Heavenstone 01 - The Heavenstone Secrets

happened.

    Kent was certainly not fazed by it. Exhilarated, he grabbed my hand. “C’mon. This is going to be a real celebration,” he said, and we made our way into the wave of students rushing out to celebrate the school’s victory. He was frustrated by how long it took us to exit.
    “Take it easy. We’ll get there,” I wanted to say, but I didn’t want to appear any less enthusiastic.
    Out in the parking lot, it felt like New Year’s Eve, Christmas, and all my birthdays wrapped up into one night. People were honking their horns and shouting. They were still hugging and congratulating each other, as if they had somehow been responsible for the victory. Afraid to miss something, everyone was rushing about in all directions. Some actually looked dazed.
    “There’s my father!” Kent cried. He led me to a black sedan. He opened the rear door for me, and I got in quickly.
    “Well, I guess I don’t have to ask what happened,” Kent’s father said. “Look at this place. You’d think we had won the NBA championship or something.”
    “It was a terrific game, Dad.”
    “I imagine so. Hello there,” he said, turning to me. In the vague light, I could see that he was a tall, thin man with dark brown hair. Kent was also tall, but he had a fuller, rounder face and lighter hair.
    “Hello, Mr. Pearson. Thank you for taking us to the party.”
    “You’re quite welcome. I don’t know whether Kent’s been talking more about the game and the party or more about you,” he teased.

    “Dad!”
    “Okay. I’ll shut up and be a chauffeur.” He turned around.
    “You know how to get to Eddie’s house, Dad?”
    “Your mother and I have been there a number of times, Kent. Don’t worry.”
    Kent shrugged and smiled at me, and then he reached for my hand. “Wasn’t that great?”
    “It was the best game I ever saw,” I said.
    “We weren’t favored to win, you know.” He took a deep breath and sat back. “You haven’t been to Eddie’s house before, have you?”
    “No. My parents might have.”
    “They have,” Mr. Pearson said. “At a fundraiser. Oops, I forgot. Chauffeurs aren’t supposed to listen to their passengers’ conversations.”
    “Very funny, Dad.”
    I laughed. I was glad Mr. Pearson had a sense of humor. I had been afraid I would be very nervous being driven to a party by Kent’s father. I had never met him, and I couldn’t help but imagine he was wondering what sort of girl his son had chosen. If Cassie had overheard my thoughts, she would surely have bawled me out for not thinking he should be honored to have a Heavenstone in his car. But despite our family’s success and our obvious great wealth, I couldn’t sit high on that pedestal Cassie imagined. If anything really made me nervous, it was people thinking that I thought I was too good for them.
    The ride wasn’t long, and when we turned down the street on which the Morrises lived and Mr. Pearson pointed out the house, I could see that EddieMorris’s home wasn’t as grand as ours. Cassie would say it had no history. Not that it wasn’t an impressive home—it was a large, recently built three-story set on the crest of a little knoll and surrounded by at least four or five acres of gently rolling hills.
    “Here’s a druggist who owns property any horse owner would covet,” Kent’s father said.
    “They have horses, Dad.”
    “Not racehorses,” his father said, winding up the long, tree-lined driveway to stop in front of the house. It had a beautiful entry, approached through elaborate landscaping. “I pick you up at midnight?”
    “As long as the car doesn’t turn into a pumpkin,” Kent said, and his father laughed.
    “Never mind, Cinderfella. You behave yourself. We’ve had our talk about—”
    “Dad, please.”
    “Okay. You’re on your own. If you want me here earlier because you are bored …”
    “I doubt that, Dad.”
    “Have a good time,” his father said. “Make sure he behaves, Semantha.”
    Kent shook his head and got out to hurry around and open the door for me.
    “Oh, sorry. I forgot to be a chauffeur again,” his father called.
    Other cars were arriving, some approaching too fast. His father looked at them, and for a moment, both Kent and I wondered if he was going to get out to bawl out the drivers, but he just started away. Kent released the breath he had been holding. He didn’t want his father embarrassing him.

    “C’mon,” Kent said, taking my hand. I had to run to keep up with