Prophecy Girl (8 page)

Her roommates’ sections were each personalized with posters of gorgeous male movie stars, pictures of loved ones, an atlas of the world, and a poster of cat on a tree limb, telling everyone to “Hang in There.” Student desks were next to the beds with a green-shaded lamp, a green laptop, and a black cordless phone. One had a lava lamp with green blobs going up and down inside. Another desk had a small wooden box, padlocked.

“Where’s the TV?” she asked, expecting there to be one in a university-styled room.

“You have to bring it yourself,” he answered, “but most here just watch TV on their laptops. I have a TV in my room, but we only use it to play video games.”

It had been a long time since she had fun, playing video games, watching TV—besides the terror-inducing cartoons at the hospital. She wondered if she could spend time with Lucas in his room and chill out, but she knew that he’d have other things on his mind.

“And here’s where you are,” he said, directing her to the cleanest corner of the room. 

Her bed was neatly made with a small shamrock pillow for decoration. On her desk was a stack of textbooks, composition books, pens, pencils, and a black academy satchel with a large green shamrock on it, and
GREEN CLOVER ACADEMY
stitched in green cursive script. On top of the satchel was a piece of paper that read
SCHEDULE
.

She quickly glanced over it and noticed that she had math in the morning. Eight o’clock was too early for numbers.

He put her travel bag on the bed. “And here’s your closet.” He walked over to a wooden door, slid it open, flipped a light switch, and gestured inside. “Your uniforms,” he said, smiling. 

“Uniforms?”  She scrunched her nose. “The headmaster didn’t say anything about uniforms.”

She had hoped to escape wearing the same thing all the time like she had to do at the hospital.   

Lucas shrugged. “They’re not bad. See?” He held out his hands, waving them up and down in front of his body. 

She took him in again: black dress shoes, black dress pants, white short-sleeved shirt, black slim tie, black vest with a green shamrock stitched on the upper right side, and a black cap to cover his golden blond surfer locks. 

“That’s your uniform? Wow, you look so good,” she remarked, blushing at her confession.

He smiled. “Well, thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.”

She continued to blush, her heart racing. “Well, um, I think I’ll take a look inside,” she said, walking to her closet, trying not to melt on the floor.

Her uniforms weren’t bad at all. She had a cropped black jacket, several cap-sleeved white shirts with a green shamrock stitched on a small pocket and black pleated skirts. A green scarf and a green cap hung on hooks inside. On the floor was a pair of black sneakers and a pair of black leather clogs with a slight heel.

She picked up a skirt and read the tag. “How did they know my size?”

“They usually have just about every size here, but your mom probably told them,” he answered. “There are launders here that clean the clothes and also do readjustments.”

“These aren’t bad, but do I have to wear a skirt?”

Eva had never worn a skirt, not even when she attended church as a little girl, before her parents started to fight, and then the divorce.

“I think you would look good in a skirt.” His eyes fell below her waist. “I bet you have nice legs.” He smirked.

Eva blushed. “What about when it gets cold?”

He leaned forward, brushing his lips against her ear. “I’ll warm your legs up.”

The touch of his lips sent shivers down her neck. When he pulled his face back into view, she noticed the look in his eyes, more blue than gray, desirous. Finally, after so many near misses, Lucas finally pressed his lips against hers, gently. She wanted more and parted her lips, inviting him in. He returned her fervor, sliding his tongue in her mouth, igniting a lust she didn’t even know she had. She let her academy skirt fall to floor and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him, feeling him. 

She’d finally been kissed. And oh, wow!

He pulled away and said against her lips, “I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”             

She nudged her nose against his affectionately. “Me too.”

He smiled. “Well, I’d love to keep kissing you, but I’m sure the headmaster will be on the prowl, looking for us.” He gave her a quick kiss on her lips.

She rolled her eyes, but nodded. Besides, they had all year to kiss, but she knew that this was his last year, and wondered if they became serious, what would happen? Would he love her and leave her? Be the stereotypical Leprechaun? 

She didn’t want to think of him as a player, but he practically admitted that he used to be—that he had changed because of her. Had he really changed or was it just a ploy? If it was, it was working, because she was stuck on him, especially with his ability to enter her mind, preventing her from seeing people die—something both of them had to keep a secret, for it was never supposed to have happened.

He picked up her fallen skirt, and placed it back in the closet. “You don’t have to wear this today.”   

“But tomorrow when classes start, right?”

He nodded. “Right.”

“Since it’s your last year here, we won’t see each other that much. Will we?” she asked in a quiet, saddened voice.

His face fell, saddened too, and he shook his head. “No, not really. The first and second years have classes together while the third and fourth years make up the advanced block.” He smiled. “We can see each other in P.E.”

“Ugh! Not P.E.” 

At her old school, all they seemed to do was jumping jacks, sit-ups, and run around the gym with the occasional lecture about health. All the girls wanted to do was gossip. All the guys wanted to do was shoot hoops, which always ended up in some kind of fight.

“It’s not bad. Besides”—he smirked—“you get to wear these.” He opened the top drawer of a wooden dresser, next to her closet. Inside were pairs of green shorts and white tees. 

She picked up the very short shorts. “What’s this?” 

He smiled. “P.E. outfit.”

“How did you know they were in here?” she teased, raising her eyebrow.

He smirked. “That’s the panty drawer.”

She went to give him a light slap on his arm, but then panicked. Did her mom pack panties? And bras? She rushed over to her travel bag, rummaged through it, and finally found new panties and bras. They were all white cotton, but it didn’t matter. She had something to wear under her clothes!

He walked over to her. “What are you smiling for?”

She pushed her unmentionables to the bottom of her bag. “Nothing…just checking.”

He smiled, but didn’t press her. “Okay, well there’s the bathroom over there,” he said, pointing to the white-tiled room. “That’s pretty much self-explanatory, but there should be toiletries in there for you like shampoo and stuff.”

She nodded. “Great, but doesn’t it get a little…hectic trying to share a bathroom?”

He shrugged. “For the girls? Maybe. The guys? No, we’re quick.” He did a jerking motion with his thumb, smirking. “In and out.” 

Maybe Leprechauns just can’t help being naughty.             

She was about to jokingly chastise him, but she was interrupted by a loud roar—her stomach was growling.

“Sorry,” she said, feeling embarrassed, wishing now she had eaten that over-mayo-filled egg salad sandwich back at the hospital.

“It’s okay. You should eat, but”—he smiled—“how about another kiss?”

She parted her lips. They kissed longer this time, despite their need to leave, despite her empty tummy, despite the threat of being caught by the headmaster. 

After they pulled apart, he kissed her on both her cheeks, and then her forehead. “Mmm,” he moaned. “I’m so glad I offered to pick you up.”

“It wasn’t just me,” she reminded him, but smiled at his thoughtful words.

“I know, but you were there and…well, I’m glad you’re
here
. I just wish this wasn’t my last year.” He lowered his eyes, saddened.

She tried not to think about that, but apparently he was too. 

She tried to brush it away with a joke. “Well, you may get tired of me in a few weeks and then—”

“Never,” he interrupted her with a stern look. “You’re different, Eva. I can sense it.”

She was moved by his words, but still joked again. “That’s because I see dead people.”

He laughed and kissed her again. “Ah, that’s it! You’re hilarious! All the girls here are usually crying all the time.”

“Well, I’m like them,” she said softly. “I cry too.”

Now she was worried that if she did cry, if she acted like the other girls, he wouldn’t like her so much, but she couldn’t help it. She was a Banshee, cursed in sorrow for the rest of her life. Maybe that’s why he had entered her mind. He couldn’t stand all that crying.

He shook his head, holding her in a tight embrace. “That’s not what I meant,” he said softly. “It’s just that…you’re special. I can sense it. You make me want to be a different person.”

“How different?”

He smiled. “It makes me believe that love is possible.”

Eva’s eyes went wide, shocked by his admission. Lucas’ eyes widened too, and then he started to transform into a black fog.

“Lucas!” She reached out around the dark misty outline that was his muscular arms, but she didn’t touch, afraid. 

After a few seconds, he finally reappeared, but he was tired, breathing in and out.

“What happened?” She placed her hands on his muscular chest—tangible evidence that he was really there.

He shook his head. “I got…nervous…afraid. So I began to vanish and it took all of my will to get me back here.” He took another deep breath, and then he relaxed.

“Why did you become afraid?”
“The look on your face. When I admitted, well, you know, you looked…shocked, and I panicked, thinking I had misread something—misread you. I wanted to disappear.”

She wrapped her arms around his muscular chest. “You’re not wrong. You didn’t misread me. I just wasn’t expecting you to be so…”

He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Lovey-dovey,” he said, smiling.

“Yeah, that, but I liked it, and
don’t
disappear on me again!” She pointed a threatening finger at him, but smiled.

“Never,” he promised.

They found each other’s lips in another passionate kiss, but their embrace was disturbed by Eva’s stomach growling—again.   

He pried his lips from hers. “We’ll kiss later. Now let’s eat.”

Glad to hear his promise, she followed him, giddy with excitement, as they made their way down to the grand staircase. They reached the Commons Area, but it wasn’t deserted as before. Three guys were walking from the lit archway that she had observed before with raised voices still filtering out. 

The guys wore the same uniform as Lucas, but one of them, beautifully handsome, tall and toned, held a black guitar case in his hand. He seemed very familiar to her. She didn’t know from where or when, but she felt a connection, a strong desire to be with him, to kiss him, and this made her feel ashamed with perfect Lucas next to her.

“Hey, guys! What’s up?!” Lucas shouted at them.

Promptly, all three turned, but only two of them smiled. The one with the guitar case seemed to be in a state of shock, his eyes wide. She wanted to go to him, but she fought back her unexplained affection, and peeled her eyes away. 

The two other guys, both of average height, approached instead.

“Hey, dude! What’s up?” asked one of them in a distinctive southern accent. 

His hair was wild and red, and he had a splattering of freckles on his face, with hazel eyes. He kept his black cap tucked behind his belt with his vest unbuttoned. 

“Just showing Eva here the place,” Lucas answered, catching the redhead’s hand in a sort of slap/shake.

The southerner smiled brightly at her. “New girl!” He grabbed her in a tight embrace, sniffing her hair. “Mmm…got that new girl smell.”

At first, she was taken aback by his lack of boundaries, but then she sensed that he was just an overly-friendly guy, who smelled of tobacco. And his southern accent was pleasant to hear.

“All right. That’s enough sniffing,” Lucas said, not-so-gently prying the redhead off of her. 

“I get it, I get it.” He threw his hands up, and then put one back down, holding it out for Eva to shake. “I’m Liam Walsh. Name don’t sound very Texan, does it?”

She laughed and shook his hand. “I wouldn’t know, but I like it, and the way you talk.” She didn’t mean to be so bold, but his friendliness was infectious.

“Ooh, she likes me,” he said to Lucas. He grinned and went in for another hug.

Lucas pushed him back, but smiled. “She said she liked your
name
, and the way you
talk
, not
you
.”

Liam shook his head, smiling. “That’s not the way I heard it.”

“Just ignore him,” Lucas said. “He’s a second year.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked the other guy, but didn’t seem offended, holding out his clenched hand for Lucas to fist bump.

He had light brown hair and brown eyes. The black cap on his head partially obscured a pair of ear buds to the mp3 player that he kept tucked inside his shirt pocket.    

“It means you and Liam are still young and childish,” Lucas explained, but then he turned to Eva, and apologized, “But not you.”

It was still an insult to Eva, but she let it go, and smiled.

The second year shook his head at Lucas, removed his ear buds, and turned to Eva, holding out his hand, and smelling of tobacco too. When Eva shook it, he said, “Finn O’Sullivan, from Minnesota, and you should’ve seen this guy a year ago when I first came here.” He thumbed to Lucas. 

“All those pranks,” Liam clarified in his rich Texan accent, turning to Eva. “This no-good Californ-i-a punk
glued
me to the toilet seat.”

Lucas and Finn burst out laughing.

“It’s not funny,” Liam said loudly. “I was pickin’ dried glue off my ass for weeks!”

Lucas and Finn were laughing so much, they started crying.

“What are ya laughin’ at, Finn?” Liam asked. “You ate a bowl of dog food!”

Lucas continued to laugh, but Finn fell silent, and turned to Liam. “One,”—he held up one finger—“it was only a spoonful, and two,”—he held up another finger—“I thought it was chili! I can’t help it if it smelt so damn good!”

Liam started laughing, and the Finn fell in, with an already laughing Lucas. Eva just politely smiled. It wasn’t a felony like B&E, but still, it was mean of Lucas, pulling those pranks. But there was one guy who wasn’t laughing. The unknown Leprechaun stood a few feet back, clutching the handle of his guitar case, luring her in by his mere presence.  

Eva left the others, hooting and howling in laughter, as she walked to him, nervous, but desirous. Now she could get a better look at his features, and he was by far, the most handsome—besides Lucas—guy she had ever seen. He had pale skin like hers, but with a pink hue, as if he had recently spent time in the sun. His black hair stuck out from under his black cap, and his emerald eyes sparkled. 

They didn’t look
exactly
alike. His nose was angular and sharp. Hers had a slight curve to it, yet in their similarities, she sensed completeness, as if she had been split for the longest time, and now she had found her other half. He completed her.   

“Hi, I’m Eva Nolan,” she managed to say clearly.

But he wasn’t as friendly as his buddies, staring at her with his jaw clenched, as a bead of sweat came trickling down his temple. He smelled like cologne and tobacco, but for some reason, she didn’t mind the cigarette odor on him. In fact, he smelled…yummy.

“Hey, Devin, what’s up with you? Shake her damn hand, you asshole!”  Lucas shouted.

But Devin ignored his friend’s rude demand, and right before her eyes, transformed into a black fog, and vanished, guitar case and all.

Eva’s hand fell slowly down to her side, confused and hurt, as if her heart had just been broken, but she knew that was silly. They had just met, but why did she feel that her long lost love had abandoned her? 

She turned to the remaining guys. “What’d I say?”

Liam waved her off. “It wasn’t you, darlin’.”

“Well, what was his problem?” Finn asked. “It’s not like him to
not
talk to a girl.”

“Yeah, he’s a bigger player than me,” Lucas agreed, but as soon as he saw Eva’s shocked face, he added, “well, used to be. I
used
to be a player.”

Liam laughed. “This guy,” he said in his rich Texan accent, pointing to Lucas, “this guy got
every
chick! Just ask around. Those girls got a story or two to tell.”

Eva felt like she had been slapped.

“Yeah,” Finn said, smiling. “When I first came here last year—”