Don't Die Dragonfly (3 page)

But he wasn’t leaving. He was smiling—in a way that made me feel warm inside.

“I’ve seen you around,” he said. “In English.”

I stared up into his dark brown eyes and nodded.

“Sabrina?”

“Sabine.”

“And I’m Josh.”

“I know.”

His grin widened into dimples. “Guess I owe you a big thanks. If you didn’t have such great hearing, I could have been, like, dead.”

“Nah. Only a broken leg or two.”

“But I’m all in one piece. I really owe you big-time.” He paused. “There must be something I can do to pay you back—”

“No, no! You don’t have to—”

“But I want to—want to get to know you.”

“Well … that would be cool.”

“Are you doing something later this week? Want to see a movie?”

Did I ever! Of course, I didn’t say this; instead, I kept my dignity and answered simply, “Sure.”

A date!

Penny-Love nearly choked on her pompoms when I told her. After school, the other cheerleaders crowded around and wanted to know all the details. I was reluctant to talk so much about myself, not comfortable as the center of attention. But they kept after me, so I gave in and enjoyed the rush of being almost popular. So different than how I was treated at my last school.

And I couldn’t wait to tell my grandmother about Josh. Nona was the expert on romance. She ran an online dating service called Soul-Mate Matches. Totally high tech, using compatibility analysis charts and personal videos. Of course, her amazing success rate had little to do with technology—but her clients didn’t know that.

Dumping my backpack on the living room floor, I looked for my grandmother. Only she wasn’t in the kitchen or her office. The light on her answering machine blinked, as if asking, “Where’s Nona?”

Good question.

Heading outside, I checked the garden, chicken pen, and pasture. All that remained was the barn.

I still resented Nona’s hiring of Dominic, but not even that could get me down today. I was imagining my grandmother’s excited reaction to my news as I peeked into the rambling red barn.

“Nona?” I called out.

No answer, but I caught the scent of burnt lavender. Curious, I pushed open the door. Sunlight cascaded down through a high window, shining gold on stacks of hay. My footsteps on loose hay were soft. A calf, penned for its own safety because it was lame, mooed at the two barn cats who chased each other across a wood rail. I’d always loved this barn, the musty hay smells and all the animals, even the occasional scurrying rat.

My gaze drifted up a staircase, to the loft apartment. The room had been off limits when Nona’s last husband was alive and used it as an art studio. I heard the murmur of voices through the closed door—my grandmother and Dominic. A clunk and a rolling sound piqued my curiosity. So I crept up the stairs. After some hesitation, I reached for the door. At my touch, it fell open a few inches.

My grandmother sat cross-legged on a round carpet across from Dominic. Candles flickered and lavender incense wafted a sweet trail toward the ceiling. Whispering, Nona held out a handful of small stones to Dominic. Sparkling crystals, amethyst, and jade. Stones for meditation and healing. The true tools of Nona’s romantic trade.

But why was she showing precious stones to a stranger who’d been hired to repair the barn, feed the animals, and muck out stalls? I felt sick inside, knowing Nona was keeping something from me. A secret was almost the same as a lie. And I knew too well how one lie led to another and another.

Backing away, unnoticed, I fled.

It was childish to feel hurt, left out, like the last kid chosen for a team. But that’s how I felt. The happy bubble that I’d floated home in had popped.

I slammed the door behind me as I entered the house, heading for the kitchen, where I poured a glass of milk and ripped open a bag of wheat chips. I had just put the milk away when the phone rang.

Instead of answering right away, I played a childhood game. Closing my eyes and concentrating hard, I tried to summon an image of the caller. Not my parents, I realized with relief. Someone younger, but neither Amy nor Ashley, my nine-year-old twin sisters. Someone older and not related. A dark-haired male …

“OHMYGOD!” I blurted out. I snatched up the phone before the fifth and final ring.

It was Josh, wanting to know if I would mind doubling on Friday with his friend Evan and his latest girlfriend. Yes, yes, yes! Anything you say, Josh.

And with one short, magical phone call, my happy bubble was back. For the rest of the evening, I mentally tuned into a channel where Josh starred in every show. I called Penny-Love and we talked forever, debating what I should wear on Friday and discussing how far to go on a first date.

“It’s not like I’ve never been on a date before,” I told her. “Although it’ll be my first since moving here.”

“Did you have a boyfriend at your old school?”

“A few,” I said evasively, not wanting to get on the topic of my past. “Besides, I won’t even be alone with Josh on a double date. I’ll be lucky to get a kiss goodnight.”

Penny-Love then proceeded to tell me in dishy detail about some of her very memorable goodbye kisses. We were still talking when Nona finally came in after dark. My grandmother didn’t tell me what she’d been doing, and I didn’t tell her about Josh.

When I got ready for bed, I chose a heart-shaped nightlight and hoped for sweet dreams of Josh. The dark had always scared me; so, childish as it was, I never slept without a nightlight. This led to a huge nightlight collection. Plug-in lights shaped like kittens, dolphins, rainbows, angels, butterflies, and a stained-glass flaming dragon.

Instead of hearts, though, I dreamed of dragons. Dragons chasing after me, blowing molten fire, their razor teeth white knives of death. I ran and ran, calling out to Josh to rescue me. And there he was, tall and handsome, grasping my hand. He protected me with a silver shield, dodging bursts of flame. We raced through a maze of spindly spines that became a giant dragon.

There was a loud flapping, and the dragon sprouted wings. Josh slipped and started to fall, only I lunged forward and grasped his hand. Holding on tight, we clung together as the dragon flew higher, higher, soaring into the unknown. Then the dragon changed, spines smoothing into silky feathers and fangs curving into a sharp beak. Soaring along on a strong breeze, we rode the giant bird. A falcon. When I looked at Josh, he was different, too. His dark hair grew longer and lighter, to a sandy brown, and his eyes shone as blue as the sky. Dominic …

I sat bolt up in bed.

My heart revved and my hands were sweaty. Despite my nightlight’s reassuring glow, the shadows around my room moved and breathed, and I sensed I wasn’t alone.

I was never alone.

Climbing out of bed, I walked over to the wall and snapped on the light.

Then I slipped back under my covers and sank into a fitful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next morning when I went to my locker to meet Penny-Love, instead I found Josh. And this was only the beginning of a perfect day.

Just like that, I was Josh’s girl. Instead of sitting with the cheerleaders at lunch, Josh and I sat outside under a willow tree, sharing sandwiches and chips and talking. Mostly, I listened while he described his interest in magic. Not the kind of magic I’d avoided all my life, but entertaining magic tricks.

He was apprenticing to join a professional magician’s organization. So secret, he couldn’t reveal much, except that only the most respected, skilled magicians belonged. And his mentor, the Amazing Arturo, was rumored to be a distant cousin of Houdini.

“How’d you get interested in magic?” I asked, impressed that a popular guy like Josh had such an unusual hobby.

“Arty—the Amazing Arturo—showed me some tricks and I was hooked.”

“How long have you known him?”

“Seven years.” Josh hesitated, taking a sip of cola. “We met at Valley General Hospital where he was giving a show in the children’s ward.”

“What were doing you there? Were you sick?”

“Not me. My older brother.” His tone had grown serious.

“What was wrong with him?”

“A car accident. He was in a coma for five months.”

“I’m sorry. How is he now?”

“He didn’t make it.” Josh spoke calmly but I sensed deep loss and I regretted asking the question. “It’s been a long time,” he quickly added. “And because Arty noticed me hanging around the hospital with nothing to do, one thing led to another, and now I’m the one performing for sick kids.”

“That’s great of you.”

“It’s the kids who are great. And it’s so cool to amaze them. Wait till you see my latest sleight-of-hand trick. You’ll never guess how it’s done.”

“I wouldn’t even try. I’d rather be mystified.”

“Then you gotta watch me the next time I perform at the hospital. Will you come?”

“I’d love to.” And I loved staring at his face, his soft lips, straight nose, and long, dark lashes. He was so perfect. And he liked me. Amazing.

Penny-Love came over that night, just one day from The Date, and searched through my closet for the right outfit. Unfortunately, all my clothes were wrong. So I broke down and admitted to my grandmother why I needed a new outfit. She had a million questions about Josh, and was impressed when I told her about his volunteer work. Always a fan of romance, Nona gave me encouragement—and her credit card—then told me to have fun shopping.

We headed for Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento, about thirty miles away. Penny-Love borrowed a station wagon from one of her older brothers. Nick or Jeff or Dan—with a family as large as hers, all redheads with freckles, who could keep them straight?

The perfect outfit was a dark-green skirt with a yellow Lyrca top. Penny-Love talked me into buying one of those pushup bras, which made me blush when I looked in the mirror. For the first time in my life, I had curves in the right places.

* * *

When Friday night arrived, I breathlessly watched Josh walk up to my front door. I didn’t need to be psychic to know my outfit was working a subtle magic. This was my moment and nothing could spoil it. Not even Dominic, whom I saw standing in the shadow of the porch, scowling as Josh opened his car door for me. What was his problem anyway? He’d barely spoken two sentences to me since we’d met, yet I had the weird feeling he disapproved of my going out.

“You look great,” Josh said as we drove off to pick up his friends.

My cheeks warmed. “Uh … thanks.”

“I’m glad you don’t mind doubling with Evan and Danielle.”

“It’ll be fun.” I smiled.

He smiled back.

I could tell he liked me, but then when I thought about it, I wasn’t sure and wondered why a great guy like him would even notice me. Sure I’d rescued him, yet gratitude wasn’t any basis for a relationship. We’d gotten along great so far, but would that change if he knew the truth about me?

There was an awkward stretch of quiet, and I tried to think of something interesting to say. I had to be careful not to reveal too much, yet I didn’t want to bore him with topics like weather or homework.

Then I remembered some advice I’d heard Nona give to one of her clients. When in doubt about what to say, ask your date about himself.

“So Josh,” I said, “tell me about yourself.”

“What?”

“Anything.” I shrugged. “Like do you have a pet?”

“A dog named Reginald.”

“Do you call him Reggie for short?”

“Nothing short about my giant dog. We nicknamed him Horse.”

I laughed. “What’s your family like?”

“They’re great. Mom’s a Realtor and Dad has some kind of management job at EDH Compu-Tech. They’re always busy, so we have this terrific housekeeper who makes the best lasagna.”

“Oooh. My favorite,” I said, smacking my lips. “I used to make it for my little sisters.”

“How old are they?”

“Nine.”

“Both of them?”

“Amy and Ashley are twins,” I explained. Then, because I suspected he was thinking of his brother, I purposely switched the subject and asked him about the couple who would be joining us soon.

“Evan and I have been friends since we were babies, practically,” Josh said as he slowed for a stop sign. “He’s a year older, and a fantastic athlete. Football, wrestling, baseball—you name it, he’s good enough to go pro. As for Danielle, I only know what Evan’s told me, that she’s smart and pretty. Evan dates a lot so it’s hard to keep up.”

“Do you date a lot, too?” I asked, then wanted to slap my hand over my mouth.

“Hardly ever,” he said firmly. “Evan’s fixed me up a few times, but it never works out. He says I’m too picky. But I only want to be with someone I respect.”

He took his right hand off the steering wheel, resting it inches from my arm. I could feel his energy without even touching, and it made me a little dizzy. In a good way.

Then we were slowing and parking in front of a ranch-style home. Two figures came down the steps. I recognized Evan’s cocky grin and wide, muscular shoulders from the sports section of the
Sheridan Shout-Out.
His arm was draped around the tiny waist of a slim, raven-haired girl. While he moved with confident strides, she sort of glided like a shadow beside him. She looked familiar, although she wasn’t in any of my classes, and I was sure we hadn’t met before. The feeling of knowing her was strong, so I turned around for a better look.