Sweet Harmony (8 page)

"Wow." Jaiden's grin reappeared, but there was something differen
t about his expression. "You have a lot of energy. Where do you get it from?"

She considered his question and picked up a
nother salty fry. After she popped it into her mouth, she thought of her parents.

"I look like my mom for sure. I could be her twin, except that she's prettier." She'd always been a little jealous of her mom's effortless good looks. "But if I had to say I
got my energy from anyone, it would be my dad. My dad wasn't always rich and famous. He grew up in Brooklyn. He never mentioned it, but I have the feeling he was a bit thug-ish in high school, just like me. He overcompensates for it now, but sometimes he accidentally reveals just how much like me he really is."

Jaiden nodded. "So he's trying to be something he's not?"

"Basically." She couldn't help but smirk. "The sad part is that he can't change genetics. He wanted a calm, musically gifted child and had a wild, unruly one instead. I can't play an instrument to save my life."

"Ah, you can't be that bad." Even as Jaiden said the words, she could tell he was fighting
back a smirk. Somewhere along the line, he must have heard about her rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

"I'm that bad," she said. "But
he has my gifted brother, so it's okay."

Her own words reminded her of her phone conversation with her dad.
She fell silent, wondering why her little brother had been sent away from London. The kid was so well behaved it was revolting.

As she took another bite of
a fry, the door to the restaurant opened. She looked up to see who'd arrived. It was Bridget and two of her friends. When the three of them saw her and Jaiden, the color drained out of Bridget's face.

"Let's get out of here," Jaiden said.
"It's the fan club president, aka Captain Crazy."

"
Captain Crazy?" Was he talking about Bridget?

"Yeah." Jaiden nodded. "That girl with the blonde hair is awful. Last month, she stole my gym clothes from
my locker."

She choked on her own spit.
"Why the heck would anyone want your gym clothes? Ugh, no offense."

"She probably
lies in bed at night sniffing my shirt." Jaiden snorted. He pulled money from his wallet and threw it on the table. "Come on. Let's go."

Before she could
say another word, Jaiden seized her hand and dragged her out the door. Even when they were on the street, he didn't let go of her. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Chapter Eight

The next morning, Annamarie sat by the oak tree eating a pastry she'd bought from the store the night before. Sticky strawberry goop covered her hands, making her fingers fuse together as if she'd doused them with glue. As she stuck her index finger in her mouth and sucked off the sweet goodness, Owen jogged over to her and sunk down by the tree. Even after the short distance, he panted like he'd sprinted a mile.

"I…cannot…believe…it…" Owen gasped for air between each word.

"What?"

She raised an eyebrow and offered Owen her orange juice. Maybe a drink would help the guy breathe. After he took a chug, he handed the
drink back.

"I heard that yesterday you went on a date with Jaiden," Owen said, looking awed. "Everybody is talking about how you're dating the two hottest guys at the school."

She sucked in air. Those stupid rumors. She was started to think that getting hit on the head with a pot was nice in comparison.

"Okay, who the
heck told you that?" she asked when she'd finally recovered.

"People talk." Owen seized her stick
y hands. "Is it true?"

She froze. Did yesterday count as a date? Jaiden had paid for her meal
, but only because Bridget had come unexpectedly. He'd held her hand too. It was no wonder that people got the wrong idea.

"I don't think so," she said.

If it was a date, she would have known. Probably.

"Somebody's voice
heightened a pitch for a second there." Owen elbowed her. "Do you like Jaiden?"

"Of course not."
She shrugged. "Jaiden's just a friend."

With
all of this talk about her liking someone, she thought of Daniel and not Jaiden.
No. Freaking. Way.
She was so annoyed that Daniel's face appeared in her thoughts that she slapped herself on the forehead so hard her head throbbed. Wincing, she rubbed her sore skin.

"Are you okay?" Owen looked at her like she was nuts again. "You almost knocked yourself out. How could I explain that to the school nurse?"

"I'm fine."

No way was she telling Owen what she'd just thought about. Heck, it must have just been a fluke. She'd thought of Daniel first because she was still pissed off over the pot incident and wanted to know
whether it was him. Yeah, that was exactly it. She'd be crazy to like an egotistical, self-absorbed windbag like him. In fact, if he walked by right now, she'd happily punch him in the face.

The violent thoughts calmed her. Everything was fine. She hated Daniel and was friends with Jaiden. The world was back to normal again. Heaven help her if anything disturbed that peace.

****

The darkness was all consuming as Annamarie walked down the stairs to the recreational room during lunch. She was going to ask Daniel about the pot incident. If he said he didn't do it, then she'd leave and tr
y to figure out who had. If he said he did, she'd shove her fist so hard into his stomach he'd puke. She rubbed her hands together wickedly. Sometimes she loved the way her brain worked. She was practically overcome with giggles by the time she reached the recreation room.

She opened the door and stepped inside. Gavin was sprawled out on the couch playing a video game. When he saw her, he froze. His character on screen was
overcome by zombies and was torn apart limb from limb.

"Uh-oh," Gavin said.

"I'm here to see Daniel." No use pretending she wasn't.

"He'll be here in a minute," Gavin said.
"He went to the vending machine to get a soda."

Awkward silence threatened to choke her. Gavin obviously had no idea what to do about her presence. She didn't know how long she'd be waiting
for Daniel, so she flopped down on the couch and studied the TV screen.

"This is
Zombie Death 2000
, right?" she asked, breaking through the wall of silence.

"You know the game?
" Gavin sounded impressed.

"Know it?" She grinned triumphantly. "I beat it three times all the way through. I had to
earn the secret ending. There's no way you can play
Zombie Death 2000
without getting the secret ending."

"
I didn't even know there was a secret ending." Gavin was so excited he was practically vibrating. "How do you get it?"

"You know that part where Kale and Marina are—"

Somebody cleared their throat from behind them. Annamarie stood up and saw that Daniel was leaning against the threshold, a frown on his face.

"What are
you
doing here?" Daniel made her sound like she was an animal who'd rolled in something smelly.

"I'm here to see you." She rolled her eyes. "I have something I need to discuss."

"Awfully formal now, aren't we?" Daniel grunted and strutted into the room, acting like he was the king of the whole world. "I'm surprised you didn't greet me with a punch to the face."

"I'm saving that for later."

"What, pray tell, brought you here to see me?" Daniel flopped down on the couch. "Are you here to threaten me? Oh, I know. You're here to call me a slime ball, right? You're a girl with a proper education. You'd think you could come up with some better insults."

If she had the power to summon lightning from the sky, she would have smote Daniel with a wave of her hand. She said a prayer to God asking him for just the teensiest bit of lightning. Since none came, she realized she was on her own. She scowled and stepped between Daniel and the TV.

"Did you happen to try to kill me yesterday?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "Jaiden said you wouldn't try to hurt me, but I wanted to make sure."

Gavin stilled beside Daniel and
gaped at her.

"
Looks like I'm not the only one who's pissed at you." Daniel wrinkled his nose. "The only time I've tried to kill you was in my dreams."

She could tell from Daniel's expression he was telling the truth. Still
his comment was unappreciated. She kicked his foot.

"You're a jerk," she said.

"You're a whiny, annoying idiot." Daniel jumped to his feet and glowered at her.

Both of them fumed. Her fist twitched at her side.

"I'm leaving," she snapped, heading for the door.

"Good." Daniel followed behind her, shaking. "Don't you dare come back here. I mean it."

"Why would I want to come here?" she asked. "I'd rather be dumped into an active volcano than spend more time with you than I have to."

Daniel held open the door and pointed into the hallway.

"OUT, you heathen!" he roared.

She marched into the hallway and glared at him.

"What is this, the eighteenth century?" she snapped.

Scowling, Daniel slammed the door shut. Something
hit the wall inside and broke. She hoped it wasn't
Zombie Death 2000
.

****

Annamarie checked her email and saw she had three messages from her dad but none from her mom.
Why doesn't she ever email me anymore?
she wondered, feeling a little hurt. Yeah, she was a troublesome idiot at times, but she was still the woman's daughter. She told herself that her mom was just busy and that there was no reason for her to be depressed. She checked her dad's email and saw a bogusly happy message but nothing hinting at why he'd been so odd on the phone.

To my dearest Annamarie,

Everything is well in London, though I have to leave soon for a concert in Vancouver. I'll think of you while I'm there. I know how you like to watch ice hockey. I've heard from your brother and he loves his new school. I'm glad that I have yet to receive any calls from your school principal telling me you've broken the rules. I'm proud of you. Finally, you seem to be outgrowing your inability to behave and are acting like a model student. Perhaps next time I see you, you will have mastered the flute.

Sincerely,

Your father

She felt a strange sense of guilt. The only reason the school principal hadn't contacted her dad was probably because he was hard to get ahold of. She shut her laptop and heard a knock on her door.

"Come in," she said.

Jaiden opened the door and she did a double-take. Guys weren't supposed to be in the girls' dormitory.

"What are you doing in here?"
She hastily picked up the dirty clothes that were on the floor and tossed them into the hamper.

"I was worried because
you didn't come to our tree during lunch. I wanted to make sure you weren't lying in a hospital bed somewhere." Jaiden stepped inside and looked around, grinning. "You have a smaller room than mine."

She ignored his comment about her room.

"If Mrs. Carmichael catches you in here, you're dead."

"I'm friends with Dan, so I don't foresee any problems.
She listens to whatever he says." He glanced wearily at the door. "Unless you'd rather I leave?"

"No, of course not." In fact, she was a little bored. She'd answer her dad's email later. "I'm glad you're here."

"Good." He nodded.

"I have something to show you." She pointed at her karate uniform that hung on her wall. "Ta-da! I got the pink out. Stupid Daniel. It took me six hours."

"Wow." Jaiden grinned, but then the smile slipped away. "Speaking of Dan, are you okay? I heard the two of you got into yet another shouting match today."

"Ah, it's no problem." She shrugged, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"As long as nobody throws another pot at my head, I think I'll be okay."

She'd meant the words as a joke, but Jaiden
became serious again.

"I told Dan what happened
to you yesterday," Jaiden said. "He says he's going to try to find out who attempted to hurt you."

She was confused now. If they were friends,
it would make sense that Daniel would help. But they weren't friends. She scratched the back of her head.

"Why would he do that?" she
asked.

"I told
you Dan isn't a bad guy," Jaiden said. "You do know he could have you expelled from school anytime he wants, right? Yet you keep needling him and he hasn't sent you away."

Fair point. She hadn't even thought of that. All of this talk about Daniel was not only confusing, it was making her head hurt. It was time for a subject change
ASAP before her brain liquefied and gushed out her nostrils.

"Let's not talk about Daniel anymore."
Her fists tightened at her sides.

"You can't still think he
threw the pot at you," Jaiden said, looking exasperated.

"No, I don't." She
stared into Jaiden's eyes. "It's just that whenever someone talks about him, my head gets all mushy and confused. I don't like it. It pisses me off that he makes me lose control of myself this much."

Jaiden's mouth thinned.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was looking at her with disapproval.

"Nothing." Jaiden shook his head. "It's just you're so…"

"Annoying?" She'd heard that a lot. "Loud?"

"Innocent," he finished.

Innocent? She'd never been called innocent in her entire life.

"Why?" She was stumped.

Jaiden just patted the bed next to him and didn't answer her question. "Sit down. Play a game with me."

Confused, she took a seat by Jaiden's side and pursed her lips.
Innocent? She, the girl who'd once let off a stink bomb in the middle of a massive Christmas concert in Madison Square Garden? She let out an exasperated sigh. Boys were always leaving her head in a funk. Maybe she would have been better off going to an all-girls school.