Мэг Кэбот - Avalon High стр 13.

and said, Oh, right. Well, come on. Ill walk you out.

 He started for the door to the stairs, Cavalier close at his heels. I followed, with Marco

tagging along behind me. As we headed back down to the second floor, Marco asked,

Arent you going to introduce me to your friend? in a voice I didnt really like all that

much

though I couldnt say why.

 Oh, sorry, Will said. Elaine Harrison, my stepbrother, Marco Campbell. Marco, this is

Ellie.

 Hi, I said to Marco, over my shoulder, as we entered the hallway.

 Marco grinnedone of those grins Ive sometimes seen described as wolfish in books.

 Pleased to make your acquaintance, Elaine, he said. Then, to Will, he said, I think

someone said they saw Jen go through there. He nodded toward the door behind which

Id found Jennifer and Lance making out.

 Oh, great, Will said.

 And he started to place his hand on the doorknob

 No, wait! I cried, before I knew what I was saying.

 Will looked at me questioningly. So, for that matter, did the dog. Marcos look was the

only one that wasnt questioning. His was surprised.

 Which was when I knew.

 Suddenly I felt like throwing up all over again. Except that I didnt have time to be sick.

 W-wasnt that just her? I stammered.

 Wills hand continued to hover above the doorknob.

 Where? he asked.

 Wasnt that her just now, calling you? Practically falling over my own feet, I hurried to

the top of the stairs to the first floor. Hell be right there, I called down. Some people

standing at the bottom of the staircase looked up at me like I was insane.

 But it didnt matter, because Will couldnt see them.

 Shes downstairs, I heard myself say to Will.

 And his hand, to my immense relief, fell away from the doorknob.

 Oh, he said. Great. Well. See you around.

 And he started toward the stairs.

 Thats when it happened. The thing that afterwards, I was never quite sure how to

describe, even to myself.

 All I know is, Will started toward the staircase, and I glanced at his stepbrother Marco, to

see if hed follow

 Only to find Marco studying me with an amused expression on his face, as if I were a cat

that had suddenly started reading the want ads. Out loud.

 Will, he said, not taking his eyesas dark as his stepbrothers were lightfrom me.

Why dont you invite Elaine to come sailing with us tomorrow?

 Oh, hey, Will said, pausing at the top of the stairs, and looking back at me, thats a

great idea. Do you like sailing, Elle?

 Elle. I couldnt help swallowing.

 Uh, I said. What was going on here? I wondered. Thrilled as I was to be included in

any plan of Wills, I couldnt help wondering why Marco wanted me to come along. He

didnt evenknow me.

 And from the way he was looking at me, I wasnt all that sure he evenliked me.

Especially after what we bothMarco and Iknew Id just done.

 I dont know, I said uncertainly. Ive never been. We dont sail much, back in

Minnesota.

 Oh, youll love it, Marco said. Wont she, Will?

 Yeah, you will, Will said enthusiastically. Meet us by the Alex Haley statue at the city

dock tomorrow at noon. You know where that is? When I nodded, he said, Great. See

you then.

 And then he hurried down the stairs to look for Jennifer. Leaving me alone with Marco

.

with whom I wasnt about to stick around and make small talk.

 Well, see you tomorrow, I said, and started toward the stairs myself.Get out , my heart

seemed to be saying with every beat.

 But I didnt move quickly enough, since Marcos voice snaked out across the landing

like an arm, almost physically drawing me back toward him when he asked, in an

insinuating tone, You didntreally hear Jen just then, did you, Elaine of Minnesota?

 I froze, one foot on the stairs, and one still on the second floor. For some reason, my

blood had run

 Sorry, I said. I

 Oh, I think you do, Marco said, with a wink. Then, as I stood there watching him, he

went up to the door Will had come so close to opening, and thumped on it, once, with the

side of his fist.

 Jen, he shouted through it. You in there?

 There was a pause. Then a thin voice called through the door, Um, yeah, just a sec! Ill

be right out.

 Marco looked back at me and shook his head.

 Nice try, he said. But hes gonna find out about them sometime.

 So Id been right. Hed known. Hed known all along. Hed wanted Will to open that

door and find the two of them in there.

 What kind of sick persondoes something like that?

 Wills stepbrother, evidently.

 Um, I said, trying to play dumb.Hed known . But that wasnt the weirdest part.

Idknown hed known. I have to go

 Marco wasnt falling for it, though. Not only did he keep talking, but he crossed the

space between us in two long strides and snatched up my arm in fingers that were so cold,

they burned. He held me in a grip of iron, so that I couldnt even dart down the stairs the

way Id planned.

 What were you trying to do, anyway? Marco asked, with a sneer. Protect him?

 Let go of my arm, I said in a voice that shook a little. Something about his touch was

well, cold.

I dont know what you mean.

really creeping me out.

 I wasnt the only one it bothered, either. Hearing a low sound coming from somewhere

near my feet, I looked down and saw Wills dog, Cavalierwho hadnt, as Id thought,

followed her master downstairscrouching on the white carpet, growling softly up at

Marco.

 Really. Growling. At Marco.

 He noticed, too, and said, in tones of disgust, Leave me alone, you stupid mutt, to the

dog.

 Then Marco thrust me away from him, hard enough to cause me to stumble to my knees

and have to grab hold of the banister to keep from falling.

 But Cavalier stopped growling. She hurried over to me and licked my arm where hed

touched it.

 Oh, please, Marco said very sarcastically, when he observed this. Then, staring at

memy rapid breathing, my white-knuckled grip on the banisterhe shook his head once

more and said, You arent even supposed to be on his side. Youre supposed to like the

other one. What kind of lily maid are you, anyway?

 I just blinked at him. Lily maid? Oh, right. The Lily Maid of Astolat, which was another

name for the Lady of Shalottthe one I was named after. Funny.

 Not.

 And sort of random, for a guy with a tattoo.

 I dont know what youre talking about, I said, in a shaky voice. I felt a little bit braver

with Cavalier beside me. B-but I think you should leave Will alone.

 Marco seemed to find this hilarious.

 You think I should leaveWill alone? he asked, in a voice dripping with derisive

laughter. Isthat how it is, then? Christ, did Morton ever have it all wrong.

 Morton?Mr . Morton? What was he talking about?

 You think what Wills going throughnow is bad? Marco shook his head, the wolfish

grin back, wider than ever. Are you in for a surprise.

 Then the door to the spare room opened, and Jennifer came out, tucking some of her hair

back into the clip it had slipped out of.

 Hi, guys, Jennifer said breezilytoo breezily. Sorry, I was just on the phone with my

mom. Somebody was looking for me?

 I just stared at her. I couldnt believe anyone could look so great, and be so

 Well, cold.

 Then, when Marco didnt say anything, and Jennifer looked from him to me

questioningly, I stammered, Y-you need to move your car. I was still feeling sick to my

stomach, but I tried not to let it show. Its blocking their neighbors driveway.

 Jennifer looked blank. But I parked in the Wagners driveway, she said.

 I glanced at Marco. He winked.

 Sailing tomorrows going to be fun, he said. Dont you think, Elaine?

CHAPTER TWELVE

 Stacy and Liz werent exactly thrilled about how long it took me to join them at the car.

 God, whatd you do? Stacy said, when I finally staggered down the hill toward them.

Take the long way?

 Sorry, I said to them. I really meant it, too. Iwas sorry.

 Just not for the reason they thought.

 I was quiet on the ride home. Maybe too quiet, since Liz asked, Are you okay, Ellie?

 I said I was. Except I knew it was a lie. How could I be okay after what had happened?

 Which was part of the problem. What exactlyhad happened? I didnt even know, really.

 So I had found out Jennifer was cheating on Will. With his best friend. So what? It didnt

have anything to do with me.

 And so what if Id met Wills stepbrother and had had a fairly strange conversation with

him? Big deal. Guys are weird in general. And guys whose fathers were killed by their

mothers new husbands are probably weirder than anybody. I mean, what did I expect?

 But the thing with Marco just seemedI dont know,weirder than anything that had ever

happened to me. The way the dog had growled when hed touched my arm. And the way

hed been talking to me as if we were continuing a conversation wed had in the

pastexcept that we had only just met! And what had that thing hed said about the Lady

of Shalott been all about? And his reference to Mr. Morton. What did Mr. Morton have to

do with anything?

 Unless

 Hey, I said, leaning forward in the backseat of Stacys car. Who was the teacher

Marco Campbell was supposed to have attacked?

 Liz was fiddling with Stacys CD player, trying to find a track she liked. I heard it was

Mr. Morton.

 God, Liz! Stacy burst out laughing. Gossip much?

 Well, Liz said defensively, my mom heard it from Chloe Hartwells mom who heard

it from her cousin whos a dispatcher on the Annapolis police force.

 Oh, Stacy said, still laughing. Then it must be true.

 Why did he do it? I asked. Try to kill Mr. Morton, I mean?

 Liz shrugged. Who knows. Marcos not exactly all there, you know what I mean?

 Did I ever.

 Stacy pulled up in front of my house and said, Dont forget, you still have to let us

know when you want to be initiated.

 I will, I said. And thanks, you guys. For coming with me tonight.

 My first party with the In Crowd, Liz said with a sigh.

 And my last, Stacy said dryly. Then she waved, and they drove away.

 When I got inside, my mom and dad were still up, watching the news.

 Hi, honey, my mom said. How did it go? Did you have a nice time?

 Great, I said. I had fun. Avalon won. Tomorrow Im going sailing with Will.

 That sounds nice, my mom said. Is Will an experienced sailor?

 Sure, I said, though technically I had no idea whether or not this was truejust that he

and Lance had sailed up the coast over the summer.

 Youre not going to wear that skirt on the boat, are you? my dad called to me, as I ran

up the stairs to my room.

 Dont worry, I wont, I called back. Night!

 Because after everything that had happened, the last thing I wanted to do was sit around

and chat with Mom and Dad. I needed

 I didnt know what I needed.

 I showered, changed into my pajamas, and climbed into bed. Then I stared at the rose

Will had given me. It was in full bloom now, its petals lustrous in the glow from my

bedside lamp.

 I was sleepy, and yet I knew if I turned out the light, I wouldnt doze off. I was too wired.

All I could think about was Marco. How had he known Id been named after Elaine, the

Lily Maid? This is not a literary character with whom guys his age tended to be familiar.

 And was that crack about my liking the wrong guy supposed to mean that it was Lance I

should be in love with, not Will? Because Elaine had liked Lancelot?

 God, how lame. It wasnt even funny. I love my parents and all, but why did they have to

name me after someone so pathetic? The only thing my namesake and I had remotely in

common was a mutual love of floating

pool, whereas Elaine of Astolat favored floating to her death in a boat

 I suppose, by Marcos reasoning, if I were Elaine, and Lance was Lancelot, that meant

Jennifer was Guinevere. Which was kind of funny, actually, since the name Jennifer

comes from the name Guinevere

the daughter of two medieval scholars.

 And if you wanted to think along those linesyou know, Lance being Lancelot, me being

Elaine, and Jennifer being Guineverethen Will could only be King Arthur. Which meant

Marco had to be Mordred, the guy who ultimately kills Arthur and brings down Camelot,

after the whole Guinevere thing.

 Except from everything Id read, Mordred was Arthurs half brother, not his stepbrother.

 Still, all that, coupled with the fact that the school we all go to is Avalon High, home of

the Excaliburs?

 Freaky.

 Maybe Marco hadnt meant it to be funny. Maybe hed meant itliterally .

I needed

although I preferred to do mine on a raft in a

.

just a little something you cant help knowing if youre

 Yeah. And maybe tomorrow, my dad would let me borrow the car and drive it by myself,