The Year of the Great Seventh (8 page)

“Thanks, Dad, but I’m afraid I might damage it somehow,” I said.

“Don’t get too excited. It only cost a few dollars.” Dad chuckled.

I didn’t care if the necklace was only a cheap souvenir, for me it was still the most beautiful piece of jewelry I’d ever seen.

“Unlike us these days, Egyptians didn’t value material possessions. The Egyptians’ most sacred treasure was their consciousness. They believed that all our minds are interconnected like the branches of trees in a forest. They also believed that some people were descended from the gods and could channel energy that had been gathered over many centuries through these connections. When instructed to do so by the gods, they could transcend through seven levels of consciousness to detach their minds from their bodies and control the sequence of the universe.

“Do you have your history book handy? Maybe we can check if I missed something?” Dad asked, curiously.

“That’ll do. Don’t worry!” I said, closing my notebook. Our history teacher was a bit slow, and there was no way she would’ve gone through so much in one class. Anyway, Dad seemed busy with his book before I interrupted him. Also, I needed to do my math homework, which took much longer.

“Thanks for the necklace, Dad. I’ll be in my room.”

I went upstairs and sat at my desk in front of my math homework. I stared at it for over an hour, but my subconscious was elsewhere. It was technically impossible to read one line without letting my mind wander away. I kept turning the book pages almost absentmindedly. Nate’s heartless speech resonated in my mind. I couldn’t silence his cruel voice. Each of those words had been a dagger straight into my heart, direct and sharp.

I couldn’t stop wondering what I’d done to him to deserve this. After all, he’d been the one who approached me in the garden at Ethan’s party. The thought that our paths would cross at school in only a matter of hours made me want to crawl under my bed, never to come out again.

CHAPTER V

LIFE SEEMED TO FOLLOW its normal course when I arrived at school the next morning. Tyson, Chase, and Megan were hanging out on the same bench and the popular students were in the parking lot. The world moved on, unaware I had to coexist with the person who had humiliated me like none before.

I could see Tyson hugging Megan and tapping her on the back. Everyone seemed happier than usual. Megan waved at me from a distance. Tyson turned his back.

“Come on, Megan. Tell her!” Tyson ordered with an ear-to-ear smile.

Megan fidgeted on the bench, then spoke, winking at me. “I scored the supporting role in
Operation Calypso
. Alex Giordani is starring in the movie.”

I guess I was supposed to pretend Megan hadn’t told me about the movie. Anyway, it was somehow a surprise for me, too. Megan had decided to overcome her fears, leaving her parents’ pressure to one side.

“We have a celebrity friend as of today! Or should I say a secret agent?” Chase joked.

“Shut up, Chase!” Megan groaned, trying to push him off the bench.

“That’s great! Congratulations, Megan!” I said, laughing at Chase’s excitement. “Did you finish really late?”

Megan seemed exhausted. Her eyes were puffy from the lack of sleep.

“That’s not all, Sophie,” Tyson said, rearranging his L.A. Lakers cap and ignoring my question. “There’ll be a huge premiere at the Chinese Theater, with a red carpet and all, and we’re invited!” Tyson brought his oversized pants up to his hips to cover his checked boxers.

“Tyson, I haven’t promised tickets to anyone. I don’t know if I’ll get any extra tickets.” Megan complained, her face turning scarlet.

The sun shone strongly in the sky even though it was still the early hours of the morning. Chase and Tyson were excited beyond words about the prospect of the premiere. You could almost touch the enthusiasm in the air.

For me, it was a different story. Megan’s work schedule was taking a visible toll on her. Even though Megan was good at faking her enthusiasm, I could tell she badly needed a break.

Megan reached and took off Tyson’s Lakers hat and put it on backward. Tyson put his arm around Megan’s shoulders, managing to get a real smile out of her.

Every time I heard a car arriving in the parking lot, my stomach squirmed. I didn’t have the courage to look in case it was Nate.

“I don’t know how to break this to you,” Megan announced. “The bad news is that today is my last day at school. I’m flying tomorrow with Mom to Montreal. She’s coming with me. Dad’s staying here in L.A. with my sister.” She waited to see our reaction.

“When are you coming back to school?” Chase looked puzzled.

Chase and Tyson were staring at Megan, holding their breath. Their cheerfulness had vanished at once. They hadn’t anticipated that their time on the red carpet came with a price.

“I’m not sure, but it shouldn’t be too long.” Megan answered as if she were asking herself a question.

No one said anything, so she continued. “I’ll be in Montreal for a few weeks, shooting the movie, and after that I’ll be travelling for the movie promotion.” She again surveyed our reactions.

“Sometimes it takes months to shoot and release a movie. This is going to be a fast one because the producers want to release it for the Christmas holidays.” Her cheerfulness felt forced.

“Six weeks is quite a long time.” Chase complained.

“We should do something tonight since it’s my last night,” Megan suggested in a desperate attempt to make up for her future absence.

“Do you remember that movie we watched last year?
The Things we Left Behind
? The one where I played the daughter of a single mother who smuggles people across the Mexican border? It’s playing at the independent theater on Sunset Boulevard. Maybe we could go watch it again all together?”

“I’m in,” I rushed to say.

“Me too,” Tyson and Chase said at once.

We were all apparently eager to spend some time together before the group disintegrated completely. Emma was also going to be away for a week, shooting a commercial.

“Where’s Emma, anyway?” I asked.

“She’s running late,” Megan explained.

High-pitched laughter like a hyena suddenly resonated in the parking lot, making the three of them turn at once. I didn’t dare turn around because I recognized that laughter and knew who was probably also around.

That was Stacey White’s laugh. Most people would probably describe her as the most popular girl at school and evidently part of Nate’s entourage. Nate and his friends always hung out in the parking lot. I knew if she was there, Nate wouldn’t be far.

“God, she’s so annoying!” Megan whined, looking over her shoulders.

Driven by my curiosity, I took a quick peek and was relieved to find Nate was nowhere to be seen. Stacey White, with her two friends on either side, strolled down the center of the path with their short skirts and excessive makeup, confirming just another high school stereotype. And just like in high school movies, the popular girls seemed to always walk in slow motion. The three of them paraded, enjoying every bit of the never-ending attention.

Stacey whispered something to her two friends as they passed us, and they both turned to look at me. I automatically slid down the bench. My life was officially over. Nate had told them what happened. Everyone knew Nate had come to my place to tell me I was a loser.

“Is she still dating Brad Stanley?” Chase interrupted my brooding.

Last year, Stacey dated the captain of the West Hollywood High football team, but, supposedly, she left him because she got bored. As with all spoiled brats, she always wanted what she couldn’t have, and once she had it, she lost interest.

“Stop staring at her. That’s what she wants.” Megan complained, grabbing Tyson by the arm and forcing him to look away.

Tyson and Chase burst into a laugh. Megan strongly disliked Stacey. That wasn’t something she could hide.

“Let’s go to class. We’re late again,” Megan ordered. Like a flock of sheep, we followed her into the building.

Surprisingly, the day slid by without having to encounter Nate. Or maybe not so surprisingly, as I spent my lunchtime hiding in the library and running from class to class, purposely late to avoid the hallway rush. God had heard my plea. Maybe Nate had transferred to another school, and I would never have to see him again.

That evening, Mom lent me her car to drive to the independent theater on Sunset Boulevard. The movie theater, located across from Chateau Marmont, featured independent films that hardly anyone watched.

I stopped at a cell phone store across the street from the theater as something was wrong with my cell battery; it wasn’t holding a charge. But once I parked the car, I realized the store was already closed. Since I was running late, I decided to leave my car there and walk across the street to the theater.

I grabbed my purse from the passenger seat, and while I was locking the car, I heard a noise coming from behind one of the empty cars beside me. I stood on my toes, surveying the car where the noise was coming from, but I couldn’t see anything in the shadows. I quickened my pace toward the street.

I stood on the side of the road, waiting to cross over to the movie theater, but the dense traffic was making it impossible. I could hear steps coming from behind. I glimpsed back to find a man with an unbuttoned shirt coming toward me. He was carrying a half-empty bottle of whisky. He was approaching quickly, and I was anxiously trying to find a gap in the traffic to cross the street.

“Honey! Do you need any help?” the man called.

The traffic light changed to red and the traffic jammed in the street. I squeezed through the cars and got to the other side. Then I sprinted to the safety of the movie theater, holding my purse with both hands.

I got to the box office, gasping for air, and joined the line to get my ticket. At that exact moment my phone beeped. After combing my purse to find my cell phone, I discovered a text from Tyson letting me know they were already inside the theater and were saving a seat for me. I purchased my ticket and rushed up the escalators to the upper floor.

The movie was playing in theater number five, but I could only see the doors to theaters one through four. I walked on down the corridor, squeezing through people who were waiting to get into the other theaters.

I finally spotted a sign at the end of the corridor pointing to theater number five. It seemed to be around the corner. I advanced toward the end of the corridor, dodging the people standing around, and suddenly I recognized a group of people only a few yards away from me: Nate, Stacey, and two of their friends.

I stopped and hid behind a group of strangers.

Was the whole universe conspiring against me? No one from school ever came to this theater. Why were they here? I had to get past them to get to theater five. I held my breath and told myself I could do this. I could walk by them and pretend I didn’t know Nate and that his words hadn’t hurt me.

Bringing my gaze down to the floor, I accepted it wasn’t going to work and hated myself for being such a coward. I left quickly, rushing out of the movie theater without glancing at them again. I couldn’t jolt the image out of my mind—Nate, all smiles, waiting outside the theater with his friends. It was as if it had been ironed into the back of my brain.

I ran down the street as fast as I could, hoping the wind hitting my face could erase the image flooding my mind. The sound of cars flying up the street echoed inside my head. Nate had humiliated me like no one ever before.

Someone called my name from behind, making my heart skip a beat. “Sophie, wait please! I need to talk to you!”

I glanced back to see Nate running behind me. Turning to look at him once again to reassure myself that I wasn’t hallucinating, I shouted angrily, “Please leave me alone.”

I continued walking, as I didn’t want to hear whatever he had to say, but he was following me.

“Sophie, I know I behaved like an idiot. I want to apologize. I can explain.”

“Don’t bother. You explained yourself quite clearly at my place!” I yelled back, nervously searching my purse for the car keys.

Nate walked behind me, looking puzzled. He probably hadn’t anticipated my fury.

“I know it’s difficult to understand, but it’s better you stay away from me.” Nate went on anyway. “I’m no good.”

“What? Why did you come to my place, then?” I yelled, wiping away the tears that were rolling from my eyes.

There was no one else in the parking lot, only empty cars in the dimness. Nate stopped following me and was standing between two cars.

“I was going to tell you the truth, but…”

“But what? You didn’t want your popular friends to see me with you, did you?” I yelled, rushing to get to my car. It wasn’t far away.

Nate shouted angrily from behind. “Sophie, that’s not true. I don’t care what they say!”

“What is it, then?” I screamed back, turning to look at him.

Nate hesitated for a moment and then shouted with frustration. “I was… I was scared of telling you the truth!”

I quickened my pace and Nate lapsed into silence. His lack of response was making me nervous. I turned to see whether he was following me. I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing.