Kate and Lisa sat side by side on the floor of the junior hallway. The weather had turned rainy and cool, so Lisa and Kate staked out a bit of hallway, sat on the dusty floor, pulled out their lunches and shared the morning’s gossip. The rest of the girls that Lisa usually ate with were nowhere to be seen.
“I mean, what’s his problem? Does he hate women or something?” Lisa asked as she slipped a celery stalk between her teeth. Kate looked at her beautiful friend. Her life was in perfect order. Lisa was slender and healthy. Her makeup was always flawless, and never a hair out of place. Her homework was always done. Every afternoon, she was carted off to one of her many activities. Whether it was piano lessons, ballet, violin class, SAT study group or volunteer work, Lisa was never late. She obeyed her parents, even when they weren’t around. Kate admired her for her reliability, her calm, organized life. But she felt that deep inside, Lisa was a lioness licking her chops, ready to pounce on life the minute it showed itself.
Lisa, now sitting on the floor of the junior hallway, took a small sip of her orange juice. “Can you imagine him saying that? What a moron,” she said, talking about Mr. Ely, the school’s history and gym teacher.
“‘We’re not going to study the Women’s Movement because I just don’t think it’s important enough,’” Kate said in a low voice, imitating Mr. Ely, who was about six feet tall and dumb as a box. “And he said it with that stupid grin on his face, like he thought it was funny or something. What an idiot.” She took a slurp of diet soda.
“You know, there’s something else we gotta talk about, girl.” Lisa said, finishing her lunch and wiping her face with the napkin her mother always enclosed in her lunch bag. “What are you going to do about Chris?”
“What do you mean?”
“He likes you,” Lisa said with a smile, grabbing Kate’s arm and shaking it. “He’s cute. He’s got a nice car. He’s single. You’re almost single.”
“I am not!” Kate said, shocked, but laughing.
“Listen, I know you think Jacob is the love of your life, but Kate, he’s not moving here.” Lisa blinked her large eyes heavily and shook her head.
“He is. He told me he would.”
“Did you send him the application to Marshall?”
“Yes.”
“Did he send it in?”
“I don’t know.”
“You haven’t asked him?”
“Uh, no. I just sent it to him a week or so ago. Give the man a chance.”
“Kate, Jacob is gorgeous. I’ve seen his picture. He’s beautiful. And I know you think you love him, but you are too young for this kind of commitment! Chris is right here and he likes you. You should be having fun and going out. Not cooped up at home writing letters to a guy who’s not even in our time zone.”
“Well, what do you know about going out and having fun?” Kate asked, then wished she hadn’t. Lisa looked down at her lunch. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, you’re right. What do I know?” Lisa said in a small voice.
Kate felt terrible. She only had one friend and now Kate had alienated her. She hoped that changing the subject would help.
“Well, you’ll be glad to know that Chris is coming over to my house on Friday,” Kate said.
“Well, that’s a start,” Lisa said, still looking down.
“He and Patrick are both coming over. We’re going to try to contact the spirits in my house with a Ouija Board.”
Lisa finally perked up. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That doesn’t sound very romantic.”
“It’s not meant to be. I’ve got a serious problem in my house. I told you about my basement and my psycho chandelier. And I’m having terrible nightmares.” Kate leaned back against the lockers and sighed. “There’s something going on there. Maybe this will help. We’ve got to try something. Maybe something will happen.”
Lisa shrugged. “Yeah, with the lights out, something might happen with Chris.”
“Stop that!” Kate said, laughing. Just then, the bell rang. The two girls stood up, brushing the dust off their pants.
“Hey, I almost forgot to ask you. I don’t have violin class today. Do you want to come over to my house after school?”
Kate smiled. “Sure, that would be fun.”
“My Mom will pick us up after school and give you a ride home later. She’s been wanting to meet you.”
“Why?” Kate asked.
“You know, she wants to know everybody that I hang out with. She’s very nosy.”
“Oh,” Kate said. Kate’s mother didn’t know any of her friends.
“See you after school!” she yelled as she walked off to class.
Just then, Lucy walked past, on her way to her next class. Hesitantly, she stopped to smile at Kate. Although Kate usually tried to ignore her little sister at school, the smile was contagious. She allowed a small smile and slight wave to her younger sister.
“I’m going to Lisa’s after school, so you’ll have to walk home by yourself.”
“Okay, have fun!” Lucy smiled and waved. Lucy had already met a bunch of girls from her own class. They roamed the halls in a giggling pack, describing everything as “so cute.” It was amazing, Kate thought, Lucy managed to find a whole tribe of Lucys here.
*
After school, Kate was putting her books into her locker when she saw Mrs. Cauthen waddling down the hall. Kate didn’t think it was possible, but the woman’s belly had grown since last week.
“How much longer, Mrs. Cauthen?” Kate asked.
“Any day now,” she smiled wanly. “I can’t wait to get it over with. I’m so tired of being pregnant. And I don’t know how I’m going to survive another counseling session without a bathroom break. How’s Jacob’s transfer coming?”
“You know, we’ve haven’t really talked about it. Okay, I guess,” Kate said. She wrung her hands for a moment, then whispered, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Do we need to retire to the janitor’s closet for this one?”
“Probably.”
They walked to the end of the hall and entered the small room, only big enough for a desk and a couple of chairs.
Kate sat down. “Do you believe in ghosts?”
Without hesitation, Mrs. Cauthen said, “Yes, I do.” She nodded, her blond curls bouncing.
“Really? What do you think they are?” Kate asked, amazed that an adult would believe in such things, and then actually admit it to a teenager.
“I think that they are unhappy spirits who have unfinished business.”
Kate took that in. “Have you ever seen a ghost?”
“Yes, once. I was at a lodge in Hurricane. That’s a town just east of here. Anyway, I was sitting by myself in my room, looking at the moon through the window. My husband was off in the lobby. Anyway, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my husband walk up next to me. I started talking to him. I told him how the moon was so beautiful and that he should sit down with me. But when I turned my head to look at him, there was nobody there. I knew somebody had been there. I saw him. I felt him.” She shook her head slightly. “I still get the creeps when I think about it. There was somebody in that room with me. I know it.”
“I think my house is haunted,” Kate blurted out, glad to be sharing the information with an adult.
“What makes you say that?”
“All kinds of weird stuff has been happening. Objects moving by themselves. Rocks were thrown around my basement when nobody was down there, Mrs. Cauthen.”
“Wow! That sounds scary. Have you told your parents?”
“No, they wouldn’t believe me,” Kate said with desperation. “I just don’t know what to do.”
“Well, your parents just might surprise you. Maybe you need to tell them….” She looked puzzled for a moment, then winced.
“What’s the matter?” Kate asked with concern.
“I’m having one heck of a contraction. I’ve been having little ones all day. I didn’t think they were for re
al. But, this one….” She glanced at the clock on her wall.
Kate sat stunned, not knowing what to do. Call 911? Get hot water? “What do you want me to do?” she finally asked.
“You can just wish me luck, sweetie.”
“Don’t you want to go to the hospital?”
“No, it will probably be hours before it really gets going. But just in case, I think I’ll have my husband drive me home today.”
“That’s a good idea,” Kate said, relieved that the baby wouldn’t be coming out here in the janitor’s closet.
“I’m going to have a baby,” Mrs. Cauthen said softly, smiling.
*
Kate ran out of the janitor’s closet and found Lisa waiting by her locker. Kate noticed that Lisa’s trademark red lipstick was gone, wiped off.
“Where were you?”
“Mrs. Cauthen is going into labor!”
“Oh, my God,” Lisa said, putting a hand in front of her open mouth. “She’s so huge. It’s about time.”
“She looks really happy though.” Kate wanted to be a mother someday. She liked the idea of having a baby to cuddle and dress and hold. She felt a stirring in her stomach whenever she thought that she and Jacob might have children someday. She hoped their children would have his beautiful dark skin.
“Let’s go. I’m sure my mom is here already. She’s never late.”
The two girls ran out and found Mrs. Nguyen waiting in her white Buick. She spoke several words in Vietnamese. They didn’t sound like happy words.
“I know. Sorry, Mrs. Cauthen is going into labor. We were just making sure she was okay,” Lisa responded.
“Oh, Mrs. Cotten?” Mrs. Nguyen spoke with a thick, strange accent. At least she didn’t sound angry anymore. She was tiny behind the wheel of the huge car, her hands barely big enough to grip the steering wheel.
“This is Kate,” Lisa said as they scooted into the backseat, dragging their backpacks behind them.
“Hello, Kate.” She turned around and smiled. Mrs. Nguyen looked just like her daughter, but lacked Lisa’s large, sparkling eyes. Short black hair, trimmed with a little white, framed a pretty, unlined face.
“Hello, Mrs. Nguyen.” It had taken Kate a few tries to master the pronunciation of Lisa’s last name. Noy-en. She hoped she got it right. “Hey, you’ve got saints too!” Kate said with a little laugh, seeing a line of tiny plastic saints glued to the dashboard.
Lisa suddenly looked mortified. “Oh, you had to notice the saints!”
“That’s funny,” Kate continued, “because my grandmother has saints glued her dashboard too. St. Vincent is her favorite around the house, but she likes St. Michael in the car, because she says he helps her find her way.”
“This car has never been in a wreck,” Mrs. Nguyen said, patting the dashboard lightly. Lisa looked at Kate and rolled her eyes.
Upon entering the Nguyen house, Lisa and her mother both removed their shoes. Lisa indicated to Kate that she should do the same. Kate suddenly wished she had worn nicer socks.
The house was utterly quiet and smelled vaguely of ammonia. They walked through a white carpeted living room where, Kate was surprised to see, all the furniture was covered in clear plastic. Even the sculpture on the end table had its own little plastic cover. It was like the room had been attacked by Ziploc bags.
They padded into the kitchen where Mrs. Nguyen walked directly to the refrigerator and began pulling large containers out. Lisa and Kate sat in stools at the kitchen island. The kitchen was also pure white and incredibly clean. Mrs. Nguyen spoke to Lisa in Vietnamese again, the edge in her voice returning.
“No, Mom. We’ll just have soda and pretzels,” Lisa said.
Mrs. Nguyen came around the side of the island and put her hand on Kate’s arm, squeezing slightly. “You are so thin. You need to eat more food,” Mrs. Nguyen said with a gentle smile. Kate laughed. Lisa was much thinner that Kate. “I’ll fix you something good. Something Vietnamese.”
“No, Mom. Please don’t. Kate doesn’t want any of that stuff,” Lisa said, her face turning red.
Mother and daughter being chattering in Vietnamese again, and Kate sat still, watching their lips make the complicated movements, hearing the fascinating sounds. After a few minutes, Lisa switched back to English.
“Okay, okay,” Lisa said quietly, her eyes downcast. Mrs. Nguyen carefully put ice in two large glasses, filled them with Diet Coke and handed them to the girls. She then opened a bag of pretzels, poured them into two bowls and, after making sure they were equal, handed them over as well. Her job done, Mrs. Nguyen left the room. A few minutes later, the girls heard a vacuum being run across the carpet upstairs.
“That woman is crazy,” Lisa said as they ate their pretzels.
“Why? What did she say?”
“Oh, she wants to fix you a huge Vietnamese meal. Trust me,” Lisa said, shaking her head, “you wouldn’t like it. She’s just bored. My dad’s always at work, so she jumps all over me when I get home. She’s just desperate to mother me.”
That didn’t sound too bad to Kate. She could use a little mothering sometimes. “I might like it. The big Vietnamese meal, I mean.”
“God, don’t say that. She’ll be down here steaming rice in ten seconds.” They laughed and finished their snack. Then, they went up the stairs to Lisa’s room. It was large and utterly clean, but very childish looking. A canopy bed stood in the middle of the room, draped with a lacy bedspread. Stuffed animals covered a white dresser, adorned with pink flowers.
When Lisa shut her door, Kate had to laugh. Pinned to the back of the door was a poster of five guys, well groomed and gesturing wildly. At the bottom of the poster, large letters read “N’Sync!”
“Oh, my God,” Kate cackled, “I can’t believe you have an N’Sync poster in your room. I haven’t seen one of those in years!”
Lisa laughed quietly. “Yeah, I got that a long time ago. I really had to fight with my mom to let me put it up. I don’t even like those guys anymore, but you know...if I take it down, I might never get to put another one up.”
“Wow, your mom is so strict. My mom doesn’t even know the first thing about me. I mean, she hasn’t even been in my room since we bought the house.”
“Really? That sounds nice,” Lisa said, as she flopped down onto her big bed. “My mom comes into my room every day and cleans it. But she’s really looking for drugs and condoms. She’s afraid that I might become a prostitute.”
“What?” Kate almost laughed it sounded so ridiculous, but Lisa was serious.
“So many Vietnamese girls became prostitutes when the French and American soldiers came to Vietnam. My mother is afraid that if I embrace American culture too much, I’ll end up with an American guy and he’ll turn me into his little Asian prostitute. It’s so stupid. I’ve told her a hundred times that it doesn’t work like that here.
“Wow.” Kate couldn’t think of anything more to say.
“Yeah, it doesn’t help that everybody else in the class is older than me. She thinks everybody’s trying to corrupt me.”
Kate looked at Lisa sideways for a moment. “What do you mean, everybody in the class is older than you?” Kate asked. “How old are you?”
Lisa pursed her lips, as if she didn’t want the truth to escape. “I’m fourteen.”
Kate was stunned. “How can you be fourteen and be a junior? I mean, I’m turning seventeen in December.”
“I skipped a few grades.”
“Oh,” Kate said quietly, impressed and disappointed at the same time.
“I wanted to tell you before, but I didn’t want you to stop being my friend. I mean, I like hanging around with you.” She added, “I’ll be fifteen in February.”
Kate inhaled deeply and blew it out slowly, thinking. It made sense now that Lisa ate lunch with all those younger girls. They were probably all fourteen. “I wouldn’t stop being your friend. I’m surprised though.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
Lisa beamed, re
lief on her face. “I’m so glad.”
“But listen,” Kate said, suddenly pretending to be serious. “We have to do something about that poster. I can’t be friends with somebody who has an N’Sync poster on her door!” They both laughed and Kate felt great. It was nice to hang out with a girl friend, even if she was only fourteen.
*
Later, Mrs. Nguyen drove her home. Kate ate dinner with her family then slipped upstairs to her room. It was nothing like Lisa’s room. Dirty clothes were piled on the floor, books, pens and markers covered her dresser and the nearly naked man sat in a tiny towel on her poster. She wondered what Lisa would think when she came to visit.
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