Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,51
in England or something. Either way, it would leave Cruz and Megan stuck taking Shayla’s abuse alone, and I felt strangely protective of them. Plus, I wouldn’t see very much of Ethan...
I thought about the sabotage of my purse in art class. Material things simply weren’t terribly important to me, probably because I had always been given so much. Evie dressed me lavishly, indulging my every whim with her vast wealth, but she also used her money to do a whole lot of good, and she was only truly impressed by sheer talent. She went to great lengths to impress upon me that I mustn’t respect people simply because they had money, and would often point out that true friendship, love and loyalty was priceless, and impossible to buy. Still, she loved her expensive things, and laughed that although money couldn’t buy happiness it could certainly be counted on to purchase freedom.
Expensive things were obviously a big deal to the girls at school. Evie’s advice to always dress up in the face of adversity came into focus. I remembered the envy in the girl’s voices as they gossiped about my pricey wardrobe. I smiled to myself. Game on! I would dress to the nines and rub their noses in it. It might be a shallow strategy, but I knew it would aggravate them and the thought delighted me. I got out of bed, slipped on a robe and knocked on Cruz’s door.
“Come in,” he called. He was still up, working on a paper pattern.
“Cruz,” I asked sweetly. “Can I wear that black lace blouse to school tomorrow?” His eyes narrowed, no doubt remembering how I had looked in it. “Oh, you are bad!” He handed me the blouse with a cynical smile.
I laid out the outfit I would wear tomorrow; Cruz’s blouse, along with my most expensive designer jeans and some tall Michael Kors biker boots that looked as ferocious as the top. I dug through my jewelry box, fishing out an outrageous pair of diamond chandelier earrings. I unpacked a quilted patent leather Chanel bag and put my things in it. They called me a freak and they didn’t know just how right they were.
It was time to let my freak flag fly.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SURFING LESSON
The next morning before school I called Evie to ask for a favor. I’d left all of my outrageous designer things in the city, figuring that there wouldn’t be much call for fur lined jackets, thigh-high boots and cocktail dresses in a small beach town like Aptos. I wondered if she would be so kind as to ship some things down to me.
“Do I detect a date coming up?” Evie asked, excited.
“No Evie,” I said. “I’m just thinking about dressing up a little more at school.” She readily agreed, and was only surprised that I hadn’t thought to bring all my clothes originally. After all, as she often said, you never know where you might end up getting invited.
“How are the driving lessons going?” she asked expectantly. I explained that I hadn’t had a chance to get out and drive yet, and that the family car wasn’t always reliable. I promised to practice as soon as I could.
Evie was perturbed, “This is taking entirely too long,” she fussed impatiently. She proceeded to try and pump me for information about my swim lesson with Ethan. I needed to leave for school so I was able to dodge her.
“Thank you Aunt Evie! I love you,” I hung up.
That morning I styled my hair like a rock star and paid special attention to my makeup. I put on the clothes and jewelry I had laid out and stood back to inspect my image. The fresh young school girl had been replaced with a high fashion diva. That’ll do for now, I thought.
“Wow Marina! You look like some kinda celebrity today,” said Abby as I entered the kitchen.
“Thanks Abby, I’m wearing Cruz’s design,” I said as I twirled around.
“The kid is good,” she smiled, her eyes glowing with pride.
Cruz came into the kitchen and did a double take when he saw me, “Whoa! You look like a bad-ass!”
At school I could feel hostile as well as admiring looks from my fellow classmates. The little group of surfer girls and groupies muttered amongst themselves as I passed but made no moves towards me. I could sense Ethan’s watchful eye on me as I moved about campus that day. I had the feeling I was being followed.