Vampire Beach: Legacy (8 page)

Sienna gave a faint smile. ‘We did. And it won’t be forever. My parents aren’t going to have control of me for my whole life or anything. At college, things will be different. I just wish . . .’ She glanced over at Belle and Adam, who were doing a good job of pretending that they were deep in conversation themselves, trying to give Sienna and Jason at least the illusion of being alone.

‘You just wish what?’ Jason prompted.

‘I just wish that the last time we kissed, I’d known it was the last time,’ she told him.

‘The last time
for a while
,’ he corrected. But he felt exactly the same way.

‘Right, the last time for a while,’ Sienna agreed. ‘I just would have tried to lock the memory away. So I could keep it safe.’

All Jason wanted to do right at that moment was kiss her. Give her that memory. Give them both that memory.

But it was too risky.

One kiss, and he could lose her completely.

‘
LOOK
,
I KNOW
why you’re so upset,’ Adam said to Jason as they waited for chemistry class to start.

‘Really? Because I didn’t realize you were sitting a foot away from me when Sienna and I broke up,’ Jason said, the words slippery with sarcasm.

‘Not that. Why you’re
really
upset,’ Adam went on, mock serious. ‘You’re afraid you’re going to flunk out of French without Sienna to help you. And I want you to know that you don’t have to worry, because I’m taking over as your tutor.’

‘Adam, you can’t even
say
the word
croissant.
Forget about spell it,’ Jason reminded him.

‘Untrue. OK, it’s sort of true,’ Adam admitted. ‘I prefer the American term "crescent roll". But I can recite most of the lines from
Amélie
flawlessly. I even sound like Audrey Tautou, who played Amélie, which I’m sure you know, since you never miss a film directed by the genius Jean-Pierre Jeunet.’

Jason laughed. He hadn’t expected that. He hadn’t expected to laugh again, well, pretty much ever. ‘OK, you’re on. You’re my new French tutor,’ he told Adam.

Adam rattled off a whole bunch of what might have been French, though it didn’t sound remotely like anything Madame Goddard had ever uttered.

‘I have no idea what you just said,’ Jason admitted.

‘Amélie has one friend, Blubber. Alas, the home environment has made Blubber suicidal,’ Adam translated. ‘It happens right at this point where a goldfish jumps out of the bowl, trying to commit suicide. So fun—’

‘Why don’t I think any of that is going to be on Goddard’s mid-term?’ Jason interrupted.

‘Don’t worry, I know other stuff. Meet me in the parking lot after school, and we’ll get started,’ Adam replied.

‘Cool,’ Jason said. But he felt a dull ache roll through his body as he realized he’d never have another French lesson with Sienna. This ‘just friends’ thing – it was going to be even harder than he’d thought.

Jason leaned against the Bug, watching Sienna and Belle head across the school parking lot. He knew it would be better not to even look at her. Or easier at least. But looking was pretty much all he had right now, so he was going to look.

Although maybe he could do a little bit more than look. Sienna was with Belle, after all, so if he went over, he wouldn’t be alone with Sienna. And that’s what Sienna’s parents had forbidden – him and Sienna being alone together.

But Jason had only taken two steps in her direction when Brad stepped up beside him, looped one arm over Jason’s shoulders, and turned him back toward his car.
What’s this about
? Jason thought.
Christ! Is Adam right about Brad
? ‘What’s up?’ he asked.

‘You don’t want to go over there right now,’ Brad said softly. ‘Sienna’s car broke down again, and her dad’s come to pick her up. Check it out. At four o’clock.’

Jason shot a quick glance in that direction. Mr Devereux sat behind the wheel of a nearby Bentley. ‘Thanks,’ Jason told Brad.

‘Not a problem,’ Brad answered. ‘I know you and Sienna are getting a lot of flack from her parents.’

Man, I’ve got paranoid
, Jason thought.
Brad’s my friend. He’s Sienna’s friend. He just proved that. And he shouldn’t have needed to prove anything!

‘Study time!’ came a voice from behind him.

Jason turned to face the voice and saw Adam heading toward him, with Michael Van Dyke, Aaron Harberts, and Kyle Priesmeyer from the swim team.

Adam jumped in the shotgun seat of the Bug. Harberts and Priesmeyer took the backseat. And Brad and Van Dyke piled into Brad’s Jeep. ‘Well, get in,’ Adam called to Jason. ‘This heap isn’t going to drive itself to Venice.’

‘How does going to Venice help me pass French?’ Jason asked as he climbed into the driver’s seat.

‘It doesn’t,’ Harberts told him. ‘But it does help you pass Fun, which, from the looks of you, is a subject you also need help in.’

Jason got it. The grapevine really did work fast. They all knew what he was going through with Sienna. Harberts and Priesmeyer probably didn’t have the whole story, but they still knew something had gone down and that Jason wasn’t happy about it. And this trip was their way of showing support.

‘Drive,’ Priesmeyer ordered. ‘Brad and Van Dyke are already pulling out of the parking lot.’

Jason drove. ‘So where exactly in Venice do you want to go?’ he asked as they flew down PCH.

‘Is there more than one destination?’ Harberts asked. ‘The boardwalk.’

‘I actually haven’t been there yet,’ Jason admitted.

‘You really do need help,’ Harberts said. ‘There are more hot girls on rollerblades at the Venice boardwalk than anyplace else in the entire world. And they usually wear very little clothing.’

Jason didn’t care about that – not unless one of the girls happened to be Sienna Devereux – but he kept his mouth shut. You didn’t tell a car full of guys that the only babe you wanted to see was your girlfriend. Your ex-girlfriend. Your very platonic, only-speak-in-public friend.

‘This is the exit,’ Priesmeyer announced. ‘Go left. Ocean turns into Pacific, and that slams right into the boardwalk.’

Jason followed Priesmeyer’s instructions and pulled into a medium-sized parking lot near one end of the boardwalk. He took the spot next to Brad’s Jeep.

‘I’ve got to eat,’ Van Dyke said. ‘We’re hitting Sausage Kingdom first. No argument.’

‘You’re not getting one from me. My dad actually sent me to school with leftover ten-alarm chili today,’ Adam answered. ‘I’m running on empty.’

Van Dyke took the lead, weaving through the crowd on the boardwalk, which was really just a sidewalk running right along the beach. Jason tried not to stare at the insanity that bombarded them from all sides. He tried to remind himself that he was a native now. But, good God, that guy had an albino boa constrictor wrapped around his neck! The thing was so big, its tail almost touched the ground. And it definitely wasn’t stuffed because its slick black tongue kept flicking out of its mouth, tasting the air. Who did that? Who walked around wearing a killer reptile as a necktie?

‘I can’t believe the grain of rice stand is still open,’ Brad said, gesturing to a little sidewalk stand. ‘Why would anyone want to get their name written on a grain of rice in the first place?’

‘Look, it’s the roller-skating, guitar-playing dude,’ Priesmeyer said. ‘You can’t make your first trip to the boardwalk without seeing him,’ he told Jason. ‘The guy’s a local legend.’

‘A legendary freak,’ Van Dyke put in, watching the guy in the flowing robe skate past, strumming away.

‘Van Dyke used to be afraid of him,’ Brad explained. ‘He literally wet his pants the first time he saw the guy.’

‘I was four,’ Van Dyke said. ‘And I grew up in the Heights. I’d never seen anything like him. I thought he was an evil wizard.’

‘Oooh. My favorite henna tattoo chick is working the booth today. I’ve been fantasizing about how it would feel to have her do one of those Hindu designs on my head. I’m all fresh shaved.’ Priesmeyer ran his hands over his gleaming scalp. ‘Today is the day to make my fantasy come true. I’ll catch up with you.’ He veered off toward the brightly colored tattoo tent.

Jason and the other four guys kept walking. They paused for a few minutes by an outdoor weightlifting area. ‘Muscle beach,’ Harberts explained. ‘This is Brad’s fantasy. Watching oiled-up musclemen in Speedos.’

Brad slapped him on the back of the head. ‘We stopped for you, Harberts.’

Harberts gave a snort and moved on down the boardwalk. Jason and the others fell in beside him.

‘Well, here’s my fantasy,’ Van Dyke said. He jerked his chin toward Sausage Kingdom. ‘Jody Maroni’s sausages. And lots of them.’ He sat down at one of the empty tables outside the food stand.

‘Eating some sausage and watching the rollergirls. Not bad for a Wednesday afternoon,’ Harberts said.

‘Not for you, Harberts. You should stick to a wheat grass smoothie or something,’ Brad joked. ‘Your time in the medley has been crap. You don’t need any extra weight dragging you down. In fact, I’ve been meaning to suggest you start shaving your head like Priesmeyer to get a little less drag in the water.’

‘I was thinking of suggesting you shave your legs,’ Van Dyke added. ‘Me, I think I should pack on a few pounds. Just to make the competition interesting. It’s so dull when I have the best time meet after meet without really trying.’

He handed Harberts a fifty. ‘I want an apple maple, a sweet Italian, and an orange-garlic-cumin.’

‘Why am I waiting in line for you?’ Harberts complained.

‘Because I’m holding the table. And I can swim your ass off,’ Van Dyke said. ‘And while you’re at it, get an assortment of the finest for my friend Freeman here. My treat. The rest of you bozos are on your own, though.’

Jason grinned, appreciating the gesture from Van Dyke. Not that it helped take his mind off Sienna. All the sausages on the planet wouldn’t help
that.
His name engraved on a grain of rice wouldn’t help. A couple of dozen supermodels on skates wouldn’t help. It was an impossible task. But still, it was good to know that his friends were there for moral support.

‘Thanks for arranging this,’ Jason told Adam. ‘But you know, you’re actually going to have to help me with French at some point, right?’ he continued. ‘Because I will seriously not pass if somebody doesn’t help me.’

‘After school tomorrow. My place,’ Adam promised. ‘French will be conjugated and otherwise humiliated. It’ll be good for me too. Get me ready for the ladies. You know how they all go crazy for French – the language of
lurve
and all.’

‘Please open your French textbook to page one hundred and three,’ Adam instructed the next afternoon. He and Jason sat in the Turnball kitchen, a jumbo bag of seasalt and vinegar chips open in front of them and a couple of Mountain Dews to wash them down.

Jason obediently opened his book and saw the little story about Jacques and Pauline at the Tour de France. ‘Crap!’ he exclaimed. ‘Everything makes me think of Sienna. Even page one hundred and three of my French book.’

‘How’d it go today – with the friend thing?’ Adam asked.

‘She and Belle went someplace off-campus for lunch,’ Jason said. ‘So I only really saw her in European History. Cauldwell has us doing these group projects, and I’m not in her group, so . . .’

‘Got it,’ Adam said.

‘It’s probably better that way. Easier,’ Jason added.

Adam nodded, but it didn’t look like Jason had convinced him. Which made sense. Jason hadn’t actually convinced himself.

‘OK, I’ve decided that we’re going to use the same method to study French as I did when I taught myself Klingon in the fourth grade,’ Adam explained.

‘Oh, my God. You have just revealed a whole new level of nerdiness,’ Jason told his friend.

‘I had to learn it to do the voices for the documentary I made with my action figures,’ Adam explained.

‘I don’t think you can make a documentary with dolls,’ Jason said.

‘
Action figures.
And I was ahead of my time,’ Adam answered. ‘Some day that documentary is going to be recognized as the beginning of Adam Turnball’s brilliant directing career.’

‘How does this have anything to do with French again?’ Jason asked.

‘Me learning Klingon. Which is a much more difficult language than French,’ Adam said. ‘What I basically did was take part in this Klingon Language Institute project to translate the Bible – Old and New Testament – into Klingon.’

‘Uh, I think the Bible has already been translated into French,’ Jason commented.

‘That would be a little beyond the two of us anyway. Although Madame Goddard would probably shell out some bonus points if we gave it a shot,’ Adam answered. ‘The thing is, during the project, I emailed a lot of people – in Klingon – and that got me pretty proficient.’ He stood up. ‘So come on.’

‘Come on where?’ Jason asked.

‘To the computer. I found a chat room where everybody writes in French. We’re going to hang in there, improve our skills, get some pointers,’ Adam explained.

Jason snagged his soda and the chips. ‘Worth a try. Doing some writing and translating can’t hurt my French grade.’

‘Oh, we’re definitely going to get you at least a C on the mid-term,’ Adam promised. ‘Plus, we might hook up with some
très jolies
French babes.’

Très jolies.
The words sent Jason back to lying on Sienna’s bed with her, ‘studying’ French.

‘Damn, I got you thinking about her again, didn’t I?’ Adam asked as they headed toward his room.

‘Doesn’t matter. Everything does it.’ Jason hoisted his Mountain Dew. ‘Even this. I was drinking one of these when I talked to Sienna at my first DeVere Heights party. The one at Brad’s. She accused me of bogarting the Dew.’

‘So are you going to the party at Ryan’s? If you want to avoid it – and the hours of Sienna-proximity torture – the two of us could do something else,’ Adam offered.

‘No, I want to go. I can’t wait actually,’ Jason said with a lopsided grin. ‘All those hours of Sienna-proximity torture.’