by JD MITCHELL
Ali looked away and shrugged. There wasn’t a reasonable explanation to the horse.
“I tripped, nothing to it.”
Leigh pressed her. “Did you pop any pills yesterday?”
Annoyed, her eyes snapped back to his. “Are you kidding me?”
Leigh settled into the cushions like he expected to hang out. “I figured you might’ve been on shrooms. I know some of the cheerleaders went straight Super Mario last week.”
Her nostrils flared at the accusation.
“I didn’t eat mushrooms or hallucinate. I’m fine.” Ali stood and nodded toward the front door. “Thanks for the visit.”
Leigh hesitated, then stood and held out a piece of paper. “I brought this for you.”
Crossing her arms, she stared at the paper. If it was literature on a drug prevention program, she might forcibly remove him.
When Ali didn’t grab the paper, he set in on the coffee table. “It’s our history assignment. Mr. Brown paired us for the ancestry project.”
Ali pursed her lips and glimpsed at it. She doubted her luck was this awful. “Are you part of some social outreach program?”
“What?” Leigh’s brows drew together.
“Help the nerdy girl because she almost drowned or… what?” Ali glared at him.
Leigh’s face fell. “This was a mistake.”
He scooped up his book bag and headed toward the foyer.
“Why’d you come here?” Ali asked. He invaded her home, the least he could do was explain himself.
Leigh didn’t bother to look at her. “I’m asking myself the same thing.” But when he reached the front door his hand lingered on the knob. “I wanted to ask about yesterday.”
The door opened and shut, leaving Ali alone. The closing of the door felt final. At least he put a firm period on the subject.
Except, now she realized Leigh might have seen something – anything, which could help her figure out this situation. Ali stared at the closed door, regretting her outburst. She’d just rudely kicked out the person who might believe her.
Three
Ali was nervous all morning. The seconds raced by like cars on a track. For once, she wanted the clock to creep, and it disobeyed. Time must only drag during math class.
Figures.
When the warning bell leading to history class chimed, Ali thought she might chicken out. She’d written and re-written the note ten times. Funny how she’d scribble down a poem, convinced of its perfection on the first draft, then spend so much time on the phrase: Can we meet after school?
The first to arrive, Ali gripped the edges of her desk as she waited. Students meandered into the room, most looking tired; a few slugging sodas which were quickly discarded in the waste bin by the door. When Leigh finally strolled in, she averted her eyes, waiting until he slumped into the desk behind her, his knees knocking into her chair. Before she changed her mind, she spun around and slid the note onto his desk. Unfortunately, Melissa chose this same moment to approach Leigh.
Ali froze under Melissa’s cold glare.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Ali stammered. She reached to withdraw the note, but Melissa snatched it from her.
Stunned, Ali watched as Melissa unfolded the paper and read it. Melissa’s eyes widened, then she slapped the note onto Leigh’s desk with a thud. Without a word, Melissa retreated to her own desk where she heaved her backpack to the floor with an exaggerated huff.
Crap on a cracker.
Excuses tumbled through Ali’s head, but it’s not as though she could articulate the reason she wanted to speak with Leigh. To make matters worse, the note asked to meet, which probably translated to hook-up in Melissa’s mind.
Leigh grasped the note and scowled at Melissa. “Really?”
Melissa didn’t answer. Instead, she focused on the whiteboard and put on a defiant air.
“I’m sorry for whatever I caused,” Ali said to Leigh.
Leigh pressed his lips together, then his eyes shifted above her. Ali spun in her chair to find Mr. Brown standing with his fingers clasped.
“Are we ready to start class now?”
Ali nodded, her cheeks on fire as she slunk into her chair. She must have missed the second bell.
“Anything you’d like to share with the rest of us?” Mr. Brown asked.
Oh, come on.
Behind her, Leigh cleared his throat. Mr. Brown shifted his gaze to Leigh.
“Ali can meet later to work on our project,” Leigh said.
Confused, Ali peered over her shoulder. Leigh lazily extended her note toward Mr. Brown who glanced at it.
She held her breath.
“I’m happy you’ve taken an interest in the assignment.” Mr. Brown said with a frown. He strode to the front of the class, his stern gaze sweeping the room. “I hope the rest of you are coordinating your projects.”
Ali stole a final glance at Leigh. He shrugged before pocketing the note.
“Talk after school?” Leigh asked.
“Sure. Meet at my locker,” Ali mumbled.
When school concluded, she sprinted to her locker debating if she should bail on Leigh. Her resolve was slipping now that she was faced with having the conversation. She hadn’t worked out how to ask Leigh what he saw without sounding like a crazy person. Slamming her English book into the shelf, the metal sides of her locker rattled earning a glare from the girl next to her. Ali barely gave her notice, grabbing her math book to take home.
“Are you ready?”
Ali closed her locker to find Tommy leaning against the wall. His wavy red hair curled past his ears and his pale blue eyes looked bored. Curse it all to heck. She forgot he drove her to school this morning.
“I have to stay late for a project,” Ali lied. She couldn’t stomach telling him the truth.
Tommy made a show of looking at his watch. “Is this thing broken?” He tapped it a few times. “Huh. My watch is showing it’s officially the weekend. That’s so odd.”
Shrugging, Ali avoided eye contact. She wasn’t exactly known for being proactive.
Her best friend Cheryl appeared, jet-black hair bouncing and green eyes twinkling as she planted a kiss on Tommy’s cheek. He winked at her.
Cheryl grinned, her gaze falling on Ali. “Do you want to crash at my place tonight and watch bad sci-fi movies?”
The invitation was tempting. As soon as Cheryl stared dating Tommy, girl time became nonexistent. Now it was Cheryl, Tommy, and the third wheel.
Ali forced a smile. “Rain check? I have a project to work on.”
Cheryl raised an eyebrow. “Interesting.”
Should she talk to Cheryl about the horse? Cheryl wouldn’t judge. She’d focus on finding a rational answer. Ali opened her mouth intending to accept the movie invitation after all, but a baritone voice cut in.
“Is now still a good time?”
Leigh.
Ali spun on her heels, wishing Tommy and Cheryl were somewhere else. “Yep.”
Leigh and Tommy exchanged nods. Girls use words, guys had a silent language made up of head movements. Someday Ali would decipher the language buried in the gesture, but this wasn’t that day.
Cheryl stared at her, then at Leigh, an unarticulated question on her lips.
Ali did her best to look bored. “Off to start that project I mentioned.”
“Oh, right… the project you mentioned.” Cheryl grinned and waggled her eyebrows.
Ignoring Cheryl’s innuendo, Ali changed the subject. “Movies tomorrow?”
“Definitely,” Cheryl said. She eyed Leigh with suspicion once more, then grabbed Tommy’s hand and they headed toward the student parking lot.
“Your friends seem nice,” Leigh said.
“Yeah,” Ali said watching them go. Cheryl would ask a million questions tomorrow, and Ali didn’t have the first idea of what to tell her.
“I drove today,” Leigh said nodding the opposite direction. He crammed his hands in his pockets and walked toward the rear parking lot.<
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“Oh.” Ali assumed they’d have a conversation in the hallway, or an empty classroom. “We don’t have to go anywhere.”
“Yes, we do,” Leigh said over his shoulder.
She did a skip to catch up, doing her best to keep pace. Silence filled the space between them, but Ali didn’t possess the courage to start the conversation. Instead, she trailed behind Leigh until they reached the parking lot.
“So, where are we going?” Ali asked.
Leigh produced car keys and gestured towards a black Chevy blazer. “The Clock Tower Café.”
“Why?”
The Clock Tower Café was on the opposite side of town and a popular spot with the high school crowd late at night.
“It’ll be empty this time of day,” Leigh said. He unlocked the car for her.
Ali dropped her book bag on the floor and slid into the passenger seat. “Don’t want to be seen with me after your tiff with Melissa?” She grinned.
Leigh regarded her sternly.
Oops. She intended that as a joke. “Sorry.”
He frowned. “It’s fine.”
“As a heads up, I often put my foot in my mouth,” Ali said cringing.
The safe bet was to shut her pie hole. Ali leaned against the window focusing on the world outside the car. Still green and full, she watched the passing trees that lined the roads between school and the café. She caught glimpses of the lake, her heart fluttering at the deceptively still water.
When they neared the fringe of town, the café popped into view. It was an old brown building with a large clock tower that loomed over the café. In the evening, neon lettering lit the sign which was mounted on the side of the building.
Leigh shifted the car into park, scrutinizing the empty parking lot. “We shouldn’t be bothered.”
“Great,” she said realizing she still hadn’t worked out how to start the conversation.
Her heart rate quickened as they exited Leigh’s car. What if he didn’t see the horse? She trudged forward, her feet guiding her forward as her brain screamed to bail. As much as she wanted to run, she reminded herself this was important to her sanity. Besides, if she didn’t like his answer, she’d never mention it again.
As they neared the front doors of the café, the shadow from the giant clock tower cast across Ali’s face. The uniform ticks marking the time, a contrast to Ali’s frenzied thoughts. Taking a steadying breath, she entered as Leigh opened the door, the smell of burgers thick on the air.
On the inside, wooden beams supported the old roof which was a leftover from the horse barn that once stood in this spot. Paintings by a local artist hung on the canary yellow walls with small price tags listed below them. It was likely most of these paintings would stay until next summer when the tourists returned.
She lagged behind Leigh, the wooden floor creaking underfoot as they walked toward a brown booth near the corner window and took a seat. As suggested by the parking lot, the diner was empty; minus an elderly couple at the countertop.
When a middle-aged waitress approached, Leigh ordered them each a milkshake reminiscent of a date in the 1950s. Per her new rule to avoid foot in mouth situations, Ali kept the commentary to herself.
As soon as the waitress disappeared, Leigh’s expression darkened. “What’s on your mind?”
Ali tried to pin a place to start. The horse? Or ask what he saw? She suddenly cursed herself for coming to a location where she had no easy escape. This was a three-minute conversation in the school parking lot. Not a milk shake date.
Deciding to plunge headfirst into the topic, her shoulders tensed, and her stomach fluttered.
“At the risk of sounding crazy… did you see the horse?”
Leigh studied her, then glanced up as the waitress dropped off two chocolate shakes. He slid one toward Ali. She let it sit untouched, waiting on his response.
He scratched his neck. “You saw a horse in the water?”
Her heart sunk. He didn’t see it.
“I guess... I don’t know anymore.”
She slid the straw in and out of her shake, disrupting the perfect mound of whip cream and causing the cherry to slide downward.
“What did it look like?” Leigh asked.
It crossed her mind Leigh was teasing her, but his face was taut.
Ali shrugged, feeling like an idiot. “Large, gray, and its legs were covered in scales.”
Leigh slowly exhaled. Ali couldn’t decide if he was skeptical or concerned.
“How did you wind up in the water?” Leigh asked.
Another oddity she found difficult to rationalize. How did she explain that her hand had been glued to its body?
“I touched it… then my hand got stuck.” Ali grasped the shake with both of her hands and stared into the mound of melting ice cream. She sounded stupid and shouldn’t be talking with Leigh about any of this.
When Leigh said nothing, Ali sighed. “Will you take me home?”
Ali slid toward the edge of the booth, debating her next move. She could go home, tell Jessica the truth, and they’d figure this out. Maybe she hallucinated?
“I saw it,” Leigh said.
Alarmed, she looked at him. “What?”
He rubbed his forehead. “It’s a kelpie.”
“That thing is real?”
Leigh watched the waitress who leaned over a nearby counter engrossed in her cell phone.
“Yes. But it isn’t a good idea to talk about it.”
“Why not?” Ali asked. Leigh couldn’t bring her out here, drop a few morsels of information and then refuse to go into details.
“The real question is why you saw a kelpie,” Leigh said.
“It is?” Ali asked. “I’m more focused on why I haven’t heard of a kelpie.”
A frown formed on his lips and he shook his head. “Listen, I understand you’re curious, but you can’t tell anyone you saw it.”
“Why?” Ali pressed. Unease blossoming in her chest.
“Just… don’t. Trust me. It’s a horrible idea.”
Ali engaged in a silent staring contest with him hoping information would tumble out of his mouth, but Leigh didn’t utter another word.
She leaned into the booth, the fabric firm against her back. An idea presented itself. “If you explain what a kelpie horse is, maybe I’ll know why I saw it.”
He exhaled though his nose.
“A kelpie isn’t a horse, it only represented itself that way.”
The weight of his implication settled on her. At least his version of events also sounded crazy.
“Are you saying a shape shifter attacked me?”
Leigh eyed the waitress again. He was acting especially paranoid; the woman’s phone was practically glued to her fingertips.
Lowering his voice, he leaned close and whispered. “It attempted to drown and then eat you in broad daylight.” Leigh acted as though this revelation would shed light on the situation, but it confused her further.
“Why would it eat me?” Ali asked, a small amount of bile catching in her throat.
“It was likely hungry.” Leigh shrugged. “Why’d you touch it?”
A great question. One of the many questions she asked herself the last two days. Ali closed her eyes remembering the details.
“I don’t know how to explain this,” Ali said. “It seemed like a good idea?”
Leigh nodded, pursing his lips. “It’s how they lure victims into the water. They whisper to your subconscious, then you are dragged in and drowned. Honestly, I’m not sure how you escaped.”
A shiver ran down her arms as she remembered the texture of its slick coat.
“You saw the kelpie pull me into the lake?”
Leigh’s fingers tapped the table. He took another sip of his shake before answering. “Yes, but I can’t figure out how this happened. Kelpies aren’t from here.” He flinched. “I mean… native to New England.”
“If not here, where should kelpies live?”
Leigh’s eyes narr
owed. “You can’t repeat anything I’ve said.”
Ali rubbed her forehead. “Again, why?”
In answer, he stood and dropped cash on the table next to Ali’s untouched shake. “Forget the kelpie, it’s for the best.”
This was not the suggestion Ali wanted. “Then why did you tell me?”
Leigh shrugged. “The kelpie is gone. It’s safe now.”
She blinked at him. “How do you know?”
“It's dead,” Leigh said flatly. “This was a fluke.”
A point of pride for Ali was her ability to stay rational. She was at odds with that part of herself. Leigh told her monsters were real, and he somehow disposed of one like a knight in a fairy tale.
Or Leigh was crazy.
Or... he wasn’t.
Jessica would know what to do.
Ali stood. “Will you drive me home?”
“Sure,” Leigh said. “We should talk about our project anyway.”
“Later.” She wasn’t in the mood for their school project right now. How could she focus on anything but this mess? Leigh made everything worse.
The ride home was quiet. There was so much information to process, Ali didn’t know where to start.
“You won’t tell anyone right?” Leigh asked as Ali mentally rehearsed the conversation she planned on having with Jessica.
“Yep,” Ali said, intently focusing on the trees outside the window.
“I’m serious,” Leigh said. “Talking about a kelpie will draw attention from the wrong group.”
With a frown, she considered him. Who would care? She started to ask, but a blur of black raced into the road.
Leigh jerked the wheel.
The car swerved.
She heard a thud! Followed by the air bag punching her in the face.
Four
A harsh whisper pierced Ali’s drowsiness.
“I’m telling you it was a pooka!”
Ali was uncertain who spoke. Her mouth was dry to the point she’d kill for water but moving her lips to ask seemed impossible. She squinted as the light from the room sent thunderous pain through her skull. Squeezing her eyes shut, she wished she could inject aspirin directly into her brain. Sleep tugged at her eyes, but she forced consciousness. The last thing she remembered was the air bag in a car–Leigh’s car.
