Angela 2: The Guardian of the Bay

By David A. Bedford

Conspiracy, bullies, and campaigns! Angela Fournier is starting her junior year of high school at Sargasso Beach, Texas. Miles, who befriended her last year, asks her to be his prom date. Girls will be girls, except for when they're mean girls; partnered with their friend, Leroy, they bully Angela and Miles, trying to ruin her special evening. Ignoring the bullies appears to be the biggest challenge until they unveil an unnerving situation that could affect the wellbeing of the entire town; doing something about it becomes a new mission which forces Angela to focus on the safety of her friends, family, and city. Angela and her friends start a campaign for a referendum to block construction, but the oil interests strike back, putting her in danger. Will Angela and her friends succeed in school, stand up to the bullies, and still manage to battle against the powerful companies that attempt to ruin their city? Angela 2: The Guardian of the Bay is the second installment of the Angela series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press, LLC
• Release date: Mar 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781944277901

David A. Bedford

David A. Bedford was born in Fort Worth, Texas, grew up in Argentina, and moved to the United States for his studies. He attended Texas Tech University and received a BA and MA, before attending The University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD in foreign language education. He has prepared new missionaries for language study, served as a consultant for the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, and served as the Language Lab Director and Adjunct Professor of Spanish at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. After a four and a half year stint directing the Portuguese Language School in Campinas, David accepted a position at Texas Christian University where he is an instructor of Spanish.

Book preview

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 a relief. Maybe things will go smoother now, added Angela.

Yeah, well, I wouldn’t count on it, Fiona advised.

***

The trio settled into the front row, each saying Hello in turn to Mrs. Perez, who was greeting the returning students and welcoming the new ones, working on putting faces to the names on her class list. Angela sat with Fiona on her left. To her right, a new girl was busily working with pencil on a sketch pad. Angela leaned a little forward and over to look at the drawing and found herself staring at a caricature of Mrs. Perez. The girl looked up and smiled.

That’s good! said Angela.

Thanks, answered the girl.

I’m Angela Fournier.

Hi, I’m Michaela Carmin.

How do you spell that?

Well, it sounds like ‘McKayla’ but it’s spelled like ‘Michael’ plus an ‘a’ at the end.

It’s pretty, said Angela.

Michaela gave her a friendly and unselfconscious smile.

That’s a good drawing, Angela went on. It has her personality down perfect. And it’s kind, even though it’s a caricature. How do you do it?

Michaela smiled with a touch of embarrassment and a barely noticeable lifting of her left shoulder. I draw what I see. She seems nice.

Angela liked Michaela’s unaffected simplicity. We’ll get along, she thought.

Mrs. Perez called the class to attention after the bell rang, looking over the students with a mix of the stern disciplinarian and the understanding mentor. Every eye was on her and all the mouths were shut.

Good morning, she said, "and welcome to junior English, American literature. Since this is an honors class, don’t expect that we will be content just to read some books and write reports. We are going to explore the connection between the authors, the texts, and the social conditions in which the texts were produced. Fenimore Cooper, Hawthorne, and Poe may seem dated if you read their works in a vacuum; but those texts become rich when you consider the events, issues, and conditions of the time that they deal with. The same goes for the most recent literature and everything in between. We will also read a popular science fiction novel, maybe Jurassic Park, or maybe something by Le Guin. You will all write a ten-page paper this year on one work by an author you pick. Yves, take that defeatist look off your face. You will do it, you will do it well, and, even though you may not think so at this point, you will enjoy it."

Angela turned and smiled at Yves, who became visibly calmer. He smiled back.

Now, as this is an honors class, all I’ll need to do is point the way and coach you as we go along. We will discover a lot together. What I demand of you is to believe in your capabilities and to stay focused and on task.

When the bell rang, Angela stood and said, This is going to be work but I’m going to learn a lot! Like last year, only more so.

Michaela smiled and nodded in agreement. It’s gonna be good.

***

On the way to trigonometry, the flowing mass of kids separated Angela from Benjie and Fiona momentarily. As Angela was about to make her way back to her friends, she felt an unfriendly tap on the shoulder. She turned and found herself facing Kitty with the Kats providing interference behind her so they would not get pushed.

Running scared, Fournier? I would be if I were you, Kitty challenged.

Hello, Kitty, retorted Angela, looking her directly in the eye. Don’t take the bait, she thought. Make her do all the work. Or maybe she’ll just go away!

Kitty insisted. You better check out the competition. You are about to be dethroned.

Angela merely looked at Kitty, saying nothing.

Kitty was getting frustrated. "There’s a new dancer now, Sonya Aleksandroff, and she’s had way better training than you have. She and her family immigrated. From Russia! They have the world’s best dance schools there. Sorry to burst your balloon."

Fiona was now standing beside Angela. Kitty! she exclaimed. "How do you it? Come up with such, like, amazing phrases?"

Kitty tossed her head, turned toward her retinue, and began to walk off. Just trying to be of service! she called back to Fiona and Angela. Whatever! added Ashley and McKenzie together.

As they approached Logan’s room, Fiona told Angela not to pay any attention to Kitty, but Angela wasn’t listening. Her feelings were all jumbled up and she didn’t like it.

***

Mr. Logan took roll, looking, as always, at the students as though he had never seen them and was not sure what to make of them. Angela heard a breath being let out noisily and looked around to see Benjie smiling at her with an expression of resignation. Fiona patted him on the arm. Angela smiled back, feeling a surge of affection and forgetting the new dancer for the moment.

Logan started the lesson, addressing the back wall where it joined the ceiling. Hello, class, he said. Benjie turned to the back with an expression of sarcastic surprise and bewilderment. What class?