Angel's Bend Read online

  “So… did you have Lanky’s class yet?”

  “He’s talking about Mr Lancaster,” Abbie explained. “Everyone calls him Lanky ‘cause he looks like a big Daddy Long Legs.”

  “What class is he?” Lacey had met so many teachers already; they were blending into one big jerseyed blob.

  “Maths.”

  Zac’s dark features softened into a smile that made Lacey’s heart race. His dark eyes captured hers. It was all she could do not to jump up and hoist those girls out of the way so she could put her head in his lap. She shook the thought away. She was in Angel’s Bend to work.

  “Oh. I’m not doing Maths. I have extra Art at that time.”

  “How’d you score that? I thought everyone had to do Maths,” said Ty, clearly impressed that the new girl could get out of participating in the class when he’d tried and failed on numerous occasions.

  “It’s a scholarship thing. You know.” Lacey tried to sound non-committal. She had no intention of telling these people that Maths had been the only Year Twelve subject she’d passed last year and as such wasn’t required to take again. Better for them to think she was on some fancy Art scholarship.

  “So you get to do double Art?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Every day?”

  “Yep.”

  “That’s awesome. Talk about easy.”

  Lacey stared at the boy. He had no idea. “Not if I want to get into Art School next year. Places are limited. I have to be in the top ten percent in the State to even get an interview.”

  A blonde girl spoke. “So what’s your focus then? Abbie said you do photography.”

  Not even concerned now about how Abbie had known this, Lacey replied. “I like that but I really love painting. I got some cool shots down at the maze the other day. I thought I might do a mixed media study of angels based on the statue for my exhibition. I need to get a lot more shots though.”

  “That sounds great. I’d love to come with you some time. The olds gave me this expensive camera for my birthday but I don’t know how to use it properly. Maybe I could show it to you? You know, pick your brains?” the girl asked.

  “Sure.”

  They sat for a while longer and the conversation turned to what everyone was doing on the weekend. Lacey listened intently, learning a lot about her new home as she did. Was anyone bothering with the family dance or did they think they were a little too old for that shit? Maybe they could go and hang at Ty’s house? His parents were going to the city for the weekend. It was the type of conversation that Lacey remembered having with her friends back home. Back before everything had gone weird and she’d been dumped. There was only so much they could be expected to put up with, after all. And Lacey had been an inconsolable basket case after the accident. She hadn’t exactly been friend material for a while there, with all her depressive talk and mixing with the drug crowd.

  “So what did you think of the maze and the park?” Ty asked, bringing the conversation back to Lacey at last. “It looks pretty awesome, huh, now that they’ve renovated it and stuff. It must be years since you were down there.”

  Lacey nodded. “Yeah. I remember it being a lot bigger than it looked the other day. I swear I’d never seen all those frescos carved into the bottom of the statue before either. I thought they were patterns when I was a kid. Nothing that detailed.”

  “I don’t think anyone had seen them. Mum said she didn’t even know they were there. You couldn’t see them until Cam started working on the statue,” Abbie replied.

  “Is he the blonde guy?”

  “Yeah. He works on the statues around the park. Some kind of stonemason or something.”

  “I saw him there the other day. He was sitting on Saint Michael the Archangel’s shoulder and talking to himself like he was having a conversation with the statue. It was so weird. I took some pictures of him for my book but when I went to upload them, they were gone.”

  “You probably deleted them by accident,” Zac said.

  “No. I didn’t. The pictures were there but he wasn’t in them.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t go taking any more if I were you. Cam’s a freak. You should stay away from him.”

  “Why? What’s he done?”

  Zac’s dark eyes were serious enough to make Lacey tremble. “It doesn’t matter what he’s done. Cam Foster’s a loser and he’s no friend of ours.”

  *****

  On the way home from school, Lacey walked with Abbie. It turned out that their houses were around the corner from one another and Lacey was happy to have a new friend to walk with. If only she’d stop talking.

  For the first few minutes, Abbie told Lacey all about the town, the people and the things that had changed since she was eleven. Then, she told Lacey about loving gymnastics but having to give it up ‘cause her Mum ‘didn’t like her taking risks like that’ and how she’d wanted to join Venturers but her Mum ‘didn’t want her to be away from home too much.’ Apparently, Abbie didn’t know much about the world but figured it was time to find out. She couldn’t live in the protective bubble her mother had created forever. Then, as if struck mute, she stopped and bit her lip. “Oh bum, I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

  “What?”

  “Oversharing. Talking too much. Mum says it’s rude to talk about yourself all the time.”

  Lacey gave her a small smile. She liked Abbie. “Not if the other person asked you to.”

  “Yeah. I s’pose.”

  In a few more minutes, they reached the bookshop. “Do you want to come in for a cold drink?” Lacey asked.

  “Sure, but I have to be home by 4.15 or Mum’ll send out the search party. She’s timed how long it should take me to walk from school to home. If I don’t get there within the allotted space, she flips out.”

  “Can’t you text her and let her know where you are?” Most parents Lacey knew would be cool with that.

  “I don’t have a mobile. She won’t let me. She says they encourage deception or something. I don’t know, I gave up listening to her rants after she stopped letting me watching TV. I’m lucky she even lets me go to school.”

  “That’s tough.”

  “Tell me about it. I only managed to get a computer because it was necessary for school. She has no idea I have Internet. I bought one of those stick things.”

  Lacey was curious. “So how do you go to all the parties, then?”

  “Mum lets me do that, if she knows the parents or she can drop me off and pick me up.”

  Saying hi to Aunt Beth, the girls dumped their bags and headed for the back room, setting themselves up at the table with Lacey’s laptop. Abbie logged onto the Internet to check her Facebook while Lacey made them glasses of iced water from the fridge. They checked out other kids’ photos and read what they’d been up to that hadn’t been spoken of during lunch. Then, Abbie talked some more about her life.

  Lacey, however, was more interested in new classmates. Especially Zac. “So, what’s the deal with those kids we sat with today? Are they your friends?” Though Abbie had been part of the circle at lunch, she hadn’t appeared to be part of the group. Her only real participation had been to agree with everything they’d said, especially Ty and Zac.

  “Yeah. Well, sort of. I got home schooled till last year. But they’ve all been so nice to me, letting me hang out with them.”

  “What about Zac? What’s he like?”

  Abbie giggled. “You like him, don’t you? I knew you did. Everyone does. He’s way hot, huh?”

  “He has a nice smile. So, tell me about him. Those girls were all over him like a rash at lunch. What’s with that?”

  “Zac’s only been at school since the end of last year. Came from somewhere up north, I think. He doesn’t talk about it much. His mystery makes him very attractive.”

  “What about his family? Have you met them?”

  “He lives with his Uncle Luca, on a farm on the other side of the bridge. My Mum hates him. She thinks they’re hippies a
nd I’m not allowed near them.” She pointed out the window to a speck of a house on the other side of the river, directly opposite the Willow Walk. “Zac walks to school every day. Must keep him fit.”

  Lacey pressed her lips together. Zac didn’t seem like the farm boy type. He was too worldly or something. She’d never seen anyone who had a harem before. Not that it bothered her.

  “He’s got no parents then?”

  “He doesn’t talk about it. I think something happened to them.”

  Lacey fished her phone out of her pocket and flipped it to open the calendar. That was sad abut Zac. But maybe that was why they’d connected so instantly. They had a common bond. “So, do you want to come over and study on the weekend? I’ve got some spare time on Sunday and I need to catch up on some of that English stuff. You’re way ahead of me.”

  Abbie looked uncertain.

  “You could okay it with your mum first if you’re not sure. Or I could come to your house.”

  This time Abbie nodded. “Yeah, why not. She can’t go mad if all I’m doing is studying. But you come to mine. It’ll be easier that way.” She looked at her watch and stood. “Its nearly four. I have to get home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Lacey walked with her to the front of the shop, holding the door for Abbie to leave. “Tomorrow.”

  Abbie swung back with a cheeky grin, “I’ll make sure to tell Zac you’ve been asking about him.”

  “You wouldn’t!”

  “Course not. I was only kidding.” She cocked her head in the direction of the bookshelves over Lacey’s shoulder. A blonde figure was peering intently at the shelves that contained the craft books. “Is that Cam over there?”

  Lacey’s eyes followed Abbie’s. “Yeah. I wonder what he’s doing here?”

  “Maybe he’s going to take up knitting when he finishes staring at you.”

  “Maybe you have an overactive imagination.” She, all but, pushed Abbie out the door. “See you tomorrow.”

  Lacey shut the shop door and stared out the window, watching Abbie wander down the road towards the corner. What was Cam doing here? She might just go and ask, ‘cause he was totally in the wrong section if he was looking anything about statues. Or maybe he just liked knitting? Either way, he didn’t look much like a bookworm. Determined to find out, she approached the set of shelves where he’d been standing.

  He was gone.

  Chapter Six

  The next afternoon, Lacey took her camera back to the park with the idea that some early evening and dusk shots might be good. This time she had her tripod with her and after a walk around the lawn area, she decided on a spot that captured both the statue and the light she wanted from behind it. She envisaged an ethereal quality to her pictures, sort of heavenly, like in the old movies and paintings she’d seen as a child showing God appearing through clouds as a bright light shining. It wasn’t that she’d ever been religious, quite the opposite in fact, but something about paintings like that had always captured her imagination.

  Setting her gear on the grass, she picked up the camera and clicked the settings to get the shutter speed she thought would do the trick, then locked it onto the tripod. It was hard to know, being new to the area, how much light she’d need but that was the beauty of a digital camera. If the shots stank she could delete them and try again. She’d brought a notebook with her to mark down any useful settings she found. She knew she’d never remember them. Her brain had been mush the last year or so.

  Bending down behind the camera, Lacey focused on the viewing screen and lined up the shot. She set the timer to take a string of automatics and sat down to enjoy the late afternoon sun while the camera did its work. That was when she saw him, the boy called Cam. He was coming around from the back of the maze and headed along the path towards her. At first, she hadn’t noticed but as the sunlight hit the golden hues of his head, her eyes turned to face him. He had stopped and was looking up the hill directly at her.

  Cam continued up the path to where she sat, transfixed. His hair, shining with the sun behind it, was like a halo around his face. His emerald eyes were luminous, the sun somehow intensifying their colour. Lacey all but gasped. He was an angel. Quickly, she stood and gazed into the viewfinder, as if busy, not wanting him to know she’d been watching. Surely, he had to speak. He was coming straight for her.

  As he drew level, Lacey noticed a bag of tools slung with careless ease over his shoulder, making the muscles of his chest and shoulders flex against his white singlet. Along his bicep, the tattoo of a dagger engraved with a crucifix rippled with the exertion. Geez. This was so embarrassing. She was openly gawking at a boy she didn’t even know. And liking it. Now would be the perfect time to ask him if he’d mind posing as a subject, if she could find her voice, that was.

  “Hi.”

  Cam stopped. He frowned as if unsure whether she had spoken.

  “Hi,” she repeated, feeling like a complete dick. She should never have spoken to him. It was so forward, so slutty to just go up to a guy you didn’t even know. What would he think?

  Cam’s lips, pink and kissable, curved at last with a hint of acknowledgement.

  “Oh. Hi. Sorry, I was off in another world. I didn’t realise you were talking to me.” He turned to face her front on, flinging his bag to the ground beside him with no effort at all.

  “I’m Cam,” he said, holding out his hand after wiping it along the side of his jeans. The corners of his green eyes crinkled in the afternoon sun as he smiled and Lacey couldn’t help but smile back. There was something about him. Something indefinable that was very attractive.

  “Lacey. Lacey Green.”

  Lacey put her hand in his. The soft skin of her palm rubbed against the calluses on his. Her fingers fluttered against the warmth. She gazed down at his creamy, almost luminous skin. It was beautiful, not like any boys’ she’d seen before. He must have worn a heap of sunscreen to keep a tan at bay. All the boys she knew were weather beaten by eighteen, having spent most of their lives in the outdoors. Yet this boy was different.

  “You new in town, Lacey?” Cam’s deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

  He must have been the only person in town who hadn’t read the advertisement then.

  “I’m living with my aunt. Finishing Year Twelve. She runs the bookshop.”

  Cam gave a slow nod. “Beth Green? She’s a nice lady. Nice books.”

  Lacey blinked. Had he just said ‘nice books?’ Oh my God, he was as pathetic as she was.

  “Yeah. I saw you looking at them the other day. You should, like, come in again some time. She has some cool ones out the back on statues and stuff. I could show them to you.” Lacey looked at her feet, mortified at her own lame-arse conversation.

  “I might do that. Don’t have much time for reading though. I’m pretty busy here.” He motioned to the statues and gravestones that surrounded them. “So, you’re taking photos?”

  “Mmm. For my portfolio. I have an exhibition at the end of the semester and I want to include some shots of the angels.” Obviously, he hadn’t seen her taking photos of him the other day, so that was good. She wouldn’t look quite as desperate. “Do you mind if I include you in some of the shots? I saw you sitting up there. You gave me this great idea.”

  Cam was silent.

  “Of course, I don’t have to use you. I can take photos of the statues and stuff if you’re not comfortable with me shooting you. It was only an idea.”

  He looked relieved. “That might be a better. I’m not that photogenic.”

  Uh, hello? Had he never looked in the mirror? He was possibly the most photogenic person she’d ever seen. Lacey could hardly believe her ears. First, he told her he didn’t read much when she’d clearly seen him in the bookshop - and now this. He was blowing her off. She turned back to her camera. If that was the way he felt, he could go jump.

  Cam spoke again. “Did you see the frieze at the base of Saint Michael? It’s taken me two months to clean that up. It was in a pretty sorr
y way.”

  Lacey nodded. Maybe he wasn’t being rude, after all. It could be that he didn’t like having his photo taken. Some people didn’t.

  “I saw it the other day. It’s awesome how you’ve made each individual bit stand out like that. I don’t know how you did it. It looks like those frescos you see in Rome. Not that I’ve ever been there. Of course.”

  “It’s what I was trained to do - care for things. Bring them back from the dead.” His eyes stared her down, as if he were trying to tell her something. It was slightly unnerving, yet somehow comforting, as if he understood her.

  Cam picked up his bag. “So. I’d best get going, Lacey.”

  “Sure.”

  “I’m here every day, you know, if you ever want to talk and stuff or if you need me.” With a smile, he started off up the path again; giving her a wave as he went that caused him to almost trip over his own feet.

  “Um, yeah. Bye.”

  Lacey frowned as she watched Cam continue on his way. What had he meant by that? Was he inviting her to come and spend some time with him or simply being friendly? And why on earth would she need him? She didn’t even know him. For the last six months all she’d wanted was a sympathetic ear and now, when she didn’t need it anymore, some boy pops out of the woodwork and offers to give her therapy. He would make a nice therapist, she thought. If you liked the shy, awkward type.

  *****

  Aunt Beth was sitting behind the wood and glass counter when Lacey arrived at the shop. Beth looked up as the bell tinkled, and closed the book she’d been reading. “Good day, Lace?” she asked, as Lacey walked around behind the counter and put down her bag of camera equipment.

  “Mmm. I went back to the maze this afternoon. Got some nice shots with the fading light.”

  Aunt Beth took a stack of notes from the till and began to count them.