Princess for a Week

by Betty R. Wright

  That was all. Roddy wished she would yell at them, but she didn’t. She sounded too tired even to yell. After a while she went inside and turned on the television to get the latest war news. Machine-gun fire and the shriek of an air-raid siren made Roddy shiver.

  “Don’t bother to knock on the window tonight,” he said grimly. “I don’t care what you say, I’m not going out.”

  Somewhere behind him Princess sighed heavily.

  “Of course not, silly,” she said. “Neither am I.”

  9. Day Five

  “This is the worst math test I’ve ever seen,” Miss Miller said. She held up the paper so that the whole class could see the big red F at the top. “I’m ashamed of you, Roddy.”

  Roddy woke, sweating, from the bad dream. His stomach churned. He lay still, waiting for the sick feeling to go away, but it stayed. Something was wrong. For a moment he couldn’t think what it was, and then he remembered. Twice during the night his mom had opened the door at the top of the stairs and pointed a flashlight at his cot to make sure he was still there.

  She didn’t trust him anymore.

  It was all that girl’s fault, he thought—that Princess! He thought about what his dad had said before he shipped out—“These are tough times, Roddy. You have to take care of your mom till I get back.” He’d been doing fine until Princess came. Now he’d become something his mom had to worry about.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance as he pulled on his jeans. Upstairs Roddy found his mom in the kitchen talking on the phone and Princess in the living room playing his new video game. Winning, of course. He glared at her, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  “Your grandma’s sick,” she whispered. “She wants your mother to come to Milwaukee and take her to the doctor. We might have to go along.”

  “That’s right,” his mom said crisply from the doorway. “I’m certainly not going to leave you here alone all afternoon.” Because she doesn’t trust us, Roddy thought. She doesn’t trust me. But he knew that wasn’t the only reason. She wouldn’t have let them stay home alone, even if that policeman hadn’t come back.

  “I just talked to Jacob’s mother, and she said you can spend the day there if you want. She’s going to a church meeting, but she’ll be home later. Otherwise you’ll have to come along to the doctor’s office and wait.”

  “We’ll stay with Jacob,” Princess said before Roddy could answer. “His uncle Ring is fun.”

  “What do you say, Roddy?” his mom asked. “Can I depend on you to do whatever Mrs. Glaubitz tells you?”

  Roddy nodded. “Sure. Is Grandma very sick?”

  His mom’s face softened into a smile. “I don’t think so. But she’s frightened, and she’s going to worry till her doctor tells her she’s okay.” She reached out and smoothed Roddy’s uncombed hair. “Go eat your breakfast now,” she said. “I have to leave in about an hour. I want to get to Grandma’s house before the storm breaks.”

  Maybe today he’d have a chance to ask Uncle Ring about the tall man, Roddy thought. And maybe not. If Princess had decided Uncle Ring was fun, she’d probably stick to him like glue.

  Jacob was waiting at the curb when Roddy’s mom dropped them off and drove away. Up on the porch, Uncle Ring stared out at the quiet street. He looked as dark and thundery as the sky overhead.

  “What’s the matter with him?” Princess whispered. “Did he find out his bird is dead?”

  Jacob ignored her. “He’s been like that all morning,” he told Roddy. “He figured out it was forty years ago today that the guy was murdered in that house. Same dark, spooky weather and everything. And some strange guy has been walking up and down the hill all morning.”

  “I don’t see anyone,” Princess said. “Is this a joke?”

  “No, it’s not a joke,” Jacob snapped. “Uncle Ring sees him clear as anything, even if we can’t. Look!”

  They all turned to Uncle Ring. The big man was leaning forward on the porch swing, his hands on his knees. His head moved slowly from left to right, exactly as if he were watching someone pass by.

  “Ha!” he exclaimed, and heaved himself to his feet so suddenly that they all jumped back a step. “I knew it! That’s the very one who did the deed. He’s going into that house, bold as you please. Returnin’ to the scene of the crime after forty years!”

  “This is really weird,” Princess murmured, and for once Roddy agreed with her. He had thought he wanted to be able to see what Uncle Ring could see, but this was different.

  Uncle Ring dropped back into the swing and wiped his forehead with a red bandanna. “I don’t like it,” he said. “Don’t like it at all.”

  “Uncle Ring—” Jacob began.

  His uncle blinked and looked down at them in surprise. “Now where did you come from?” he demanded. “You fellas get up here on the porch with me right now. Mustn’t wander around on a day like this.”

  Jacob tugged Roddy’s arm.

  “My folks bought two secondhand video games at the church fair,” he said. “Want to try them?”

  “Cool,” Roddy said, and then hesitated. Watching Princess win every game would be bad enough. Listening to her brag about it would be even worse.

  “I’d much rather stay here with Uncle Ring,” Princess said. “I’ll help him watch the haunted house.”

  Jacob scowled, but Uncle Ring seemed pleased. “Glad to have you, missy,” he said. “Two sets of eyes are better than one. If there’s trouble, we’ll sound the alarm.”

  “She’s a real pain,” Jacob griped as the boys climbed the stairs to his bedroom. “If she makes fun of Uncle Ring, I’ll punch her!”

  “If you can catch her,” Roddy said, “which I doubt. What kind of trouble is he looking for, anyway?”

  Jacob shrugged. “Who knows? My mom says Uncle Ring’s life is full of adventures. He sees more than anybody, just sitting on the porch.”

  Princess liked lots of adventures, too, Roddy thought, even though she and Uncle Ring were so different. She was always looking for a big adventure, and right now she was ruining his life to get it.

  “She’ll be gone in two more days, right?” Jacob asked suddenly, as if he had read Roddy’s mind.

  “Right,” Roddy said, and relaxed a little. “Just today and part of tomorrow. Her stepmother is coming for her tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I’ll be glad when she goes home,” Jacob said soberly. “She makes me feel like a big nothing.”

  The first video game was boring. Roddy could see why its owner had given it away. The other one was pretty good. They were just starting to play it a second time when Uncle Ring’s bellow from downstairs stopped them.

  “JACOB! You fellas come down here and eat. Your mama left a whole plateful of sandwiches in case she didn’t get home before lunch. You come now. Herman’s around again, just looking for something to steal.”

  “Princess says Herman is dead,” Roddy whispered as they trudged downstairs. “She found some feathers when she climbed that tree.”

  “Feathers maybe, but not Herman’s feathers,” Jacob whispered back. “I told you he was dead myself. He just doesn’t stay dead for Uncle Ring. She better not argue with him.”

  “She won’t. She—” Roddy stopped for a second to listen. The house was too quiet. Then he hurtled the last three steps in one leap and dashed into the kitchen. Uncle Ring sat at the table munching a sandwich and swatting the air above his head.

  “Dratted bird,” he growled. “Almost got my pickle that time!”

  “Where—where is she?” Roddy could hardly get the words out. “Where’s Princess?”

  Uncle Ring stopped chewing. “What d’ya mean, boy? She went upstairs to play those fool games with you. Said she’s better at those games than anyone.”

  “No,” Roddy said. “She isn’t upstairs.” He looked at Jacob, who was watching his great-uncle uneasily.

  The old man pushed back his chair and pounded the table with a burly fist. “Then where is she?” he roared. “She shouldn’t
be running around by herself today.” His face was bright red. He looked as if he might explode on the spot.

  “Don’t get excited, Uncle Ring,” Jacob begged. “You’re not supposed to get excited.”

  “Maybe she’s in the bathroom,” Roddy suggested. “Hey, Princess!”

  The house was quiet, except for the soft tap-tap of raindrops on the windows. “I know!” Jacob sounded desperate. “I bet she went down the alley to get something from your house.”

  Uncle Ring leaned back in his chair. “Get what?” he demanded. “A doll, maybe?”

  The thought of Princess playing with a doll would have made Roddy laugh out loud if he hadn’t been so worried. He knew where she was. Somehow, she had crossed Hilltop Drive to the haunted house without Uncle Ring seeing her. It just proved what she had told Roddy two days before at breakfast. She never gave up.

  Jacob must have guessed where she was, too. “You’d better go and help her find the doll,” he told Roddy. “I’ll stay with Uncle Ring.”

  Uncle Ring’s face had faded to its usual color, but he still looked upset. “Use the alley, boy,” he ordered. “Nobody should be out on the street today. Not today!” He shook his head grimly.

  Roddy ran. The screen door slammed behind him as he raced across the backyard. When he reached the alley, he hesitated, but only for a moment. How would Princess cross Hilltop? If she crossed at the bottom of the street, Uncle Ring might see her. She’d have to go up the alley and cross at the top, where Hilltop made a sharp dip. All she’d have to do then was cut between a couple of houses and go down the alley to the haunted house.

  As he ran, Roddy thought of what he would say to Princess when he caught up with her.

  “You’re a liar and a sneak!”

  “You almost made Uncle Ring sick!”

  “You make me sick!”

  The words were right there, waiting to be said, when he reached the garage of the haunted house. It was covered with the same shabby brown shingles as the house. When he peered through a dusty window, he saw that Princess had been right. No one could park a car in that junk-filled place.

  The backyard was littered with junk, too. Roddy crouched and looked hard at the long row of bushes that ran all the way to the street. She would be under there, he thought, waiting and watching. That was her emmo. But what did she expect to see now? The car without headlights only came after dark. There was no one in the house now except—he shuddered—no one except the ghost of a man who’d been murdered and the ghost of the man who killed him.

  Roddy flattened himself against the side of the garage as the light sprinkle turned into a hard rain. It was probably a lot drier under the bushes, he thought furiously. If Princess could see him, she’d be snickering.

  He took a step forward and crouched, ready to dash to the row of bushes himself. First, though, he had to be sure no one—no thing—was watching from the windows in the back of the house.…

  “Hey!” Roddy almost yelled out loud at what he saw. Not a shadowy figure staring at him through streaming glass, but something much worse. Across a yard cluttered with boxes and broken-down furniture, there was a rickety table with a wooden crate on top of it. The table was below a window, and the window was open just wide enough for a skinny kid to squeeze through. Roddy knew what that meant, as surely as if he had seen it happen.

  Princess had gone inside.

  10. Day Five

  (continued)

  Roddy had never felt like this before. First-day-in-a-new-school was one kind of aloneness. Watching your dad swing his duffel bag into the backseat of a car and be driven away was another, much worse, kind. This aloneness was different. This time he had to decide right then, all by himself, what to do.

  He could run away. Pretend he didn’t know where Princess was. Wait to see what happened.

  Or he could go for help. Not at Jacob’s house, though. Uncle Ring might actually explode or something if he knew Princess was inside the haunted house. He’d have to go home, call the police from there, tell them—NO! Another bad idea! Princess would be arrested for breaking into a house. He pictured her in handcuffs, wearing one of those baggy orange jail outfits. Then he pictured his mom crying and saying it was all her fault for leaving that sweet little girl alone.

  Or—Roddy groaned at this third idea—he could get her out of the house himself. His stomach told him this was the worst idea of all, but what else could he do? Before his mom and Jacob’s mom and Uncle Ring found out what a dumb thing she had done, he had to find her and tell her himself.

  He ran across the yard and scrambled onto the rickety table. His squishy-wet sneakers slipped when he tried to step up onto the crate. Even his shoes didn’t want to go in there! He kicked them off. Then he grabbed the window ledge, pulled himself up, and peered inside.

  The room was almost empty. It was a shabby old kitchen with a table, one chair, and cupboards that stretched up to the ceiling. One cupboard door gaped emptily under the sink. A microwave oven stood on the counter.

  Roddy stared into the dimness so hard that his eyes ached. He didn’t know what he’d expected to see—a hulking figure, maybe, with arms outstretched and a bloody knife in one hand. But the figure wasn’t there, and neither was Princess. If he was going to find her, he had to go inside.

  He swung one leg over the sill, then the other. When he stood up, he felt dizzy. The house didn’t want him in it, he could feel that. He stood close to the window and looked around.

  There was an open door to his left leading down into an inky black cellar. Straight ahead a little hallway led into the rest of the house. The living room would be down that hallway—the living room where long ago people had found a dead man lying on the floor.

  Where was Princess hiding? He took a step, and the floor creaked. It was the loudest creak he had ever heard. He couldn’t look away from the hallway. Whoever—whatever—was in the living room must know now that he was in the kitchen. He could feel the waves of meanness Uncle Ring had told them about. They washed over him, making his knees shake and turning his brain to mush. Then he heard footsteps. They weren’t skinny-girl footsteps, but heavy ones. They came from overhead. Step, ssshhh, step, ssshhh—someone big was pushing something smaller across the floor.

  GO! Roddy didn’t just think the word, he felt it like an electric shock that sent him scrambling over the window ledge. One foot kicked the crate, knocking it aside. He dangled there for a second, then dropped. The table tilted, and he hit the ground running.

  GO! GO! GO! The word pounded in his head until—halfway across the yard—he sloshed through a puddle and nearly fell. Then another word drowned it out. SHOES! His shoes were lying on the ground under the window.

  Later Roddy decided that going back for the shoes had been the hardest thing of all. He wanted to keep running, but the small part of his brain that was still working said he had to go back. How could he ever explain losing his shoes?

  He dashed back and grabbed the shoes without taking his eyes off the open window. The thing that had been walking upstairs had had plenty of time to come down to the kitchen, but the window remained empty. He turned and ran back across the yard to the alley.

  Now what? He raced up the hill, crossed the street, and started down his own alley before he felt safe enough to stop and put on his shoes.

  “Man, where’ve you been?”

  Roddy straightened up and saw Jacob coming toward him, looking worried.

  “I couldn’t find her,” Roddy said fast before Jacob could ask. “She’s in the haunted house and I went in after her, but I couldn’t find her!”

  Jacob stared. “You went in that house,” he repeated. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Well, I did,” Roddy said. He was suddenly too tired to argue. “Uncle Ring is right. There is another ghost! I heard him. He was upstairs walking around—looking for the money, maybe. Princess might be up there, too. She might even be—be—” He couldn’t say the word.

  Jacob shook his head. “I
can’t believe you went in there,” he said slowly. “Come on.” He turned and pushed open the backyard gate.

  Roddy followed him across the yard and around the side of the house because he didn’t know what else to do.

  “Your turn,” said a voice from the front porch. “I guess I’m going to win again.”

  “Looks like.” Uncle Ring yawned noisily. “But I’ll beat you next time, missy, you’ll see.”

  Roddy stopped short, and Jacob turned to him with a grin. “She wasn’t in the haunted house, man. She wanted to take Uncle Ring’s mind off it, so she went back to your place for her Chinese checkers board.”

  Roddy blinked. “Her Chinese checkers board?” he said weakly. “My Chinese checkers board!”

  “Well, sure,” Jacob agreed. “Whatever. She couldn’t find it at first—that’s why she was gone awhile. But it was a good idea—they’ve been playing ever since she got back. Uncle Ring’s having such a good time he hasn’t even asked why you didn’t come back with her.” He gave Roddy a poke. “You were the only one in the haunted house, goofy—you and the ghosts. Which makes me right, right? That girl can make you do something crazy when she isn’t even trying!”

  11. Night Five

  “Your mother just called from Milwaukee. She’ll be home in about a half hour.” Mrs. Glaubitz set a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table and poured glasses of lemonade. “Jacob, go out on the porch and see whether Princess and Uncle Ring want a snack.”

  “I do, but Uncle Ring doesn’t,” said Princess from the doorway. “He fell asleep all of a sudden, while I was getting the checkerboard ready for another game.”

  Jacob’s mom smiled. “Wonderful!” she said, and gave Princess a hug. “He was having a very bad day, and you calmed him down. You’re a dear, sweet girl.”

  “That’s okay,” Princess said in a dear, sweet voice. “I like to help people. We don’t have uncles in our family. Or aunts. Or anybody, except my dad and my stepmother. There’s just me.”