Vero said a silent prayer that everyone had escaped safely.
20
UNLIKELY HERO
Fire trucks and police cars surrounded the gym. Scores of students lined up in the football field according to their classrooms as teachers took roll call. Vero and Tack also stood in line, peeling off their chicken costumes. Vero watched as firemen went in and out of the gym, combing through the rubble.
“How did you know that ceiling was gonna collapse?” Vero asked Tack.
“I had a gut feeling. For some reason, I was drawn to the ceiling right at that spot.” Suddenly, Tack’s eyes went wide. “Vero, I got it! I’m a dowser!”
Vero smiled. He knew how badly Tack had wanted to inherit the family dowsing abilities. “Your dad’s gonna be so proud of you,” Vero said putting his hand on Tack’s shoulder. “You just saved everybody’s life.”
Vero noticed that Tack looked shocked by the enormity of it all. For the first time in his life, his friend was rendered speechless. Vero’s happiness for Tack quickly dissipated when a glum Principal Meyers walked over to him accompanied by a police officer. Their serious expression told Vero something was very wrong.
“Vero, every class has taken roll call, and we matched it up with the front office’s absentee list for the day . . .” Principal Meyers said.
Vero began to sweat.
“And all but two students are accounted for . . . Kira Mattox and Clover.”
Vero’s heart sank.
Classes were cancelled, and the students were sent home early. Vero sat in his living room across from a police officer. Nora nervously paced back and forth. The front door opened, and Dennis walked in. Nora ran to him, and he wrapped his arms around her. Tears fell down her cheeks. “Dennis, they still can’t find her,” Nora said, her heart in her throat.
“Anything new?” Dennis asked the officer.
“No. They’re still going through the gym.”
“Did they find her bike?” Dennis asked.
“Unfortunately the gym collapsed on the bike racks so we don’t know yet,” the officer said. “Is there any reason why Clover would not be at school?”
“No,” Nora said pulling away from Dennis. “I told you. She left this morning for school with Kira.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Leland. I know how hard this is,” the officer said. “Mr. Leland, did she contact you at any point in the day?”
Dennis shook his head. “No, we don’t let her take her cell phone to school.”
“I can’t sit here anymore!” Nora said. “I’m going to that gym!”
Vero stood and went after his mom as she headed for the door. Dennis gently grabbed her arm. “Nora, they’re doing all they can.”
“No, they’re not!” Nora yelled, pulling her arm away.
Nora opened the front door. The sight before her caused her to scream. A bewildered Clover stood on the front porch. Nora grabbed Clover and hugged her tightly.
“Thank God,” Dennis said with a huge sigh of relief.
Nora released Clover. “Where were you?”
Clover looked surprised to see a police officer in her house. Vero could practically hear her heart pound as she stepped inside.
“Where have you been?” Nora repeated.
Clover looked at her mother’s distressed face. She locked eyes with Vero, but Vero just shook his head, at a loss for words.
“The school gym collapsed during the pep rally, and you and Kira were the only ones unaccounted for,” the officer said. “Were you with Kira today?”
Clover slowly nodded.
“So neither of you were near the gym this afternoon?” the officer asked.
“No, we left after morning announcements,” Clover said.
“Do you have a history of skipping out on school?”
“No, she doesn’t,” Nora jumped in.
“This is the first time,” Dennis said, narrowing his eyes at Clover. “At least I hope it is.”
“Well, Clover, I’ll have to report your truancy to the school, and we will find out if this is indeed the first time or not. If there are other infractions, you and your parents will have to attend a truancy hearing.”
Vero saw his parents shoot nervous glances at one another.
“Now, do you know Kira’s address?” the officer asked Clover. “We need to inform her parents.”
Clover shook her head. “No, she just moved here.”
“Officer 17 . . . Officer 17 . . .” A woman’s voice came over the officer’s walkie.
“Excuse me,” the Officer said as he pulled his walkie from his holster and stepped out the front door.
“What is going on with you, Clover?” Nora said, her voice shaking with anger.
Clover didn’t answer. She looked down.
“I don’t recognize you anymore!” Dennis sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands.
The officer walked back into the room. “Kira’s fine,” he said. “She turned up at school looking for her bike.”
Clover looked surprised upon hearing that.
“The gym collapsed on the bikes,” Dennis informed Clover. “Don’t think you’ll be getting a new one anytime soon.”
“The search has been called off,” the officer said.
“Thank you so much,” Dennis said as he walked him to the door. “We feel sick we had to put your department through this.”
“It’s a miracle no one was hurt,” the officer said as he stepped outside. “That’s the important thing.”
A confused look came over Vero. A miracle? Had the gym collapsing have anything to do with things going on in the Ether?
Dennis shut the door and turned to Clover. “How could you do this to us? We were worried to death!”
“I didn’t know,” Clover said.
“We thought you were dead!” Dennis yelled.
Clover locked eyes with Vero. He knew exactly what she was thinking — that someday in the near future, this scenario would be true. Except he would be the one his parents would mourn. Vero looked away.
Dennis was struggling to keep his voice under control. “Where were you?”
Clover looked down, silent.
“Clover!” Dennis yelled.
“We cut class, then walked to the metro to go downtown.”
“Downtown?”
“They announced that there were an extra 600 seats available after they set up the stage for the Two Dimension concert. We wanted to be the first in line.”
“You ditched school for a crummy concert while Mom and I were sick to death worrying about you?” Dennis was shaking.
“I’m sorry.”
Dennis shook his head. “There were search teams combing that gym for you, firemen risking their lives for you, and you think sorry is enough?” He snorted. “What is going on with you?”
Clover looked at Dennis, flashing him a defiant glance, and didn’t answer.
“Your friendship with Kira is over!”
Clover’s eyes grew huge. “You can’t do that!”
“Watch me,” Dennis said. “You are grounded. You will take the bus to and from school each day. And when you come home, you will do your homework. There’s no going out for two months.”
“Two months!” Clover protested. “That’s so unfair!”
“Want to make it three?” Dennis said, his voice menacing.
Clover bit her lip, trying to control her anger. Her look shot daggers at her father. Then she spun around and stormed upstairs. A few moments later, Vero heard Clover’s bedroom door slam. Nora ran to the kitchen. Vero followed her, and found his mother sitting at the table, sniffling. He tentatively approached her. Nora looked up, her eyes wet. “I thought she had died.” Nora burst into tears and grabbed Vero. She pulled him into a hug, crying into his shoulder.
“She’s all right, Mom.”
“You won’t understand, Vero. Not until you have kids of your own,” Nora said between sobs. She cupped his face. “I would die if anything ever happened to ei
ther Clover or you.”
A tear escaped Vero’s eye.
Tack was suddenly the most popular kid at school. The jocks high-fived him as he walked down the hallway. Girls flirted with him. Teachers praised him. The universe has turned upside down, Vero thought. But as Vero watched Vicki hug Tack, he noticed Tack’s face flushed red with unease at the embrace.
“Thanks, Tack,” Vicki said as she released him and walked away.
Tack noticed the curious expression on Vero’s face. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You finally got everything you’ve ever wanted,” Vero said. “You’re now an official dowser, suddenly the teachers think you’re a genius, girls give you random hugs . . . so why do you seem so bummed out?”
Tack shrugged. “I don’t know. But you are right. I should be the top dog, but I feel kind of nervous.”
“Well, yeah, when I think about how many people could have died . . .”
“Yeah, that’s all overwhelming, but it’s more like I still have this feeling that . . .”
“That what?”
Tack met Vero’s eyes. “That there’s something going on that’s much bigger than me.”
A ceremony honoring Tack was held in the school cafeteria since the gym was no longer an option. Marty and Mary Kozlowski, Tack’s parents, sat front and center before the makeshift stage. Their three daughters sat directly behind them. All were older than Tack, yet all had the same strawberry-blonde hair. Vero sat next to Tack’s sixteen-year-old sister, Mallory, while Tack stood on the stage with Principal Meyers.
Mallory elbowed Vero. “Who’s that kid over there? He keeps staring at me.” Mallory nodded over to Henry Matson who gazed at her, completely love-struck.
Vero sunk into his chair, shrugging his shoulders. Mallory squinted her eyes at Henry. Then she realized. “That’s the little jerk who hacked into my Facebook account!” Mallory hissed. “I’m going to tell your principal about that kid!”
“Well, you might want to talk to Tack first before you do that . . .” Vero said guiltily.
Mallory narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Vero. “Tack?”
Vero nodded as he sunk even further into his chair.
Mallory glared at Tack, as she put it all together.
“For his heroic bravery and keen sense of impending danger, we award Thaddeus Kozlowski — ” a few kids snickered at Tack’s real name “ — the highest award given by Attleboro Middle . . . the Service Award,” Principal Meyers said as he placed a medal around Tack’s neck.
The audience clapped. Kids hooted and hollered. Marty and Mary beamed with pride.
“I knew he was a dowser all along,” Vero overheard Marty tell his wife.
Vero laughed to himself because Marty had been completely convinced Tack never had any dowsing abilities. No matter how hard he had tested him, Tack had never shown any aptitude for the talent.
“You know, he might turn out to be one of greatest dowsers in Kozlowski history,” Marty added. Mary rolled her eyes.
Tack stepped off the stage, and a crowd of schoolmates mobbed him. He got friendly noogies, handshakes, slaps on the back, and hugs. Vero looked across the room and saw Danny standing off by himself near the exit. He was not part of Tack’s love fest. Danny had become a leper once again at Attleboro Middle. A rumor had spread that he had posted some sort of threat against Attleboro Middle on the Internet the day before the ceiling incident. It was so serious that the police were investigating. Davina had told him she could no longer hang out with him. Vero feared that without Davina’s support, Danny would become a thug once again. He knew it was his job to keep Danny on the straight and narrow, but the situation was pretty dire. He walked over to him.
“Hey,” Vero said to Danny.
Danny gave him a suspicious look. “Hey.”
“Guess we won’t be having P.E. in the gym for a long while,” Vero said.
Danny grunted. He had no interest in talking to Vero.
“I won’t miss climbing the rope,” Vero said with a laugh. “I could never do that. I can only get up a few feet. But you’re pretty good at it.”
Danny gave Vero a look. “Did they send you over here to get me to confess?”
“What? No,” Vero answered. “Do they really think you caused the ceiling to fall?”
Danny nodded.
“That’s crazy.”
“Yeah, well, everyone seems to believe it,” Danny said, crossing his arms. He looked out into the crowd.
Vero followed Danny’s gaze. His eyes rested on Davina.
“I don’t,” Vero said. “Eventually, the truth will come out, and everyone else will come to believe you too.”
Vero saw Danny’s face soften. “Thanks,” Danny muttered and walked away.
Clover received a two-day suspension for cutting class, which made no sense to Vero. Punishment should be making a kid go to school, not letting them stay home. Clover spent the days mostly in her bedroom, doing schoolwork, or napping. She only surfaced for food. On the night of her second day of suspension, Vero knocked on her door, holding a dish of vanilla ice cream on top of a slice of apple pie.
“Who is it?” Clover shouted through the door.
“I have some dessert,” Vero answered.
“Leave it by the door!”
“I don’t think so. It’s ice cream.”
The door suddenly opened. Clover grabbed the dish then tried to shut the door. But Vero was too fast for her, and, taking a lesson from Balaam’s donkey, he shoved his foot in between the door and the jam.
“What?”
“Do you know what the email said that Danny Konrad supposedly sent out?” Vero asked.
“Why do you care?”
“I just want to know.”
“If I tell you, will you get lost?”
Vero nodded.
“I heard he wrote . . . ‘Fear me.’ ”
Vero’s eyes went wide. Then the doorbell rang, startling him even more.
“We had a deal, now go!” Clover said.
“Hi, Mr. Leland.”
Vero and Clover overheard Kira’s voice. Clover shoved the dish back into Vero’s hands and raced to the front door. Vero chased after her. Kira stood in the foyer with Nora and Dennis.
“Sorry, Kira, but Clover isn’t allowed any visitors,” Dad said.
“I didn’t come to see Clover,” Kira said. “I came to apologize to you and your family.” Kira extended her gaze to the family. Dennis’s expression softened a bit.
“Mr. and Mrs. Leland, Vero, I’m sorry for the trouble I caused everybody. I take full responsibility for everything. It wasn’t Clover’s fault . . .”
Clover locked eyes with Kira.
“She didn’t want to skip school, but my sister . . .” Kira paused, her eyes filling with tears. “She died two years ago.”
Vero watched Clover’s expression. She looked surprised, as though she hadn’t known about Kira’s sister.
“And every year, it’s really hard for me. Two Dimension was her favorite band, and I thought that somehow seeing them in concert would make me feel better, so Clover was just being a good friend coming along.”
Dennis and Nora’s faces softened.
“That’s why we moved here. It was too hard for my mom to stay. She needed a change. But it was selfish of me, and I’m really sorry.”
“We appreciate you coming over here to tell us,” Dennis said.
“I wanted you to know the truth.” Kira lowered her head and turned to walk away.
“Kira,” Dennis said.
Kira stopped and looked back over her shoulder.
“We’re very sorry for your loss.”
Vero watched as Kira nodded and walked out to the street. He knew he should have felt terrible for her — but he didn’t.
21
THE DREAMER
Vero threw on a pair of jeans and a navy blue sweatshirt over his T-shirt. It was Saturday morning, and he was going to meet Tack. Normally, he would
have had swim practice, but because the pool’s ceiling was also damaged in the collapse, practice was cancelled until the school could work out a schedule with the local recreation center for use of its pool. Tack’s mother was going to pick up Vero and drop the boys off at the arcade while she had her hair done. Vero walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out a leftover slice of pizza.
“Not exactly a healthy breakfast,” a voice said.
Vero spun around and saw Kira standing in the dining room.
“Oh, Kira . . .” Vero said, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t sound so happy to see me,” Kira said, a bit offended.
“Clover’s not supposed to have any guests.”
“Your parents said I could come over because Clover and I have a science project due Monday.”
“Oh.”
“So you and Tack are pretty popular, huh? I feel honored just being in your house.”
Vero couldn’t tell if Kira was being serious. “Really, it was all Tack.”
“You’re too modest. You know what? I think from now on, we should call you Vero the Hero.”
Vero squirmed. He didn’t feel flattered by Kira’s compliments.
“It’s like you’re the great protector over at that school.”
That hit a little too close to home. Vero gave her a curious look, but just then Clover walked into the room.
“I found it,” she said, holding a glue gun.
Vero looked at the dining room table. It was covered with all kinds of arts and crafts supplies. “What are you making?” he asked.
“A desert ecosystem,” Clover answered.
“Can you think of anything more boring?” Kira sighed. “We should be getting ready for the Two Dimension concert tonight not doing this.”
“Clover’s grounded,” Vero said. “She can’t go to the concert.”
“Shut up, Vero,” Clover snapped. “Get off my case.”
Kira sat down at the table and picked up a pair of scissors. “I told your mom and dad it was my fault. They’re being totally unfair to Clover.”
Vero looked to see if Clover would defend their parents. She simply shrugged her shoulders.
Pillars of Fire Page 20