What If ... Your Past Came Back to Haunt You

by Liz Ruckdeschel

  It rang again. And a third time. Who was this annoying, persistent person? Haley got up and went into the hall. She peered through the window and saw Reese Highland standing on the front porch, leaning on his crutches.

  Reese. What did he want? Haley wasn’t sure she had it in her to hear what Reese had to say on the subject of her public humiliation, but he certainly seemed determined to say something. He rang the bell again, and Haley gave up and decided to let him in.

  “Hi,” she said when she opened the front door.

  “Hi,” he said.”

  “I’m hiding,” Haley confessed. “I’m thinking of becoming a hermit when I grow up, so I thought I’d get a head start and practice now.”

  “Can I come in and be a hermit with you?” Reese asked.

  “Sure.” Haley let him in. How could she resist an invitation to co-hermit with Reese? “Come on up to the hermit cave.”

  She got them some tea and they settled down on the rug in her room. “I understand how you feel, but you can’t take this so hard,” Reese told her. “Have a sense of humor about it. Really, it’s not so bad. You got off a lot easier than Mia did.”

  Haley shuddered. Mia’s video showed her making out in bed with an older guy, in her bra. “But that’s different. Mia’s video is more . . . sexy. At least she doesn’t come off like a complete idiot. And she’s not totally naked.”

  “But her video is . . . pretty hard-core,” Reese said. “From what I’ve heard. While yours is innocent and kind of cute.”

  “Cute?” Haley softened up a little. Reese thought she looked cute?

  “Sure,” Reese said. “You’re just a kid. It’s funny. We’ve all been there.”

  “Not all over the Internet,” Haley said.

  “Come on, these things happen all the time in high school.”

  “What things?”

  “Embarrassing things,” Reese said. “Haven’t you ever heard your parents talk about all the humiliations they suffered when they were younger?”

  “Yes, and it gives me nightmares,” Haley said. “I don’t like to think about it.”

  “I’m just saying, it happens to everyone sooner or later.”

  “Not to me,” Haley said. “I’m not the naked video type. Except now everyone in school thinks I am. You should see all the texts I’ve gotten, just in the last few hours! Every boy in Hillsdale wants to see how my body has changed. Up close and personal.” She sighed. “I swear, I’m never going out in public again. People are going to give me weird looks and whisper behind my back—”

  “So they whisper for a few days—so what?” Reese said. “Lap it up. It’s your moment in the sun. Scandal’s not what it used to be, you know. Now it’s chic. All the celebrities are doing it.”

  Haley laughed. “That’s the spirit,” Reese said. “Laugh it off.” He was surprisingly good at cheering her up when he put his mind to it.

  “Aren’t you starting to feel a little claustrophobic in your hermit cave?” Reese said. “I think we need a field trip.”

  “No way,” Haley said. “I’m not going out there.”

  “Yes you will. Come on, you know you can’t stay hidden forever. Will your parents let you skip school for the rest of your life? Didn’t think so.”

  “There’s no place to go anyway,” Haley said. “No place safe, that is.”

  “I know a place we can go,” Reese said. “And I can almost guarantee nobody we know will be there.”

  “Where?”

  “The public library.” Reese grinned. “Let’s go right now. You seriously need to get out of here.”

  Haley had to hand it to him—nobody they knew hung out at the library. It was about as safe a haven as she was going to find in this town.

  Good old Reese—it’s about time he came through for Haley. He hasn’t exactly been there for her lately, but times like these make up for any neglect. Or do they? Is it enough to keep Haley’s spirits afloat, or is it just a temporary salve, a slight bandage over a bullet wound? All those text messages crowding Haley’s in-box suggest that the problem may be bigger than Reese thinks.

  If you believe Reese is right that Haley needs to get out of her house, turn to, GOING PUBLIC. Or maybe Haley should read through the text messages she’s received while her phone was shut off. If she does, she’ll find a message from Matt Graham inviting her to the next SIGMA bash at Spencer Eton’s house. If you think she should forget her troubles by going to a wild party, turn to, OLD HABITS. Finally, if you think suffering through this scandal has given Haley sympathy for Mia Delgado’s plight, turn to, RESCUE MIA.

  STORM KING

  * * *

  It’s usually calm before a storm, but not when Dave Metzger is around.

  “The house should be on the next block,” Dave said from the backseat. “Oh God, I’m so nervous. Look, my underarms are dripping.”

  Haley glanced back at him from the front seat, then turned away. Why did she want to see Dave Metzger’s sweaty underarms? She didn’t.

  “At least you haven’t broken out, sweetie,” Annie said, patting Dave. “Not in the last hour, anyway.”

  Alex, in the driver’s seat, gritted his teeth. After hearing that Alex Martin had asked Haley to go to upstate New York to the Storm King Art Center with him, Dave invited himself to come along for the ride. He’d just found out that his estranged father lived in nearby Newburgh. And of course, where Dave went, Annie went too. So it was a road trip, the four of them.

  Also against Alex’s wishes, Dave had convinced him to stop at his father’s house first, before going on to Storm King. Now they were driving through a modest neighborhood in Newburgh, looking for the address Dave had found on the Internet.

  “There it is!” Dave shouted. “That’s it—1149. Pull over! But not right in front. I don’t want him to see me yet.”

  Alex stopped the car across the street from a modest split-level house painted a rather ugly shade of pale pea green. They sat in the car for a few minutes, just staring at the house. Then the front door opened and a man came out with three young children, elementary school–age, and a woman who appeared to be his wife. The man was dumpy, with a large bald spot at the back of his head, and the woman had teased her blond hair until it looked like a cloud of cotton candy.

  “That’s him,” Dave said. “That’s my father.”

  The family walked to the driveway, where a minivan was parked, and started piling in. Annie nudged Dave. “Go! Get out there and introduce yourself to him!”

  Dave sat frozen in his seat, staring at the family he’d never had.

  “Come on, Dave,” Haley said. “Aren’t you going to go say hello?”

  “Yeah,” Alex said. “Isn’t this what we drove all this way for?”

  “I can’t,” Dave said. His father shut the children inside the minivan and got into the driver’s seat.

  “Hurry up, Dave!” Annie said. “They’re about to drive away.”

  “No,” Dave said. His hands were shaking in his lap. “Let’s get out of here. Drive away, Alex. Now.”

  “Whatever you say.” Alex pulled away down the street before the minivan left the driveway.

  “Why did you do that, Dave?” Annie asked. “Didn’t you want to talk to him? Isn’t that what we came here for?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” Dave moped.

  There was an awkward silence in the car as they drove out to Storm King. Haley was relieved when they finally got there. She sprang out of the car. Dave stumbled out like a zombie and wandered blankly into the frozen sculpture garden.

  Annie hurried after him. “Dave, wait!”

  “It’s so good to get out of the car,” Haley said to Alex.

  “Tell me about it,” Alex said. “I’m glad to get a break from Dave’s family drama for a while. Come on, I’ll show you the grounds.”

  Haley pulled her knit cap over her ears against the frosty air. Dave and Annie had shambled off to the left, so Haley and Alex went right. The frozen ground c
runched under her boots as she tramped through the fields. The day was cloudy; in the distance, mountains loomed in a shroud of mist. They walked together in a companionable silence, a kind of intimate not-talking.

  Alex stopped in front of a large iron abstract sculpture by Henry Moore. They stared at the rusty metal spheres for a while in silence. Then Alex said, “This sculpture always reminds me of my youngest brother for some reason.”

  Haley studied it more closely. In what way did this collection of shapes remind Alex of a person? She grinned; this was the most personal thing she’d ever heard Alex say. It was odd, but it humanized him somehow.

  “I didn’t know you had brothers,” Haley said.

  “Two, actually,” Alex said. “I’m the oldest of three boys. You should come over to the house sometime and meet everybody.”

  “I’d like that.” Haley rubbed her nose, which was starting to go numb. Alex looked at her face just then, and she wondered if he wanted to kiss her. Maybe he’d kiss her right on her cold nose.

  But nothing happened, so to fill the silence Haley said, “Feels like snow.”

  Alex looked up at the sky. “Yeah, it does, doesn’t it.”

  Just kiss him! Haley thought. Make the first move yourself. Why not?

  Alex looked into her eyes, and Haley decided to go for it. Just as she leaned forward, Annie shouted, “Hey!” and ran over to them.

  Too late. Haley would have to try again later.

  “Can we leave now?” Annie asked.

  “Why?” Alex said. “We just got here.”

  “I know, but Dave’s back in the car and he’s really freaking out,” Annie said. “Besides, it’s freezing and there’s a storm headed to Storm King.”

  Haley felt a cold prickle on her face, and then another. It was starting to snow. Snow! At last! The sky was filling up with dancing white flakes. Haley opened up her mouth and caught the first few of the season on her tongue.

  “Well, maybe we should go,” Alex said. “I don’t have snow tires, so the drive back could be rough if we wait.”

  “I heard on the radio they’re predicting we’ll get over a foot tonight,” Annie said.

  “A foot!” Haley said happily. “That’s great!” This was her second winter on the East Coast; her first had been a bust, with not much white stuff on the ground. “I hope I’ll get to experience my first real East Coast snow day.”

  “Me too,” Alex said as they walked back to the car. “If we do have off from school, you should come over to my house to go ice-skating. We have a small pond in our backyard and it’s already frozen solid.”

  Well, the search for Dave’s father was a bust, and Dave didn’t handle it very well. He and Annie tagged along on Alex and Haley’s date for nothing. What would have happened between Alex and Haley if the other two hadn’t been there? Would they have been trapped for the night in Mountainville? We’ll never know. But Haley certainly seems to be turned on by sculpture.

  To have Haley take Alex up on his invitation to go to his house, go to, HEARTH AND HOME. If you think seeing all the sculptures only made Haley miss hanging out with her favorite artists, Irene, Shaun and Devon, go have a MOVIE MARATHON. If you are really hoping this snow hits hard, plan to spend this hypothetical snow day with Reese on, LET IT SNOW.

  GET THE TAT

  * * *

  Tattoos aren’t always as permanent as people think.

  “Okay, guys, who’s next?” Viper the tattoo artist asked.

  Haley looked from Irene to Devon to Darcy to Shaun, who’d just gotten his tattoo and gave her a thumbs-up. Haley raised her hand and said, “I’ll go.”

  Devon arched an eyebrow and Irene said, “Haley, are you sure?”

  “It doesn’t wash off, you know,” Shaun said. “Even if you scrub.”

  “I’m positive,” Haley said. All afternoon she’d watched while Darcy bragged about how much she loved the star tattoo on her wrist and Devon listen as if it were the most fascinating conversation on earth. Devon clearly had a thing for girls with tattoos. And if that was the case, Haley was going to become one.

  “Will you help me pick out a design, Irene?” Haley asked. “My drawing isn’t really good enough. I think I want the Chinese symbol for harmony—on my ankle.” She didn’t want to have to look at the lame butterfly she’d drawn in Mr. Von’s art class for the rest of her life.

  “No problem.” Irene and Haley flipped through the book of designs until they found the Chinese character for harmony. “It’s beautiful,” Haley said.

  She sat down in Viper’s chair and held out her foot. “Show me exactly where you want it,” he said. Haley pointed to her ankle bone.

  “Nice,” Devon said. “That’s going to look fierce.”

  As Viper prepped her ankle, the others gathered around to watch. Devon was impressed with her boldness, she could tell by the look on his face. And how did Darcy feel? Haley wasn’t sure, but she had the feeling Darcy was annoyed to lose the spotlight.

  “This might hurt a little,” Viper said as the needle whined. He applied it to her ankle bone and Haley winced in pain. It really stung. She tried to hide her discomfort.

  “Talk to her,” Shaun said to the others. “It’ll help take her mind off the pain.”

  So Haley’s friends did their best to entertain her while Viper drew the Chinese character on her skin. Haley had to admit she enjoyed the attention. I should take chances more often, she thought.

  When he was finished, Viper taped a thick layer of gauze over the tattoo and told Haley to leave the bandage on overnight. “Take it off carefully tomorrow, and whatever you do, don’t pick at the scab.”

  Irene went next, and she didn’t hide the pain as well as Haley had. “Shaun, why didn’t you warn me about this?” she said with a grimace. “It feels like I’m scratching a bad sunburn. A really bad one.”

  “I did warn you, babe,” Shaun said. “But don’t worry, it’s totally worth it.”

  Haley sat next to Devon, watching Irene submit to Viper’s needle as if she were getting a tooth pulled. Devon nodded at the bandage on Haley’s ankle and said, “I bet you can’t wait to see how it looks.”

  “Totally,” Haley said. It will be amazing, she thought, and I’ll show it to Devon every chance I get. Maybe I’ll start wearing more short skirts and ankle bracelets.

  When they were all finished, it was time to pay. Whoops. Haley hadn’t thought that far ahead.

  “That’s two hundred dollars for you,” Viper said to Shaun. “And one-fifty for each of you girls,” he said to Irene and Haley. “Since your tattoos were smaller.”

  Shaun got out his parents’ credit card and Irene, who’d been saving up her restaurant tips for this, counted out her cash.

  Haley swallowed hard. She didn’t have a hundred and fifty dollars to spend on a tattoo—and she had only forty dollars on her. But she did have the “emergencies only” credit card her dad had given her.

  This is an emergency, she reasoned. I’ve already gotten a tattoo and I don’t have the money to pay for it. Who knows what this guy Viper will do to me if I don’t pay?

  So she got out the card, handed it over to Viper and watched with a knot in her stomach as he ran it through his machine.

  It’ll be okay, she told herself. I’ll think of something to tell Mom and Dad before the bill arrives.

  When she walked through the door an hour later, her parents were waiting for her, and they looked angry. Her mother immediately spotted the bandage on Haley’s ankle and cried, “That’s it, isn’t it? That’s a tattoo!”

  “A tattoo?” Perry said. “Haley, how could you do that without asking our permission?”

  “And then make us pay for it,” Joan said. “It’s outrageous! I can’t believe you’d do such a thing. What’s the matter with you?”

  Haley was stunned. “How did you find out?”

  “The credit card company called,” Joan said. “They said someone had used our card to charge something at ‘Tommy’s Tattoos’ and
they wanted to double-check with us.”

  “We told them we had no idea who could have done that,” Perry said. “We thought maybe someone had stolen your card. We were afraid you’d been robbed.”

  “I wasn’t robbed,” Haley said. “I just went with my friends to the tattoo place and it looked cool so I decided to get one. I had no idea it would be so expensive.”

  Joan and Perry stared at her in shock. “Where’s my sensible, levelheaded daughter?” Joan said. “Do you know what could have happened to you? If this Tommy’s place isn’t clean you could have picked up hepatitis or any number of diseases. Not to mention you didn’t think clearly enough to even inquire about the cost before letting a complete stranger draw on you with a needle!”

  “This really shows poor thinking, Haley,” Perry said. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to be punished for this.”

  “What? I didn’t do anything wrong,” Haley said. “I’ll pay you back for the tattoo.”

  “Yes, you will,” Joan said. “You will also be grounded for your entire holiday vacation. And your only Christmas present this year will be the immediate removal of that tattoo.”

  Haley’s parents kept their word. She had to spend the entire Christmas break trapped in the house with her parents and Mitchell, missing all the holiday parties. She received no Christmas presents, not even a pair of socks. And as soon as possible her parents took her to a dermatologist to get her tattoo removed. Little did Haley know that having a tattoo removed hurts even more than getting one—but then she sure found out the hard way.

  Hang your head and go back to GOODNESS GRACIOUS.

  DON’T DO IT

  * * *

  When all the rebels have tattoos, the nonconformist thing to do is to not get inked.

  “Who’s next?” Viper the tattoo guy asked, revving up his electric needle. Haley looked from Irene to Devon to Darcy to Shaun, who had just gotten an octopus etched onto his forearm. Viper pointed the needle at Haley. “How about you, Red?”