"Somebody reported seeing her at the beach with a group of teenagers, but n.o.body fits the description of this mysterious group. Supposedly, the children she was with were very attractive. They all went swimming together and that was the last anyone saw of her."

My body tensed. "How do the police know the head they found was Mandy's? Wouldn't it be indiscernible being in the water all that time?"

"The teeth matched her dental records," my mother breathed as she raked her fingers through her brown bobbed hair.

"You're not allowed in the ocean," my dad said to me in a sudden fury.

"Grace is fine," Mom said to Dad. "She's not going in."

"Stay away from long hairs," he babbled suddenly.

I wrinkled my face wondering what the heck he was talking about. "Long hairs?" I shook my head.

"Stay away from good looking people with long hair." His brow was knitted together tightly as he mumbled in agitation. "I don't want you near anyone of the sort."

He wasn't making any sense. It seemed like his anger was overtaking his reason. "Lots of attractive people have long hair, Dad. How am I supposed to stay away from everyone like that?" I looked over at Mom and she just shrugged, but I intuited that she knew what he was talking about.

"Dad is just saying to avoid any people who look exceptionally attractive who have long hair." She sort of blushed as if she realized how insane she sounded.

I was sick of my father's irrational demands. If he had his way, he would keep me in the apartment for eternity away from every possible danger. "I've had enough," I said in irritation. "You don't make any sense. I'm not going to avoid every person with long hair. That's just crazy."

My dad was grinding his teeth as he stared down at his eggs. Maybe he realized how unreasonable he sounded.

Mom interjected, "The kids that were with Mandy at the ocean were described to all have long hair-even the boys in the group had such features of extreme beauty and long hair."

Of course the description instantly brought the tres beaux to mind. It just couldn't be true. Laurent and his friends wouldn't kill Mandy. Deep down in my gut, I knew that wasn't possible. He was good. He had saved me more than once.

Then I thought of the mermaid that Laurent spoke of. The one that would kill anyone that took a romantic interest in him. Even though he was speaking hypothetically, I knew he was talking about himself. Could this mermaid be responsible for Mandy's death? Deep down, I sensed it was true. Laurent said she killed any girl who took an interest in him and anyone could see that Mandy was obviously into him. Would I be next?

I was feeling highly agitated now. "I'm not going to do what you say this time, Dad," I said angrily. "I can't stay away from every person with long hair. That's just insane." With that, I grabbed my backpack and stormed out of the apartment. I would just walk to school today.

But, when I got outside Laurent was standing in the parking lot next to the tres beaux's 1957 black Ford Custom 300. His friends were all inside and he was waiting for me.

Life Unexpected When I saw Laurent, I flushed and my heart rate accelerated. He was gorgeous standing there leaning against the black vintage car in a white t-shirt and light blue linen pants. As our eyes met, his lips lifted into that crooked grin that made me so light headed that I felt like I might just fall over.

Steadying myself, I walked over to him, careful to not get too close. His nostrils flared, but not as hard as the night before. This time his jaw was relaxed and his gaze was gentle. "You look beautiful in that yellow dress."

"Thank you." I blushed.

"I'm getting used to you," he chuckled lightly. "I went fishing last night. I don't think I'll be able to eat a thing the rest of the day. The venom of stingrays is almost as satisfying as the charge of a human soul." He paused for a moment. "Almost, but not quite." He winked confidently at that and shook his head in a way that made me think he found his circ.u.mstances ludicrous.

Any normal person would have been afraid at that, but I was too enraptured to care. "What are you doing here?" I asked, feeling nervous that my dad might look out the window and see me with a long haired boy of unfathomable beauty.

"I noticed that you don't have a car." He stared at me for a moment.

"Yeah, so?" I said facetiously.

He seemed to like my sa.s.siness because he grinned wider now showing his beautiful white teeth. "Can I take you to school?" His hypnotic voice sounded more formal now, reminding me of old fashioned politeness.

"With them?" I sounded shocked as I looked into the car where the tres beaux sat. Marine and Brigitte seemed oblivious to me as they decorated their stunning faces while gazing into silver hand mirrors. Marcel and Pascal appeared to be purposely looking away out the opposite windows.

"Yes," Laurent said debonairly. "They promised not to hurt you."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, that's great." My voice was sarcastic though I was highly intrigued.

He made a chirping sound that reminded me of a dolphin. At that, Pascal got out of the pa.s.senger seat and scooted into the back with Marcel and the girls. Laurent opened the door chivalrously and turned his gaze on me.

My body tingled when he looked at me with his electric blue eyes in that way. It was like everything he was feeling was boring into my body and the sensations were intense.

At first, I was hesitant, but then I decided to go for it. Really there was no choice. He had me the first time I saw him at the beach before the first day of school. Even though he was wild and dangerous, reason and logic could not stop me. I moved in closer.

He flinched back slightly at my near proximity and his jaw clenched just slightly, but then relaxed.

I sat down on the light gray plush cushions and breathed in the splendorous scents. The interior of the car with the tres beaux inside smelled like all the perfumes of the ocean, a breezy, fresh scent that was indescribable, but heavenly.

Laurent shut my door and walked around the dark car to the driver seat. "You ready for a ride, Grace?" His tone was teasing. And before I could answer, he pulled out of the parking lot with a screech.

I just sat there not knowing what to say. The situation seemed so surreal and unexpected. Suddenly, the buildings and palm trees that lined the boulevards seemed new to me. The most mundane experiences were charmed in Laurent's presence.

"Welcome to our school," Brigitte said in her rosy, musical voice.

I was puzzled by her statement.

"She means welcome to our group of friends. We call our clan a school," Laurent explained while he pulled up to a stoplight.

"Thank you," I managed to respond as I looked back at her, admiring her soft skin and long dark eyelashes. Her hair was so black and shiny with long tresses of curls. It was hard to look at her up close-the beauty was too enchanting. Quickly, I turned back around and kept my eyes on the road. I couldn't believe I was in the same car as Laurent and his school.

The light turned green and he moved out with the flow of traffic. He didn't say anything for some time and when I looked over at him, I noticed that he was clutching the steering wheel much too hard. The vein above his temple was raised on his tight face which gave me the impression that his blood was coursing fiercely.

"I'm glad you made your way home safely last night." Laurent spoke in a controlled rhythm.

"Don't make Grace feel like she is all alone," Marine almost sang the words in her soft, breathy vocals. "Laurent made us follow that cab you took to make sure you arrived in one piece. That's how we know where you live."

"Oh?" I looked over at Laurent. He held a blank expression though the skin on his knuckles was so stretched that you could see the white cartilage beneath from his firm grasp to the wheel. "You were worried about me?"

The slightest hint of a smile formed on his face. "I'm not going to allow Sabine to kill you, now. Am I?" He sat perfectly straight in his seat. My eyes kept shifting to the gentle rise and fall of his perfectly formed chest. Though he seemed unaware of it, everything about him was sensual.

"We tried to scare you away," Marine interjected.

As I looked back at her perfect smile, I noticed Pascal and Marcel were cracking something with a nut cracker and popping the flesh into their mouths. They looked like they were thoroughly enjoying their morning snack.

"What do you mean?" I asked Marine.

"The fight on the beach..." she blushed at that memory, "...the threatening looks, the physical intimidations." She brushed her blond locks away from her face with her fingers and puckered her full lips like those exotic kissing fish people keep in aquariums. "Nothing worked though. You were a stubborn one. Now all we can do is to try to protect you."

Marcel lifted his hand in a fluid motion waving it upwards like a serpentine as he spoke. "It's probably too late to turn back now. It's most likely Sabine and her school picked up your vibrations when you visited Laurent at the house. Naughty girl," he shook his head. "Now you are our responsibility."

"Hope you like overprotection," Pascal chuckled lightly as he tied his long black hair into a knot.

They made some clicks and squeaks and they all spoke at once for a moment and then nodded in agreement. I had no idea what they said, but they all seemed to communicate in a manner that was entirely foreign to me.

"Poor Mandy Bowers," Brigitte whispered. The jewels of many colors around her snow white neck sparkled in the sunlight as she spoke.

"What happened to Mandy?" I asked.

There was a light hum exchanged between Brigitte and Pascal before he continued for her. His masculine voice was melodic as he spoke, "Sabine and her school lured the child into the ocean, mesmerized her with their songs, and tore her flesh to pieces. No one who loves Laurent will live in her presence."

"The jealous, witch," Marine sang with a hiss.

"Stop frightening, Grace," Laurent said calmly as he parked the vintage car in the school lot. "I'm not going to let anything happen to her."

Everything they were saying was a bit overwhelming. Just their near presence, unusual mannerisms, and sounds were a foreign experience that both intrigued and scared me simultaneously. "I'm fine," I managed to say to Laurent. I didn't want them to know that I wasn't entirely comfortable with them yet.

Laurent walked around to the pa.s.senger door and let me out. I wasn't used to such gentlemanly manners, but I liked it more than I would have guessed.

There were a lot of people in the parking lot and in the halls. Everyone who saw me with the tres beaux looked shocked. They seemed to notice that I was walking beside Laurent and the questions in their eyes and whispers revealed varying emotions ranging from extreme jealousy to bewilderment.

We walked past a crowd of kids who were standing before Mandy Bower's locker where a memorial of flowers, pictures, and a cross had been erected. The halls were abuzz with talk about her death which took some, but not enough of the attention away from Laurent and me. Poor Mandy, I kept thinking, realizing, maybe for the first time, what danger I was in. Fright was bitter on my tongue.

What surprised me most was how all five of the French exchange students escorted me to cla.s.s. They hovered over me like they warned. I didn't know what to think about that.

Agatha's eyes nearly popped out of her round pale face when we walked up to homeroom together. Laurent smiled at me and said, "I'll see you after the bell. Try to convince Agatha to sit with our school at lunch."

"That will be no problem," I laughed through my morbid thoughts as I considered how thrilled she would be to sit with their escort, Danny.

"OMG," Agatha giggled when I sat down beside her in homeroom. "What happened?"

"I don't know," I whispered. "I went to his house after you gave me his address. It went well. Then, this morning when I left for school, he was waiting in our parking lot for me with the other exchange students."

"Did he drive you to school?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes!" I was smiling now too. "Can you believe it?"

"Sorry, but no!" She laughed as quietly as she was able so to not attract too much attention.

I noticed a lot of people were looking at us, so I tried to keep a blank expression on my face. "He wants us to eat lunch with them."

Her eyes lit up. "That's great." She sounded happy. "I just don't know if Danny has any interest in me at all."

"I think he likes you. He went on that double date with you, me, and Ashton, right?"

"Yeah, that's true." She contemplated for a moment. "Poor Ashton. Has he seen you with Laurent yet?"

My face kind of dropped. I didn't want to hurt Ashton. "No, I don't think so, but I'm not one hundred percent sure if Laurent likes me romantically like that."

"Of course he does or he wouldn't be hanging around with you. He doesn't spend time with anyone but the other French exchange students and Danny. He wouldn't give you the time of day if he wasn't really into you."

"I wonder." I looked over at the teacher who was putting the roll call paper in the envelope at the door. "My dad and I got in a fight today."

"Oh, no." She frowned. "What was it about?"

"Did you hear about Mandy Bowers?"

She shifted in her seat. "Yes. Isn't that scary? Just horrible. I didn't really know her that well."

"Me neither, but my dad heard that she was last seen with some long haired kids with good looks and now he forbid me to a.s.sociate with anyone who has long hair and is attractive."

She burst out laughing. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be like this after what happened to Mandy, but your dad is crazy."

"That's how I feel. I can't just avoid everyone on the planet, so I told him."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing. I didn't give him a chance. I just stormed out and that's when I saw Laurent in the parking lot."

"That means that if you start seeing Laurent, your dad will forbid it." She looked upset.

"I love my father. I don't want to hurt him."

"You can't let him know about Laurent." She held her finger to her forehead like she was thinking. "Unless you can get Laurent to cut his hair."

I knitted my eyebrows together. "I wouldn't do that to him. It's just too weird. My dad is just going to have to revoke this rule." The idea of upsetting my father pained my heart. I felt torn not knowing how to handle his demands. I knew I was too enamored with Laurent to deny him anything.

The bell rang and we all gathered our stuff. I swung my backpack over my shoulder and walked, somewhat bothered, with Agatha to the door. I couldn't help but worry that Laurent would forget all about me and neglect meeting me after homeroom like he promised.

But there was no need to concern myself. When I stepped out of the room, he was right there, leaning against the wall with Danny and his friends, waiting for me. A spark of electricity involuntarily rushed through my body. I tried to mask my attraction toward him by keeping a blank expression. But when our eyes met, a secret smile just between us played on his lips. He must have sensed my ever growing loss of control in his presence.

Agatha giggled a bit and then said h.e.l.lo to Danny.

"Hi, Agatha," he snorted awkwardly as he pointed at her.

They did some sort of secret handshake that they must have made up sometime or other. Both of them laughed because Agatha forgot the last snap and slap. But after a moment of small talk, they said their goodbyes and Agatha hurried off to her next cla.s.s.

Laurent and I walked in silence to English cla.s.s, the electricity dancing between us, as the tres beaux followed behind. I reasoned that the energy was too intense to not be mutual. That idea excited my mind.

It was difficult to notice anyone else but Laurent, but I did glimpse that Marcel and Pascal were playing some sort of handheld video game while Brigitte and Marina chatted quietly between themselves.

As we neared the cla.s.sroom, Laurent asked me what my parents were like. I was surprised by the question, but glad to distract myself from the fireworks going off in my mind.

"My mom..." I paused trying to figure out how to describe her. "She works as a c.o.c.ktail waitress and looks a little like me, but her hair is shorter. Her personality is pretty outgoing." I thought for a second. "We get along." At that, I hesitated for another moment, pondering whether I should describe my dad. Really I was angry at him and I was afraid that would show in my portrayal.

"And your father?" He looked at me curiously as we walked into the cla.s.sroom. "I know you have one because he answered the phone one of the times that I called."

"Why did you call that first time?" I asked sharply. I was happy to turn the conversation on him and still curious about that original phone call.

We stopped at my desk. As I sat down, he looked at me with smoldering eyes. We were closer in proximity than usual. "I don't know why I called." He glanced over at the chalkboard as he placed his long fingers on my desk. When he turned back to me, his fingers were dancing upon the hard surface. The taps were rhythmical and pulled at my attention, further increasing my desire to touch him.

I noticed that other students kept glancing at us. I think they were surprised to see Laurent talking to anyone other than the other exchange students. The feeling was a little like being on a stage, but I didn't care-my concentration was focused on him.