Party Games (7 page)

“I … I got home after the basketball game. And I went to my room. And … I saw something under the sheets in my bed. It was a dead squirrel, stuffed under the covers.”

“Omigod!” My cry escaped in a whisper.

April shivered. “My bedroom window was wide open. And someone … someone had stuffed a dead squirrel in my bed.”

“Omigod! Omigod!” I slapped my hands against my cheeks. “No. No way. That's impossible.”
I blamed Mac for the rat. I knew it had to be Mac. But …

“Hey, what's wrong?” Geena strode out of the bathroom, zipping up her plastic cosmetics case.

“April found a dead squirrel in her bed,” I said. “And I—”

“Noooo!” Geena screamed. The case fell from her hand and bounced on the carpet. “When? Friday night?”

April nodded.

“But—but—” Geena sputtered. “I don't believe it! Me, too! Not a squirrel. A baby raccoon. A dead baby raccoon. Under my covers. Squashed flat and its eyes were missing.”

“Omigod! Omigod!” I struggled to get control. “I blamed Mac. I can't believe I blamed Mac.”

“Blamed him for what?” Geena demanded.

“For the dead rat in my bed,” I said.

They both gaped at me open-mouthed.

“You, too?” April whispered. “All three of us?”

“Roadkill,” I muttered. I shook my head. “I blamed Mac.”

Geena squinted at me. “Mac? Why Mac? Why would Mac put a dead animal in
my
bed?”

“He wouldn't,” I said. “I must have gotten it all wrong. Mac wouldn't—”

“So who was it?” Geena asked.

I jumped to my feet, still gripping the hairbrush tightly. “Roadkill,” I repeated. “Roadkill.” My eyes went from Geena to April. “Someone was trying to warn us. Someone wanted to scare us
really bad
.”

 

11.

AN AWESOME PARTY

 

We stared at each other. Someone had broken into our houses. Someone had carried a dead animal into our bedrooms and stuffed it under our blankets.

It was sick. Sick and gross.

“Does anyone have any idea who did it?” April asked.

Before anyone could answer, the door opened and Delores appeared. “Ready?” she asked. “I'll take you downstairs to the party room.”

As we walked to the stairway, the two dark-haired dudes we didn't know led the way. Eric and Kerry tossed a white Nerf baseball back and forth. Spider dove to intercept it and almost fell down the stairs.

Patti hurried to keep up with us. I wanted to ask her if she received a road-kill gift, too. But as we reached the first floor, we were blasted by deafening guitar music that rang off the tile walls.

“Party time!” Eric shouted, pumping his hands over his head and doing a little dance.

Delores pushed open tall double doors, and we walked into an enormous room that looked like a movie set.

I blinked several times as I stared into the pulsing light. We were standing in what had to be a ballroom, with a high cathedral ceiling, lighted entirely by candlelight. Candles were hung in dark sconces along the walls. Two chandeliers decked with long candles hung low over our heads. Three walls held floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A fire danced in a broad fireplace at the back wall.

For some crazy reason, I thought of the ballroom in the Beast's castle in that Disney movie Beth and I used to watch over and over,
Beauty and the Beast.

Half in shadow, half in flickering orange light, Brendan stood in the center of the enormous room beside a long food table. He stepped forward with a big smile on his face, watching everyone's reaction to the incredible room. “Hey, guys,” he called. “Welcome.”

He wore a black V-necked sweater over a white T-shirt, charcoal-colored jeans, and red Converse sneakers. It was kind of his uniform. I liked it.

“I … uh … I just heard about the problem at the dock,” he said, rubbing his chin. “Well, I want you to know it's been taken care of. Everything will be okay. And you're not stranded here, if you're worried about that. We've already sent for another pilot for the boat. And—”

“Is Randy okay?” April interrupted, shouting over the wailing guitars. The music poured from enormous twin speakers on the wall.

“Of course he is.” Brendan replied. “Randy is feeling good. A little shaken. He lost a little blood. He might have a slight concussion. But don't worry about him. We're here to party—right?”

“Right!” The cry rang out over the music.

“Some of you haven't been to this house,” Brendan said. “It's pretty awesome. You'll see. My great-great-grandparents built the house like a million years ago. And as we all know, my ancestors were all way weird.”

“So are you!” Eric shouted.

That got a big laugh.

Brendan laughed, too. He scratched his head and squinted at Eric. “Did I invite you here? Really?”

“I only came for the beer,” Eric shot back.

That got a big cheer. Some guys shouted, “Me, too!”

“No worries,” Brendan said. “There's plenty of beer. Hey, I'm eighteen today. I'm legal in this state.” He grinned. (Did I mention that I love the way his eyes crinkle up when he smiles?) “The rest of you are all eighteen, too—right?”

“Right!” everyone shouted. Kids pumped their fists in the air and cheered.

Brendan's expression changed. “I've always been blown away by the stories about my weird ancestors,” he said. “I've always wanted to have a party in this house they built. A party like back in the day, with all kinds of old-fashioned games.”

“You mean like the original
Grand Theft Auto
?” one of the dark-haired boys called out. He was wearing a gray-and-white Benson School sweatshirt and black, straight-legged jeans.

Brendan gestured toward him. “Hey, any of you guys know my cousins? They don't go to Shadyside. They go to the Benson School.” He pointed. “Morgan and Kenny Fear.”

I studied them. They had the same dark hair and dark eyes and serious expressions as Brendan. They totally looked like Fears.

“Morgan is the tall skinny one,” Brendan said. “Kenny is the fat slob.”

Kenny jumped to his feet. “Hey, thanks—!”

“I had to invite them because they're family,” Brendan said. “But I don't like them at all.”

“We can't stand you, either,” Morgan shot back. “You're a total jerk.”

Kenny said, “We only came because our parents made us.”

All three of them laughed. I could see they really
did
like each other a lot.

“You all can just ignore them,” Brendan said. “They're totally antisocial, and they don't play well with others.”

“Who can get along with
you
?” Morgan shouted.

“Do you still wet the bed?” Kenny asked.

“No. Kenny, y
ou're
the only one in the family who still does that,” Brendan shot back. “Even when you're awake.”

“Is this Family Fight Night?” Eric chimed in. “Are we supposed to vote on the
Biggest Loser
?”

“You win!” Kerry said, slapping Eric on the shoulder.

Lots of laughter rang off the high walls.

“Are we just going to stand here being nice to each other all night?” Eric complained.

“I've got some things planned,” Brendan said, turning serious. “Some games and things. But we can do that later. I mean, we have all night—right? First, let's chow down and
get TRASHED
.”

I followed Kerry and Patti to the long dining table. It was covered in a beautiful burgundy cloth—and seemed like the whole table was filled with silver platters and beautiful china.

“No way!” I cried. “There's enough food here for a hundred people!”

I saw three different kinds of pizzas and a platter stacked high with cheeseburgers and big bowls of salad. Four servers dressed in black uniforms stood ready to help behind the table. One of them held a silver knife and began to carve a giant ham and a whole roast beef. Moving down the table, I saw a huge casserole filled with macaroni and cheese. Another platter was piled high with French fries. And if that wasn't enough I saw a huge bowl of mashed potatoes, bread and rolls, a pile of shrimp and crab legs, breads, cheeses. It was an amazing feast.

A table beside it had been set up as a bar. A black-uniformed bartender was helping kids to sodas and beer in tall slender glasses.

This is insane,
I thought. There were only ten of us here … eleven with Brendan.
… Is this how Brendan's family lives all the time?

Everyone began piling dinner plates high with food. I turned and gazed around at the amazing room. It really was like standing in a ballroom from the nineteenth century. The candlelight made it magical, shadowy, and special. I really did feel as if I was in a Disney castle.

“Earth to Rachel,” a voice said.

I turned and saw Brendan smiling at me. He had two glasses of beer in his hands. He handed one to me. “You looked like you were off in space somewhere.”

“No … I was just gazing around,” I stammered. “I mean, this room…”

He shook his head. “My parents are crazy. See all those books on the shelves? They bought them by the yard. Do you believe it? ‘I'll take four hundred yards of books, please.'”

“Weird,” I said.

He tipped his glass against mine as if toasting. We both took a long sip of beer. “Glad you could come,” he said. His eyes locked on mine.

“Me, too.”

“This is the most awesome room,” he said. “But parts of this house are like out of a Frankenstein movie. No joke. There's even a room downstairs that's like a dungeon. Really. You'd swear it was a torture chamber.”

“Sweet,” I said.

That made him laugh. “Are you into torture?”

“Seriously,” I said. “My house doesn't have a basement. Otherwise, I'd definitely have a torture chamber.”

He nodded. He kept his eyes on mine. He didn't blink. “Where do you live?”

“On Knobb Road. A few blocks from Lefty's. It's a tiny house.” I gestured with both hands. “Actually, my house would fit in this room.”

He took another long sip of beer. It left a line of foam on his upper lip. I had this crazy urge to lick it off.

Whoa. Stay cool, Rachel.

“A few years ago, we had a bigger house on Park Drive,” I said. “But … uh … things changed for my dad, and we had to move.”

Bor-ing. Rachel, he's going to fall asleep listening to you.

He wiped the foam off his mouth. Then he brushed a hand through his wavy, dark hair. “I really wanted you to come. I hope you have a good time. Maybe later, you and I…” His voice trailed off.

He's actually flirting with me.
“This is an awesome party,” I said.

A sly smile crossed his face. A
teasing
smile. “Rachel, you're not
scared
to be here, are you?”

“Scared?” I laughed. “Why would I be scared?”

He leaned close. “I have some things planned.”

He stayed like that for a moment, with his face close to mine. I actually thought he wanted to kiss me. It was one of those moments where time stopped, like when you pause a movie and everyone freezes in place.

I wanted to kiss him. I moved my face closer. But then his cousin Kenny came up and bumped Brendan from behind, and Brendan spun around to talk to him.

I let out a long breath.
Don't rush things, Rachel.

A wave of happiness rushed over me. I suddenly felt all fluttery. Here I was in this amazing mansion, with the coolest group of kids in school, no parents around, amazing food, and all the beer you could drink. And a guy I'd had a crush on for years was actually flirting with me.

Best day ever?

The boat pilot, Randy, flashed into my mind. I pictured him again, hitting his head on the dock piling and sinking into the water. And again I thought about Geena and April finding dead animals in their beds, just like me.

I shook my head, as if shaking those thoughts away.

Nothing is going to spoil this day. Nothing is going to keep me from having an awesome time at this party.

The rock music ended. Dance music began to pound from the speakers. Some kids were still stuffing their faces. But a few got up to dance, beer glasses in one hand.

I took another sip of beer and wandered over to the food table. Patti and Kerry were being served seconds—slices of pepperoni pizza—by one of the waiters, and I lined up behind them.

We stood against a bookshelf, eating our pizza slices. “I've been here before,” Kerry said. “I still don't believe this room. You could have a full basketball court here. Seriously.”

I laughed. “Is basketball all you think about?”

“No. I think about Patti, too.” He wrapped his free hand around her waist from behind and nuzzled his face in the back of her hair.

“How come you tell everyone you're just friends?” I said, shouting over the thumping music.

Patti shrugged. “Why not? It's a little joke we have. To confuse people. We're friends. We're just
very close
friends.”

They both laughed.

Still holding onto Patti, Kerry said something else, but I couldn't hear him over the music. He and Patti laughed.

I laughed, too, pretending I'd heard him. I finished my pizza and returned the plate to the food table. I asked, and one of the waiters pointed the way to the bathroom, through a glass door at the far end of the ballroom. As I crossed the room, I saw Brendan watching me from the middle of a circle of girls.

Sweet
.

The hall leading to the bathroom was dimly lit, the carpet ragged. More dark oil portraits of Fears stared at me from the walls on both sides.