Phantom

Chapter Twelve



A horn was honking loudly and a little obnoxiously from her driveway. Rebecca peeked out her bedroom window and saw Tom’s truck. As she ran down the stairs, she resolved not to think about the phone call. There was no point in letting it ruin her night. After all, what could possibly happen at a high school dance? There would be at least a dozen chaperones there. She would be fine.

Rebecca had expected that Tom would at least be gentlemanly enough to get out of his car and knock on her door. Maybe it was for the best—if he didn’t come in, her father wouldn’t try to grill him about his intentions toward his daughter. In fact, her parents barely looked up as she slipped through the living room and out the door. They probably assumed she was going to the dance stag and riding with a group of girls, the way she normally did.

When she first walked up to the truck, she couldn’t see Tom through the tinted windows. She wasn’t sure if he planned on getting out of the truck at all. She was just about to reach for the handle when the passenger side door suddenly flung open. Before Rebecca could guess whether she was supposed to climb in, Tom stumbled out and fell onto his knees in the pebbled driveway. He burst into snorts of laughter as he pulled himself back to his feet. Rebecca was too surprised to even think about helping him up from the ground.

“Becca!” Tom shouted much louder than was necessary when she was standing only a few feet away. “Your captain has arrived!”

She assumed the captain pun was a reference to his pirate costume, complete with curly black wig, phony beard, and swashbuckling sword. He even had a colorful stuffed parrot attached to his shoulder. It was a great costume and more than appropriate for the resident surfer. Tom would have looked great except for the fact that he was still having trouble standing.

“What’s wrong with you, Tom?”

Tom opened his mouth and scratched his fake hair like he was trying to think of an answer. But before he could, the horn blared again, and Jay’s head popped out of the window.

“Dude, come on! We’re going to be late. What are you doing?”

Tom rolled his eyes, reached for the door again, missed it, but somehow managed to maintain his wobbly footing. “Okay, okay.” He dismissed Jay with a wave of his hand. Then he turned to Rebecca and whispered confidentially. “Jay’s just mad because it’s his turn to be designated driver.”

“You’re drunk?”

Rebecca was a little shocked, even though she knew it was a common practice for a large majority of the kids to get trashed before the dances. She just hadn’t realized that Tom was one of them. She had expected more from him.

“You, ho, ho, and a bottle of Captain Morgan.” Tom laughed again and used all fours to climb back into the truck. “Drunk. Crunk. Smashed. Hammered. Sauce money!”

Rebecca seriously considered turning right around and stomping back into her house. She took a few seconds to process everything, and she finally told herself that it really wasn’t such a big deal. Tom would probably calm down once the effects of the alcohol wore off a little. She had been looking forward to the dance for too long to just walk away. At least Tom was responsible enough to have someone else drive when he was obviously impaired. So even though she was still annoyed, she squeezed into the cramped two-seater next to Tom.

“You look purty, Becca,” Tom slurred.

Rebecca fought the urge to roll her eyes as she put her folded fairy wings on her lap. Jay pulled out of the driveway almost before she had time to pull the door shut, and certainly before she had a chance to buckle her seat belt. His driving was reckless; she had to wonder if he had snuck a few drinks as well. Other than that, the point of Tom’s plastic sword was poking her in the back the whole way there. Luckily, it was only a ten-minute drive from her house to the school, and somehow they made it there in one piece. Rebecca’s legs were trembling as she slid back down onto solid ground, and she felt the urge to drop to her knees and kiss the concrete parking lot in gratitude for having survived the crazy joy ride.

They waited for Jay as he pulled his costume out of the back of the truck. Rebecca watched curiously as he draped a large red and silver magnet around his shoulders. It wasn’t a real magnet, of course. It was made of Styrofoam. About a dozen little, yellow birds were attached to it with Velcro.

“What are you supposed to be?” Rebecca asked as she strapped her wings back around her shoulders.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He appeared disappointed that she hadn’t figured it out. “I’m a chick magnet.”

Rebecca couldn’t help but chuckle as the three of them walked towards the doors of the cafeteria where the dances were always held. There was a line leading to the entrance where the student council was checking IDs before allowing anyone in the building. Tom fumbled in his pocket to find his, and then dropped it at least ten times before he finally managed to hand it to the underclassman manning the door. It wasn’t a good start to the night, and Rebecca knew things were only going to go from bad to worse when Wendy came up behind them.

“Well, well, Tom. You’ve really lowered your standards, haven’t you? Last year you came to the Halloween dance with me. This year you’ve resorted to traveling with geeks and freaks.” Tom stuck his tongue out at her even as Jay flipped the middle finger, but she was too busy glaring at Rebecca to notice. “What are you supposed to be anyway, Becca?”

Rebecca sighed. The last thing she wanted was to start a word war with Wendy. “A wood fairy.”

Wendy sneered. “A fairy? How cute. I hear that’s the most popular choice for kindergarteners this year.”

Rebecca felt her face turn beet red. She certainly couldn’t think of any snappy comebacks, especially when Wendy was walking perfection in her sexy hippie costume. The short paisley print dress had a dramatic plunging neckline that showed off her figure to full advantage. Her straight blonde hair was parted down the center, and accented by large, dangling peace sign earrings. Hot pink, vinyl go-go boots completed the outfit, and even the healing cuts on her face didn’t take away from the stunning look. It really did make Rebecca’s costume seem childish in comparison.

“Shut up, Wendy.” Tom draped his arm around Rebecca’s shoulders so heavily that she almost fell over under his weight. “Why you gotta be such a be-atch all the time. Leave Becca alone.”

Tom started to drag her away, but he was slow, and Wendy was able to lean over and whisper a not so veiled threat. “It’s not over between us, Becca. I’m going to get you back for what you did.”

Wendy stormed off in one direction, and Tom gratefully led her in another. They squeezed through the cafeteria doors and into a maze of flickering strobe lights, orange and black streamers, and fake spider webs. They were instantly blasted by the loud, blaring rock music, and even if Tom said something, she probably wouldn’t have been able to hear him.

Somewhere along the way, they lost Jay in the crowd as they blended in on the dance floor. Tom was hardly coordinated enough to match even Rebecca’s pathetic attempts at dancing. Instead, he dragged her over to a dark corner where they sat silently for a few minutes while Rebecca watched the disco ball bathe the dancers in circlets of sparkling lights. Monster masks and creepy costumes swirled around and blended together until the scary faces started to look almost real. She wondered if somewhere among them the mysterious caller was lurking. The thought made her shudder.

Rebecca tore her eyes away from the dizzying scene when Tom inched a little closer to her. He put one hand on her knee, a little awkwardly, and used the other to lift her face to meet his still slightly glazed eyes. Then he leaned down to kiss her.

It was hardly romantic. Not at all the way she had dreamed her first real intimate kiss with Tom would be. He tasted of alcohol, and was almost rough as he forced his tongue into her mouth. It was so unlike the times he had gently brushed her lips when he was sober and more himself. Then he had been sweet and tender, not clumsy and awkward. Rebecca realized that she didn’t like Tom very much when he was drunk. When he clipped her lip with his teeth and she tasted the irony bitterness of blood in her mouth, she finally had to pull away.

Tom pouted. “What’s wrong, Becca?”

“You’re drunk.”

“So what? Everybody’s drunk.”

Rebecca crossed her arms and huffed. “Well, I’m not drunk. And I don’t really feel like making out with someone who is.”

Tom sighed and put his head in his hands. He seemed a little more sober than he had been just seconds before. “I’m sorry. I guess I was trying a little too hard to be cool. But I really like you, Becca. And I . . . .” Tom paused and was quiet for a lot longer than he should have been. Then he suddenly groaned and clutched his stomach. “I . . . I think I’m going to be sick.”

Rebecca didn’t have time to ask if he was all right. He jumped down from the table and flew across the dance floor, very nearly knocking over a few dancers in his haste. He ran toward the bathroom with his hand over his mouth and never looked back. Before long he was out of sight, and Rebecca found herself groaning as well. Her dream date had officially turned into a nightmare.

Rebecca slid down from the table, and scanned the crowd for a friendly face. She spotted Debbie and Carmen at the small concession stand, buying a couple of sodas. She weaved her way through mummies, witches, and what appeared to be the entire cast of The Wizard of Oz before finally joining them just as they stepped away from the line with their drinks in their hands.

Rebecca’s mouth fell open when she saw Carmen’s sexy prep girl school costume. It had to be only marginally dress code appropriate. The plaid skirt was so short that if she wasn’t wearing white ruffled bloomers underneath, there would have been very little left to the imagination. The white tie top displayed her dark olive skin and newly pierced belly button. Her thick black hair was pulled back into two big ponytails, and she completed the look with white, nylon knee-highs and black Mary Jane’s. Once again, Rebecca was left feeling juvenile in comparison.

At least Debbie’s choice was a little less revealing. She had chosen a cute gray fifties skirt with a white poodle embroidered along the hemline and a sequin trim. On any other girl, it probably would have fallen just below the knee, but on the six foot tall Debbie, it had landed just above. Her blonde hair was too short to put in a ponytail, but the pink tie looked just as nice as a scarf around her neck.

Both Debbie and Carmen looked up as she approached, and they both took a moment and examined her costume with the same curiosity with which Rebecca had examined theirs. Not far behind them, she noticed Mr. Russ was mopping up a spilled soda on the floor. She wondered why the strange old man suddenly seemed to be popping up everywhere she went. Did he ever go home? Or did he live in the basement of the school in the same way that the phantom had once lived in the cellars of the opera house?

“Where’s Tom?” Carmen asked. “Shouldn’t you two be swapping spit or something?”

Rebecca couldn’t help but to roll her eyes. “I’m sure that’s the last thing on his mind right now.”

“What do you mean?” Debbie asked.

“He drank too much and now he’s puking his guts up in the bathroom.”

“Yuck.” Carmen crinkled her nose in distaste. “Well, forget him then. Come out and dance with us.”

Even if she wanted to decline the invitation, Carmen didn’t give her the chance. She pulled her out onto the dance floor, along with Debbie. She refused to let them leave, even when an embarrassing line dance caused Rebecca to make a complete fool of herself. Despite her lack of coordination, she was having a good time, and she even forgot about her disappointment for a few minutes. But when the music slowed to the stereotypical boy band love song, and everyone broke off into pairs, Rebecca lost track of her friends.

She found herself standing alone in a corner, watching dozens of couples cuddling and kissing. The fact that she was, once again, not a part of that romantic scene left her with the sudden urge to burst into tears. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, hoping that shutting out everything would make the ache in her heart go away. Instead, she heard a sweet, delicate voice that whispered words that were clear despite the loud music. The same words that she had heard sung by the chorus many times as they rehearsed the dance scene from the masquerade ball. They seemed only fitting considering their setting.

“Masks and hidden faces dance

Each one waiting for their chance.

To reveal the secrets hidden within

Revealing truth, revealing sin.

When all masks are stripped away,

Will you find love or only dismay?”