Mesmerized

The more he thought about it, he knew he couldn't leave, at least not yet. He wanted to find out more about the girl, and why she was haunting his dreams. Maybe it had something to do with the curse that had been placed on his father hundreds of years ago? 
     

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    Lily leaned up against the tree trying to compose herself. What was it about that boy with the shaggy dark brown hair that had her so flushed? She had to stop herself from reaching out and brushing the hair out of his gorgeous blue eyes. No! I had to stay away from him. Her mother had warned her that she would only bring him harm. Lily was so confused. Why did my heart speed up at the thought of him? 
    “There you are!” Hannah exclaimed as she approached the tree Lily had been hiding behind. “You okay? Did something happen?”
    Lily looked down embarrassed. She certainly couldn’t tell Hannah how she felt. “No, just needed a breather. New schools are always overwhelming at first.”
    Hannah studied Lily for a minute. Her cheeks were red and her hands were shaking. Maybe it was just from the cold, or a case of nerves. Hannah really didn’t think it was that cold, but Lily had said she was from the south. “Where are you from again?”
    “Texas,” Lily answered. 
    “That’s a big move.”
    “Yeah. My parents thought they’d try sending me to a boarding school.” If the last twenty-four hours was a clue, this school wasn’t going to be any better than the other ones. She didn’t know what her parents were thinking.
    Together, they walked back to the academic building. Algebra was next. She was lucky that math had always come easy to her. She was glad to see it was a female teacher. Lily smiled and said, “I’m Lily Anderson.”
    Mrs. Penney was a dark haired woman in a pressed skirt suit. She returned Lily’s smile with a bright one of her own. "Welcome to Emerson Academy. Here's the syllabus.”
    Lily reached over to grab the sheet of paper.
    Mrs. Penney sniffed the air. "What kind of perfume are you wearing? It's wonderful."
    Lily shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not wearing perfume."
    "Really? Must be your soap. Please be seated." The teacher pointed to a desk in the back of the room. 
    “Thanks.” Lily turned and began walking to the back of the room. She noticed that the mean girl from earlier, Samantha, was in this class.
    As Lily passed her, Samantha stuck her foot out into the aisle. Luckily, Lily saw it and stepped over it. 
    Lily leaned down to the girl’s ear. “Nice try.” She then continued to her new desk. She was glad to see that she had the seat next to Hannah.
    Samantha looked like she was fuming as she tapped her foot on the seat in front of her. Lily smirked. When you had to deal with this stuff all of your life, you knew what they might throw at you. 
    Samantha turned towards Lily and said, “You’ll never fit in here especially if you keep hanging around lardo over there.”
    Lily felt the anger rise in her body. Glancing at Hannah who was stricken in her seat, she leaned forward and loudly said, "I don't believe we have properly met. From the looks of you, I would say you are the school whore?"  
    Samantha's jaw dropped open. She closed it, crossed her arms, and faced the front of the room. Lily figured no one had ever dared talk back to her, so she didn't know how to react. 
    The door flung open and in walked the boy from the courtyard. Once again, Lily’s heart skipped a few beats. She quickly looked away; she didn't want to make eye contact with him. 
    The teacher looked up. “Nice of you to join us, Mr. O'Connor. Please try to be on time.”
    He muttered an apology to the teacher and hurried to his desk. He sat diagonal from Lily and across from Samantha. 
    "Hi, Jake." Samantha bit her lip coyly. 
    Lily wanted to puke. Much to Lily's surprise, Jake ignored Samantha. She had to admit it made her happy. Jake glanced over his shoulder at Lily, but quickly turned around. 
    This was not good. She couldn't focus at all during class. She kept staring at the boy. He had a perfect profile with his aquiline nose and high cheekbones. He reminded her of a Greek statue. Lily looked down at her paper and noticed she had been drawing hearts in her notebook. She crumpled up the paper appalled at herself. Maybe she should call her mother and tell her this wasn't such a good idea. 
    Somehow she made it through class without attacking the poor boy. She wondered for the hundredth time what