The New Year's Party (13 page)

Artie is right, Reenie thought. P.J. isn't the type to skip class. I'll congratulate him on tricking us, and that will be the end of it.

The first bell rang. “Talk to you at lunch,” Reenie called. She continued to search the crowded halls for P.J. or Liz as she hurried to her locker and on to her homeroom.

Each class before lunch felt endless. When the bell rang at twelve-thirty, Reenie rushed to the cafeteria, hoping someone had spotted P.J. She just had to know that he'd shown up at school.

But when she met up with Sean and Greta and Artie, they told her they still hadn't found him. Or Liz. Or even Ty.

Sean and Artie started talking about a concert they all wanted to go to. Reenie tried to follow the conversation, but she grew more and more anxious.

You're being silly, she told herself. P.J. climbed out from behind the furnace. Which means he wasn't dead. Which means it was all a joke. But she kept picturing his pale, pale skin. His cold, limp body.

When the bell for fifth period rang, Reenie jumped up. “I'll let you know what happened with P.J. as soon as school is over,” she promised her friends. She wished at least one of them had history with her so she wouldn't have to face P.J. all alone.

Reenie reached class before anyone else—including the teacher. Every time the door opened, she checked to see if P.J. had arrived.

Lisa Blume ambled in and smiled at Reenie. “I hear you had a pretty wild party last night.”

Reenie had answered questions about the party and the joke that backfired all day. She didn't want to talk about it any more. “Pretty wild,” she mumbled, then stared down at her history book.

She kept sneaking glances at P.J.'s desk. But always found it empty.

The second bell rang—and no P.J.

Reenie felt her stomach knot. Where is he? Why won't P.J. let his joke end? Is he that angry at us for playing a trick on him?

I wish I could apologize to him—and Liz. I wish he'd show up so I could tell him I'm never playing another joke. Never.

Reenie tried to focus on Mr. Northwood's lecture. Then she gave up—and stared blankly at the chalkboard. She'd make it through the class, as long as Mr. Northwood didn't call on her.

The bell finally rang. Reenie couldn't wait to tell Sean that P.J. didn't show up. She grabbed her books and rushed out the door.

Liz stood down the hall with Ty. Perfect, Reenie thought. I can apologize and check up on P.J. She hurried through the crowded noisy hallway toward them.

Wait, Reenie thought, slowing her steps. Something's wrong. Liz's face appeared red and puffy.

She's crying, Reenie realized. Crying so hard her shoulders are shaking. And Ty is trying to comfort her.

Before Reenie could get to them, she saw Liz break away from Ty and dash wildly down the hall. Ty hesitated, then followed after her.

Reenie stared down the hall after her friends. What's going on today? Why was Liz crying?

Uh-oh. The English assignment! I didn't read it. And the way today is going, we'll get one of Ms. Roper's hideous pop quizzes.

Reenie checked her watch. Still a few minutes before class. Where to go to do some rush reading?

The gym. No sixth-period classes there. Perfect. She hurried down the hall, rounded the corner, and pushed through the gym's double doors.

She climbed to the fourth row of the bleachers,
opened her English textbook, and heard something go
clink
directly beneath her. Dropped her pen.

“Figures,” Reenie muttered. Her mom had given her the pen, a really good one with Reenie's name engraved on it. So Reenie had to find it.

She scrambled down to the gym floor, hurried behind the bleachers, and crawled underneath them.

The wooden bleachers rose above her in a massive framework of supports and slats. One appeared identical to another. Where had she been sitting?

Reenie heard footsteps, low voices. People entering the gym.

“He's vanished … vanished,” a girl murmured, her voice quavering. A familiar voice. Liz's voice.

Peering between the seats, Reenie discovered Liz and Ty. They stood beneath the basketball net.

Ty gently stroked Liz's hair. “Let's drive around town and try to find out if anyone has seen him,” he suggested.

“Thank you,” Liz replied. She hugged him.

What is this? Reenie wondered. Could P.J. really be missing?

It feels creepy spying on them, Reenie thought. But I need to find out the truth. If P.J. really is missing, I don't know what I'm going to do.

As Reenie watched, Liz gently pulled Ty's head to hers and kissed him. A long, serious kiss.

Whoa, Reenie thought. Liz was crying so hard a few minutes ago. And now she's kissing Ty as if everything is wonderful. Why?

The bell rang. Liz and Ty strolled out of the gym, holding hands. Reenie spotted her pen and grabbed it. She trotted to English class.

She made it into her seat about ten seconds before the late bell sounded. “That's cutting it close,” Ms. Roper warned, giving Reenie a stern look.

“You all read the assignment in
Julius Caesar,
” she stated. “Now, who wants to tell us what happened?”

No one volunteered. The teacher's eyes scanned the room, searching for a victim. Not me, Reenie pleaded, sinking lower in her seat. Please, not me.

Ms. Roper's eyes fixed on someone else. “John, you tell us what's happening in the play.”

“Uh …” John Clayton had been at Reenie's party. He probably hadn't read the assignment, either.

“You have read it, haven't you?” Ms. Roper asked.

“Uh … well …” John stammered.

The door opened. Mr. Hernandez, the principal, stuck his head in.

“Excuse me, class,” Ms. Roper said. She joined Mr. Hernandez in the hall, closing the door behind her.

A moment later she reappeared. “Reenie, Mr. Hernandez would like to talk to you.”

Everyone stared at Reenie.

She rose slowly, gathering her books. She'd never been called out of class by the principal.

It had to be serious. The principal didn't call people out of class if it wasn't serious.

Reenie stepped into the hall. The police officer from her party stood beside the principal. “Sergeant
Jackson has some questions for you. Please go with him,” Mr. Hernandez said. He ran his hand nervously over his thinning hair.

Wild thoughts spun through Reenie's brain. Is this about the prank call? Or something else? Has something really horrible happened?

T
he officer led Reenie to the empty cafeteria. Greta, Artie, Sean, and Sandi sat at a long table at the back. A tall, skinny man wearing a gray suit stood behind them.

“Sit down,” Officer Jackson ordered.

Reenie joined her friends at the table. They exchanged worried glances.

“This is Detective Frazier,” the police officer stated, nodding toward the other man. “He's got some questions for you.”

The detective sat down at one end of the long table. Reenie felt her face burn when his eyes met hers. “I
understand you kids like to play tricks on each other,” Frazier declared. “That right?”

“They're only … only jokes,” Artie stammered. “It's all for fun.”

“Which one of you is Maureen Baker?” Frazier asked.

“I am,” Reenie answered. “But everyone calls me Reenie.”

“You held a Christmas party at your house last night?”

“Yes.”

“And you played some of these tricks on each other?”

Reenie nodded. Why are the police questioning us? she wondered frantically. What do they think we did? Are they this upset because they think we made a prank call?

“I want to hear from each of you.” Detective Frazier turned to Artie. “Tell me your name and what happened last night.”

Artie told him everything. The plan to play a joke on P.J. And how they thought they had pulled it off—only to have P.J. pull an even better trick on them.

“That is what happened?” the detective asked, gazing at Sean.

“Yes,” Sean replied. “Exactly.”

“We always try to scare each other,” Greta explained. “It's a game.”

“So P.J. appeared to be dead?” The detective glanced around the table.

“Yes, and he scared me to death,” Sandi confessed.

What about the rest of us? Reenie thought bitterly. Sandi didn't have to haul P.J. down the stairs.

“I … I didn't think he was breathing,” Artie said.

“Sean and I tried to do CPR,” Reenie volunteered.

“So you carried him down to the basement? But when you checked about five minutes later, he had disappeared,” the detective said. “Is that your story?”

Story? Why did he call it a story? Reenie wondered. Doesn't he believe us?

“That's right,” Sean replied. “And we were upstairs for only about five minutes. And P.J. was gone.”

Detective Frazier listened as each of them told the same story. He repeated the same questions to each of them.

“Why are you asking us all this?” Sandi demanded. “We didn't break any laws. It was a stupid joke.”

“Afraid it isn't a joke,” the detective replied somberly. “We found P.J.'s jacket in the Fear Street Woods, near the lake. His sister claims he didn't come home last night.”

Reenie felt her heart skip a beat. “He's … he's really missing?” she asked shrilly.

“Yes. He's missing,” Frazier replied. “Maybe somebody's joke went a little too far.”

“
W
e're worried about what happened to your friend,” Detective Frazier told them. “I'm giving you each my card. If you remember anything you haven't told me—important or not—call.”

By the time the detective finished with them, school had let out for the day. “What could have happened to P.J.?” Greta asked as they drifted over to the parking lot.

Reenie didn't know what to think. “Why would he have been in the Fear Street Woods after the party?”

“It doesn't have anything to do with us,” Sandi
insisted. “We played a joke, that's all. P.J. got into trouble after he left the house.”

“Sandi is right,” Sean agreed. “As soon as we left the basement, he probably sneaked up the stairs and out the back door. Then—”

“Do you think maybe someone murdered him?” Artie asked. He swallowed hard.

Reenie caught the fear in his eyes. She shuddered.

“Hold on,” Sean urged. “Why are we assuming the worst? All we know is that someone found P.J.'s jacket in the woods. P.J. could be fine.”

“Yeah!” Artie agreed quickly. “P.J. could be fine.”

“The police don't think he's fine,” Greta pointed out.

“And neither does Liz,” Reenie told them. “I heard her tell Ty that P.J. had vanished. Even the police said he never returned home last night. What if they never find him?”

“P.J. has been missing for almost a week. I heard the police are planning to drag Fear Lake for the body,” Reenie said. She slammed her trig book shut and flopped back on her bed. “It's making me crazy. All I can think about is P.J. I'm going to flunk all my classes.”

“I know,” Greta replied from Reenie's desk. “I keep wishing we hadn't played that stupid trick on him. I wish I'd taken the time to hang out with him at the party. We had some good talks, you know?”

Reenie sighed again and stared down at the cover of her trig book. “What problem are you on?”

“The fourth one,” Greta answered. “But I'm not
working
on it. I'm just trying to
understand
it.”

“Yuck. That problem. I couldn't do it, either. We need Sean.”

Reenie tossed her book on the floor. “I wonder if we'll ever find out what happened to P.J.”

“Maybe not,” Greta replied. “Sometimes people disappear. That's it. Nobody ever sees them again.”