small building was very basic. I loved the outdoor
courtyard in the center. Every surrounding classroom had a view of
it.

Stuffing the
map in my backpack, I headed down a flight of stairs to make my way
to the front entrance. As I passed the front office, a pretty,
petite girl walked out. I didn’t mean to but I couldn’t help
staring. She reminded me of someone. I couldn’t place who. She had
gorgeous blonde hair, long and in a million braids. Her eye color
made me think of Niagara Falls. They were bright on her bronzed
face.
This girl…definitely one of the popular ones.

“You new?” Her
gaze roamed me up and down.

I nodded. Her
voice had a tone of confidence mine would never have.

She linked her
arm through mine and steered me towards the exit. “I drove here.
’Bout time someone new showed up.” Her leg kicked out and she
tapped the handicap button by the front doors, letting the door
open automatically. “I’m Grace and we need something fun for
Saturday.”

“Fun?
Saturday?” I tried scratching my head. However, being tugged at an
almost sprinting speed, I only managed to tug my fingers through my
curly hair. I kind of liked her free spirit and crazy pushiness.
Who wouldn’t be curious if this girl was nuts or actually fun?

“I forgot. You
don’t know anything yet.” A cascade of laughter erupted from her.
“Sorry. The senior class has a party the weekend before school
starts. You’ll come, right?”

It wasn’t like
my plans were laid out for the weekend. I might get to see Michael
if he attended the high school. Except, in the few moments I spent
with him, he seemed older somehow. Grace was like one giant
fireball of energy. Someone who chattered, so I wouldn’t have to.
“Sure. Sounds nice.”

Her vice-grip
on my arm released when we came to the world’s tiniest car.

“It’s a smart
car. Awesome, isn’t it?” Grace patted the bonnet.

I pointed my
finger at a pair of pink fuzzy dice hanging off the mirror. “I
think they’re bigger than your car.”

Grinning, Grace
unlocked the doors. “My brother got those for me.” She rolled her
eyes but patted the dice affectionately. “Oh shoot, I didn’t even
ask.” She smacked her head. “Do you need to stop by your place
before we head to the mall?”

“Probably a
good idea.” A change of clothes seemed required. I felt
underdressed. I didn’t have loads of money, but it wouldn’t hurt to
check out the mall.

Grace zoomed
out of the school lot and headed in the direction I pointed. She
swung the little car on my street and then slammed on the brakes
right in front of the house. Freaky, as I’d only pointed and never
said the house number.

She jumped out
of the car faster than I could get my seat belt off. I stepped out
and pulled at my shirt, not in a rush to go inside. Grace just
seemed a lot classier than my dilapidated house.

“I, uh, live
here with my foster folks…”

“No way! My
brother and I are adopted. I totally know the feeling.” She smiled.
The sympathy in her eyes too much for me.

“Maybe similar,
but trust me, it’s completely different.” I pulled out my house
key. “I get the feeling your folks are pretty well off. Jim and
Sally are, well…they just are…They work hard, but…” Not knowing
what else to say, I turned and headed towards the front porch. The
neighborhood and house spoke better than I could.

Grace followed
on my heels, but I didn’t miss the funny look on her face. When I
opened the front door, she pinched her nose. Her face screwed up
tight.

“Sorry. It’s
bleach. We’ve been cleaning and painting.”

She coughed,
politely covering her mouth and dropping all expression from her
face. “It’s fine. It just caught me by surprise.” She glanced
around. “The place is, uh, cute.”

Jim lay on the
couch watching TV in dirty jogging pants and a paint-stained shirt,
one of those ugly wife-beater tank tops. He lowered the volume with
the remote and waved before looking over. Then his thumb hit the
wrong button and channels started flickering past when he noticed
Grace. Obviously at a loss for words, Jim sat up, his mouth hanging
open. In the past three years, I’d never brought anyone home, and
Grace was probably the prettiest thing he’d ever come in contact
with.

“My room’s
upstairs,” I mumbled.

“Hu-llo there.”
A weird smile crossed his face as he stared at her.

Is he
actually trying to flirt with her? Gag!
Any minute he’d be
salivating like a dog – all I needed was a bell.

I grabbed her
wrist and pulled her towards my room. Her eyes were wide and bright
blue. She didn’t say anything, but as soon as we got into my room,
she went straight to my open window and took a few deep
breaths.

“Sorry ’bout
that.” My cheeks refused to stop burning. I grabbed my black
miniskirt and threw a turquoise shirt over my white tank top.
Pulling my pony holder out, I shook my tangles out, ran a finger
through my hair and then clipped a small barrette to hold most of
my bangs away from my face. Far from stunning, but at least it
looked decent.

Thank goodness
Jim was absent from the living room when we left. Hopefully to
shower and change.

Two steps
outside, I started laughing.

Grace stared at
me, one eyebrow raised. “Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting…I don’t
know what I expected.”

“Not taken
personally.” I grinned. “He’s never acted like
that
before.
He’s harmless, honest.” At least she hadn’t taken off running. If
she could handle that, she was definitely friend-worthy.

Both giggling,
we got into her car. “How did you end up with them?”

“I didn’t have
much of a choice.” I shrugged. “The system kept me stuck inside it.
I got bounced around a lot back in Niagara Falls, and when I landed
with Jim and Sally…I’ve been with them through most of high school
and when Sally got the job transfer, she an’ Jim asked if I wanted
to come with them. I said yes. I have to stay until I graduate.” I
tried not to let my frustration and disappointment leak into my
words. “I never got adopted. It supposedly took the system forever
to try and locate either of my parents, which they never did, and
by the time they stopped searching, I wasn’t the newbie baby
parents wanted to adopt.” I absently stared out the window as we
drove.
Why did I just tell Grace my sob story?
It’d never
been a self-pity point for me and I turned eighteen in January, so
it wouldn’t matter much longer.

“Screw
shopping. Do you want to come over to my place and watch a movie
instead?” She swung the little car around, doing a one eighty. “We
can dig through my closet and find something for each of us.”

We passed End
of an Era cemetery. I held my breath, something I’d always done as
a kid whenever I drove by one. Michael crossed my mind. I quickly
pushed him out. “Sounds good.” My breathing resumed as the car
travelled by houses and left the cemetery behind.

The road became
more hilly, the houses sparse. Grace made a sharp turn, the little
wheels squealing in protest. The long driveway lay between luscious
green grass and red maple trees with the biggest leaves I’d ever
seen.

House wasn’t
the right word to describe where she lived. Church or castle seemed
more fitting. Built out of limestone with beautiful architectural
detail, there were unique carvings in the bricks.
Gorgeous.
It took my breath away.

Grace mumbled
something I didn’t hear. She parked her car between a dark blue
Mustang and a black Mondeo.

A sudden wave
of nervousness flushed through my veins. Some weird urge to jump
out of the car and run nagged at my insides. Chewing my pinkie
fingernail, I tried to squash the jitters. Why in the world did it
feel like I wasn’t supposed to be here?

“Are you
coming?” Grace held my door open as she peered in the little car.
Her forehead creased then quickly disappeared when she smiled.
“Caleb’s a bit dramatic.” She laughed at some private joke as I
stepped out.

I frowned.
“Caleb?”

“Yeah…
Yeah,
my adoptive father.” She gave her head a slight
shake, her hair sparkling in the porch light’s reflection against
the now growing darkness outside. The sun must have given up trying
to get through the clouds, and called it an early night. “There’s a
royal air
about him. It’s hard to explain. You’ll see when
you meet him.”

“Air?”

“Bad joke.” She
giggled. “I meant h-e-i-r, like he pretends to be a king.” She
rolled her eyes. “He designed the house.”

I didn’t get
the joke, but I’d never been great with parents or any adults.
Probably why part of me wanted to stay outside. Another part begged
to step inside and find the peace this place had to offer.

The front steps
led to large wooden doors with multi-colored stained glass insets.
Grace pushed one open and ushered me in. “My room’s upstairs. Let’s
check out what I’ve got to wear for Saturday.” She kicked off her
ballet flats and started up the stairs, turning to wait for me.