Blue Moon (Book One in The Blue Crystal Trilogy) by Pat Spence Page B

Natasha,” I said
loudly, causing Theo to break his gaze with Tash and look at me. I
saw with alarm that she continued to stare at him. “Tash for short,
isn’t it?” I almost shouted at her, forcing her to break her
gaze.
    “Yes, yes, it is,” she said
falteringly.
    No. This was not going well.
The last thing I wanted was for Tash to fall for Theo. If I
couldn’t have him, I most certainly didn’t want her to succeed.
    “How are you, Emily?” asked
Theo, his voice tender and full of care. He looked into my eyes and
I felt an involuntary shudder go down my spine.
    “I’m good, thank you,” I said
primly. “How are you?”
    No, this was far too
formal.
    “Yes, I’m good as well.”
    “Oh good,” I looked at Violet
in a panic, and unable to think of anything else to say, asked,
“How are the renovations coming on? Is everything finished?”
    “Yes, why do you ask?” she
answered, which completely threw me. This was one totally weird
situation.
    “Just wondering,” I said
lamely, explaining to Tash, “they’ve been renovating Hartswell
Hall. It looked fabulous when I saw it over Easter.” I regretted
the words as soon as they were out and couldn’t bear to look in
Theo’s direction.
    Tash snapped out of her
spellbound dream and said in a spikey voice. “You were at Hartswell
Hall over Easter? What about your virus?”
    “Er, it was when I was feeling
better. I went for a walk and ended up at the hall,” I mumbled. “I
didn’t go in or anything. I just stood in the driveway and saw the
renovations from the outside.”
    This was now mega embarrassing.
I’d just admitted to Theo that I’d been standing outside his house.
Even if it hadn’t been him at the window, he now knew for definite
I was stalking him. Violet regarded me with amusement and I felt
like an insect wiggling on the end of a pin.
    “Look, I’ve got to go,” I stood
up quickly, banging into the table and knocking over a bottle of
water. Thankfully, the top was still on. “I have to see Mrs
Pritchard. She wants to talk about my essay. I’ll see you all
later.”
    I quickly picked up my backpack
and walked out of the cafeteria as fast as I could, without a
backward glance. I didn’t want to see the expressions on their
faces.
     
    I saw Tash in Art, but she
barely acknowledged me, and although she sat next to me on the bus
home, our conversation was minimal and strained. I was glad to see
Theo and Violet weren’t on the bus. Judging by the gleaming black
Jaguar that was parked outside the college gate, I guessed their
horrible chauffeur had come to collect them.
    Good. I didn’t want any more
embarrassing scenes. If I’d stood any chance with Theo, I’d most
definitely blown it now. I’d behaved like an awkward adolescent,
with absolutely no social graces. He was plainly light years out of
my grasp. Too old, too sophisticated and all round too god-like for
the likes of me. I slunk home, feeling pathetic and small. If this
is what love was all about, you could keep it. It wasn’t making me
feel great at all, just a great mass of uncontrolled emotions.
Never had I been so glad to see mum and Granddad. Sometimes, all
you needed was the bosom of your family, I reasoned. Theo could go
take a hike. I was way out of my depth with all this.
     
    The next day, Tash was polite
but distant, while Seth was irritatingly cheerful, trying to joke
us back into familiarity. It wasn’t working, and both Tash and I
were relieved when we arrived at college and could go our different
ways, her to Geography and me to Business Studies. At break time, I
went to my locker, putting away the books I’d just used and getting
out the textbooks I needed for my next few lessons. I was turning
the key in my locker door, when I became aware of someone standing
behind me. I didn’t need to see who it was. I knew. I could feel
his energy surrounding and caressing me, his presence strong and
powerful. I turned slowly and looked into his eyes.
    “Hi,”