Aprilynne Pike - Illusions

“I use them for ikebana ,” she said, before disappearing into the back of the house.

She’d mentioned the Japanese art of flower arrangement to him before, though he couldn’t remember the context. He had thought ikebana was more understated, however. This place was practically a jungle. He yanked his phone out of his pocket and hurried to snap a few pictures of the green-laden walls, hoping Laurel could tell him a bit more about the kinds of plants Yuki was growing here. He barely managed to get the phone back in his pocket when she emerged from her room, her backpack in place.

“Sorry; I’m ready now.”

He smiled, forcing himself out of thinking mode and into friendly spy mode. “Great!”

But Yuki didn’t turn to go. He watched her take a few nervous breaths before blurting out, “You’re welcome here anytime.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Tamani said, offering her a crooked grin.

Yuki looked like she might say something else, but lost her nerve and walked past him onto the porch, waiting for him to pass through the doorway before pulling it shut.

“I hope it’s okay that I just stopped by,” Tamani said as they set off at a leisurely pace toward school.

“I’m glad you did,” Yuki said, lowering her eyes.

The silence was building uncomfortably and Tamani was scrambling for something not-too-stupid to say when Yuki’s phone started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket and rolled her eyes, pressing the button that would send the call to voice mail.

“Do you need to take that?” Tamani asked. “I don’t mind.”

“It’s just Klea; no biggie.”

“She doesn’t care if you don’t pick up?”

“I’ll just say I was in the shower. Or riding my bike — it’s actually tough to ride and talk at the same time. As long as I call her back pretty quickly, she doesn’t care.”

“And you really don’t mind being alone so often?”

Yuki flipped a lock of hair over her shoulder. “Not at all.” She smiled. “I’m not afraid of the dark.” Tamani cringed inwardly at how obvious it was that she was trying to impress him.

“And your parents don’t mind?”

He saw something cross her face. It was wary, then decisive. He leaned closer, trying to look interested instead of eager. “My parents aren’t around anymore,” she said in a rush. “It’s just me and Klea. And mostly, just me. The whole ‘foreign exchange’ thing just… eases the transition.” Her eyes kept darting to him, clearly nervous. “I’m sort of here for a fresh start.”

“A fresh start is good. My… parents aren’t around either. Sometimes I wish everyone didn’t know. They look at you, all pitying, and it just—”

“I know what you’re saying. Hey, listen,” she said, touching his arm. “Don’t tell anyone? Please?”

He didn’t push for more. Not today — not on this subject. “Of course I won’t,” he said with a smile. Then he leaned over and laid his hand over hers. “You can trust me.”

She beamed at him, but there was something wary around her eyes. “So, how was your suspension?”

Eye of Hecate, now who’s awkward? Tamani shrugged, looking embarrassed. “It was stupid. I’m glad it’s over.”

“Everyone’s still talking about your fight with David,” Yuki said, her tight laugh completely unconvincing. She hesitated for a moment. “Jun said that he heard you guys were fighting over Laurel or something.”

“Laurel?” Tamani said, hoping he sounded confused. “Laurel Sewell? Why would it be about her?”

“I heard she broke you guys up and said something about choosing.”

“Oh, wow,” he said, leaning forward conspiratorially. “That’s crazy. Laurel is cool; she helps me out in Government. Because I’m totally clueless, right? I think she and David both got the wrong idea. If you know what I mean,” he said in a callous, almost mocking tone.

“So, you’re not into Laurel?”

“Not like that,” he said, hating the words coming out of his mouth. It felt like blasphemy. “She’s really nice. But, I don’t know. Not my type. Too… blond.”

“What is your type?” Yuki asked, her eyes shy now.

Tamani shrugged and smiled a little. “I’ll know it when I see it,” he said, holding her gaze until she looked away, embarrassed but pleased.

“DAD’S HOUSE FOR THANKSGIVING THIS YEAR?” Laurel asked David. They were sitting at a lunch table with Chelsea; their usual spot was a mudhole, thanks to last night’s storm, and Chelsea complained that it was too cold. It was almost too cold even for Laurel, so today they were braving the noise and bustle of the cafeteria.

“I wish,” David replied. “If that were the case we would order a bunch of Chinese food and sit around and watch football for three days. Or, more accurately, he would watch football and I’d study for finals. No, my grand-parents called a family reunion in Eureka. They’re sure this is the year they’re going to die and they have to see everyone before they go.”

“Didn’t they pull that one at Christmas last year?” Laurel asked.

“And the year before. They’re not even that old. They’re, like, five years older than your parents .”

It was nice, talking to David again. Laurel tried to get both Tamani and David to tell her what happened during their suspension, but Tamani insisted it was guy stuff and wouldn’t discuss it and David was very adept at changing the subject. They seemed to have come to an understanding, a truce, something —Laurel couldn’t guess what — but they no longer glowered at each other in the hallway, and even exchanged friendly greetings on occasion. They’d also stopped pushing her to choose between them, but Laurel doubted that could last.

“Still, a break’s a break, right?” Laurel said.

“Psh. A zillion relatives in one house? I won’t get any studying done.”

“I think you’re missing the point of having a break,” Laurel insisted.

“Are you kidding? I’m way behind.”

“Oh, sure, Mr. Four-point-oh.”

“Four-point-four,” David and Chelsea corrected in unison before looking at each other and laughing. When Laurel raised an eyebrow at him, he said sheepishly, “Honors classes are worth five points, remember?”

Laurel rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You’re such a perfectionist.”

“Yeah, but you love me,” David said. He had the decency to blush and look mortified at having slipped into their old banter.

But Laurel only smiled and reached up to squeeze his shoulder. “Yeah,” she said genially. “I do.”

Everyone was silent for a few seconds before Chelsea snorted. “Awkward much?” she asked with a grin.

Luckily, Tamani chose that moment to plunk himself down across the table from Chelsea, eyeing Ryan, who was standing in line for tacos. “Hey,” he said softly.

“Where’s Yuki?” Laurel asked, looking around. “Didn’t I see her this morning?”

“Yeah, she said Klea was picking her up early. Taking a few extra days off around the break.”

“Still nothing at the cabin?” Laurel asked. David and Chelsea glanced around for eavesdroppers, then brought their heads in close so they could hear what Tamani had to say.

“Not a sound, not a movement, absolutely nothing. I’m starting to think those trolls just ran through the circle and past the cabin.”

“Your guys haven’t gone in yet?” Chelsea asked, disbelief shading her voice. “What are they waiting for?”

Leave it to Chelsea to ask the obvious question, thought Laurel with a smile.

“Shar thinks it’s more important to figure out what they’re doing. If we bust in, they’ll fight to the death, and we won’t know any more than we already do.”