The Blacker House
by
Nicole Mulloy
Copyright 2012
Published at Smashwords
1.
Kate awoke with a start. Panic gripped her as her eyes darted around the dark, unfamiliar room. Her heart thudded in her chest and she gasped to take in ragged breaths. Reaching out uncertainly, her fingers came upon a hard, strong surface and she used it to steady herself. She peered into the darkness and tried to decipher the strange shapes in the darkness. Where am I? A small shaft of moonlight shone onto polished hardwood floors. Crystal chandeliers tinkled overhead, as if a breeze had just wafted through the room.
I’m in the new house, she realized with relief. She took a deep breath and felt her body relax and her heartbeat slow. A whisper of a dream passed through her mind. She recalled the image of a tall, shadowy man and she felt cold, hard dread in the pit of her stomach, although she couldn’t recall anything else from her dream.
What am I doing down here? She was standing on the bottom step of the staircase in the foyer, her hand gripped on the railing. It was very strange place to wake up, but not that strange for Kate.
Kate shivered. The new house was unfamiliar and seemed too big. Kate felt small and insignificant as the house loomed around her. It was too large, even for Kate’s ridiculously large family. With all seven people under its roof, the house still felt cavernous and empty. Suddenly, Kate had the distinct feeling that she was being watched. She glanced into the dark rooms to her left and right. She remained motionless for a moment, holding her breath as she listened intently. The house was quiet and still as the grave.
Kate shook her head, throwing off the sinister feeling. By now, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she shuffled into the kitchen, weaving her way carefully around stacked boxes, most yet to be unpacked, and felt along the wall until she found the light switch. The kitchen glowed painfully white. Kate squinted and made her way to the refrigerator. It held only a box of soda cans, a gallon of milk and a greasy box of leftover pizza. Grabbing a paper cup from the counter, she poured herself a cup of milk and downed it too fast, making her stomach feel full and bloated. She burped loudly. It was a talent.
She moved to throw her cup into the trash, but just as she did, she heard a loud thump. It came from the basement. Of course…the basement.
The door to the basement looked innocent enough, a thick wood door newly painted a gleaming white, but behind the door lurked the creepiest basement Kate had ever seen. The creaky wooden stairs led down to a dank catacomb of rooms. The walls and floor were made of large rocks mortared together. It made Kate shudder to know that the huge house, all three stories, rested on a foundation of nothing but rocks and hundred-year-old glue.
One of the rooms of the basement was almost completely filled with dirt. Dirt! It seemed so strange, but then Kate had never lived in an old manor like this before. Maybe they all had basement rooms filled with dirt.
Kate stood frozen, paper cup poised over the trash. She glanced back at the basement door and noticed it was slightly ajar. Kate gulped. Her fingers finally released the paper cup which fell into the trash. Carefully, she padded across the floor in her bare feet, taking quiet, cautious steps. Reaching a hand out slowly, she pushed on the door and heard it click shut. Kate backed away slowly, noticing how her pulse had quickened.
She scoffed at her own unease. It’s just a door, she told herself. It’s a creepy basement, but all old houses have creepy basements. It’s some kind of real estate law. Kate glanced at the clock: quarter to three. She’d better get back to bed. She had to get up early in the morning. Tomorrow was her first day at the new school. Kate’s stomach fluttered just thinking about it.
Just as she turned to head up the stairs, Kate heard another thump, followed by a squeak. Slowly, she turned her head. The basement door stood open again, just a little, just enough for someone to peek through.
Kate’s heart raced now as wild thoughts ran through her mind. Blood-sucking vampires and psycho killers could be lurking behind the door, ready to pounce at any moment and rip her to shreds. Kate nearly turned and ran out of the room, screaming like a lunatic, but a calmer Kate found her way to the surface. This calm Kate took control. It’s just an old door in an old house. Don’t freak out. Calm Kate looked at the door and the slit of darkness behind it. It didn’t look like anybody or anything hid behind it. No yellow eyeballs peered out at her. Her fear diminished, but her heart still banged away like a bass drum, thumping loudly in her chest.
Summoning up her courage, Kate strode back to the basement door. This time, she put her whole hand on the door and gave it a firm shove. The door responded with a firm clack. She wouldn’t wait to see if it opened again. Kate dodged the boxes, walking quickly away from the basement door, picking up her feet a little higher than usual.
Instead of taking the wide, open staircase in the foyer, Kate opted for the small “back” stairs. Mom said that they were the servants’ stairs, back from when the house was a lavish estate. The servants’ stairs were crooked and creaky with a low ceiling and close walls. They felt safe to Kate, safe and comfortable. She flipped off the kitchen light and slipped up the stairs, all the way to the third floor where her sparse bedroom awaited.
Kate shimmied between the covers of her bed and glanced at the only thing she had unpacked in her room, the sweet, smiling picture of Jacob. She missed him so much. She thought about him as she fell into a fitful sleep.
2.
“Get up, Kate! Get out of bed!” her mother’s voice echoed through the stairwell.
Kate groaned and pulled the covers up over her head. Her alarm clock beeped loudly and Kate reached over to turn it off. Mornings were always too early for her, especially today. She suddenly remembered a pillowcase she slept on as a child. It pictured Sally from the Peanuts gang saying “I hate to go to bed at night and I hate to get up in the morning.” It pretty much summed up Kate’s attitude then, and now at sixteen.
She rubbed her eyes and stretched. The memory of waking up the foyer suddenly came to the forefront of her mind. It had been a while since her last “nighttime event.” That’s what her parents called her occasional sleepwalking episodes. Kate hated that term. They made it sound like she wet the bed. She had started walking in her sleep when she was only a toddler. Her parents often found her sitting at the kitchen table in the middle of the night. Once, after a frantic search, she was discovered sitting at the top of the slide of her swing set. Kate had not had a nighttime event in a long time. In fact, years had passed since the last once. She had considered herself cured.
It must be stress, she decided. Leaving Jacob, moving to the new town and the new house, it had all happened so fast. In fact, Kate was feeling very stressed right now. She had to start at the new school today, in just over an hour, in fact.
She threw her legs over the side of the bed and stood. The photograph of Jacob was lying face down on her bedside table. She must have knocked it over during the night. She set it back upright. The sight of his face made her happy and sad at the same time. She knew that he missed her and loved her, but she didn’t know when she would see him again.
Not yet fully awake, she made her way into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The pipes groaned and protested in the walls as the house tried to heat up the water. While she waited, Kate looked at herself in the mirror.
Kate’s appearance seemed to change from day to day. Some days, Kate thought she was kind of pretty, with thick brown hair, sparkling green eyes and clear skin. Other days, she thought she looked like a circus freak. Her hair could only be described as mousy brown and it never grew past her shoulders. Sure, she had nice green eyes, but with nonexistent eyelashes, and her skin took on a yellowy hue sometimes. Those great pink lipsticks she saw in magazines never looked quite right on her. Kate’s mother told her that she was olive-skinned, a genetic blip from some Greek ancestors. Darn ancestors.
Although Kate had never been a great athlete, she looked the part with a compact, athletic build. She enjoyed sports, soccer and basketball mostly, but at just over five feet tall, she didn’t see herself dunking the basketball any time soon. Maybe if she had a trampoline or a step-ladder.
Finally, clouds of steam started to billow toward the ceiling. Kate climbed into the shower and stood under the hot water, not moving. It always took her a few minutes to wake up enough to shampoo her hair. She thought about going to the new school and a flurry of anxiety spread through her. A few days ago, Kate and her sister Lucy had visited their new school, St. Peter’s Regional High School, a Catholic school. Kate had always attended public school back in Nebraska. Public school suited Kate just fine. Her old high school had been big and bustling with lots of dances, football games and even some interesting classes.
But St. Pete’s was dingy and small, nothing like her school in Nebraska. It didn’t even have a cafeteria, but Kate’s parents heard it was the best school in town. Maybe it gave Mom some peace of mind to know her children were finally being educated by devout Catholics. No more learning secular math from public school. Whatever.
School had started a few weeks ago here, so Kate was already behind. She sighed heavily and allowed the steamy air of the shower to fill her lungs. She pushed the nervousness aside and turned her thoughts to Jacob. As always, thinking of him made her smile, even on a cloudy, stressful Monday morning.
She remembered the last day she saw him. All of the family’s belongings had been packed up and taken away, leaving the house emptier and cleaner that it had ever been. On the last night in Nebraska, Kate’s family slept in sleeping bags on the floor. Jacob arrived in the morning to say goodbye.
They stood embraced together for what felt like forever, yet it seemed so fleeting now. She had been wearing his football jersey, number 14, with his name, “Wilkinson,” across the back. In her arms she clutched the stuffed koala he had given her for their six month anniversary. Jacob wrapped his arms around her as she dropped her head onto his chest, her shoulders shaking with sobs. He lifted her chin and kissed her gently on the lips.
Her parents and four siblings were waiting in the van. There came a sudden moment when Kate realized that she really had to go. She really had to leave Jacob. Although she knew this time would come, she couldn’t believe it had come so soon, or that it could hurt so much. Kate stood fast, clutching Jacob hard. After a few minutes, she heard the van engine start. She glanced up. Even from here, she could see that her family was anxious to go, seatbelts snapped, beads of sweat forming on her mother’s face.
Kate hugged Jacob tightly and looked at his face. His mouth was a tight line, tears slipping from his eyes. She kissed him again and mouthed the words “I love you.” Then, she pulled away. He held onto her arm, then let his grasp slip to her hand. They lingered there a moment, holding hands, and then let go.
As the cars pulled away, Kate looked back on Jacob’s handsome, tear-streaked face, then had fallen into a fit of sobbing that lasted all the way to Des Moines. Nobody spoke. After a while, Kate could only heave her shoulders, exhausted from crying. She laid her cheek against the window, staring at unending cornfields, heartbroken. In the shower, Kate could feel the hot tears again, trickling down her cheeks and dripping off her chin. She missed Jacob so much.
Now, Kate Gilbert was a resident of Huntington, West Virginia. It still didn’t seem real. A month ago, she didn’t even know West Virginia was a state. She thought it was just, you know, western Virginia. It really is a state.
West Virginia was predictably awful thus far. Here for only a week and she already hated it.
For the first few nights, Kate’s family stayed in hotel rooms on the edge of town. On the very first morning after arriving, the family went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. As they were finishing their food, the chubby waitress asked them if they would like anything else. They all shook their heads.
“I can’t bring ya’ nothin’ else?” she asked. Then, the waitress had looked right at Kate and said, “Looks like yer stuffed as a tick!” Kate looked at her mother in horror. It was at that moment that Kate knew she would hate this town, hate this state, hate her new life.
Kate finished rinsing and turned off the shower, fully preparing herself to hate her new school.
*
Everybody was bustling around the kitchen this morning, the smell of coffee hanging in the warm air. Kate glanced quickly at the basement door. It appeared to be shut tight.
Kate’s mom, in pumps and a pressed suit, clicked across the kitchen floor, a stack of papers in her hand. She looked harried, her makeup applied thickly over the dark circles looming under her eyes. It looked like Mom hadn’t slept well either.
“You’re on your own for breakfast, Katie,” she said as she sloshed a bit of coffee on the counter top. Kate’s dad grabbed a washcloth to wipe it up.
“We can put a man on the moon, but we can’t build a coffee pot that doesn’t spill coffee all over the counter top.” Kate’s dad often marveled at the ineptness of the human race by comparing it to the moon landing.
“There’s cereal in the cupboard by the fridge. I think there’s milk left, if your sisters left you any.” Mom continued to stomp around the room, trying to find things in the disorganized mess.
“Calm down, dear,” Kate’s dad put an arm around his wife as she passed him.
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re being frantic. You’re going to be great. Isn’t she, Kate?”
Kate looked at her mom; saw the nervous quiver of her lip. It was Mom’s new job that had moved the whole family to West Virginia. A lot rode on this job, this first day.
“Yeah, you’ll be fine, Mom,” Kate said, and then wished she had said something a little more encouraging. She went for the coffeepot and poured herself a big cup.
Last summer, Kate had worked part-time at a doughnut shop. The doughnuts were nothing to speak of, but the coffee was fantastic. Kate became hooked on coffee, swimming with lots of sugar and real cream. The coffee at home didn’t compare in taste, but at least it woke her up for school.
Marie and Lucy, Kate’s younger sisters, were sitting at the kitchen table in the small breakfast nook. The Gilberts’ large kitchen table filled up the whole room. This small room, painted a cheery yellow, seemed just right for breakfast. Several large windows lined one wall, facing east. Behind the house, a small backyard was encircled by a wooden fence. Behind that, an alley ran the length of the block. The Gilberts’ two cars were parked there beside a small garage.
October was just around the corner, and although it was already after seven, the sun was still trying to reach into all the shadowy places of the backyard. Although Kate loved the fall, she always felt a touch of sadness when the days grew noticeably shorter. She knew that the departure of the sun was slow, but it seemed to Kate very sudden. One day, it was summer. The next, she was going to school in cold darkness. It always took her by surprise.
Kate’s normally squealing sisters were quiet and thoughtful this morning. Kate was glad for it. She didn’t feel like talking anyway. She poured her cereal and looked at them. Lucy appeared to have taken great care in picking out her clothes. Her short black hair was carefully combed and gelled into place. Marie was in her plaid school uniform, required by the elementary school, complete with white tights and black shoes. She was small for her age, and she had to straighten her back to properly slurp her cereal.
“Are you all ready to go?” Kate asked Lucy as she finished off her breakfast.
Lucy nodded, her big blue eyes full of excitement. “I just need to grab my backpack.”
“Alright, let’s get going.” The school was just a few blocks away. Kate and Lucy would walk. Marie didn’t start until later and would get dropped off by their dad, who had several job interviews lined up for the day.
“Make sure your brothers are awake before you leave, Kate,” Mom yelled from the kitchen.
“Why do I have to wake them up? They’re big boys.”
Mom gave Kate a tired look. “Just do it.”
“Okay,” Kate said, rolling her eyes.
“Have a good first day.” Mom kissed each girl on the cheek and gave quick hugs. Then, she clicked out the door.
Kate grabbed her backpack and shouted to her youngest sister. “Marie, wake up the boys before you go.”
Marie frowned. “Mom told you to do it!”
“I know, but I have to go. Just do it.” Kate walked out the door, Lucy catching up behind her. She heard Marie complaining to their father. Kate shut the door and walked down the path.
*
The hallways of St. Pete’s were dirty. Wadded-up paper, used tissues and dust balls littered the floor. Kate and Lucy stood just inside the front door, Kate looking with dismay. Students pushed around them, trying to get to class on time. The hallway in front of them was lined with gray lockers. Young-looking students spun knobs, opened the lockers, rifled for books and slammed the doors.
“These must be the freshman lockers,” Kate said to Lucy, her voice shaking slightly. Petite, shy Lucy stood behind her big sister. This was not only Lucy’s first day at the new school, this was her first day of high school, having just finished eighth grade last June. Kate turned to her and put a hand on Lucy’s shoulder. She would have liked to offer some comforting advice, but all she could manage was a tight-lipped nod. Lucy smiled back weakly. Glancing past Lucy’s head, Kate found the small dented sign that said “Office.”
“Here’s the place,” Kate muttered as she turned into the small, crowded room. Telephones were ringing as Kate and Lucy pushed their way to the front desk. A harried-looking woman with thick glasses looked up at them.
“Help you?”
“We’re new,” Kate said loudly to be heard over the din. “We were here last week with our parents. We’re Katherine and Lucille Gilbert.”
“Right,” the woman said, reaching for a file buried under piles of paper. “Lucille’s a freshman and Katherine is a junior, right?”
“Right.”
She handed them schedules. “Wait right here.”
The woman disappeared behind a wall. A moment later, a plump girl with curly blond hair and turned-up nose came out.
“Hi! I’m Angie and I’m going to show y'all to your lockers,” she said with a big, fake smile. Kate noticed that the girl sported big pink circles of blush on her cheeks and bright pink lipstick, the same pink that Kate wished she could wear.
They followed Angie back out into the hall. As they walked, Kate could feel the eyes of the students turn to them. Too nervous to look up, she concentrated her stare ahead of her. She ended up watching Angie’s ample bottom as it swayed from side to side.
“Here’s your locker, Katherine,” Angie said as she stopped at a locker marked 28. They were still on the first floor.
“It’s Kate, and wait, aren’t these underclassmen lockers?” Kate asked, glancing around at the young-looking students.
“No,” Angie said, “these are the junior and senior lockers.” She spoke if she were talking to a stupid child.
“I just thought...never mind.” Kate could feel her face burning. These are upperclassmen? Where are all the football players? Where are all the hot seniors? She looked around at the short, unattractive bunch around her.
“Here’s your locker combination.” Angie handed Kate a piece of paper. “Your homeroom is on the third floor, all the way at the end of the hall. Mrs. Baker’s room. I’m in there too!” Angie chirped. Before Kate could respond, she turned to Lucy. “Now Lucille, you come with me.”
Lucy glanced up, her big blue eyes showing fear and excitement. “See you later,” she nearly whispered. They turned and slipped away into the crowds of students.
After several attempts, Kate finally managed to open her locker. It was dusty and smelly, empty save a few wadded up tissues on the floor. She deposited her lunch inside and slammed the door. Putting her back against the locker, she looked up and down the hallway. Eyes looked at her with curiosity. Feeling self-conscious, she decided to look through her backpack. There was really nothing in it, just a few notebooks and pens, but looking in it would give her something to do to avoid all those eyes. Just as Kate was thinking of going to the bathroom to waste some more time, the bell rang.
The small school seemed to consist of three hallways stacked on top of each other with stairs on either end, so finding her classroom was easy. Mrs. Baker stood by her classroom door, right next to a paper sign that said “Mrs. Baker.”
“Hi, I’m Kate Gilbert. I’m new,” Kate said uncertainly, almost asking a question.
“New?” Mrs. Baker’s eyebrows went up over the rims of her wire-framed glasses. Small and birdlike, she spun and walked briskly back to her desk. She pulled a list of names from her desk and her eyes raced through it. “First I’ve heard of it,” she said. She sighed and pushed a red button on the wall.
“Office,” a voice cracked over the intercom.
“I have a new student here,” Mrs. Baker announced. The classroom grew deadly quiet. The teacher turned to Kate. “What’s your name?”
“Kate Gilbert,” Kate said, her voice too loud in the noiseless classroom.
“Kate Gilbert?” Mrs. Baker said to the speaker on the wall. “I have no record of a new student. Who dropped the ball here?”
There was quiet for a moment, and then the voice cracked on again.
“Sorry, we’ll send up a new class list,” the voice said, avoiding the question about the identity of the ball-dropper.
Mrs. Baker looked at Kate and smiled. “Well, welcome to St. Pete’s. You can sit over there.” She pointed to a stool by the window. Kate noticed that the room was actually a laboratory. Stools lined up around a black-topped counter. Beakers and burners and test tubes filled the shelves. Kate had been dreading chemistry class. This can’t be a good sign, she thought.
Just as the bell rang, big-bottomed Angie came into the room. Without a glance at Kate, she sat down and began to whisper and giggle with a group of girls. Kate was sure that Angie was talking about her.
She sat quiet and still as Mrs. Baker took roll. Six girls and eight guys sat in the room, all chatting or sorting things in their backpacks, some finishing up last minute assignments. Kate looked for a smile, a friendly face, anything, but nobody even looked at her now. She pulled her schedule out of her bag and read the first class. Chemistry. Oh no, not a good sign at all.
After the bell rang, Kate stayed in her stool, as many of the other kids did. A few more kids shuffled into the class, one of whom walked up to Kate and said, “Uh, you’re in my seat.”
“Sorry,” Kate mumbled, grabbing at her backpack. She walked to the front of the room. When the bell rang again, she found the only empty stool, front and center.
Mrs. Baker was tough. That much was clear. The students sat attentively as the small woman spoke. Kate tried to follow along in her newly-issued textbook, but most of the information just swirled around in her head, nothing sticking. She’d have to read it all again tonight.
When the bell rang, Kate glanced again at her schedule. English Literature. Okay, literature she could handle. She found the right classroom and eventually got a seat. A pretty Asian girl sat next to her and this girl actually smiled at her. Kate took a deep breath and calmed her nerves.
“Hi, I’m Kate.”
“Yeah, I remember you from homeroom. I’m Lisa. Did you just move here?” Lisa had large, hazel, almond-shaped eyes and long light brown hair. She was very thin with tiny, delicate wrists and fingers. Her fingernails were long and painted fire-engine red, as were her lips. Kate had never seen anyone like her before.
“Yeah, I moved here from Nebraska,” Kate said.
“Whoa, Nebraska. That’s crazy,” she said, flipping her hair behind her shoulder. “Why did you move to this cesspool?”
Kate laughed. She could like this girl. “I didn’t have a choice. My mom got a job here.” Kate didn’t mention her father’s failed business.
“Oh,” Lisa said. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but just nodded instead. Kate’s thoughts raced as she tried to think of an intelligent question to ask her. Thankfully, the bell rang, ending the awkward moment.
A tall woman with short black hair strode into the room, not looking at the students. Lisa leaned over to Kate and whispered. “That’s Ms. Dobbs. She’s nuts.”
Kate giggled, which drew Ms. Dobbs’ attention. Her eyes seemed to pop out of her head as she stared. Kate started to feel like a bug pinned to a science project.
“And you are...” Ms. Dobbs started. Her voice resonated through the classroom, which suddenly got quiet.
Here we go again.
“Kate Gilbert. I’m new.” At that moment, the door opened and a student-aide walked in with a piece of paper. Ms. Dobbs looked at the paper. Then she laughed, a mirthless, creepy-sounding thing.
“That’s the level of support I get around here.” She shook the paper in her hand. “Here’s my new class list. Surprise, surprise! Am I the last person to find out that we have a new student today?”
“Probably not,” Kate said. A split second later, she wished she hadn’t said that. Ms. Dobbs stared at her again with those popping eyes.
“I expect you to keep up with all the work in this class. Just because you’re new doesn’t mean you can slack off. We are currently reading Jane Eyre. You may find a copy at any bookstore. You may look at Lisa’s book for today.” She finally broke her gaze. “Let’s get started,” she said, opening her book. Kate sighed with relief.
“See what I mean?” Lisa whispered.
The rest of the morning flew by quickly. Kate noticed that, for the most part, the same kids showed up in all of her classes, which finally gave her an intelligent question to ask Lisa. Since the school didn’t have a cafeteria, students were allowed to sit at picnic tables on the school grounds. Kate saw Lisa sitting at a table with some girls that Kate didn’t recognize.
“Um, Lisa?” Kate’s voice cracked slightly and she cleared her throat. God, she sounded so stupid.
Lisa turned around. “Hi, Kate. What’s up?” All the girls at the table looked up at her.
Kate, who was hoping for an invitation to sit down, instead shuffled from foot to foot. “I just wanted to know. How many kids are in the junior class anyway?”
Lisa looked thoughtful for a moment. “Now that you’re here, I guess that makes thirty.”
“Thirty?” Kate couldn’t believe it. Her class in Nebraska numbered hundreds of students. She knew this school was small, but thirty kids in the whole class?
“Yeah. There’s, let’s see, thirteen girls and seventeen guys.” Lisa crunched up a carrot, her teeth gleaming white behind her red lips. “Hey,” she said with a shrug, “at least the odds are in our favor. Lots of jerks to choose from.” The other girls at the table tinkered with laughter.
One of the other girls spoke up. “Do you want to sit with us?”
Finally! Kate sat and pulled out her lunch, which consisted of a diet soda and a granola bar. She mostly listened to the conversation for a while, until Lisa finally asked her a question.
“So, who do you think is cute in our class?”
The question caught Kate off guard. She hadn’t seen anyone cute, just short, dumb-looking guys. “Well, I haven’t really had a chance to look yet. I’ve just been trying to find the right classrooms and get caught up.”
Lisa looked slightly disappointed, but then brightened. “I think Scott Hardy is so cute. He’s the one with the blue eyes and brown hair who sits behind us in history class,” Lisa said, with a sort of dreamy look.
Kate tried to remember the boy, but couldn’t. She decided to tell them her wonderful secret. “Actually, I still have a boyfriend back in Nebraska.” Kate reached into her purse and pulled out a photo of Jacob. She gazed at it quickly, then handed it to Lisa. It was the one where Jacob was in his tuxedo, one foot up on a chair, leaning forward onto his thigh. It was exquisite, her absolute favorite picture of him. Kate had snapped the picture on prom night last May. It seemed so long ago now.
“Girl, he’s hot!” Lisa shrieked. “Check him out,” she said as she passed the picture to the rest of the table. When the picture made its way back around to her, Lisa looked at it again. “Is he a senior?”
“He’s a freshman in college,” Kate said with pride. She paused for the obligatory awed silence. Oh yes, she dated a college guy.
“No wonder you don’t care about the losers around here,” Lisa said with a touch of admiration in her voice. “Are you going to date long-distance? How’s that going to work out?”
Kate almost teared-up, but managed to swallow hard and dam up the waterworks. “Yeah, I love him. We’re going to stay together. He’s going to try to transfer to the college here.”
“Oh, yeah?” Lisa said and handed the picture back. Kate put the photo away and took a slurp of diet soda. The girls began chatting again. Kate decided that the other girls at Lisa’s table must be underclassmen. Sophomores, she guessed. They talked about homework and teachers, mostly. It seemed to Kate that they didn’t get out much.
When the bell rang, Lisa began reapplying her lipstick. She did that a lot. She asked Kate, “So, which class do you have next?”
Kate fumbled through her bag, then said, “Pre-Calculus. Oh, no, I’m in trouble.”
“Don’t worry. I have that class too. Miss Salinas is actually a really good teacher. Come on, I’ll show you where it is.”
The afternoon went by without any further confusion. The teachers all knew there was a new student, so Kate was spared the humiliating introductions. By the end of the day, she felt pretty good. Lisa had been in two of her three afternoon classes. To pass the time before classes, Kate doodled “I Love Jacob!” and “Kate luvs Jacob” over and over again in her notebooks. It made her feel better, made her feel closer to him. At the end of the day, Kate waited by the door for her sister. Lucy appeared tired, but not entirely miserable.
“How was it?” Kate asked.
“Horrible, at first. None of my teachers even knew I was coming,” Lucy said, “but, I met a lot of nice girls.”
“Yeah, same here,” Kate said. They started out the door when there was a poke in Kate’s shoulder.
“Hey, Kate. I’ve heard about you.” Kate turned around and saw a strange-looking boy with curly red hair and a friendly grin.
“Oh yeah, what did you hear?”
“I heard that you have a college boyfriend, but let me tell you, that kind of stuff won’t fly at this school.” He put his arm around Kate’s shoulder and started walking with her out of the school, Lucy trailing behind. “I’m Bryan Cummings. I’m sure you’ve heard about me by now.” Kate looked at him blankly. He continued. “Okay, well, that’s alright. Listen, I know you’re new, so I’m going to help you out. If you want to impress people here, you’ve only got to do one thing.”
Kate looked at him suspiciously. “And what’s that?”
“You have to get into a fight. You have to earn respect at this school and that means you’ll have to beat up another girl.”
“Uh-huh,” Kate said. This was a line she hadn’t heard before.
“C’mere.” Bryan opened the heavy school door and led her out into the busy parking lot, where a couple of guys stood leaning against the building, stifling laughter.
“We’d prefer it if you would pick a really hot girl, and if you wouldn’t mind, could you fight right here where we can watch?” The guys all laughed. They must be seniors, she thought. She didn’t recognize any of them. Kate, who had two older brothers, could deal with this.
“Okay,” she said in a sweet voice. “You just wait here, Bryan. I’ll go get a hot girl.” Kate flipped her hair dramatically and walked away.
“No, don’t go away. Come back!” Bryan said as the other guys laughed. “I think I’m in love,” he yelled as she and Lucy crossed the street.
Kate had to smile. The first day wasn’t so bad. That was actually kind of fun.
3.
The refrigerator was still empty, so Kate’s mother had picked up a bucket of chicken on her way home from work. The whole family sat around the table, all five kids and parents. No one had any activities to go to. Nobody had any friends here. So, they ate together. Kate had to admit it was nice spending so much time with her family, in a warped sort of way. She picked up a squished, greasy biscuit and began picking at it.
“The teachers didn’t even know you were coming?” Kate’s father asked as he picked up his corn on the cob and began gnawing on it.
“Nope,” Kate said.
“Mine either,” Lucy added.
“They don’t sound very organized,” Mom said with a shake of her head. She looked tired. “Well, did you meet some interesting people?”
“I met three girls, Mom, and there are all kinds of cute boys in my class!” Lucy said with glowing cheeks.
“They must all be in your class, Lucy, because the guys in my class are all nasty looking,” Kate said.
“Well then, you’ll fit right in,” Kate’s brother Matt said. Kate kicked him under the table.
“I’m sure that’s not true, Kate,” Mom said with a frown, ignoring Matt’s remark.
“No, no, that’s good. If the boys are all ugly, that means she won’t be dating! We can stay home and watch TV together on Friday nights. Just you and me,” Dad joked. He winked at Kate.
“Dad, I’m still dating Jacob, remember? I won’t be going out on any dates here.”
“Oh, of course,” Dad said. He smiled weakly and turned back to his food.
“How was your day, Marie?” Mom said, turning to her youngest.
Marie, who had been bursting with all sorts of information about her first day, began describing her day in full. Kate zoned out after a minute, thinking instead about spending all those Friday nights at home, watching television with Dad.
“And, Matthew, Seth...are you both ready for your classes at the university? When do they start?” Mom needed to get all the information from everybody. It was like an inquisition every night at dinner.
“All ready,” Matt said. Matt was eighteen and just starting his freshman year at college. He had wanted to go away to school, but since Dad’s furniture store went bankrupt, the family’s savings had evaporated. He and Seth both would have to live at home if they wanted to go to school. Luckily, Marshall University was just down the street.
“And how about you?” Mom then looked at her oldest, Seth. His massive shoulders were slumped over his plate of barely touched food. Seth was twenty, and although he was tall and strong, he had never been particularly athletic. He preferred music and books to sports.
“Yup.”
“Yup, what?”
“Yup, I’m ready to go.” Seth didn’t share much these days.
“Make sure you get out there tomorrow and put in some job applications too. You are living here for free, but your car and your car insurance are your responsibility. We’ll help you with tuition, but we’re not going to be able to....”
“I know. I know.” Seth pushed back his chair, plunked the paper plate and all its contents into the trash, and stomped up the creaky servants’ stairs.
Normally, Mom would have flipped out at such an affront. She would at least chase him down to finish the conversation. The entire family sat quiet, waiting to see what would happen next. Mom sighed deeply and forked a bite of coleslaw into her mouth.
*
Kate giggled softy into the phone. She had been talking to Jacob for nearly an hour and the phone was warm and slick. She told him all about her first day of school. Telling Jacob made her feel so much better.
“I love you so, so, so much,” she said, yawning through her words. It was getting late.
“I love you more,” Jacob’s husky voice came over the receiver. She could almost smell his cologne through the line. She could imagine those warm arms encircling her, the tickle of his lips on her cheek.
“Oh, Jacob. I miss you,” Kate whispered.
“I miss you too, sweetie.”
“Then come here so I can give you a big hug.”
“You know that I want to. I just can’t right now.”
“I know,” she sighed. “It’s just, we have this big house. You could stay here and go to school. The university is just down the street. It would be so perfect.”
“That would be great, but I just started my semester here. I can’t just up and leave now.”
“I know,” she sighed. He was right after all. “Listen, my mom is going to kill me if I talk much longer. My phone bill is out of control already.” Kate knew her parents felt bad about sabotaging her relationship with Jacob by moving her across the country to this God-forsaken place, but the pity would only last until they got her phone bill.
“I know, I know,” Jacob said. “I’ll tell you what.”
“What?” she asked, interest piqued.
“Send me an application to the university and I’ll see if I can transfer my credits after this semester.”
Kate yelped with joy. Jacob probably took the full brunt of her scream directly in his ear, but she was so happy she couldn’t control herself. “Do you mean it? Will you transfer here?”
“Why not? I’ve never been there. I’ve never lived anyplace except boring, old Nebraska. I think it’s time I get out of here. Besides, I need to be where you are. You are everything to me.”
“Oh, my God,” Kate whimpered excitedly. “I’m so happy, Jacob. This is all I want.” The smile on her face was so big, it hurt her cheeks.
“Send me the application,” he said softly. This was how he always spoke before he ended the conversation. Kate knew they were going to hang up now, but his announcement was enough to keep the smile plastered to her face.
“I will,” she whispered.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
She hung up the phone with a smile. She brushed her teeth and hair, washed her face several times, changed into her pajamas, and crashed onto her bed with her stationary and purple pen. She flipped on some music. Ace, her old terrier, jumped on the bed and curled up next to her. Kate scratched him behind the ears and he looked at her appreciatively.
She wrote to Jacob every night since leaving Nebraska. She hoped eventually somebody would set up the computer so she could email him too. Further complicating the situation, her phone was her mom’s old one, vintage. It didn’t take pictures, it didn’t text, it just dialed. It was downright embarrassing. If she wanted a new phone, she had to get a job. She’d have to look into that at some point.
But she liked writing letters to Jacob. Even moments after finishing an hour-long phone conversation, Kate still could find things to say to him. She told him more about her day and doodled pictures, drawing cartoonish dogs and cats and big hearts with bubble letters saying “I LOVE JACOB!” When she was done writing, the letter got a spray of perfume and a kiss with red lipstick that Kate never actually wore out of the house. Tomorrow, she’d put it into an envelope and drop it into the mailbox. It seemed very romantic that her letter would soon be in his hands.
All her life, Kate wanted a picture of a handsome boyfriend to put in a frame beside her bed. She finally had one, a nice picture, but not as stunning as the prom snapshot. It was Jacob’s senior picture. Jacob sat smiling in front of a bookcase filled with important looking books, which was kind of funny, because Jacob wasn’t much of a reader. His grin looked a little forced, and he was wearing a striped gray button-down that Kate didn’t like much, but it was Jacob.
She looked at his picture and smiled. He was such a tidy boy. Kate loved that about him. His nails were always clean and trimmed, his hair, clipped to perfection, and he always smelled of Ivory Soap and cologne, which to Kate, was the best smell in the world.
She first noticed Jacob when she was a freshman in high school. He and her brother Matt both played football and Matt occasionally brought Jacob around the house. He was tall with dark brown hair and large brown eyes. His skin was just a shade darker than most other kids in her school, his grandmother being a Pawnee Indian who married a white farmer. Kate found that incredibly romantic as well.
She knew she had to get Jacob’s attention. When she heard Jacob was coming over, Kate always attempted to be doing something grown-up and interesting. One day, she played Beatles albums on their old turntable. Very sophisticated, she thought. Other times, she baked a cake or cookies. Her mom said that always got a man’s attention. In the winter, she read by the fireplace. In the summer, she sunbathed in a bikini. That finally did the trick.
It wasn’t long after the sunbathing incident that Jacob timidly asked Matt if he could take his sister out on a date. After much teasing, and a chorus of “You can’t be serious,” Matt finally shrugged his shoulders and gave his okay.
Jacob took her bowling on their first date. Bowling is very big in Nebraska, so he probably thought this was a good idea. However, Kate hated bowling, probably because she bowled so badly. Over and over again, she launched the ball right into the gutter. Once, her fingers got stuck in the holes and she ended up throwing the ball in the air, after which it crashed down onto the wood floor with a sickening thud.
Luckily, Jacob thought it was all very cute. He laughed and tried to help her roll the ball properly, pressing his body against her back as he held her arm, swinging the ball forward. After a while, he bought hot dogs and a big paper cup full of greasy fries that they shared. Despite her lack of talent in the bowling alley, it was a great date. The best.
They ended the night with a long kiss in his car. All through his senior year, her sophomore year, they were inseparable. She cheered at every football game. She wore his championship jacket. He came to her locker every day after school to drive her home. It had been so perfect.
A solitary tear dripped off her chin. She didn’t even realize she was crying. Again. But he’s coming here. He’s really coming! She knew she shouldn’t get her hopes up, but she would anyway. She finished her letter to Jacob, sprayed it, kissed it, and set it on her night stand. She gave Ace a pat and then let her head fall into her pillow.
Her gaze drifted to the many dark corners of the high ceiling of her room. The house must have been built by loonies, she thought as she glanced around the strangely shaped room.
After school today, she had finally had time to unpack a little and make the room her own. She hung up a few posters, mostly Beatles’ album covers and one of a man wearing nothing but a tiny towel wrapped around his waist. She also had a framed print, given to her by her mother when Kate was just a child. It displayed a cool mountain lake and a just a few words. “Find your strength from within. You can move mountains.” Every morning, Kate read the words and knew she could face the day.
There were still lots of blank spaces on the wall. It was proving to be a hard room to decorate, due to its odd shape and many angles. Kate’s twin bed was flush against a wall, with barely room to get in and out. Her dresser drawers, when pulled out, nearly blocked access to her closet. There were other, normal-shaped bedrooms in the house, but Kate had chosen this room. This was, in part, because it was on the third floor, away from her parents and sisters on the second floor, but there was something else about it.
Seth’s room was on one side of Kate’s. It had been a ballroom at one time, a long room with polished wood floors and big chandeliers. It was entirely too big for a bedroom and Seth’s bed and dresser, which made up the entirety of his possessions, floated in the middle of the huge space. The corners of the room held nothing but dust bunnies.
The room on the left belonged to Matt. In the past, it was probably a lounge. Right now, it held a small couch and bed, both covered with Matt’s recently-unpacked possessions. It was an average-sized, average-shaped bedroom.
But not Kate’s room.
*
The Blacker House wasn’t just big. It was huge. It was so huge, the house had been on the market for nearly two years. It was too big for any normal family, too many bathrooms to clean, too many old pipes to keep up. The Gilbert family got it for a steal.
From the first moment they drove up to the curb and looked upon the enormous house, Kate stood in awe. It dominated a small rise in the land, three glorious stories high. It was composed of red brick with two white columns atop a long porch. White shutters framed large windows. The houses on either side were similar in size and structure, but somehow lacked the stately, satisfied look of the Blacker House, as if it knew it just looked better.
The Gilberts, led by the real estate agent, walked up the long front path, up several steps and to the large, white door. After fiddling with the lockbox for several minutes, the real estate agent managed to open the door. Kate’s youngest sister Marie pushed the door open and ran into the large foyer.
“Wow!” Marie squealed. “Look at this place!” She turned and immediately ran toward the back of the house.
The Gilberts entered the huge foyer and were immediately greeted by the standard wide, winding staircase, so often associated with old southern homes. The stairs and railing were painted white and royal blue carpeting spilled down the center of the stairs like a luxurious waterfall.
As their eyes led up the staircase, Kate nearly gasped. Three enormous stained glass windows glimmered at the top of the stairs, displaying blue flowers blooming against a sunny yellow background. It was truly breathtaking.
The foyer was flanked on the right by a mammoth living room, which contained not one, but two marble fireplaces. The dining room, on the other side of the foyer, boasted the same. This led into the large kitchen, which had been completely remodeled.
Next to that, at the back of the house, was the small breakfast nook. Its door led into a family room, the walls of which were bookcases from floor to ceiling. In this room, Kate’s father pretended to cry.
“Would you look at these bookshelves? I could actually take my books out of the cardboard boxes they’ve been in since I got married!” He smiled and winked at his wife.
The party trooped up the grand stairs to the second floor. Here, the family toured the five bedrooms and three bathrooms which spanned the house. As the walk-through continued, Kate’s two sisters yelped, one after the other, “This is going to be my room!”
After the tour of the second floor, another, more narrow staircase led to the third floor. Directly at the top of the stairs, Kate stopped and stared into the strangest room she’d ever seen. It was the oddest shape. In fact, Kate couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Alcoves went in every direction.
The real estate agent, noticing Kate’s interest, announced “You see, the third floor of the house, including this odd little room, was added during the Prohibition days of the Twenties. Apparently, the Blackers hosted big parties up here, where the hoopla wouldn’t be heard by the neighbors. Or the police, for that matter.”
She went on. “This funny little room was the coatroom for the ballroom, which is next door,” and she left to show off the elegant ballroom, but Kate remained.
Kate walked across the threshold and into the strange room. The door led into a sort of wide hallway. Kate walked to the center of the room and stopped. The hallway continued ahead of her and stopped at a large window. Looking to her right, another large hallway stopped at a set of closet doors and on the left, another hallway ended in a complete dead end of plaster and yellowed paint.
Kate turned in a circle. There was no other way to describe it. The room was shaped like a cross. How strange, she thought. Kate then looked up. At the very center of the cross, over Kate’s head, was the most fascinating chandelier she had ever seen. It was a gray-colored metal (pewter, her mother later told her), shaped in a stout cylinder. Carvings of dogs covered the metal all around, inside and out. The dogs appeared to be running in circles around the perimeter of the chandelier, and stranger still, their heads were twisted around so that they were looking right at Kate, smiling big toothy smiles. Finally, the entire cylinder was crowned with navy blue fringe.
“Bizarre,” Kate whispered as she gazed at the strange fixture. Yes, this is my room, she thought. She visualized her bed, her bookcases, her things in this room. It felt right.
She was suddenly startled, as if from a trance. “Kate, come on honey, we’re going down to the basement,” Mom’s voice came from the hallway.
“Coming,” she said as she gazed again around her new room. If she had to live here, in West Virginia, she might as well have a cool room.
4.
First thing Tuesday morning, Kate opened her locker while grasping a roll of tape. She opened her backpack, removed seven photos of Jacob and began taping them all over the inside of her locker. She wanted to make sure everybody saw her handsome Jacob.
“Isn’t that going a bit overboard?” a voice, thick with drawl, asked her.
Kate turned around. A slim blond boy stood beside her, leaning against the lockers. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and flashed her a lopsided grin.
“What do you mean?”
The boy leaned forward to examine the pictures. “Who is this goofball? Your boyfriend?”
“Yes, he’s my boyfriend and he’s not a goofball. He’s in college, thank you very much.” Kate turned her back on the boy.
“Oh, a college man,” the boy said with a sarcastic lilt. “So, do you think he has this many pictures of you up at college?”
Kate froze. For an uneasy second, she was sure Jacob didn’t have this many pictures of her displayed, but dismissed the thought quickly. Instead, she whirled to face the boy.
“Can I help you with something, or do you just like to walk around being rude to people you don’t know?”
“What do you mean ‘people I don’t know?’ We have, like, every class together. I’m Chris Atkins. Doesn’t it ring a bell?”
“Whatever,” Kate murmured. She finished putting up the last picture and closed the locker.
“Hey, I’m just kidding witcha’. Don’t get yer panties in a bind.”
Kate walked away, just wanting to get away from him. What an accent, she thought. How can anyone be taken seriously when they talk like that?
*
When Kate walked into homeroom, she was relieved to see that Lisa had moved to the seat next to hers. A friend! Kate’s brain cheered. I have a friend!
“Hey,” Lisa said. “What’s up?”
“Not much. What’s up with you?”
“Nothing.” Lisa picked at her long fingernails for a moment. “So, do you hate this school or what?”
“Well,” Kate said with a giggle, “let’s just say that I’m glad I’m a junior and I only have to go here for two years.”
Lisa cracked up at that. “I hear you. I’ve been going to St. Pete’s since I was in kindergarten.”
“Really? You poor thing.” St. Peter’s had an elementary school across the street. Kate’s little sister Marie attended in the fifth grade there.
Lisa rolled her eyes. “Yup, so I really can’t wait to graduate.”
“I bet.”
The bell rang and Mrs. Baker took roll. When she was done, the morning announcements started. Kate turned again to Lisa.
“So, what do you do for fun around here?”
Lisa shook her head. “Nothing. There’s nothing to do in this town.”
“Nothing?”
“Well, there’s the movie theater. Uh, there’s the mall, but it’s out by the interstate. You know, soccer games. People have parties and stuff.” She shrugged. “That’s it.”
Soccer games, that’s right, Kate thought. St. Pete’s has no football team. Putting a Nebraska girl in a school with no football team...that’s just cruel.
“What do you like to do?” Kate asked.
“Well, I love the mall. Hey, do you want to go some time?”
Kate smiled. “That would be fun.” She tried not to sound too excited. The bell rang for first period.
“Okay, give me your number.”
Kate rattled off her phone number while Lisa punched away at her phone. “Hey, do you have first period chemistry here too?” Kate asked.
“No, I took it last year. I have physics this year. See ya,” Lisa said as she slid off her stool.
“Bye,” Kate said. Physics? She must be smart, Kate thought as she leaned down to pull her chemistry book out of her backpack. When she lifted her head back above the table, Chris Atkins was sitting across from her.
“See, I told you that you knew me. Here I am again!” He smiled that lopsided grin again.
“Talk about a goofball,” Kate murmured.
He laughed. “So, you are from Nebraska, huh? Born in a cornfield?”
Kate ignored him and flipped through her chemistry book, trying to find the last page from yesterday.
“Look, I’m trying to be friendly here. You could make an effort,” he said.
“Friendly? You just keep insulting me.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t be so serious. I’m just having fun witcha’.”
She looked at him. “‘Witcha?’ What is that? Here you are making fun of me.”
He laughed again. He seemed like he didn’t take anything seriously. “Listen, we should get together this Saturday night. What do you say?”
“Hah,” she said. “Did you not see the pictures of my boyfriend?”
“Come on. We’ll get some hot dogs and go for a ride in my car. Huntington is known for its hot dogs”
“It’s like a scene from Deliverance.” Kate had never actually seen Deliverance, but she knew it was about hillbillies. There had to be some hot dogs in it, right?
“I’ve got a 1968 Corvette convertible.”
She stopped flipping pages and looked at him. “You’re kidding me.” Kate didn’t know a lot about the world, but she knew cars. Growing up with two older brothers, a girl learns to appreciate the finer vehicles. “How is it that you have a ‘68 Corvette?”
“It was my dad’s. He restores classic cars for a living. He felt bad about walking out on us when I was a kid, so he gave it to me when I turned sixteen. My older brother got a Mustang. Parent guilt,” he smiled and nodded, “it’s a wonderful thing.”
Kate thought about it for a minute. What would Jacob think of her riding in a car with a boy? It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. It was just a ride. It wasn’t like it was a date.
“How about we pick up Lisa too?” If Lisa was there, it really wouldn’t be a date.
“Lisa Nguyen? Oh, she won’t come.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged. “Just ask her,” Chris said, “and see what she says.”
“I will.” The bell rang and chemistry began
*
“So, how about coming out with me and Chris Atkins on Saturday night?” Kate said as soon as Lisa sat down next to her in Literature.
“Oh, I can’t.” Lisa looked away and started pulling books out of her backpack.
“Why not?”