by Beth Bowland
“There are no such things as aliens,” I said.
“Then go touch one of them,” Chu said.
“I ain’t touching nothing.” I backed away a few steps. “Kiara, go see if they’re real,” I said and gave her a little push.
“Are you crazy? No, really, Kat, tell me. Are you crazy? I’m getting outta here. Chu, keep those things in your yard. Ew, gross.”
I grabbed Kiara by the arm. “You can’t leave us here alone with these things.”
“Oh yes, I can,” Kiara said as she tried to pull away.
Chu scratched his head. “I think I’m having an allergic reaction to them.”
“That’s the syrup that’s making you itch,” I said.
“Okay, Chu, go wash your hair,” Kiara said. “I’m going to see if Ivelisse and Farkas are up. Farkas for sure will take a closer look at it. We need to get together and find out how they got in your yard.”
“Well, look at you. Miss Scaredy-Cat, trying to take charge,” I answered.
“Be back in fifteen,” Chu said as he ran toward his house. I watched as he scooted around the mushrooms.
Kiara and I went back to our house. Inside, I noticed the beaten eggs in the bowl for my omelet. I was no longer hungry for them, so I dumped them down the sink. Kiara started up the stairs.
“Where’re you going?” I asked.
“To wash my hands,” she yelled down. “I feel all creepy slimy. Eww.”
I went back outside, walked around the fence to Chu’s backyard, and looked at the mushrooms from a distance. The fungus appeared to be little bit bigger…or was my mind playing tricks on me? One had tilted upward some, and I could see the gross, dark part underneath the cap. It resembled a side view of tightly packed pages of one of those huge, dusty dictionaries that no one ever used at the library.
It was right at that moment I knew I’d never order mushrooms on my pizza again.
Chapter 3
BY NOON WE’D GOTTEN our crew assembled on our back patio, which consisted of Kiara, me, Chu, and our two other buds from the cul-de-sac. Chu was back to his normal look. We were a group of eclectic twelve-year-olds, as my mother liked to say. Bored and dangerous.
Farkas was the first to speak up. “Show us these monster mushrooms.”
Farkas was a tall and large fella with the most amazing ice-blue eyes. His legs looked like tree trunks, with ankles that were the same size as his thick calves. He was already sweating, and he had giant pit stains that seemed to grow larger on his orange T-shirt with each passing second. He visited his grandparents during the summer. They were Chu’s Hungarian next-door neighbors, and they owned like a gazillion cats.
“I’ll show you,” I said, and everyone followed me. I stopped when I arrived at the edge of Chu’s yard.
Kiara’s mouth hung open, and Chu scratched his head. The mushrooms were gone.
“Well…” Farkas began. “Where are they?”
“They were there earlier. I saw them,” Kiara said. “They were huge.”
Chu walked into his yard. “They were right here,” he said, pointing toward the ground.
Ivelisse, my cool Brazilian friend, went over to where Chu was standing, and the rest of us followed. She got down on her knees and stared at the ground. “Well, there was something here, but it looks like someone dug it up.”
Sure enough, there were patches of upturned dirt. Ivelisse stood up and examined her knees and hands to make sure she hadn’t got dirty. She was seriously a neat freak, and if she had the littlest speck of dirt, she would’ve gone home and showered. She gave us the all-clear, and we headed back to my house.
“Psst…” Kiara said and cut her eyes over my shoulder.
I turned around just in time to see Mr. Maxwell scurrying back through his side fence door. “That guy gives me the creeps.”
I motioned everyone in closer. “Let’s go around back to see what he’s doing.”
Kiara nudged me. “Tell them what we saw, Kat.”
All eyes turned to me. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Last night—” I started.
“Mr. Maxwell had a coffin delivered to his house,” Kiara finished.
“What!” Farkas’s eyes were huge, and his breathing got louder. I thought he was about to go into a full asthma attack.
“We’re not sure exactly what it was, but it did…sorta…vaguely resemble a casket,” I answered.
“Come on!” Ivelisse said, her eyes widening. “Let’s go and spy on him.”
Off we scurried to the alley. Mr. Maxwell’s back gate was open. I moved quietly toward the entrance, inching my way closer to the gate. Our group moved in absolute silence, except for Farkas’s raspy breathing. Ducking behind a large bush near the side of his garage, I peeked around the corner.
Mr. Maxwell was tying up garbage bags. The front of his shirt was covered in dirt. I moved closer, stretching my neck to see.
“What are you guys doing?” a voice said behind us.
I jumped and caused everyone to fall on one another. Talk about a panic attack. I scrambled to my feet and moved away from Mr. Maxwell’s yard. I relaxed once I realized it was only Andre Jackson. He lived in the huge two-story, split-level house just on the edge of our cul-de-sac. Ivelisse and Kiara grinned at me. They both knew that I had a crazy crush on Andre.
Andre was thirteen years old and gorgeous, and he knew it. His skin was the color of Hershey’s chocolate, smooth, with no zits. He had the style of an up-and-coming model, huge dimples, and a smile like that could melt ice. I’d heard rumors that he slept with cocoa butter on his face. Andre was always profiling for the girls, which he was doing now. Ivelisse and Kiara giggled. Not me, I refused to let him think I was swooning over him.
“Yo, Dre,” Chu said. “Wassup with you sneaking up on a brotha?”
Andre only shook his head. “So, what were you guys doing?” He cut his eyes toward me.
I was happy he chose me as the group’s spokesperson. “I think our new neighbor is shady,” I said.
“For real?” Andre was clearly intrigued. “What’d he do?”
“He has a coffin in his basement,” Kiara said.
“Get the heck outta here. For real?”
Farkas started walking down the alley. “Come on, guys, let’s get out of here before Mr. Maxwell hears us.”
The crew headed for the park. Andre walked beside me, pushing his bike. He smiled, and I tried not to grin back at him.
“You got a boyfriend yet?” Andre asked.
I tried my best to play it cool. “Nah, not yet. Do you have a girlfriend?”
His smile widened. “No.” He hung his head down. “You’re cute, so you’ll probably have one by the end of summer.” He flashed his dimple at me and caught up with Farkas.
I was in heaven.
“Hey, kids!”
It was Veronica Loveland walking her dog, Twinkles. Veronica lived with her boyfriend, Keith Bennett. They were both Irish. They argued constantly…with their windows and patio door open. So everyone knew that Keith was a momma’s boy, had dog breath, and often stayed out late with his friends. Veronica was a former child star, now a struggling artist, refused to shave her armpits, and got a huge inheritance from a deceased uncle, which they were living off.
“Hello, Veronica,” Ivelisse said, reaching down and petting Twinkles. “Where’s Mr. Keith?”
Veronica was a nice person and a great candidate for corrective eye surgery. Her glasses were so thick and outdated. She reminded me of the stereotypical brainy, nerdy character people make fun of in movies. Just glancing at her, I noticed at least five fashion faux pas. I’d like to secretly enter her in one of those makeover shows. They could start by taming that naturally curly red hair of hers with some major conditioning treatments.
“Oh, he’s out buying some new music for us to listen to.” She nervously glanced around. “Make sure you kids are wearing insect repellant. West Nile is amongst us.”
Did I mention that she was extremely
afraid of everything?
Veronica reached up and pulled her hair back away from her face, showing off her huge diamond earrings, and giving everyone a clear shot of those ultra-hairy armpits, complete with deodorant dingleberries.
Veronica continued, “I passed invitations to your families for a cookout that Keith and I are giving. It should be a real gas. Hope you all can come and hang out at the pool for a while. Got to run!”
Veronica continued on her way.
“Did she say ‘gas’?” I asked.
“Yeah, man, groovy. We’re gonna slide over to their house and dig some crazy tunes.” Chu held up a peace sign. “What are we going to do about Mr. Maxwell?” Chu asked, changing the subject.
“Nothing right now. I say we just continue to watch him,” Ivelisse answered.
“I’m hungry.” Farkas rubbed his massive belly. “I’ll catch up with you guys later on this evening.” He headed back toward his grandparents’ house.
Andre climbed back on his bike. “I’m going to head out too. Gotta run some errands with my dad.” He smiled at me. “See ya later.”
“Hold up, Dre,” Chu said. “I’m leaving too. Peace out, homies.”
Then there were three.
Ivelisse and Kiara moved in closer to me.
“So what were you and Andre talking about?” Ivelisse asked.
I rolled my eyes at both of them. “Nothing,” I said. I decided against mentioning that Andre had said I was cute, only because Kiara was listening. She was such a blabbermouth, she’d run and tell Mom everything I said. I’d tell Ivelisse later, when Kiara wasn’t around.
Chapter 4
“SHE’S JOKING, RIGHT?”
I looked at my mother. Mom shot me one of her “not another word” looks. Keith and Veronica invited just about everyone in the neighborhood, and most of them showed up—I’m guessing for the free food. I was sitting poolside with several other people, and I couldn’t believe no one else was bothered by the music they were blasting. Show tunes! I’m talking about the ones we were forced to sing in music class: songs from Oklahoma, Cabaret, A Chorus Line. Gag. Me.
Currently blaring across the speakers was the song “Tomorrow” from the show Annie. As the song played, Keith and Veronica embraced. I watched in horror as tears streamed down her face—apparently touched by the song.
“They’re so dumb,” I moaned. I must have blurted it out much louder than I intended. Several people stopped and stared at me.
Before I could get my words out all the way, Mom grabbed my ear, started twisting it, and leaned in close. “Katrina, knock it off,” she said through gritted teeth. “Stop embarrassing me.”
“Mom, this music stinks,” I whispered. Another twist of my ear before she let go. I reached up and rubbed my throbbing lobe.
“I actually like the music,” Kiara said while snarfing down a bratwurst, chunks of brat and bread flying from her mouth.
“You would.” I gave her my infamous stink-eye glare.
“Hello, Hollister family.”
It was the neighborhood gossips, Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal. Both were dressed in matching Hawaiian shirts. The German Rosenthals were always getting into trouble with the homeowners association because of their messy yard. It was rarely mowed, and the hedges were overgrown most of the time. The funny thing was that Mr. Rosenthal owned Rosenthal’s Landscaping. He brought home new yard equipment all the time. I saw a new John Deere riding lawnmower in his garage, and his workshop could pass for a Sears hardware store.
“How are you all doing this evening?” Mom answered.
“Haven, I was wondering if you’d like me to start taking care of your yard,” Mr. Rosenthal asked.
Mrs. Rosenthal pursed her frosty pink lips and shook her head. “Oh yes, dear. It’s beginning to look a bit haggard.”
Mom stared at them. “S’cuse me? Did you just say my yard looked haggard?” Mom had those deep groove lines across her forehead.
“Well, yes, dear,” Mrs. Rosenthal fumbled with her words. “We didn’t mean to upset you, but we’d be glad to take over the upkeep of your yard.”
“You’d take it over to look like what? Your yard?” Mom was almost laughing. “Uh, I think I’ll have to pass on your offer.”
“Very well, if you say so,” Mrs. Rosenthal huffed.
They left and started in on some of the other neighbors.
I scanned the crowd, hoping to spot Ivelisse. At least then I would have a reason to escape from my sister and mother. From my right, I noticed Andre walking toward us, his father not far from him. I quickly smoothed out my hair and ran my tongue across my teeth to make sure I didn’t have a hunk of beef stuck in them. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a stick of gum, popping it into my mouth.
Andre looked just like his father. Dr. Bryce Jackson was a surgeon at University Hospital in Atlanta. Andre’s parents were divorced like mine.
Andre stopped right before he reached me and began talking to one of his friends. Dr. Jackson noticed my mother and made a beeline for her.
Dr. Jackson smiled. “Haven.” His cologne reached us five steps before he did. “You look lovely this afternoon. Hello, girls.” He nodded Kiara and me.
Mom smiled at him. “Hello, Bryce.”
My eyes just about popped out of my head. Did she just call him Bryce? When did they get on a first-name basis? They held each other’s gaze a few seconds too long.
Oh, heck no! I know this baller ain’t tryin’ to throw some game on my mother! Doesn’t he realize I’m his future daughter-in-law? I didn’t care if he was a doctor, groomed to perfection, who wore pricey shoes and from what I’d noticed, looked like he plucked his eyebrows. He could not date my mother!
Kiara reached out and shook his hand. “Hello, Dr. Jackson.”
There was an uncomfortable pause.
“Hi, Dr. Jackson.” I spoke to be polite, but I didn’t smile at him. I smacked my gum with my mouth open. That made my mother shoot me an angry glare, but I knew she wouldn’t say anything in front of the doctor man. Besides, my ear was still hurting.
Dr. Jackson’s gaze returned to my mother. “Would you like to get something to drink?”
“I’d like that,” Mom said.
As soon as she got up, Kiara started in on me. “You’re such a cow,” she said.
I didn’t respond, but continued to blow bubbles and smack my gum.
Kiara took my silence as a sign to continue her rant. “Katrina, I don’t understand why you act the way you do sometimes. That was so rude. Why would you do that?”
“What’d I do?” I gave her an innocent look. I could sense Kiara’s blood pressure rising up. She turned around and stomped off. I didn’t care. No one tells me how to act. Dang, that girl was always trying to lecture me about something.
I looked over toward the bar area where my mother and Dr. Jackson stood engrossed in a conversation. I wondered what he was saying to her. As much as I hated to admit it, they made a good-looking couple. Too bad it was not to be. That was, if I had anything to do or say about it.
The Rosenthals returned and sat down on either side of me. I was sandwiched between them.
“Katrina, how’s your summer going?” Mr. Rosenthal asked.
“It just started.”
Mrs. Rosenthal smiled at me. “Well, I saw your mother talking to Dr. Jackson over there. Tell me, dear, how long have they been dating?”
Dang, they were so nosy.
“They’re not dating,” I said.
“Of course they’re not, dear.” Mrs. Rosenthal shot her husband a smug look.
I saw Ivelisse approaching.
“Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal,” I said, happy to leave their company. I jumped up from my seat. “It’s about time you got here,” I hissed at Ivelisse.
“Yeah, I had to eat at home. Mom didn’t want me to eat anything here. She was sure there would be nothing served that was organic,” Ivelisse said.
“I don’t blame her. I was very careful about what I
ate. I kept thinking about those dingleberries hanging from Veronica’s armpits the other day. Some of them might have dropped into the food she made.”
Ivelisse fell over, laughing. “Kat, you’re crazy!”
“Where’s your family?”
“They’re not coming to the cookout. Mom and Dad went to the movies.”
“Have you seen, Chu?”
“Yeah, I saw him when I first walked in.” Ivelisse looked around. “There he is.” She pointed.
Chu was hovering around the buffet table, holding a plate full of burgers and cheese-covered concoctions. Next to him was Farkas, who also had a plate filled to capacity.
“This music is awful,” Ivelisse said.
“I agree, it stinks. I got in trouble earlier for saying so.”
Ivelisse stopped. “Oh, please tell me you didn’t say something to Veronica.”
“No, I didn’t. I just made a comment out loud. Do you think I’d do something like that?”
Ivelisse raised her eyebrows and started laughing again. “Uh, yes, I do. Kat, you have a tendency to blurt things out.”
“I can’t help it if I speak my mind. I just have the nerve to say what other people are thinking.”
“Wassup, homie,” Chu said, sliding up next to us.
Farkas’s mouth was too stuffed to say anything. He waved instead.
“Geez, you guys are inhaling all of those artificial sugars and preservatives.” Ivelisse turned up her nose.
Chu let out an obnoxious burp. “Mmm, cholesterol,” he grinned.
“Come on. Let’s go to the park. I’m tired of listening to this music,” I said.
Ivelisse agreed.
The park was pretty much the hangout for our community.
Chu shook his head. “I’ll catch up with you guys later, after I finish raiding the dessert table.”
Farkas didn’t budge. Ivelisse and I took our time walking to the park, and Chu caught up with us right before we arrived at the tennis courts.
“How was dessert?” I asked.
“Not too bad.” Chu patted his stomach.
I looked over and saw Andre standing next to the tennis courts talking to a girl wearing a tight red T-shirt and short denim shorts.
