Certainty (9 page)

"Mom's scrapbook."

He came over and looked over my shoulder, eating a slice of cheese and chewing in my ear. "We were fat babies."

It was such a Derek-thing to say--to take all the poetry out of the moment and pare it down to "fat babies."

“Mom says we were all adorable.”

He swallowed his wad of cheese, his adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he looked at me, a knowing look in his eyes. “She supposed to say that. She’s the mom.”

I mumbled, “Well,
I
was adorable.”

He laughed. “And bald.”

I closed the book and sighed, finished with my trip down memory lane. At least while he was around.

Derek turned around as I left the kitchen he said, "Don't even think about watching your dumb reality show. It's my turn to play a game."

I sat down on the couch and then realized Derek wasn't the almighty dictator of the television. I found the remote and found my favorite show.

I heard him yell out from the kitchen, "I said don't go on the TV!"

"You're eating!"

"I’ll be right there!" he yelled
 
back, his voice verging on desperate.

I picked up the remote. Dad had programmed the television and the game system all on one remote. We once lost it and were without TV for days. I walked into the kitchen, holding it behind my back as I made my way to the back door. He was taking a huge bite out the sandwich, his cheeks bulging as he watched me walk away.

"You can have the television," I said, pausing. "But you might need...this."

I held out the remote long enough to see his eyes narrow and bolted for the door. I didn't see him come after me but I heard the thud of his feet on the floor as he charged across the kitchen. I yanked the door open and flew down the back stairs into the backyard and around the house.

I rounded the corner and looked back. Derek was catching up with me, his legs pumping in huge, monstrous strides. Man, he was getting big.

The adrenaline spiked through me and I sprinted forward with all my might, my whole body straining forward, willing my feet to jump off the ground. I skidded around the corner and ran for the front sidewalk, pumping down the street.

"Get back here!" he yelled but I could tell he wasn't that serious.

Derek's footsteps hit the concrete right after mine did and my lungs were screaming for air. I was gripping the remote so tight it clicked in my hand as I ran.

I dove into Ren's driveway, my feet crunching on the seashells and Derek followed me. I wasn't sure why I went there...I didn't know where I was going, I just had to get there fast.

I ran into Ren's backyard and across it, heading through all the backyards towards ours again. I flew by backyard gardens and trellises and Hank’s weirdly pruned fruit trees.

I reached the small meadow that ran behind all our backyards and that's when my brave run ended. Derek tackled me and we both fell in the grass. I started laughing and threw the remote.

"No!" Derek yelled and ran after it. I lay back on the grass, holding my knee where it had hit the ground, laughing and gasping for air.

"Ha! I win!" I wheezed, breathing in the scent of grass and weeds.

He held up the remote and let out a triumphant man-roar. "OWNED!!"

"But you had to catch me first!" I gasped out in singsong.

He stomped over to me and held out the mouse. "You lose!"

I made a feeble grasp for it, laughing.

He stomped back to our yard, whooping and holding up the remote. I rolled over and limped back to the house. "You broke my knee!" I yelled.
             
 

This earned me a glance but that was all. He let out another whoop. He could tell when I was faking.

Dad drove up just as I was opening the back door and I waved. I probably had grass in my hair.

Derek was already at the television when I made it to the kitchen and collapsed on a chair, catching my breath.

Dad walked in and greeted me. "Hi honey. How was your day?"

"Good."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You look like you were rolling in the grass."

"Derek attacked me."

He shook his head, not even remotely alarmed. "What did you do this time?"

"I borrowed the TV remote and went for a jog. Like a normal person. And he ran after me and stole it. So now I can't exercise."

He smiled while he washed his hands and went to the fridge, pulling out some chicken.

"I'm scarred for life,” I emphasized.

He threw a head of lettuce at me. "Chop that. We're having salad."

"You really should talk to him about his kleptomatic tendencies."

Dad plopped the raw, slimey chicken out onto a cutting board and grabbed the biggest knife out of the block. "You just made up a word. There is no such thing as kleptomatic."

"That doesn't excuse his behavior," I pointed out.

"I don't hear chopping."

All things considered, I had outrun a Caesar Rodney High School JV football player for almost two minutes. Well, I did have a head start on him, it wasn’t that much of an accomplishment. Still, I had sort of owned him for a little while and I was going to Homecoming Dance. Life was about as perfect as it was going to get.
 

****************************

Ren
             

I walked out the door Friday morning to find dark clouds. For the first time since summer ended I was truly cold and wished I had worn more than my sweatshirt. The wind stripped the leaves from the trees, leaving the dark branches stark against the slate colored sky. The street seemed empty, the houses shuttered dark and tight against the coming cold. I put my skateboard down and played around, waiting.

MacKenzie finally came out of her house. She wore a hoodie over a thick sweater and she had on gloves. Her hair was loose, blowing in the wind. Her gaze locked on me the moment she looked up. Her blue eyes were bright, a startling splash of color against the gray of everything else around us. She smiled right away, her face lighting up and I couldn't help the strange rush through my blood. It was obvious that I made her happy, and I couldn't help liking it.

I smiled back at her. "Hey.”

“Hey. You look cold.”

“I am." 

She smiled. "This is nothing--wait until December."

      "Great."

The wind whipped at us and she eyed the heavy sky. "We'd better run if we don't want to get soaked."

Trusting her east coast weather instincts, I kicked up my board and she started jogging with me. She had trouble keeping up, so I slowed down a little. We ran in the gusting, wild wind that smelled like rain.  A car pulled out of a driveway right in front of us and I skidded to stop. MacKenzie bumped into me, giggling. The old man driving the car stared at us as he backed up, shaking his head. I looked at  her and we both laughed, drunk with being goofy and the excitement of outrunning the rain. We started running again, racing against the brooding clouds above us.

We made it to the school parking lot as small drops started. "Faster!" she warned.

 
We pounded into the school, breathless, but dry; and then the rain poured. It came down in heavy sheets, hitting the ground hard. We high-fived to our success and she grinned at me before running off to her homeroom.

It’s a good thing we started out in a good mood because everyone else was subdued and somber. The rain beat against the windows and the dark gray sky weighed down on  the morning. Even the teachers felt it, listlessly assigning homework and announcing tests and projects. During Spanish I yawned a little too loudly and MacKenzie turned around, glancing at me over her shoulder, a crooked smile on her lips. I'd kiss her someday, maybe soon.

I looked down at my desk, pretending to look at worksheet in front of me. If I really wanted to put the brakes on our future I'd have to not enjoy being with her so much. But I couldn't help it. We always seemed to be in sync somehow.

The school had a pep rally after lunch. The rain beat down on the skylights above us but we couldn’t hear it for all the noise. The cheerleaders came out and jumped around to a bass-thumping mix that had everyone out of their seats. Noah sat next to Katie, and she never took her eyes off him. MacKenzie sat next the other girls, pounding on the bleachers with her feet with Crystal and Noriko, laughing like crazy.

I was flooded with so many new
Yurei
it was all could do to pretend I couldn't see them. I'd never been with the entire school in one place before. Stories of heartbreak and triumph jumped out at me from every direction. Love, loss, suicide, joy, inspiration and defeat overwhelmed me. I felt like I was in two different places at once. The
Yurei
did not have the enthusiasm that their present counterparts had. They were quieter, more complex.

In the freshman section I saw Derek. His
Yurei
was not there. I'd already seen what he would be like.  He pumped his fist to the music and did some impressive head-banging. One of his friends toppled over and fell off the bleachers and Derek laughed at him. Derek was so different now from what he would become. It actually made his present painful for me. I glanced over at Mackenzie. She was jumping up and down to the beat with everyone else, smiling over at Noriko. She caught my eye and I forced a smile. Was it possible to warn her? I needed time to think about it.

CHAPTER EIGHT

MacKenzie

Dad made pancakes and bacon Saturday morning, which wasn’t a good sign. It usually meant we had a big family project—like raking leaves or putting down mulch.

None of us could resist the smell of bacon, however, especially the boys, and as I lay in bed thinking about the big breakfast waiting for me I could hear Derek and James thumping down the stairs to eat all my bacon.

I got out of bed and followed them into the kitchen, where my Dad was putting a stack of pancakes on the table and Mom was arranging a pile of bacon on a plate.

Her hair was up in a twist, which meant she was in the mood for serious cleaning. Or raking.

The boys had the same bedhead, their hair sticking up in the back of their heads.

“What are we doing today?” Derek asked, his voice deeper because it was morning.

“Raking leaves!” Dad announced,  like we were all going to Disneyland. He was showered and wide awake, although he had a scruff on his chin. He didn’t shave on weekends.

“Finally.” Derek said, his voice flat and low. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.”

James contemplated the bacon as he reached for a pancake. “Can we make a big pile and jump in it?”

“Of course,” Dad said, beaming at James’ interest in the project.

We cleaned up after breakfast and went outside. The leaves were still wet from the rain we had yesterday, and though the sky was clear and sunny, the wind was blowing. I had to go back inside and put on a jacket.

I scraped away at the front yard with Mom while the boys tackled the backyard. We didn’t have a lot of leaves, thankfully, so it didn’t take very long.

“Let’s go see how the boys are doing,” Mom said, and put the bag of leaves out by the curb to be collected.

Out back, the boys had made a sizeable pile. James whooped and jumped in it, throwing leaves everywhere for no reason whatsoever.

Derek caught my eye and then we both jumped in the leaves.

In two minutes we demolished the tidy pile the boys had made. The three of us stood up, leaves and dirt clinging to our faces and hands, our clothes damp and disheveled. I was pleased to note that Derek had received the worst of it—James and I tag-teamed him.

“You are all gross,” my mom said, wrinkling her nose at us.

Raking the leaves back up and shoving them into the bags while we were wet and itchy from twigs and leaves was not as fun as jumping on the leaves. When Dad finally declared the job finished, I raced up to the bathroom to claim the shower.

The hot water felt good on my clammy, wet skin and I soaked in it, letting the steam fill up the bathroom. Getting into dry clothes was almost like heaven. I went to my room to dry my hair so one of the boys could have the shower.

Washed, dried and my hair sleek and shiny I plopped down on the couch.

“What time are we going to the mall?” I yelled at the direction of the kitchen.

My mom poked her head out into the living room. “Right now, if you’re ready.”

I sighed and got off the couch.

The boys had their own plans for the afternoon. Derek was going to Jason’s house, just around the block. James and Dad planned to be couch potatoes, already sitting in front of the TV with their feet propped up on the coffee table and a bag of Cheetos between them.