It reminded me of my summer at the rec center. Teaching the kids there had really turned my year around. I wish I could have seen Uncle Ira more often. I hadn’t seen him since he got me the job. I was told he was working out of the country for a while.
Both Saturday and Sunday nights were blissfully nightmare-free. So Monday morning began with plenty of beauty sleep, and Ruthie surprised me with a plate full of chocolate cupcakes topped with fluffy chocolate icing. They didn’t even last to first bell. Isaac and Phoebe caught up with us in the parking lot swearing that they smelled chocolate, so we had to pull out the plate and share. Between the four of us, and Val (Ruthie had texted him to hurry over if he wanted one), they were gone in a jiffy. We walked into class on a chocolate high. It was a great way to start the day.
Our schedule had been adjusted to make time for an assembly right before lunch. There would be no seventh period. I wondered if I would see Zander at lunch today since we didn’t have English.
Ruthie and I agreed to meet at my locker and head to the gym together. We arrived just in time to grab a seat near the end of the bleachers. Isaac stood halfway across the floor, surrounded by a swarm of girls, but he was looking in our direction. He pulled away from them to head over, but someone beat him to us. Zander. I knew it was him even before I turned. The entire side of my body sizzled.
“Hey,” he said.
Ruthie reached across me to give him a high-five like they were buddies. I just mumbled “hey,” having no clue how to react to him. Suddenly Isaac loomed over us, thunder on his face. Zander didn’t seem to notice as he speculated what the assembly was about, and Isaac was forced to grab the space next to Ruthie. Suddenly, the football team ran into the gym dressed as cheerleaders. Everyone went wild, including Ruthie, who jumped up screaming. Isaac took the opportunity to squeeze Ruthie over and sit by me. She didn’t seem to mind, sneaking in a quick wink at me. Somehow, with all the mayhem going on, Phoebe wedged in next to Ruthie, and they huddled together giggling about the guys in vests and skirts that were too small for them.
While Phoebe and Ruthie were getting into the spirit of the assembly, I was left in Awkwardville between Isaac and Zander.
Predictably, the next crew to run in was the cheerleading team dressed in football jerseys and gear. The assembly was mostly an advertisement for Homecoming next month, laced with the annual speeches on school rules and school pride. Ruthie screamed for Val as he leaped and pounded his pom-poms together. He was ridiculous, but then, so was she.
It was too loud most of the time to talk to each other, but after the football players and cheerleaders left and the principal began droning on about parking lot behavior, Zander leaned in to ask me about an English assignment. It was a little surreal and extremely uncomfortable since I could feel Isaac tense up beside me. As soon as he could work in a comment, I was turned toward him. It was like a Ping Pong game, and I was the ball. To heighten my discomfort, the vibrations coming off Zander every time our skin touched made it difficult for me to focus on what Isaac said. I probably sounded super lame.
Thankfully, the assembly didn’t last too long and then it was lunchtime. I darted off to my locker to grab lunch, at the same time wondering if Zander would be sitting with us again. I didn’t think I could take any more weirdness between Isaac and him, so I considered my options.
A solution presented itself when Bobby caught up with me and invited me to sit with him and some old friends. I was so pleased to hear that he was hanging with other people again, and I wanted to support the new him, so I agreed. Plus, it solved my little lunch dilemma. I doubted Ruthie would care. She and Val would be all over each other anyway. I sent her a quick text so she wouldn’t wonder and give me crap about it later.
Bobby’s friends huddled around a table at the far edge of the quad, which was completely opposite my regular table. Shrina, Dara, James, and someone I didn’t recognize were already seated. I’d never really had much to do with them before, mostly because our interests hadn’t ever crossed. They were what I called band geeks. I’d forgotten that Bobby was into music.
Shrina was smiling brightly at Bobby, and I thought I caught a glimpse of something in her eyes. Dara and James looked like Siamese twins eating from the same lunch bag. The other kid, a guy with wavy black hair that covered most of his face, held a guitar.
“Hi guys,” announced Bobby. “You remember Tru?” The girls welcomed me with friendly hellos. The guys gave me nods.
“Tru, you know Shrina, right? And Dara and James?”
Bobby slid into the bench next to Shrina, who smiled and lowered her long black eyelashes. She was cute and perhaps a little into Bobby. I remembered she had an Indian accent.
“Yeah,” I said. “You and I got paired up for wheelbarrow racing at Hanh Nguyen’s birthday party in seventh grade, right?”
“Oh my gosh! I forgot about that. I was so horrible, but we still won!” She laughed.
“And, then there’s Dara and James—they were in Mrs. Skinner’s science class with us. When we dissected frogs?” Bobby continued the introductions.
“Sure.” I smiled. “Hated the frogs, though.”
“Ditto,” said Dara, her blue eyes crinkling at the corners. James just grunted and nodded his head.
“And here’s Dante.” Bobby nodded toward the guitarist. “He moved here from San Francisco this summer. He’s killer with the guitar.”
“Wow,” I said. Dante acknowledged our awe with a few light strokes on the guitar. I chuckled. Dante stared back at me with a speculative look in his eyes. My laughter died away as an uneasy feeling swept over me. But then he smiled, revealing two dimples, one in each cheek, a phenomenon Ruthie liked to label a “double D boy.” I smiled back at him.
I wondered when Bobby had made friends with this group. Shrina revealed that they had been trying to coax him into their music group for a while, and finally, Bobby had agreed. She was beaming as she explained. Definitely something going on between the two of them. They made a cute couple.
And that’s how I avoided the uncomfortable lunch table across the quad.
And although I couldn’t avoid Isaac or Zander in our classes, they were a lot easier to handle one-on-one.
Just before the bell rang, everyone at the table took off except Dante. I was reaching for my backpack when he stopped me.
“That was quite a trick, what you did for Bobby,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah, Bobby was a week away from committing suicide, and bam! Suddenly he’s calling his brother and making friends. Damn miracle, wouldn’t you say?”
Suicide? What was he suggesting? “What are you talking about?”
His eyebrows raised, he pondered, “You don’t even know, do you?” He looked over my shoulder and quickly muttered, “Idimmu, you’re Idimmu.”
I could barely hear him. “What? I’m a dummy?”
He rolled his eyes. “We’ll have to talk later. But don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret.” And he took off.
Just as I was wondering why he had left so quickly and what drugs he was taking, Isaac plopped down next to me.
“Hey. Is he bothering you?” He looked hopeful.
I just shook my head, “No. But he is strange.”
Isaac laughed. “Yeah, could have told you that myself. He’s in algebra with me. Let’s get to class.” He grabbed my backpack, and with his on one shoulder and mine on the other, we took off to drama.
Homecoming
After school, Isaac and Phoebe begged another ride to their mom’s shop from Ruthie, and once again, I found myself smashed up next to Isaac in the backseat.
Ruthie decided to drop me off first. As we pulled into my driveway, I noticed Dad’s truck was missing, and I remembered that he would be working late a lot this week.
Phoebe stepped out and helped to extract me from the backseat. With surprising strength, she whisked me out and onto the driveway.
“Geez! You guys are turning my cute car into a
sideshow!” Ruthie declared.
“It’s like a clown car.” I chuckled.
We were still cracking clown jokes as I pulled out my backpack. Suddenly, Phoebe and Isaac froze and gave each other one of their twin looks.
“Oh for pork’s sake, what’s wrong now?” exclaimed Ruthie impatiently. She glanced at her car clock, obviously worried about getting home on time. I knew she didn’t want to risk the sweet deal she had with her parents, who were threatening to take her car away if she didn’t get home on time.
“Tru, can I use your bathroom before I go?” asked Phoebe. “I hate using the restroom at the store.”
“Seriously?” complained Ruthie.
“Uh…sure,” I said, grateful that Dad and I had cleaned over the weekend.
As we walked through the front door, we heard Isaac say, “I don’t think I can take this car anymore.”
I looked back to see him shimmying out of the car and grabbing for the backpacks.
“Phew!” he huffed. “I think I’d prefer to walk. We’ll hoof it the rest of the way, Ruthie, and you can get home in time.”
I looked at Phoebe. “You okay with walking the rest of the way?” I asked, continuing inside.
She waved away my concern. “We hike all the time. Not a big deal.” She glanced around the living room, her nostrils flaring. I could have sworn she was sniffing the air. She noticed my bewilderment.
“So…nice place! Smells good in here. Is that the kitchen?” She walked ahead of me. I was trying to smell something, but it just smelled like “vacant house” to me. I made a mental note to buy some room spray.
Make yourself right at home, I thought, following her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement in the backyard.
“Hey! Someone’s in the backyard.” My heart racing, I rushed over to the kitchen window.
“Oh, that’s just Isaac,” Phoebe said. “He’s probably checking out your yard.”
What the heck? I was starting to feel a little invaded by the twins.
“What’s he doing out there?” I headed to the back door. Phoebe tried to head me off. This was getting too weird, and I quickly moved around her and out the door.
“Isaac!” I yelled, exasperated. “What are you doing?”
He whirled around, startled. He flashed a smile.
“Man! You caught me! I was going to surprise Phoebe when she walked by,” he explained. “I love to mess with her!”
“Yeah,” she shot back. “Nice try, brother!”
Isaac’s lips tightened as he glanced around. I looked, too. Our backyard wasn’t very pretty these days.
“How can you stand such close neighbors?” complained Isaac, looking toward the back fence.
“What? Who doesn’t have neighbors? Anyway, it’s not like you get to pick them,” I said.
“Actually,” inserted Phoebe, “we live way out in the woods for that very reason. We’re surrounded by trees and—no neighbors.”
“Really? That sounds pretty cool. But doesn’t it get creepy with all the fog we get?” I wasn’t sure if I’d like it in the woods on a foggy day, which we had in abundance this close to the coast, but otherwise, the privacy would be refreshing. One of our neighbors had a live mariachi band playing at least once a month. Enough said.
“Nah,” denied Isaac. “We love it out there. Lots of space to run around…”
“Yeah, I bet capture the flag would be awesome at your place!” I agreed.
“Absolutely! You should come out there some time,” he said. Phoebe was looking at the house and I remembered that she needed to use the restroom.
“Oh, Phoebe. Bathroom is at the end of the hall. Can’t miss it.”
“What?” she said. “Oh yeah, thanks.” She headed back into the house.
Isaac and I sat down at the patio table to wait. He overwhelmed our small patio table. It was a wonder he could even fit in the chair.
“So, why aren’t you playing football this year?” I asked. His sheer size would be an asset to the team.
He frowned. “Believe it or not, my parents won’t let me.”
“Are you serious? Why?”
“Um, they’re afraid I’m going to break something?” He looked amused now.
That sent me into a laughing fit. “Wow. And I thought my parents were overprotective! That’s just ridiculous.”
“I know. It’s pretty annoying sometimes.” He smiled down at me, and I blushed at the warmth in his brown eyes.
“Speaking of football,” he continued, “I can’t believe Homecoming is coming up already.”
“Oh, yeah. Bizarre, huh?” Where was this going? Alarm bells were going off. Was he going to ask me out? Part of me wanted him to ask me. I had never gone to Homecoming, and it would go a long way to reviving me from my zombie reputation, especially if I went with him. I imagined him in a tux, and it was mouth-watering. Still, when I looked deep down in that secret place, I couldn’t help but imagine another boy in a tux.
Isaac fidgeted with his leather bracelet before looking back at me.
“I guess it’s still early, but, uh, are you going with anyone yet?” he said.
“No.” My heart was pounding.
He smiled that dental commercial smile again. I remembered his milky kiss. “How about coming with me, then?”
“Okay,” I said, lost in the brilliance of the moment. I was giddy. Someone asked me to Homecoming—on the second week of school! I couldn’t wait to tell Ruthie.
“Awesome!” He wrapped his hand in mine, a wide smile splitting his face. He leaned in closer.
All I could think was Wait just a minute! What’s happening? But then he suddenly pulled back with a slight scowl. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Well, guess I should get going, then.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder.
“What about Phoebe?” I asked. But before I even finished my question, she was stepping out the back door, as if on cue.
“Yeah, we’ll just head out your side gate, Tru.” Phoebe took off with Isaac, and I just waved good-bye, absently.
Making eye contact one last time, a new eagerness in his gaze, Isaac dipped his head in good-bye. “See you at lunch tomorrow!”
Then they were gone. It felt—I don’t know—a little orchestrated. But I smiled at my silliness. Isaac was so sweet. Why did I feel slightly ill?
I looked around our backyard again. There was just a small patch of grass next to Mom’s garden. Dad was barely keeping it alive. I wondered how long it would last. Mom had been raised in the farming belt of California. Even though the coastal town of Scotts Valley was wooded and covered in fog so much, she still managed to produce a flourishing garden. Dad had planted one this summer in her memory. By some miracle, the tomatoes were still growing. I walked closer to pick some of the ripe ones. That’s when I noticed the footprints—from a dog, I thought. But, they were huge! I followed them around the dirt. They were all over the backyard. Although it seemed ages ago, I recalled the wolf I’d seen on the way to school. What was going on? Shivering, I hurried into the house and locked the doors.
That night I finally dreamed about my mom. Dad and Uncle Ira were in it, too. It had that nostalgic quality, like a filter on a camera lens.
Uncle Ira sat on the couch, in my living room. Only all the furniture was the old stuff we got rid of years and years ago. He looked sad, but my parents gazed at a little three-year-old who was hugging Uncle Ira’s leg, fiercely. They were enraptured.
I was viewing the scene from a distance, but I knew the little kid was me—I had photos. I must have been about three years old. Mom seemed to be coaxing the girl toward her.
“Come here, honey. We’re going to be great friends.” She had that sweet schoolteacher voice going. All the kids had loved her as their teacher. And the voice worked on the child, who finally relinquished her anchor and let Mom pull her into her lap. Little me gazed up at her, tears still in her eyes.
“My, you look just like my baby pictures, don’t you,” Mom
said with wonder.
“That’s what Caroline always said. She really wanted you two to meet,” said Uncle Ira. “But, well, there never seemed to be a good time.”
Now Mom started tearing up. “Oh, Caroline! What were you up to?” She hugged the kid to her chest gently, and the kid squeezed back.
Then everything went blurry before clearing up again.
It was dark and wet. A sour-faced teenager was waiting outside a house. I knew why she was mad. She’d snuck out to go to a party and her parents found out. Her mom had called to say she was on her way to pick her up. The party had just started, and the girl had argued with her about staying longer and catching a ride back with friends. But she’d been ordered to wait for her mother in the front of the house, on the sidewalk, and the girl was still fuming. All her friends had given her sympathetic looks as she muttered that she had to go.
Her mother’s car pulled up and she got in, slamming the door.
Again, I was watching from afar, and I cringed inside. I turned away from the girl’s bratty behavior, appalled, because I remembered this very night, the last night I saw my mother alive.
“Thanks a lot,” the girl said, folding her arms across her chest.
My gaze was on another car as I listened uncomfortably to the petulant voice.
Another car hummed at a distance from Mom’s, its lights off. A woman sat behind the wheel, watching the teenager and her mother. She was familiar, but I couldn’t place her. I saw her face as she listened to the girl—don’t ask me how I knew she could hear from so far away, I just did. The woman’s chin came down, her eyes narrowing, eyebrows drawn together in a menacing scowl. It was frightening. There was a growling sound, but I couldn’t figure out where it came from. Both cars were heading down the street, and my senses floated above them. I was there in thought, but had no corporeal form. I recognized that this was a dream, yet it felt too real for me to watch without dreading the next few moments, knowing what was ahead, my heart pounding in sick anticipation.
Secrets of the Sleeper: True Nature Series: Book One Page 7