Page 270 of The Blairville Legacies

“Bay, you should probably stay away fromallthat Quatura stuff.”

“I don't know what to doat all,” I pressed out in a weakening voice.

I pulled the pen out of my jacket pocket and started scribbling on the soft paper.

Talking to Mum about other powers.

“Apparently you use the notebook just for yourselftoo,” Julian remarked in a calm voice.

“That's how it turned out. He's hardly going to control what we do with it,” I said, but immediately regretted my words. Alarik had been so passionate about it.

“Hey...,” I said, addressing Julian. “Do you have a book partner?”

He looked at me slightly puzzled as I pressed my notebook to his chest.

He pushed it back, which hurt me slightly.

“I don't want your notebook, strange neighbor,” he laughed as if it were a joke.

I was about to turn away from him to hide my disappointment when he pulled something out of his jacket pocket.

“Let's take mine. I haven't used it yet.”

He handed it to me and I took it, speechless.

Julian had a talent for surprising me.

“Wow...” I said with a dry expression. “You've just really screwed me over, you know that?”

His grin widened.

Playfully annoyed, I snatched his notebook.

“Don't break it,” he joked, as if that was howIhandledbooks.

A few cold raindrops hit my nose and I looked at my cell phone clock.

“I've got literature history coming up, could you give me a ride back?” I asked Julian, who looked up to where the intertwining towers of clouds were making ominous thunderous noises.

“We should get back anyway, before the storm takes us out of traffic.”

Once we were back on the road, I remembered one more thing I'd been meaning to ask him all along.

“Do you think I should apologize to Emely?”

Julian continued to look at the road.

Light rain was pattering on the windshield and the sound of the windscreen wipers calmed me down a little. Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation played softly on the radio.

“Don't worry, I'll talk to her.”

“She doesn't like me, does she?”

Julian laughed. “She doesn't like Quatura in general. It's even worse with Ruisangors. But it's in her blood.”

“In herblood?”

“According to the legend of the indigenous Senseque of Blairville, the Esadowas, the goddess of the moon created them to free humanity from the plague of Ruisangors. And it really seems like these two species were created to hate each other to the death.” I looked thoughtfully at the radio, which was switching to another soft indie song from a local band. “But with you, it's just mistrust, believe me.”

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