Grim Hill: The Family Secret

by Linda DeMeulemeester

  “I should fix that hinge for them,” said Jasper, swinging the gate back and forth.

  Jasper was considerate of others and enjoyed helping out the Greystone sisters. I also knew that he suggested we sell these extra tickets because Jasper understood the expense of the trip wouldn’t be easy for my family.

  We raced up the steps and pounded the brass door knocker in the shape of a lion’s head.

  A tanned Alice Greystone answered the door. “Cat, Jasper, come in and say hello,” she greeted us enthusiastically.

  It was a relief to see Lucinda, and although she didn’t stand up, she smiled warmly, and the sparkle was back in her eyes. “Do fill me in on all the news,” she said. “And tell me, how is my little friend Sookie doing?”

  I understood this to be a loaded question. What Lucinda really wanted to know was if anything magical and troubling was going on with my sister.

  “Sookie’s playing with Skeeter mostly and doing normal grade three things,” I explained.

  “As a matter of fact, the only thing wrong with Sookie these days is that she hates her new glasses,” I remembered.

  “Oh, it’s no fun to get glasses,” Alice said ruefully. “I remember hating them back in grade school. But it was the only way I could see the chalkboard.”

  “Funny,” I said, “Sookie has the opposite reaction. She gets mad because she says they make everything even harder to see – and she says there are important things she’s watching.” I laughed, but then I realized no one else in the room was sharing my amusement.

  “What?” I asked, confused. And then it hit me – my sister had a tendency for hearing things that nobody else heard. And of seeing things that nobody else saw. “Oh …” I said quietly.

  “Do you think magic is at work on her again?” Jasper said in alarm.

  “Is she doing anything peculiar?” asked Lucinda.

  That question was very hard to pin down with Sookie. She was all about the peculiar, but I said, “She’s been acting more like her grade three friends than ever. That’s a good sign, right?”

  Alice nodded and said, “That sounds nice and normal. Don’t you worry, Cat. Go on your trip and have a wonderful time. Lucinda and I will keep a close watch on your little sister – if there’s even anything to watch out for.”

  Lucinda agreed and then the Greystones bought ten raffle tickets each.

  Jasper and I walked home together, and he reassured me, “Sookie will be fine. They will do a better job than us of keeping track of her.”

  He had that right. My sister rebelled at anything I tried to tell her; she didn’t like being bossed around. But she adored Lucinda, and I knew she’d listen to her.

  Jasper and I walked back to the school and turned in the tickets and cash. We quickly calculated how much the trip would cost each student, and it was still way more than what I knew Mom could afford. But the draw was closed, and the fundraising was almost over.

  And I was running out of time.

  CHAPTER 5 - An Eerie Prediction

  WE WERE HANGING out at the soccer field, just kicking around a ball for old times’ sake. The air was crisp and had that really fresh scent of spring – like lilacs were on their way.

  It had been weeks since the intramural co-ed tournament. We’d come in second, which was only a little disappointing. It had been a close game and hard fought. More importantly, we’d come together as a team. I liked it that way, all of us as a group, so my heart dived at Mia’s final fundraising idea.

  “We could have another dance,” suggested Mia, “and sell tickets.”

  My foot froze mid-kick. The soccer ball dribbled past me. “Don’t even go there,” I winced. That event had started out stressful enough with all of us obsessed with who would go to the dance with whom. And then the actual dance had almost ended in death and destruction.

  “I hardly remember the Valentine’s dance,” said Zach. “But I recall it wasn’t fun, and I was sick for three days afterwards.”

  “Yeah,” said Rabinder. “I caught that flu that was going around. My parents said I hadn’t been myself even before the stupid dance.”

  “I couldn’t keep anything down but liquids for two days,” complained Mitch.

  “I don’t remember having any fun either – that’s weird.” Amarjeet looked puzzled, and then a shadow crossed her face. She shook her head as if to shake out an unpleasant thought.

  The less they remembered the better. Jasper and I exchanged meaningful glances. That had been a horrific night. We both needed to leave Grim Hill behind – even if it was only for a few weeks.

  “There’s no time for a dance,” Clive scowled at Mia as if that was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. “Our families have to pay for the final cost of the trip by Friday. That means tomorrow is the cutoff for fundraising.”

  Clive had such a dismissive way of saying things, as if Mia was crazy for even suggesting it. While she sort of was, there was no need to drive it home. Mia flushed and didn’t come up with any more suggestions. I didn’t think Clive was intentionally cruel all the time, he was just so arrogant. And then it struck me: Clive was desperate to raise as much money as possible, kind of like me.

  “So what genius idea do you have?” I asked.

  For a minute Clive was silent, and I watched his eyes search the soccer field as if he’d find an answer there. Then his eyes lit up when he noticed the trash can. “One massive bottle drive, right here, right now. We divide up into teams and scour the town.”

  Amarjeet said, “How about the team with the least bottles buys drinks at the Bubble Tea Palace for everyone else?”

  Clive scowled again, so before he said something cutting, I broke in. “Maybe we should hold on to our spending money for the trip.” But Clive’s idea wasn’t half bad, and a little competition would keep it interesting.

  “The losing team has to sort the bottles and take them to recycling,” Clive announced. I passed my hand over his head.

  “What?” he said irritably.

  “I’m just checking if you have a crown. Somehow you think you’ve been declared king.” But I smiled when I said it. At least he didn’t storm off when everyone else laughed. “Girls against guys?” I suggested. But nobody took me up on that idea; instead we played odds and evens.

  We divided into two teams. I was with Clive, Jasper, and Amarjeet. Mia, Mitch, Zach, and Amanda were on the other team. We took off.

  The first stop was Clive’s place, where we picked up garbage bags. Sookie and Skeeter were playing pirates in the backyard. Sookie wore her eye patch and a paper pirate’s hat. Her hamster, Buddy, was perched on her shoulder instead of a parrot.

  “Hey,” I called to Sookie. “What did Mom say about taking Buddy outside? He could run away and get lost.”

  “No, he couldn’t,” Sookie said. “I’m not putting him on the ground, so don’t boss me around.” Then she turned to Skeeter. “Tie up the landlubbers.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.” Skeeter lurched toward us, brandishing a wooden sword. Jasper laughed, but my experience with Skeeter was to take a step back. That kid could get carried away, I thought, just as he knocked over a huge clay pot and scattered dirt all over the patio.

  Clive leaned over and grabbed Skeeter’s sword. “Better clean that pot up before Gran sees it.” Skeeter gulped and went to get a broom.

  “See, Cat. You’ve got to be firm and show your sister who’s boss,” Clive said arrogantly.

  “It’s not that easy,” complained Amarjeet, whose own kid brother, Raj, was not above blackmail.

  When Skeeter came back out and began sweeping, Clive said, “And tell Sookie you should be the captain.”

  “That’s stupid,” said Skeeter. “She’s got the hat and the eye patch.”

  “Boss, huh?” I couldn’t resist mocking him. We grabbed our bags and began the bottle search. Before we got out of range, Sookie shouted, “Cat, watch out for the water!”

  What did she mean by that? Even though Sookie sounded strange
ly alarmed, I didn’t have time to think about it – the sun was going down and we had a lot of ground to cover. I took off with my friends.

  We hunted for bottles until my hands and jacket were sticky and my legs and back ached.

  “Let’s go down to the river for one last sweep,” suggested Jasper. There was no way the other team could have collected as many bottles as us, but I went along, and even though she groaned, so did Amarjeet.

  The river in our town was swift and deep. But the banks were a gold mine of littered bottles. Pretty soon five of our bags were full, and the last three were close. As we started to leave, I looked over at a deep ditch that cut into the river. “Jackpot,” I said.

  Beside the charred remains of a campfire were a few dozen bottles. We easily leaped over the wide ditch and collected the bottles. But when we went to jump back, my bag dragged me down at the last second.

  “Cat, watch out!” Jasper shouted.

  It was too late. I began slipping down the bank into the treacherous current below. I dug in my feet, but sand gave way and I couldn’t find my footing. All I could think was that Mom would be so mad at me if I drowned.

  Amarjeet grabbed the hood of my jacket and stopped me from sliding. “Let go of the stupid bag, Cat.”

  I hadn’t thought of that. But before I let go, Jasper and Clive grabbed my arms and hauled me up the bank. With a wrenched ankle and a nasty cut on my arm from a rock, I lay down in the sand for a second and listened to the water rush past. How did Sookie know I should watch out for the water? I shivered.

  “If it’s any consolation,” Clive said, I hoped half jokingly, “I think we won the competition.” Jasper glared at him.

  Sticky and exhausted, I made it back home. I was shaken but not because of the mishap by the ditch or because of Sookie’s eerie prediction. We’d calculated our money and it was firm. Mom would have to come up with a pretty big check.

  Maybe our budget could handle that. But when I got home, Mom was down in the basement mopping up a leak from our hot water tank. I grabbed the string mop and helped soak up the water. It wasn’t the best time, but there was no choice. I told her the news.

  “I see,” said Mom, putting the mops in a bucket. That was all she said. What did that mean? Then she looked me over and said, “You look like you need a good soak in the tub before bed. Better go up quick – the hot water is almost gone.”

  The warm, soapy suds did relax me, even though I could only fill the tub a quarter full. When I went to bed, relaxed or not, I still had that creepy dream, only this time it was in Technicolor.

  I am running through the dark, and wherever I am, it’s cold. Above me the wind rushes, and its impatient roar makes me want to run faster. Underneath me the ground springs back, but sometimes it’s slippery. Keep going, I think. Hurry, Cat. I can’t see, but wet tree branches slap against me and their needles prickle. I begin to shiver as icy flakes fall.

  Jump, turn, dodge. I twist my way through the maze, but my legs ache. The wind blasts and soon I’m shrouded with snow. I think I am in a forest – the smell of pine, the sweeping wet branches, needles that crunch under my sneakers. But I’m in the kind of forest where Hansel and Gretel got lost, because in the background I hear a cruel cackle that freezes me from the inside more quickly than any amount of snow. This is the end of me, I think.

  But I’m wrong.

  Wherever I am next, the ground is even less trustworthy as it bucks and dips and sways. I’m holding on so tight my hands feel like claws. Around me the rushing sound changes to a furious slap, slap, moving faster until a crash … and I tumble forward.

  Splash! Then I am sinking in water colder than anything I’ve imagined, as if I’d crawled inside a block of ice. I kick my legs and thrash my arms as bubbles of air escape my lungs. On my last kick I feel a tug. Something has grabbed me from below.

  Can I scream underwater?

  Ring … Ring … Ring … Seconds ticked by. Ring? Then I awoke to the sound of my alarm clock.

  When I dragged myself downstairs, Mom was waiting in the kitchen.

  “Cat,” she called me in, “we need to talk.”

  I sat down with her at the table. The smell of cinnamon wafted from the oven. Mom was making my favorite: apple muffins. And it wasn’t even the weekend. The table had already been set. The red clock above the stove ticked away. A blue curtain fluttered in a window draft.

  “What is it, Mom?” I asked.

  Mom ran her hands through her blond, wavy hair. She stared at the open finance books on the table.

  Then she turned to me and asked, “Just how much are you willing to sacrifice for this trip?”

  CHAPTER 6 - A Dreadful Deal

  I WOULD HAVE given anything to go on the student exchange to Sweden. Anything. But this was asking too much. I stared numbly at my black sneakers, then I uttered a horrified, “Nooo …”

  “Sweetie, I’m sorry but this is the only way.” Mom frowned at my reaction. “And with your Aunt Hildegaard’s help, there could even be spare cash for a new outfit or two for you and your sister.”

  “No,” I repeated, this time more firmly.

  Sookie came into the kitchen, pulling a plaid suitcase behind her. “Should I pack this one, Mom? What’s wrong, Cat?”

  “Nothing’s wrong,” Mom said smoothly. “Cat is only worried I feel left out of all the excitement, which I don’t,” she reassured.

  Sookie glanced at me suspiciously, as if she hadn’t bought Mom’s story – at least not completely.

  “That suitcase will do fine,” Mom told her. “Now why don’t you take it upstairs and keep it in your room? That way you can start packing.”

  Sookie shot one more wary look my way and then agreed, thumping the suitcase on every step.

  “Why?” I choked. “I don’t understand.”

  “I called your Aunt Hildegaard,” explained Mom, “to see if you could stay with her during the trip. That way we’d only have to cover the airfare. But then she generously offered to pay for the trip – as long as she could see both of you. She figures it may be her only opportunity to ever meet her grandnieces.”

  Then I wanted to cover up my ears so I wouldn’t hear the rest of what Mom was saying.

  “I talked to your teachers and the school principal,” said Mom. “They agreed that Sookie could come along on the exchange and stay with the group in Stockholm until you meet up with your aunt, as long as you mind her for those few days.”

  “There must be some other way,” I complained. “I’ve never even heard of this aunt …”

  “Sure you have, sweetie,” said Mom in that kind of fake cheerfulness she used when she needed us to see the upside. “She’s your great-aunt, actually. You’ve never met her, but I’ve told you the story of when I stayed with her on her farm. That was a special summer for me.”

  I vaguely remembered but kept shaking my head. There was no way I’d want to go on the trip and not stay with everyone else. Not to mention the biggest reason …

  “Mom, will I need my bathing suit?” Sookie called downstairs.

  “No!” I shouted. Because you won’t be going, I said to myself.

  Mom rubbed her forehead, which was creased with worry. I didn’t like upsetting her, but this wouldn’t work. All my friends would be sharing rooms in a hotel and having fun and hanging out. Meanwhile, I’d be stuck with my kid sister and with some relative I’d hardly even heard of. Sometimes a person has got to dig in her heels.

  “There is no other way,” Mom said firmly. “The hot water tank needs to be replaced. My salary goes down by half in the summer, since the school only needs a part-time secretary. Sookie’s glasses cost … Well, these things aren’t for you to worry about, Cat, but I can’t just ignore them. The bottom line is that I would love for you to go on this trip. With a more positive attitude, you’ll have an amazing time.”

  Then Mom sighed and closed the budget book with a thump. “That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.”

  Sometimes there
’s no point in a person digging in her heels. “I’ll take it,” I said quietly.

  That night when the nightmare came, I couldn’t sort out if I was fleeing in terror with my kid sister or if she was the one chasing me.

  *

  “You set a bad precedent,” complained Clive.

  He’d met me at my locker just before class. “What do you mean?” I asked briskly. I didn’t have the patience for Clive’s attitude this morning, not after what Mom had sprung on me. I pulled out my chemistry book.

  “Skeeter’s been at my grandmother all morning. What is your mom thinking, sending your kid sister with you? If my gran decides he gets to go …”

  “First,” I said as annoyance crept into my voice, “my mom’s got no choice – our aunt wants to see both of us.” I didn’t see the point in mentioning the family finances; that was none of Clive’s business. “So unless you have Swedish relatives that are willing to let Skeeter stay with them, my guess is you’re safe. Plus, we both know no teachers would take him on.” This time I tried a smile, but my mouth didn’t move much.

  Instead of being snotty, Clive said, “I hadn’t thought of that.” What was that look in his eye? Sympathy? I’d rather see him sneer.

  Later at lunch, Mia said, “Oh, Cat, I had so many plans. The three of us would have been roommates and stayed up late and well …”

  “Now we’ll have to room with someone else. What if she’s a snob or wants us to stay quiet or …” Amarjeet complained.

  My blood was ready to boil, and I wanted to explode at someone. At my friends for thinking this was my idea, or at my mom for setting this up, or at Sookie for being so ecstatic about tagging along.

  Emily walked by, dragging her feet. She went over to the cool kids’ table, where we were almost eligible to sit if only there was enough room on the benches. Emily thumped her tray down on the table, and chocolate milk sloshed onto her sandwich.

  “Wow,” I said, happy to redirect the conversation and cool my temper. “What’s her problem?”