Adventures of a Graveyard Girl (17 page)

"Hey, you two," Logan Collins said, sitting down beside us.

This was weird. I was sitting between two of the hottest guys at my school - one from the senior class and one from the junior class - at a funeral. I felt like I had entered
The
Twilight Zone
. I was almost waiting for the music from the old TV show to start playing in the funeral home. Why was Logan sitting with us? Sure, Ethan was popular, but I wasn't and Ethan and I were both juniors, while Logan was a senior and...

"Have you found any more clues in Madison and Julia's deaths?" Logan asked.

Ethan and I looked at each other. This was the first time anyone outside of our group seemed to genuinely want to hear about our investigation. It was actually kind of cool, like we were really on the case! I didn't count Julia, of course, because that whole conversation was weird and who knew what her ulterior motives were. I would probably never get a chance to understand her either, since she was dead and all.

I tried not to stare at Logan and concentrated on speaking. I was nonchalant, not sure what I should give away just in case Logan was a gossiper, "Same old, same old. You don't by any chance know Ray Newton, do you?"

I actually felt a little like Detective Dixon, being so vague. Funny. I would not under any circumstances, though, start using Styrofoam cups.

Logan frowned, "He's a senior...right?"

"Yeah," I said. "Supposedly he dated both Madison and Julia."

"I don't really know him," Logan said.

"It was worth a shot," I said.

I wondered if Ray would show up at the funeral. I still wanted to talk to Ariel about him. Regardless, he was the only suspect I hadn't actually spoken to yet.

"Hey, guys," Suzie said, walking up, holding Kyle's hand.

Kyle looked wearily at Logan, but didn't say anything. Suzie must have reassured Kyle that despite Logan's hotness, he was no match for Kyle's brains. Or, well, that was the one compliment I could think of, at least, that was true.

Then Kyle and Suzie were suddenly sitting with us and Ethan's friends Dave and Mike came over and just like at the Homecoming Dance, I felt like we were forming a weird clique of popular/unpopular that was totally against all the rules of high school. Plus we were at a funeral. Silence descended over everyone. It was awkward. Thank goodness the memorial service was going to begin within the hour so we wouldn't have to deal with the weirdness for very long. Maybe Ethan and I could go for more cookies.

It was almost seven o'clock when the service began. Ethan and I managed to garner a seat in the packed room, which was lucky. I had feigned having to go to the bathroom and we had escaped the others after ten minutes of awkward conversation. My feet were killing me. We had already been at the funeral a long time and I was wearing heels, so I was glad for the seat. There were more people standing outside. I saw Detective Dixon near the back, trying to blend into the masse of high school students who were in attendance. They easily outnumbered the amount of relatives. Everyone who was anyone was at this funeral. I saw Ariel standing along another wall with Troy. It was sweet of him to come with her.

A priest said some religious words, the room shrouded in silence. Then the eulogies began. It was the most heartbreaking, touching, amazing part of the wake or funeral for me. I loved hearing people's memories. It was the one thing that kept the dead, alive, eternally.

When my mom died, a bunch of people gave eulogies. I was in super depressed mode and I didn't want to write one for her or speak in front of everyone. It was cool to hear what everyone else had to say, though, to see what they thought about my mom. I really appreciated the memories I didn't have of her told to me. Still, I wish I had spoken. There was a lot I had to say about my mom. The problem was that now, when I wanted to say them and talk about my memories, there was usually nobody around with whom to share the memories. The people who really knew my mom had been at the funeral and I didn't see them all that often. It would have been nice to share my memories with them.

Madison's dad was the first one to speak. He barely got through a minute talking about what a wonderful girl Madison had grown up to be and how he had been so very proud of her. He opened up the floor to anyone who wanted to speak about Madison and got away from the podium before he burst into tears. My heart almost broke watching him speak about his daughter. There wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Next was Madison's little sister, Lana. A relative led her up to the podium and stood next to her. You could tell that she was a little scared to be facing all of the people that had come to her big sister's funeral, but she was determined.

"I loved my sister a lot. I'll miss her times a billion," Lana said quickly, but with such emphasis, my heart twisted at her words.

Then I noticed that Lana had something in her hand, a piece of paper. It looked like a hand drawn card, although I couldn't see what she had drawn clearly. Lana walked from the podium to the casket and placed the card in it, next to her sister. Then she ran back to her parents and buried her face in her mom's shirt.

It was that simple. All those girls who were feigning tears earlier in the night, were full on bawling now. This time, they really meant it. I felt a tear of my own slide down my face. I wiped it away with my hand. I caught Ethan glancing at me. He took my hand in his.

I didn't even hear the next eulogy. Madison's uncle spoke about his niece, but I spent the few minutes, trying to recompose myself, so that I wouldn't burst into tears. I concentrated on holding Ethan's hand and breathing. I felt better. Madison's uncle left the podium.

The spot was vacant for only a second when, to my surprise, Ariel walked up to the podium and looked out over the crowd dramatically, "I felt like I should say something as the new Pep Club president. Madison loved Pep Club and I only hope I can do as good of a job as Madison did. She was an amazing president."

Ariel looked like she was meant for standing at a podium, giving a speech, and I think she knew it. I almost felt like I was watching her on the big screen, in a movie. Ariel could be so confident and self-assured. I really admired that about her and despite the Pep Club campaign I knew she was waging, I knew Ariel really cared about Madison.

"Madison was also a good friend," Ariel said as if on cue and then to my shock, Ariel started faltering in her speech, with the weight of her words, "I actually only met Madison this year, but we really connected. I wish I had known her sooner. It's hard to believe that she's gone. We just went Homecoming Dress shopping and I know she was really excited about the dance and her date with Sebastian. It's just so weird. I mean, we won't get to talk about the dance and how it went or well, anything... She was just really cool."

Ariel got off the stage and burst into tears. Wow. Ariel had feelings. I wondered what she'd say if I ever died and if she'd cry. Ariel ran into Troy's arms. I watched him enfold her in his embrace. It struck me that they seemed to be a real couple now too. They looked great together. Troy stroked Ariel's hair. I hoped he really cared about her. I hoped she really cared about him. I did really think he was a cool guy. Wow, everyone was pairing up and becoming boyfriend/girlfriend. I felt Ethan hand's in mine. Maybe even us.

That was when I noticed the guy standing next to them. It was Ray Newton. He had made an appearance, finally! After the speeches, Ethan and I needed to go over and talk to him. I studied him. Ray was a little cuter in person than in his yearbook photo. Still, he was kind of geeky and I wouldn't have pegged him for the ladies man type. Suddenly, my brain was distracted by the new voice at the podium and I looked away from Ray.

Logan had gone up to speak, "Hey. I knew Madison in junior high...."

Now, Logan was a ladies man. The room grew quiet at his hotness. Logan was silent in return. The crowd gazed at him, adoringly.

Logan drew a deep breath and continued, "There were a bunch of us who used to be really good friends, actually, and then we kind of drifted apart in high school. I feel sad about that. That we weren't as good of friends when Madison died."

Logan looked out at the crowd, silent again. Then he went on as if there was something more he had to say, "The Madison I remember was always laughing. We had a lot of fun together riding bikes - me, Madison, and Julia. The three burritos we used to call ourselves. I thought that was the right word for friends. Madison and Julia teased me about it. Amigos, they said. It became our inside joke."

Logan smiled at the thought. The room smiled with him. Then he abruptly left the podium, as if he couldn't take the memories. Logan disappeared into the crowd of students. I still couldn't get over the fact that Suzie Whitsett, shy quiet girl, knew Logan. That was still stupefying to me. It was so weird.

A few people I didn't know walked up to the podium. They were in Madison's classes or knew her from Pep Club and they all said the same thing - she was awesome and gone too soon. There were a few relatives who made brief speeches too. I filed all of their names away, just in case. My heart felt heavy.

Then Sebastian swaggered up to the stage and stood in front of the podium like he owned the place and I refocused, "I just wanted to say, Madison was a beautiful girl. Peace."

That was all Sebastian said and then he got offstage, giving the Nixon salute again. He wasn't trying to campaign, was he? Ariel had been doing a little of her own campaigning, but at least she said something real. Sebastian's words were completely fake, even if they were so high school. I heard some snickers. Sebastian and his friends should be the ones getting thrown out of the funeral.

I was annoyed to see then that Jenny took Sebastian's lead and was the next person up to the podium, "Madison was a wonderful Pep Club president. She was really and truly inspiring to all of us. She was a model of school spirit that I know I will try and emulate. We miss you Madison. Go Palos Grizzlies!"

Jenny walked away from the podium and it was obvious from the murmurs that she had garnered some votes for her sect by speaking. Politics was such a dirty business and we were only in high school. Need I mention that all of this was happening at a funeral? Over a club? I was really disturbed. The podium was for people who cared about the deceased. Not people trying to overthrow a club president so they could be president. I wanted to do something about it before someone else got up to speak.

I let go of Ethan's hand and made my way toward the podium. What was I doing? I didn't really know Madison and yet I felt a sudden urge to say something about her. Maybe it was because of the high school crap that was airing itself out at the podium, when it should have been left at the high school. Maybe it was because little Lana's speech had inspired me. Maybe it was because I hadn't said anything at my mom's funeral or any other funeral I had been to, for that matter. Right now though, I did have something to say.

I walked up to the podium and felt the eyes of the entire high school student body on me. I should have been nervous. I should have been trying to figure out what to say. I felt my knees start to shake uncontrollably, then my hands.

I had to speak, "I didn't really know Madison Brown all that well. I admit it, but I still felt moved to say something about her. From everyone's eulogies and from the gossip I've heard at school and from members of the Pep Club, I've only heard that Madison was a supremely cool girl. You all know that. That's why you're all here or why you should be here, at least. From what I know about Madison, most of all, she loved the Pep Club. She was all about school spirit and cheering on our high school's sports teams. She helped decorate the Homecoming Dance for all of you. She wanted to make high school an amazing experience, not only for herself, but for everyone standing in this room. I know that everyone is really sad about losing her, but I think we owe it to Madison Brown to make Saturday's football game against the Riverside Raiders so full of school spirit that winning or losing doesn't matter - it's about seizing the day, enjoying a simple football game, and cheering your heart out. I think we owe it to Madison to have a great time and remember that she would want us to keep cheering, keep laughing, and keep a little pep in our step. Let's have some pep club cheer for Madison."

I actually felt good talking at the podium. I could tell that my audience was connecting with what I said. That was when a kid all in black and wearing a ski mask decided to run into the room and throw black goo all over me. I didn't even know what happened. All of a sudden I was covered in the stuff. I wondered if
Carrie
felt like this at the prom. I don't know what I would have done if it was pig's blood. Goo was gross enough. Was I going to be able to get this stuff off?

Of course this would happen to me. This sort of thing only happened to me. How could they have known I'd speak, though, if I didn't know I was going to speak? Maybe it wasn't meant for me. Then who was it meant for?

There was pandemonium. People were freaking out. I wasn't dead, but I must have looked scary. Suddenly Ethan was standing in front of me, not knowing what to do because I was covered in goo.

"I'm fine," I said, although I think I was in shock.

I wasn't hurt, though. That was the truth. What had happened to the offender? I saw a big crowd in the hallway. I wondered if Detective Dixon had caught the guy.

"Kait," Ethan said again.

He had been trying to get my attention while I was distracted by the commotion in the hallway. I looked at him. He saw that I was finally paying attention.