As Autumn Leaves (7 page)

EVEN IN
the fall, Johnston Resort was beautiful. In Kayla’s eyes, more so than in the summer. Sure, the trees were starting to get more naked, all the flowers and gardens were pulled up and left bare, and the lake didn’t reflect the sun quite as brightly. Nonetheless, the leaves were a speckle of warm autumn tones, oranges and rusty yellows. The air smelled like burned foliage and the waves lapped gently against the shore.

“I love it here,” Kayla said. “It’s such a great place for a shoot.”

Althea beamed. “It’s going to work out so good.”

As previously planned, Kayla and Althea came to the resort with Mr. Ritter and Darnell. Kayla hadn’t met Mr. Ritter before. He was a big man, thick in the middle and easy to believe was a former state football player, but he was soft-spoken and kind, and clearly loved his kids. He distracted Darnell from following the girls and disturbing their project, instead heading to the shack that rented little boats to take on the lake before it froze over.

Kayla and Althea walked down one of the many trails, discussing what they wanted to do. When they were far enough away from the cabins, with nothing but thick trees and bushes lining the paths, Althea stopped.

“This’ll work.” She dug around in her backpack, pulling out the digital video camera Chantelle’s family lent them for the project. She looked a little nervous with it, handling it with care, and relaxed after she got the strap around her neck. Kayla didn’t doubt Althea would treat Chantelle’s family’s property with respect. “You okay with stopping here?”

“Yes.” Kayla put down her backpack and rummaged around in it. She retrieved the flowing black skirt she’d borrowed from Miss Desharnais, who apparently had an abundance of them. She tugged off her jacket, still wearing a hoodie and her sweatpants. She had leggings and her unitard on underneath. Kayla added, “I need to do a bit of a warm-up before I start dancing. Don’t want to pull a muscle.”

“Makes sense,” Althea said. “Take whatever time you need. I need to figure the camera out anyway, so I’ll start taking some random shots.”

Althea wandered away, focusing in on bushes and shrubs and who knew what else she found around the path. Kayla did some jumping jacks and jogging on the spot, and stretches to help warm her body.

“I have some great shots,” Althea said gleefully when she returned to Kayla. “When we’re done with your dancing, we should walk around so I can find some other random scenes that’ll fit in with the creepiness we’re aiming for.”

“Sure, sounds like a plan.” Kayla pulled off her hoodie and pushed down her sweatpants, putting on the skirt over her leggings and unitard. She was outfitted all in black. Taking a small compact mirror from of her bag, she checked her makeup. It was the first time she’d worn this much since cheerleading, as she almost never bothered with it anymore, but she’d had plenty of practice with it in the past.

She reapplied some red lipstick, her lips standing out against her pale face. She caught Althea staring at her, so Kayla pulled a face. “Does this look okay? I hate wearing makeup, but it’ll look better on camera. Whatever, it’s for the greater good of the project.”

“Yeah,” Althea said. Her voice cracked, and she coughed to clear it. “It looks great. How come you usually don’t wear any?”

Kayla shrugged. “Don’t care much what I look like. Or what people think I look like.” She hadn’t been putting much effort since leaving cheerleading or dating Jason, and she was much less stressed about trying to fit in. That part made her happy; however, she felt self-conscious with Althea’s focus. “Why, I don’t usually look horrible, do I?”

“No, no!” Althea said. “No, shit, I didn’t mean to make it seem like that.”

“You didn’t,” Kayla said, hoping to be reassuring. “When I hung around that other crowd, it always seemed so important. But I don’t want it to matter. It shouldn’t matter.”

“You’re right, it shouldn’t,” Althea said. “But, I mean, you look great when you’re being all natural too.” Althea looked a little uncomfortable and like she wished she could take the words back. “Not that it matters or that you care, but it’s true and oh my God, I’m going to shut up now.”

Kayla giggled. Althea was adorable when she stammered, but Kayla didn’t want to leave her feeling weird. “I like your eye shadow. You always wear different colors, but it’s fun. It suits you.”

“Thanks.” Althea grinned, more relaxed. “So, dancing?”

“Dancing.” Kayla nodded firmly. “What’s the best way to do this? I need to have the music on, but will it mess with the editing? Or should I put on my headphones and listen to it, hope they’re not seen?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be able to mute the music picked up while filming, and when I piece it all together, I’ll overlay the one track over it.”

“Awesome.” Kayla retrieved her iPod from her bag. “I don’t need to hear it super loud or up close, but it helps to make sure I keep the steps in time.”

“Sure. Here, I’ll take it. Let me know when you’re ready.”

After a couple false starts, they got into the flow of it, what they needed so Kayla could dance and Althea could film. After picking a stretch of path, they filmed the same sequence several times, but from different angles—Kayla dancing along the path facing the camera, and then again with her dancing away. Althea trudged into the bushes so she could get panned shots. They were interrupted a few times with other people making their way through the trails, but for the most part everyone remained respectful and kind. An elderly couple stopped to watch Kayla go through her whole routine, which thankfully was under three minutes and they weren’t held up too long.

More than once, Kayla caught Althea with a soft look of admiration, or maybe pride, as she watched Kayla from behind her camera. Or maybe Kayla imagined it, hoping for it to be true. She didn’t understand why, because she didn’t usually get caught up in what others thought of her dancing, but it seemed important for Althea to like it. She tried shaking it off and focusing on her dance moves, trying to keep them as similar and repetitive each time she went through it.

“That won’t matter too much,” Althea said, reassuring her as they walked back to the lake. “Even if it’s not perfect every time, I’ll be able to edit it and break it up with other stuff. It won’t look like there are any inconsistencies.”

“The beauty of editing,” Kayla said.

“I love it,” Althea said sincerely. “I truly do. I love making fan videos. I mean, some people think it’s geeky and ridiculous, but it’s fun.”

“It’s artistic,” Kayla said. She had watched some of the videos. She wasn’t familiar with all the television shows or movies Althea seemed to prefer, but she knew most of the music they were set to. They were great to watch and Kayla admired them.

“It’s not art.”

“It is! And you’re an artist.”

Althea smiled shyly. “Like you. But different.”

“Exactly,” Kayla said. “It’s amazing!” With a bounce in her step, and a happiness settling through her she hadn’t had in a long time, she looped her arm through Althea’s, hand settling in the crook of her elbow. “Let’s go to the lake and you can get beautiful artistic shots there.”

Althea tensed for a brief moment, and Kayla couldn’t help but wonder if she’d done something wrong. She realized she was touching Althea, arm linked through hers like the hundreds of times she’d done with Hannah. Kayla hadn’t had a conscious thought about it, falling into the easy routine she had with her other friend. It took a second for Althea to relax and give Kayla a bright smile.

Kayla liked that smile. She liked it a lot.

The afternoon passed by quickly, and Kayla had a great time. She enjoyed hanging out with Althea, and when they met again with her family, they all sat for a meal at the lodge restaurant. Her mother had given her money, but Mr. Ritter insisted on paying for them all. The drive home took at least two hours, so they headed out as early as they could, and Kayla was almost sad to be leaving. She’d had a great day; truly happy in a way she hadn’t been for a long time.

Kayla and Althea sat in the back while Mr. Ritter and Darnell took the front. It meant Darnell had control over the radio, but his taste in music wasn’t too bad.

“We should watch some footage.” Althea pulled the camera from her bag again. Kayla tried to lean over to see better, but Althea shook her head and unbuckled her seat belt. She started to slide over. “This will work better if we’re closer.”

From the front seat, Darnell laughed. “Oh, making moves!”

“Darnell,” Mr. Ritter said harshly, cutting off any comeback Althea might have had. “Don’t be rude.”

“I’m sorry,” Darnell said instantly.

Kayla couldn’t tell if it was sincere or because his father had scolded him. She shrugged and said, “Sure, no problem.”

Althea had frozen beside her at her brother’s teasing, and hadn’t moved yet. Kayla could kick Darnell for making it awkward. She was glad she didn’t have any annoying little brothers to mess things up, even if it did sometimes get lonely at home.

“Come on,” Kayla said, tugging at Althea’s arm to get her to continue moving closer. “Buckle up, then let’s watch. I want to see.”

Althea did as Kayla had prompted. She wouldn’t look Kayla in the eyes, but Kayla supposed that was all right since they were sitting next to each other. Althea relaxed again when Kayla leaned into her so they could both see the tiny screen as the video started to play.

Kayla didn’t mind that they sat this close, their sides pressed against each other and their legs tangled as they shared the same small space. She hadn’t been comfortable with being this close to Jason, and it felt different than with Hannah. And while she liked spending time with Hannah as a friend, hanging out was never nearly as… exhilarating as the day with Althea at the resort. She’d never been as giddy or happy any of the times she went on dates with Jason either.

Kayla took her own turn to tense nervously. It was as if she were winded, the way her breath got caught in her throat.

She liked Althea. Not only as a friend, but she
liked
her.

“Hey, you okay?” Althea asked quietly.

“Yes,” Kayla said. Her voice sounded off, but she was busy trying to keep her anxiety at bay. Althea didn’t need to deal with that. She didn’t need to know Kayla developed a stupid little crush that could go absolutely nowhere.

And yet, Kayla didn’t want to move away. She was going to have to sort out her head, and hopefully Althea would still want to be her friend.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure,” Kayla said. She forced a shaky smile. “I kind of get weirded out seeing myself on screen.”

“Oh, okay,” Althea said. She sounded relieved, and she bumped her shoulder lightly against Kayla’s. “For what it’s worth, you don’t need to worry. You’re great. This project is going to be awesome.”

Kayla smiled again, and this time it was genuine.

“I’M SO
excited for this!” Chantelle said, sitting on the couch in Althea’s living room. Hannah sat next to her, and there was a bowl of popcorn placed between them.

It was Friday night, and the four girls were at Althea’s apartment to view their project video for the first time since it’d been edited and put to music. Their presentation was Monday morning, but Althea and Chantelle had an away volleyball tournament for the weekend so they wanted a chance to watch it before having to present to the class. Kayla missed a dance class to be able to join in. It was worth it. And she wouldn’t be able to see Althea all weekend, reduced to texting if Althea had the time, and for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel bad about skipping dance.

“We’re seriously going to kick ass at this project,” Hannah said, clapping her hands together in glee.

“We’ll see,” Kayla said. All the encouragement in the world wouldn’t settle her nervousness about appearing on camera and dancing for the whole class to see.

“Are you saying we’re not awesome?” Althea asked. She stood next to the television with the remote, setting it up to play the video burned onto a DVD. “Because I think we’re all pretty awesome.”

“Of course we are,” Kayla said. “You guys all did great but what if I’m not… good enough? I’m the one who’s seen.”

“You’re kidding us, right?” Synchronized, Hannah and Chantelle threw popcorn at her head.

“Hey, hey!” Althea intervened, picking pieces of popcorn out of Kayla’s long hair and throwing it back at them. “No throwing food around my house!”

They erupted in giggles and tossed popcorn around the living room. It helped settle Kayla’s nerves. They stopped after a couple minutes, cleaning it up before Althea’s dad came home from work. Luckily Darnell was at his Friday night community center class and wasn’t around to squeal on them, or be annoying while they were trying to watch.

Althea sat beside Kayla on the small love seat, and they brushed pretty close to each other. The warmth coming from Althea was a new comfort Kayla didn’t realize she missed until it came back. Even though there was a chair on the other side of the room, and Althea would be able to fit on the couch with the other two comfortably, Althea chose to sit with Kayla.

It made her incredibly happy. And extremely cautious, because it could all turn into a major disaster. She tried not thinking about that part. Not right now, when it was easy and fun.

As if reading her mind, or perhaps interpreting her surprised glance, Althea shrugged. “Better angle for the TV.” Her voice was quiet as she pointed the remote at the DVD player. She wouldn’t look Kayla right in the eyes, but she didn’t move away. In all honesty, Kayla didn’t want her to, and relaxed against the cushion and into Althea’s side. She let herself have this for now.

“All right, ladies,” Althea said. “Here we go.”

She pressed play and they sat quietly, a black screen coming up with the beginnings of soft music in the background. The music got louder, and creepier, and images started to appear—bare trees with piles of leaves around, shots of the lake, a dead fish floating on the water, and of the little decrepit shack at her family’s friend’s place. Then Kayla was on the screen, dancing along the paths and amongst the trees, her moves slow and fluid, loving and longing. As the music got faster, creepier, so did the images, and her dancing became more frantic and jerky. Althea had done a fantastic job editing it all together, and it told the story of the jilted lover. The beating of the drum—the tell-tale heart—grew louder and louder, faster and faster, until it was the lone noise. With the sudden sound of a gunshot, Kayla fell to the ground, the bright red scarf across her torso, like blood spilling from her chest. She was the tell-tale heart.