Sword Play

by Linda Joy Singleton

  “Ashley’s right,” I told Leanna. “Kip isn’t mad at you.”

  “Did his ghost tell you that?”

  Before I could answer, Ashley snorted. “Pul—leeze! Why would your brother—even if he was a ghost, which I seriously doubt—talk to my sister instead of his own? You don’t need a séance to talk to your brother.”

  “It wasn’t a séance, but Ashley has a point,” I said. “You don’t need a ceremony to let Kip know how you feel. Just say the words. He will hear you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Cross my heart and hope to—”

  “Yeah, whatever.” Ashley put up her hand to cut me off. “Don’t finish that.”

  I smiled to myself.

  Leanna went over to the shrine table and picked up the picture of Kip. Holding it close to her face, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  The lights in the room flickered.

  Leanna’s eyes widened, then she relaxed into the first genuine smile I’d ever seen from her. I noticed with some satisfaction that Ashley looked spooked. Not quite the skeptic now, I wanted to tell her. But I maturely refrained.

  “Mom has been bugging me to let her redecorate and I’m ready now. I don’t really need all these pictures and stuff on my walls to remember Kip,” Leanna picked up a framed photo from the center of her shrine. “I’ll put the others away, and keep this one out.”

  “I think Kip would like that,” I said approvingly.

  “Yeah. He would.” Leanna glanced around the bedroom as if sensing something that even I couldn’t see.

  No one spoke for a moment, then Ashley moved toward the door. “Okay, that’s done. Let’s move on to something fun. Know what we should do?”

  “What?” I asked.

  Ashley winked at me. “Pizza anyone?”

  After so much drama, the next morning I was let down.

  Mostly I studied and worked on the computer. All very dull, except when the phone rang and I heard Nona’s voice full of energy and humor. We brainstormed ways to find a nice guy for Aileen, although it all hinged on convincing Aileen to fill out the Soul-Mate Matches questionnaire. Nona suggested I tell Aileen it’s a school project or find a personality quiz in a magazine to give her. Both were good ideas and after we hung up, I tried calling Aileen. Only I got a machine and left a message that wasn’t returned.

  Was she avoiding me? I wondered.

  That evening Dad showed up for dinner.

  Great, right? Well it would have been if not for the distinct chilly aura between my parents. I suspected Dad was only there because Mom issued him some kind of ultimatum. “Act like part of this family or get out for good.” Whatever she said worked, and I was glad he was here. I’d always been closer to him than with Mom. He was easy-going, relaxed, and affectionate. Not big into discipline, he rarely criticized me, and I loved to laugh at even his corniest lawyer jokes. Sharing a meal together, I could almost pretend we were a happy family.

  Unfortunately it didn’t last long. After dinner, Dad disappeared into his office, the door firmly shut. Mom watched him leave with this tight, angry expression. Then she told us girls to clean up and stormed off to her bedroom, another shut door.

  The tension was thick and uncomfortable, so after helping my sisters with the dishes, I left, too. I’d already planned to work tonight at the fencing center to show everyone there I wasn’t a wimp. My cut looked awful—jagged and crusty red—but it didn’t hurt. It hurt more to have to dig in my closet for an old pair of fencing pants.

  Entering the fencing center, I held my breath, as if expecting something bad to happen—but nothing did. Kevin even brought me a get-well card with a sad-eyed puppy picture with floppy ears and a droopy red tongue on the front. Inside he wrote in large, uneven handwriting, “You’re the best teacher. You’re an awesome fencer. Love Kevin.”

  When I hugged him, he turned redder than the sad-eyed puppy’s tongue.

  The Foils were there, too, except for the new girl Annika. There wasn’t any time to talk with them because the beginners kept me busy. Still, during break, my gaze drifted over to their practice session, focusing on Brianne. She fenced with such intensity it was like watching a thrilling dance. She didn’t switch off partners, staying with Tony; like a hummingbird paired with a strong ox. Tony’s style was more athletic and he grunted and got red in the face, while Brianne achieved more in small, precise moves. But the furious pace wore her down, and on a parry, she jerked back with a cry, folding her arm against her side like a bird’s damaged wing. She must have pulled a muscle because she winced when Tony drew her close. She melted against him so snugly, she seemed to vanish in his shadow.

  It made me uneasy to watch them together, and I was glad to return to teaching after break. By the time class was over, I was proud of how the students were coming along. I’d had a chance to hone my own skills, too, in a few demonstrations.

  “Good form,” Mr. Landreth said as we left the floor.

  “I’m rusty with fourth position.”

  “I couldn’t tell. You’ve still got it.”

  “Well … thanks.” I felt a rise in confidence as I shook off my canvas jacket.

  “Sabine, do you have a minute?” His expression grew serious and he cleared this throat. “Could we talk privately a moment?”

  “Sure.” I followed him to a quiet corner where we sat on a bench.

  “There’s something I’d like to ask you, and hear me out before refusing.”

  “Go ahead,” I said with caution. “What’s up?”

  “You may have noticed that Annika was missing.”

  I nodded. “Is she sick?”

  “No. Her aunt died.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad.” I remembered the brown-haired girl’s sad expression and how Jennae put her arm around her last night. Now I understood. “I’m sorry.”

  “So am I.” He sighed. “There was a long illness and the family knew it was coming soon. The funeral is being held this Saturday in Pennsylvania.”

  He didn’t say anything for a few moments, letting this sink in. Of course I knew what he was going to ask. This Saturday was the Renaissance Festival. And now the Foils were missing a fencer.

  My heart sped up. A chance to turn back time, to perform again, to be part of this group I’d once loved so much. Wearing the jacket embroidered with the silver Foils emblem and the matching silver fencing pants. Being admired, hearing cheers, belonging.

  “No,” I said firmly.

  “We could really use you.”

  “It shouldn’t be hard to find someone else.”

  “There is no one else.”

  “I just can’t.” I shook my head.

  “It would just be this once.” He spread out his hands imploringly. “Please, Sabine. We need you.”

  I shook my head. “Sorry.”

  Then I grabbed my bag and fled.

  *

  That night I talked for over an hour on the phone to Josh. I told him about independent study and shared some cheerleading gossip that Penny-Love had passed on. My words were ripples across a calm lake; surface only without sinking into deep territory. I didn’t mention fencing, ghosts, or how it was Dominic I thought of when Josh said he missed me.

  “I miss you, too,” I said, determined to make it true.

  As I drifted off to sleep that night, I was feeling more in control of my life.

  The next afternoon, after struggling with home studies, I tried Aileen’s number one more time—and she answered. Stunned, I hardly knew what to say and asked if I could see her. Not only did she invite me over, but she sounded eager to see me.

  And when she answered the door a short while later, she was grinning with excitement. But it turns out she was more excited about seeing my car.

  “Don’t put away your keys,” she told me in a rush. “I was wishing for a way to go out and here you are.” She shut the front door behind her. “I have to take the bus or get my parents to drive me places. But my folks are working and I’m stuc
k here with no wheels. Will you give me a ride?”

  “Sure.” I shrugged. “Where to?”

  “On a mission of mercy,” she said dramatically, bouncing into the passenger seat of my car in her bunny-nervous mode. “On a fast food run. I am totally craving a double cheeseburger with extra sauce and onion rings.”

  I laughed. Aileen didn’t look like she was a fast food junkie. She must have a fast metabolism to stay so petite. I’d only had soup for lunch and could go for a strawberry shake and fries. Bonding over food would be a good way to squeeze info out of Aileen.

  While she placed our order, I sat in a booth, glancing down at the magazine I’d brought along. I was going with Nona’s idea of a quiz and borrowed the latest High Fives Magazine, which had a great self-awareness quiz. My plan was to pull it out while we were deep in fried food and carbs, and adding some of my own questions to the magazine’s quiz.

  Then if I got a chance, I’d also find out what time Kip’s accident occurred. Before or after midnight? The time discrepancy bothered me, like an itch I couldn’t reach. But I couldn’t just blurt out such a sensitive question. So I’d start with the easy ones.

  Aileen rolled her eyes when she saw the magazine. “That’s so junior high. Aren’t you too old for that?”

  I dipped a fry into ketchup and leaned back in the orange plastic booth. “This belongs to my sister. I was bored and started doing the quiz. You ever do quizzes?”

  “No.” She picked up her double cheeseburger with both hands and took a bite.

  “Hey, it could be fun,” I persisted. “Like how would you answer this question: If you won the lottery, what would you buy first? A) A hot car B) New clothes C) Electronic Games D) Nothing. You’d put it in the bank.”

  I crossed my fingers under the table and hoped she’d play along.

  She finished chewing and shrugged. “Easy.”

  “A car?” I guessed.

  “No way. Gas is too expensive and I can’t afford insurance on my wages. But I got my eye on the latest version of Dungeons and Dragons, so my answer would be C. I love games.”

  “Really?” I wouldn’t have guessed that, and made a mental note. Since I had her attention, I went to the next question. “What kind of movie do you prefer? A) Horror B) Adventure C) Romance D) Forget the movies, I’d rather read a good book.”

  She chose B.

  And she’d rather vacation at the ocean than a theme park, receive a gift of flowers instead of expensive jewelry, and she liked tropical fish for pets. I shared some of my answers, too, so she wouldn’t be suspicious, and we were still talking after our food was gone.

  Aileen confided that she was into role-playing games and part of an online D&D group. “Only we lost our DM,” she added with a sigh. “Turns out he was only nine and his parents took away his computer as a punishment for not eating broccoli. Isn’t that barbaric? Now we’re minus a player.”

  “Too bad. Is it hard to find a new dungeon master?”

  “Yeah. We don’t want just anyone, but the best. We take the rules seriously and don’t allow cheating. We need someone who’s honest and knowledgeable.”

  “And over nine,” I joked.

  “That would help. Know anyone?”

  I pondered my scribbled answers on the quiz. I had enough information about Aileen to fill out her Soul-Mates form and find a guy so perfect she wouldn’t be able to resist going out with him. But something jabbed my memory. Fast food and D&D gaming—why did that combo sound so familiar?

  Then the pieces clicked together. I could almost hear Opal laughing at me, saying it took me long enough to find the right solution.

  “Aileen,” I said excitedly. “I do know someone.”

  Her face lit up. “A good D&D player?”

  “The best! He even keeps a handbook in his car.”

  “So he drives?” She grinned. “Then he must be over nine.”

  “Definitely.”

  And I gave her Alphonso’s number.

  *

  On the drive back to Aileen house’s, I was feeling really good about matching her up with Alphonso. They weren’t the types you’d expect to pair up; she was petite and more the bubbly cheerleader type while everything about him shouted “Geek!” Playing D&D wasn’t a romantic date, but it was a start. I knew in my soul that they would be good for each other. He’d treat her with the respect she deserved and she was talkative enough for both of them. Once they bonded over fast food and D&D, anything could happen. And I was counting on it.

  But I couldn’t leave Aileen without asking one more question. So when we reached her house, I glanced over at her.

  “Can I ask you something about Kip?” I spoke carefully.

  “Sure,” she replied with easy trust. “What?”

  “I was at the library a few days ago, going through old newspapers for a report, and I came across an article about the car crash.” Clicking my seatbelt off, I shifted toward her. “Only the timing didn’t fit. They said he crashed after one in the morning.”

  “No way,” Aileen said with a shake of her dark head. “Kip dropped me off around eleven.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “The reporter got it wrong or it’s a typo.”

  “Yeah. That must be it,” I said, relieved that it was something so innocent.

  “I got home before the prom was even over. Kip drove off so fast … ” Her gaze drifted out the window. “I was in bad shape for a while and didn’t read or watch any news.”

  “But the police must have interviewed you?”

  “Oh, they showed up, but my parents talked for me. I was either crying or sleeping and not making any sense. My parents probably told them I got home after the prom, since I was too upset to talk to anyone and came in the back door. That could be why the timing is off.”

  “But wouldn’t the police know the time of the accident?”

  “You’d think,” she said with a shrug.

  “Yet the newspaper reported Kip crashed at 1:15. Could he have gone somewhere else after he dropped you off?”

  “Where? All our friends were still at the prom.” She seemed flustered, reaching down to open her purse. She pulled out a wallet and flipped open to some pictures.

  I looked down at small photos from the prom. “We had these pictures taken … just hours before … ” Her voice cracked. “See how happy we were? Smiling like nothing bad could ever happen.”

  Her sadness reached out like ghostly fingers tightening around me. I could hardly breathe and fought to stay in control by focusing on the photo. The happy couple; Aileen lovely in a lavender chiffon sleeveless dress, and Kip was grinning down at her. He wore a formal jacket and pants and looked really hot, with dimples and deep-set eyes and dark wavy hair. I’d heard many hearts were broken when he’d gotten serious with Aileen. But some girls don’t consider guys hands-off even when they’re in a serious relationship. There were even football groupies who made a game of scoring with players.

  After Aileen said no, had Kip found a yes with someone else?

  There were more photos from prom night, several of couples I didn’t know and a group shot of football players with their dates. I gave a little gasp when I saw Tony and Brianne, although it shouldn’t have been a surprise. I’d helped her decide on the ruby red dress and experiment with different hairstyles until she’d settled on an upswept style with ringlets sweeping down her cheeks. If things had been different, Brianne and I would have hung together after the prom and giggled over who-did-what-with-whom. But that night changed everything.

  The photos blurred and dizziness slammed into me. I reached for something to hold onto, only my hands slipped through air. I was jerked backwards, tumbling out of my own body, sinking into a dark void.

  When I could see clearly, I wasn’t in my car anymore—instead I was with Kip on prom night. He was solid flesh, and I was the ghost. We rode together on a dark road, through inky night, lit only by the whirl of passing streetlights. The road zoomed by as Kip i
ncreased his speed.

  He pulsed with fiery anger, driving with such fury that I suspected he was either being chased or doing the chasing. His knuckles on the steering wheel were pale as death and an eerie glow from the car’s dash reflected crazed purpose in his eyes.

  My view shifted and I focused in on the illuminated numbers on the dash. 1:09. So the newspaper was right. But what had happened during that missing time? His passenger seat was empty except for a piece of red silky ribbon and crushed rose petals spilled like crimson drops of blood.

  Ribbon and petals from a corsage.

  I snapped to reality, back with Aileen in my own car.

  My jaw dropped as I stared at Aileen, then down at the photos she still held in her slender fingers. She’d worn a lavender gown with a purple corsage. Not red with silk ribbon and roses, but lilacs.

  Only one girl in the group photo wore red. My heart tightened and it was hard to keep from gasping. She stood on the other side of Kip, her gaze not on her own date, but smiling up adoringly at Kip. A lovely corsage with roses as bright as crimson flame was pinned to her flowing ruby gown.

  Brianne.

  It took more courage than I possessed to call Brianne, yet I did anyway. Only her mother, who used to say she loved me like her second daughter, lied and told me Brianne wasn’t home. She had the decency to say she was sorry, which she deserved to be. In the background, I heard Brianne’s low voice.

  She wouldn’t talk to me and now I knew why. Not because we weren’t friends anymore, but because we’d been so very close; sister-friends who built imaginary kingdoms and shared secrets at sleepovers. She knew about my ghosts and feared them—feared what they would tell me. She was afraid I’d see her truth; the secret she’d tried so hard to hide.

  I knew she’d been at the prom, although I never connected her to Kip. If I hadn’t been so hurt by losing her friendship, I might have thought more clearly and realized it would take something huge for her to turn against me.

  Like death.

  While Brianne didn’t see ghosts, she knew I did. I’d amazed her many times by knowing things without being told. If she had a guilty conscience, I was the last person she’d want around. Is that why she signed the petition? To force me out of her life to guard her secret?