Blooming in the Dark sneak peek!
Here's the first part of the first chapter. Let me know what you think!
Chapter 1.
St. Helena Boarding School, Jan. 1919
The cold had driven most of the students back inside.
The few who remained in the courtyard were beginning to regret it.
Louis Durand sat on the edge of a stone bench, shoulders hunched against the wind. His brown hair fell in soft, slightly unruly waves over his forehead, and his delicate features had reddened from the cold. He was trying to eat a sandwich through his gloves, which was proving considerably more difficult than he had anticipated.
A small streak of sauce landed across the wool.
Beside him, Julian Hayes looked over.
Julian's dark blonde hair was already untidy from the wind, a few strands falling across his forehead. His face still carried the softness of thirteen, despite the striking blue eyes that seemed to brighten whenever he was amused.
— That's what you get for eating outside.
— Your accent gets stronger every time you get annoyed.
Louis slowly turned his head toward him; his expression remained perfectly calm, but his French accent was unmistakably heavier now.
— And the force with which I'm going to throw this sandwich at your face is going to get stronger too.
Nicolas Cortés laughed, and Julian immediately looked at him.
Nicolas stood beside him with his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat, dark hair neatly arranged despite the weather. His features were already more defined than Julian's, his dark brows framing watchful hazel-green eyes that always seemed to notice more than he let on. At thirteen, there was still plenty of boyishness in his face, but something about the way he carried himself already gave him an unusually composed air.
— You're supposed to be on my side.
— You're a terrible friend.
— And yet you keep following me around.
Julian stared at him for a moment before bumping his shoulder against Nicolas's.
Louis muttered something in French and attempted to clean the sauce from his glove.
Victor Keller, seated a little farther along the bench, had been watching the exchange with quiet amusement. His dark brown hair was swept neatly back from his forehead, though the cold had loosened a few strands. His pale grey eyes remained fixed on Louis's ruined glove, his expression characteristically serious.
— You could just take the glove off.
— Then my hand will freeze.
— Your hand is already freezing.
A shiver ran visibly through Louis. Victor's mouth twitched.
Louis gave him an offended look.
A few feet away, Vlad Volkov stood near the edge of the courtyard with a book.
He was the only one who looked entirely unaffected by the weather. His pale blond hair, soft and slightly tousled, caught what little winter light there was. His skin was almost unnaturally fair, and his icy-blue eyes remained calmly fixed on the page in front of him.
He was also not wearing a coat.
He stopped trying to clean his glove.
His eyes moved slowly from Vlad's face to his uniform, then back again.
Vlad looked up from his book.
Vlad shook his head. Louis remained silent.
Another shiver went through him.
Victor barely glanced over.
Louis turned toward him. Victor continued in the same dry tone.
— His mother probably gave birth to him and threw him straight into the snow to acclimatise him.
Nicolas smiled. Julian covered his mouth, trying unsuccessfully to hide his own amusement.
Vlad looked at Victor over the top of his book.
— That's not how it happened.
Louis was still staring at Vlad when Julian's attention drifted toward the main entrance.
He nudged Nicolas with his elbow.
Nicolas followed his gaze.
Edward Blackwood was standing just inside the entrance, speaking to one of the girls from their year. Even from a distance, Edward was easy to recognise. His wavy dark brown hair had been pushed back neatly that morning, though a few strands had already fallen loose over his forehead. He had a handsome, open face, clear hazel eyes, and the sort of expression that usually meant he was either about to say something ridiculous or had already said it.
At the moment, however, he seemed unusually attentive.
The girl was smiling. Edward was smiling too.
Louis finally tore his attention away from Vlad and looked toward the entrance.
For a few seconds, none of them said anything.
Edward leaned slightly against the doorframe as the girl spoke, looking far more interested in the conversation than he usually looked in anything that required him to stand still.
Louis's expression softened.
— Do you think he's asking her out?
Julian looked at Nicolas.
Nicolas watched Edward for another moment.
Julian turned toward him.
— He's too much of an idiot to like a girl yet.
Nicolas gave a small shrug.
— He's probably asking her about homework.
— Edward has never voluntarily asked anyone about homework.
Victor's eyes remained on the entrance.
— Maybe she's asking him.
— Then he's definitely not going to understand what's happening, — Julian said.
— We're realistic, — Nicolas replied.
— You think he's not asking her out?
— I think if Edward ever tried, he'd spend the entire conversation talking about himself and forget what he was supposed to be doing.
— That's actually very possible.
The girl said something that made Edward laugh. He ran a hand briefly through his dark hair, then answered her, his expression suddenly more animated.
— Maybe he does like her.
— You really believe in him, don't you?
Victor gave a quiet scoff.
— Absolutely not, — Nicolas said.
— Because then he'll never stop talking about it.
That was enough to make Julian reconsider.
They watched for another few moments before Edward finally said goodbye to the girl and headed toward them.
Julian immediately straightened.
Louis glanced between them.
Edward approached with his hands buried in his coat pockets, looking entirely too pleased with himself.
— Why are you all staring at me?
— Were you asking her out?
Julian nodded toward the entrance.
Edward stared at him for a moment before understanding.
Louis visibly relaxed. Victor looked at him.
Edward glanced around at the group, then smiled slowly.
— Though I do have something to tell you.
Nicolas immediately narrowed his eyes.
Edward looked pleased with himself.
— There's a new girl coming.
For a moment, nobody answered. Then Louis blinked.
— That's what I just said.
Julian sat up straighter.
— In the middle of the year?
Nicolas looked toward the entrance, then back at Edward.
Julian gave him a suspicious look.
That caught everyone's attention. Even Vlad lowered his book slightly.
— Eleven? — Julian repeated.
— Are you just going to keep repeating the answers I give you?
Victor frowned, ignoring Edward completely.
— Very, — Nicolas agreed.
St. Helena was not the sort of school where students came and went constantly. Most families sent their children there at the beginning of their education and expected them to remain until graduation. New faces were rare enough at the start of a year, let alone halfway through one.
And a new girl was rarer still.
Julian looked at Nicolas, his curiosity already obvious. Nicolas caught the look.
— We haven't had a new girl in ages.
— So your great piece of news is that an eleven-year-old girl may be coming here, sometime soon, and you don't know anything else?
— That's quite a lot, actually. More than what you knew 5 minutes ago.
— It is when nothing ever happens here.
Edward folded his arms, looking unbearably pleased with himself.
— I knew you'd all be interested.
Vlad finally lowered his book completely.
— Because she's new. A new face, a new name, a new girl to talk about.
Vlad considered that. Then, quite simply, returned to his book.
— Well. That's one opinion.
— You'll all want to know more tomorrow.
— Why tomorrow? — Louis asked.
— Because I know someone who knows someone.
And just like that, the subject had become the most interesting thing that had happened to any of them that afternoon.
None of them had even seen her.
For now, she was simply a name that hadn't quite reached them yet.
And in a school where almost nothing changed, that was enough to make everyone curious.
