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Click here for reading level. This book is part of the Bayview High series. H.G. Sotzek is also the author of Making the Grade. To read the first chapter of The Edge, click here. Enjoy! The EdgeThe black, hollow eyes seemed to stare back at him. The hooded form was terrifying. Ethan Munroe squinted at the evil face and quickly closed his eyes. After a moment he looked hard at the skeleton. With a flash of his hand, he drew a curved line. The arc of the grim reaper's blade crossed the page. He made a few more pencil strokes. Now, light seemed to glint off the steel."Excuse me," a voice said. Startled, Ethan glanced up. There was a pretty girl with long, brown hair pulled back in braids. She was cleaning the tables around him. "That's some picture," she said. "I would've never guessed you had a dark side." She smiled and brushed her braids behind her back. Then she turned to clear away more dishes from the other tables. Ethan was speechless. He watched as the girl moved through the crowd and back to the coffee counter. He had seen Kat Matthews around the halls at Bayview High. They hadn't talked before, even though they were both in grade eleven. Kat was in a league of her own. He watched her as she listened to the band play. Her eyes were closed, and her head nodded in time with the music. He looked over at the stage. The lead singer was excellent. Ethan thought his name was Arby or something. He couldn't remember for sure. Ethan looked around the coffeehouse. The Edge was busy on Friday nights. He loved coming here. It had everything. Great live music. Amazing hot drinks. A ton of cool people. Most of the round metal tables were filled with customers. A line of people stood at the coffee counter near the back of the place. Many of them went to college. Ethan knew some of the others from Bayview. Then Ethan caught his breath and froze. He saw Shelby and Damon come through the front door. They had been together a month now, but Ethan still couldn't get used to it. One of his best friends was dating his Shelby. Ethan had had a thing for her since grade nine. A wave of jealousy flooded over him. Then he took a deep breath as they came toward him through the maze of tables. Part of him wished he could just disappear. No such luck. Forcing a smile, Ethan spoke. "Hey, guys. I didn't know you were going to be here tonight." Damon sat down across from him. Shelby squeezed in on the bench beside Ethan. They were crowded in, and their legs were almost touching. Damon reached across the table and put his hand over Shelby's. Ethan looked away. "We thought we'd just stop in to see who was playing tonight. You know, see who was here," Shelby said. She gave Ethan a warm smile, and he melted inside. "So how was the movie?" Ethan asked, trying to ignore Damon's hand touching Shelby. Ethan was trying not to stare at her. Her silky, black hair just brushed her shoulders, curling up at the ends. Her thick, black lashes framed her chocolate brown eyes. Ethan adored Shelby Patel and was sure he always would. Sadly for Ethan, Shelby only had eyes for Damon. Damon and Shelby were gazing at each other now. She didn't seem to have heard Ethan. He cleared his throat and spoke again. "So...?" "Oh! Sorry, Ethan. The movie was great," Shelby said, "if you like car chases." She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, come on, Shelby. It was more than that. What about that wicked tidal wave scene?" Damon said. "Right," she said with a giggle. "Hey! Damon and I are going to get something to eat. Do you want to join us?" she continued. "No, um, I'm not really hungry," Ethan said. "Are you sure?" Damon said. "We're going to Lee's." "No thanks," said Ethan. He didn't like to pass up a trip to his favorite restaurant. But he didn't want to spend more time with them than he had to. Damon looked doubtful. "Really?" "Yeah. It's okay," Ethan said. "Really." Damon looked around. "Has Carlos been here tonight?" he asked. "No. He's been in training. The basketball tournament is next week. I bet that our star of the Bayview Sharks is pumping iron right now," said Ethan. "No doubt," Damon said. "I guess we'll see you later." He and Shelby rose to leave. She gave Ethan a warm but sympathetic smile. Don't pity me, he thought to himself. Ethan forced a smile on his face. "Call me tomorrow. Maybe we can hook up then," he said, trying to sound positive. "Great!" Shelby said. "Oh, wait, we can't tomorrow. Damon and I have tickets to the Phat Dogg concert." Damon groaned and pretended to be annoyed. "Right...Phat Dogg...I can't wait." Shelby gave him a playful nudge. Damon turned back to Ethan. "Maybe we can do something on Sunday." "We're going out with my sister. Remember, Damon?" said Shelby. "Oh yeah. What about next week?" Damon tried again. "Sure. Whatever. Give me a call," Ethan said. I won't hold my breath, though. "Great." Damon held out his fist to Ethan. Ethan paused for a moment and then broke into a grin. He tapped his friend's knuckles with his own fist. "Excellent!" Shelby pulled Damon toward the door. "See you later, Ethan." Damon waved over his shoulder as Shelby dragged him away. Ethan watched them leave. With a sigh he turned back to his sketchbook. He flipped the page and instantly became lost in the picture. This one was of Shelby. He gently felt the ink-soaked edges of his sketchbook. While staring at her image, his pencil fell to the floor with a quiet clatter. When he bent down, he was face-to-face with a pair of tall, black boots. They were laced up almost to the knees. Kat Matthews was back. "She's beautiful," Kat said. "Who?" Ethan said, startled. He almost banged his head on the table as he sat back up. Kat pointed to the sketch of Shelby. "Your girlfriend," she said. Ethan flushed. "Oh, the drawing. Actually, Shelby and I, uh, we're just friends. She's going out with Damon Sanders." "Friends, huh? I see. Interesting," Kat said with a smile. "Well, I'd be flattered if I had a friend like you. She doesn't know what she's giving up, I guess." She reached across the table for his empty cup and brushed past Ethan's hand. Ethan flushed again. "Are you an artist?" Kat asked him. "No. I just like to draw." He covered the page with his arm. "You go to Bayview High, don't you? You're Evan Manley, right?" she asked. "Yeah. I mean, yeah, I go to Bayview. But I'm Ethan Munroe." "Ooops! Sorry. Let me start again. I'm Kat," she said with a warm smile. "I know." Then Ethan wasn't sure what to say next. In fact, he wasn't really sure why Kat was still talking to him. All he knew was that she was cute. And her green eyes were amazing. Kat was one of the coolest girls he'd ever met. Then Kat turned toward the music. Ethan followed her gaze. She seemed to be watching the singer. The guy was leaning toward some short-haired blonde near him. He seemed to like her a lot. For a moment, Kat stared at the singer and the blonde. Her green eyes narrowed slightly. Suddenly, she turned back to Ethan. "Do you like carnivals, Ethan?" she asked. "Excuse me?" he said. Kat looked down at Ethan's open sketchbook. Shelby's picture still was looking up at them. Kat closed the book and pushed it gently back to Ethan. "You know...roller coasters. Ferris wheels. Cotton candy." "Yesssss," he said slowly. He still wasn't sure what she was talking about. "Good, because I've been dying to go to the spring carnival. So, I'll pick you up here at seven o'clock tomorrow night. Then I'll drive us over to the fairgrounds." Ethan stared at her as she walked away. Did Kat Matthews just ask me out? Kat looked back at him and winked. Ethan couldn't help smiling to himself. Cool. |
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