by Jackson Lear
“What was it?” Amanda asked.
Josh shook his head at her.
They brought Anthony back home and left him in front of the TV. He had regained most of his colour but he was still a little foggy on the details of their afternoon.
“You want to come over later?” asked Josh.
“Fuck You Leroy.”
No one laughed.
Amanda followed Josh back to his house and to his bedroom. She no longer wanted to know what was inside the shoebox. Instead, Josh showed her some of his new comics and was pretty sure she would like Wonder Woman. Perhaps his uncle would send him some more Archie’s or Beano.
It certainly ignited an old flame of wonder from Josh’s dad as he flipped through his old comics. It was a bizarre feeling indeed to look back to when he first got them from Tim’s Things in Lincoln with his own pocket money, and at a fraction of the price they would cost now. They were his friends long before he had to get a full time job, even longer before meeting Liz and getting married and certainly long before dealing with the heartbreak of trying to get pregnant. After a twenty year absence his old friends were back, only now they were in his son’s bedroom with his kid taking care of them.
… They hadn’t really stood up as well as he remembered them. Still, it was paramount that Josh understood that he was only borrowing them and that they shouldn’t be given away to just anyone, not unless it was to a best friend who would give it back immediately upon request.
Josh held onto the shelf rack in the garage and peered along the top. “They’re not here,” he mumbled.
“So where are they?” asked Amanda.
A heavy weight pulled on Josh’s stomach. He had put the comics there for safe keeping. They were in a clearly labelled box on the top shelf and everyone knew that they weren’t to be touched because they were among his most prized possessions.
They were gone.
Zoe’s mum tapped on the bedroom door and stuck her head inside. Zoe looked up, dazed from her lengthy session of staring into space.
“I thought you’d be changed by now,” said Louise.
Zoe glanced down at her St. Bart’s uniform, with her black tights a new cruelty that she would have to get used to.
“You better hurry before all the sweet and sour pork is gone.”
“I’m not that hungry,” murmured Zoe.
Louise paused at the door and looked over her daughter. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Nervous about tomorrow?”
‘Overcome with dread’ was closer to the truth, but Zoe answered with an automatic, “Not really.”
Louise gave her daughter a sympathetic smile, based on decades of adult awareness that things are generally not as bad as they first appear. “You’ll be okay. Plenty of people will be nervous as well but there will also be a lot of faces you’ll recognise. You’ll see your friends well before lunchtime and by this time next week you’ll have a bunch of new friends as well. Trust me on that.”
Zoe nodded absentmindedly, willing her mother to leave her alone.
“Don’t stay up here too long. Come down for dinner.” Louise offered one last smile, closed the door, and went downstairs, keeping a plate out for Zoe.
All it took was one comment.
Just one.
“Maybe she should lay off the cake and ice cream for a while,” her uncle had said, during the great unveiling of the uniform.
Zoe remained on the end of her bed. Five years later, she would try her hand at bulimia.
A few weeks later, Amanda found out what was in that shoebox by the creek.
Maureen Wozniak came into the living room while her daughter was slumped along the sofa, watching TV. “Honey, can I talk to you?”
Amanda froze. The tone in her mother’s voice held equal parts anger and sadness. It was the same tone she had been using all summer with Amanda’s dad. This would be the first time she used it on her daughter.
Maureen muted the TV and sat on the arm of the sofa. “Honey, I got a call from Anthony’s mum. She said something that’s troubled me. He has been having nightmares because he found a box of dead toads. Is that right?”
Amanda pulled a face like she had just sucked on a lemon. “Ew.”
Maureen could see that Amanda was trying to remember, but she was still just eight and sometimes had a memory like a sieve. “Just before you went back to school you were down by the creek.”
It was possible. Amanda had been to the creek several times with Josh and Anthony, even though she wasn’t supposed to go there because it was too close to the train tracks.
“There was a shoe …” before Maureen even finished the word Amanda’s eyes flashed with recognition. Maureen paused for a moment, confirming that Anthony’s story had some truth behind it after all. “You all looked inside. There were disec ... toads that were cut up like a science project.”
“Ew, Mum!” Amanda clamped her hands over her ears. Now that was going to give her nightmares.
“You weren’t there?” Maureen asked, as she picked out several tell-tale signs of lying.
Amanda shook her head. “No.”
“You don’t remember a shoebox by the creek?”
“No.”
Maureen drew in a weighted breath. It was almost impossible for Anthony to be out on his own. If he was down by the creek then Josh would have been as well. If the two boys were out and about then Amanda was just as likely to be with them. Either that or Anthony was lying; that was more of a trait belonging to Josh, though. For what it was worth, Maureen was willing to give Anthony the benefit of the doubt and assume he wasn’t lying.
“Honey, I want you to be careful with those two boys. I know they’re your friends but maybe some girl friends would be nice once in a while.”
Amanda’s eyes glazed over while her arms remained firmly by her side. “I have girl friends.”
“Good. You know, maybe this weekend you could have a tea party with some of the girls from your new class.”
Amanda shifted her attention back to the muted TV.
“Wouldn’t you like that?” Maureen asked, dropping her harsh tone to something more hopeful. “I can call their mums and invite a few of the girls over. Who’s in your class this year?”
“I don’t want a tea party,” said Amanda.
“Come on honey, it’ll be fun. How about Jess? You two get along.”
Jess had begun spreading rumours that Amanda wanted to kiss their teacher on the mouth.
“Or, I know, we could go and see a movie, bring a few of the girls along and make a day of it.”
Amanda remained quiet. Hopefully her mum would get the hint and admit defeat. But, once a Wozniak settled on an idea it was almost impossible to derail it.
“We can invite anyone from your class. Or maybe I’ll just surprise you and call them anyway.” Maureen smiled. She got no response from her daughter. None.
Maureen pursed her lips forward, daring her daughter to provoke a reminder about how dangerous it was at the creek, that she could be killed if she stumbled onto the train tracks just beyond it. Then she had a better idea.
She returned twenty minutes later, this time looking uneasy. “I’m sorry honey, this weekend isn’t doable. I called a few of the mums and maybe another weekend is better.”
Amanda nodded in feigned sympathy, hoping to get her mum to move along and not make a big deal about it. It’s just the kitchen was hardly soundproof and Amanda’s memory was less sieve-like these days than she was given credit for.
“Well, tell Sarah that Amanda wishes her a big Happy Birthday for yesterday.”
“I … don’t actually know what’s showing. We have some movies here, though.”
“Would it be okay if Amanda went along?”
It had taken Maureen a while to gather herself together before coming to tell her daughter that her classmates were a little busy this week.
Something had to change. Maureen would have to keep an eye out fo
r when the next Disney movie was released. Or maybe there was an all-girls hockey group Amanda could join. Or ice-skating. She would force her daughter to make more friends even if it killed her.
It was time to meddle.
2
Ten Years Old
Josh crawled through the small toilet window and faced an immediate dilemma. His belt buckle was caught against the window sill. With both hands on the toilet seat and his legs still out the window he would have to wriggle his belt free, slide forward, and crawl to the ground. That was the best case scenario. The worst was slipping on the toilet, face-planting the tiles on the ground, and leaving his jeans wrenched to his ankles so that everyone could laugh at his underpants.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never climbed in through a window before,” said Patrick, standing in the hallway, as he watched his friend make an ass of the entrance.
“I’ve climbed through lots of windows,” Josh said.
“Ya could’ve fooled me, Houdini.”
“Actually ...” Josh grunted as he rocked from side to side. “Houdini broke out of things.” His belt came free. He slid forward until his shins were on the window sill. “Not into things.”
“He broke out of water capsules and into a theatre.”
“He was already in the theatre,” said Josh. He pulled himself completely onto the ground and was finally able to stand up.
“There, easy wasn’t it?” said Patrick.
Amanda poked her nose up through the window. “Well?”
“I told ya, the whole house is empty,” said Patrick.
“Josh?” Amanda asked, waiting for his confirmation.
Josh looked around a few of the rooms and came back to the bathroom. “It’s empty. There isn’t even any furniture.”
“Nothing at all?”
Josh gave her a solemn nod. “It’s safe.”
Amanda raised her hands to the bottom of the window frame and hoisted herself up. Anthony was still on the outside and gave her a boost. Soon she faced the same problem as Josh had just a moment ago. She stared at the toilet. “I hope no one’s used that thing.”
Patrick’s eyes lit up and his mouth formed a grin. “No, but now that you mention it …”
Amanda grunted at him and pulled herself up so that she was balanced on her stomach. Soon enough she was in, stood up, and had a look around.
“So, whose house is this?” she asked.
Patrick shrugged. “No clue. It’s been empty for years.”
Amanda wandered inside while Anthony was next in through the window. He too had an image of slipping and cracking his face on the top of the toilet, but he had suffered enough injuries in front of his friends for them to all learn when parents needed to know the truth and when a white lie was more appropriate. This time seemed all the more important, as no adult would forgive them for getting injured while breaking into an empty house.
“We’ll just say you fell off the roof again,” Josh said at the time. Anthony hadn’t even fallen off the roof the first time but it was far better than most of their truths.
Anthony shimmied inside and peered out the window to make sure no one had seen them enter. A tingle ran through his body, knowing they were well and truly out of bounds. It edged him forward as the opportunity to explore an empty house was too good to pass up.
They were all ten years old. Josh and Anthony were in their final month of Banyew Primary. Soon they would all be going to St. Bart’s. Amanda as well.
Patrick was a distant cousin of Josh’s and had moved to Luxford just a few months ago. Josh hadn’t even heard of his cousin until they met. Apparently Josh’s mum and Patrick were second cousins, since Josh’s mum came from a line of eldest children while Patrick came from the youngest. First came the explanations, then came drawings and a list of who was born when. It was starting to come together until Josh’s dad helped out by explaining exactly how Josh was his own nephew. By the end of the evening they all came to an agreement. “Patrick’s your cousin.”
The foursome looked around the three small bedrooms and open kitchen and dining room. One of the bedrooms was barely big enough to house a bookshelf, let alone a bed. The walls were all painted in a custard yellow while the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom were jade green. The house had just a single car garage. The garden was small and mostly paved. What little grass there was poked through like tufts of hair on a badly shaved head. The garden walls were easy enough to climb along and slip by unnoticed, thanks to the number of trees stretching towards the sky.
Everyone reconvened in the living room. Patrick looked at them with a beaming smile, delighted with his discovery. “Well?”
“It’s good,” said Josh, with a nod of approval.
Anthony tested the water in the kitchen. It was off. He checked the light switches. The power was off as well. He puffed on his inhaler.
“This could be fun,” said Amanda, as she looked around. “Our secret club house.” She had no idea how they were going to bring in furniture but that was certainly a necessity for any secret base.
“We might be able to get the water and electricity going again,” said Anthony.
“Do you know how to turn it on?” Patrick asked.
“Yeah. The mains should be just outside, usually near the driveway, and the fuse box ...” he looked into the hallway, “is probably in the garage.” Anthony had helped his dad renovate the attic into something called a den. At times he was sure his dad was deliberately dismantling the house just so he could rebuild it again.
“Water and power? Sweet!” said Patrick.
“He’s good with that,” said Josh.
“That’s if it’s all connected,” said Anthony.
“If it’s been empty for years then maybe it isn’t,” said Amanda.
Josh soon found them all staring at him expectantly. “Okay, all in favour of making this our club house, say aye.”
“Aye,” they all said.
“First order of business: we need to keep this a secret.”
They all nodded.
“Second order of business: this is a house and people might move in, so we have to check the windows before climbing in to make sure no one is inside, okay?”
They all nodded.
Josh pulled out a deck of cards from his back pocket. “Thirdly: we need to know if it’s safe to stay here. It’s deserted for a reason.”
They sat in something of a circle, allowing for a fifth person to sit by Josh’s side. Josh dealt one card each to himself, Anthony, Amanda, and Patrick. A fifth was dealt to whichever spirit watched over the house.
“Highest card holds the answer,” said Josh. “So, the question is: Is it safe to stay here? I say yes.”
“For a little while, yes,” said Anthony.
“Not really,” said Amanda.
“Yes,” said Patrick.
“And … Flip!” Everyone flipped over their cards. Amanda had the lowest, with a three. Everyone else had numbers in the seven-to-nine range, while the fifth card was a Jack. “Ooo, the house card wins. The answer remains unknown.”
Amanda held back on a shudder. The dream of having a secret base had just hit a snag. The boys shared a quick look that made them wonder if the house was haunted. Hopefully it was.
“So let’s find out who used to live here,” said Josh.
“No one. It’s empty,” said Amanda.
“Someone used to live here,” said Anthony. “It has that smell.”
“Everyone asks one question,” said Josh, as he started to deal out another card. He nodded for Anthony to proceed.
“Were the last people to live here a family?” asked Anthony. “I say …” he cast his eyes quickly over the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. “Yes.”
“No,” said Amanda.
Josh and Patrick both said ‘no’. They all flipped over. Amanda, Josh, and Patrick all had Kings. Anthony and the house had the lowest.
“So, a definite ‘no’. Interesting,” said Josh. Somewhere in the b
ack of his mind he began to work out what the spirit of the house was trying to tell them with that answer. “Amanda’s next.”
“Are we going to get caught playing in this house? I say no.”
“No,” said Patrick.
A wry grin came over Josh. “Yes.”
“No,” said Anthony. “And Josh better not be right.”
“If he is then we don’t need to come back here,” said Amanda.
They all flipped over. The house card won, hiding its answer for the rest of time.
“So what does that mean?” asked Amanda.
“It means maybe we get caught and maybe we don’t,” said Patrick. “I have the last question, right?”
“Yep,” said Josh.
“Then … why is the house empty?”
“You can’t ask that,” said Anthony.
“Sure I can.”
“It has to be a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ type of question.”
“No, we can say whatever we like and if we’re right that ends up being the truth.”
All eyes fell upon Josh as he presided over the possible change of rule. “All right, but for this go only.”
Patrick smiled in victory and repeated his question. “Why is the house empty? I think there’s a dead body buried in the back.”
“What?” shrieked Amanda. “No. Just … no.”
“I wasn’t finished,” said Patrick.
“We’re not staying here if someone’s buried in the back.”
“What if they’re buried in the front?” asked Patrick.
“That’s not any better.”
“Then I’m just saying they’re buried in the back. Not the sides, not the front, in the back. They’re not in the attic, either.”
Amanda glared at Patrick and willed him to recant. He didn’t. It took all the strength she had to keep from glancing up to the ceiling to figure out if there really was an attic.
Patrick continued with his theory for why the house was in the state it was. “So, there’s a body buried in the back and whoever did it can’t risk anyone else finding them, so they can’t sell the house. But it happened in the heat of the moment and they didn’t want the constant reminder, so they moved to get away but made sure the house stayed empty.” He nodded to indicate he was done.
