Free Sage's Eyes by V.C. Andrews

probably the best student of the five of us. Tall and stately, with amber-brown hair and blue-green eyes, she looked and acted older than any of us.
    Kay’s family was one of the richest in Dorey, and maybe because of that, she came off as more sophisticated, even a touch arrogant at times. Her family had attended a private event for the governor recently, and she let us all know it. Her father owned ten different auto dealerships, and she had told us he might even run for public office one day. I didn’t need her to tell me. I knew her father would become mayor. The first time I saw him, when he picked her up after school one day, I envisioned him being sworn in. Her older brother, Carey, was already in his second year at Yale.
    â€œI hate orange. I’m indifferent to pink, but I love turquoise,” she said.
    â€œI don’t see how letting her hair down and wearing red will make that big a difference,” Ginny said. “It’s like falling in love with a book because of its cover and not what’s inside. He has to get to know her first, doesn’t he?”
    â€œLove isn’t logical sometimes, most of the time,” I said. Again, they all stared at me. Kay sat forward. She was focusing on me the way my mother did sometimes. I would be a liar if I said it didn’t make me nervous.
    â€œIt’s one thing to talk about colors people favor. That’s logical, but as my father’s always asking me, from what well do you draw all this wisdom?” Kay asked me. “Especially when it comes to boys. Whenyou told us about your social life at your old school, you didn’t mention much experience with boys. At first, from the way you talked, I thought you had been at an all-girls school, or maybe,” she added, batting her eyelashes, “you aren’t into boys.”
    Someone else might have been so shocked that she would either start crying or look like she would any moment, but I simply shrugged. “Things come to me,” I said again, and smiled at them. “You know, like I said, instinct. Sometimes I’m wrong, and sometimes I’m right. I’m sure the same is true for everyone.”
    For a long moment, the staring continued, and then Mia laughed and broke the silence.
    â€œMaybe she has a crystal ball that works,” Darlene said. “She did tell us about her uncle the magician,” she added.
    But Kay wasn’t giving up. “Yes, but now that I think about it, you never mention any one boy here you especially like,” she continued. “You’re always giving everyone else advice about boys. What’s your story, Sage? If you’re not gay, are you wearing your hair and dressing especially for anyone in particular and not telling us? Did you have your eyes on Todd Wells for a special reason, perhaps?” she asked, rolling her eyes.
    They all looked at me in anticipation. I could feel the tension building.
    â€œNo, but I know Darlene fancies him.”
    â€œFancies him? You talk like someone from another country sometimes,” Kay said. “Well, what boy do you fancy ? Haven’t you picked one out yet?”
    â€œNot yet,” I said. “I’m still shopping. I don’t believe in buying on impulse.”
    That broke the mood and brought more laughter, but Kay still scrutinized me more than the others from that day on. She listened more keenly to my every word and began asking me more questions about my family. Of course, they all knew I was adopted. Just like my parents were up-front about that with everyone, I always was. I thought it was best that I revealed it myself as soon as possible and didn’t make it sound like a big thing, an emotional thing. I was okay with it.
    At first, I was afraid they might not be as friendly, thinking I was different, but because I showed no negativity about it and talked about my adoptive parents the same way they talked about their parents, they didn’t