Lights at Midnight : A Mermaid Story (Lights at Midnight Series Book 1)

by Orchid Leigh

  He must have decided for himself that being friends wasn’t such a good idea. He had warned me to stay away, after all. Maybe this was his way of pushing me out. I didn’t want to be out. But what could I do? I would’ve gone to search for him at Carle’s, but the snow and my ankle said no to that.

  So I waited, feverish and hot, for school to finally begin.

  ~

  Apparently, the kids at Ocean Lake High weren’t too accustomed to newcomers, and my first day as the new kid was an uncomfortable ordeal of obtrusive stares and questions, then more stares again.

  I didn’t mind, though. I was in a good mood. I was finally out of the house and I was eager to at least talk to Peter. I wasn’t feeling very hopeful about what he would say, but hearing him say it would be better than the buggy crickets that kept chirping in my ear.

  But every time I turned another corner, and every time I entered a new classroom full of unfamiliar faces, I was met with the same thing—no Peter.

  He was nowhere. He wasn’t even at lunch.

  I stood awkwardly in the front of the cafeteria, holding my tray, scanning the room for him. I felt all the eyes on me again and decided on a new tactic.

  My brace and I made a clumsy beeline for a free table near the door. I could eat and watch for him at the same time. I had my eye on the door and had just stuffed my face with potatoes when a chair scraped loudly across the floor.

  “Is this seat taken?” I looked up to see two girls standing before me. The girl who had spoken was standing with her hand on the back of the chair. She had a heap of dark—almost black—curly hair pulled high on her head. She wore big hooped earrings and a perfectly applied face of rosy makeup over her smooth alabaster skin.

  “No,” I said, swallowing my mouthful. “Go ahead.”

  She smiled at me with glossy lips. “I’m Bethany,” she said, sitting down beside me. “This is Jenny.”

  I turned to Jenny, who pulled out a chair in front of me. “Hi, Jenny.”

  From what I could tell, Jenny wore no makeup, but her olive skin held a natural blush that colored her cheeks, giving her a friendly glow that matched her kind eyes.

  “Hi,” she said, smoothing a strand of straightened brown hair over her woolen dress.

  “What’s your name?” asked Bethany.

  “I’m Ellie,” I said, and before she could ask, I added, “I moved here from New York.”

  “Oh, really?” said Jenny.

  “New York City?” asked Bethany. I nodded. “Did you leave any boyfriends over there?”

  “Nope. No boyfriend.”

  “That’s too bad,” she said. “There’s not much to choose from here.” She glanced around the room.

  I laughed and scanned the room along with her, not really caring if she was right. “That’s okay. I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

  “No?” asked Bethany like she was seriously confused.

  I shook my head and took a bite of my roll. I thought for a second about mentioning Peter but realized there wasn’t really anything to mention. Then I almost asked about him, but I remembered his broken confession about the kids in this town and kept my teeth tight on my tongue.

  “Well,” said Bethany. “See that kid over there?” She pointed her nose toward a table of red. It was filled with a group of boys wearing the same basketball jerseys as the bullies in Carle’s. And they were there, all three of them, talking and laughing in loud, obnoxious bursts. I glared at them.

  “Joey Williams sits over there,” continued Bethany, not noticing I’d turned foul. “He’s the one on the end.” She pointed at Joey, who was laughing, un-obnoxiously, with a friend at the other end of the table. I thought I recognized him from science. He seemed like an okay kid.

  “Don’t even think about it,” warned Bethany as she saw me looking at Joey. I was about to remind her that she told me to look when she said, “He’s Jenny’s.”

  I glanced at Jenny, who dreamingly smiled past me to Joey’s table.

  “I wouldn’t,” I said, smiling at her and thinking of Joey Williams’s crunchy head of too much gel.

  “Oh, and that’s Robert Martin. I used to go out with him,” said Bethany, pointing at a boy across the room.

  She continued to give me full reports on anybody and everybody she knew, along with any unfortunate soul who passed by our table. By the end of lunch, I knew who the losers were, who the popular kids were, and just about everyone who came in between.

  Despite the incessant gossiping, I found I liked Bethany and Jenny well enough. We ended up having gym class together after lunch, and Mr. White, our gym teacher, let them sit on the bleachers with me and my injured ankle while the rest of the class played volleyball. And they were both in my last two classes after that as well. Peter wasn’t.

  I was at my locker, getting ready to close it to the kind of okay, but kind of depressing day. I peered over my shoulder. The kid at his locker beside me looked nice. And he looked quiet. I turned to the boy.

  “Hey,” I said.

  He stared back, confused.

  “Hey, do you by any chance know if Peter Evans goes here?” I whispered.

  He looked up in thought. “No, I don’t think so,” he said, shaking his head.

  I was just about to start my request for more info when the boy slammed his locker and walked away.

  9

  “Hey!” said Bethany, swinging the door to greet me. Jenny was smiley and happy by her side.

  We were having a sleepover at Bethany’s. She lived in town, and it wasn’t until I showed up at her house that I realized that her apartment was above the strip of stores lining Main Street. And this one, in particular, was right across the street from Carle’s Market.

  “Ellie!” squealed Jenny. She bounced over to me and grabbed me by the hand, dragging me inside.

  “Hey, guys,” I said, laughing and feeling pulled in by all the excited energy. They both seemed bubblier and happier out of school. “Here.” I handed Bethany a bag of chips to add to our snacks. Of course, I had gone into Carle’s to check for Peter; he hadn’t been there.

  “Thanks,” she said, ripping the bag open and moving to the kitchen. She pulled a bowl from a cabinet and emptied the bag. “Do you like scary movies?”

  I pulled out a stool. “Sure,” I said, smiling and glancing at the TV in the living room. I was all for a movie but was going to make sure I positioned myself on the couch right next to the big window that looked out onto the street.

  “Hey, did she tell you?” asked Jenny, taking a seat. Her smile at me was ecstatic.

  “Tell me what,” I asked, looking between the two of them with curiosity.

  Bethany’s eyes popped big and happy. “Alex Anderson asked me out!” she shrieked.

  “Which one is he?” I asked, not remembering the name from our lunchtime gossip.

  “Alex Anderson,” repeated Jenny like it would help me remember. “Only the most popular boy in our class. Cutest, too, if you don’t mind me saying.” She glanced at Bethany.

  “I know, right?” squealed Bethany.

  I shrugged, still in the dark. “Guys, that doesn’t help.”

  “You remember,” said Jenny. “He sits at the same table as Joey. The kid with the silky blonde hair and blue eyes.” She brushed her hands down her hair and batted her eyes at me.

  “You mean the tall kid with the loud laugh?” I asked, hoping I was wrong, hoping she wasn’t talking about the same kid who I had seen bugging Peter at Carle’s.

  “Yeah,” swooned Bethany. “He is tall, isn’t he?” She giggled.

  “Yeah,” I said, suddenly feeling sick and forgetting to hide the grimace that pulled down my face.

  “What?” asked Bethany, noticing my unease.

  “Nothing,” I said quickly. I pulled my face up. I wasn’t sure what I should say. I knew Peter wouldn’t want me to tell them about the store and I didn’t know how else to explain my problem with her new boyfriend.

  “What? You don’t lik
e him or something?” Bethany asked.

  “No,” I said. “It’s not that. I just think you can do better.”

  “Better?” said Jenny and Bethany at the same time.

  “It’s Alex Anderson, Ellie. There isn’t better than Alex Anderson,” snorted Bethany.

  “Yeah, there is,” I said.

  “Like who?” she asked.

  “Anybody,” I said, raising my arms like it should be obvious.

  Bethany’s jaw dropped. “What, are you jealous?”

  “No, I’m not jealous, I just—”

  “You sound jealous.” She snorted again.

  I was appalled. I shot her a look of disgust and was about to let her know that I absolutely was not jealous, that she could have that bully Alex Anderson, and that . . .

  “Okay, okay,” said Jenny, who was getting blasted by our steamy glares.

  Bethany and I turned our hard eyes to Jenny. I relaxed my tight jaw.

  “Let’s just go watch the movie,” she scolded. She picked up the bowl of chips and headed to the couch, leaving me and Bethany to fume at each other.

  I composed myself, realizing with shame I was being ridiculous. “Sorry, Bethany,” I said. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just . . .”

  “Fine,” she said. She huffed on her way past me and into the living room, then sat on the couch, taking my seat near the window.

  10

  “What’s the matter?” asked Millie. She was standing in the doorway, staring at me.

  “What?” I glanced over at Millie but failed to meet her eyes. I turned back to the blank TV in front of me. I had come home from school and plopped down on the couch, intending to watch something, but now I was just staring at the black screen with the remote lax in my hand. “Nothing,” I said, pressing at the button to turn it on.

  Millie moved into the room and sat down beside me. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah.” I sighed. “I’m just ready to get this thing off already.” I kicked my braced foot out in front of me.

  “I’m taking you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m just tired of it.”

  “Is that it?” she asked, sounding concerned. “How’s school going?”

  “School’s school,” I said as I shuffled through some movies. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk.

  “How are your friends?” asked Millie. Me not wanting to talk meant she was going to keep bugging me until I did.

  I stopped clicking and twisted my neck to look at her. “Good,” I said. “I’m fine. Really.”

  I was fine, but I wasn’t feeling very happy these days. Bethany had been going out with Alex for three weeks now. I had talked to her again the day after our fight and tried to apologize. We kind of made amends, but I felt some irreparable damage had been done and I was sorry for it. It hadn’t been my intention to hurt her. I was actually concerned for her, but I had done a poor job of showing it that night. School with Bethany and Jenny was now an uncomfortable mess of tension and tightrope-walking.

  “Have you heard from Peter?”

  I perked up a little but quickly flattened again. “No, but that’s okay. It wasn’t really anything.”

  “That’s a shame,” said Millie, patting my knee. She smiled. “You know what I think we should do?” she asked, her voice rising in pitch.

  Oh no. I was scared. That tone could only mean one thing.

  “Movie night!” she shouted happily. “Just me and you. Tomorrow. Okay? Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

  “I guess.”

  “Oh, come on,” she said gleefully. “It’ll be fun! Okay?”

  “It’s a date,” I said, trying to force a smile.

  She patted me on the shoulder and got up. “A date!” she called back happily from the kitchen.

  ~

  To my surprise, movie night with Millie was exactly what I needed.

  We rented our favorite Disney flick, Sleeping Beauty, and ordered Chinese food. Then we let the movie play in the background while we chatted about life.

  Maybe it was the freedom from finally having my brace removed, but I surprised even myself with how much I had to say, and I ended up spilling my guts to her—about everything, things I didn’t even know I was feeling.

  I talked mostly about Peter. I was heartbroken and sad and angry and very annoyed with myself for feeling any of those things over a boy I had only known for one day.

  I also told her about the situation at school with the girls and about what I saw with Alex and Peter at the store. Millie was understanding and easy to talk to like always, and I woke up the next day feeling much better than I had in a while.

  It was seriously such a relief, and I was ready to stop the useless moping and get on with my life. The sun was shining through my window and the spring morning looked lovely and bright. It was going to be a great day.

  I pushed open the door, inhaling the fresh Saturday morning air. It was crisp and cool, and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground—perfect.

  I reached around the door to the kitchen and grabbed my coat from the hook. Without my brace, I could now be out here in the snow and mud without Dad fussing.

  I walked to the edge of the barn, where I had seen the mythical creature. I made a few sweeps around the grounds, trying to spot footprints in the freshly laid fluff. My tracking skills needed some work, though, because I had yet to even find any squirrel’s tracks, and I knew I had seen them hopping around out here earlier.

  There had been no other sightings of magical creatures since the night of the storm, but my restless mind was not letting it go. I wanted to at least know what I had seen, and if I could find some tracks, maybe I would be able to identify the animal they belonged to.

  I was deep in thought, making yet another pass around the barn when the buzz of my phone startled me. I reached for my pocket.

  I didn’t recognize the number.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “Can I come over?”

  It was Peter.

  11

  I waited on the porch for Peter. His footsteps scuffled on the pebbled drive. My heart skipped in my chest and I quietly scolded myself for it. I didn’t want to get so worked up over this kid again, but here I was, nervous and feeling happy.

  I walked down to meet him. He looked up at me and summoned a feeble smile.

  “Here,” he said. He held out his hand. It was a candy necklace with pretty pink pastel pieces forming the chain and a heart pendant hanging from its center, reminding me of my grandmother’s locket. “Don’t worry, I’m still going to buy you something better. This is just . . .” He paused. “Just an . . . I’m sorry . . . I guess,” he said. “Anyway.” He reached up and placed the necklace around my neck. I pulled my hair through the strand and centered the heart on my chest.

  I glanced back up at Peter. He looked sad and defeated and altogether like a big miserable mess.

  He stared at me with his good but very sad eyes.

  “So you don’t go to my school, do you?” I asked.

  He laughed. “No, I don’t.” He paused and stared at me for a second. “I’m homeschooled.”

  “Oh my god! Homeschool! I didn’t think of that.” I shook my head. “You know I searched the whole school for you?”

  He shrugged. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you.”

  “You also forgot to call me,” I said, gently kicking his toe.

  He tilted his head to one side. “I didn’t forget,” he said with a weak smile.

  “So where have you been?”

  He stared at the ground and pushed some pebbles around with his feet. “My dad came back,” he said. “It’s been a little crazy at home.”

  “Are you okay?”

  He glanced up at me uncomfortably. “Yeah, can we not talk about it right now, though?” He pulled in a deep breath, trying to stifle the tears I already saw.

  I nodded quietly and chewed on my lip. I fixed my eyes on the barn behind him, thinking maybe a little of my unicorn
delirium would cheer him up.

  “Do you want to help me with something?” I asked.

  “Sure,” he said. “What’s up?”

  I smiled at him. “Do you know anything about tracking?”

  ~

  “I’m not crazy.”

  “I didn’t say you were.”

  “It’s in your eyes,” I said.

  Peter smiled. “Look, if you say you saw a unicorn, I believe you.”

  “Good. Now come help me track it.”

  He got up from the steps and followed me to the barn.

  We paced around, tracing the same steps from my failed mission earlier. But Peter was better at this tracking stuff and was able to point out a squirrel’s, a cat’s, and a deer’s tracks. We didn’t find any unicorn prints, however.

  “We don’t really know what they look like,” Peter reminded me. “And they’re magical. They might not leave prints.”

  “True, true,” I said. “But there aren’t any horse prints here or anything?”

  “No,” said Peter, scanning the ground again.

  I chewed on my cheek. “I was hoping I’d find something that made sense.”

  “You really think you saw one, don’t you?”

  “Eh . . . I don’t know,” I said, feeling a little stupid. “I saw something. That’s all.”

  “What did your dad say?”

  I wobbled a little. “Oh, he says it was a deer, but . . .” I thought for a second. “Yeah, I guess it was probably just a deer.”

  Peter’s stomach growled.

  “I think your stomach’s telling us to take a break. Want some lunch?”

  He put a hand to his belly. “Sure,” he said.

  Dad and Millie were talking in the kitchen when we entered. Millie always made a big dinner on Saturdays and was already busy chopping away at some carrots. Casual weekend Dad sat beside her with a beer in his hand.

  Their heads turned when they noticed I wasn’t alone.

  “Hey, Dad. You remember Peter.”

  “How’s it going, son?” asked Dad.

  Millie put her knife down, wiped her hands on her apron, and walked over to us with a big smile on her face.

  “Peter!” she gushed. “It’s so good to finally meet you.” She stretched out her hand and shook Peter’s vigorously. “I have heard so much about you.”