Finally the food arrived, and we had an excuse to stop talking. We gobbled down our junk food while listening to the radio turned low. I tried to enjoy the moment, but it was getting late, and Father might get home before me. He knew I was working on a project, but he would still be concerned.
“You seem sad,” Tate said out of the blue.
“What?”
Tate shrugged. “There’s, like, this sadness always in your eyes. It’s not a sadness I’ve seen before. It’s like you’ve seen a lot of things you shouldn’t have.”
There was so much truth to that. I didn’t know what to say. No one had ever told me anything like that before. I swallowed hard, afraid the dam I had inside of me would burst, and all my secrets would come flooding out. “It’s getting late. You should take me home.”
Tate stared at me for a few seconds and then dumped his uneaten food into the paper bag before backing out of the lot.
Tate took me home, and, although I didn’t look, I was sure Henry was watching. I was late for our meeting time.
“I had a good time, Tate. Thanks.”
He grinned. I could stare at his dimples forever. “I had fun, too. See you tomorrow.”
I let myself out and ran straight to the backyard, hoping Henry wouldn’t be in a foul mood. I sat by the fence for a long time, but he never came out. I was tempted to knock on his front door, but he had told me never to do that. I reminded myself that our project would be over the following week, Tate would stop giving me rides home, and Henry and I would get back to normal.
6
The following morning, I hummed to myself while removing books from my locker. I found a note sitting on top of my math book folded into the shape of a heart. For a moment, I thought it might be from Tate. That was until I unfolded it and read:
Meet us in the janitor’s closet next to the auditorium after school.
—Stacia
My locker door slammed shut suddenly, almost crushing my hand. Mia and Hadley stood on either side of me. I was so not in the mood for them.
“What do you want?” I was slightly intimidated by how angry they looked, but I tried my best not to let it show.
“What’s up with you and Tate?” Hadley asked, staring me down as if I’d done something wrong.
“What do you mean? There’s nothing up with us.”
Mia folded her arms across her chest. “I find that hard to believe, because the word around school is that he’s been asking about you.”
“What?” Why would Tate do that when he could have asked me anything? “What is he asking?” I didn’t know whether to be flattered or nervous. It depended on what he was asking and why.
Hadley twirled her hair around her index finger. “You know, the usual. Do you have a boyfriend? What kind of guys you like.”
I swallowed hard. This was my fault for letting my guard down and giving him hope.
“The funny thing,” Mia continued, “is that nobody knows anything about you, because you’re a frickin’ nobody.”
I sighed. “Look, what do you guys want from me?”
“Tate is one of us,” Hadley said. “You may not date him.”
I had no plans on dating Tate, but they weren’t about to force their demands on me. “Who I date is none of your business, and I’ll do what I want. Now, I have to get to class.”
I left the two of them standing at my locker, seething with their hands on their hips. Mia shouted something at me, but I couldn’t make it out over the ringing of the bell, which was for the best.
At lunch, I filled Aubrey in on my conversation with Mia and Hadley.
“Damn vultures,” she muttered. “They act like everyone in their group is their personal property and that it’s some capital crime to date outside of his clique. Maybe that’s why he kept turning me down. Those girls hate me.”
That was so not the reason, but I didn’t want to start a fight with Aubrey, so I kept my mouth shut.
“So, what is up with you and Tate?”
I used my spoon to make hearts in my applesauce. “Nothing. He gives me rides home from our study group. That’s it.”
Aubrey squinted at me. “Neva Albano, tell me the truth.”
I shoved a huge spoonful of applesauce in my mouth and swallowed. “Okay, yesterday he took me to a place where he likes to eat, and we talked and got to know each other a little. That’s all.”
She dropped the chicken nugget she’d been nibbling. “So, it was kind of like a date?”
“No, it wasn’t a date. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. He was hungry. I was hungry, so we got some food.”
Aubrey picked her nugget back up and dipped it in barbeque sauce. “You know, it doesn’t have to be planned for it to be a date. You have a guy and a girl who clearly like each other getting something to eat and bonding. Sounds like a date to me.”
“Don’t get your hopes up. Today is the last day we’re working on our project. I’m sure when the project is over on Monday we’ll go back to being complete strangers.”
“I don’t know about that,” Aubrey said. “Not if he’s been asking around about you. Now you’re like this mystery that he has to figure out. Boys love that.”
Maybe, but her statement reminded me of why I couldn’t let Tate get too close. The last thing I needed was someone uncovering my gruesome secrets.
***
I didn’t have much time to meet with Stacia and the others, because I had to get to Noelle’s. When I reached the janitor’s closet, I found it locked. I knocked and waited.
Seconds later, a click came from the other side. The door creaked open, and a girl with a pink pixie cut stuck her head out. She gasped when she saw me. “It’s her,” she called over her shoulder. “Hey, Neva, come in. Come in.”
I followed her into the closet and was surprised at what I saw—five kids in a semicircle sitting on overturned buckets. The room was dim, as only a single lightbulb hung from the ceiling. My nose itched at the slight smell of bleach and ammonia. A bright pink poster hung on the wall, and it had the words “THE RUBBER ROOM” painted in a variety of vibrant colors. A teal vase with a fake yellow sunflower sat underneath it on a milk crate. Those items seemed out of place among the brooms, mops, rubber trash bins, broken desks, and miscellaneous cleaning items. Clearly they were working hard to make the place look better, so I smiled as wide as I could manage.
A chubby boy with a black buzz cut grabbed another bucket from a stack in the corner and added it to the semicircle between him and Stacia. She bounced excitedly on her bucket. “I’m so glad you could make it, Neva. We’re just starting out, but we plan to spruce this place up as we go along with better seating and some cheerful décor—stuff we can move in and out easily to really make it our place.”
I nodded. “Do the janitors know you’re in here?”
The girl with the pink pixie cut shook her head. “This closet doesn’t get used until later in the evening, so it’s ours for now.”
I shifted on my bucket, which was already uncomfortable. “Cool. Why’s it called the Rubber Room?”
Stacia stared at the poster proudly. “You inspired the name, actually. You’re always telling me how I have to be like rubber and let things bounce off me, but rubber doesn’t only do that, it sends the object back to wherever it came from. Like you always say: we have to fight back and stand up for ourselves.”
I nodded. “Yeah, definitely.” I was proud I had gotten through to her.
“Let me introduce you to everyone.” Stacia pointed to the girl with the pink hair. “This is Marley Thompson.”
When Marley shook my hand, I noticed a wicked drawing of a scorpion on the back of her hand. “Hey, that’s pretty good.”
Marley gave me a sheepish smile. “Thanks. Drawing’s kind of my thing.”
Stacia went on to introduce the others. The chubby kid who had gotten the bucket for me was Reginald. There was another boy with a strawberry-blond faux-hawk named Tyler, a super-tall girl with long brown ha
ir past her waist named Rebecca, and an Asian girl I’d seen around my neighborhood whose name was Anh.
“So,” Stacia continued, “the reason I’ve asked Neva to come is that she’s been helping me out and giving me a lot of advice on how to deal with high school and bullying and stuff.”
My heart fluttered. I hadn’t realized I had been such a big help to her.
Marley pulled a large bag of sour cream potato chips from her backpack and passed it around. “Stacia was thinking it would be good to hear from a kid who deals with bullying herself and has a little more high school experience.”
Boy, did I have high school experience. I suddenly felt guilty. It was bearable for me because I had already dealt with so much—namely an evil queen who wanted me dead and a curse that had ruined my life. These kids didn’t have that advantage.
Stacia told the others some of the things she had been through that year, stuff she had told me already. The others listened intently, nodding as if they understood how she felt. I bet they had stories of their own to tell.
Once Stacia was done, they looked at me expectantly. “The main thing I want you guys to remember is this all ends in high school. Who you are in high school isn’t who you’ll be for the rest of your life.” Unless you’re me. “High school will be over before you know it, and then you’ll move on with your lives and be whoever you want to be.” Those words struck me like a baseball bat, because I would never know what that felt like.
I spoke to them for a few more minutes and promised I would stay longer at the next meeting. As I left, a stab of guilt pierced through me. I hoped these kids didn’t get attached to me, because soon I would be leaving them behind, too.
***
Our last planning session at Noelle’s ran much longer than expected because I was late, and she wasn’t sure we were prepared for our presentation.
“This is going to be our last chance, guys,” she said.
I hated public speaking. I was trying to do the best I could, but I just wasn’t bubbly and perky like she was. Tate, on the other hand, turned into a news anchorman when it was his turn. He delivered his speech perfectly. Noelle finally decided Tate had his presentation down, but I still needed work. Noelle was sweet, but I found her type-A personality annoying at times. It was hard to take this too seriously when it was just another presentation.
Tate gave me another ride home, but I made it clear that I needed to get straight home. I couldn’t lead him on any more than I already had.
“So, what are you doing this weekend?” he asked as we pulled away from Noelle’s house.
I had planned to hang out at the fence with Henry, and when I wasn’t at the fence, having the usual movie marathon with Henry over the phone, but I wasn’t going to tell Tate that. He’d think I was crazy and boring at the same time.
“Just hanging out at home.”
“You should come to my party tomorrow night.”
A surge of excitement flowed through me. He liked me enough to ask me to a party, and this was the first time I’d been invited to anything since transferring to Rock Canyon. The feeling was short-lived when reality hit. I’d never be allowed to go.
I’d heard about the party he was having. It was a last-minute thing since his parents were going out of town. The popular kids had been talking about it the past couple of days. “What kind of party is it?”
“Just a regular get-together-and-have-fun party. There’ll only be about fifty people there—nothing huge.”
I grabbed my keys from the front pocket of my backpack as we neared the house. “I would love to, but I can’t. Have a good time, though.” I glanced over at Tate. The look of disappointment on his face crushed me. I wished then, more than ever, that I could be normal just like everyone else.
We pulled into the driveway. As I reached for the door handle, Tate pressed the button for the automatic locks. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“Tate, really, I’m not a party person.”
He frowned. “How old are you? My grandma has more of a life than you. Come on. It’ll be fun. My friends don’t bite.”
“Hadley and Mia do.”
He shook his head. “I already had a very stern conversation with them. They shouldn’t be bothering you anymore, and if they do, you let me know.”
“You had a stern conversation with them?” So that’s why they had approached me at my locker.
“Yeah, you’re a cool girl, and they shouldn’t be messing with you.”
“Okay, I’ll come,” I lied. I had no intentions of going. I couldn’t lead him on any more, but I wanted him to let me out.
Tate’s face lit up, and I felt terrible lying to him. “Yes! See you tomorrow.”
I said goodbye and went straight to the backyard. I was worried I hadn’t seen Henry since the day before yesterday. It was important to me that he not be mad at me. He was the only person I could really talk to. If I couldn’t talk to him, I’d have to keep everything bottled up inside until I self-destructed.
Thankfully Henry was there waiting for me. I heard him doing something, but I couldn’t tell what. “When’s the wedding?” he asked as I settled down.
“Henry, stop it. I already explained this to you.”
Something banged against the fence. I wasn’t sure if Henry had hit it or thrown something at it. “I knew this was going to happen. I told you this was going to happen.”
“What?”
“That you were going to make other friends and forget about me. You’re not like me, Neva. You can be friends with other people. I can’t.”
I sighed and massaged my temples. I never really knew how to deal with Henry’s jealousy. In all my years, I had never encountered anyone who wanted to keep me all to themselves.
“Henry, I go to school. I’m around other kids. Just because I’m around other people doesn’t mean I like them more than you. You’re the best friend I ever had, and no one’s going to change that. Besides, it was you who didn’t come to the fence yesterday.”
“Right,” Henry said, coughing. “So, anyway. What movies are we going to watch this weekend?” Just like that his foul mood melted away.
“It’s my turn to pick,” I answered. “I say we watch something scary.”
“What about some good epic fantasies or some sci-fi?” Henry offered.
“I said it’s my turn to pick!”
Henry grunted like something was stuck in his throat. “But you pick the worst horror movies.”
“I’ll pick some good ones this time. I promise.”
“Right,” Henry muttered. “Neva?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t ever stop being my friend, okay? No matter what.”
I didn’t answer him. The last thing I wanted to do was make him a promise I couldn’t keep.
Father’s car pulled into the driveway. I stood to go inside. “I’ll be your friend for as long as I can. Later, Henry.” That was all I could offer him—or anyone for that matter.
7
I usually slept in on Saturday mornings, but this particular day my beauty sleep was ruined by the incessant ringing of my cell phone. I was surprised, since my phone rarely rang. Aubrey and I had phone conversations here and there, and Henry only called during our movie marathons.
I snatched my phone from my nightstand. “Hello?” I waited for my eyes to focus.
“Hey, Neva, It’s Noelle.”
“Oh, hey, Noelle.” I closed my eyes again. The last thing I wanted to talk about was our stupid project. I wished it was already over.
“I need to talk to you about something.”
Rubbing my eyes, I put the phone on speaker. “Don’t worry. I’ve been reading my index cards over and over. I’m getting better.”
“No, it’s not about the project. It’s about Tate’s party. He really wants you to come.”
I wanted to squeal but I kept it together and played it cool. “I can’t. I’m super busy.” I sat up and felt for my slippers with my feet.
/>
“Busy doing what?”
“Uhhh . . .” I sucked at lying on the spot. “Okay, I’m not busy, but I think we both know I don’t really fit in with your crowd.”
“Please don’t judge us by Mia and Hadley. Not everyone acts like them.”
I sighed. “Still, I don’t do parties.”
“Come on, Neva. Live a little. You’ve worked hard all week. It’s a chill party. Nothing wild. Just sitting around and talking with some music playing in the background. That’s all.”
Why was she trying so hard to persuade me to come to this party? What difference would it make to her?
“I’ll tell you what,” Noelle continued. “I want to make up for spilling the beans about your mirror thing. I’ll pick you up early and bring you to my house. I’ll cover the mirrors, and we can do a little mini makeover before the party.”
The offer was tempting. I liked Tate, and I’d always wondered what normal kids did on the weekend. If I wasn’t having a good time, I could always leave.
I gave in. “Okay. Fine.”
Noelle squealed. “Yes! I’ll pick you up at six, okay?”
“Yeah.” My stomach twisted in a knot like a warning that I was making a huge mistake. “See you then.”
Noelle and I hung up, and I thought about Father. He spent almost the entire weekend in the woods hunting. I knew he was probably loading his truck with his equipment by now. He would camp out and return on Sunday evening. That usually curbed his urges for the week, although, from time to time, he had relapses like Boopsie.
Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to tell Father anything about the party. He would never understand and probably make me go hunting with him to keep an eye on me.
I hurried downstairs to tell him goodbye before he finished loading the truck. He stood at the garage door in the brown and green camouflage outfit he always wore for hunting.
“Okay, sweetheart. Behave yourself. If you need anything, call me.” He kissed the top of my head before heading out. Like always, I stood on the front porch to see him off. Guilt gnawed at me. He trusted me to do the right thing, not sneak out to some party and do exactly what he’s always warned me not to do—make friends.
Forever Snow (The Everly Girls Book 1) Page 6
