Angela 2. David A. Bedford

      Angela 2:

      The Guardian of the Bay

       David A. Bedford

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

      Text Copyright © 2013 David A. Bedford

      All rights reserved.

      Published 2013 by Progressive Rising Phoenix Press, LLC

       www.risingphoenixpress.net

      ISBN-13: 978-1-944277-90-1

      This title also available in print

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       To the sunshine of my life

      Chapter 1

      Angela sat at the top of the sand dune, watching the morning sunlight sprinkle the sea with bright glitter off of each wave. She felt happiness alternate with sadness, anger, and excitement. The light and the fresh sea air, the faraway places one could almost feel beyond the horizon, the graceful planing of the heron, filled her with contentment. How could anyone want to ruin it just to make more money for people who were already rich? Was all this really destined to disappear? Yet apparently that was exactly what was about to happen.

      Then her thoughts shifted to the junior prom and, in spite of everything, a warm feeling of happiness came over her. Miles had asked her to the dance. Sometimes Angela thought that this was the best time of life ever. At other times, she thought of all the good and bad that had been going on in eleventh grade and wished she could recover the feeling she had when she was a little girl. When things were good, everything felt good in the entire world and the present moment was all there was.

      Angela stood, wiped the sand and bits of sargasso off her shorts, and headed away from the beach to the ferry landing. Across Oso Bay she could see families cooking out and throwing frisbees. A father and son were playing catch and several men were fishing off the piers. She rode the ferry to the mainland side and started the walk to her house, in for a busy Saturday with all the homework and the extra dance rehearsal.

      ***

      This was Angela’s second year in Sargasso Beach, just south of Corpus Christi, where she had moved with her mother, Susan, and her sister, Amy, after her parents divorced. Her older brother Andrew had remained in San Antonio for college. Angela took an immediate liking to the sea and the barrier islands. The Sargasso Beach nature preserve, which stretched from the beach on Padre Island across Oso Bay to the marshland and recreational area on the mainland side, was her favorite place. At school she had met her two best friends, Benjie and Fiona. She also had some enemies, not the least of whom was the school principal, Mara Petty. Angela had thought that, after the events of tenth grade, things would calm down and she would be able to concentrate more on her studies and on enjoying her friends. She had been wrong about that, but even now she had no idea just how wrong.

      ***

      Angela had a slim dancer’s body, an oval face with unusual features, and a halo of curly hair that framed her face and cascaded past her shoulders. The sunlight danced on her curls in shimmering browns, reds, and golds. The total effect was striking but she was unaware of it. When she reached the front of her house, Thelonius, the cat her family had acquired over the summer, came out to greet her. Thelonius was a coal-black Burmese longhair, oblivious of his cathood to the extent that he was affectionate, enjoyed people, and purred whenever anyone looked at him. Angela loved him. She picked Thelonius up and walked through the front door.

      Amy ran down the entrance hall, jumped and put her arms around Angela’s neck. The cat purred louder.

      “Hi, Angela! Hey, you’re hot!”

      “This is south Texas, Amy. Why should today be different?” countered Angela playfully. She smiled and hugged her sister. Just then Susan walked into the hallway.

      “Hello, Mom!” said Angela.

      “Angela,” answered Susan with a pleasant smile, “Miles called. He says he will call you back.”

      Chapter 2

      On the first day of eleventh grade, Angela went through the doors of Sam Houston High School relaxed, slightly tanned, and happy as she saw Fiona coming toward her down the hall next to Benjie.

      “Well, here we go for one more time around,” commented Fiona when they reached Angela.

      Angela gave them her sunshiny smile which made people stop and look and not a few boys go weak at the knees. “Maybe it will be better than tenth grade,” she said.

      “You know it has to be!” answered Benjie. “Especially since we start each day with Perez and end with Romano. And it’s thanks to you that we still have Romano.”

      “I didn’t do any more than you guys did. Plus Yves and lots of teachers and parents,” protested Angela, turning an almost imperceptible shade of pink. “Of course we still have to put up with Newsom in physics and Logan in trig,” she went on. “And our Spanish teacher – what’s her name – what is she like, do you know?”

      “Sepúlveda,” said Benjie.

      “Say, pull the what?” Fiona countered and all three laughed.

      “No,” Benjie corrected. “That’s her name. It’s more like Seh-POOL-veh-dah.”

      “I guess she’ll teach us how to say it,” said Angela.

      “You better believe it,” answered Benjie. “My brother had her. He says she’s from Chile and she’s a dragon on pronunciation.”

      “Oh, no!”

      “I guess it’s all part of her teaching plan. We’ll get it, even if Coach never will,” said Fiona. “Speaking of, shouldn’t we be getting to home room? Look at the time!”

      The three walked into the classroom as the bell rang and took the front and center seats that had been left open by those less inclined to be the targets of teacher attention. Coach Ferguson got up from his chair, walked around to the front of the desk, opened his grade book, and surveyed the class while chewing his gum vigorously. He began taking roll between chews. He had no trouble with names like Cooper, a traditional Anglo-Texan appellation, but insisted on calling Fiona Banbury “BAN-berry” instead of “BAM-bree.” She and Angela looked at each other knowingly as he stopped to chew his gum before he got to Fournier, Angela. When he said “Furry-near” both of them got the giggles. It had been the butchering of their surnames the first day of tenth grade that had drawn Angela and Fiona together and started their friendship.

      They went through the pledges to the US and Texas flags mechanically and then only half-listened to the welcome and announcements. The bell rang and the three friends set off for English class. As they were all in the honors program, they had all their classes together except for PE (Why do they allow PE right after lunch? thought Angela) and fifth period, when Angela had dance.

      The KittyKats (Kitty Johnson and her permanent retinue consisting of Kat, Casey, Ashley, and McKenzie) approached them in the hallway. Angela got herself ready for a confrontation, hoping she could manage to answer insult with grace. She turned her eyes toward Fiona, who, Angela could tell, was ready with a sarcastic comeback. Benjie looked as though he was eager for a fight. The KittyKats, however, never looked at them, but instead passed them by with elaborately ostentatious indifference.

      “Well, now, that is an improvement!” exclaimed Fiona.

      “It’s, like, weird! Ghetto,” said Benjie. Fiona sniggered.

      “What