Before the crack of dawn. The early hours. My surfing time.
Just as it was getting warm enough so that I could go surfing in the morning again without my mother ragging on me for it being too cold, I had to give it up. Though it was only for one day, I got so cranky when I got up, threw on my uniform for flags, and met with the rest of the team at the start of the parade line for St. Patty’s Day, that I forgot to bring my Celtic dance costume and a change of clothes for later. Dawn told me I would regret losing my temper like that.
“Oh, shut up!” I folded my arms as we climbed out of the car, stomping my boots on the pavement where we all collected at the edge of town not far from the airfield.
“I’m telling you,” my blonde, perfectly gorgeous, sister said, sounding justly superior—for once. She rarely got to rag on me for things. Usually it was her taking the brunt of chastisement from our mom. “You’ll have to go back home after the parade, and you’ll miss out on all the fun.”
There was a carnival at the town park where the parade was supposed to end.
I glanced over at the green-and-white carnation speckled floats where Darla O’Brady was adjusting her strapless dress so it would stay up while she waved at the crowd as this year’s Miss Lucky Clover. Our town really did overdo St. Patrick’s Day. But since over half the population was either Irish or Scottish that was to be expected.
“It won’t take long to go back for stuff.”
Dawn cast me a dry glance. “But you’ll be exhausted from—”
“What are you doing? Get some sun block on!” Our flag coach strode over to us, holding the quart sized pump-top bottle. “Especially you, Eve McAllister. You’ll end up like a lobster.”
“I already have mine,” I said, and I lifted my extra-sensitive skin SPF 90 bottle up. It was formulated for albinos, though technically I wasn’t really albino. I had black hair.
My coach glanced at my white skin and then looked up at my eyes, which in the pre-dawn light glowed somewhat red since I was hungry. I could see her shudder.
“Eat something!” Dawn shoved one of the breakfast burritos our mother had given her into my hands.
I took it and did as she told me. If I didn’t, I’d creep out the entire flag team. Not that my regular orange eyes didn’t do that. But when they changed red, I got an extra unpleasant reaction that I really didn’t like to deal with.
Our coach watched my eyes turn back to orange, and she sighed. Turing away her head, she said. “Get your flags and start practicing.” Then she glanced back at me. “And you had better perfect that routine for the majorette competition. You know Patricia Davish is graduating this year.”
I blinked at her, taking another bite of my burrito before nodding. “Of course I know. I have the routine all figured out.”
“You have stiff competition,” she said with a fixed look on me. “You have to perform perfectly or you’ll lose your chance to be the school majorette.”
Stiff competition, my eye. It was between Megan McGillicutti and myself, and Megan was a lousy majorette. She dropped the baton half the time because she never kept her eyes on it, and she refused to use the flaming batons even though it was tradition at our school to have flaming batons at Homecoming. The only reason why Megan McGillicutti was even being considered was that she was a normal, flirtatious sort of girl, and I was not. In fact, as most people suspected, I wasn’t even human. However, I, without bragging, am an amazing baton twirler. I never miss, and I love those flaming batons. Besides, our school has won ten years in a row at the majorette competitions in our state. Our school had no desire to lose even if it meant giving me the job. So really, the pressure was on Megan to beat me. My lack of popularity, besides a few other oddities, was my only failing in this case.
“I’ll do my best,” I said. I knew my coach wanted someone who was good at it, regardless of how nervous I made her.
“You’d better.” And she walked off.
With a sigh, I turned and finished eating my breakfast burrito.
The band gathered at one end of the open lot. I watched the floats from each of the businesses add their finishing touches. And as I meandered through them to get my school flag, I toured the floats. Danae’s Floral had provided most of the flowers, always making a killing from this holiday. She would be selling green-dyed carnations to the crowd as well as potted shamrocks in her booth at the carnival. However, her float was the most spectacular, practically a bower of flowers surrounding one huge and sparkly shamrock where she would be sitting and waving to everyone, throwing out candy to the children. The chamber of commerce had a float right next to it, covered in its own green flowers shaped into large dollar bills. A man dressed as George Washington was to stand in the center throwing out candy coins. My dad’s dentist’s shop had a small float. He used it every year. The dental hygienists walked around with the small go-cart shaped like a tooth that my dad drove. The only flowers they wore were on their lapels. They passed out sugar free candy, dental gum, and cheap toothbrushes.
The flags were stashed in a bin next to the band bus. I went over and took mine out.
“Creepy,” I heard someone say. I knew they were talking about me.
“Why doesn’t she wear her sunglasses all the time? I hear she can see in the dark with them on,” another person said.
I tried to ignore it, turning to go back to where the flag girls were gathering.
“But you have to admit, she’s tons better than Megan at baton.”
“Quickest hands in the business. But ooh, creepy.”
I glanced their way. It was just them talking. Their imps, little demons that only I could see and whose purpose was normally to fly around people’s heads suggesting naughty things for them to do, were floating somewhat groggily, rubbing their eyes with moans that it was way too early to get up. That was another thing I loved about early mornings. Imps are too tired to suggest pranks until people were more awake themselves. These girls’ remarks were how they really felt without the imps’ influence.
The girls saw my look, but I continued on, deciding it was best not to aggravate the situation.
Joining the team, I took my spot and started to practice the basic routine.
“Where have you been?” Megan had such a snotty voice, I felt like ignoring her. She was a junior whereas I was a lowly freshman, another thing she had above me since the judges would prefer to make a coming senior the majorette for next year, rather than a sophomore who would reign for the next three years.
But I turned and winked one of my orange eyes at her, tossing my black hair back from my face. “I was loitering. Care to arrest me?”
Her dad was a cop. Nobody big, but when we were kids she used to threaten me with her dad, saying she’d get him to arrest me. Back then, I had believed that she actually could do that. I hadn’t liked her since. However, now I knew she had nothing to hold over me.
“Eve!” Dawn stomped to where I was. She stuck her hands on her hips and scowled at me. “Where have you been? I have to fix your hair.”
I just shrugged, letting Dawn drag me by the arm to the side so she could brush my hair and braid it perfectly. My hair was stick straight. There was no way in the world we could make it look fitting for an Irish festival except braid it. Dawn’s curls just needed a little nudge to form beautiful Shirley Temple spirals. All she had to do was add a bow. With us standing off together like this, we looked as different as night and day. Or as Dad put it, the evening and the dawn. He liked puns.
“Leave Megan alone,” Dawn hissed in my ear. “She is planning to sabotage you in any way possible.”
“Yeah, yeah. But sometimes you walk around like a naïve kid.” She yanked my hair a little too hard, then twisted it around the other piece in her hand. “I wouldn’t put it past her to dump garlic in your lunch without you knowing it. If you swelled up and went to the hospital today, she’d win, and our school would lose this next year’s competition.”
Dawn patted me on the head as if I were a simpleton. “Yes, she does. She found out from the school nurse. I overheard.”
“You have got to be more careful,” Dawn said.
always
“Ok, ladies! We are to lead out before the band. Remember, you are to follow Patricia. When she pauses at a checkpoint, you pause. You know the routine. Don’t flub it up.”
I turned my head and saw her rubbing her arms. A few others were also shivering, their uniform jackets obviously not enough to keep them warm. Dawn shivered a bit too, but I hadn’t felt the cold. Granted, I never felt the cold. I merely shrugged and looked back at our coach.
I could tell from the groans and the noise the waking imps were making that they didn’t care about when the sun rose, only about now and their freezing arms. However, the sky was lightening.
We obeyed, finding our places on the pavement.
Adam McGuire, the drum major, called for the band to get in formation.
Our Equine Riders guided their mounts into place.
We all drew in a deep breath and waited for the signal to start.
The whistle blew.
“Ready?” someone ahead called to their team.
“Ladies!” Patricia Davish called out to us, lifting her baton. The group ahead of us had started to march. We were now waiting for our signal to go.
“Ready!” Patricia shouted.
“March!”