Fear Street 5 - The Fire Game (4 page)

"Well, I'm stuffed," said Diane. "Let's get out of here."

"Good idea." Jill finished her sundae and wiped her face. "I'll bet that had a hundred million calories in it."

"What do you care?" said Andrea. "You're not on a diet"

"Yeah, well, if I'm going to stay off one, we'd better get some exercise.

Anyone want to check out the upper level?"

"Sure," said Andrea. "Maybe we'll run into the guys,"

"Haven't you had enough of them in school?"

"Well," Andrea replied, "I thought maybe I could talk to Gabe about the music he's going to do for my program."

"Oh, yeah?" said Jill. "How's that going?"

"Well, we haven't actually gotten anything together yet. He hasn't been able to come to my practice."

The girls paid for their desserts and left the Olde Sweete Shoppe. It was Tuesday Sale Night, and the mall was jammed with bargain hunters.

"Wow, it's really crowded," said Jill. "Even if the boys are here, we wouldn't be able to find them."

"I don't think Gabe hangs out in malls," Diane said.

"You're probably right," said Andrea. "He's much too cool for that."

The first shop at the top of the stairs was the Shadyside Pet Shop, and Diane always had to check out the dogs and cats. She wasn't allowed to have a pet of her own because her father was allergic.

"Oh, look at that one, Jill," Diane said, pointing to a white kitten. "It looks just like Mittsy."

Jill laughed. The little cat did look like Mittsy, Jill's golden-eyed Persian. In a nearby window two very fluffy terrier puppies were playing with each other, rolling over and over in the shredded paper. Jill and Diane stood with their noses against the glass, oohing and aahing.

"Will you guys hurry up?" asked Andrea. "The mall closes in half an hour."

"Oh, come on, Andrea," said Diane. "Just 'cause you don't like animals .

. ."

"I like them okay," said Andrea impatiently. "I just never understand why people make idiots of themselves over them. I'm more interested in animals of another sort--boy animals."

"Especially one," teased Jill.

"Did you ever see such green eyes?" Andrea exclaimed.

Jill glanced at the puppies in the window, then realized Andrea was talking about Gabe.

"You were absolutely right about his eyes, Diane," Andrea said. Diane didn't answer. "How did you meet him, anyway?"

"We lived next door to each other when we were little," said Diane. "We went to kindergarten together."

"Was he always so wild?"

"Well," said Diane, "Gabe was always getting in trouble, if that's what you mean. His mother always said I was a good influence on him." She smiled as she remembered. "I could never stop him from anything he really wanted to do, though."

"I have a feeling nobody could stop Gabe if he was after something," said Andrea. "He's a guy who seems to know exactly what he wants."

"That's right," said Diane. "That's exactly right." She spoke very seriously, and once again Jill had the feeling that Diane was keeping something secret about Gabe.

The girls continued to walk along the upper level, checking out all the windows. The Athlete's Den had a big display of weight-lifting equipment.

"Gabe told me he lifts weights," Andrea said. "How long has he been doing that, Diane?"

"Probably since kindergarten," said Jill. "Honestly, Andrea, what do you think Diane is--Gabe's keeper?"

"I don't mind," said Diane. "After all, I know Gabe better than anyone."

She was silent a moment, then went on. "He was always interested in sports," she told Andrea. "I think he started lifting weights a couple years ago."

"Oh, yeah?" said Andrea. "What sports did he play?"

Diane sighed. "I don't remember everything. He was in Little League baseball, and in middle school he played soccer and basketball."

"I'll bet he was good at them, wasn't he?"

"I guess he's a natural athlete," said Diane.

"When he and Nick were in that race," Andrea went on, "I couldn't believe how fast he was. I mean, Nick's a really good swimmer, and for Gabe to have beaten him . . ."

"Don't forget Nick got a cramp," said Jill.

"So he says," said Andrea. "It sounded like an excuse to me. Anyway, why are you defending Nick? Aren't you the least bit interested in Gabe too?"

Jill didn't answer for a moment. The problem was that she was interested in Gabe--very interested--but she was bothered by him too. There was something about him--and her feelings for him--that made her very uncomfortable. "I just thought it was weird when he stuck his hand in the candle flame," she said at last.

"That was the coolest thing of all," said Andrea. "I never saw anyone do anything like that before. I couldn't believe it!" She laughed. "And did you see the looks on the other guys' faces when he did it? I thought they were both going to die of jealousy."

"I was afraid Max was going to try it next," said Jill.

"Me too," said Andrea. "Hey, Diane, have you ever seen Gabe do anything like that before?"

Diane shrugged. "Not exactly like that," she said. Instead of explaining what she meant, she abruptly started to cross to the other side of the wide walkway. "I want to go into Benniger's for a minute. I need a new shirt."

Jill and Andrea followed her across the walkway to the large specialty shop. Signs hung in every window: Spring Madness Sale and All Merchandise Slashed Forty Percent.

"You don't want to go in here, Diane," cracked Andrea. "All the merchandise is slashed."

"Very funny," said Diane. "I won't take long."

With a little smile, she headed for the sportswear racks. Jill had the feeling that Diane was tired of talking about Gabe or at least of answering questions about him. While Diane looked at tops, Jill fingered through the silk scarves. Her mother's birthday was coming up and she was looking for an inspiration. But instead of concentrating on the scarves, she kept thinking back to the picnic, to everything that had happened with Gabe, from when he had goaded Max into setting the fire until he had put his hand in the candle flame. It must have hurt, she thought. What had he been trying to prove? And who had he been trying to prove it to?

As she idly looked through the scarves, she found one in bright shades of purple and pink, her mother's colors. She turned to show it to the other girls, but they were nowhere in sight. Probably trying on clothes, she thought. She held on to the purple scarf and began looking through the rest.

Suddenly a piercing shriek filled the store. "No!" A voice screamed in panic and terror, "Go away! Leave me alone!"

Jill froze, her heart pounding.

The anguished voice was Diane's.

Dropping the purple scarf, Jill ran as quickly as she could to the back of the store, then through the curtains that hid the dressing room area.

Turning the corner, she literally bumped into Andrea. "Whoa!" she said.

"Sorry! Did you hear--"

"I couldn't miss it," said Andrea. "I was the one she was yelling at."

"What?" Jill looked at her friend in confusion. "Is Diane all right?

What's going on?"

"Ask her yourself," said Andrea, shrugging. "All I know is I was going to try this on"--she held up a lime-green T-shirt--"so I went into what I thought was an empty dressing room. Only it turned out Diane was in it."

"Well, did she think you were trying to break in on her, or what?"

"I don't know," said Andrea. "She just went berserk. And she wasn't even undressed; she was just unbuttoning one of the shirts."

Jill frowned. "Well, you know how modest she is," she said after a moment. "I mean, she always dresses in the stalls in phys. ed."

"Sure, I know that," said Andrea. "But this is crazy!"

"Maybe I'd better look in and see if she's all right," said Jill.

"If I were you I'd leave her alone till she's through in there," said Andrea. "Anyway, I still want to try on this T-shirt. Hold my purse, will you?"

She stepped into one of the booths while Jill waited in the corridor.

What in the world could be wrong with Diane? she wondered.

Andrea returned--without the T-shirt. "No luck," she reported.

Jill scarcely heard her. Why is Diane taking so long? she asked herself.

Maybe I should just go in there and find out--

But at that moment Diane came out of the dressing room, holding several blouses on hangers. As soon as she spotted her friends, she smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry about before, Andrea," she said. "I just didn't recognize you when you came in the dressing room."

"Didn't recognize me?" said Andrea in disbelief. "Who'd you think I was?

Freddy Kreuger?"

"I was thinking about something else," Diane said. "I wasn't expecting anyone to come in."

"Well, no problem," said Jill. But she wasn't sure about it. Diane still looked upset, and despite her sarcasm, Andrea seemed bothered by the incident.

Jill remembered the sound of Diane's scream--the sheer terror in it.

Andrea must have done--or said--something to have frightened Diane so badly, whether she realized it or not.

But what?

Pulling into her driveway, Jill realized that she had forgotten to buy the purple scarf in all the excitement. And her mother's birthday was in just a few days. Her mom said she had everything she wanted, but Jill still wanted to get her something special.

Maybe if she hung out with her parents for a while, she'd get some other ideas.

She went into the kitchen and poured a glass of ginger ale, then followed the sounds of the television to the family room. Her parents were sitting on the sofa, watching the tube, while Mittsy sat on the ottoman grooming her long, shiny fur.

Jill smiled to herself when she saw that her parents were holding hands.

Whenever they did that, she was a little embarrassed, but she also thought it was kind of sweet. They'd been married for over twenty years and still did that kind of stuff. "Hi," she said.

"Hi, dear," said her mother. "How was shopping?"

"Okay," she said. "You'll be happy to hear I didn't buy anything."

Jill sat on the ottoman and picked up Mittsy.

"We're watching a nature show," said her father. "It's about the attempts being made to save the Amazon forest. Mittsy seemed to be interested."

"Is that right, Mitts?" said Jill. She raised her eyes then to check out the show. Thick green foliage filled the screen, along with the droning voice of an earnest-sounding announcer. "Oh, look, Mittsy," she told her pet. "There's one of your little cousins. It's an ocelot. See?" Mittsy wriggled as Jill attempted to turn the cat's head toward the screen.

"Persians," Jill said in mock disgust. "They have no interest in culture."

"Hal called while you were gone," Jill's mother said. "He's thinking of bringing a girlfriend home for spring vacation."

"Really?" said Jill. Hal was her older brother, and he'd been away at college for three years. Most of the time she didn't miss him, but she wasn't sure she liked the idea of his bringing a girl around. That sounded serious.

"He wanted to know how you're doing," added her father. "We told him about the good grades you've been getting."

"I'm sure he was just dying to hear that," said Jill. "But that reminds me, I want to go over my research paper for tomorrow. Good night," she added, kissing both her parents on the cheek.

Jill had finished everything she had to do on the paper that afternoon, but for some reason she felt like being alone for a while. The trip to the mall had been strangely troubling.

First, Andrea had kept going on and on about Gabe, and then that weird thing had happened in the dressing room between Diane and Andrea. Maybe it's just spring fever, she thought.

She put her term paper and books into her day pack, then changed into her nightgown and washed her face. She was just weaving her long hair into a single braid when the phone rang.

"Hello?" She glanced at the clock by her bed. It was almost eleven o'clock.

"Jill?" said a familiar voice she couldn't quite place. "I hope it's not too late to call."

"I was just getting ready for bed," she said, annoyed. "Who is this?"

"It's Gabe."

For a moment she couldn't answer. For some reason her heart had started beating really fast.

"Jill? Are you there?"

"I'm here," she said. "Hi, Gabe." Then, as casually as she could say it, she added, "What's up?"

"Nothing much," he said. "I've been really busy for the past couple of days and haven't seen you much. What've you been doing?"

"The usual stuff," she said. "You know. School, gymnastics, shopping. But you knew that. You were at lunch today when Andrea and Diane and I made plans to go to the mall."

"I guess I wasn't paying attention," said Gabe. "Besides, I wanted to talk to you in private."

"What about?" she asked.

"Oh, things," he said. She imagined she could see his mocking smile.

"What kind of things?"

"Well, for instance," he said, "Shadyside things. You know you're always telling me what a great place Shadyside is."

"Well, it is. So?"

"So I was thinking maybe you'd like to show me some of those great things. Up close and personal."

"Well, sure," said Jill, confused. "Any time. Whatever you want to see.

We can borrow Nick's father's car and go--"

"Not with the other kids," he said. "You and me. Me and you. Get it?"

"Oh," said Jill. She suddenly realized that he was asking her out.

"So what about this weekend?" he asked. "Saturday night?"

"Well, uh--I'll have to check," said Jill.

"What's the matter? Afraid I'll do something crazy?"

Jill was too surprised to answer. The truth was she was a little afraid of what he might do.

Gabe laughed. "Don't worry. I never do anything without a good reason."

"What do you mean?" said Jill, totally confused.

"Never mind," said Gabe, sounding more serious. "The things you don't know can't hurt you. Now what about Saturday night? Or would Friday be better?"

"Saturday's fine," Jill said, making a sudden decision.