Bernie Glaser finished his act with “Don’t applaud. Just throw Bitcoins!” He walked offstage to mild applause and some scattered boos.
Liam dragged a chair up to the table and pushed it in next to his own. We all squeezed around and said hi as the girl gracefully lowered herself onto the chair and brushed her hair back again.
Liam dropped beside her and put an arm on the back of her chair, as if they were old friends or something. He had drops of perspiration on his forehead. He was really working hard to win her over.
I was directly across from her. And what totally blew me away was the smooth perfection of her skin, pale as cream and not a blemish, not a mark, as if she’d never been out in the sun for a minute. And I instantly noticed how the soft perfection of her skin made those enormous green eyes glow like jewels. It’s a cliché, I know, but it’s the only way to describe them.
We went around the table, announcing our names. Liam’s hand tapped the back of her chair. “So is your name Darlene?” he asked.
I laughed. I couldn’t believe Liam told her how we’d tried to guess her name by looking at her.
My laugh cut short when she said, “Yes. I’m Darlene.”
Liam’s eyes bulged. “Seriously? Are you seriously Darlene?”
“Not seriously,” she said. She had a scratchy, hoarse voice, as if she hadn’t used it for a while.
“But you are Darlene?” Liam wouldn’t give up.
“Actually, no,” she said. “I never knew a Darlene. Did you?”
“My cousin Darlene used to live a few blocks from me,” Winks said. “But she moved to Houston.”
“That’s fascinating,” Delia said sarcastically. She slid her arm through his and took his hand. She wanted to show the new girl that Winks was taken.
“My guess was Shannon,” Zane said. “Was I close?”
She squeezed his hand. “Yes. Shannon. Good guess.”
“You mean I was right?”
“No. My name is Morgan. Morgan Marks.”
Zane groaned. “I saw you watching my act. What did you think?”
She shrugged her delicate shoulders. It made the silky material of her green top shimmer. “I’m the wrong person to ask,” she said in that scratchy voice. “I don’t get jokes. Really.”
“Neither does Zane!” Liam joked.
We all laughed, everyone except Zane.
Morgan locked her eyes on Zane. She stared like she was burning into his brain. “Do you really want to be a comedian?”
“I just wanted to see what it feels like,” he said.
She gave him a sly look. “You mean you like to try new experiences? That’s bold.”
Zane snickered. He looked uncomfortable.
He’s so shy with girls. I’ve been coming on to him for years and he’s never made a move. Now this beautiful girl was definitely flirting with him, and all he could do was snicker and blush.
“How about some wine?” Liam pulled the bottle off the floor. “It’s a little warm . . .”
“No. But I’d like another LaCroix if you see the waitress.”
Delia held on to Winks’s arm. He had this big grin on his face that looked painted on. He couldn’t take his eyes off Morgan, and I could see Delia’s features tightening as she became more and more annoyed with him.
“Are you new here?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation going so we didn’t just have a staring match.
“I’m new everywhere,” she replied. She smiled. “Does that make any sense?”
“You mean you just moved here?” Liam said. “Where is your house?”
She waved toward the door. “Somewhere over there.”
Jeannie, the waitress, appeared. She narrowed her eyes at Zane. “I’d ask how you are doing, but I saw your act. Wish I could serve you a drink. I’m sure you need it.”
Zane’s face appeared to slump. “I was that good, huh?” he replied.
“No. Not that good,” Jeannie said.
“You are cold,” Winks said.
She frowned at him. “Keeping it real. Anybody want anything?”
I was still hungry. I ordered nachos for the table. We ordered more sodas. Morgan asked for another LaCroix.
“Where did you live before here? Where did you go to school?” Liam asked Morgan after Jeannie walked away.
She ran a finger down his sleeve. “You’re very inquisitive, aren’t you?”
Liam shrugged. “I just wondered . . .”
“I’ve moved around a lot,” Morgan said. “Sometimes it’s like a blur. I don’t remember where I’ve been or where I’m coming from.” She touched his arm again. “You ever have that feeling where you want to lose yourself completely and not know where you are?”
Liam hesitated. “Well . . .”
“Liam is always lost,” Winks joked. I could see he didn’t like all the attention Liam was getting from Morgan.
Zane just sat there staring at her. Like she was a new species. He seemed totally hypnotized.
Did she notice that all three boys were like deer caught in headlights, all three helplessly insane for her, ready to become her slaves, and she’d barely said a word?
I thought she did.
Amber and I exchanged glances across the table. We both saw that Morgan was a total flirt.
She had this way of letting her hair fall over her face and making her green eyes go wide when she concentrated on one of them. She used her hoarse voice to sound sexy.
And she was one of those people who touch you as she talks to you. She kept rubbing Liam’s arm and touching his chest. She even reached across the table once to brush Zane’s hair back from his forehead.
Delia eyed her warily. She had tightened her grip on Winks’s arm and had pulled back her head, her expression tense, like a wildcat preparing to spring. Winks didn’t seem aware of Delia at all. He kept grinning at Morgan and nodding at everything she said.
Which wasn’t much. She seemed really swift at not answering questions or giving away anything about herself. We still didn’t know where she came from or when she got to Linden or where she lived.
“Hey, how’s it going?” A loud voice interrupted our conversation. I turned to see Bernie Glaser behind me, a tall drink in one hand. I saw a round spot on his gray turtleneck and guessed he had spilled some of the drink.
He reached across the table and bumped fists with Zane. “I watched your act, man. Not bad. I mean, for a first-timer.”
Zane seemed embarrassed by the compliment. But he said, “Hey, thanks. I thought—”
“You were thinking too much, man,” Glaser said. “I could see the gears spinning. You just got to let it go. Know what I mean?”
“I guess. I—”
“Well, see you around, guys.” He raised his glass. “Cheers.” He turned and walked away. His stoop-shouldered gait made him look a lot older than he was.
Liam turned back to Morgan. “Linden is a pretty big high school,” he said. “It takes in all the surrounding communities. You might need some help navigating at first. I could help. . . .”
“That would be nice,” Morgan purred.
“Liam gets lost all the time,” Winks said again. “He can’t find anything. He can’t find his butt with both hands.”
“Hey—!” Liam shouted. “Leave the jokes to Zane.”
“Who’s joking?” Winks said. He turned back to Morgan. “I could meet you Monday morning before homeroom.”
“Sweet,” Morgan murmured, doing her wide-eye thing.
Amber and I shared another disgusted look. Well . . . not really disgusted. It’s just that Morgan was being so obvious, and the boys were being such jerks.
Finally, I turned to Morgan. “You said you don’t like jokes?” I said.
She nodded. “It’s just that I don’t get jokes.”
“Then why did you come here tonight?” I demanded.
Her smile faded. “Fresh blood,” she said.
