Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,61

fries I was nibbling. “Sweet? Are you kidding me? Are we talking about the same girl?”

“Yeah, I kind of felt the same way, but I covered it up. Amber says Nell has introduced her to all her friends and now, after a few years of being pretty lonely, Amber has friends. And I thought you’d find this interesting, too—Nell has gotten Amber involved in some club that your Chem. teacher runs.”

I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have been. Whatever Nell was up to, I had a strong feeling that it involved this club.

“Isn’t that a coincidence?” I remarked to Michael. “Ms. Lacusta invited me to join her chemistry club today.”

Michael raised his eyebrows. “And what did you tell her?”

I gave him an innocent look. “Why, I have to ask my parents, of course. I would never commit to something without checking it out with them.”

“Of course,” he nodded. “Good idea. Will they back you up?”

“Oh, I think so. I’m not joining their cozy little group, don’t worry. Ms. Lacusta creeps me out big time.”

Michael frowned. “You think she’s involved in this, somehow?”

I shook my head. “Not sure. But speaking of coincidences, I don’t think it’s one that Ms. Lacusta asked me about the club today, when Nell was absent.”

“Do you think she’s afraid of Nell?”

“Not afraid, no, but maybe she thought Nell would throw a fit if she heard her inviting me, and she wanted to avoid…” I searched for the right word. “Unpleasantness.”

“Got it,” Michael said, nodding again.

“So did you ask Amber about anything going on with Nell that’s scaring her?” This was the real crux of the matter, in my opinion. If Amber was stupid enough to want to pal around with a girl who used to make her life miserable, that was her business. It was her safety that concerned me, not her sanity.

“I tried to hint around as much as possible. She starting getting real uneasy when I asked her about the chemistry club and what they do. I said that Nell strikes me as someone who’d be dangerous with chemicals, and Amber—well, she got a little freaky. She told me I didn’t know what I was talking about, and then she blew my cover.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, bewildered.

“She said she knew Nell despises my girlfriend—that was her word, ‘despises’. She said she didn’t know what your problem was, but Nell said you were making trouble in Chemistry class. She said you blamed Nell for things that were your own fault. I couldn’t get her to give me specifics, and then she just clammed up.”

“So do you think I’m crazy?” I asked him. “Now that you’ve talked to Amber?”

Michael shook his head. “I never did think you were crazy,” he reminded me. “But I could tell something’s going on with Amber. When I asked her if Nell would have a problem with her talking with me—because I’m your boyfriend—” even in the midst of this, he smiled at those words,“—she got very upset. She said Nell would never believe me, that Nell trusted her, and she started shaking. And then she just got up and walked out of the room.”

I shuddered. “So she does seem to be afraid of Nell. That fits into place.”

Michael nodded. “Seems to.” He finished the last morsel of food on our trays. “I think we made a good start today. No matter how it ended, I hope she knows that she has someone she can talk to now, if things with Nell get too intense.”

“She’s not the only one who’s living in fear of Nell. I picked up some interesting tidbits from Casey in Chemistry. I get the feeling that Nell’s is a reign of terror, not of love.”

Michael frowned; something was troubling him, but it wasn’t anything he was going to share with me at the moment. He stood, stretching, and I watched him stack our trays. Lunch was almost over, and I was actually looking forward to History today, knowing Cara would be there and Nell would not. It was shaping up to be a decent afternoon.

Michael had to work at the nursery that afternoon, so our ride home was brief. As I slid out of the car, he caught my arm and pulled me back, cupping his hand around the back of head and drawing me closer for a brief kiss.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better today,” he murmured. “Wish I could come in with you… are you sure you don’t want to come over to the