A Tale of Two Proms (Bard Academy) Read online

  I didn’t know if Ryan’s looks even registered with Hana anymore. Hana was hard to read. She lived in her cerebral cortex, that girl. She was amazingly smart, and always reading something new, and sometimes she didn’t quite pay attention to things like relationships and boy drama. She once told me she assumed that she’d start dating maybe in college sometime. It’s not that she didn’t like boys, she said, it was boys on the whole who didn’t like her.

  I didn’t know why. She was part-Japanese and part-Irish, and the combination gave her a hard-to-place, but interesting look. She had shiny black hair, but a spattering of freckles on her nose, and big, dark eyes. She wore glasses, but even with them, she had a kind of geek chic thing going.

  Ryan cleared his throat. “Hey… uh, Hana. Did you finish up that Dickens paper?”

  Hana looked at Ryan, like she was waking up from a dream. “What?”

  “That Dickens paper. Did you do it?”

  Hana shrugged. “Yeah. I wrote it last night. A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favorite books of his.” Hana was an avid reader. She read everything. Of all of us, she’d read more classics than anyone else.

  Ryan looked like he was mentally taking notes. Hana—again—didn’t notice. If I was going to lay down bets, I’d say Ryan was actually trying to flirt. Usually, he didn’t have to try that hard as a half-smile was all that it usually took to get girls to go all gooey on him.

  “I was thinking… maybe you could help me with mine?” He asked, hopeful, as he quirked up one eyebrow. Oh, yeah. Definitely flirting.

  Hana, however, was too busy digging around in her pocket, looking for lip balm, to notice.

  “I’ll help,” Lindsay piped in. I was sure Lindsay would be glad to help. Back in her pre-Bard life she made a career out of helping the popular kids finish their homework. Offering to write papers was her way of trying to get in their good graces. But Lindsay was supposed to be reformed now. No more helping popular people cheat. But I could tell Ryan could easily make her slid into her old ways. Not that Ryan would ever let someone write a paper for him. He had scruples.

  “I can help! Come on Ryan. I write great papers.” Lindsay sounded like she’d eagerly help him clean out his sock drawer just for some one-on-one Ryan time.

  Ryan looked like someone had just asked him to spend an evening with an alligator. “Um…thanks, Lindsay. I appreciate it, I do. But I was hoping Hana could help me.”

  He turned back to look at Hana. Yep, this was some serious flirting. I think Ryan was asking Hana on a date. I knew for a fact he didn’t need help on any paper. Ryan did just fine on his own, pulling in As and Bs on a regular basis. He was that rare combination of smart and athletic. I nudged Hana and she dropped her lip balm. Ryan dived so fast you would’ve thought she dropped a diamond. He came up with the cherry Chapstick and handed it to her.

  “Thanks,” she said, unfazed, as she plucked it from his hand. I couldn’t believe she was taking all of this Ryan Kent attention so calmly. More than half the girls at this school would’ve been nearly passing out if Ryan Kent had handed them gloss, and yet Hana didn’t even slow her step. She was at that moment the most oblivious girl in the world. I was going to have to have a little talk with that girl about the birds and the bees and cute boys who are trying to hint around for a date. Maybe it wasn’t true that boys didn’t like her. Maybe it was more that Hana didn’t notice when they did.

  “So?” he asked.

  “So….?” Hana looked like she hadn’t heard a word he said. I would’ve bet twenty bucks she’d tuned out the whole conversation. She hadn’t even heard Ryan ask her for help.

  Ryan wasn’t used to not making an impact, I could tell. He seemed a little flustered, and Ryan was rarely flustered.

  “Uh, I mean, would you help me with my paper?”

  “Oh…. Um….” Hana was puzzled by the question. “But you write great papers.”

  “But you write the best papers,” I said, trying to help Ryan out. He sent me a grateful glance. “You always have the top grade in the class.”

  “Yeah,” Ryan agreed. “And, uh… this one is giving me trouble.”

  Hana shrugged. “Well, I guess. I mean, if you want.” That was the most lukewarm acceptance I ever heard. Hands down, I knew it was probably the least excited any girl had ever been by the prospect of spending time with Ryan Kent.

  “Great! Maybe the library? Before dinner?” Ryan, to his credit, just seemed pleased and not overly-worried about Hana’s lukewarm response. He was a confident guy, Ryan.

  Hana nodded. “Sure. Whatever.”

  “I need to study, too!” Lindsay said, quickly. “Can I come?”

  “Lindsay, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I said.

  “Why not?” Hana asked. She really was clueless. Hana glanced over at Lindsay. My sister had grown on Hana in the last year. Everyone had been a little put off by her aggressive friendliness, but eventually she’d won them over. She usually did that to people.

  “I just really need a lot of…. help,” Ryan said.

  “If you want to be tutored by Hana, Lindsay, you can come by her room after dinner,” I offered.

  Lindsay sent me a look threatening death, but I didn’t care. Ryan wasn’t into her, and she had enough problems on her own without getting into a love triangle.

  Hana seemed to take this answer at face value. “Okay. Whatever.”

  Lindsay, however, pouted the rest of the way to B Hall.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Today we’re going to talk about the use of doubles in A Tale of Two Cities,” said Coach H, as he stood by the blackboard at the front of the classroom. “Any one of you lamebrains want to give me an example from the book?”

  Coach H regularly insulted us, but he did so with affection. I didn’t mind. Hana raised her hand. But then, she always did. If you wanted an answer about a classic, she was your go to girl.

  “Yes, Hana.” Coach H nodded at her.

  “Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton,” she said.

  “Yes. Other examples?”

  Surprising me, Blade held up her hand next. She wasn’t always on top of her reading assignments. She liked to spend study time casting Wiccan spells or making potions. Blade liked to think she was an amateur witch. As far as I knew, she didn’t actually have any powers, except the profound talent for really stinking up a dorm room with potions whipped up in her hotpot.

  “The two cities,” Blade said. “London and Paris.”

  “Very good,” said Coach H. “Anyone else?”

  I found my mind wandering. Normally, I liked English and Coach H was one of my favorite teachers. But today I felt antsy. Now that the distraction of the Ryan-Hana blossoming love match was not right in front of me, my thoughts fell back to Catherine and Heathcliff. I wasn’t going to feel safe until I was sure Catherine was gone from campus.

  I shifted in my chair but I couldn’t settle down. The desk and chairs at Bard were designed to be uncomfortable and they were all bolted to the floor in case anybody got the idea of stealing them. Or throwing them for that matter. Either outcome was possible, given that there were quite a few kids here with some serious behavioral problems. Parents didn’t send their honor students to Bard. If you were here, you usually had a problem. Or, your parents were the problem.

  Like in my case.

  I’d been sent here after I wrecked my Dad’s cherry red BMW convertible. I realize this sounds bad. Technically, I didn’t even have my driver’s license yet. And I hadn’t had permission to drive his car.

  On the face of it, sure, I deserve to be sent here. But, the fact was I wasn’t having a joyride. I had taken the car because I was going to pick up Lindsay from school where she was stranded and needed to escape a very mean bully. My divorced parents had forgotten whose turn it was to get her. I was being a good big sister, but Dad didn’t see it that way. He thought it didn’t matter why I’d broken the rules, just that I’d broken them. And he’d never really listened to my side of the
story. Dad was never very good at listening.

  It’s no wonder he can’t keep a wife. Last summer, he’d divorced his third wife, Carmen. I had never liked her, so it’s not like I was particularly sad to see her go, but I also hated it when Dad was single. He would start up again with the Rogaine and the spray tan again. Seriously--enough said.

  But, whatever. I was glad I was hundreds of miles away and didn’t have to deal with it. Dad had his own problems and I suspected we were never going to be on the same wavelength.

  And, the fact was, I liked Bard. It had started as a punishment, but it had grown into something else altogether. I’d met Heathcliff here, not to mention all my other friends. And even though my time here had been dangerous and stressful, I have to admit I wouldn’t want to change places with anybody at my old high school.

  I just had to figure out why Catherine was here, poised to spoil what was left of my senior year.

  As I stared out across the campus grounds from the windows in our class, the pathways were empty, save for two guardians—a fat squat one and a tall thin one—who were marching down the main pathway, patrolling the campus and looking for anyone who might be ditching class. I wondered where Heathcliff was at this moment. Had he found Catherine? The idea of him talking to her made my stomach tie itself up in knots. Was he—right at this moment—telling her how much he’d missed her?

  I realize that part of me was to blame if he did. If I’d jumped at his marriage proposal, maybe he wouldn’t have been so eager to find Catherine when she showed up again. I hoped I wasn’t too late already. To be honest, I didn’t know what Heathcliff felt for Catherine. I knew he’d loved her at one time. But Catherine was a subject we’d both deftly avoided. Now, I wished I’d insisted we talk about it.

  Until now, he said he wanted to stay here with me and I believed him. I just hoped he hadn’t changed his mind.

  The Guardians outside turned left across campus and disappeared behind the science building. And then, suddenly, the room burst into song. My attention went to the front of the class and I saw Samir standing there. He was holding a guitar, strumming notes. I didn’t know he played guitar. From the look on Blade’s face he’d kept her in the dark, too.

  He was singing, “….you’re beautiful just the way you are…” which, for Blade and her dozen face piercings and black lipstick was saying something.

  Blade—normally impossible to embarrass—flushed pink as Samir sang and strummed his guitar in the front of the class. Coach H looked on with a knowing smile. Clearly, he’d been in on this. As Samir kept on singing, half the class joined in to help him finish the song.

  Hana, of course, was the exception. She didn’t sing because she was too busy keeping her expression carefully neutral. Samir approached Blade’s desk. He swung his guitar over the back of his shoulder and got down on one knee in front of Blade, ending his song with a flourish.

  “Will you go to prom with me?” he asked, his eyes shining because he knew he’d gotten to her. He really had. Who knew someone as tough as Blade could be undone by a pop song?

  Blade sniffed at swatted at one eye. Then, she nodded her head fiercely. She didn’t have any speeches about prom now, I noticed. The class cheered and applauded (apparently even fellow delinquents had soft spots for romance) and Samir and Blade hugged.

  I felt good for them, I did. I was happy they were happy, and yet, I found myself wondering what Heathcliff was doing at that very moment. Had he found Catherine?

  More importantly, was he coming back?

  ***

  “Earth to Miranda,” said Hana, waving a hand in front of my face. “You there?” We were sitting in the library now during study period. We’d already thoroughly dissected Samir’s prom song. At least, I had. Hana was still in mulling mode. She kept talking about how lucky Blade was and how sweet Samir was, and how she still had misgivings about them being a couple and somewhere in the middle of it, I admit, I zoned out.

  “What? Oh, sorry,” I said, bringing my attention back to the joint project we were doing for physics class. This was what we were supposed to be doing, even though Hana wanted to talk about Samir. I got the impression I hadn’t heard what she’d said for the last five minutes. She was frustrated and I could tell she’d been repeating herself. “I was distracted.”

  “Yeah, I can see that.” Hana sent me a worried look. “Heathcliff?”

  I nodded.

  “Don’t worry. Heathcliff will be back.” Hana sounded confident. “I’ve seen him when he’s with you, and, Miranda, I think he really does love you. That kind of feeling doesn’t disappear overnight.” This was big coming from Hana. She’d always doubted Heathcliff’s true intentions. She’d never quite approved of him. Hana believed—like the faculty did—that Heathcliff was potentially a very bad person. He hadn’t done any bad things yet, but he was capable of them and that made her wary of him.

  “Thanks, Hana,” I said.

  “Don’t thank me. I didn’t say it was a good thing that he loves you.”

  “Ha.” I laughed a little and the tension was broken. Hana had made me feel better. “You think he really wants to….” I caught myself just in time. I was about to tell Hana that Heathcliff asked me to marry him but I stopped myself at the last minute. I was glad I did. Telling Hana would be a disaster.

  “Really wants to what?” Hana prompted. She was waiting for the big reveal, but it wasn’t going to happen. I’d come to my senses first. I knew what she’d say and I really didn’t want to hear more hate-on Heathcliff at the moment.

  I quickly thought of something else to say. “Uh… ask me to prom?”

  “Definitely,” Hana said. “I think he won’t sing as badly as Samir, but I think he’ll ask you.”

  “But what about…” I could hardly even same her name. I swallowed. “Catherine?”

  “You’ve got the advantage because I bet she has no idea what a prom even is.”

  I had to smile. “So…” I felt like we’d talked about Heathcliff enough, so I threw Hana a bone. “Are you really okay with Samir and Blade? Going to prom, I mean.”

  Hana shrugged. “I think so. I just don’t want him to get hurt.”

  “And you think Blade will hurt him?”

  “It’s entirely likely. I don’t think she’s that serious – about anything,” Hana added. “Samir is very trusting you know.” Her face grew serious. I think this was a real worry of hers. Maybe I’d been wrong about her feelings for Samir.

  “Okay then, if you don’t like Samir, what about Ryan?”

  “Ryan Kent?” Hana acted shocked. “Why do you ask about him?” It might have been my imagination, but I thought Hana might’ve blushed a little.

  “Well, for one thing you know he’s into you, right?”

  She snorted, like I was making a joke. “Ha, very funny.”

  “No, seriously. I think he’s into you. He asked you on a date.” A long piece of hair fell forward in my face and I pushed it back.

  “He asked for tutoring,” Hana corrected.

  “Trust me, it was a date.” I gathered my long, brown hair and whipped it up into a twist on my head and then stuck a pencil through it. “Since when does Ryan Kent need help writing any papers? It was obvious it was a ploy to get some alone time with you.”

  Hana thought about this. “Well, A Tale of Two Cities is not the easiest read. But…” Hana knew as well as I did that Ryan was smart enough to handle himself in English Lit. “No, that’s crazy. Ryan Kent couldn’t like me.”

  “Don’t be so sure,” I said, as Ryan came into the library, right on time. His eyes fell on Hana and his whole face lit up. He didn’t even glance in my direction. Only Hana would miss signs like those.

  “Hey, Hana!” Ryan said, sounding excited and a little out of breath as he stopped in front of our table. Then he saw me, and a flicker of disappointment passed across his face. I tried not to take it personally. I’m sure he was worried about me being the third wheel on his date. There was a time when R
yan looked at me like he’s gazing at Hana right at this moment, his eyes bright with anticipation. But, that was a long time ago—years, even. I’d had my chance with Ryan, and while he was gorgeous and there wasn’t a mean bone in his body, I just didn’t love him like I loved Heathcliff. That was the bottom line.

  At the thought of Heathcliff, I felt a little pang. I hadn’t seen him since he’d seen Catherine. That couldn’t be good.

  “Oh…uh… hi, Miranda,” Ryan said, belatedly. I think if there was any doubt he was completely over me, I would have concrete proof from the levelness of his voice. I could’ve been a tree stump for the amount of interest he gave me. But this was a good thing. It was good because he needed to move on. I had, hadn’t I?

  “Hey,” I said, standing. I gathered up my books and stuffed them in my backpack. “I have to go, actually, so….”

  “Wait, Miranda!” Hana glanced at me, a little bit of panic in her voice.

  “Hana, I’ve got some things to do.” I ignored the look of pleading desperation Hana gave me. If the worst thing that ever happened to her was that she had to spend an hour or two alone with Ryan Kent, then she was a lucky girl.

  I left the two of them in the library. I could feel Hana glaring at me as I walked away, but I knew she’d forgive me later. Pretty soon she’d forget all about why she was mad at me. All she had to do was stare into Ryan’s clear blue eyes for a while.

  Outside the library, a cool spring breeze blew and a few strands of hair fell free from my pencil-do. I felt adrift. Through the window I could see Ryan saying something that made Hana laugh. She was actually looking at him for a change. I was glad I’d said something to her about his interest. Maybe they would hit it off.

  Ryan had been my first love and my first serious boyfriend. But, I’d made my choice. I glanced one last time at Ryan and Hana in the library and I spent a second wondering if I’d made the right one. What would’ve happened if Ryan and I had stayed a couple? If I’d never kissed Heathcliff? I certainly wouldn’t be concerned that Ryan would run off with an ex-girlfriend from another time or disappear into a novel never to be seen again. Maybe he and I would have spent senior year planning to go off to college together. Or, maybe we would’ve just broken up anyway. You never knew with boys.