Tunnels (16 page)

THE EVENING NEWS

Word gets out fast in my little town. By the time the ambulance pulled up to the hospital, tons of news crews were there waiting. No police tape or barrier to keep them back. So of course I was faced with microphones and cameras, filming me in all my new-found disaster beauty. I'd probably get offered a role in that zombie show. Kelley will for sure be drooling over new ways to humiliate me after seeing me on TV.

"Kat, what did you see down there?" one asked.

"Are there actual secret tunnels?" asked another.

"Who's the old man?" yelled the next.

Huh? How did they know about the tunnels and George already? Had the emergency crew been opening their fat mouths? A girl can't have a private disaster without everyone knowing?

"You need to move back—she's not ready to make a statement," I heard Mom warn them. "Let my daughter get some treatment. Then I'm sure we'll have a conference scheduled later today or tomorrow."

I wasn't able to see her, but was grateful she'd pulled it together and became the General again. Or should I say Press Secretary? I had my own private PR team in her and I'm not sure why it surprised me.

But where was Evan? I needed to tell him what I'd heard David say. Now that I'd thought about the evidence I'd collected, it made sense. George had to be the G.P. carved into the church pillar with Emily's initials 'cause his name is George Perkins. Problem with it all is David might convince the old man never to talk to me again 'cause he big time hates me.

Once they rolled me into the hospital, stuff began happening quickly. First I'm shoved into one of those enormous full body scanners. I wanted to punch the tech girl who kept warning me to lay still. Hello—not so easy to do when you've just about died. Practice up on your bedside manner, lady.

Finally they were done with x-rays and taking a bunch of blood, not to mention inspecting me for paralysis with little rubber hammers and brushes. When they wheeled me into my own room, Evan was there. I told him about what I knew and he nodded his head.

"Yeah, I heard it too. Don't worry, Kat. George will make up his own mind. And David better get a clue and just get over it. He's being ridiculous. Anyway, enough of that jerk. Thought you might want to see this…it'll totally make you forget the last few hours." He stuck one of his ear buds in my ear and held the screen up for me to see. "It seems the Cosmetology Club did the deed without me."

There, on the screen, was Kelley screaming at the top of her lungs. "I demand to know who did this! Where is Kat? I know she had something to do with it!"

Then I heard a voice off camera. Probably the guy taking the video. "Actually, she's in the hospital. She discovered some cool stuff out at the mayor's place."

Wow, this just happened? They must have posted it immediately. The shot moved from Kelley's angry face and scanned the campus of my school. Hanging all around campus were signs…trees, buildings, and chain link fences had the same message when the camera zoomed in. My note with an "s" squeezed in, supersized.

WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE YOUR ASB PRESIDENT?

D.
P.
C.
B.
S.
E.

O
I
O
E
H
V

N
'
C
F
C
E
'
I

T
K
F
A
S
L

E
U

Y
S

E

And below the note was a not-so-good pic of Kelley with red devil horns coming out of her enormous head. And some massive zits on her nose and forehead. Whoever added this stuff to her photo was my new best friend.

"Are you kidding me right now?" I was laughing and wishing I'd been there to see it all go down. "How am I ever going to thank you guys?"

"Girl, just seeing her face was thanks enough," he said. "Can you hear her sobbing in the background? And I forgot to tell you. She was disqualified from the voting 'cause she called you out in front of the school that day in the caf. Pretty bad week for Miss Evil."

Wow. There was no better revenge than this, and I'd had absolutely nothing to do with it. "Thanks, E. You're my best friend." I meant it. I hoped everybody had forgotten about how I'd been crushing hard on David. Like I said, I'm over him. Seriously.

Mom and Dad came in then. I wondered where Demon Boy was.

"Like my new 'do?" I croaked, trying to erase their worry with some humor.

"Here, dear, you need some liquids," Mom said seriously. "It's important we get you hydrated and comfortable."

"Listen to your mother, Kit-Kat," Dad said while he reached over and stroked my forehead. His eyes were teary and it was almost too much for me to take. Last year he'd been upset when I had a high fever, but he was nowhere close to this. We're talking brain frying fever of one hundred and four degrees so this had to be much more serious.

"I'm gonna take off," Evan said. "Just wanted you to see Kelley got what was coming to her. Figured you needed your day brightened."

"You're the best," I said. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow at school." I think our best friend status may have definitely reached BFF. After all, when someone saves your life
and
helps bring down one of the biggest b-words in the school to defend you, I'd say that someone deserves the extra F.

"Depends on how your tests come back, young lady," Mom warned. "Do you feel up to telling us what happened today?"

I was and I wasn't. I still didn't want to talk about the lizard people because how do you say a half human, half beast saved your life? And I seriously didn't want to be taken to a psychiatrist. But if the evening news was going to be talking about the tunnels, then I guess it was time to explain at least some of it.

"It's a long story." I paused and took a deep breath, deciding it would be good to finally get it all off my chest. "I've had the idea there were secret tunnels under Citrus Grove for a long time. Evan's grandpa, Pops, used to talk about them and how he had a map to them when he was a kid. So I decided to do some investigating."

Mom was quiet for a minute before she talked. But I recognized the look. It was the one which totally said,
I
'
m going to pretend like I
'
m taking you seriously, but actually I
'
m thinking about getting you in with my therapist tomorrow
. Then, finally, the words accompanied what I saw on her face. "Does this have something to do with needing more attention from us, honey?" She dabbed a wet cloth on my forehead. "I know your father and I are busy, but if you're feeling the need to seek our attention by practically killing yourself, then I think we need to talk."

Dad nodded but I could tell he totally didn't know what to say. His forehead had those crinkly worry-lines again.

"I'm not trying to kill myself." I mean, I know I'm in bad shape, but please get a grip people! "You want proof? I came across real documents about the tunnels in the archives at the library. They're what helped me find the forgotten tunnels and not only that." I took a deep breath because I was getting light-headed. "There's a secret room down there. President Roosevelt used it for meeting his friends. George, the old man you saw at the mayor's house, can back up all the stuff I just told you."

Judging by their faces, I might have just gone from a session with Mom's shrink to a suicide watch. I decided not to tell them the spirit of Kirke Woods told me there were tunnels, too. Positive they'd put me in lock-down at the same hospital where Joseph Cooper died if I did.

"You mean the crazy old guy?" Dad finally asked. "He seemed pretty unstable. How exactly do you know him?"

There was no way I was going to tell them that. Plus, what I'd say would probably make them believe George
is
nuts.

"Let's just say he's a friend of a friend." I stopped talking because I could hear some voices outside my room. It sounded like Sam, and for once I was glad to see him. But boy was I shocked when he stepped through the doorway, dragging David behind him.

Sam was smiling at me, which led me to wonder if I was dreaming. I had to be in some altered state because usually he'd be sticking his tongue out at me. Things must be bad. Maybe I'm dying, maybe they've all come together to witness my slow death. Maybe I crushed an important organ like my spleen or was exposed to some toxic chemical which is killing me right this instant. Why else would David be here?

But then he was right beside me, no dragging needed. I can definitely say it hurt worse to see my boyfriend (well what would you call him?) of twelve hours than anything else. Even the pounding in my head, which was about to split my skull wide open at the moment, wasn't as bad. It truly sent me over the edge and I began to cry.

"I told him," Sam said. He was at the foot of the bed and I could tell he was too afraid to get closer.

"Told him?" Mom asked. "Told him what?"

Sam peered over at David, almost like he needed help, so of course the cutest guy on the planet, who I was still mad at, spoke up.

"He told me how he pretended to be Kat the day I called her about The Black Keys concert." He reached over and grabbed my hand. "So you don't think I'm a loser?" He looked down at me then, and like they say on every mushy greeting card, my heart melted some. A girl can only be so strong.

"Samuel Mark Goldstein." Mom grabbed Sam by the ear and yanked him over to her. She reserves this for the extra bad stuff. Dad had a hold of Sam by the shoulder doing the death grip, backing her up. "What exactly did you do?"

Sam was crying now. I wished I could get some satisfaction, but he'd been the one to tell David the truth—even though his evil side had started it all.

"I'm s-s-s-sorry, sis," Sam stuttered. "I was just seeing if I could sound like you!"

I thought about how good he was at imitating people's voices. He might be able to get a job after all when he grows up. "So why did you finally tell the truth?" I asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders and took a moment before he answered. "The skate shoes. You bought them for me and you made me breakfast when I was sick," he sniffled.

I thought about when I glued his shoes to his skateboard deck. Guess we were even.

A CUTE BOY, A PIZZA, AND KELLEY'S POM-POM POSSE

A few months later during our winter break from school, George was honored at a big ceremony with a key to the city for having preserved a historical site. Almost didn't recognize him all cleaned up and shaved, his beard half the length now.

"I want to thank my family for sticking by me," he said. "Marjorie, Don, David, and little Markie, I'm sorry I haven't been around much—it's because I missed my Em. I promise to never disappear again until the good Lord is
ready
to take me."

I watched as David comforted his mom and dad. I'd decided to forgive him. Truth is, if I'd been him, I would've acted the same way. Reaching over, I squeezed his hand and hoped it would help. And when he squeezed back, I realized how much I'd missed him. Over the last month I'd dreamt of him a lot, but hadn't had a chance to talk to him for two reasons: (a) I'd been recuperating, and (b) he'd just gotten back from a family vacation. His mom and dad decided to get George out of town to give him some space until he was ready to talk. It must have been Hawaii because they were all wearing matching Hawaiian shirts and were super tan. FYI, David's even cuter when he's tan.

And since I didn't know for sure how he was feeling about me at this point, I told myself to chill out on the whole crush thing. Maybe we'd slipped into friend status, never to return to more. And I'd have to be okay with that. Especially if I wanted to keep seeing George. No sense setting myself up for disappointment.

"But I know I've got a lot of life to live before He's ready to call me home to Em," George said, pulling me out of my David-thoughts as he held up the key to the city. "And I accept this with gratitude, and look forward to helping the historians know more about the Roosevelt room. With the help of Katherine Goldstein, I believe we can shed some light on the history of our fair town." He winked and waved the key at me. I was glad he said nothing about the lizard people.

Life was back in George's eyes. He wasn't the same guy who'd been scaring me. The scruffy-bearded man was dead, and that was okay by me. His life had completely changed. He's back living with the Perkinses and he has a new girl. Ms. Finstead looked super happy and was waving at him from her wheelchair. Apparently they bonded in the hospital and I think it's safe to say they're crushing on each other.

Later, when David and I were alone, I told him how good it was to see his uncle so happy. "I don't think he'll ever get over missing Emily, but at least he seems to want to live now. Thanks to you he's happy," he said.

I remembered the note in the cemetery and how George had written he'd be joining Emily soon. It was hard to believe it was only a few weeks ago, when we had no idea who George was or who'd written the mysterious notes.

"I think Ms. Finstead has a little to do with it, too," I laughed. We were sitting at our own table at Antonio's Pizza while the rest of the Perkinses sat at another. But don't get excited. It was probably just a thank-you dinner for finding his uncle. Nothing more.

"You got that right," he said. "But you found him and saved his life. We hadn't seen him in a few years, so we were beginning to think he might have died. Like I said to you before, we used to always see him at Thanksgiving. When he stopped coming around, we were sure something had happened to him."

"I'm just glad you've got him living with you now instead of in the tunnels," I said. "Although he did have a pretty cool room down there." I hoped someday I could go back there. George was right. It did feel safe in the underground room, away from the world. Guess I wasn't so claustrophobic anymore.

It was sad. Apparently the cave-in that began at the mayor's mansion had affected the whole tunnel system. The city had sealed off access points so no one would get hurt. Nobody was sure yet how much damage had been done. So George might never get to see his private place again, the place he and Emily shared and fell in love with. But maybe with Ms. Finstead in the picture, it won't be so hard for him to face. Maybe it's time for him to move on.

"It'd be cool if we could have our own spot, too." David picked up my hand and held it. Oh my. Now that was friendly.

"Have you seen all the people visiting Citrus right now?" I asked. The secret of the tunnels was out and everybody wanted to see them. Made me scared for the lizard people.

"Yeah, it's good the tunnels were closed up. Otherwise we'd be out making rescues all the time. Then you and I would hardly see each other. Unless, of course, you need more rescuing," he teased.

Boy do I
, I thought.
And more
hand-
holding. Definitely more
hand-
holding.
I really needed to stop this. One dinner and some hand-holding doesn't mean
boyfriend
.

"Yeah, I guess with the tunnels closed I'll have to think of some other ways to get myself in trouble," I told him. "Glad you'll be there to pull me out of any holes I might fall into."

I wondered if whoever or whatever saved me during the earthquake had survived the cave-in. I hadn't talked to George to see if he'd gotten a better look at the figure than I had in the tunnel, but I planned to in the next few days. I still had no idea if the lizard people saved my life or something else. Finally I could get around better with the smaller cast (yes, fully casted right leg up till now) so it was making it easier to go places.

"Look who the Kat dragged in!" Kelley was suddenly beside us, laughing her signature annoying laugh. It was a cross between a psychotic goose and a pig. At least that's what I thought. "Get it? Kat—Cat!"

Crap. Why was she always around? I wanted to strangle her. But then David reached across the table again and squeezed my hand. I needed to remember it was
my
hand he was squeezing, and he didn't care about her or any of her midriff-baring crew who'd come into Antonio's to bug us.

"That the best you could come up with?" I squeezed his hand back and stared straight at her, as if I wasn't annoyed at all. "I'd ask you to sit down, but this isn't an IQ-optional table." Lots of chuckles when I said it. Especially from cutest boy ever.

"Hey, Kelley, up so soon?" He winked at me.

"So soon? What do you mean, Davey?"

And then he said something I wished I'd thought of.

"I thought plastic surgery for horn removal would take a lot longer to heal. You don't look so bad." He didn't even crack a smile when he said it. Was that steam coming out of her ears? I felt the heat travel up my arm as he squeezed again.

And to make it even better, Kelley's girls, led by BFF Ashley, couldn't help it. They laughed, and so for the first time ever, I laughed with them. Best part of it all? She actually reached up and felt the top of her head, which was totally hilarious. It was a thrilling sight to see the fury on her face. She was just about to come back at us when the server barged through the pom-pom group with our pizza. Not that they had pom-poms tonight, but I'm sure they carried them around a lot more often than they cracked a book.

Her crew calmed down when they realized how completely done Kelley was, and I heard her say the b-word as they walked away, but what did I care? It actually surprised me they left so easily, and I wondered if we'd be hearing more from them tonight. We all know Kelley never gives up until she wins.

"This is the best," I said as I took a huge bite of my favorite pizza, half full of jalapenos and pineapple. "You should try a piece," I urged him as he bit into his Meat Lovers slice. Meat doesn't belong on pizza, but if that's the worst I can say about him, no biggie.

"Okay—you gonna give me a bite of yours?" he asked.

I almost choked. Definitely
not
a buddy activity. But he didn't wait for me to answer. He just got up and came around to sit right next to me in the booth.

Did you catch that? Right. Next. To. Me.

Just the right temp before, the room was way too warm now (on account of the cute guy next to me, of course). Why couldn't our table be farther away from the fireplace? What if the sweat began dripping down my face or I started smelling oogey even though I'd used extra deodorant?

"I'm ready!" But instead of opening his mouth for a bite, he leaned in and kissed my cheek and threw his arm over my shoulder. I have to say the we-are-officially-hanging-out-together feeling is the best feeling ever! And if it wasn't for all the whistling and giggling from Kelley and her crew, it would have been perfect. Now
everyone
in the place was staring at us.

"Don't worry about them." He picked up my pizza and took a bite before handing it to me. "That
is
good—but I think I'll stick to all-meat-all-the-time with my food choices." He laughed then, and I leaned into him before he got up and moved across from me again. The smell of soap and a freshly showered boy was probably the best smell of all.

"You've had a big month," he joked. "So why don't you tell me what you do other than falling down holes, saving the mayor's life, and discovering secret tunnels with my great uncle who I thought was dead?" He flashed those great dimples at me.

What could I say that wasn't totally boring to a perfect boy? It's not like I've had a lot (none) of practice at this sort of thing. But I wanted him to know the everyday me so he could decide if he liked me. And now that I'm twelve (woo-hoo finally had my birthday!), he can get to know the
mature
me. Say goodbye to undies with unicorns and puppies on them.

"Okay, you asked, so if you start to get drowsy, let me know." I reached over and took a sip of root beer before I began. "I like everything about the nineteen forties, even though the world was at war. I love music of the eighties, because my mom and dad have a lot of old albums from then. But my favorite is Indie music like The Black Keys—" I stopped, sad for a second we hadn't gone to see them together.

"By the way…I didn't go to the concert," he said.

"Seriously?"

"Yup. Didn't want to go without you."

My heart started beating super-fast now. He
does
like me.

"So what else?" he asked.

And he wants to know more. Guess I hadn't bored him yet. "Well you already know my brother, Sam, loves to torment me and get me in trouble. I can't think of much good to say about him, except that he did finally tell the truth about pretending he was me. Which I guess takes him out of the evil zone even though it was his fault in the first place. We call Mom 'the General' and she's always making disgusting casseroles for dinner. Dad likes vinyl records and has no clue how to download music. I also like books and libraries and could spend all day in one, as long as I have some PB and Js to hold me over."

Well, he's still sitting there. So I threw in my last detail, the most important one of all which describes me, I think. "I also plan on discovering a lost civilization because I want to be a famous archaeologist." I kept the knowledge of the lizard people to myself. He'd learn soon enough.

"Well? What do you think?" I asked when he still hadn't spoken.

"I think I better get a library card if I want to see much of you," he laughed. But it wasn't like he was laughing at me. I could tell he was being sweet, and I'm not sure I could think of a much better feeling. It was a new level of feeling good inside, one I wasn't sure what to do with. For once I kept my mouth shut and believed that things were near perfect.

"I also think," he said, "that I have something important to ask you."

His eyes were staring into mine and I felt squirmy for a minute. Did I have pizza sauce on my face? Was there some weird booger thing in my nose? But I fought the urge to run to the bathroom for a quick mirror check, and waited for whatever it was he was going to say.

And then it happened.

"Want to hang out together, like, more?"

My dream. Here. With him. What more could a twelve-going-on-thirteen-in-eleven-and-a-half-months-year-old girl ask for? On top of that, Mom and Dad had officially told me they liked him and thought he was a "nice little friend." Although Dad told me, "I just happened to mention to David the night at the hospital that I'm a CIA operative. Told him if he wanted to stay clear of the pokey he'd best mind his manners with you. Otherwise I'd go Double-O-Seven on him if I have to." It was hard to picture Dad as James Bond, and it was even harder to picture why David was still sitting here after
that
conversation. Totally embarrassing Dad's law enforcement vocabulary was straight out of old westerns and James Bond movies.

"Well?" he asked.

"Totally," I answered. Finally I wasn't afraid of boogers and food on my face.

"Come on," he said, "let's go wait outside until my family is done eating." We stood up and he held his hand out to me. I grabbed on and we didn't let go as we walked past the staring eyes of Kelley and friends, and for the first time, I didn't care what they thought.

Outside, the evening air was perfect, not too cold, not too hot. When we got to the Perkinses' SUV, he handed me a small cloth bag he'd pulled from his pocket. "Uncle George said to go ahead and give this to you."

The bag was black velvet, the kind you would use to store special things. The initials E.V. were embroidered on it in gold thread. Emily's initials. I ran my hand across the stitching and then loosened the gathered opening. Peeking inside, I was only partly shocked by what I saw. I poured the contents into my other hand and stared for a minute, taking it all in. It was like being told you'd won the lottery. Bones and teeth, sharp and pointed, sat in my hand. They were yellowed from age and seemed ancient…and I wondered how Emily had come to have them. A familiar rush of excitement went through me like it always did whenever I was on the verge of being a part of huge-osity. I felt honored in a way, like I was chosen. Guess George was ready for me to finish what Emily started. Once and for all we needed to find out if the lizard people were real.

"Looks like somebody needed to see a dentist," David said. "Is this your big secret?"

"Maybe."

I didn't want to talk about it yet, and I sure didn't want to mess up what was happening between us right now. Plus, my memory of what I'd seen in the tunnels wasn't so clear anymore. I poured the pieces back into the bag and peered up at him. This could wait. Tonight I would just enjoy being with him. The door to Antonio's opened and the Perkinses came out laughing. But I didn't take my eyes off of him.