Read Double Life - Book 1 of the Vaiya Series for Free Online Page A

suddenly
lit up, her nervousness melting like frost on a sunny morning.
“Anyway, just so you know, I love your costume, Ian.”
    “Costume?” he asked, equally confused and
annoyed by her words, as well as bewildered by her sudden
happiness. Was he talking to the same girl?
    She just grinned, only further baffling him:
“Yes. You’re a gang member, aren’t you?”
    “No way.” He stared down at his black leather
jacket and torn blue jeans and shuddered; how she got a gang member
out of this, he didn’t know. “These are just regular clothes.”
    “Regular clothes?” she murmured, her sky blue
eyes glimmering with mild excitement, as she tapped her feet
lightly on the floor. “I never saw you wear that jacket to school
before.”
    Suddenly uncomfortable, Ian tried to shake
away his embarrassment. How would she know what he’d worn to school
and what he hadn’t? Did she keep track of his whole life? He didn’t
even want to know. “Ok, ok, you got me, Hazel. So my jacket’s a bit
nice … but that still doesn’t mean anything.”
    But Hazel only shook her head lightly without
saying a word, while laughing softly to herself.
    Disconcerted by her unreadable expression,
Ian lifted off his baseball cap and fastened it on one of the many
deep-red wooden pegs on the wall beside the rustic door, next to
some other caps, a few jackets, and even a winter coat, as he
thought back to Eddy’s bold claim not too long ago… that he was
going to talk to Hazel or Tianna tonight. Although back then Ian
had thought that he was just joking, his friend had definitely
guessed right, and this made Ian rather suspicious, though he
suspected that Eddy was just a lucky guesser and nothing more.
    Still though, it unsettled him, and as he
returned back to Hazel, he half hoped that she would just finish
her conversation with him and move on to talking to someone else,
so he could leave before Eddy saw him chatting with her.
    Unfortunately, though, that wasn’t the
case.
    Acknowledging his presence with a slight nod,
she returned to the same topic with a zestful eagerness that made
it seem like she wanted to talk to him all night. “Ok, I think I
got it now.” She smiled slyly at her friend Tianna, who’d just
joined the conversation and was listening to it intently. “You’re
either an electric guitarist or a motorcyclist.”
    A lump in his throat, he strangled the
malaise clouding his mind. Why did she have to be so persistent?
Though he didn’t think it were possible, he was actually starting
to get angry with her. “No … I’m not supposed to be anyone. I’m
just being myself.”
    Curiosity imprinted itself onto her face as
she gazed at him with a twinkle in her eyes. “Yourself? Do you
always dress like this?”
    Ian had had enough; he grit his teeth, not
even knowing why he was so upset, yet badly wanting this
conversation to end … and quickly. “Of course not,” he murmured
angrily, entirely flustered. “But this is normal apparel for a
party.”
    At the word “apparel”, a wide grin burst
forth on her face, a faint blush arising on her cheeks. He knew
he’d said something wrong. “Apparel, Ian? Really?” She spun a
finger in her long hair, her face aglow with impishness. “Since
when did you become a gentleman?” She burst out laughing, as the
eyes of her friends descended upon Ian and laughter resounded
throughout the room.
    Trying to recompose himself in front of
everyone, he leaned his back against the wall, uneasiness wrapping
itself around him like a boa constrictor. “I didn’t,” he refuted
her question. “That sort of slipped out.” His hands shifted in his
pockets, his neck stiffer than usual; glancing at Hazel who still
looked unsatisfied with his excuse, he sighed and tried to further
justify himself: “Ok, I guess you could say I’m still a bit
overwhelmed by all the gallantry …” He coughed into his
hand, hoping she hadn’t caught his second slip up, before quickly
adding, “