Krystal109
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« on: January 07, 2010, 07:54:31 AM » |
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Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margie Stohl
9.02 A Hole in the Sky
Written by Krystal
When Ethan arrived home from basketball practice he knew he was in trouble. Amma had let his food get cold, which she never did when she was happy, and when he entered the house she was sitting there waiting; silently doing her crossword puzzle with an extremely sharp number two pencil in hand. As he shoveled the food into his mouth Amma finally spoke about his tardiness at school, threatening him with nine across. Walking to her side, Ethan gave her a hug, instantly softening her up. It was then that Ethan filled Amma in on the new girl. But in a small town like Gatlin everyone knew about the new girl, including Amma. The girls name was Lena Duchannes and Ethan nearly choked with surprise.
So that was her name, at least that’s what Ethan gathered from Amma’s riddles, but she was the most respected tarot card reader around and he wasn’t about to consider her wrong. Pushing for more, Ethan asks Amma about the girl known as Lena, but all he gets is warnings. As Ethan’s father enters the kitchen, Amma leaves. Ethan’s father, finally aware of Amma’s annoyance, stares at the door and then at Ethan. They joke about Amma having done the same thing when he was a child and then his father heads for the study. They have a short conversation about Lena and her uncle Macon and his father continues into his study. Ethan had only been in there once when he was a child and even now he wanted to know why his father never left it. What was it that had kept them in this worthless house?
Before the bell rang the next day, Lena was on everyone’s lips. This was no surprise to Ethan, but at the moment all the guys had something else on their mind. Link and Emory echoed this by counting off all the ‘new’ freshman girls worth lusting after this year. Ethan, of course, didn’t see the big deal, but as a member of the basketball team certain things were ‘expected’ of you. Then it happened. Lena Duchannes appeared down the hall and Ethan was stunned by her beauty. She sure didn’t fit into Gatlin, but that just drew him to her even more. Everyone was staring at her as they considered dumping their girlfriends; that was until Earl made a rude comment. Any other day Ethan would have ignored him, but today he didn’t feel like it and defended her. Despite all the looks, Lena just walked down the hall without looking at anyone, necklace jingling around her neck.
Minutes later Ethan found himself standing in English as Lena handed Mrs. English a pink transfer slip. She took an empty seat in the first row and then Emily walked by, purposely knocking Lena’s bag over. Emily picked up a battered spiral notebook, Lena’s journal, and tried to convince Lena to let her read it, despite Lena’s protests. Ethan stepped in, grabbing the journal and handing it back to Lena. He didn’t know why, but he sat down next to her for the rest of class. When the bell rang, Lena packed her bag and Ethan noticed the number 156 on the back of her hand.
Lena didn’t talk to him for the rest of the week, but that didn’t stop him from thinking about her. She made him realize that despite pretending, he was just like the rest of them.
As Ethan sat in ceramics, trying to avoid the horrible band music coming from downstairs, he thought about Lena more. Then all of a sudden the music changed to the haunting melody of a beautifully played violin. He listened quietly, the only one who seemed to notice, and then he recognized it as Sixteen Moons. The room seemed to dissolve around him and then he was falling. He was in his dream again, the one he’d been having for months, and then Mrs. Abernathy was calling his name. He looked down at the clay wheel and found a handprint in his clay, only it wasn’t his, it was hers. Then the bell rang and he had to know. He grabbed his bag and ran downstairs to the music room, but it was empty. The smell of lemons and rosemary was in the air and Miss Spider was picking up sheet music. When Ethan inquired about the music, Miss Spider explained that it was the new girl and he ran from the room before she could even say her name.
When the eighth-period bell rang, Ethan snagged Link’s keys and headed out. He had to get out of here. He was having dreams, hearing the song, and blanking out in class. Normally he would have talked to his mother about this, but now he was on his own.
Characters Involved
Ethan Lawson Wate
Amma Treadeau
Mitchell Wate
Emory Watkins
Wesley Jefferson Lincoln a.k.a. Link
Shawn Bishop
Billy Watts
Lena Duchannes
Earl Petty
Mrs. English
Emily Asher
Savannah Snow
Mrs. Abernathy
Characters Mentioned
Carlton Eaton
Macon Melchizedek Ravenwood
Loretta Snow
Eugenie Asher
Miss Spider
Places Visited
Ethan’s House
Stonewall Jackson High School
Memorable Quotes
Ethan’s Father: “What did you do to Amma?”
Ethan: “I was late for school.”
He studied my face. I studied his.
Ethan’s Father: “Number 2?”
Ethan: I nodded.
Ethan’s Father: “Sharp?”
Ethan: “Started out sharp and then she sharpened it.” (Page 27)
Ethan: “So she’s automatically a freak, why? Because she doesn’t have on the uniform, blonde hair and a short skirt?” (Page 33)
Lena: “It’s one of my favorite books.”
Ethan: She just said it, like it wasn’t weird . Now I was staring. (Page 34)
Ethan: Sixteen moons, sixteen years
Sound of thunder in your ears
Sixteen miles before she nears
Sixteen seeks what sixteen fears…
Ethan: No. It couldn’t be. Not her. (Page 39)
Questions for consideration:
What do you think is keeping the Wates in Gatlin? Why does his father spend all his time in the study?
What do you think the number 156 means, the number on the back of Lena’s hand?
What do you think the link is between Lena, the Sixteen Moons song and Ethan’s dreams?
Did something or someone in this chapter take you by surprise?
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