Shattered Grace (Fallen from Grace) (18 page)

Right before walking through the doors of the cafeteria, Grace saw someone—or some
thing
—that caught her attention. Whatever it was, it wasn’t human, despite its appearance. With the heel of her palms she rubbed her eyes, not caring about smudging her mascara, and thought she might be hallucinating. Immediately her heart quickened and an unfamiliar energy coursed through her veins, feeding her limbs the necessary adrenaline to get out of there. An urgent flight instinct overcame her and she prepared to run in the other direction, but froze as a realization hit her. The black roped hair falling from the crown of the non-human’s head was familiar. Grace watched as the being entered the girls’ restroom.

Limye? Great, the crazy woman found me, she babbled to herself. As if the last week wasn’t enough? Two things occurred to her, each equally as disturbing as the other. Limye wasn’t human. Oh my God!
And what in the heck was she doing at her school? Grace felt the energy subsiding and stormed toward the bathroom. Lunch would have to wait. Limye might be crazy, but Grace was done feeling pushed around.

With students walking all around her, she stood staring at the bathroom door. Grace took in a large breath, just in case it was her last, and stiff-armed the door open. Limye was bent over the middle sink, pretending to check her eyeliner in the mirror. She was dressed in regular teenager attire—jeans, T-shirt, and sandals—but something was unusual. There was a soft halo of color surrounding Limye. That was definitely different. What was startling was how much clearer she looked. It was like Grace’s eyes got a pixel app download.

Grace looked to the bathroom stalls. They were the same boring, scratched-up, dull blue. The floor was the same small square white tile. Her gaze moved to the light above Limye, thinking maybe it was trick lighting. Nothing was different about that light compared to the others. Grace rubbed her eyes again and looked back to Limye. It didn’t change anything. Limye still appeared lit up in HD. Quentin’s words ricocheted through her mind: “You’ll start to notice things, hear things—your eyes will begin to open.”

Oh, heck no!

This was a simple case of the power of suggestion. That was it. Feeling better about what she was seeing, she stared at Limye again. “What are you doing here? Are you a new student?”

Limye’s gaze pierced Grace through the mirror. “Children these days, you don’t believe in anything unless it’s on YouTube.” The ropes of Limye’s hair swayed back and forth as she tilted her head, continuing to eye Grace. Then she turned her body around, crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned against the sink. “I told you at the bank who and what I am. Do you remember me telling you I am a new student at your school?”

At first, the weight of Limye’s stare made Grace want to shrink and hide, but her scolding tone lit a fire under her. She mirrored Limye’s stance, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking her hip to the side. “No, you didn’t tell me you were a student. You told me you were a kind of Guardian and that you wanted me to know I could call you if I needed. Did you get a call, because I don’t remember dialing your number?”

Limye didn’t say anything right away and for a heartbeat, Grace felt a twinge of fear crawl across her skin, raising goose bumps and hair in its path. The sound of laughter bounced off the stalls behind her. Limye was laughing so hard she doubled over. When she finally was able to catch her breath, she beamed at Grace. “I know I said it before, but I have no problem saying it again. They definitely chose well.”

Grace forgot, in the five minutes they were in the bathroom, that Limye and Quentin apparently drank from the same crazy Kool-aid. She didn’t know how many more cryptic messages she could handle. From her grandfather, Quentin, and now Limye. It was beyond aggravating. In all fairness, Quentin did try to tell her everything. She just didn’t want to hear it.
Because he’s crazy, she reminded herself.

“
What exactly did they choose?” Grace asked.

“
Oh come, child. Don’t ask me to repeat what your Guardian’s already explained.” Limye placed her hands on the edges of the sink behind her, leaning against it as she shot a glare at Grace. Limye focused on a ring on her left middle finger. Grace focused on her face.

“
Did Quentin call you?”

Limye met Grace’s eyes. “No. His job is Guardian, not tattletale.”

Grace had expected her to say yes. She was a little disturbed Limye didn’t. “Then how’d you know where to find me?”

Limye raised an ebony eyebrow. “You’re a Chosen, Grace. We can all find you now.”

Limye’s simple statement sent tendrils of unease snake up her spine, forcing Grace to wonder if she should be worried.

“
How exactly should I feel about that?”

“
You should be mindful of it and trust your Guardian like Christophe advised you.”

It would appear a break from stress wasn’t in the cards for Grace. She was stuck in a perpetual pinball game, bouncing off emotionally charged targets. That’s how her whole life had been, but in the past week it had been compacted into high concentrations. Lucky me, she thought, as a teensy bit of hysteria hummed within her.

Grace couldn’t lie to herself, she was a little nervous about the being found part. “Fine, I’ll get in touch with Quentin tonight.” Actually, she’d wait until later to decide if she’d call him, but Limye didn’t need to be privy to that.

“
If you’re smart, you will. Now off with ya, girl.” Limye shooed Grace with both hands. “I have a schedule to keep.”

“
Okay, okay,” Grace mumbled as she went for the door. Before walking through it, another question occurred to her. She turned back to ask, “When will…” but Limye was gone. “Limye?” Grace called out in a whisper. Quickly, she spun around, intent on finding her. She crouched down and crept quietly, peering under each stall. Nothing. It’s all part of the suggestion, she reminded herself, and got up and quickly made her way out to the hall.

The halls were quiet except for the fast tapping of her flats since all the other students were either in class or at lunch. Now sensitive to her surroundings, her ears perked at a slight noise and she paused. It was a girl’s muffled laughter. Grace relaxed and breathed easier. The laughter was coming from the cavern of a darkened classroom doorway, a little ways from where she stood. Grace continued walking to the cafeteria, glancing absently at the entrance as she passed. Stunned at the visual her mind had just processed, she stopped and whipped her head back. Her chemistry teacher and a student were locked in a completely unprofessional embrace. The student? Amanda.

Grace stood stock-still outside the door, staring for a few moments before either realized they were being watched. Mr. Peters instantly jumped back, staring intently at Grace. Amanda brought her hand up in front of her, observing the dark polish covering her nails.

“
Hey, Grace.” Amanda smiled from over her fingers splayed in front of her face, a triumphant look lighting her eyes.

Without a word, Grace schooled her face to show no emotion and turned, briskly walking toward the cafeteria.

“
Grace?” Mr. Peters called out as he followed her. Amanda simply leaned against the wall where she stood, watching the scene play out before her as a small smile tilted her lips. “Please, Grace, wait. It’s not what it looks like,” he forced out in a hiss as he halted awkwardly behind her.

Grace stopped, but not to listen. “Seriously, Mr. Peters? How about you save your lies for the wife. Okay?”

His mouth fell open and his face paled. “Why would I have to lie? Are you going to tell her? You’re not going to say anything to anyone, are you, Grace?”

“
No, I’m not.” But she wanted to. She felt bad for his wife for being married to such a slimeball. “I’m not the homewrecker.” She tilted her head and looked pointedly at Amanda.

Amanda pushed off the wall, walking to where Grace and Mr. Peters stood. “Oh, don’t be such a drama queen. It was just a kiss.”

Grace’s mouth dropped open. “Just a kiss? He’s married! Have you no shame?”

“
Shame?” Amanda pondered over the word, trying it on to see if it fit. “No. What I do have is an empty stomach.” Amanda hooked elbows with Grace. “Bye, Mr. Peters,” she said, blowing a kiss with a flirty wave as she pulled Grace with her to the cafeteria. From over her shoulder, Grace saw a very worried Mr. Peters watching them walk away.

Once inside the cafeteria, Grace yanked her arm free. “Are you insane?”

Amanda’s eyes went all Precious Moments as she tried pulling off the complete look of innocence. “What do you mean?”

Grace raised one brow and threw out her hands in a wide arc. “Duh!”

“
Oh, that?” she asked with a thumb over her right shoulder. “That, my sweet Grace, was an
A
.”

“
What, so you’re screwing teachers for
A
’s now?” Grace knew it was none of her business, but Amanda was her friend and she didn’t want to see her in trouble.

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Of course I didn’t sleep with him. I didn’t have to.” Her smile turned smug. “You walked by at just the right time.”

“
How do I have anything to do with this?” Grace’s stomach clenched at the thought of how much she really, really
didn’t want to get involved. Again, plate full right now, people.

“
You’ve made it so that little show back there is no longer my word against his and he knows it. So I can skip his class the rest of the year and I’m sure to get an
A
.” Grace’s stomach turned a little at how Amanda was completely at ease with herself.

“
Please tell me you haven’t slept with any teachers.”

Amanda’s eyes went wide with shock. “Of course I haven’t.” Grace breathed a sigh of relief. “None of them are my type.”

“
Oh, that’s much better,” Grace muttered.

“
What?”

“
Nothing.” Grace shrugged and turned toward the cafeteria. “I’m hungry.”

Amanda followed Grace to the sandwich bar. Grace looked around at the selection of breads, deli meats, cheeses, condiments, and trimmings, but seemed to be suffering from a lack of appetite. All she’d had earlier was toast. Grace hoped once she sat down she’d be able to force a sandwich down. Amanda followed close behind Grace while she led them to their usual table.

“
How’s it going?” Emily asked as soon as Grace sat down.

“
It’s going.” Not very well, but the day kept moving forward. Unfortunately.

“
You wanna do what we talked about earlier?” Emily asked in all seriousness.

“
Yeah!” Tommy whisper-shouted with a fist pump.

“
What?” Amanda and Leah asked at the same time, watching the three of them.

“
Nothing,” Grace said as she studied her tray. The food she’d chosen seriously lacked appeal. She took a bite anyway and forced it down. “Hey, you guys want to go to Latté Da’s with me and Zeke on Friday?” she asked between bites.

Tommy didn’t wait until his mouth was empty to reply. “Can’t,” he mumbled, then went back to eating.

“
Zeke?” Emily asked, with a raised brow. “What about Quentin?” Grace sighed, frustrated that Emily even asked. She wanted to forget about Quentin, not talk about him with anyone, let alone while everybody was listening.

“
Who’s Quentin?” Leah asked in her shrill voice.

“
Yeah, Grace. Who’s Quentin?” Amanda smirked at her, raising a suggestive eyebrow. She leaned forward expectantly, as if she hoped she’d caught Grace in something she shouldn’t have.

Grace threw a few eye daggers at Emily, who simply shrugged her shoulders and took a bite of her salad. “No one. What’s going on Friday, Tommy?”

Still chewing his food, Tommy looked up from his tray. “This guy heard the band play at Latté Da’s the other night and asked us to play at The Board Shop in Bountiful.” At this he grinned, cheeks full of food. Disgusting, but cute in his own surfer-boy kind of way. “You and Zeke should come to The Board Shop and hear us play instead.”