“Come here you troll,” I said, laughing and crying at the same time, giving my brother a hug.
“Mom, can we go home now?” asked Johnny. “I’m hungry.”
“If the medics think you two are all right and don’t need any further medical attention, then we can go,” she answered. “I’ll cook us all a nice homemade dinner. Johnny, how about homemade pizza tonight?”
“Really? I’d love that,” said Johnny. “I can’t wait to see Trapper and Champ again. I really missed them.”
“You saw them this morning before you left for school,” said my mother, giving Johnny a hug. “I swear, you sound like it’s been ages since you’ve been home.”
“It feels like ages,” said Johnny.
“Maybe we should ask your father to join us,” said my mom, looking around. “That’s odd. He was just here. Did anyone see where he went?”
“Is that him over there?” Candy pointed past the firetrucks.
I looked over to see my father talking with Snake and Ed. It looked shady to me. It seemed like they exchanged something, but I couldn’t be sure. Then he walked away from them, got into his old truck and took off down the street.
“Oh, well, maybe another time,” said my mom, looking like she was longing after my father. “Let’s go home kids. It seems like the fire is out and everyone is leaving.”
“Students, check in with the principal at the front door on your way home,” called out one of the teachers. “We want to make sure you are all accounted for.”
“Come on, Johnny,” I said, putting my arm around his shoulders and pulling him closer into a half-hug. “I never thought I’d say this, but I really missed you.”
“I missed you, too, Raven, and it’s good to be back,” said Johnny. “But I can’t help wondering what happened to Blue.”
Chapter 12
“No, I don’t want to do it,” Johnny whispered to me two days later. Since the fire had caused a lot of damage, the high school closed early for the holidays, and the band concert was taking place in the junior high auditorium instead.
“You can’t back out,” I told him. “You were chosen to play the trumpet solo, and everyone is depending on you to do it. Now get in there and play.”
“It was Blue they chose, not me,” Johnny told me, feeling less than confident.
“You can do it,” I told him. “Mom and Dad and everyone are here to hear you.”
“I hurt my hand. I can’t play.” He held up his wrapped hand to show me.
“You hurt your left hand and you’re right handed. You can hold the trumpet in one hand to play. I’ve seen you do it a million times.”
“But I don’t have my trumpet since it was lost in the fire. That was the only one I could play.”
“Hey, Blue,” said Dex, walking up with Janelle. Brett was in the bleachers sitting next to Candy and my parents. “Look at this. My dad said the firemen pulled it out of the fire. I recognized it at once because you’re the only one with a blue trumpet. It looks like it survived the flames.”
“I’m not Blue,” said Johnny.
I exchanged looks with Dex. “Just call him Johnny from now on.”
Dex shrugged. “Okay, here you go, Johnny. Just in time for the concert.” He held out the blue horn. “It’s a little dented, but my dad cleaned it up for you.”
“Go on and take it,” I told my brother. Honestly, I felt a little uneasy about it, since it was Blue’s horn. I hoped that if Johnny started playing it, Blue wouldn’t appear again.
“I can’t,” Johnny whispered to me.
“Blue, come on, the concert is starting.” Ashley Fenng and Prudence Warwick came up to Johnny. Each of them took him by one arm. “We’re going to escort you to your seat since you’re the star.”
“I am?” Johnny’s worried eyes flashed over to me. He looked scared but I knew that he really loved all the attention. Especially since Ashley and Prudence were freshmen and good looking. All Johnny seemed to think about lately was girls.
“Go on,” I told him with a nod. “Everything will be just fine. Just have faith in yourself.” I wasn’t at all sure I believed things would work out, but I was trying to stay confident to help my brother. I was also taking the chance that, hopefully, if Johnny regained his confidence, he could somehow pull this off with as few sour notes as possible. Maybe the other instruments would hopefully drown him out.
“Well, I don’t know,” he said.
“Oh, and Blue, after the concert, do you want to go out for ice cream with us and some of our friends?” Ashley smiled at him and batted her false eyelashes.
“Ice cream?” That had Johnny’s attention. The two things he liked the most were girls and ice cream. Not to mention having friends. “Well, okay,” he said. “But from now on, can you just call me Johnny instead of Blue?”
“Sure thing,” said Ashley reaching up and pushing a blue lock of hair from Johnny’s eyes. “But your hair is still blue.”
“I’m going back to blond,” he told her.
“Oh, really?” asked Prudence. “I like that even better. I can help you dye it if you want.”
“Me, too,” said Ashley, as they escorted my little brother – the new lady’s man – to his chair.
“Well, that’s it,” I said, going and taking my seat next to Candy.
“Is he really going to play the trumpet?” Candy whispered in my ear.
“Yep,” I said, holding my breath when his solo came up. I was so nervous that I closed my eyes and held on to my crystal to comfort me.
At first, I heard a few sour notes, and I almost died. The band kept playing, but when I opened my eyes, I saw the horrified look on my brother’s face. I clutched my crystal, watching in terror as he lifted the horn to his mouth again and, this time, perfect notes floated through the air.
“What’s going on?” Candy whispered. “He can’t play the trumpet!” She looked down and her eyes opened wide. “Raven, your crystal!”
All of a sudden, I realized my crystal was glowing, and I swear I saw the face of Blue inside it. Had I summoned him by holding my crystal while worrying for Johnny? And was Blue still alive or was he dead? Heck, he was a ghost I reminded myself. What was I thinking? Then I started worrying that Blue would return in Johnny’s body again because of what I just did.
“Oh, no!” I released the crystal quickly, and the glowing disappeared, taking Blue’s face with it. Johnny hit another sour note.
“Fast, touch the crystal again and help him,” said Candy.
I wanted to, God knew I did. The last thing I wanted was my little brother making a total fool of himself in front of the whole school. This was only going to scar him. Like . . . for life.
“I can’t,” I told Candy, biting my lip and feeling the tears forming in my eyes. “Johnny has to do this by himself. If not, he’s never going to find confidence and be able to keep from thinking he wants to be someone like Blue.” I looked over to see my father staring at me. I didn’t think he could hear what we were talking about but, somehow, I felt he knew.
Then my father got to his feet, put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. “That’s my boy, Johnny!” he called out loud enough for everyone to hear. Johnny lowered the horn and looked out at the crowd. “Play it like you mean it,” called out my dad, making me want to crawl under the bleachers and hide.
“You can do it, Johnny,” my mom called out, getting up and clapping. Then, Ashley and Prudence stood up and started cheering for my little brother. Johnny slowly lifted the trumpet to his mouth again. The notes were shaky at first but, before long, he was standing proudly and blaring out notes that didn’t sound half-bad. He looked proud and happy. And the best part was that it was Johnny and not Blue playing the trumpet this time.
Then Dex and Brett stood up and started clapping and, before I knew it, the entire audience was on their feet, singing along with Johnny’s trumpet solo to Joy to the World. It made my heart swell with happiness and brought a tear of joy to my eye. I
didn’t know if a little of Blue rubbed off on my brother or what, but it didn’t even matter. Even if Johnny couldn’t play a single good note, I no longer cared. I was so happy to have him back that I could burst.
Everyone gathered around Johnny after the concert wanting to be by him. Since he was going out with his new friends, I didn’t have a chance to talk to him until the next day.
“I think I hear someone pulling in the driveway,” I said the next morning as I sat next to Candy, eating breakfast. I put down my spoon and ran to the front window.
“Who is it?” asked Candy, running after me.
“I – I think it’s my dad. And my mom.”
“Whose new truck is that?” asked Johnny with a whistle as he came down the stairs and stood behind us. I looked up to see his hair was blond again and wondered if the blue washed out or if one of his new girlfriends had dyed it. I stood up and stared. He looked a little taller. I reached out and touched his face, feeling stubble on his jaw.
“Hey, hands off my face,” cried Johnny, shoving my hand away. “I’m going to tell mom you’re bothering me.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re Johnny,” I said with a smile. “Just wanted to make sure, you little troll.”
“Kids, get up,” said my mom, walking into the house with a smile on her face. My dad was right behind her. “We’ve got exciting news.”
“Really? What is it, Mom?” I asked.
“You tell them, Bert.” My mom almost seemed to glow.
My father still leaned on his cane, but looked a little different today. A little more like the father I used to know. “Well, your mother and I are . . . engaged,” said my father.
“What?” I asked, not understanding. “You two are already married, unless you’ve forgotten since it’s been so long.”
“We know that,” said my mom, looking at my father with a newfound life in her eyes. “But we’re going to start over and take things slow.”
“So Dad won’t be living here with us?” Johnny almost sounded disappointed.
“No, not right away,” said my father. “I’m going to be living in Candy’s old house.”
“My house?” asked Candy. “Why would anyone live there?”
“Bert bought the house and he’s going to flip it,” said my mom. “It’s what he does.”
“Show them the ring, Lillian,” said my father, changing the subject.
My mom shyly held up her hand and my mouth dropped open. “That’s got to be at least two karats,” I said, taking my mom’s hand and inspecting the large, pear-shaped diamond.
“Three,” said my mom with a giggle. “Isn’t it the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”
“Wow, that’s beautiful,” said Candy inspecting the ring.
I was immediately suspicious. “Is that a new truck I see out there, too, Dad?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to get one for a long time and finally bit the bullet and did it.”
Johnny whistled lowly. “Wow, that’s nice.”
“Do you want to drive it down the driveway and back up?” asked my dad.
“Can I?” Johnny’s eyes grew wide in anticipation. He still seemed leery of my father and I didn’t think he really forgave him, but this was a start. My dad was doing all the right things. Johnny always loved trucks and my father was playing to his weakness, probably to get back in Johnny’s good graces. I admired him for it, but it made me even more suspicious at the same time. I still didn’t trust him.
“Now, Bert, Johnny is only fourteen. It’s against the law for him to drive,” said my mother.
“It’s just down the driveway and back and I’ll be with him,” said my dad.
“Please, Mom?” begged Johnny, putting his arm around my mom’s shoulders.
“Well, all right. But just down the driveway and back up. And you’re not doing this without me there, too.” My mom followed them out to the truck.
“Isn’t that nice about your parents getting back together?” asked Candy.
“I guess so,” I told her, not feeling excitement in my heart.
“And Johnny almost seems like a different person. He’s filled with confidence, but not in the braggy sort of way anymore. All the girls even seem to like him.”
“Yep,” I said, remembering the changes that happened to me and Candy after we went through our experiences with Mary and Muffet. “It doesn’t surprise me at all. Plus, I’m glad he’s not giving up playing the trumpet.”
“It almost seems like he’s even forgiven your dad for walking out on you guys on his birthday.”
“Almost,” I said. “But it might just be because my father is more or less buying Johnny’s forgiveness.”
“Raven, what’s the matter with you? I thought you’d be happy about all this. Especially at having your father back. I know I would if it happened to me.”
“I’m sorry, Candy, I don’t know what’s the matter with me,” I told her. “I just find it odd that my dad can afford to buy a house, fix it up, get a new truck and also a diamond ring for my mother all at the same time.”
“That does seem like it would take a lot of money to do all that.”
“And I wonder where he got the money to do it? You know, I saw him talking with Snake and Ed at the school after the fire. And I swear they exchanged something between them.”
“You think it’s the money that Blue stole, don’t you?” Candy’s eyes opened wide.
“Could be,” I said, spotting Johnny’s backpack on the floor, covered by his blue bomber jacket. “My little brother is back all right, because only he would be such a slob.” I picked up the jacket and something fell out of the pocket. My heart stilled.
“Is that a bundle of the stolen money?” asked Candy.
“It sure looks like it.” I rummaged through his backpack and through every pocket in the jacket but didn’t find any more besides the one bundle. Flipping through it, I shook my head. “There has got to be a thousand dollars here,” I told her.
“Do you think Johnny knows about it?”
“I doubt it. He hasn’t worn that blue bomber jacket since the fire. I think this money is left over from when Blue was here.”
“What are you going to do with it, Raven?”
“Well, we can’t keep it because it isn’t ours,” I told her.
“Whose do you think it is?”
“I know whose it is, even though I don’t know how.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, Dex’s dad is a cop and said no one reported any stolen money. Plus, he also said kids were digging holes in the cemetery.”
“So you think Blue and his friends dug up the money in the graveyard?” asked Candy.
“I’m sure of it,” I said. “Somehow, and like I said I don’t understand it, but this is part of the money stolen by Blue’s father, Cardinal Wolsey.”
“Then what do we do with it?” asked Candy.
“There’s only one thing we can do.” I looked out the window, seeing my parents and Johnny distracted with the truck. The dogs were out there, too. “We have to do the same thing we did with the watering can from Mary and the spider brooch from Muffet.”
“You’re going to bury Johnny’s trumpet?” asked Candy in surprise.
“No, I don’t want to do that. Now that he’s found a new confidence, the last thing I want to do is to take it away. The trumpet stays. But I have a feeling this blue bomber jacket will do the trick. After all, it’s not until Johnny wore it that Blue started showing up. Follow me.”
I took Johnny’s jacket and the money and headed to the back of our yard. “We need a shovel out of the shed,” I told her. It was early winter and cold, but the ground wasn’t quite frozen yet.
Heading into the graveyard with the jacket, money and shovel, Candy and I prepared to dig a hole at the foot of Jonathon Wolsey’s grave.
“Well, it’s over, Blue,” I said, breaking the ground with the shovel. The dirt was a lot harder than I thought it wou
ld be and was nearly frozen after all. This was going to be a lot of work just to dig a hole.
“I’m almost going to miss Blue,” admitted Candy.
“I won’t,” I said. “This all made me realize how much I took Johnny for granted and how much I really love my little brother.”
“I love you, too, Raven,” said Johnny, surprising me, walking up behind me. Trapper and Champ were with him. “What are you doing?” he asked, picking up the jacket from the ground.
“Now, Johnny, don’t fight me on this. If we want to be rid of Blue forever, we need to bury something of his near his grave.”
I half-expected Johnny to protest or stick up for Blue the way he did in the past. But he calmly held out his hand. “Give me the shovel, Raven.”
“Now Johnny . . .”
“I want to be the one to dig the hole.”
“You do?”
“Yes,” he said, trading me the jacket for the shovel. “I’ve learned a lot in the time I’ve known Blue, and I realize I don’t want to be anything like him.”
“But you admired Blue,” said Candy. “He was everything you ever wanted to be.”
“I thought so, but I was wrong,” said Johnny. “I never needed Blue. I only needed the confidence I lost the day my father left me. I know I bragged a lot but it was only because I was trying to build myself up. I didn’t feel like I was worth anything, but now I do. I still need to mend my relationship with Dad and it might take a long time to actually forgive him, but he’s up to a good start at redeeming himself. I hope he and Mom can work things out.”
“Me, too,” I agreed. “It would be great to be a family again. I miss that.”
Johnny took the shovel and started digging. Since being Blue, Johnny seemed to have muscles and whiskers and things he didn’t have before. The dogs helped him digging the hole and we all laughed.
“Give me the jacket,” said Johnny and I handed it to him. “Here’s your jacket, Blue, and don’t you dare ever come back or I’ll personally kick your ass,” said Johnny, throwing the jacket into the hole and starting to cover it up with dirt.
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