What Would Emma Do? (21 page)

I didn’t need to run very far before I realized who my potential reinforcement could be, even if it meant having to swallow my pride. I ran past Todd’s house. The stroller mommy vigilantes were gone, but I was willing to bet the neighbors were watching the house like it was free cable. Spying on neighbors is an accepted activity in Wheaton. If I went up to the front door, it would take less than one minute for the news to spread through town, and that might mess with the plan. I ran down the street and then doubled back through the greenbelt so that I could approach the house from the back.

Victory. I could see Todd walk past one of the upper-story windows. I picked up a small stone and hurled it at the window. It plunked on the siding and fell back to the yard. It hardly made any sound at all. It’s clear why running is my sport and not softball pitching. I picked up another stone and tried again. This one hit the ledge, but I still missed the window. I bent down, found another rock, and hurled it. I would have hit the window that time too, except for the fact that the window was now open and Todd was leaning out. I nailed him right between the eyes.

“Shit,” Todd said, grabbing his head and then checking for blood. He winced and looked out. I gave a halfhearted wave.

“Proctor? Is that you?”

“Can you come down?”

He didn’t say anything, but he shut the window and the light went off. I paced back and forth in the tree line while I waited. He came jogging out the back door. He was wearing a giant sweatshirt, and he pulled the hood up as he came out.

“You know, there is this brand-new technology you might have heard of called a doorbell. Or, if technology freaks you out, then you could try the traditional door-knocking thing.”

“You okay?”

“You threw a rock at my head. I thought the towns-people had finally come to stone me.”

“Sorry.” I made patterns in the fallen pine needles with my shoes. “How have you been?”

“Do you mean how have I been since everyone thinks I’ve been trying to poison my classmates, or how’ve I been since I kissed you and you ran away without saying another word?”

“I meant more of just a general how have you been.” I shuffled in place. “About when I was here last time. I left for a reason.”

“Let me guess, it’s complicated.” Todd looked at me, then gave a sigh.

“You could have called me,” I pointed out.

“Life’s getting complicated here, too. My parents are talking about moving.”

“Moving? Are you serious?”

“TES is a private school. They can kick me out with or without any proof. That means I either need to take my GED or transfer somewhere for the last couple months of school. Not to mention that everyone around here thinks I’m a psycho. I think my parents are afraid this could affect my self-image in a negative way. To be honest, I think their whole dream of living in America’s heartland hasn’t really panned out the way they thought. I think they want to go back to Chicago.” He shot me a look. “I’m sort of surprised to see you.”

“I wanted to talk to you, but I was grounded.”

“Because you went out with me?”

“Sort of, more because my mom was doing this freak-out thing.”

“Would she be mad that you’re here now?”

“I don’t think so, we’ve worked a few things out. I wanted to talk to you. I need your help with something.”

Todd looked at me. I could tell he was trying to figure out what I was up to and if the whole thing was a joke.

“Okay.”

I followed him into the back of the house, giving a quick look to see if any of his neighbors were watching. We walked through his kitchen; Mrs. Seaver was clearly a fan of the country look. I hadn’t really looked around last time I was here. The house was stuffed with antiques, and the walls had old metal signs advertising oatmeal and coffee. The signs were dinged up and faded, but cool. I paused to look them over. The room smelled like caramelized sugar and chocolate. Someone must have been baking. My nose twitched like a rabbit.

Todd walked into the living room, flopped into a big leather club chair, and motioned to the sofa. I sat down and sank into the piles of pillows. It was possible I would need a crane to get out of there. I noticed that Todd hadn’t chosen to sit next to me, which gave me the feeling he wasn’t quite over the whole walkout incident.

“So what’s up?” Todd asked.

“I wanted to know if you could help me with something.”

“Depends.”

“Okay, here’s the thing. I need you to promise not to tell anyone what I’m about to tell you.”

“Can’t do that.”

I shut my mouth with a click. I hadn’t been expecting that answer.

“Why not? You don’t trust me?”

“Nope. I’ve got no reason to trust you,” said Todd, without breaking eye contact. “It isn’t that I don’t want to.”

“But you don’t.”

“Nothing personal, but I’m not real trusting lately.”

Todd’s reaction was less than ideal. I wasn’t thinking that he was going to be my knight in shining armor, but I had been hoping that he would just fall for my feminine wiles without thinking about things too much. So much for wiles.

“Then I don’t know if I can talk to you,” I countered in what I hoped was an enticing manner.

Todd stood up and brushed his pants off.

“Well, thanks for stopping by.”

“Are you serious?”

“Completely.”

I sat there twisting the fringe on one of the pillows while I thought over my options.

“Okay, you don’t have to promise.”

Todd flopped back down in the chair and motioned for me to start talking.

“I know that Darci and Kimberly are lying about what happened. There was never anyone after them. No one slipped them anything. They took something out at the Barn, some pills, and that’s why Kimberly got sick.”

“What about everyone else who got sick?”

“I have no idea what happened with everyone else. I’m pretty sure Darci took the same stuff later to make it look good when she had her fit. Or she faked the whole thing. I’m guessing the rest of them are faking it to fit in.”

Todd paused, thinking it over.

“I guess it could be psychosomatic.”

“Huh?”

“In their heads. It can happen with groups. It’s like groupthink. If you tell someone you smell something, you can convince a whole crowd of people they smell it too. There have been case studies where schools have been evacuated because everyone was sure there was some gas or something, kids getting sick, throwing up, you name it, only there really wasn’t anything there. It’s group panic. You believe it and then your body responds.”

“Well, there you go. It’s psychosomatic.”

“How do you know Kimberly took pills?”

“First, I don’t know how well you know Kimberly, but there isn’t anything she wouldn’t try in pursuit of a party. There was this one party out at the Barn last year, and everyone brought whatever booze they had stolen from their folks. So there was this toxic mixture of orange juice, vodka, rum, beer, coolers, and then some guy brought a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream. So when the Bailey’s met the rest of that mixture, it formed these, like, clots on the surface. Like booze dumplings.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“Exactly. You’re not even seeing it, let alone smelling it. It was nasty. Everyone at the party was ticked because now the stuff was undrinkable, but Kimberly fished those Bailey’s clots out of the mixture and
ate
them. That’s the kind of girl she is.”

“Nice. Still doesn’t prove anything.”

“I’m telling you I know for a fact that she and Darci made up their story. They weren’t home that night, they were at a party out at the Barn. I was there and I saw them. I left before they saw me.”

“So if you know, why haven’t you said anything before now?”

“It’s complicated, but I couldn’t. I still can’t.”

“So you came over here to tell me you know that I’m being blamed for something I didn’t do, but that because it’s ‘complicated’ you can’t actually help me?”

“But I
can
help you. I’ve got a plan.”

“Okay,” he said slowly.

I leaned forward to tell him my plan.

“We give Kimberly a religious vision and tell her that God wants her to confess. I’m thinking it should be Kimberly, because it’s possible Darci doesn’t have a soul. Kimberly is way more naïve, too. We have God tell her that if she doesn’t come clean before the show this weekend, her immortal soul is in peril. Real fire-and-brimstone kind of stuff.”

“A vision.”

Todd didn’t sound convinced. I had hoped he would recognize a good plan when he saw one. I’m not saying I expected him to fall to his knees in gratitude, but I expected a bit more of a positive reaction. Then again, it’s possible religious visions aren’t big in the Jewish faith, and therefore he was underestimating the power.

“Yep. I’ve been thinking, and I’ve got a pretty good idea. If we went to the Barn and set up like a gas fireplace fixture thingy, then we could make some kind of burning bush effect. Basically, we need a fire that doesn’t burn out. We would have to hide the mechanics, but there has to be a way to do that. You’re really good in the sciences, so maybe you could handle that part. As long as she doesn’t look too close, it will work. If she thinks it’s God in there, I’m thinking she won’t investigate. We’ll have to go into Fort Wayne and go to a Home Depot to get the stuff. They would have everything we need to make it work, and no one knows us there. We set it up and then we trick her out there somehow. We hide up in the hayloft and play a tape recording of our voices, so that we can disguise them somehow, telling her to tell the truth or risk burning in hell.”

“Are you serious?”

“Well, if you can think of something else, I’m open. The thing is, we have to make sure she doesn’t recognize us, and it has to be appropriately miracle-like.”

Todd didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he leaned forward quickly.

“I know! We could do some kind of parting of the Red Sea thing, only instead of the Red Sea it would have to be the pond on the Emerson lot. Maybe with some of those pumps from the hardware store.”

“Do you think it would work?”

Todd burst out with a harsh laugh.

“No, it wouldn’t work. Neither will your burning bush plan. You start a fire of any sort in the Barn, and between the old wood and the garbage lying around, that place would go up in record time. Then, in addition to the trouble I’m in, I could add arson. Great plan. Thanks for coming over. Maybe later you could get me involved in some other felony.”

“I’m not saying the plan doesn’t need work.” I felt a bit annoyed. “It’s easier to criticize other people’s ideas than to come up with your own.”

“I have a plan. How about you go to the school and tell them your big secret? Tell them how you know the whole thing is a lie.”

“I can’t do that,” I said. “No one would believe me.”

“How do you know unless you try?”

“It wouldn’t work. I tried telling my own mom and she didn’t believe me. I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“I’m telling you, it’s complicated.”

“Life’s complicated, Proctor.” Todd stood, putting an end to our meeting. “You know, I actually thought for a minute that maybe you came out here because you liked me.”

“I do like you.”

“No, you like the idea of liking somebody different. You don’t care about me at all.”

“I can’t explain, but you have to trust me. This isn’t easy for me.”

“If you want it to be easy, then you’re going to be pretty fucking disappointed. If you can’t handle the complications in a small town, there’s no way you can handle someplace like Chicago.”

I stood up in a huff, or to be more honest I swam around in the pillows for a few seconds while I tried to heave myself out of the quicksand couch. I pointed a finger at him. “Don’t be so sanctimonious.”

“Oooh, fancy SAT word.”

“Don’t be an ass. If you think it’s easier in a small town, then you’re wrong.”

“It’s not easy in a big city, either, just easier to hide from shit you don’t want to face.”

I opened my mouth to say something really foul, when Todd’s mom walked into the room. She was tiny. I’ve seen fourth graders who were taller than Mrs. Seaver. She had dark, curly hair and small features. It looked like she was half human and half elf. I choked on the words that were about to fly out of my mouth.

“Hello! I’m Mrs. Seaver.” She gave me a warm smile. “Did Todd offer you anything to drink? He didn’t tell me he was having any friends over.”

“Emma just stopped by. She can’t stay,” said Todd.

“That’s no reason not to be a decent host. Boys,” she said, looking at me with a shake of her head. “Can I offer you anything? We’ve got juice and some soda.” She gestured toward the kitchen.

“No thank you, ma’am.”

“Emma has to be going. She’s got all these complicated things on her plate,” Todd said.

I felt my lip twitch, but I didn’t say anything. I just kept smiling.

“Well, I’ll get out of your hair.” His mom gave my arm a pat as she walked out of the room.

Todd and I both waited for her to leave and then faced off.

“There is no reason for you to be an ass,” I hissed at him.

“There is no reason for me to be nice, either,” he said. “This has nothing to do with me. You think you’re so different from everyone here, but you’re not. You’re just like them. Make it look it good, but don’t worry about the truth. You can let yourself out.”

I chucked the throw pillow at his back, but if I was hoping for an impressive gesture I should have thrown something harder than a down pillow. It nearly fluttered to the floor, it was so light. Todd turned around and raised an eyebrow and then walked out. I took a couple of deep breaths and then headed back through the kitchen.

Mrs. Seaver was taking cookies out of the oven. “Are you sure you have to leave?”

“Yes, ma’am. I was out for a run and just stopped by. I’ve got a curfew.”

“All these ma’ams make me feel old. You just call me Carol.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. Wheaton is one of those towns where calling an adult anything other than Mr., Mrs., sir, or ma’am is a near-criminal offense. I was no more likely to call her Carol than I was to sprout wings and fly home. I settled for a vague smile.