Aftermath (19 page)

“Thank y’all so
much, I really appreciate it.” I gave my friends meaningful glances
before opening the door. “Luke, may I have a word please.”

“Of course,” he
smiled smugly.

I came around to his
side of the vehicle and led him a few steps away from the truck—and
Nikki and Marie’s earshot—before I started with my inquisition.

“What’s up with you
going with Stephanie?” My hands automatically went to my hips and
his gaze followed me there so I crossed my arms instead.

He shrugged like he
didn’t have a care in the world, and why would you if you were Luke
Boudreaux, gorgeous, rich, and immortal? I swallowed. “Well?”

“That was before all
of this.”

“All of what?” I
realized I wasn’t trying hard enough to ignore him, that I was
actually leading him on. And that realization struck me like a splash
of cold water. It felt awful.

He must have seen
something on my face because then he replied, “Stop worrying about
if it’s right or wrong. You can’t change how you feel.”

“You have no idea how
I feel.” He was right, I couldn’t change how I felt, but I sure
as hell could change how I acted on it.

“Admit it, you are
jealous.”

“I am not jealous!”

“Look at you, Ana.
Your cheeks are a delicious shade of pink and you’re all flustered.
You look so cute when you get upset.”

“You’re insane!”

“You didn’t even
get like this when I told you about Tatiana and Hayden.”

My breath hitched and I
struggled to find the right words. “Because I trust Hayden!” I
blurted out.

“Oh, Ana,” he
smiled, still looking irritatingly calm as he stepped forward and
caressed my cheek with the back of his hand, “you try so hard to
keep away from me. Yet, the very fact that you can’t is what keeps
me going. It’s what gives me hope.”

I clenched my teeth
together. “Well, your
'hope'
is walking away.”

And I turned and left
him there without another word because that was what I had to do. If
I was, as he said, incriminating myself the more I struggled with
him, then I just had to not say anything at all. I was so flustered
as I walked into the warehouse that I didn’t take notice that
someone had been watching from behind a float.

When I entered the
warehouse, I was overwhelmed with the display of colors and the
colossal floats. I had never seen a float so close up and it was my
love for New Orleans and memories of Mardi Gras that made me feel
giddy at the prospect of riding on one.

Mardi Gras. The
greatest free show on earth.

Krewes are carnival
organizations that put on the parades. New Orleans has a ton of
different krewes and they all have different parades, royalty, and
throws. The Krewe of Hermes was famous for their night-time parades
and each year had a different theme. The composition was a
highly-kept secret and they did not reveal the theme until the day of
the parade. One of the first floats I saw was decorated like a meadow
with cat tails, complete with colorful flowers and butterflies. A
banner over the top said “Visions of Valhalla.”
The theme of
the parade.
I smiled. I took a minute to admire the other floats
in the building. It was interesting to see all the behind-the-scenes
work and how detailed it was. My favorite float was also the most
elaborate one, with a model of a woman Viking warrior on the front.
The entire float was lit up with neon lights and I knew it would be
the brightest float on the streets that night. High on the float,
already settled in his chair, was the king who was outfitted regally,
everything from his crown to his gloves. His mask covered his entire
face, purposely disguising his identity. Krewes and their royalty
inspired such intrigue, such mystery. The king's face was angled
toward me as I walked by and I gave him a curt nod, not sure if he
was looking at me or not.

A lot of people had
already arrived when I got there and even with Nikki’s amazing make
up job, I was starting to feel underdressed. I couldn’t imagine
what some of the costumes must have set people back.

After roaming for a
bit, I found the Ecole float. Ecole was lucky to have its own float
in the parade. Usually the floats were the krewes own and most of the
schools only were able to participate with marching bands and
banners. Nikki had informed me it was because the principal was a
member. All I knew was that we had the best Mardi Gras celebrations
because of it.

Our group was comprised
of five girls and three boys, a few teachers, administrative
personnel and chaperones. I didn’t see Stephanie yet, so I assumed
it would be six girls. Some of the girls turned and looked at me as I
approached. I gave them a tight smile. I awkwardly went to stand next
to them when a chaperone with a clipboard approached.

“What’s your name,
hon'?”

“Adriana Alexander.”

She tapped her pen and
smiled. “Ah. I was glad to see that you entered a late
application.”

“Thank you,” I
smiled and didn’t correct her that it was actually Nikki who
entered for me.

“You’ll be front
left, between Stephanie and Josh.”

“Thank you,” I
repeated. I paled as she walked away toward the next student.

Just perfect.
Well, at least
I
was on time, I thought proudly.

We waited there for a
while as last-minute preparations were made to the float. The girls
had ignored the requirement for attire that was in school-spirit and
were in everything from Venetian-style dresses to tutus and boas in
purple, green and gold. The boys were all friends, and had obviously
coordinated their outfits; they were dressed in matching blue suits
with bowler hats and shimmering gold masks. I felt silly standing
there quietly while everyone was talking to each other until a girl I
recognized from Trig complimented my outfit and started a
conversation about upcoming assignments.

We were more than ready
by the time the float was ready to be loaded. The chaperones reminded
us of the rules and what we’d be doing, and gave us each a box of
goodies to throw out to the crowds.

“I’m here!”
Stephanie sung out as we were getting onto the float. She had really
outdone herself. She was dressed in an Ecole-blue sequined ball gown
with a matching blue feathered half-mask. It wouldn’t have been
unusual, if it weren’t for the array of peacock feathers encircling
behind her. She also had forgone any Mardi Gras beads around her
neck, probably figuring they took away from the elegance of the
dress.

“Oh, there you are
Stephanie.” The same chaperone that helped me walked over to her.
“We thought you were a no-show.”

“As if I would miss
the parade!” She put her manicured hands on her hips in true
Hollywood starlet style. I gave her no more than a glance and
concentrated on the float.

“All right, everybody
on. It’s Showtime!” The chaperone shooed us onto the float. The
boys were high-fiving and the girls were giggling in excitement. I
smiled at Lacey-from-Trig and then my smile died as I took my
position next to Stephanie. I wished I'd known Josh better so I could
have at least imagined I wasn't sitting next to Stephanie. But as the
float started to move, I realized it wouldn't matter; Stephanie knew
Josh. She spent most of the ride to St. Charles, the start of the
parade, talking to him over me. She did a good job pretending I
wasn’t even there.
But I swear, if a peacock feather hits me in
the face one more time…

“Throw me something,
mister!” A young boy called out, instantly changing my mood as I
recognized the famous slogan. I smiled as I threw some Ecole-colored
beads and small foam footballs donning our Trojan mascot out to the
awaiting crowds.Night-time parades were fun because of the lights
used on the floats. I had only missed the Krewe of Hermes parade once
in my life, and never missed the Rex parade, because their krewe had
the best throws. Even when my dad was traveling, he never missed
carnival season.

I was quick to forget
who was standing next to me as everyone else instantly had an
attitude of camaraderie. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d
spent so much time laughing and smiling. The crowd was as interesting
to look at as the floats; they sometimes even had better costumes. By
the time the float made its way back to the warehouse, my cheeks were
sore. I was surprised by how quickly the time had flown by. The
crowds had been the largest I'd seen yet, and my heart swelled at the
perseverance of New Orleanians. Even though the parade was over,
there was no doubt that everyone would still be dancing until dawn.
Katrina was not that many months behind us, but it was clear: New
Orleans was back.

Luke and Marie were
waiting for me outside the warehouse when we finished cleaning up.

“Ana, you looked
awesome up there!” Marie hugged me as I approached Luke’s truck.
“Nikki left with her ‘rents, but
she bids you farewell.
”

“Ah, and I was so
looking forward to her gushing.” My tone was a bit sarcastic but it
was true, I was looking forward to her commentary. “I was trying to
look for y’all around Lee’s Circle but I guess you were on the
other side.”

“No, we definitely
saw you.” Luke was standing by the hood and I hated that he held an
expression of admiration and pride. I sighed when I realized I still
hadn’t heard from Hayden. I had hoped that he would surprise me and
just appear as I was floating down Canal Street. It hurt that he
hadn’t been there.

A chill ran through me
and I rubbed my bare arms with my hands. “Oh, no. I must have left
my shawl on the float! I’ll be right back.”

Luke threw his arm
around my shoulder, “Leave it, we’ll get you another one. We have
some celebrating to do.”

“I can’t, it’s
Nikki’s and she would kill me if I lost it. Start the car, I’ll
just be a minute.” I took off into the warehouse, hoping someone
would still be there to let me in. The door was unlocked and the
overhead lights were still on, so I figured there must still be
people working on their floats. I made my way to where the back of
the building where the Ecole float was parked.

I found Nikki’s
sweater just where I had left it on the float. I grabbed it and went
to run back to the truck when the lights flickered once, twice, and
then went out. My heart sped but I still didn’t rule out any
reasonable explanations. “Hello?” Everyone had probably just left
for the night and didn’t realize I had come back in. Or maybe the
lights were on a timer? “Hello?” Maybe they were motion-
censored? I took a few steps in almost complete darkness. I heard
footsteps and that’s when I started running towards the exit. I
heard the power click and a single light above me turned on. I
stopped running and looked all around me.

“Adriana,” I turned
at the familiar sinister voice. Stephanie had appeared in front of
me, a frightening gleam in her eyes.

“What do you want,
Stephanie?”

I thought I had managed
to get through the parade with no snide comments but apparently I
would not be that fortunate tonight.

“You will not be
Queen.” Her face burned with anger and it was then that I noticed
that her peacock tail was missing, her hair mussed and dress torn.

I took a step back as
she approached me. “It’s just a stupid school dance, calm down.”

She laughed darkly as
if she didn’t hear me. “You can’t be Queen, if you’re finally
dead!” She grabbed my arm in one quick motion.

…
if you’re dead.
I didn’t register the
finally
part. I just knew that with
any mention of the word dead, I needed to get out of there fast. I
tried to yank my arm free but she was surprisingly strong. It was the
feeling of being trapped that caused me to panic. “Let me go,
Stephanie.” When she didn’t, I kicked her as hard as I could with
my free leg. She keeled over long enough to let my arm slip free, and
I screamed as I ran away, knowing Luke would be able to hear me.

Something about
Stephanie was not human as she instantly caught up behind me, sending
me falling to the floor with one powerful push. I turned over to find
Stephanie hovering over me before she pinned me down with her arms
and legs.

Her manicured nails
felt painfully sharper then they looked as they dug into my neck. “I
am going to enjoy ripping your head off from your body. You won’t
look so appealing then.”

“You’re crazy!” I
spit at her.

“Let her go!” The
sound of Marie’s voice frightened me. Why hadn’t Luke made her
stay in the truck?

“Marie, you need to
get out of here!” I yelled at her through strained breaths.

“Follow your friend's
advice, witch, or I’ll have to shred you to pieces as well.”

I was taken aback by
the sound of a new voice. It was deep and sounded like many voices on
top of each other. That voice, though, was coming from Stephanie, and
she was talking to Marie.