Gravity

chapter 15

I woke up looking at a sky full of stars. I hadn't rested that well in months. For a moment in my disorientation I thought that I was in my backyard, like when Hugh used to put out a tent and we'd pretend to camp behind our house. Then I heard someone sobbing.

I looked around. We were on the lawn of the orphanage. The source of the crying was Theo, sitting back on her haunches. Tears streamed down her face.

Alex was pacing the hard ground. "We're going to get caught. This is trespassing. And I knew it, and I came along anyway, because hey, I have no life. I don't even like you guys and I'm not going down for you."

"Shut up, Alex," Henry growled, glaring at him.

"Let's just chuck her in the jeep and go," Alex said. "We can take her to a hospital —"

"And explain what exactly?" Henry was sitting stone still beside me. None of them were aware I had woken up. I didn't see what the big deal was. "We were trespassing, holding some idiotic séance like a bunch of ten year olds, and then she started having a fit?"

"I didn't throw a fit," I mumbled, sitting up. The ground was wet from rain underneath me, and the back of my clothes were damp.

"Oh, god," Theo sobbed, taking her hands from her face. "You're okay."

"Don't celebrate yet, she had a seizure," Henry said. His tone seemed rather harsh, not what I expected from him.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "I didn't have a seizure."

"That's what it looked like," he said. "One minute you were chanting from that goddamn book and the next minute you fell on the floor, twitching." His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were on fire.

"I'm sure it was nothing," I said brightly. I hadn't felt so fantastic in years. Energy flowed through my blood, and the trees on the lawn looked beautiful in the light from the stars. I wondered if Alex slipped me drugs. "I feel awesome," I assured them.

Three faces showed nothing but doubt.

"I don't really remember anything after...I was chanting and then I thought I saw lightning..."

Whatever it was, it didn't seem important. My hand flew to my neck, seeking my pendant.

"What happened to my necklace?" I asked.

"You yanked it off and threw it in the corner when you were...before..." Theo said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I got all of the other supplies together, though. I figured you would want them." She held up my stuffed purse.

"Thanks," I said gratefully. The space between my collarbones felt burnt, and I rubbed the skin gently.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Henry asked quietly, his eyes staring intensely into mine. I remembered my earlier urge to kiss him, and licked my lips without thinking. I wanted to eat him alive.

"Let's go," I said, and the words had a double meaning.

"Do you want to go back and get your necklace?" he asked.

I shook my head vehemently, surprising myself.

"No, let's get out of here." The euphoric cloud in my head began to dissipate.

As if on cue, police sirens started up in the distance. Whether they were coming for us or not didn't matter. We ran off of the lawn, the front gate slamming behind us. Hopping in Alex's jeep as he gunned the engine, we drove speedily away.

I watched the orphanage through the rear window as it became a small dot in the distance and disappeared. The earlier elation I felt when I woke up was gone, leaving me with a deep feeling of uneasiness. I never wanted to go back there. There was something in the house all right, but it was no friend of mine.

Claire and Hugh arrived home safely on Sunday.

"How was the wedding?" I asked them, helping them inside with their luggage.

"Just fine," Claire said. Her skin looked more tan than usual, even though they had only headed East. "The bride looked beautiful."

"Typical wedding, a yawner," Hugh offered. "The most noteworthy part was the best man putting one too many away before he gave the toast. I'm going to check my email and see if Steve made a video." My father, ever the romantic.

Corinne already had her minivan packed. She left, none the wiser. I had carefully returned her supplies back to her trunk the instant I got a chance. Thanks to Theo, nothing was harmed. For the first time in my life, I was convinced Corinne had no psychic ability.

Claire noticed the bump on my head as soon as we got back in the house, despite my attempts to hide it with my hair.

"How did you get that?" she asked with concern.

"Bumped my head on one of the cupboard doors," I lied. It was a good lie, because I was always leaving the cupboards open when I unloaded the dishwasher.

"You have got to stop doing that," she said, pushing my hair back. "You really got yourself. Ouch." I had tried putting a bandage over it, but the cut was in a terrible spot due to my hair. It looked like the skin split open. I hoped it wouldn't scar too much.

I wore long sleeves, since it was harder to explain the scuffs on my arm. And the burnt mark I had found on my neck on examining it in the mirror.

Even though I hadn't been in contact with anything in the house, and no answers came to me for my trouble, calm settled over me. There was no way Jenna was there. Nothing could make me voluntarily go back to that creepy house, anyway. And whatever had been tormenting me before, now left me alone. At least for now.

Henry's father dropped him off at my house for our now-weekly tutoring session. Henry had gone to a doctor's appointment that day, and since he had been busy last week, too, we had catching up to do.

I'd never actually been introduced to Phillip Rhodes or talked to him. He remained the shadowy figure behind the wheel of his Lexus. Occasionally I would feel him looking at me through the tinted windows.

Though I was loathe to admit it, I treasured having Henry all to myself. Whenever I was around him, I felt a thousand things at once. My dull brain awoke from the slumber that captured it for months. It was often agony being in the same room with him without being able to touch him. But I didn't want to be away from him, either.

I answered the door and Henry stood there in a long sleeved shirt with his books held at his hip. He leaned with the palm of his hand against the siding.

"Hello, doll," he said, lifting his eyebrows at me like he often did. "You're mine now."

I felt giddy. He affected my brain like depression medication.

"Are you ready to learn?" he asked as I let him in.

"Ready as always," I said, and we went to the den, which had become our tutoring room.

"How are you doing?" he asked more cautiously after I had shut the door and we sat down. His cautious brown eyes went to the mark on my head.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I asked, rubbing my temples. "I'm sick to death of saying I'm fine. My head is healing up, so is my arm, and I didn't have a seizure."

"I've never seen anyone have a seizure before," he admitted. "But that's what it looked like to me." He inspected my arm for himself. "Your cuts look better, though. You're lucky you didn't get tetanus."

We pulled out our books and followed the normal routine, wading knee-deep in numbers. He seemed surprised by how much better I was doing.

"You don't even need me anymore," he said.

"I need you," I said quickly, and then blushed at how I had blurted the words. He chuckled.

"Well, alright then. I'll stay."

We finished early and started chatting about the rest of school.

"I wish there was a way to make Ms. Fellows more interesting," Henry said, echoing my sentiments. "I almost fall asleep in her class every day."

I laughed, agreeing. "She almost makes me hate reading. And I thought that was near impossible. English is my favorite."

"I told you mine is physics, right?" he asked.

"I vaguely remember that," I said, nodding. "When you offered to start tutoring me. What do you like so much about it?"

"Everything is physics," he said simply. "Like gravity, the attraction of one body to another. Why we stay on earth instead of floating. Or between you and me, for example," he teased with one of his token smiles.

"Yes, gravity is what keeps us together," I said, rolling my eyes. "Or just my terrible skill at math."

"If you don't stop saying that, I'm going to stop helping you," he said, but I could tell he was only vaguely irritated. "You need to stop beating yourself up."

"I have my reasons," I said.

"Really?" he asked, curious. "What are those reasons? I'm always telling you my secrets, but I've yet to hear any of yours."

"I don't have any secrets," I said, knowing it wasn't true.

"Everyone has secrets, Ariel," he said. The sound of his voice saying my name thrilled me more than was logical; I wanted him to say it again.

"Maybe I'll tell you someday," I offered.

He checked his watch, and as if on a timer, we heard a car pull up outside.

"Time to go," he said, standing up.

"One of these days I have to find a way to repay you," I said, following him to the den doors. He stopped in front of me and turned around.

"Well," he started, rubbing the back of his head, "I know it's late notice but — what do you think about the dance coming up?"

"I think it's so stupid how into it everyone gets," I complained, not understanding where he was going with the question. "Two hundred dollars for a dress you're going to wear for one night? No thanks."

"Oh." His beautiful face fell. "Then I guess you wouldn't want to go with me then."

I nearly choked. I coughed and he patted my back, his face concerned.

"You're asking me to go with you?" I asked finally when I regained the ability to speak. He nodded.

"Sure," I said, the giddy feeling returning. "I'd love to." I had imagined this moment, complete with what we would be wearing and what his facial expressions would be, but I figured that jinxed me from ever having it come true.

"Even though you think it's silly?" he teased.

"Well, I'm returning the favor from you going with me to the haunted house," I offered. Inside I had the heart of a hummingbird, fluttering like crazy. We walked out of the den, me behind him, grateful that he didn't see how absolutely thrilled I was. I had to stop myself from doing a little dance.

It wasn't Henry's father who had arrived, but Claire, who had come home from work. She was waiting for us in the dining room. She had still not met Henry yet, and pestered me about it endlessly, as if I should have waited for her to be home to have him over just so she could.

"Hi, you must be Henry. I'm Claire," she said brightly, holding her hand out to shake. Her blonde hair was pulled into her usual work up-do, and she wore a pinstripe suit, looking as though she had just gotten ready instead of working for ten hours.

"Nice to meet you," he said. I think she was disappointed he didn't say she looked like my sister.

"My daughter and my husband have said nothing but great things about you," she beamed. I groaned internally. "You really have me impressed by how much her grades are improving."

"Well, Ariel did all the work herself," he said modestly. "I've just been sitting there."

"I'm sure that's not true," she said, smiling coyly. I could tell by the way she was looking at him that he had worked his charms on her.

"It's completely true," he said. "Your daughter is a very smart, capable girl. And I hope you don't mind, but I asked her to be my date this weekend for the Halloween dance."

I think I could have pushed Claire over with a piece of paper. The excitement that glimmered in her eyes made them sparkle. "That is just wonderful!" she said. "When did this happen?"

"Just a few minutes ago," I said, and she looked at me as if she had forgotten I was still in the room.

"Well, we have to make sure you get a great dress, and new dancing shoes..." she put her arms around me and led me to the living room as I glared at Henry. I'm sorry he mouthed with a grin.

I'm surprised Claire let Henry out of the house when his dad showed up. By the time we said goodbye, I had been asked about so many dance plans my head was spinning. I hoped it was a good idea to accept, after all.

The next day in Art, we were starting to move on to painting. Small easels with blank canvases sat on all the tables when we walked into the art room.

Theo looked excited. I didn't feel that way; I inflicted more damage with paint than I did with pencils. Being Theo's friend hadn't helped improve my skill any.

"How are your sketches coming along for the gallery?" I asked her as I zipped up my backpack.

"Pretty good," she said optimistically, laying out several paintbrushes like surgical tools. "I'll have a batch ready to show your dad by the end of November. I hate being a perfectionist. It takes me forever to finish anything."

Suddenly, the lights flickered. I looked up at the ceiling, pausing. Then the lights went completely out. Fear bubbled up inside my chest for a moment, until I realized everyone else saw it, too. Ms. Vore kept all her windows open, facing the field, but a few girls giggled at the semi-darkness. After a moment the lights blinked back on.

"McPherson needs to take care of that," Ms. Vore muttered as she was walking down the aisle with a tub of acrylic paints.

"Is there an electrical problem?" I asked.

Realizing she'd been heard, she grinned sheepishly. "They've just been having wiring issues with all the remodeling. They were flickering like crazy a few weeks ago during parent teacher conferences. I heard they're going to schedule some electricians soon."

I sat back in my chair, happy that for once there was a logical reason for the lights going out.



"Why won't you tell me who your date is?" I asked Theo, kicking a rock down the sidewalk. It was the Thursday before the dance, and we were walking into town to go dress shopping.

She stared straight ahead, her small face resolute. "You'll see him on Saturday," she said. "Why is it an issue?"

"That's precisely my question, why is it an issue?"

She grimaced and remained silent. "Can't we talk about something else?"

Thankfully, Claire couldn't get the afternoon off, so we were on our own. I could only imagine the ribbon-festooned monstrosity she would have unleashed upon me. The air had dipped much colder, wintery, the smell of bonfires seasoning the air. I was glad for the deep pockets of my coat as I jammed my frigid hands into them.

A cheery bell dinged as we entered the dress shop. The warmth inside was a relief. In the front window, skeletons instead of mannequins were decked out in red formalwear. Whether this was a comment on the fashion industry or just the usual Halloween Town fun, I didn't know.

There were racks of bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses in a rainbow of colors, along with a bunch of different styles of formal dresses. The store smelled strongly of eucalyptus, jammed into tall white vases all around the room.

"Where do we start?" Theo asked, dismayed. Her brow puckered as she cracked her knuckles. I surveyed the dizzying array of choices. For once, I wish I had the fashion sense of my mother.

The eager saleslady descended on us, smelling fresh meat. Her unnaturally tinted hair was piled tightly on her head.

"Hello, ladies," she purred. "Looking for dresses for the school dance?"

"How did you guess?" Theo asked, taken aback not just by her words but by the spooky expression on the woman's heavily made-up face.

"My daughter goes to Hawthorne, too," she beamed. "Shawna Jameson."

"Oh, yeah," I said, nodding. I had never heard of the girl, but I wanted to be polite.

Charleen, according to her nametag, guided us over to a rack of dresses in darker tones of mauve and olive.

"These are brand new for the winter season," she said. One leopard print, claw-like fingernail trailed along the shiny, intimidating fabrics. She pulled out a pumpkin-colored two piece with a flourish and held up to Theo. The dress dwarfed her.

"Oh, wow," Theo said, the side of her face twitching. I was worried she would have a stroke. "That sure is a dress."

"Do you maybe have something more...traditional?" I asked in the politest way I could think of.

"Sure!" The woman crowed, and jammed the dress back in with its companions. "Follow me, ladies!"

She led us to rack of dresses that looked like they were leftover from my mother's prom, all poufy sleeves and bright neon colors. Theo was biting her lip raw, trying not to laugh. I felt the same way, although I really didn't know what I was looking for.

"I don't know if that's exactly what we had in mind, either," I said delicately, fiddling with the price tag on a purple dress with blue sleeves.

"You know what, let me take a look in the back," the woman said, not to be discouraged. She disappeared behind a set of thick green curtains.

"This is some overpriced polyester," I said, balking at several of the price tags.

"Yeah, we need cheap polyester, the way it's meant to be," Theo said. "Everything in here is ugly. Let's scoot before she locks the door and makes us play dress-up."

We escaped out of the store before Charleen could come back out.

"What now?" Theo asked breathlessly as we were chugging away on the pavement.

"We could try the thrift store," I suggested. My breath was coming out in little puffs. I wondered how long snow would hold off this year. "Not glamorous, but they might have something. If you dig hard enough you can usually find some kind of treasure."

It was a short walk down to the thrift store. I hadn't been in a long time. Housed in a large building that used to be a warehouse, the store was crammed with ceramics, dishes, toys and clothes. As usual, the building was full of shoppers picking through the goods. Theo followed me over to the section with discarded dresses and costumes.

"Looks like they were cleaning out the theater department," I observed. A decent amount of costumes hung on the rows. We shifted the hangers and looked through the offerings. A plaid shirt and fringed pants complete with a cowboy hat, a Native American dress, something that looked like a deconstructed spacesuit.

"Not seeing anything yet," Theo reported. We moved on to the racks of formal clothes, although most of them looked like something a hip grandma would wear.

"I like this..." Theo pulled out a long dress covered in delicate blue and green sequins.

"That's beautiful, Theo, but it's huge," I said, looking it over.

"Mom has a sewing machine," she said hopefully. "I've made a few skirts and tops before; this wouldn't be too difficult to turn into something wearable."

I began to get discouraged as we continued to paw through the crowded racks. I wondered if I would find any of the things we had tossed out of our storage room. From the looks of it, half of Hell had the same idea about cleaning out their old junk.

I knew I was being picky, but since I was going with Henry, I wanted to look my best. I was about to give up and go home begging to Claire, when I saw a swatch of shimmery silver-white fabric. I pulled out an elegant dress with a halter top. The cascading fabric looked magical. There were no tags, and it appeared handmade. It was exactly what I wanted, even though I hadn't known what to look for.

"Wow, that is really beautiful," Theo said. "Try it on."

I went into the little fitting room in the back, pulling the dress over my head. It fit perfectly from what I could see in the mirror, curving gently around my hips and even giving me the appearance of something in the chest. I walked out and showed Theo, whose face lit up.

"It's a great contrast with your hair," she gushed. "You have to buy it."

"I don't know about the back, though," I said, turning around and putting my long hair over my shoulder. There was a deep v plunge that stopped midway down. It felt a little odd having my whole back exposed.

"Well, you can make it like a costume, so how about some wings?" Theo suggested. "I'm sure you could find some cheap at the costume shop."

That settled it, and we took our finds up to the checkout counter. As we paid for them, I knew Saturday was going to be a very interesting night.