by Dean Murray
Ella Mae went on to list rules that were pretty common for foster homes. Lights out at eleven. No boys allowed upstairs. Keep your hands to yourself. Don't take anything that doesn't belong to you. All standard rules. Then, as if it were just another rule, she said, “And never, under any circumstances, are you to go up to the third floor.”
Immediately, a strange tingle went through my body. If she had never mentioned it, I probably wouldn't have given the third floor a second thought. But now it was mysterious. Forbidden. Tempting. What could they possibly be hiding up there that would be so important to protect?
“Let me be completely clear about this. If you are found breaking any of the rules we've talked about today, you'll be expelled from Shadowford without a second chance. Do you understand?”
I nodded.
“And from what your case manager said on the phone when she called last night, you'll go straight from here to the detention center in Atlanta. You seem like such a sweet girl. I would hate to see you end up at a place like that.”
I didn't want to see myself end up there, either. Juvenile detention was like a jail sentence. Not to mention that going there for my last few years of high school would kill my chances at ever getting into a good college. I had to make things work here, no matter what. That meant putting whatever was up on the third floor out of my mind. Not to mention whatever had happened with Mrs. Shadowford's teacup. I told myself it was nothing—that it couldn't be the same thing that happened to me when I got angry—then followed Ella Mae through the first floor of the house.
Shadowford was even bigger than it looked from the outside. The large staircase split the floor in half. On one side was a formal sitting room with a big brick and tile fireplace. Heavy gold drapes hung in the windows and the antique furniture looked ornate and expensive. Ella Mae told me that the sitting room was only used for formal meetings and sometimes for special occasions.
Behind the sitting room was a formal dining room that held a long, shiny table and ten matching chairs. Against the wall, a china cabinet held beautiful bone china, crystal champagne flutes and silver serving trays. A sparkling chandelier hung above the table and a pretty stained glass window sent colorful light dancing across the room.
“Is this where we'll eat every day?” I asked. I had never even been in a room so immaculate and fancy. If I had to eat here, I'd be scared of messing something up.
“No. Usually we all eat at the table in the kitchen. It's a little more casual and laid back in there. But on nights when Mrs. Shadowford joins us, she prefers us to eat in the dining room.”
I wondered how often that actually happened. Hopefully not very often. The old woman completely creeped me out. If at all possible, I planned to avoid her.
The kitchen ran along the back of the house. It was a huge room with lots of large windows that bathed the room in natural light. A large oak table with a scarred top and six mismatched chairs took up a large part of the floor on one side, while the other side held the main area of the kitchen. The cabinets were painted a buttery yellow that gave the whole room a happy, cheerful feeling. So far, it was my favorite room in the house.
“Sharon Griffith is our cook here. Sharon, this is Harper, our newest resident.”
Sharon was a tall, pudgy woman with super short brown hair. She was cleaning the countertops and barely looked up to nod a curt hello to me. I had never had an actual cook before. At several of the foster homes, I'd been expected to fix my own meals most of the time.
The final room Ella Mae brought me into was warm and inviting. “This is where the girls like to hang out and study or watch TV,” she said.
The leather couch in the center of the room looked comfortable and worn. Fuzzy blankets were piled together in a basket in the corner. Books were arranged neatly on built-in bookcases on either side of the flat panel TV. I glanced through the titles and saw a few that actually looked interesting.
A couple of worn desks lined the room on the left side, each holding a cup of pencils, a stack of blank paper, and a laptop. “Can anyone use the computers?”
“We only have those two laptops and anyone is free to use them as long as they stay down here in this room at all times. There is wireless internet, but you have to get permission to use it,” she said.
I sighed. At least there was some link to the outside world here, but it would be a pain to get permission to use the internet every time. I'm sure all my friends in Atlanta would be wondering what the heck happened to me. They'd all get to school Monday and find out that I was moved to another town. Hopefully, no one would know exactly what happened. I'd have to think up something good for the email I sent out, but I could worry about that later.
The rest of the rooms on the first floor made up Mrs. Shadowford's private suite. “Unless you're specifically invited to go inside, those rooms are strictly off limits.”
Finally, Ella Mae led me up the stairs, down the hallway, and into a pretty room with light blue walls. “This will be your room,” she said.
I stepped inside and my mouth opened in awe. A queen sized wooden bed with a beautiful canopy was the centerpiece of the room. On one wall there was a dressing table with a beautiful mirror attached and a stool to sit on. The floors were covered in the middle by a plush rug in dark blue. “Are all the rooms like this?”
Ella Mae laughed and touched my arm gently. “This is a gorgeous old house. I know you're going to love it here. Mrs. Shadowford is really a wonderful, giving woman once you get to know her. And she's so generous, letting you girls use this heirloom furniture that's been in her family for generations. I trust that you'll treat these things with care and respect.”
Wonderful and giving weren't the first words that came to mind when I thought about the woman I'd met downstairs, but Ella Mae had a point. No one had ever trusted me with such opulent, expensive things. It only made it all the more important that I didn't mess up and let my anger get the best of me here.
“Hi, neighbor,” Agnes said, knocking three times on my door. “What do you think? These rooms are amazing, aren't they?”
“I'll leave you two girls to get acquainted,” Ella Mae said. “See you downstairs in an hour for lunch, then we'll head into town to get supplies for school Monday.”
When we were alone, Agnes plopped onto my bed. “Don't you just love this canopy? I have one in my room too, but it's red instead of blue. And did you see your bathroom?”
I shook my head and she jumped up and went to a closed door on the other side of the bed. When she opened it, I could hardly believe my eyes. “Are you serious?”
In a house with three other girls, I fully expected to share a bathroom. Instead, I had this large bathroom with a claw-foot tub and the cutest white pedestal sink, all to myself.
“Totally. Each of us gets our own bathroom here, which is way cool,” she said. “We're responsible for cleaning our own rooms and bathrooms at least once a week. And we have to do our own laundry and stuff. I don't care, though. This is by far the nicest place I've ever lived.”
“How long have you been here?” We walked back into my main room and I started unpacking my bag. I didn't have much. Just a few torn pairs of jeans, some t-shirts, and other essentials. My sapphire necklace was pretty much the only thing of value that I had.
“Oh gosh. Almost two years, I guess. Ever since I was fourteen.”
I continued to unpack as Agnes talked about the school and the town and how different things had been for her ever since she first came to Shadowford. She talked about this place as though it had saved her life. I couldn't help but wonder if it would do the same for me.
When my clothes and things were put away, I stuffed my bag under the bed and walked over to the window to see what kind of view I had from up here. My room faced the back of the house. Just behind where the kitchen was, a cement patio extended outward. Agnes said that sometimes they had barbeques back there. Beyond the patio was a garden, and although it looked overgrown, it was still filled wit
h a mixture of colorful flowers and leafy plants. A stone fountain in the middle was covered with deep green moss. Many years ago, it must have been so beautiful out there, but now it was neglected and almost eerily dark.
“What are those buildings out back? Past the garden?”
Agnes peered around me and squinted in the bright sunlight. “Well, the building there, off to the right of the house, is the barn. I've never been in there, but I guess there're, like, tools and stuff in there. And back behind the garden is the house where Ella Mae lives.”
Movement near the barn caught my eye, and I saw someone quickly dart out from behind the weathered brown door. When he turned around, my heart did a little double time. It was a guy who looked about my age, maybe a little bit older, and he was gorgeous. He wore a plain black t-shirt and loose jeans, torn at the knee. His hair was brown and spiked up a bit on top. He looked like the kind of guy who didn't follow the rules. Even from this distance, I could tell he was tall.
“I thought there were no boys here,” I said, nodding toward the guy. He glanced around as if to make sure no one had seen him come out of the barn, then started walking toward the house.
“Oh, him,” Agnes said. “That's Ella Mae's son, Jackson. Trust me when I say you don't want anything to do with him.”
“Why not?”
“He's trouble.”
As if to prove her point, Jackson stopped and looked straight up at me. My face flushed as our eyes met across the distance. Casually, he raised his hand to shield his eyes from the mid-morning sun. Yes, he was trouble all right. No matter where I went, trouble always seemed to find me.
I waved down to him and Jackson's face broke out in a smile. He lifted his chin in a nod of acknowledgment, then turned and made his way back to the small house behind the garden.
Guys Like Drake Only Date Cheerleaders
“Come on,” Agnes said, taking my hand. “Let's go down to Lori's and look around. I'll help you pick out stuff for school.”
Downtown Peachville was so not what I was expecting. I thought it would be full of rundown brick buildings, empty storefronts, maybe an occasional pickup truck. Instead, the town was immaculate with red brick sidewalks, lush green trees planted along the road, fresh paint in pretty pastels, and thriving businesses. Ella Mae drove the four of us girls into town in a big white cargo van that said “Shadowford Home for Girls” on the side. I was glad to get away from the huge advertisement that basically told any of my future classmates that I was a troubled orphan.
Courtney disappeared into a consignment shop called “Second Beauty” and Mary Anne followed Ella Mae to the grocery store, sticking close by her side the whole time. Agnes dragged me past a drug store, a photography studio, and a clothing shop until we got to Lori's, a bigger store full of pretty things like candles, cards, and nick-nacks.
“This is my favorite store in town.” She pulled open the front door and a little bell jingled. A cute woman up front, with pigtails and blue ribbons in her hair, waved and said hello. “Hi Lori,” Agnes called. “Lori used to be one of the head cheerleaders for the Peachville Demons. She's so pretty isn't she? This is always the first store I come to when we get some time in town.”
It was going to take some time to get used to having someone like Agnes to talk to all the time. It had been a long time since I'd lived with anyone I cared to talk to for more than a few minutes.
“I like it,” I said, running my hand across a row of beaded purses on the table. “But what can I get here for school? It's not like I need a purse or anything.”
Agnes led me over to the backpacks and school supplies. “Here, pick out anything you need. I'm gonna go over to the candles and look around for a few. You okay over here by yourself?”
I smiled. “Yeah, I think I've got it under control.”
She practically bounced over to the other side of the store leaving me in the back section alone. I picked through the backpacks. The foster home I'd been in last had insisted I leave all of my school stuff with them since they paid for it. A lot of times, at a new place, I'd end up with someone's hand-me-downs or whatever, so getting to pick out brand new stuff for myself was a real luxury.
“I personally like the Hello Kitty one with the pink flowers.” I looked up to see a tall blond guy leaning against the wall, watching me. He had a smirk on his face, and I wondered if he was making fun of me. He was definitely cute, but in a different way from the boy I'd seen earlier at Shadowford. That other guy, Jackson, was very rebel-without-a-cause while this guy was all-American-pretty-boy.
I picked up the pink bag and held it out toward him, then closed one eye as if picturing him wearing it. “Yeah, I can see that. It brings out the natural rosiness of your cheeks.”
He laughed and grabbed the bag from my hand, then placed it back on the rack. “Here,” he said. “Most of the girls around here wear our school colors. Blue, like this one.”
“What if I'm not like most other girls?”
“Ooh, a rebel. Nice,” he said. A stray piece of hair fell across his forehead as he leaned down to get a different bag. His eyes were as blue as the summer sky. “What about black with blue stripes?”
“You're all about getting me to wear the school colors. What are you, some kind of backpack ambassador for the local team?”
His eyes sparkled when he laughed, sending a little jolt of energy through my body. What were the odds of me meeting two crush-worthy guys my age on my first day here? This town was looking better by the minute.
“Sort of,” he said. “I'm the quarterback of the Demons football team.”
Well, that certainly explained his muscular body and tall frame. I'd never dated a jock before, but suddenly, I wasn't so opposed to school pride. “Well, in that case, I'd better take your advice.”
I chose a black bag with blue flowers embroidered on the outside and he placed his index finger on his lips and pretended to study it.
“It's a little girly, but I suppose it'll do.” He smiled again, then held his hand out to me. “I'm Drake, by the way. Lori's my sister. Sometimes I come by and help her unload boxes on the weekends after church.”
The touch of his hand on mine made me feel warm from head to toe. “Harper.”
“You just moved here?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. My face felt hot. Would he care that I lived at Shadowford? I was sure everyone in town knew what kind of place it was, and I wasn't expecting it to earn me any popularity points. It was only a matter of time before he found out, but I certainly didn't want to offer up bonus information. “From Atlanta.”
“Cool,” he said. “We don't get a lot of new people here. It'll be nice to get some new blood.”
I was about to ask him more about the Demons football team when Agnes bumped into me, sending candles flying.
“Crap. Sorry, Harper, I wasn't watching where—” Her voice cut out as she noticed Drake standing there. I bent down to help her pick up the candles she'd dropped.
“Do you two know each other?”
“Oh, hey Drake,” Agnes said, standing. Her pale skin was flushed pink and her breathing was uneven. “You did an awesome job at the game Friday night. I was there right up front cheering you on.”
Drake's eyebrows came together slightly and he looked from me to Agnes, then back again. I knew that look. My heart fell.
“So you live at Shadowford?” he asked.
I tried to act like it was no big deal. I pulled my shoulders back. “Yeah. Just moved in today.”
He looked around as if he were trying to find a way out of this situation. “I gotta run,” he said, backing away. “Nice to meet you. Oh, and Agnes, make sure you pay for that stuff, especially if you broke any of those candles.”
As Drake rushed off toward the back room, I stood there, feeling like the victim of a drive-by. What had just happened? Was he really that stuck-up? I'd experienced the cold-shoulder treatment in the past when people found out I was an orphan or a foster kid, but never anything
quite as blatant as Drake's flirt-and-bolt.
“What was Drake talking to you about?” Agnes said.
I sighed and helped Agnes collect the rest of her candles and put them into my bag. “I don't know, backpacks, I guess.”
“Isn't he gorgeous? He's the most popular senior boy in school. Good looking. Crazy rich. And even more important, completely single.”
“He's also an asshole,” I mumbled.
Agnes looked around. “Be quiet,” she whispered. “You shouldn't say things like that in his sister's store. Besides, he's not like that at all.”
“Were you paying attention at all just now? He was over here basically flirting with me, then when you walked over and he realized I was from Shadowford, he turned into a grade-A jerk and got the hell away from us. In my book, that makes him a stuck-up asshole.”
“I doubt he was flirting with you, anyway,” she said. “Guys like Drake only date cheerleaders.”
“In movies, maybe.”
Agnes looked at me curiously, as if I had no idea how the world really worked.
Voices At My Window
After dinner, I said goodnight and made my way up to my room. Agnes, for once, gave me a little bit of privacy. I shut the heavy wooden door to my room, but when I went to lock it, I noticed something strange. There were no locks on the inside of the door. The switch to lock the door was on the outside where you would expect to find a keyhole. I thought maybe mine had just been put on backwards, but when I looked over at the rooms of the other girls; I noticed theirs was exactly the same way. Locks on the outside.
I shut my door tight and wedged one of my flip-flops underneath. Maybe that was part of the Shadowford rule book. No privacy. I checked the bathroom and found no locks at all on that door. How could they expect me to take a shower or a bath in here without being able to lock my door? For now, the flip-flop method would probably keep the door closed to intruders, but it wouldn't be enough to stop someone who was intent on getting in.