Into the Shadows (14 page)

“Well, I, uh, I don’t know. I was just doing what I
could to help the team, you know,” she stammered, a little
surprised by the sudden attention.

“You know, you held All-Stater Brooke West to just
eight points. That was some amazing defense. Her average is around
twenty-five points, you know. How did you do it?” asked a tall,
skinny man.

“Well, Coach Espinosa told me not to let her score,
so I just did the best I could,” she answered, happy to turn the
conversation to something she had accomplished without Christian
Nelson. “And the other girls helped me by doubling down any time
Brooke had the ball.”

“Steve Johnstone.” The third man stuck his hand out.
Paivi shook it. “Tartan Times. You must have felt really good about
that shot in the overtime. Your points put the game to bed.”

“I guess, but it was only three points out of
seventy,” said Paivi. “It’s like, nothing.”

“Well, thanks for your time, Paivi. You are truly a
team player,” said the second reporter. He snapped his notebook
closed and moved to talk to the Buffaloes coach. The other two
reporters nodded and followed him across the floor.

There was still a large crowd in the gym after
Paivi’s team meeting had ended. She spotted her parents and Torsten
first and went up to greet them.

“Great game Sweetheart!” said Mr. Anderson, giving
her a big hug. “I’m so proud of you! You really gave the old ticker
a run for its money. What a steal and what a basket. All I can say
is wow!”

“Thanks, Dad.” She tried to lighten up a little bit.
She didn’t want her parents to think anything was wrong. This was
something she would have to keep to herself. Well, to herself and
one other person.

“Why don’t we go out for ice cream to celebrate?”
asked an excited Mrs. Anderson, patting Paivi on the shoulder.

“Can I invite Aimee?” Torsten glanced sideways at
Paivi.

She said nothing. Torsten was the least of her
problems.

“Of course, Tor, that’s fine. She can ride with us
if she likes. Just make sure she calls her parents,” Mrs. Anderson
called after Tor, who had already sprinted off in Aimee’s general
direction.

“Paivi, I just saw the Lorenzos, and I want to say
hi to them, so go visit with your friends and see if anyone is up
for ice cream. We’ll leave in ten minutes.” Mrs. Anderson tapped
her watch.

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson wandered off towards a large
group of adults near the door.

Paivi could hear Michaela’s loud voice in the crowd
and started to follow it. She greeted a few people she knew from
around school and headed into the throng of students. Out of
nowhere she felt someone grab her from the side and arms slid
around her waist. She was lifted the air and spun around in a
circle.

“You were amazing!” shouted a familiar voice.

She smiled. Jason.

He set her back on the floor, spinning her around to
face him.

“Dude — that was an amazing game! The steal was just
unbelievable and man, you gave that big girl a run for her money!”
he said excitedly.

He pulled her close and she threw her arms around
his neck, hugging him. She pulled back quickly, remembering that
her jersey was soaked with sweat and hoping she didn’t stink too
badly.

“Come on.” Paivi grabbed Jason’s hand. He squeezed
hers back and didn’t pull away. “I have to find Michaela.”

He followed her as they wove through the crowd.
Paivi continued to follow the sound of Michaela’s voice.

“OHMYGODPAIVI!” squealed Michaela as she launched
herself off the bleachers and on to Paivi. “That was amazing!
You’re a beast!”

“Do either of you want to come with us for ice
cream?” Paivi said, glancing nervously at Jason. She wasn’t
comfortable asking Jason to go out unless other friends were
involved. She was pretty sure he liked her; after all, he did ask
her out for Saturday and he was still holding her hand. She hoped
that their little date would help them figure out if they were more
than friends or not. She was definitely hoping so.

“Yeah, sure,” answered Jason quickly.

“Dude, like I would turn down ice cream! Lead the
way!” Michaela laughed.

“Come on, let’s go find my mom.” Paivi grabbed
Michaela’s arm and dragged her along. As they turned around, she
came face to face with Christian Nelson and some members of his
usual entourage.

She didn’t know what to say.

“Paivi that was an awesome game! I mean, that steal,
wow!” he paused, giving her a knowing look.

“Uh, yeah, it was pretty crazy.” She hardened her
gaze a bit, hoping he could read that she wasn’t pleased.

“So, how about that Chicago and Green Bay game this
Sunday? It looks like a good one too. Are you going to watch it?”
Christian asked, smirking. She looked away. Sometimes she just
wanted to smash him in the face, if only that were socially
acceptable. He was just so smug.

“It’s cool,” he responded, picking up on her
discomfort. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow. Have a good night,
Paivi! Sweet dreams!”

He waved and chuckled as his group sauntered
away.

A wave of nausea washed over her. She still had to
figure out that score tonight. If she didn’t, well she didn’t want
to think about what he would do.

“Are you friends with that guy?” asked Jason, eyeing
Christian suspiciously.

“Well, I wouldn’t call him a friend.” She thought
for a minute. “But he’s alright. He’s harmless.”

She just hoped that was true.

Paivi was able to relax at Lolly’s Ice Cream Shoppe.
It all just felt so comfortable. Jason and Mr. Anderson were
discussing baseball over their hot fudge sundaes. Paivi and
Michaela were reminiscing about things that Torsten had done when
he was younger. Mrs. Anderson and Aimee were laughing along with
the girls. Torsten could only shake his head in embarrassment, and
sink lower into his seat.

“And remember,” howled Michaela, “when we were at
Taco Caliente that one time? We were waiting for our food and
Torsten was gone. All of a sudden we heard this mooing sound. We
turned around and there was Torsten, hiding in the plants next to
the counter, mooing like a cow!”

She pretended like she was separating some invisible
plants and stuck her head through.

“MOOOO!”

Paivi was laughing so hard she started choking on
her hot fudge brownie sundae. After she was able to swallow again,
the girls collapsed into laughter. They were laughing so hard that
they were crying, tears streaming down their faces.

“Dude, I was like nine years old,” protested Torsten
meekly.

They returned home around eleven, after dropping
everyone off at their homes. Paivi said goodnight to her parents
and Torsten and headed up to her room. She had to pretend she was
going to bed, but she felt it would be a long time before she got
any sleep.

She shut her door and lit a candle, placing it on
her desk. She turned out the light and could hear everyone else in
settling into their rooms for the night. She sat on her bed, folded
her long legs Indian-style and rested her hands on her knees. She
remembered seeing people meditate this way in a movie.

She took a few deep breaths, focusing her gaze on
the candle.

Score of the Chicago-Green Bay game, she chanted
over and over in her mind. She tried to picture people playing
football, and even Soldier Field itself, which she’d only ever seen
on television. After about twenty minutes of watching the
candlelight dance on the wall and peeking at the glowing numbers on
her alarm clock, she gave up. Paivi blew out the candle in a huff
and angrily got into bed, stuffed animals flying right and
left.

What was she going to do? Maybe she’d have to break
down and talk to her parents. Maybe they knew how to control this
and just kept it from her, or maybe they could get the score for
her.

What was she thinking, though? If she told her
parents, they would know Christian was blackmailing her. What would
they do? March into school and talk to the principal? Worse yet,
what would Christian do?

It was all too much. She grabbed Mr. Teddy Bear off
the floor where she had thrown him, squeezing him tight. A few hot,
angry tears rolled down her cheek, wetting her pillow.

When she opened her eyes, she was sitting in her
family room. The television was on, showing the last play of a
football game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers.
Mr. Anderson was sitting on the edge of the couch and Torsten was
on his knees in front of the screen. Both teams were at the line of
scrimmage with two minutes left on the clock. Green Bay had the
ball and the score was tied.

“How are they going to win this game?” shouted
Paivi. “Tor, move your big fat head. I can’t see.”

She threw a pillow at him.

“They HAVE to win!” screamed Torsten. “We can’t lose
to those idiots!”

“Shhhhhh!” Mr. Anderson’s gaze was glued to the
screen as he hushed them.

Green Bay ran the ball down the field, picking up a
few yards. On the next play, the Green Bay quarterback threw the
ball and it sailed through the air towards a player in green and
white. Out of nowhere a member of the Bears jumped into the
picture. He snatched the ball out of the air, right in front of the
ball’s intended target and sprinted down to the opposite end of the
field.

“Go, go, go!” they all screamed.

Mr. Anderson jumped off the couch, knocking a bowl
off the table, sending popcorn cascading across the floor.

Chicago’s number 23 wove in and out of the players
on the field, zigging and zagging. He ran into the end zone and the
referees signaled a touchdown.

“Yeah!” they all screamed, Paivi and Torsten jumped
up and down, exchanging high-fives.

“Yahoo!” shouted Mr. Anderson, throwing his blue and
orange Bears cap in the air.

An extra point was kicked, leading to more cheering
as the clock ran out. Paivi looked at the screen, noticing the
score of 21-14.

Paivi sat back down on the couch and closed her
eyes.

When she opened them again, her family room was
gone. She could feel the ground below her feet. She looked around,
completely unfamiliar with her surroundings. The ground was hard
and dusty; there was no grass to be seen. In the distance, she
could see high, rocky peaks. In front of her was row after row of
large, metal buildings, the same dusty brown color as the
ground.

The sun was high in the sky, the air hot. There was
not a soul to be seen. Paivi heard the sound of an engine in the
distance. Someone was coming. She didn’t think she should be there.
Everything felt wrong. She panicked and tried to move from where
she was, looking for a place to hide. Her feet wouldn’t budge —
they were glued to the spot.

Oh god, please don’t let them see me, she thought,
her heart beginning to race.

To the right was a large metal fence, topped with
razor wire that glinted like diamonds in the hot sun. Paivi could
see four trucks in the distance. Two trucks led what appeared to be
a large group people, and two followed behind. As they got closer,
Paivi could see that there were men in the back of each truck,
wearing some kind of uniform. They pointed large guns at the
group.

The trucks entered through a gate, which moved aside
as the truck approached. They drove right past Paivi, taking no
notice of her. The men wore sand colored clothing and floppy hats,
which shielded their heads and faces from the blistering sun.
Behind the two trucks came the column of people. Paivi had to look
closely to see that they were all women. It was hard to tell at
first. She couldn’t decide if their clothes were meant to be brown
or were so on account of all the dust.

The women were very thin and most were either
browned or reddened from the harsh sun. They looked like so many
bundles of rags held up by sticks. None of the women turned to look
at Paivi, but she could see that while all of their faces were
different, they were all frighteningly the same. The eyes were dull
and sunken — their lips were dried and shriveled, like plants that
hadn’t been watered in ages. These women had given up hope long
ago.

As they passed by Paivi, moving mechanically like so
many zombies, a woman turned, staring directly at her. Her empty
eyes burned into Paivi, and she could feel a scream stuck in her
throat. She knew this sunken miserable shell of a person.

It was her mother.

* * *

Paivi woke in a tangle of blankets, soaked in sweat
and gasping for air. She jumped out of bed and lunged for the light
switch. The room was instantly bathed in light. Paivi looked around
wildly, not knowing what to do. She sat down on the bed, shaking
her head. What did this mean? Clearly, something horrible was going
to happen. But when? And why? She rubbed her face with her hands.
She wanted to run in and wake her parents up. She wanted to tell
them everything she had seen. But what good would that do? She had
no answers.

Hey, Mom and Dad, I saw Mom in my dream and she was
in some camp near some mountains. She looked half dead.

She pictured the conversation and it just seemed
ridiculous.

Remembering the score of the football game that she
would need to give Christian in the morning, she grabbed a pen and
jotted down 21-14 Chicago on a notepad.

She turned off the light and returned to bed. The
alarm clock numbers glowed in the darkness. She lay there, watching
them slowly change until she fell into a restless sleep.

The next morning, she opened her eyes slowly,
feeling like she hadn’t slept at all. She saw herself in the
bathroom mirror and made a face. She touched the huge dark circles
under her eyes. Thankfully, Coach Espinosa had given them the day
off after their big win the night before. She didn’t feel up to
practice today.