Sinclair Summer

by Beth Bowland

  It was still pretty early, so it wasn’t too crowded, but I was sure by this afternoon this place would be poppin’.

  We wandered around for a while in the arcade, then headed toward the bookstore to catch up on the latest magazines. There was a little more action going on in the bookstore. I’m not sure when it happened, but it happened. Bookstores were actually cool, and you were no longer considered a nerd or some sort of brainiac for being in there. I made my way over to the teen magazines, and Kiara found a book and nestled into a chair.

  “Pssst, Kat,” Kiara whispered loudly to me.

  I looked in her direction, and she cut her eyes quickly to the left. Well now, this trip to the mall just got interesting. Mr. Maxwell walked down the aisle toward the customer service desk. I eased closer to the desk area to listen in.

  “Top of the day to you, my dear lady.” Mr. Maxwell leaned toward the desk as he spoke. “I’m wondering if you could help me locate a book named…” He dropped his voice to a whisper.

  “Nuts!”

  The clerk looked briefly toward the ceiling, pursing her lips. “Hmm, let me check,” she said. She typed some information into the computer and watched the screen. “Ah, yes. That would be located over in the science section. I’ll take you to it.”

  I nodded to Kiara to take the lead while I hung back and went around the other way.

  The clerk escorted him to the bookcase. I could see Kiara further down the aisle, so I motioned for her to come closer. We were now a few feet away from Mr. Maxwell on the opposite sides of the bookcase. Each sound around us seemed intensified. Moments later, Mr. Maxwell left for the checkout counter.

  Kiara and I took off in opposite directions, racing to get to the other side. We both wanted to see which book he bought. We knelt down in front of the section that we thought he got the book from.

  “Okay, I remember it had a white cover and a picture of a man on the back,” I said, picking up one of the books.

  Kiara reached over and grabbed another one. “This looks more like it. The one you’re holding is too small.”

  I put the book back. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

  Kiara flipped the book over and read the title aloud, “Chemical and Biological Processes—The Complete Manual.” The book fell from Kiara’s hands.

  My mouth dropped. “Oh, smokey, mokey, lokey! Mr. Maxwell is building a bomb.”

  Chapter 11

  A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER, I paced around the kitchen as waves of anguish washed over me. I couldn’t believe it. My mother had finally lost her marbles.

  “Mom, why would you want to invite them over for dinner?”

  Mom opened the oven and peered inside. Reaching up, she grabbed one of the pot holders from the countertop and used it to lift the lid from the pot. The spicy aroma of roasting meat filled the room. After replacing the lid, she closed the oven door and tossed the pot holder back on the counter. “Katrina, what are you rambling about?”

  “Why did you have to invite Dr. Jackson over for dinner tonight?” I leaned against the kitchen chair and moaned. I was glad Kiara was over talking to Ivelisse, so I could plead my case without her butting in.

  “They don’t always get home-cooked meals, so I thought it’d be nice to invite them over. Andre’s coming over with him. You and Kiara get along okay with him, right?”

  “Yeah, we get along, but that’s not the point.”

  Mom straightened up and looked at me. One eyebrow rose as she crossed her arms. “And what point are you trying to make?”

  I hesitated, trying to figure out what I wanted to say. I did not want to let her in on the fact that Andre and I were in love, but with Mom and Dr. Jackson having already gone out seven times, it was time for her to stop seeing him.

  “Well, by you inviting Dr. Jackson over for dinner, he may assume that you actually like him or something.”

  Mom smiled. “Then his assumption would be correct,” she said and began humming to herself. “Go find your sister and tell her to get cleaned up for dinner.”

  I’m sorry, Mom, I can’t go find Kia, I thought to myself. I think my brain just exploded.

  The pot roast smelled really good, and under normal circumstances I would’ve given Mom lots of compliments, but not this evening. I was too busy trying to come up with ways to ruin the attraction between the doctor man and my lovely mother.

  Rotten? Yes. But I was Juliet, and they were trying to get in between me and my Romeo.

  The five of us sat around our rectangular dining room table. Dr. Jackson perched at the head, like a rooster in charge of his chickens. Mom sat to his right, Kiara across from her. I sat on the opposite end and was somewhat happy with the seating. The only spots left were to my left and right. Andre took the seat next to Mom.

  Dr. Jackson blessed the food. I didn’t close my eyes all the way so I could keep an eye on him. He asked us all to hold hands. No complaint there. I was delighted to hold Andre’s hand. As Dr. Jackson prayed, I watched as he caressed my mother’s hand with his thumb. I glanced over at Andre, then looked at our entwined hands. No action going on there. Dr. Jackson was still praying. Hurry up already!

  “Haven, the food is delicious,” Dr. Jackson said once we were eating.

  He playfully touched her arm as he spoke. Oh, give me a break. I wished he’d just stop it.

  “Mom, you cooked this? I thought you ordered it from Ruth Ann’s,” I said.

  “Katrina, you know I cooked this food.” Mom looked at me as if I’d grown a third eye.

  Kiara didn’t say anything, but I was being pummeled by all the evil thoughts she was hurling my way. Dr. Jackson paid no attention to my comment, for he was still touching my mother’s arm.

  Andre nodded his approval. “For real, Ms. Hollister. This is good. It’s been a while since I’ve had a meal like this.” Andre turned to me. “Kat, you guys got it made.”

  Dang, strike one. We made small talk for a while, then Mom got up and excused herself. “Time for dessert,” she said.

  Kiara followed. “Let me help you.”

  Mom returned holding a glass dish. Kiara had the dessert plates.

  Dr. Jackson leaned back in his chair. “Ohh, it smells good. What kind of cobbler is it?”

  “Peach.” Mom spooned portions onto the plates.

  “My favorite,” Andre said.

  I made a mental note of that for future use after our wedding.

  “I love peaches and strawberries,” Kiara added.

  “Yeah, strawberries are cool,” Andre said.

  Dr. Jackson wiped his mouth. “Son, do you remember that strawberry patch your grandmother took you to when you were little?”

  Andre started laughing. “How could I forget it?”

  “Andre and his cousin snuck off with a big basket of strawberries and ate all of them.” Dr. Jackson looked at Andre and laughed. “They were so sick, both of them threw up all the way home.”

  “For months I didn’t want to see, taste, or smell anything that reminded me of strawberries,” Andre said.

  “That included the air freshener that we had in the car,” Dr. Jackson said as he smiled at Andre.

  Mom and Kiara were both cracking up. I didn’t think it was that funny.

  “I’ve never been to a strawberry farm,” Mom said.

  “Maybe we can all drive down next Saturday,” Dr. Jackson said. “Strawberry season is over but we can get some fresh blueberries.”

  Mom smiled at Dr. Jackson. “Bryce, that sounds wonderful.”

  Oh, heck no, there was no way I was going to some stupid bug-infested fruit farm with them. “I think Kiara is allergic to blueberries,” I said, giving Kiara my just-go-with-it look.

  “Kat, you’re tripping. I’m not allergic to any type of fruit,” she said.

  Strike two.

  Mom shot me a look and changed the subject. “Andre, how are you enjoying your summer vacation so far?” Mom asked.

  “It’s going all right. No complaints. It’s nice to
be out of school and hanging with my friends.” Andre grinned, showing those beautiful dimples.

  “I’d say it’s going well for him. He seems to have gotten himself a girlfriend,” Dr. Jackson said.

  Kiara’s eyes got big.

  Mom turned to Andre. “Well, who is the lucky young lady?”

  Kiara sat up in the chair. “Yeah, who is the lucky girl?”

  Andre covered his face with his napkin.

  “It’s the new up-and-coming star that moved onto our street,” Dr. Jackson said.

  Mom looked at Dr. Jackson. “Porsche?”

  Dr. Jackson nodded. “She may have him as one of her backup dancers.”

  “Really?” Mom gushed.

  “Nah, we’re just friends,” Andre said making eye contact only with his plate.

  “Oh, you two make a cute little couple,” Mom said.

  Strike three. Sucker punched by my own mother. I couldn’t believe she actually said the cute couple comment. Especially since she said I couldn’t have a boyfriend until I turned eighteen.

  Chapter 12

  I AWOKE IN THE MORNING thinking about dinner. Why didn’t Andre tell his father about me? And wassup with the doctor being all touchy-feely with Mom?

  I continued to ponder this madness as I made my way down to Kiara’s room. Kiara always slept with her head covered under the blankets, which I thought was crazy, but she thought was cozy. I tried it once and just about suffocated.

  Pulling the blanket down, I tickled her. “Get up, bug.”

  Kiara pulled the blanket back over her. “How about you go and neutralize that morning breath of yours.”

  I yanked it back down and breathed in her face. “Mooorrrnning twinnnn, hoooww are youu?”

  She smacked me with her pillow.

  “Last night was the pits.”

  Kiara sat up in bed. “I know you really like Andre, but acting like a cow’s butt won’t make him like you more, and it won’t stop Dr. Jackson from liking Mom.”

  I sighed.

  “Kat, are you sure Andre likes you as much as you like him?”

  I thought for a moment. “Yes, he definitely likes me a lot. He’s just bashful.”

  Kiara raised her eyebrow at me.

  “What? We have feelings for each other. You’ll see,” I said as I got off her bed. “Come on. I’ll cook you breakfast this morning.”

  That got Kiara up and moving. There was a banging noise coming from outside. Kiara and I went to the window, and we could see our good friend Mr. Maxwell out and about. He was with a man who was helping him carry a large crate into the house.

  “You’re right. We’ve got to see what’s in his basement,” Kiara said.

  Mr. Maxwell glanced up, and we ducked out of sight.

  Mom was still home when we came downstairs, sitting at the table drinking coffee and yawning. “Mornin’, girls,” she said.

  “Are you going to work today?” Kiara asked.

  “Yeah, I’m going in for a few hours. I’m just moving slow this morning.”

  On the way to the fridge, I reached out and gave her a hug. “What’s wrong?”

  She yawned once again. “Did you guys hear those cats last night?”

  Kiara and I shook our heads. Kiara was a light sleeper, so I was surprised she didn’t wake up.

  Mom continued, “I tried to ignore them as long as I could, but it sounded as if every cat in the area was loose, and they were all outside my window.” Mom stopped and took a sip of her coffee. “Finally, I got up and went outside to try to chase them away.”

  “What’d ya see when you went outside?” Kiara asked.

  “I was wrong. From what I could see it was more like every cat in America. But they weren’t outside my window. I followed the noises, and they were all over Saturn Maxwell’s backyard. He was actually out there trying to scare them away.”

  “What is it with that guy and cats?” I said.

  Kiara nodded.

  “I don’t know, but they were going nuts. I asked Mr. Maxwell what was going on, and he kept trying to shoo me back inside by saying everything was all right. I told him it didn’t look like everything was okay and asked where all those cats had come from.”

  I started laughing. I knew my mom had said that with a lot of attitude because she is so not a cat person.

  Mom got up, rinsed out her mug, and placed it in the sink.

  “So anyway, then he goes and says he’d thrown some tuna out earlier and didn’t close the trash cans up tight.” She paused for a moment to look out the window. “That’s a possibility, but for some reason, it didn’t seem like the cause. He musta thrown out a truckload of it to attract that many cats. I didn’t feel like arguing with the man, so I went back inside. Needless to say, I was unable to go back into a deep sleep.”

  Kiara and I just looked at each other.

  Giant mushrooms. A pack of cats. Things were getting stranger and weirder.

  How’d the cats tie into the bomb that Mr. Maxwell was building?

  I’d come to the conclusion that Grandma Thuy hated me.

  I was standing at the patio door knocking; she was staring directly at me, but she wouldn’t answer the door. So I waved to her again to get her attention, the attention that I knew I already had because, duh, she was staring right at me. She finally screeched out Chu’s name, never removing her eyes from me and never coming to the door.

  “Hello, my dear friend Katrina,” Chu said as he opened the patio door.

  I leaned in the doorway as Chu came out.

  “Hello, Grandma Thuy. I wasn’t sure if you heard me earlier. How are you today?” I asked in an excessively loud voice.

  Grandma Thuy only took another drag from her cigarette. “Humph,” she said as she exhaled.

  Chu grabbed my arm and ushered me away from her.

  “What’s wrong with that woman?”

  Chu started laughing. “At times, she hates everyone, including me.”

  We slowed our pace once we reached the alleyway.

  “Why is your grandmother so angry at everyone?”

  “She’s cray-cray. Can’t you tell?”

  We continued talking until we reached the park. It was an extremely hot and humid day. Looking up I could see black, puffy, spooky clouds rolling in.

  “A tornado is headed our way,” Chu said, as if reading my thoughts. “Grandma Thuy said her baby toe on her right foot was aching.”

  I pondered his words for a moment. “What?” I stopped walking.

  He nodded. “Yeah, she says when her baby toe hurts on her right foot that means a tornado is brewing.”

  “Well, what if it’s her baby toe on her left foot?”

  “It’s only going to rain.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  Chu shook his head. “Nope.”

  “Wait up!”

  It was Farkas running toward us. Farkas had on that bright orange T-shirt again. I was starting to believe it was his favorite shirt since he wore it just about every day.

  “I just saw Saturn Maxwell leave, and he left the gate open to his backyard. Let’s go snoop,” Farkas said. He was panting heavily and collapsed against the fence.

  “Hmm, I’m in,” I said.

  Chu nodded in agreement.

  Farkas shook his head. “Not yet. I’ve got to catch my breath.”

  “Okay, you stay here and rest. I’m going to see if Ivelisse is home. She’d want to be in on this,” I said.

  I left Chu with Farkas and ran toward the Sanchezes’ home. The wind was beginning to pick up, and the dark clouds were just about on top of us. I arrived just as Mr. Sanchez was pulling into the driveway.

  I motioned to Ivelisse to hurry up and get out of the car. Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez said hello as they went inside.

  “Wassup?” Ivelisse said.

  “We’re about to bust into Mr. Maxwell’s house,” I said.

  “Whoa, momma. Really?”

  I nodded.

  We ran back toward the park
to pick up Farkas and Chu. The dark clouds forming overhead cast an eerie shadow against the ground. By the time we’d reached the guys, Kiara had arrived, and I could hear Farkas filling her in on what was about to happen.

  As we walked toward Mr. Maxwell’s house, none of us said a word. We stopped just outside of his gate. The wind attacked the gate: slinging it open, then slamming it shut. Forming a single line, we inched our way into his yard. Now the dark clouds hung heavily overhead, blocking out most of the sunlight. It was getting darker by the minute. Light raindrops began to fall.

  “Let’s try the basement window,” Kiara whispered.

  I took the lead, and my friends followed. A streak of light peeked through the darkened window. As we knelt to look in, the window appeared to have some type of black laminate covering it. In fact, all of the basement windows had the same type of coating. The sliver of light appeared through a torn piece, maybe a four-inch square. The rain fell in steady drops, and the wind whistled through the trees. We hunched down to peer inside. All of our faces were smooshed together tightly against the window trying to see through that four-inch square.

  “What the heck is this guy doing down there?” Farkas said.

  “Is he some type of undertaker?” Chu asked.

  I saw some high-powered fluorescent lighting that lit up the basement. The walls were covered in something that looked like aluminum foil, which made the room appear radiant.

  “Those look like refrigerators or something,” Ivelisse said.

  We looked harder. “Where?” Chu asked.

  “Over there against the wall.”

  “Yeah, I bet that’s where he keeps the bodies,” Kiara said.

  I moved in closer and saw two huge restaurant-style refrigerators perfectly lined up against the wall. A large metal table with drains along the side was placed directly in front of it. “Dang, he was a mortician!”

  “Something’s moving over near that…” Farkas started.

  “Hey!” Mr. Maxwell’s distorted face appeared in the window opening.

  “Aahhh!”

  I grabbed Kiara’s hand and ran for my life, slipping through the wet grass with my friends. There was no way my cute body was going inside that refrigerator.