Fire Girl Part 1 Read online

  The horn blew again.

  “That little—” Grandpa flew into the room and pushed past me at the door. “Knock it off, boy!”

  I shoved away from them and down the steps to Chance’s truck.

  Chance rolled down the window. The music got louder. “Sorry, Grandpa!”

  I gave the handle a good yank and threw it open.

  Chance turned to me with a mischievous glint in his eyes and started to back up.

  I watched Grandpa go back inside the house.

  Chance chuckled and gave the horn one more good blast.

  I jumped a little.

  Chance erupted into a barking laugh and peeled down the lane. “Sup, Madds?”

  Normally, I would have found this highly amusing. Chance could be the master at getting Grandpa all hyped up. And it was funny. But I could only think that this would be the last ride I ever took with Chance.

  Chance looked at my face. “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  A cop car pulled out from under the shade trees at the end of the lane next to the stop sign.

  “Yeah.” Chance frowned. “I was told about the escort.” He pointed at me fiercely. “You’re lucky you’re not out on the side of the road begging the cop for a ride.”

  I rolled my eyes. He wouldn’t have to worry much longer. “Whatever.”

  Chance rolled his window up and turned down his music. “What? Insulting my girlfriend and trying to burn down the school didn’t put you in a good mood?”

  I turned to him in disbelief. He was annoyed with me?

  Chance shook his head. “Dang, Madds.”

  I stared at him for a few seconds, but had to work at keeping my voice even when I spoke. “What does it matter? You can just chalk it up to the crazy cousin that was lucky to be out of the looney bin, right?” I looked away from him and decided that I wouldn’t miss him at all.

  Chance let out a puff of air. “Hey, no! Nooo! You cannot pin this whole thing on me. You were the one hanging out with the smokers. And then you started the fire. You know what they say? When you start with smoking, next thing you’re shootin’ up!”

  His tone had a Grandpa-eskeness to it. Granted, a Chance spin on Granpa self-righteousness, but still. The idea that Chance would even say that I would do drugs, made the usual filter inside of me when it came to him, break. He’d chosen war! All panicky feelings fled. “Telling the whole school about my breakdown? And then your—” I flapped my head back and forth in my best dumb blonde impersonation, “‘Ohmygosh—like, why don’t you join cheerleading and make posters,’ wasn’t fun for me, either.”

  Chance’s nostrils flared, a giant rhino come out to play. “Don’t ever insult Bonnie again.”

  I almost insulted his cologne, but then decided not to.

  We rode in silence. All the anger went out of me like a deflated balloon. Chance did not deserve the blame for things that had happened yesterday. I knew he’d only been trying to help me. “I shouldn’t be here.” I said it more to myself than to him.

  “What?” He yelled over the music.

  “Nothing!” I yelled back.

  Chance didn’t respond and both of us stared into oblivion.

  Finally, he leaned over and turned up the music. The lyrics blared out, ‘Ain’t No Love! Ain’t No Love!”The message he clearly wanted to scream at me.

  I smiled. I needed one person in my life that still loved me, and this would most-likely be the last time I’d see him for a really long time. Maybe ever. I took a gamble and did the only thing that I knew would make him happy.

  “CCnnnnnnkkkk!”

  He whipped his head around to me.

  I waited then looked forward.

  He turned back.

  I let out another pig snort. And another. And another. Pig snorting competitions for Chance were like Nascar championships for race car drivers. Well. Kind of. Maybe not at all in the same league, but we had rules of the snort. Down to how much spit one could evoke, etc.

  Pig snort. Pig snort.

  Chance’s lip started to turn up.

  He would break.

  Pig snort. Pig snort.

  His grin widened, like taffy stretching. “You’re gonna lose, but you always do.”

  I continued snorting at, what I would admit, a very unladylike pace—if there were a pace of pig snorting that any lady would even do. My head actually started to hurt from thrusting it up and down every time I snorted.

  Chance turned to me with dizzying happiness in his eyes, and then he cracked, letting out the loudest snort I’d had ever heard. It was long and impressive.

  I erupted into laughter and fell forward over my backpack.

  “In your face!” He pointed at me and did one of his tongue sticking out crazy looks.

  This made me laugh even harder. “That was awesome.”

  He pulled into the school parking lot and rolled into his spot. He jerked his foot into the brake and I wrenched back into my seat.

  I held my knuckles up in the air at him. “You still got it.”

  Chance returned the knuckle bump. “Never, ever, ever think you will ever, ever, ever beat my snort!”

  I accepted the forgiveness in his banter.

  “Hold up.”

  He looked past me and avoided eye contact.

  It dawned on me that this was about Bonnie. “Look, I’m sorry about Bonnie.” I offered it before Chance had to say some drawn out thing that would make him feel completely uncomfortable.

  The side of Chance’s face dimpled. “Madds, I just want my two best girls to be friends.”

  I thought of Bonnie’s Barbie smile and tried not to roll my eyes.

  “Madds!”

  “Fine. We’ll be friends.” It didn’t matter anyway.

  “And, I think you need to help Grandma and Grandpa out more.”

  This particular topic I did not want to discuss. I took a deep breath and let it out in one burst of air. “No.”

  Chance folded my backpack in his hands. “They’re old. You’re here. Take the pressure off them.”

  I fixed a patronizing look on my face and turned to face him. “What if I wasn’t here?”

  Chance kept his face serious. “You are here. You know the saying, ‘If you want the world to change, it starts in a small town.”

  I didn’t like the smug way he looked or his annoying made up quote. “I’ll try to be nice to Bonnie, I’ll really try.”

  Chance slugged me playfully. “And help out Grandpa?”

  I just stared at him.

  His lips turned into his puppy smile. “I knew I could count on my favorite cousin. You know what they say?” He paused.

  I shook my head. “No, what do they say?”

  He leaned over me, obnoxiously, and shoved his face into my personal space. “Blood is thick between families.”

  I unlatched the door and leaned into it. “It’s blood is thicker than water, you goof.”

  Chance hopped out his side of the truck and sped around to my side. “Bonnie never corrects me. She thinks I’m a genius.” He stuck his chin into the air. “She appreciates me.”

  For a millisecond, I thought about telling him that I would be leaving. But, I looked at his blond curls and his Sugar Valley Football t-shirt and knew I couldn’t. This was his home. And he should be happy here. I was glad Bonnie made him happy. “She should appreciate you.”

  Chance squinted then smiled. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “What?” I asked it more from a gut response.

  Chance’s dimple intensified, but his eyes were sober. “It feels right to have you here, this is home.”

  I stared at him and tried not to let his words reach into my heart.

  “Excuse me.” A police officer pushed between Chance and I. He took me by the back of the arm.

  This must be Officer Justice.

  He tapped his chest like Superman would if Superman were completely cheesy and full of himself. “Maddie Haven,” he leaned in and whispered, �
�I’ve been waiting to meet you. And, just so you know, I know you’re not innocent.”

  Chapter 6 Justice

  I searched the hall in front of the cafeteria. I needed to find Chance and get him the letter. Then I could take off. I hadn’t seen Officer Justice yet. He told me he’d be checking in on me.

  Unexpectedly, Antone appeared beside me. “You are here.”

  I didn’t know why seeing him put me a little off beat. Maybe because it reminded me of the way the whole dumpster had erupted into flames. He was a reminder that I’d actually started a fire. I stepped away from him and plunged into the cafeteria.

  “Maadie.” He still pronounced it like a sheep herder.

  I took a tray and looked for Chance. “Hey.”

  He grabbed a tray and piled utensils onto it. “Antone wondered about you the whole night. Antone told Principal Schmidt that, while you had intents of smoking, that you are troubled, that you were only trying to use cigarettes to mask your troubles.”

  Stunned, I stopped moving forward. The third person thing was far less appealing today. “You told him what?”

  “I told him you are tragically sad, but Antone can help make you better. Antone can help show you the beauty in life. In my country, once a man finds a woman that moves them, they always stand by them. They would die for them.”

  Okay. I wasn’t sure how we had gotten to this point. “Wait a minute—”

  A large, meaty hand fell between us. “No holding up the line. Keep moving forward.”

  An angry lady with a hair net and a voice so deep it could have been the Grand Canyon pushed me forward.

  “You have to pick a dish, newbie, and you have to pick it quickly. Otherwise, the whole time schedule the district has us on will be shot to Aunt Jemimah’s house, if you know what I mean.”

  No, I did not know what she meant. Was she talking about syrup? “I did this yesterday. I’m fine.”

  Meaty rapped her knuckles sharply against the metal counter in front of me. “Right, had time to go down the lunch line and then try to burn us all up. Bell, give her some spaghetti, she’s holding up the line.”

  A scoop of spaghetti slopped onto my tray.

  Antone’s voice rang out behind me. “She is fine. She is tragically sad right now, but after I show her the beauty in life she will be happy, so very happy.”

  Meaty hands pushed me forward. “Shari, give her some turkey and gravy!”

  Another scoop of some type of mashed concoction landed on my tray.

  “Stop!” I tried to pull my tray away, but Meaty continued to walk next to me. She signaled more workers to put things on my tray.

  “I can pick my own lunch!” I protested.

  She gave me a final push toward the cash register. “Ring her up, Howie.”

  I stared at my tray. It looked like the pig slop Grandma dropped together after meals and stirred up before heading to the pen behind the barn.

  Howie shook his head. His wide-brimmed glasses gave him a Harry Potter feel. Empathy shrouded his features. “Don’t be holding up the lunch line.”

  I shifted my gaze down, not wanting to look. I’d been food assaulted.

  Howie pressed buttons. “Ten dollars.” He lifted a shoulder. “Give or take.”

  “Ten dollars?” I looked down at my tray. “I didn’t want all this food.”

  I could hear Meaty already starting into her next victim.

  Howie stroked his not quite grown goatee. “Yeah, they never do.”

  “Antone will pay for your food. He could not save you from being found out, but he can pay for your lunch.” He whipped out a fifty dollar bill and handed it to Howie.

  “No!” I shoved myself between Howie and Antone and tried to juggle my full tray. Where in the heck could Chance be? “I will pay for my food!” I managed to shove some money at Howie.

  Antone quickly paid for his own tray then clasped his hand around my forearm. “Maadie, you need to get used to Antone taking care of you. You will sit at my table.”

  I let him drag me a few steps, then got an idea. “Okay. Hey, can you take me somewhere in a few minutes?”

  He winked at me. “Of course.”

  Antone stopped in front of a table filled with guys that looked like they enjoyed restoring cars and going to shop class. Guys that had grease smudged underneath their eyes and hands that looked like they never got all the way clean.

  “Well, well, if it ain’t our own famous arsonist.”

  I turned to see one of the guys at the table pull a toothpick out of his mouth. “What’s up, new girl?”

  Anger roiled through me like the old, ancient heater in my grandparents’ basement—hot and smoky.

  Antone took both of our trays and put them down. He flashed them a warning look. “You would be wise to keep your trap shut, parasite.”

  “I’m not sitting here.” I couldn’t do this, be someone’s arranged bride or something, for a ride to the bus stop.

  Antone touched my forearm, his other hand still on my tray. “It’s okay. Antone will work this out.”

  I shrugged away. “It’s not going to work, Antone.” I reached for my tray.

  Antone clasped one side of it. “Wait, but we both hate Sugar Valley. We both have been sent here to find one another.”

  I heard muffled laughing from the table and knew the guys were lapping this up.

  How did I explain to him that his friends reminded me of the Sugar Valley version of mafia Huntdogs? And he—he was freaking me out. “I-it’s not—”

  But Antone already had this look in his eye, and he’d already started to lean. He tilted his head to the side.

  I froze. Was this the kissing look Carrie had told me about?

  I clutched to my lunch tray like a sea swept victim holding to a life vest. “Don’t.” It came out as a plea more than a command.

  “Crash and burn, baby! Boom! Man, she’s good at the burning part!” A shout came from the table.

  Antone stopped. The cartoon version of him would have included smoke coming out of his ears. “But we are meant to be together.”

  Out of nowhere, Trina popped her head between us. “Back down from this, Antone.” She leaned over and whispered something into Antone’s ear.

  Shouts and laughs rose up from the Huntdog table.

  Antone’s dark eyes paused on me and skipped back to Trina. He shoved past me with the determination of a soldier being sent on his next mission.

  She poked me hard in the soft area right above my right collar bone. “I just saved you. You have no idea.”

  I didn’t trust her. “What did you tell him?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  My palms were sweaty and the same blurriness that had settled into my chest before I’d blacked out and Carrie and Jimmy had taken me to the hospital pulsed through me in short waves. That would not happen today. I would be leaving this—this insane asylum.

  I rushed away from Trina. I picked my way through the tables, searching for Chance. I would just run. I would run until I got to the bus stop.

  I didn’t see the leg of the metal chair sticking out until it was too late.

  If the scene that followed were a movie, it would deserve to be slowed down.

  Tray flying out of hand. Tray catapulting through the air. Tray landing on blonde curls.

  Blonde, cheerleader curls.

  Bonnie let out a shriek that would have made people assume something really bad had happened to her; mugging, dog napping, alien abduction.

  I landed half-way between the table and the floor. Not my most graceful moment. At this point, no one in the room would have guessed that ballet lessons had been a serious part of my dance repertoire between the ages of eight and ten.

  One of Bonnie’s friends, a girl I had heard them call Jessica, with the exact kind of kinky curls as Bonnie, hunched over me. “You freak! Look what you did!”

  I looked over at Bonnie, flat on her back, spaghetti draped down the front of her.

&
nbsp; “Ugh.” Bonnie moaned.

  I pushed myself to a standing position and felt the beginning of what, I knew, would be ugly yellow and black bruises on my forearms by morning.

  Bonnie jumped to her feet and gave me a look that would have made the real mafia proud. “You-you—”

  “You will pay for that!” Another cheerleader popped up beside her like we were about to spar.

  More cheerleaders formed an angry mob of bobbing curls.

  “Madds?”

  Chance showed up beside me.

  I recognized the mouth gaping, non-moving thing he’d done that one time Uncle Billy had gotten a pitch fork stabbed clean through his calf muscle. Needless to say, it had been me that had run to get Grandma.

  Tears filled Bonnie’s eyes. She let out an immediate sob and threw herself into Chance’s arms. “She did this!”

  Chance gave me a look like I’d just kicked a puppy.

  “I didn’t—”

  “Yes she did!” The first angry cheerleader stepped next to Chance, a judge that would put me away for a long, long time. “I saw her run straight for Bonnie!”

  I knew by the look on his face that I should just leave.

  I swiftly zipped my backpack open and pulled the letter out. I shoved it at him. “Give this to Grandma.” It wasn’t even in an envelope, just taped to seal it shut.

  He carefully took the letter and hugged Bonnie into him. “Shh.”

  I ran for the main hallway. I braced myself against the first series of lockers as I came out and drank in large breaths. That stupid cafeteria had never been good to me.

  “You seem to have a knack for ticking everyone off, Fire Girl.”

  I wrenched back and slammed the side of my head into the edge of a locker. “Ouch!”

  Zac. He sat tucked into a corner, a large pad of paper open on his lap. “The name’s kind of catchy, don’t you think?”

  I gave him the glare I’d practiced in front of the mirror many, many times. My patented glare. “Nice paints.” I tried to make it sound like a real insult.

  The side of his lip turned up and I noticed a small scar in the crease. “Wow, and she’s amazing at verbal sparring too.”

  I wanted to inflict pain on him. Very badly. Thoughts of digging my fingernails into Chance’s arm when we were younger ran through my mind. I fumed and swung my backpack wide over my shoulder.