by Mikki Sadil
“Cooper, what are you talking about? And how do you know this, anyway?”
“Well, er, I did something I probably shouldn’t have done. You gotta promise not to tell anyone how I got this information.”
“Come on, Cooper, just tell me! I won’t tell anybody anything.”
“Okay. I guess you don’t know this, but my dad’s a police detective, and he knows how to find out all kinds of things about people. When I went home yesterday, I, uh, well, I went on his computer and put in Celine’s name. All this stuff came up about her. It was in his police files, and I’m never supposed to go there, so if my dad finds out what I did, I’m in big trouble.”
I hugged my backpack and rested my chin on it. “Okay, Cooper, out with it. I’m not gonna rat you out, I promise. Just tell me what you found out. If she’s not who she says, who is she?”
“Well, her name’s Celine Carroll, all right. That part is true. And her family is rich. But she’s not from New York, she’s from Chicago, and the reason they are rich is because her father was a big-time lawyer for some guys who were in the Mob. They embezzled money from retirement funds and stuff like that. Her dad was paid by the mob for getting these people to invest in a company that didn’t exist. Now he’s in prison and…”
“Her father is in prison?”
“Hey, that’s not all. Her mother is in prison, too. She was mixed up somehow in that whole business with the Mob…”
I interrupted him again, but this time my voice came out as a squeak. “Her mom’s in prison, too? But who is she living with? And why is she here in West Haven?”
Cooper was getting impatient. “If you’d stop interrupting me, I could tell you the whole story. I don’t know who she is living with, I just know that her parents were somehow involved with the Chicago Mob. There’s something else — her father’s real name is Cerrone, but he changed it to Carroll. And one other thing…she’s not thirteen, she’s fifteen and shouldn’t even be in middle school.”
I stared at him. “Are you kidding me, Cooper? Because if you are, it really isn’t funny.”
“No, I’m not kidding you. This was all in my dad’s police files.”
“I don’t get it. Is Celine in some kind of Witness Protection program, like on TV?”
“I don’t think so, but I don’t know. Wouldn’t she have to change her name if she was in a Witness Protection program? That’s what they do in the movies, anyway.”
I played with the tape on my ankle. “It doesn’t make any sense. Who are the people she’s living with? She calls them her parents.”
Cooper shrugged, but his eyes were gleaming. “I don’t know any more than what I told you. The important thing is, we’ve got something on her, and we can…”
“No! No, Cooper, we’re not going to do anything. Drop it, okay? And promise me you won’t tell a living soul about her, promise me and cross your heart.”
“Cross my heart? Geez, AJ, we’re not in first grade.”
“Fine, then swear on a Bible. I don’t care what you do, but you’ve got to swear you won’t tell anyone else.”
I had to let this information sink in. It was horrible to have your parents, especially your mother, in prison. I could not imagine anything worse, unless maybe they died. Suddenly, I felt sorry for Celine. I didn’t like her, but I didn’t hate her like she seemed to hate me, and it just didn’t seem right for the whole town to know about her. That’s what would happen if this news got out. Things like that don’t stay a secret in our school, and it would be all over town in a day.
Cooper looked at me in a funny way. “Okay, okay. I promise and swear not to tell anyone. What’s wrong with you, anyway? That girl has done everything she can think of to hurt you. She beat you up, she caused you to sprain your ankle, and now you can get her back and you don’t want to. I don’t get it.”
I sighed. “I know, but this...this is just too awful. Can you imagine what the kids would do to her? I don’t want that to be my fault. That would make me just like her, wouldn’t it? But hey…if she’s really fifteen, how come she isn’t in high school?”
“I don’t know. Her age was in the files, because her parents’ trials are all public record. I might have been able to find out something more, but I don’t really know how to use my dad’s computer, and I was afraid he’d find out somehow that I’d been messing around.”
Cooper groaned suddenly, and his face got all pinched up.
“Cooper, what’s wrong? Are you sick?”
He made a sound which I guess was supposed to be a laugh. “Oh crap! I’m just thinking about what my dad will do to me if he finds out about me using his computer. He’s a cop, maybe he has some kind of ‘intruder detection’ thing on it. Oh…I wish I hadn’t done that. He’ll ground me for the rest of my life. He’ll take away my computer and my cell phone and…”
“Cooper. Just shut up. You’ll be fine. Everything will be okay. He’s not going to find out, okay?”
Cooper gave a big sigh. “Yeah, okay, maybe you’re right. But if you’re not, can I come live at your house for the next twenty years?”
He said it with such a sad face that I burst out laughing. In a minute, we were both practically rolling on the ground, we were laughing so hard. Finally, I took a deep breath. “I’ve got to go. I’ve got chores to do and Sunni to look after. Promise me you won’t breathe a word of what you just told me about Celine, okay?”
“Okay, okay. I’ve already promised, but I’ll promise again. Now you have to promise not to tell anyone what I did.”
“Cooper, how can I tell anyone what you did, if I don’t want anyone to know what you found out? I’m not going to tell, and you’re not going to tell. Okay? Okay.”
Cooper started to walk away, but he stopped, his face suddenly serious. “Um… there’s…there’s som—something else. But I don—don’t know if I sh—should tell you.”
Oh great, he was stuttering again. Only this time I didn’t think it was because he liked me. I was right.
“Come on, just tell me. What is it?”
“Uh, well, in Dad’s notes there was a name. It was Michael Devlin. Isn’t that your dad?”
“Yeah, that’s my dad’s name. He’s an attorney. But why would his name be in your dad’s notes?”
“Well, his name was in the notes about the trial. Your dad had a lot of evidence against the Carrolls. He was one of the attorneys who sent Celine’s parents to prison.”
Oh. My. God.
* * * *
When I walked into homeroom the next morning, Miss Gorman said, “AJ, I’m glad to see you’re walking better. And you’re excused from homeroom. Coach Williams wants to see you immediately.”
“Coach wants to see me? Now? Can’t it wait until gym?”
“AJ, did you hear me? Coach wants to see you immediately. He did not inform me as to the reason.”
I walked out to Coach’s office. His door was open, and when he looked up, he had a strange look on his face. “Come in, Miss Devlin. I have the matter of this note to discuss with you.”
Oh, great. Celine lied. The due date is proof. What’s to discuss? I sat down right on the edge of the chair, holding tightly to my backpack.
Coach said, “When I told Miss Carroll I knew from the due date on the book that she had lied about the note, she finally admitted it. Between that and the unapproved stunts she had the squad doing, I have relieved her of her duties as senior captain. I want you to take over the squad.”
Yippee! Senior captain! Life was finally looking up again. This was what I wanted, what I had worked so hard for. It was what I wanted…wasn’t it? Then if all this was so wonderful, how come I wasn’t more excited?
“Um…Coach, ah, could I think about this a little bit? I mean, about being senior captain?”
The strange look had not gone away, and now when he frowned, his face got tight like someone had pinched his cheeks together with a clamp.
“Miss Devlin, what is there to think about? Miss Carroll lied ab
out you, she disgraced the cheerleading squad and the entire school in the competition. She is no longer in charge. You are the logical person to take her place. You are a superb athlete.”
Well, that blew me away. I’m a superb athlete but all he can do is criticize me? Somehow, that didn’t make much sense to me.
“Coach, the doctor said I can’t practice for the rest of this week. Can’t Molly take over for a while? She’s the junior captain, after all. Maybe we could talk about this next week when I’m able to practice again?”
Coach sighed. “Miss Devlin, I surely do not understand the workings of the teenage girl’s mind. Yes, Miss Martin can take over for the rest of the week. But I want a definitive answer from you on Monday, and I will tolerate no excuses. You are excused, Miss Devlin.”
Chapter Fourteen
Amberley
Amberley wasn’t in school again Wednesday or Thursday. Lisa and I both called but there was no answer. Thursday after school, I decided to walk over to her house. I knew I probably should have asked Lisa to come with me, but I really wanted to talk to Amberley alone.
Her house was small and rundown. Gray paint was peeling down from under the roof, the windows were small and dingy-looking, and the fence was missing a picket here and there. However, the grass was freshly mowed and there were beautiful yellow and purple pansies running up both sides of the sidewalk. I rang the doorbell, and called, “Amberley, it’s AJ. Are you home?”
After a long minute, the front door opened. Amberley was dressed in pale blue sweats, her dark hair was more flyaway than usual, her face was pale,, and her eyes looked like she had been crying. She stood there and said nothing
“Amberley, can I come in? Please. I really want to talk to you. I’m so sorry about hurting your feelings. I didn’t mean to, and I’m really, truly worried about you.”
She slowly opened the door. “All right. Come on in.”
I walked into a small living room furnished with nice but well-worn furniture that I could tell was old. There was a faint scent of lavender, beautiful paintings on the wall, and the hardwood floors were so polished I could see my face in them. The room led into a dining room, with a large round dining table and four chairs and an antique china cabinet that my mother would have loved. Then I saw the grab bars placed on the walls all over both rooms.
Amberley gave me her funny little smile and said, “Come on back to my bedroom, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
We walked through the dining room into an immaculate kitchen with old appliances, along a hallway, and then into a large bedroom. The room was pale pink, and against one wall stood an immense four-poster bed. I looked around and saw white curtains on the two bay windows, one of which had a wide window seat. An antique table sat on one side of the bed, and an old dresser and painted white desk were against the opposite wall. On the other side of the bed sat a small oxygen tank.
Amberley said, “Let’s sit on the window seat, it’s really comfortable.”
We sat down, and she scooted into a corner. “Okay, I was going to tell you before now, but it just never seemed like the right time. And then the cheerleading thing happened and…”
I interrupted her. “Look, I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am about that. I’ve talked to Lisa and we got things straightened out.” I hesitated a minute. Amberley didn’t say anything, and what I had to say next was really hard.
“What Jaime said was true. I’m really ashamed, Amberley, but I did say some mean things about you and Lisa. That was before I knew you. I know that’s no excuse, and I want to apologize. Honest.”
Amberley still wasn’t saying anything, and it was so hard for me to go on. I guess maybe I’ve never had to apologize to somebody before…or maybe…I should have, but never did.
“I know I’m asking a lot. But please don’t be mad at me anymore. We’re…we’re almost like best friends, aren’t we? I mean, I really like you a lot. And I—I’m worried about you, ’cause I know something is wrong with you.”
Amberley looked at me like she was trying to read my mind. “It’s okay, AJ. I’ve had a lot of time to think about things. Remember when I said it didn’t matter what kids said about me? Usually it doesn’t but it did this time, because I like you so much and I wanted you to be my friend. So now can we just forget it, and be friends again?”
I reached over and hugged her. She felt fragile, and I realized that she wasn’t as…well, as pudgy as she used to be. “Yes! We’re friends again, now and forever. Now please tell me what’s wrong with you.”
She took a deep breath. “I have a neuromuscular condition known as Myasthenia Gravis. Have you ever heard of it?”
I shook my head. It sounded like something awful.
“Well, it’s pretty complicated, but I’ll try to explain it simply. Remember in our biology class when we learned how the brain sends signals to the nerves and then the nerves tell the muscles what to do?”
I nodded, but I didn’t think I wanted to know what was coming.
“Well, in Myasthenia Gravis, somehow the signals go wrong and the nerves don’t get the right messages. Then the muscles don’t do anything, or maybe they do the wrong thing. It’s like…well, like Celine telling Jaime to tell you what to do, but Jaime doesn’t understand so she gives you the wrong message. Then you do something wrong, because you didn’t get the right instruction. Does that make sense?”
I swallowed hard. I didn’t totally understand, but I nodded. “Okay, I get that part. Is that why you drop things and stumble so much?”
“Yeah, it is. Like, my brain tells the nerves to move the muscles in my feet, but the muscles don’t get the right message, so my feet don’t move right. That’s why I have the grab bars all over, so if that happens, I don’t fall down. It’s different in school, I don’t have anything there for support. It happens to my hands, too, so sometimes I can’t open doors or hold on to things. Everybody thinks I’m clumsy, but I’m used to it.”
I pointed to the oxygen tank. “What’s that for?”
“I need oxygen when my lungs don’t work right and I have trouble breathing. You know, your heart and lungs get signals from your brain just like everything else. Sometimes, mine don’t get the right ones, and that’s when I have trouble. When I don’t come to school it’s because I’m having to use the oxygen to breathe.”
I stared at Amberley without speaking. I was trying to understand what she was saying. If your heart and lungs need signals from the brain to work right, and sometimes her signals went wrong, then… that meant…sometimes her heart and lungs wouldn’t work right. That meant…Amberley could die.
“You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you? Please tell me you’re not.”
Amberley smiled sadly. “That’s just the way it is.”
“Isn’t there something the doctors can do? Can’t you take some medicine or something?”
“I do take medicine, AJ. And most of the time, it works okay. But sometimes it doesn’t, and there’s nothing the doctors can do about that.”
I started to ask another question, then I stopped. The house was silent, and I realized there was no one here but us. I didn’t want to change the subject, but it seemed strange that Amberley was going through such a bad time and there was no one with her.
“Amberley, where are your mom and dad? Are they both working? How come you don’t have anyone here with you?”
“Well, this is my grandmother’s house. I live with her. She is out shopping, but she’ll be home soon.” She hesitated a moment. “My parents produce geographical short subject movies. They travel all over the world, and they’re really busy. I haven’t lived with them since I was little.”
I sat there trying to take it all in. Amberley had a life-threatening illness, but her parents couldn’t bother being with her because they were too busy? How could parents do that to their kid? My parents might be getting a divorce but I knew they both loved us kids and would never leave us alone if one of us was so sick.
“So when you don’t answer the phone, it’s because you’re having trouble breathing?”
“Yeah. I have to conserve my air, so I don’t talk any more than I have to. I asked my grandmother not to answer the phone, either, because I don’t want any of the kids at school to know about my illness.”
“But, Amberley, why not? It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Some of the kids in school have things wrong with them, you know, like muscular dystrophy and stuff like that.”
She hesitated for a minute. “I know, but MG is such a strange disease and it takes so long to explain it, I don’t feel comfortable having anyone know about it. I guess it’s dumb, but that’s how I feel. My grandmother doesn’t tell anyone either, so that’s why she doesn’t answer the phone or the door when I’m sick.”
I didn’t say anything, but I thought that was strange. Didn’t Amberley’s grandmother have friends who would call or drop by?
“Amberley, does anyone at school know about this? I mean, what would happen if you got sick at school, nobody would know what to do.”
“Mr. Fox knows, and so does Mrs. McColley, my homeroom teacher. If anything happened, they could get me to the hospital. But please, please don’t tell anyone, promise me, AJ!”
“What about Lisa? You’ve been friends with her longer than with me, and you’ve never told her?”
She hesitated. “Well, I really like Lisa, but she…she’s different. I mean, she spent all that time in Europe and…well, you know what I mean. I just haven’t felt comfortable about telling her.”
“I know, but she’s a good friend, and she’s worried about you, too. She ought to know.”
Amberley thought for a moment. “Okay, you can tell Lisa, I guess. But she has to promise not to tell anyone else. Please don’t let anyone on the squad know. Celine would kick me off, for sure.”
I sniffed. “Ha, like I would tell Celine anything. Oh, I’ve got to tell you what’s happened!”