Grey (The Romany Outcasts Series, Book 1)

by Christi J. Whitney

  Behind the trucks rolled several expensive-looking tour buses, branded with the same logo, and a cluster of smaller vehicles brought up the rear of the procession. The entire courtyard paused, watching the caravan amble down the road like a bright, twisting serpent.

  The soft jingle of Katie’s phone caught my ears. ‘It’s her!’ she said. ‘They’re coming in tomorrow to register for classes!’

  Avery leaned forward, rubbing his chin. ‘Well, I’ll make a point of being available to show her around.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m sure you will, Avery.’ Brandon huffed.

  Lunch resumed, but I’d lost my appetite. I never skipped out on meals, but suddenly the three mustard-drenched corn dogs staring up at me were completely unappealing. Was I coming down with something? I pushed the tray aside and unscrewed the lid of my bottled water instead, wishing I had some aspirin. Beside me, Katie happily sipped a juice box. I cleared my throat, trying to appear casual, but feeling strangely unsettled.

  ‘So, who is the she you keep talking about?’ I asked.

  ‘Josephine Romany,’ she replied.

  Hot chills ripped through my insides, like I’d plunged into a pool of lava and liquid nitrogen at the exact same instant. The shock was so strong that it sucked the air from my lungs. I pitched forward, clutching the edge of the table. Was it food poisoning? I stared at my plate. I hadn’t even eaten anything yet!

  Katie grabbed my arm. ‘Sebastian?’

  My airway opened again, and I could breathe. Was this an allergic reaction to something? I squinted up at the sky. Gradually the feeling passed.

  ‘Just a bad headache,’ I replied, pushing thoughts of various ailments from my brain.In a flash, Katie’s hand was in and out of her bag, this time, holding a bottle of Tylenol.I took it gratefully. ‘Thanks, mom.’

  She poked me hard in the ribs.

  The bell echoed through the courtyard, announcing that our brief stint of freedom was over. A collective sigh swept through the masses as students converged on trash cans and doors, disposing leftovers and shuffling to their next destinations. I parted ways with Katie, still feeling uneasy. Not to mention I’d barely touched my lunch.

  The courtyard sloped downhill, ending at a covered breezeway. The shade felt good after being in the harsh sun, and I shoved my hood back, pushing hair out of my face. My stomach had settled, but my mind continued to swirl. The image of the dancing girl flashed in my head like the neon sign over the door of the tattoo parlor. But now, each time the image appeared, a name accompanied it:

  Josephine Romany.

  ‘Sebastian, are you still there?’

  I transferred my phone to my other hand as I buckled the seatbelt. ‘Yeah, I’m here.’

  ‘Weren’t you listening to me?’ Katie asked.

  I paused, trying to remember what we’d been talking about. The two hours since lunch had been a blur, and my brain was mush. ‘Um…’

  Katie sighed on the other end. ‘The project Ms Lucian talked about in class today,’ she continued impatiently. ‘When are we going to work on it?’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ I replied, starting the engine. ‘The pounding in my head’s making it difficult to think.’

  ‘Another headache?’

  ‘You know me and sunny days,’ I said dismissively. I stepped on the gas and coaxed my old van onto the road. ‘But about the project. I don’t know if I can do it this week. Can I get back to you?’

  ‘Yeah, just don’t wait too long. I know we’ve got almost a month to work on it, so Ms Lucian’s not going to cut us any slack, and the rest of our group is totally avoiding me about the whole thing.’

  Katie hated procrastinating on anything related to schoolwork. This was probably killing her. ‘Look, don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to the guys, and we’ll come up with a day to work on it. I promise, we won’t let you down.’

  ‘Thanks, Sebastian,’ she replied, sounding relieved. ‘You’re not nearly as much of an idiot as the rest of your species.’

  I chuckled. ‘I think you mean gender.’

  She giggled. ‘No, I don’t.’

  ‘Talk to you later, Katie.’

  ‘Bye.’

  I tossed the phone on the passenger seat and rubbed my temples. By the time I made it through town and steered my van into the parking lot of the Gypsy Ink, my headache had traveled, setting up residence between my shoulder blades. The last thing I felt like doing was homework.

  I shuffled through the waiting room, giving a brief wave to Kris, who was busy behind the counter. I’d grab a quick snack and then lay out flat on the floor of the apartment for a while. Just until the aching eased. I paused in the hallway just outside the door of Hugo’s workspace. I didn’t have to say anything. My brother knew I was there.

  ‘Hey, Sebastian.’ He glanced up from his sketchbook. ‘What’s up?’

  ‘Do you have any sports cream?’ I leaned against the wall and squinted as a sharp pain lanced through my shoulders. ‘My back’s killing me.’

  Hugo’s brows settled low over his dark eyes. ‘In the drawer beside my bed.’

  ‘Okay, thanks.’

  I continued down the hallway, followed by the weight of my brother’s stare. He probably thought I was trying to get out of work, which wasn’t a bad idea. I chucked my bag on the bed and rummaged through Hugo’s nightstand until I located the tube of medicine. I worked the cream into my back, but it felt as if someone was digging long fingers between my shoulder blades, attempting to separate muscle from bone.

  I gave up with the cream and stumbled to the bathroom on a quest for aspirin. Just as I reached for the medicine cabinet, another shock of pain doubled me over. I gripped the edge of the counter and straightened. My gaze flicked to the mirror. For a moment, I almost didn’t recognize the face staring back. I was crazy pale, even for me, and my skin made the hazel color of my eyes look dull. But then I noticed something else. Another chunk of gray was poking through my disheveled hair.

  What kind of sickness produced symptoms like these? There had to be some reasonable explanation. I was just stressed. My body was worn down. I needed a weekend of sleeping in and watching mindless movies. Then I’d be back to normal. I jabbed my fingers through my hair until the discolored strands disappeared beneath the surface of the black.

  But it didn’t matter. I knew it was still there.

  And I was beginning to get just a little concerned.

  3. Lost and Found

  Katie was waiting for me in the school’s main lobby the next morning, holding a chicken biscuit in her hand. The sight of warm food made my mouth water. My breakfast had consisted of a bag of potato chips and three protein bars. I eyed the foil package innocently.

  ‘Is that for me?’

  ‘Of course. You’re always in a better mood after I’ve fed you.’

  I grabbed the biscuit and hugged Katie at the same time. ‘My hero.’

  ‘Hey, I’m doing this for my benefit, not yours. I’ve seen how you get when you’re hungry.’

  Katie tapped endlessly on her phone as we strolled to our lockers. She opened the door with one hand and pulled out a book. I managed to sneak a quick peak in her locker mirror. The two gray streaks in my hair were pretty well hidden. That was a relief. So was the fact that my back pain had disappeared, along with the image of the dancing girl. I’d actually slept most of the night. But something new was bothering me.

  I took a bite of chicken biscuit, and I was surprised at how unsettled it felt in my stomach. I chewed in silence, letting my mind wander back to the day before, and the talk about the Circe de Romany.

  Katie pocketed her phone. ‘You’re really quiet today.’

  I raised an eyebrow.

  She smirked. ‘Okay, quieter than usual.’

  ‘Maybe.’ I paused a moment. ‘Um, Katie?’

  Apparently something in my expression was amusing. She twisted a strand of hair around her finger like a gold ring and winked at me. ‘Um, Sebastian?’

  ‘I was just won
dering if you heard any more about the Romanys?’

  Her brows lifted. Yes, she was definitely amused. ‘I have. Why?’

  I played with the biscuit wrapper, choosing to stare at it rather than meet Katie’s gaze. But we’d been friends for a while, and it didn’t take long for Katie to read my thoughts.

  ‘Uh huh,’ she said. ‘By Romanys, you mean Josephine.’

  Warm-and-cold sensations spiked through my body again. I pressed against the lockers to cover my reaction, but blurted, ‘What makes you think that? I don’t even know her!’ I abruptly stuffed a huge bite of chicken into my mouth to shut myself up.

  Katie reached up and flicked a piece of biscuit off my shirt. ‘Cute, Sebastian.’ Her look made the blood rush to my cheeks. ‘But I’m sure all the guys have been talking about her,’ she continued. ‘So naturally, you’re interested, right?’

  ‘No. Just curious. That’s different from interested. Everyone else seems to know these people, and you’re obviously pretty close to her.’ I attempted a smile. ‘I just wanted a heads-up, that’s all.’

  The heated chill passed, leaving only the warmth of embarrassment. This was almost worse than my zone outs.

  ‘Well, Josephine’s awesome. I totally get what they all see in her. Just remember one thing’, she jabbed her finger into my sternum for emphasis; ‘I consider myself her best friend, and I’m looking out for her. So don’t get any ideas.’

  A startled laugh escaped my throat. ‘No worries there. Lost cause, remember?’

  ‘I’m signing you up to the audition, Sebastian,’ announced Mitchell, leaning smugly over his seat in the auditorium.

  ‘Don’t even think about it,’ I replied sternly. I continued to scribble in my theater notebook. ‘I’m not kidding.’

  He only laughed.

  I ignored him and studied my artwork. The massive circular patterns looked like batches of gray smoke engulfing the paper. Or maybe it was a representation of my churning insides. I hadn’t felt right all day. No, make that the last two days. Or whenever it was that I’d first heard about…

  Katie’s phone vibrated beside me. She glanced down excitedly at the text. ‘Guess what, guys! Josephine’s in the office signing in.’

  She was here.

  It was as if the air had been squeezed from my lungs. My notebook dropped from my hands. Cold rushed over my skin, and I leaned forward, feeling myself in danger of falling out of my seat.

  ‘Sebastian?’

  Ms Lucian stood over me. I swallowed hard and pried my fingers loose from the armrests. ‘I’m fine,’ I said, automatically, before she could ask. But I wasn’t. It felt like I was suffocating. ‘I’m going to check out some props for our project.’

  I bolted out of the chair and up the stairs to the stage. I could feel everyone watching me the entire way. As soon as I had parted the curtains and was safely out of sight, I fell against the wall and slid to my knees. I stared into the rafters, then looked away before I imagined plunging to my death over the edge of one of the pieces of scaffolding.

  Maybe I wasn’t diseased or suffering from cafeteria food poisoning. Maybe I was having a nervous breakdown. I was sick and shaky, and my body felt like I was taking a shower in alternating cold and hot water.

  But why?

  There was no telling what Avery and the others were probably saying about me. This was rapidly moving out of the realm of quirky. This was teetering on insanity. I put my head between my knees and prayed for the bell.

  My pride sank to the bottom of my Converse as I stood in front of the call-board, staring at the audition sheet for the drama department’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. My name was in the middle of the page. Mitchell had signed me up for auditions, the next afternoon.

  The fact that he’d done it while I was hiding out backstage was just plain irritating. If I backed out now, they’d never let me live it down. But I wasn’t an actor and had no intention of embarrassing myself – or Shakespeare – for that matter. As much as it stung my ego, I was going to have to bail out.

  As I continued my inner debate, the door to the auditorium opened. Class was over and everyone had filed out to lunch, so I assumed Mitchell had returned to gloat. But no one appeared. Then, someone knocked on Ms Lucian’s door. Since her office was around the corner, I didn’t see who had entered. But I could certainly hear the voice.

  ‘Excuse me, Ms Lucian. Could I speak with you?’

  It was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard.

  Ms Lucian gave a polite reply and enquired as to how she could help. The voice spoke again.

  ‘I’d like to audition for the play, if that’s still possible.’

  The teacher gave an enthusiastic affirmative, followed by instructions for finding the call-board.

  ‘Thank you,’ said the voice.

  There was silence. Then I panicked. The voice would soon be at the call-board. I shivered harshly. Something in my gut told me to get out of there before it was too late.

  But just as I reached up to scratch off my name, I caught a whiff of perfume. No, not perfume. It wasn’t like the overpowering department store stuff that Emma wore, or even the fresh, fruity concoctions Katie slathered on every morning at her locker. Not that those weren’t nice. But this was more like a scent; exotic, like flowers and spices from some strange place I could never afford to visit. My fingers froze over the ‘4:00’ time slot. Then, another hand hovered over mine, gracefully wielding a pink pen. It wrote a name with a gentle flourish.

  Josephine Romany

  I couldn’t remember how to breathe.

  The voice drifted across my ear. ‘Are you auditioning?’

  ‘No,’ I managed. ‘No, I’m not.’

  There was a delicate intake of breath behind me. My cheeks burned, and my feet felt bolted to the floor. I couldn’t move, much less turn around.

  ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a great play,’ said the voice: Josephine Romany’s voice. ‘I’m sure they’ll need plenty of guys.’

  ‘Well, I don’t know about that. I mean, yeah, it’s a great play…I just meant…I mean, I’m not sure yet…about auditioning. I haven’t thought much about it.’

  What was I saying?

  ‘Well, you really should.’ Her voice was liquid sunshine. ‘Everyone should give live performance a chance.’

  ‘Okay,’ I said, trying desperately to remember why I’d been so intent on scratching my name off in the first place. ‘I’ll do it.’

  ‘Good.’ There was the click of a pen and the pull of a backpack zipper. ‘Well, I’ve got to stop by the registrar’s office. I’ll see you later…’

  She trailed off purposely. My name, I realized with a start. She wanted my name! It took me a second to figure out what it was. ‘Sebastian.’

  I smelled that sweet, exotic scent again. It made me dizzy – but a good kind of dizzy – a swirling bliss that I didn’t want to end. I put a hand on the call-board to keep from pitching forward.

  ‘I’ll see you later…Sebastian.’

  The way my name sounded in her voice sent a current of electricity pulsing down my neck. It surged along my skin, unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I turned just in time to catch a glimpse of green shirt passing through the doors. I wiped my hand across my eyes, trying to sort out the craziness in my head.

  I felt sick, almost queasy, but also elated, as though I was floating miles above that cloud nine place people talk about. How could such bizarre emotions exist at the same time? And why did they revolve around Josephine Romany; a girl I hadn’t even had the nerve to turn around and meet properly? My gaze drifted to the sign-up sheet. Fate, it seemed, had decided to give me another chance. There, right above my name, was hers.

  We were auditioning in the same time slot.

  ‘You’re auditioning for the play?’ James looked at me incredulously.

  ‘It’s against my will, believe me.’

  I’d barely walked through the door of the shop before he’d started yelli
ng for some fresh paper towels. No one else was around, so I plucked a roll from under the counter. A young woman was his latest victim. She leaned over the back of his leather office chair as the burly man finished up an elaborate rose and butterfly combination on her back. She was quite the bleeder, and James kept dabbing his cloth, mopping up the red droplets seeping through the design.

  ‘Nice work,’ I commented.

  ‘Thanks,’ James muttered, concentrating on the last bit of shading. The needle stopped and he grunted in satisfaction. ‘Check it out and see what you think.’

  The customer scrutinized her fresh ink using the long wall mirror. ‘It’s great, James,’ she cooed. ‘Thanks a lot.’

  The woman left and James followed me into the waiting room. He deposited money into the register. ‘So, why the school play, Sebastian?’ he asked. ‘I didn’t think you were the acting type.’ Before I could answer, he snapped his fingers. ‘Oh, I got it! It’s a girl, isn’t it?’ He rocked back on his heels triumphantly, daring me to disagree.

  ‘Mitchell signed me up.’ I wasn’t about to mention my encounter at the call-board. The guys gave me a hard enough time about my dating life as it was. ‘As a dare.’

  ‘School play?’ my brother asked causally as he emerged from his room.

  How did Hugo do that? Even fifteen feet down the hall, behind a closed door, and with a tattoo pen buzzing, he’d still managed to hear my news.

  ‘Yeah,’ I admitted. ‘Auditions are tomorrow.’

  ‘O-kay.’ He drew the word out sarcastically. I shuffled towards the couch. ‘Hey, don’t sit down yet,’ he said. ‘I need you to pick up some Chinese takeout. We’ve got a busy evening.’

  I sighed and held out my hands, waiting for Hugo to fork over the money. ‘I don’t get paid enough for this.’

  He grinned back at me. ‘Yeah, you do.’