Hidden Moon (9 page)

I TRIED TO look cheerful as I looked at Brian’s bloodshot eyes. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” he mumbled as he buckled his seatbelt, then pulled the hood of his jacket up, covering part of his face.

He must be cold, I thought as I reached over and flipped on the truck’s heater. “Did you hear the wolves last night?”

I saw the edge of his eye narrow. “No.”

“Oh. I figured you might have heard them. There must have been a pack of them out there howling last night. I lay in bed and listened to them most of the night.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” he said in a hushed whisper.

I shrugged and started up the truck. If he didn’t want to talk, I wasn’t going to make him. We traveled in silence all the way to the school and I pulled in our usual spot without any problems.

“Good job. If you don’t mind, I’m going to let you take yourself to your classes today. I’m not feeling well. I may leave early and go back home. If I do, I’ll call Mom at the police station and tell her to let your mom know you need a ride home.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I just didn’t sleep well.”

“Don’t worry about me. If you need to go home, I’ll be fine. I’m supposed to go over to the reservation to help Adam with his English after school. He’s already offered to drive me,” I reassured him as I reached over to squeeze his hand. “Just get better, okay?”

“Sure.” He got out of the truck and walked into the school without waiting for me.

Adam was in his usual spot against his Jeep. The rest of the guys were waiting with him today. I started to walk past them, but one look into his eyes froze me in my tracks. His eyes looked older somehow. I noticed the rest of the guys had the same look to them, too. Even Erik’s usual smile was gone today, but Ed looked the worst of them all.

“You didn’t find her,” I whispered. “You didn’t find Meghan.”

I saw the answer in his face before he shook his head. “No, only her gear.”

We all walked into school together in silence. The day went by slowly. Adam didn’t speak as I slid in next to him for class, he only gave me a sad smile. He followed me afterwards to the cafeteria and stood behind me in line.

I looked over and saw John and Ronnie sitting at their table. Beth and Brian were nowhere to be seen. I figured Brian had gone home to rest and that Beth was probably digging up a story somewhere. John and Ronnie were snuggled up next to each other, looking cozy.

Adam leaned forward, whispering into my hair, “Come sit with me today, I could use some cheering up.”

I followed him over to their table, and sat down next to him. All the guys had two plates of food each, piled full. They seemed to be shoving food in their mouths as quick as possible, though they didn’t seem to be tasting any of it.

“So did you find anything else other than her gear?” I asked Adam, who seemed to be eating with even less enthusiasm than the others.

He swallowed hard. “Her walking sticks—and some blood.”

“Was the blood hers?”

“The police think so. They are sending it off for testing to make sure,” Ed’s voice was grave.

The table fell silent again.

Adam stopped eating, and sat back, staring into space. The look on his face seemed to call out to me. I reached under the table and took his hand without thinking. His warm fingers entwined with mine, and the air warmed around us like a big hug. We sat in silence as everyone else finished eating and the bell rang. When we stood together, our hands were still together. Adam noticed it and dropped my hand. A warm flush crept up the side of his neck.

I thought we hadn’t been noticed until I walked over to the trash with my tray and happened to catch Ronnie staring at me with wide eyes.

Hold on a second
, Adam’s voice seemed to whisper to me from across the room.

He dumped his plate in the trash and walked over to me. “I’ll walk you to your next class.”

His hand found mine this time and he seemed oblivious to the openmouthed stares that seemed to come from every direction as we walked down the hall. He stopped at the art class’ door and gave my hand a slow squeeze as he released it.

“Thank you for letting me walk you and for cheering me up,” he smiled.

“No problem,” my voice came out in a squeak.

“Are we still on for our study date? I saw Brian leaving earlier. My offer of a ride to the reservation still stands. Hannah didn’t ride with us today so we have plenty of room.”

“That sounds good,” I said, my voice stronger. “I’ll meet you outside after school.”

“Okay.” His amber eyes sparkled as he turned and walked back down the hall.

Ed and Erik had kept a respectable distance behind us. Once Adam passed, they walked up to me and smiled. We all went in together and sat in the back of the class.

Ms. Hayton came in and started the class. She told us to pick up a pencil and start doodling. As I started sketching a pair of eyes in the corner of my paper, I thought of Adam. My mind turned to the daydream that I had of the wolves that searched for the lost girl. I drew the backpack lying against an old gnarled tree. Then I filled in the walking sticks, setting them in the spots where I had seen them. Then I began drawing the side profile of the cream-colored wolf I had seen. I wasn’t paying any attention to the paper or my drawing, I concentrated on what my memory held. My own mind seemed lost within itself as it replayed over and over, hearing the wolf’s sad cry as he threw his head back to howl at the moon.

“That’s very interesting, Miss Harmon. It’s very unique.” I was shaken back into reality by Ms. Hayton’s voice as she walked past.

I looked over at Erik, who had turned to look at my drawing. His mouth dropped open and he stared at me in astonishment. I looked back down at my sketchpad. I had drawn the scene out of my daydream. I caught the deep shadows in the trees beyond the wolves with the moon full and round above them.
Meghan
was scrawled in a feminine hand on one of the straps of the backpack. I looked down at a very realistic looking wolf with his head leaned back, his eyes shut as he bayed at the full moon which hid amongst the treetops. Beneath the wolf, I had written
Hidden Moon
. The things that looked out of place were the pair of muddy brown eyes that sort of looked like my own, farther up the path, which seemed to stare down at the wolf.

Erik seemed to be trying to get Ed’s attention when the bell rang. I flipped the pad shut and put it inside my binder. I got up and started for the door, leaving a still wide-eyed Erik and confused-looking Ed in the room.

I ran down the hall toward the lockers and smashed into Adam as soon as I rounded the corner.

“Hey,” he said, startled. “I was just coming to see if you would let me walk you to Phys Ed since that’s my next class, too. We’re sharing the gym today.”

“Sure, I just need to stick this in here,” I wheezed, breathless, as I opened my locker and shoved the binder as far back under all the other junk as I could make it go.

“What is it? Top secret?” Adam teased.

I frowned at him and slammed the door.

“Okay. Sorry,” he said quickly, “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them and started to walk. “But we’re going to be late.”

“No, we won’t. And even if we are, what will we have missed? A couple jumping jacks?” He snorted.

I smiled. It was nice to know I wasn’t the only one who dreaded Phys Ed. But I was betting Adam didn’t have to worry about jumping around in a little green and white outfit, while keeping an eye on Psycho Barbie.

Maybe I would get lucky and she wouldn’t be there, I hoped as we walked in the gymnasium.

“It’s about time.” Tiffany scowled at me. “You’re late. Didn’t anyone tell you that we show up ten minutes early to warm up and stretch out?”

“No, you didn’t,” I replied as I walked past her. “And that would be
your
job, since you’re the captain. So if anyone is to blame, it is you.”

I heard Adam chuckle as he went over and joined the guys at the other end of the basketball court. Tiffany’s face was turning the color of a boiled tomato as she tried to ignore me and turned to chastise the next girl that had come in after me. At least we weren’t in our little uniforms today. Everyone was comfortable in their gym shorts.

“It’s too bad we can’t vote,” Ronnie murmured beside me. “Ms. Jenkins, our coach, doesn’t think there are any of us that are better than Tiffany. That’s why she made her captain for the last two years.”

“Things change,” I muttered.

I noticed Beth up in the bleachers watching us. A little scrawny guy with thick glasses and a dark thatch of brown hair was with her. A big, clunky camera hung around his neck.

“She’s got Bernie with her this time. She’s hoping you show Tiffany up again—and I for one hope she’s right.”

A willowy woman with graying, blonde hair came up in front of our group. She smiled as she looked over her group for the year and took in the new faces. Her green eyes locked onto me.

She hasn’t looked at anyone else that way, I thought, panic flaring up inside me as I returned her stare. I wonder what Tiffany told her about me.

She quit staring at me and smiled, clasping her hands behind her back as she walked back and forth in front of us.

“For those of you who haven’t met me yet, I am Ms. Jenkins, your cheerleading coach. I see some new faces among us, so I know that some of you passed Tiffany’s tryouts. I trust her judgment, and welcome you to our squad. However, please know that rules must be followed.” She stopped in front of me and continued, “Many of our exercises depend on the cooperation of the entire team. Even the slightest change in one person’s position, can injure someone else. So please work as a team, pay attention and follow directions.”

She smiled at me. “Being as we have enough girls, I thought we would split you up in two groups and we’ll work on pyramids today.”

No problem, I thought, Ronnie will be the top of one. There are other girls smaller than me that will be the top for the other. She’ll put me at the base.

She split us up, putting the shorter girls with Ronnie to be bases. I ended up with Tiffany and the taller girls in my group. I looked at the tall legs around me. This didn’t look good. I was inches shorter than anyone else in this group.

“Nikki, you will be the top for the other group,” Ms Jenkins smiled.

I groaned. I was going to have to trust the rest of these girls around me to keep me from hitting the ground, and there was one of them in particular that I didn’t trust even when I was
on
the ground.

I stepped up on thighs and shoulders to get to the top of the pyramid, wobbling and trying not to hurt anyone on the way up. I could tell the rest of my group had done this many times before as they gave me tips on where to place my feet and how to stand. I made it up to stand on the top two girls’ shoulders. I stood still trying not to breathe or move any kind of muscle. I saw the boys on the other end of the gym playing basketball. It looked like the reservation guys were playing against all the others and that they were winning.

They were fast, I realized, watching them run around the other boys, passing the ball back and forth. Every move they made seemed choreographed. When one turned to pass the ball, the other seemed to already know they were supposed to be there. They seemed to glide across the floor, making the other team look clumsy and slow. I noticed Adam was facing me the biggest part of the time, only turning his back when he had to. It looked as if, somehow, he was watching me, too.

Ms. Jenkins told us to get back down and start again. The object was for the pyramid to get up within a certain amount of time so that it fell in time with the music. I climbed up and down my little human mountain several times, getting more confident with each try.

“Wonderful,” she clapped, pleased. “No one has gone up that many times without having some kind of difficulty. You’re doing a wonderful job, just wonderful.” She beamed up at me.

I tried to smile at her as I started back up again. I had made it halfway to where Tiffany was standing with her knee bent, waiting for me to go up again. I stepped up, and felt her shift, just the smallest bit, as she straightened her leg. I lost my footing and fell backward. Knowing I was falling fast, I relaxed my muscles and tumbled, rolling into myself as I hit the hard floor.

Wipe out, I thought, as I sat up to take note of any damage.

I realized I was surrounded, but not by the girls. Adam was crouched down beside me. He was flanked by the other four guys, who had made a tight circle around us. They all looked worried.

“You’re bleeding,” Adam told me, his nostrils flared as if he could smell it.

“Elbow,” Erik frowned, looking at the back of my arm.

“Yeah, I guess I scraped it when I rolled.” I turned my arm to see what he was looking at. I watched the blood that ran down toward my wrist.

“Is anything else hurt?” Adam asked, as his eyes still searched me.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Okay, boys, move out of the way.” Ms. Jenkins pushed at Michael, who was shoulder to shoulder with Tommy and seemed to be as unmovable and solid as a brick wall. Neither boy paid her any attention. She finally squeezed around them to get to my other side, “Oh dear, just when you were doing so well, too. We need to get that cleaned up.”