“Or you could come to dinner sometime. My mother misses you and I know you miss her cooking. See you.” Nora was grateful to have a friend like Michael. They’ve known each other since kindergarten and her parents had adopted him as a son they never had. He was her best friend.
He waved back at her and cycled away with his other friends.
***
Nora’s mother was already waiting at home with a cup of tea. “How was school? Have you seen everyone yet? How’s your new class?” she asked. No matter how busy her mom was, she always made time for Nora. She knew that not every mother, or parent, did this.
“Felicia and the others were on high alert when I came in. They were sharing the newest gossip. We have two new kids in our class, and Michael is in a different class now,” Nora shared.
“Are the new kids nice?” Her mom bit in a homemade almond cookie, fresh out of the oven.
“I don’t know. I haven’t really talked to them yet. One of them is a little too interested in me. He kept winking at me. It was weird.” Nora shuddered at the thought of unwanted attention.
“Maybe he just wanted a new friend.” Her mother always looked for the positive side in every situation. It annoyed her sometimes.
“Then he should have picked Felicia, because she won’t leave him alone. And she started ignoring me when she noticed he was looking at me.” Nora felt the warmth of her mother’s hand on hers.
“Don’t let a boy come between your friendship. You’ll both regret it in the end, and most of the time the boy isn’t even worth it.” Her mother’s voice was soothing and made her forget the negative feelings she had.
“You’re right. If she wants him so much, she can have him. I’ll make it clear to both of them.”
“And what about the other new boy?”
“Oh, he’s just a weirdo. They live together, but they aren’t related. ‘Complicated family stuff.’ I think it’s them who are complicated and their families are glad they’re gone.”
“You don’t seem to like them very much.” Her mother picked up on the snide comment.
“They make my life more complicated than it needs to be. Things would’ve been better if they had stayed the same,” Nora said.
“Sometimes a change is necessary for us to move forward. You might learn a thing or two about yourself by getting to know them. Don’t dismiss them upfront. That isn’t a kind thing to do.” Her mother always knew what to say when Nora was feeling down, although she never figured out where her mother got that kind of wisdom.
The first day of school and Nora had already received homework. Teachers never took it slow and dived into the new material right away. It wasn’t much, yet, but still enough to fill an afternoon.
Her mind started to wander off to Ben and Danny and how they acted towards her. Danny—the blond god—flirted with her, and Ben—the blue-eyed monster—didn’t notice her at all. Well, maybe he did, but he still avoided her. Felicia would be angry with her for drawing Danny’s attention. She didn’t know why, because she didn’t encourage him at all. Felicia would get over it as soon as the next handsome man passes by, she hoped it would be soon.
There was still one thing she couldn’t get out of her mind since this morning: that weird card. She grabbed it from her wallet. The ivory cream card stock had golden foil lettering on it.
Only believe the Truth
The sentence was weird, with the T capitalised. She saw it before, in religious texts. But that didn’t explain why it would be written like that on the card, nor why Ben put the card in there.
Was he one of those Mormons who came here to convert others? She had seen them before. Perfectly dressed boys—usually two of them—sent on a mission to convert others to their faith after they finish high school. It’s part of their initiation. A few members of Nora’s church housed them and invited them to a sermon once. Nora didn’t agree with their vision on the Bible and waved them away saying she’d stick with her own church. Why would they go to high school if they already finished it?
She could ask Danny tomorrow. Felicia hated religion and would probably stay away from the conversation. If Danny, and Ben by extent, were indeed Mormons, Felicia would leave the boys alone. It was worth a shot.
Chapter 5
“I know it’s the second day of school this year, but we’re starting our first project.” Mrs Peeters told the class the next morning. The students groaned in unison. Her projects were extensive and easy to fail.
“Danny, you’re new. I’ll give you the first chance to pick your partner. Your subject will be Italian painters.”
Felicia smiled at him, trying to get his attention. Danny looked around the classroom. All the girls tried to get his attention, except Nora. “Nora.”
She heard her name and looked up. She saw fourteen pairs of hateful eyes looking at her.
“Excellent. You can start your research in the school library. Nora will give you a short sightseeing tour on your way there." Mrs Peeters gave them a hall pass and they left a room full of hostility.
They didn’t speak near the classrooms. Nora walked toward the library at a quick pace, hoping that the next group wouldn’t follow them. She didn’t want to be in a hallway with filled classrooms if Felicia came after her.
Danny’s choice complicated her life even more. Felicia was still mad at her for what happened yesterday and it was because of something out of her control.
Danny acted like a puppy, hopping around, looking at everything. He asked questions after they left the no-talk zone, but didn’t take the time to wait for an answer. They reached the library and Nora headed straight for the art section. When she turned around, he was gone. She walked back to the entrance and looked around, but couldn’t find him.
Nora shrugged and went to find the book she needed. It didn’t take her long. On her way to the librarian, she noticed Danny talking softly to a girl in one of the study halls. The girl looked enthralled with him and he eyed her like dessert. It sickened Nora. It wouldn’t have surprised her if Danny was a male version of Felicia—they were made for each other.
She registered the book and sat down, looking through the index. Her knowledge of Italian painters was limited, she only knew about the most famous ones.
“You shouldn’t look at the boring ones. Real art is created on wood or stone, not canvas,” said a voice behind her. Danny took the chair next to her.
“What do you mean?” Nora asked. She looked at him. Most boys wouldn’t be interested in art history, let alone know the difference between media.
“Have you ever been to Italy?” Danny moved closer and lowered his voice. It was still a library and collaborating had to be done with the least amount of noise.
“No. Have you?” Nora felt embarrassed since it was part of her family history.
“Oh, sure. Rome, Florence, Venice, Verona. There’s lots of culture to be seen, but I always find the most impressive artwork are part of a building.” He looked away from her as if he was daydreaming. It was a look that suited him. His jawline reminded her of The Thinker.
“You mean like the Sistine Chapel.” Nora flipped through the book trying to find it.
“Exactly.” Danny took the book and found the picture. “It looks better in real life, although you can’t get close enough to see all the details. That’s the downside of having it on the ceiling. It’s also terrible for your posture if you keep looking up.” He had a smug look on his face, trying to show off.
“Isn’t looking at it on a picture better than straining your neck trying to see everything?”
“I guess, when you want to analyse it. But not when you want to be in awe of his skill. Michelangelo was like no other.” Danny kept gazing at the picture.
Nora didn’t want to interrupt him, but they needed to find a subject today. “So, you want to do Michelangelo?”
“No, that would be boring. Everyone knows about him already. I don’t know Mrs Peeters, but she looks like a woman who’s hard to impress. Goi
ng for Michelangelo would be a safe choice, and also one that would get us a low grade. Let’s go for someone less famous, like Duccio.” Danny flipped through the book looking for something else.
“I never thought you’d actually have brains.” Nora muttered under her breath.
Danny laughed but said nothing. The librarian shushed them, which made both of them giggle.
“Who’s Duccio?” Nora was curious, not just about the painter, but about Danny. There was more to him than she thought.
“The obvious question. Let’s see. Here, it is.” He pointed at a fresco, not nearly as nice as the Sistine Chapel, but Nora recognised it.
“Why this one?”
“This fresco tells a complete story, while most paintings only depict one scene. Why should we only take one part of the story, when you can have the whole story? You’ll learn so much more from this one than covering Michelangelo for a millionth time.” His fingers stroked the image and his hand stopped at one of the angels. Nora hadn’t seen grown up depictions of angels in many art pieces. Only the cherub variants, babies with wings.
“I don’t get it. Doesn’t the Sistine Chapel tell a whole story? It seems to me that you don’t like Michelangelo at all.”
Danny shrugged. “I prefer the things that aren’t the obvious choice.” There was something in his eyes that told Nora he was lying. Or that he wasn’t telling the whole truth.
“Can we even get enough data on this Duccio-guy?” Despite his weak argument, Nora knew he had a point. Most students would pick the famous ones, picking someone less known could give them an advantage. She hadn’t expected Danny to be that good at reading people, but he figured out Mrs Peeters in a matter of minutes. She had to give him more credit.
“Sure, if you know where to look. And I know where.” He leaned forward and winked at her. “I know you know I’m going to ask this, but… Where can we find it?” Nora was afraid of the answer.
“At my place,” he grinned.
Chapter 6
Nora sat down at their usual lunch table with Josy. Felicia was talking to Danny, which was no surprise, and Emily was deeply engaged in a conversation with Ben. A shiver went down Nora’s spine.
She felt nervous asking Ben or Danny about religion or Mormons in particular, but having both of them here intimidated her. Felicia sat next to Nora to block her off from Danny. It annoyed Nora how controlling Felicia could be. When she finished her sandwiches, she looked at Danny and waited until they had eye contact.
“Hey Danny, what do you think about religion? You seem to know a lot about chapels and churches,” Nora intentionally mentioned their art project. If it was about homework, Felicia couldn’t object, right?
“I think religion is beautiful. It’s funny how one holy script can have so many different interpretations.”
“Are you a Christian?” She asked. His answer was too vague.
“Probably, yes. And you?”
The question itself surprised her. She hadn’t thought much about church for a long time. She hadn’t been to a sermon since she started high school and her parents never forced her.
Danny’s attitude was open and curious. He ignored Felicia’s bad mood and gave Nora all his attention. It felt good. Nora had thrown up walls during their time at the library since she wanted nothing to do with him for Felicia’s sake, but ignoring him would mean missing out being friends with an interesting guy.
“I was raised as a Catholic, but things have been challenging lately,” she said.
“I know what you mean. Institutions have made a big mess of things. I do believe religion is deeply personal, and you should follow your own believes. And not some pompous man in a robe.” Danny laughed.
“You can’t disregard the effort that the robed man has put into understanding those texts. He probably knows more about it than you,” Ben added to the conversation, surprising everyone.
“It’s about how he uses his position. Power corrupts people. If he truly valued knowledge, he would give up that power.” Danny challenged Ben, starting a heated discussion about the difference between power and knowledge and what it does to people.
The discussion became a little too heated; students looked in their direction and started whispering. Even when most of them couldn’t hear them, their attitudes were enough to draw the attention from across the room.
Felicia stared in disbelief at how involved the two boys were. Nora was looking for conflict when she brought up the topic, hopefully between Felicia and Danny, but this wasn’t what she expected.
“Guys, stop. Ben, hi. I’m Nora. Nice to meet you. Glad to know you have a voice too, but you’re scaring the girls. Maybe we should talk about something less heavy?”
***
Their conversation during lunch had given her enough to think about. She had her answer, and she talked to Ben for the first time. It was interesting to see the dynamic between the two boys. Like two magnets, they’re opposite, but there was enough to make them similar.
Danny was already waiting at the school gate with his bicycle. Nora waved and went to get hers.
“Hey. Did you wait long?”
“Nah, just a few minutes,” Danny said as he got on his bike.
“Lead the way.” Nora hopped on. She stayed a bit behind Danny so she could anticipate where to go.
“Oh, it’s not far. Just three blocks away.” He turned right at the crossing and followed the street. He stopped in front of a large, semi-detached house and parked his bike in the front yard. “Wait here.”
Danny looked for the book when Ben walked up behind Nora.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.” Ben kept his distance from her.
“I kind of expected to see you here, but I hoped I wouldn’t.” Nora’s good mood was ruined. She felt anxious being alone with him.
“I told you I was sorry, didn’t I? What more do you want?” The annoyed look on his face and anger in his tone surprised Nora.
“I know. I’d say my mood has nothing to do with you, but it does, a little. This isn’t a one-of-incident. There’s more to it than what happened that night. I don’t want more from you except some understanding for my situation. Just let me be, for now.” Nora couldn’t face him, but it was also hard on her. She didn’t feel right projecting her fears on him, but he was a trigger. And until her body, her mind, realised it was nothing, she couldn’t be alone with him.
“Fine.” Ben turned around to go inside when Danny came out with the book. Ben bumped into him but stayed quiet.
“What did you do to him?” He asked when handing her the book.
“Something happened and I’m having a hard time dealing with it. It’s not that I don’t like him as a person, but he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe I was.” Nora sighed and shrugged. “Maybe one day I can explain it, but it’s hard when you don’t know the whole story. I don’t think he’s a bad guy, so I hope he’ll understand.”
Danny looked inside to see if Ben was still there. The hallway was empty. “Want me to talk to him?”
“No, it’s okay. Just let me figure some stuff out. Thanks for the book, I’ll check it out tonight.” Nora put the book in her backpack and went home.
Nora flipped through Danny’s book to find more about the fresco. The details amazed her. It talked about the history of Duccio himself, his artwork and growth, and the fresco itself. This book was all she needed to write the report.
She sent Danny a quick email to ask if she could do the writing and researching. He could be in charge of the presentation.
***
Someone almost knocked Nora off her bicycle by kicking the side of the wheel. “Hey, watch it!” She regained her balance just in time not to fall and stopped to see who pushed her. It was Felicia.
“Felicia, I almost fell. Why did you do that?”
“You knew I wanted him, so why did you go home with him? You’re not even interested in boys.” Felicia looked hurt, but with zero regret for what she just
did.
“I can’t help it Danny picked me to be his partner. We went to his house, because his uncle had the book we needed.” Nora had no idea why she was angry, it felt oddly personal. Did Felicia start hating her over the summer? Then why was she so nice the night before school started?
“Yeah, right. Who did you pick? The David statue?” Felicia spouted nonsense.
“No, Danny wanted to do a fresco by some unknown guy.” Nora grabbed the book from her bag. “Here. I only went with him to pick this up and then went home immediately. I have no interest in that guy. And it seems he’s just a little too interested in everything female.” Nora pointed behind Felicia, where Danny stood with a girl from another class. Felicia’s face turned sour.
“Look, I get it. Danny is the hottest guy in school and you want him to be yours, but leave me out of it. Please believe me when I say I do not care for him. I’ll even help you get him.” Maybe her offer to help Felicia with her conquest would be enough.
“Well, since you know where he lives, could you give me the address?” Felicia’s voice wavered.
“If you give me your phone, I’ll pin it on your map.” Nora held out her hand. “I can’t help it he picked me for the assignment, but if I promise to talk you up and pass information to you, will you stop kicking me off my bike?”
Felicia gave her a little smile after giving her the phone. It was the only apology Nora could’ve expected from her.
Chapter 7
Felicia took every opportunity she could to sit next to Danny and ask him about everything and nothing. Emily often joined her in the inquisition, and Danny didn’t seem to mind at all. The only interesting thing Nora learned was that Danny had lived in Italy, and his parents still live there. That would explain his knowledge about Italy and Italian art.
Devil's Deal (Infernal Contracts Book 1) Page 3
