Strange Magic (10 page)

          “Who knows what he’s thinking?  He sure doesn’t want me to know.  He threw a fit when I tried to hear his thoughts in English today.”

          “Try now,” Caitlin said.  “Maybe he’ll be too distracted by Anna to notice.”

          I shook my head.  “No, I’m not going to spy on him.  We were good friends for awhile, even though he doesn’t want to be anymore.”

          “Then listen to Anna’s thoughts,” she suggested.  “See if we can really trust her.”

          Even as I considered this, my mind rebelled against it.  It was the bad feeling on the day of the storm multiplied several times.  I shivered.  “That’s not a good idea.  That’s not a good idea at all.”

          I was going to the Homecoming dance.  I wasn’t sure how Caitlin and Anna had convinced me to go without a date.  The two of them had worn me down by constantly insisting that the dance wouldn’t be any fun without me.  Despite Duncan’s disapproval, Anna had taken to sitting with us at lunch.  In the end, he had grudgingly started sitting with us, too.  He mostly silently listened to our conversations.  I wasn’t sure if he was babysitting me or Anna.  He seemed to watch the two of us like a hawk.

          I couldn’t understand what he was doing.  He knew that Anna was dating Brad.  Duncan had ignored all of her embarrassing suggestions to ask me to the dance.  I caught her alone in the hallway and asked her to stop.

         “I’m sorry, Susannah.  I don’t like to give up when I want something, and I want the two of you to be happy.  I feel like it’s my fault that you and Duncan aren’t together.”

          “It’s nobody’s fault.  It’s just not meant to be.”

          Anna’s green eyes were troubled.  “Do you believe in fate, Susannah?”

          “Not really.  It’s just Caitlin rubbing off on me.”

          “Okay,” Anna relented.  “I’ll back off and stop meddling in your love life, even though it’s against my nature to stop before I win.”

          Later at lunch, Anna was true to her word.  We discussed our plans to go shopping for dresses without Anna saying anything to Duncan about taking me to the dance.  It did nothing to improve his mood.  I was used to his silent brooding by now.  The rest of us were caught up in happy thoughts of it being Friday and having the freedom of the weekend ahead of us.

          I was surprised to see Duncan in the park that afternoon.  I had missed our walks and long conversations.  I suspected that he hadn’t set foot in the park since Anna had arrived only because he was avoiding me.  The mild weather was still holding, but the days were getting shorter.

         Duncan didn’t even bother with saying hi.  “You need to stay away from Anna.”

          I sighed.  “Whatever happened between you and Anna has nothing to do with me.  Stop trying to bring me into your drama.”

          “I’m trying to keep you out of it, but you’re not helping.  Now you’re spending your weekend with her.”

          “I’m going shopping with Caitlin and Anna tomorrow.  I’m doing normal things, Duncan.”

          His agitation was palpable.  “The more time you spend with her, the more dangerous it is for you.”

          “Dangerous how?  Anna has been nothing but nice to me.”

          “This is what she does, Susannah.  She plays this game while it amuses her.”

          “Then what, Duncan?  She’ll drop me as a friend?  I think I can handle it.  I’ve had some experience in that area lately.”

          “I’m still your friend, Susannah.”

          “Could’ve fooled me.  In fact, I remember specifically that you said we can’t be friends anymore.”

          “I did say that,” he admitted.  “It was because I wanted to keep you safe from Anna, but she’s fixated on you anyway.”

          “Don’t you see, Duncan?  You’re the one who is fixated on Anna.  She’s moved on.  She’s dating Brad and making friends with people.”

          He looked at me with haunted eyes.  “You don’t see it coming.  She draws you in and makes you think that she cares.  Then she turns on you just like that.”

          I chose my words carefully.  “Duncan, when’s the last time that you got a good night’s sleep?”

          He closed his eyes for a moment.  “It doesn’t make it go away.  You don’t know how to fight her, and I’m weak.”

          “Don’t worry about me,” I said with exaggerated bravado.  “I can take care of myself.”

          “All I do is worry about you.”

          The words hung in the air between us, and my breath caught in my throat as our eyes met.  I had thought that Duncan had become cold toward me.  Now here in our place, the unguarded look on his face made my heart surge with emotion.

          “Duncan,” I breathed.

          He took a step back.  “I can’t!”

          I took a step forward.  “Duncan.”

          “Don’t let your guard down with Anna, for what it’s worth.”

          I was crestfallen as he practically ran away from me.  His paranoia had me worried.  I wondered if I should go talk to his mom, but I decided to give it some more time.  Hopefully, he would come around once he saw that Anna had done me no harm.

          The next day, Caitlin came over and Anna picked us up to go shopping.  She had offered to drive.  We stared at her car as she pulled into my driveway.

          “Guess her dad was feeling more guilty than mine,” Caitlin whispered in my ear.

          I was no expert on cars, but even I knew that Anna’s car was expensive.  She wouldn’t be taking the bus home from school any time soon.  It made me wonder what kind of house she lived in.  Probably if I had known anything about fashion, I would have realized that she wore designer clothes.  I didn’t dwell on it, though.  In the end, I saw a car as a way to get somewhere.  In this case, the mall.  We tried on dresses at several different stores.

         “I know a place,” Anna said.  We got back in her car, and she drove us to a bridal shop.  “They have other dresses, too.”

          The store was pretty big and had all kinds of fancy dresses.  I had a feeling that Anna had wanted to go there all along.  She had only gone to the mall to fit in with us.  I went straight for the discount dresses.  Anna and Caitlin tried on several dresses and modeled them for me.  Anna decided on an emerald green dress that really drew attention to her green eyes.  Caitlin fell in love with a purple dress that looked great on her.  I was debating between a red and a blue dress.

          Anna picked out a white dress that wasn’t on the discount rack.  “Try it on.”

          Caitlin wrinkled her nose.  “It’s Homecoming, not her wedding.”

          She was right.  It was the complete opposite of the jewel-toned mini dresses that were in style.

          “Humor me,” Anna pleaded.  “What could it hurt to try it on?”

          “Okay.”  What did it matter?  I was only going to the dance because they had begged me to.  I took the dress into the changing room.

          “Come out and show us after you put it on.”  Anna’s voice followed me into the dressing room.

          When I stepped outside, her smile was triumphant.  “I knew it.”

          The dress was a light, airy confection that fell just below my knees.  It was demure compared to all the other dresses that we had tried on.

          Anna’s green eyes were shining.  “You look like an angel.”

          “She’s right,” Caitlin marveled.  “Normally, I would say go for straight up sexy, but that dress is totally you.”

          “Duncan won’t be able to resist you.”

          I tried to act casual.  “Oh, did he tell you that he’s going?”

          He didn’t have to tell me,” Anna said.  “If you’re going, then he’s going.  It’s as simple as that.”

          I looked at the price tag and gasped.  “I’m putting this back.”

          Caitlin walked over to look and whistled.  “Your dad’s going to flip out.”

          “No way can I afford this.  I think I’ll get the red one.”

          “No!  This one is perfect.  I’ll buy it for you.”

          Caitlin and I both stared at Anna.  I was sure that I couldn’t have heard her right.  She stepped closer, still admiring the dress.  “Really, no other dress will do.”

          “Well, that’s very generous, but I can’t let you do that.”

          “It’s actually not very generous since I can easily afford it.  My family has money, so please let me do this.”

          “Wait,” Caitlin said.  “Wait, Anna Thorne.  Thorne, as in Thorne Enterprises?”

          “Please don’t make a big deal out of it.”

          Caitlin’s eyes were practically popping out of her head.  “Are you kidding me?  Your family owns Thorne Enterprises!”

          Now that I thought about it, the name was familiar.  It was dawning on me that Anna’s expensive car was only the tip of the iceberg.  My family has money, she had said.  Apparently, that was one heck of an understatement.

          Caitlin grabbed my arm.  “Just let her buy you the damn dress.”

          “How do you know so much about Thorne Enterprises?”  I was talking to Caitlin on the phone after our shopping trip.  She was getting ready for her date with Alex.

          “My dad worked on a case for them.  I heard him talking about it to his girlfriend the last time I visited him.  It was a big deal for him, because it’s a huge company.  He said that Mr. Thorne is a shark in the business world.”

          Caitlin’s dad is a lawyer in New York City.  He moved there after he and Caitlin’s mom divorced years earlier.  There were a lot more career opportunities in a big city, which was what was troubling me about this revelation about Anna.

          “What is a family like that doing in Valley View, Ohio?”

          “I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Caitlin said.

          “I don’t think I should have let her buy me the dress.  I feel weird about that.”

          “Why?” Caitlin asked.  “It’s pocket change for her.  It’s like you buying her a pack of gum, and it’s not like you asked her to pay for it.  She was the one who wanted to buy it for you.”

          “That’s the whole point.  I can’t do anything like that for her.  It makes me feel like I owe her something.”

          “You don’t owe her anything.  Anyway, she had fun finding the perfect dress for you.  I’ve gotta admit that she’s got good taste.”

          I thought about Duncan.  “Yes, she does.”

          Somehow, Caitlin picked up on my real meaning.  “I bet she’s right about Duncan, too.  He’ll probably be at the dance.”

          I let that one go.  “I feel bad about messing up the dance for you and Alex.”

          It had been decided that I would ride to the Homecoming dance with Caitlin and Alex.  There was no way that I would get in another car with Brad.  Anna seemed to instinctively understand the awkwardness of the situation.  She hadn’t even suggested that I go with her and Brad.

          “Would you stop that?  I’m thrilled that you’re finally going to get to know Alex, and he’ll be glad to get to know you, too.  He’s heard me talk about you so much.”

          “My dad could drop me off and pick me up.  He’s so happy that I didn’t spend any money on a dress that he won’t mind driving me.”

          “No,” Caitlin insisted.  “You are not going to the dance by yourself.  I don’t want to hear anymore about it.  Anyway, I have to go.  Alex will be here soon.”

          “Okay, have fun.  Talk to you tomorrow.”

          We hung up, and I went downstairs.  It was Saturday night, and I was watching TV with my parents.  I was seriously starting to consider getting a job.  At least then I would be making money.  I would be able to buy my own dresses for dances that I didn’t really want to attend.  As I sat on the couch eating popcorn, I couldn’t help but wonder what Duncan was doing tonight.  As far as I knew, he wasn’t dating anyone right now either.

          Brad had accused me of not responding to him because I was interested in Duncan.  I had denied this, but now I realized that it was true.  Not only was I interested in Duncan, but I was only interested in Duncan.  There was no other guy that I thought about, no other guy that I wanted.  I had never felt this way about anyone else.  My popcorn was suddenly tasteless.  With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I realized that I was in love with Duncan.

          This realization caused me to be uncomfortable in Duncan’s presence.  I looked at him as little as possible.  I paid more attention to what the teacher was saying in English than I ever had before.  At lunch, I focused on my conversations with Caitlin and Anna.  Duncan continued to sit with us.  Occasionally, he would ask Caitlin how the rehearsals for the play were going.  Other than that and school gossip, most of our conversations always came back to our plans for the upcoming dance.  Duncan was silent on that subject.

          The evening of the dance, Caitlin and Alex came to pick me up.  Mom took pictures of the three of us.  Dad smiled at me approvingly, especially after he saw how much shorter Caitlin’s dress was compared to mine.  Alex and I hit it off immediately.  I already felt affection for him, because he treated Caitlin so well.  During our conversation in the car, we discovered that we both loved action movies, and the trip to the dance went by in a flash.

          “Thank God we’re here!”  Caitlin was the first one to open her car door.  “You people have no culture.  Remember, we’re here to dance.  If I hear one more word about Die Hard or Terminator, you’re both walking home.”  Her happy smile told us that she was just teasing.

          “Don’t worry,” Alex said.  “On the way home, we’re going to talk about Bruce Lee.”

          “Yes,” I said.  “The karate genre merits its own special discussion.”

          “I’m going in there where I can’t hear you over the sound of the music.”

          I was glad now that they had talked me into going to the dance.  Hanging out with Caitlin and Alex had put me in a good mood.  When we entered the school, I saw many of my classmates.  It was different seeing them all dressed up.  Everybody looked great and somehow more grown up.  Anna and Brad were already in the gym, which had been decorated for the dance.  We had just greeted each other when Caitlin’s favorite slow song came on.

          She grabbed Alex’s arm.  “Dance now!”

          I watched her pull him onto the dance floor.  I was still smiling in amusement as I turned back to Anna and Brad.

          She was looking in the other direction.  “What did I tell you, Susannah?”

          I turned to look and saw Duncan walking toward us, and I couldn’t pull my eyes away from him.  He looked amazing in his blue dress shirt.  His pale blue eyes were on me, and I felt self-conscious.

          “Hi,” I said softly and looked down at my shoes.

          “Duncan, doesn’t Susannah look lovely?”  Anna’s promise to stay out of my love life apparently didn’t extend to this dance.

          “You both look beautiful,” Duncan said diplomatically.

          “She’s the only girl here hiding her legs.  I don’t know why, because she has nice legs.  If you had seen her in that pink dress…”  Brad finally realized that he was talking to his girlfriend.  “Uh, do you want something to drink?”

          “Yes.  Why don’t you go get me some of that punch?”

          Brad eagerly made his escape, and I wished that I could, too.  I was desperately trying to think of something to say to change the subject.

          “He’s not very bright.  Still, what he lacks in intelligence he makes up for in enthusiasm.  Isn’t that right, Susannah?”  Anna had seemingly directed the question at me, but she was looking at Duncan.

          He met her gaze evenly.

          Anna laughed delightedly and clapped her hands.  “Well, Susannah, I guess you really are as sweet and innocent as you look.  Good for you!”

          I was glad that the lights were dimmed, because my face was hot with embarrassment.

          “Let’s go find a table,” Duncan said.

          “Really, Duncan, I don’t know why you didn’t just ask Susannah to the dance in the first place.”

          Luckily, Brad came back with the punch.  Even his presence was preferable to being alone with Duncan and Anna.  When Caitlin and Alex joined us, it was much better.  We all ended up on the dance floor together when the dance songs played.  Only Duncan remained at the table.  When the others went to slow dance, I was left alone with him.

          “You look so beautiful tonight,” he told me.

          “I—thank you.  You look great, too.”

          He continued to gaze at me.  “Really, heavenly I think is the word.”

          My nervousness made me blurt out, “Anna bought me the dress.”

          Her name was like throwing cold water in his face.  The dreamy look was gone from his eyes.  “What?”

          “It, it was expensive.  She said that her family has money.  Did you know that?”

          “Yes.  We met at a private school in California.  My mom does pretty well with her art.  So, Anna bought you the dress?”

          “I didn’t want her to, but she wouldn’t let it go, and Caitlin said I should let her,” I explained.

          “Hey, it’s okay.  Anna has money to burn.”

          “See?  There was no need to worry.  She’s been nice to me.  Generous even.”

          “So, what’s wrong then?” Duncan asked.

          “What do you mean?”  I had to look away from those eyes.

          “You’ve been different, Susannah.  You’ve been avoiding me.”

          “But that’s what you said you wanted.”

          “I’ve been saying it since Anna came here, but you didn’t listen.  What changed?  Did she threaten you?”

          “Of course not!  It has nothing to do with Anna,” I said.

          “Then what is it?”

          “Nothing.”  I was relieved to see the others coming back to the table.

          Next up was the crowning of the Homecoming king and queen.  It was no surprise when Brad and Mandy won.  They weren’t a couple anymore, but they were still the most popular guy and girl.  Brad’s team had also won the big game, so things were going great for him.  Not to mention that Anna was his girlfriend, at least for the time being.  When I looked at them, I didn’t see true love.  Caitlin and Alex, though, seemed to be truly happy.

          The night was winding down, and the dance would be over soon.  I’d had a much better time than I had expected to.  Another slow dance came on, and it was announced that it would be the last dance of the night.

          “Don’t tell me that you’re not even going to ask Susannah for one dance.  You should be ashamed of yourself, Duncan.”

          I had figured out Anna’s evil plan.  She was trying to embarrass me to death.

          “Dance with me, Susannah.”

          Startled, I looked up at Duncan.  He was standing beside me with his hand extended.  I took it and stood up.  Then Duncan’s hands were around my waist, and my hands were on his shoulders, and we were swaying to the music.  Everything else fell away.  There were only the two of us.

          “Tell me what’s been bothering you,” he said.

          “I can’t.”

          “Why not?” Duncan asked.

          “Because you don’t want to hear it.”

          “I do.  You can tell me anything.”  His pale blue eyes searched mine.  “Tell me, Susannah.”

          “I love you.”  The words were out, and I couldn’t take them back.

          Duncan’s sharp intake of breath was audible even though my heart was pounding in my ears.  His eyes were burning into mine, and he was pulling me closer.  “Susannah, I—“

          He stiffened then, and he raised his head to look behind me.  I turned my head to see Anna watching us intently.  She paid no attention to Brad kissing her neck.  Duncan removed his hands from my waist and stepped back.  My arms fell to my sides.

          “Thank you for the dance, Susannah.  Goodnight.”

          “Goodnight,” I repeated.

          I didn’t cry this time, not even when I was alone in my room later.  I had managed to banter with Caitlin and Alex on the way home.  Anna had given me a hug when we were leaving the dance.