Secret Admirer (11 page)

S
elena stared at the sheet of stickers, then back at the list of lockers. No mistake. The stickers had been in Jake's locker.

She felt numb. Could it be true?

She had known Jake her whole life. They'd been good friends since kindergarten. How could Jake have written those terrible notes? How could he threaten her?

Why
would he threaten her?

Had Jake tried to hurt her? Had he pushed the wardrobe over on Alison? Sent the spotlights plunging down? Tried to run her down in that dark Taurus?

No!
a part of Selena screamed.
No, no, no!

Jake could never do those things. He could never hurt her. He could never hurt anyone.

But then, why were the stickers in his locker?

If it is Jake,
she realized,
then I don't know him at all. He's sick. Very, very sick
.

She jammed the stickers into her backpack. With a shudder, she hurried out the stage door, into the parking lot behind the school.

The sky had darkened. Selena glanced at her watch and saw that she had spent more time backstage than she'd thought. The last bus had long since left.

Oh, well,
she thought.
I'll walk home
. It was a long walk, but it would give her a chance to think.

As she hurried along Park Drive, she tried to decide what to do.

Why was Jake doing these things to her?

She thought about his attitude toward Danny. Was Jake jealous of Danny? Was Jake jealous of what Danny had meant to Selena?

If Jake wanted to go out with me, why didn't he just ask me?

It didn't make sense. She knew she had to confront him.

He'll have an explanation,
she told herself.
Maybe there's a perfectly logical reason for the sun stickers in his locker
.

Right. And maybe there's really an Easter Bunny
.

By the time Selena reached home, she knew what to do. She planned to call Jake and tell him what she had found. She would demand an explanation—and he would give her one.

Simple. She hoped.

Selena dumped her backpack on the bed and reached for the phone. It rang before she picked it up. Selena jumped in surprise.

“Hello?” she asked sharply.

“Hi, Selena,” Katy chirped. “What's up?”

“Oh, Katy,” Selena moaned.

“Selena?” Katy cried. “What's wrong?”

“Remember when you and I and—and Jake—were talking about the stalker? And Jake said he was going to prove it was Danny?”

“Yeah?” Katy prompted.

“Well, I felt bad that Jake kept worrying about me. So I decided to snoop around myself.”

“And?” Katy asked.

“And I … I went backstage after school,” Selena recounted. “I searched through the lockers. And I found a sheet of sun stickers!”

Katy gasped. “Like the ones that were on the notes?”

“Exactly like them,” Selena confirmed. “And about half of the stickers are missing.”

“Wow,” Katy breathed. “That proves it's Danny!”

“It's not Danny,” Selena almost sobbed. “I didn't find them in
his
locker.” She could feel her voice shaking and took a deep breath to steady herself.

“Well?” Katy demanded. “Whose locker was it?”

“Jake's,” Selena choked out. “I found them in Jake's locker.”

For a moment Katy didn't say anything. “No way,” she finally murmured. “I don't believe it.”

“Me neither,” Selena agreed. “But it's true!”

“Jake wouldn't do anything like that,” Katy protested. “I mean, he's always been a joker, but he's never done anything mean.”

“There's only one explanation that makes sense,” Selena decided. “Jake
was
joking. It was all some kind of goof.”

“Some goof,” Katy groaned. “Alison ended up in the hospital. I still have a deep bruise from the spotlight bar hitting my arm.”

“I know,” Selena said. “That's why it had to be a joke. Jake couldn't hurt a fly—you know that. Those must have really been accidents. He didn't mean for anyone to get hurt.”

“What about the poison ivy?” Katy demanded.

“Maybe he didn't know it was poison ivy,” Selena suggested. She sighed. “Pretty lame, huh? I just don't want it to be Jake.”

“I know,” Katy replied sincerely. “I don't either.”

“In any case, I have to give him a chance to explain, don't I?” Selena asked.

“I don't know.” Katy suddenly sounded frightened. “Before you talk to Jake, maybe you should confide in someone else. Tell Mr. Riordan or maybe the police.”

“No!” Selena cried. “I don't want Jake to get in trouble. If he hurt Alison—even by accident—he'll get kicked out of school! Or even worse. I can't do that to him!”

“Selena, anyone can become mentally ill,” Katy argued. “If Jake is sick, you should get him help.”

“I don't think he's sick,” Selena protested. “I think he was kidding!”

“Think of how moody he's been lately,” Katy returned. “And how he keeps picking fights with Danny. Maybe he couldn't hurt anyone before, but you've seen him try to hurt Danny.”

Selena didn't know what to say. Katy was right—Jake had been acting strangely. And he had definitely started fights with Danny.

“I still can't believe—” At that moment Selena heard a call-waiting
click
on the phone. “Hang on, Katy,” she said.

Selena clicked to the other line.

“Selena?” came a familiar voice. “It's Jake.”

Selena felt her throat close up. She thought of what Katy had said. What if Jake hadn't been joking?

“Selena? Are you there?”

“Hi, Jake,” she finally managed to choke out.

“I have to see you,” he said. His voice sounded so urgent. Almost desperate.

“Okay,” Selena answered. “I need to talk to you, too.”

“In person,” Jake said breathlessly. “I've got to talk to you in person. As soon as possible.”

Selena's heart began to race. “Can't we just talk on the phone?” she asked.

“No, it's too complicated,” Jake replied. “Please, Moon? It's important.”

“Jake, I know about the stickers,” Selena blurted out.

“What?”

“I found them, Jake. In your locker backstage.”

She heard a sigh on the other end of the line. “I can explain that,” he told her. “I found out the truth about the stalker, Selena. I'm at school now. Can you meet me in the auditorium?”

“Jake, why can't you tell me over the—”

“No!” he interrupted. “I have to show you some things. Meet me here, Selena. Right away.”

“But, Jake—”

“I'll wait for you,” he said.

She heard a hollow
click
as he hung up.

She clicked back to the other line. “Katy?”

“What's wrong?” Katy asked immediately. “You sound upset.”

“It was Jake,” Selena murmured. “He wants me to meet him at school. Will you come with me?”

“You mean now?”

“Yes.”

“Sure,” Katy agreed. “I'll pick you up in ten minutes.”

“Thanks,” Selena breathed, hanging up the phone.

She quickly drank a glass of cold water from the refrigerator. Then she slipped on her jacket and waited for Katy to arrive. She was staring out the front window when the phone rang again.

“Selena?” It was Katy. “I'm really sorry, but I can't come. I forgot. My mom took my car while hers is in the shop. She's not home. And I promised to stay home and wait for a package to be delivered.”

“That's okay,” Selena replied, trying to hide her disappointment. “I can take the bus.”

“I feel terrible.”

“Don't worry about it. I can handle Jake.”

“Well, okay,” Katy agreed reluctantly. “Call me as soon as you get home.”

“I will. Don't worry. Jake says he can explain. Everything will be fine.”

Selena tried to stay calm on the bus ride back to school. She took deep breaths, watched the cars and shops outside, and did her best to keep her mind distracted.

It didn't work. She couldn't stop thinking about the stickers. About the threats. About Jake.

He had been so insistent on the phone. So insistent about meeting her in person. Was it really because he wanted to show her something?

Or was it because he wanted to try to hurt her again?

Selena leaned her head against the bus window and pictured Jake's horrible fight with Danny.
Maybe I should have paid more attention to the way he's been
acting,
she thought.
I should have been a better friend, given him more attention
.

She glanced nervously at her watch. The bus pulled up across the street from the high school, and Selena hopped off.

It was a cold, moonless night, and she shivered, pulling her jacket tighter.

She glanced around the side of the school. A few teachers' cars were still in the teachers' parking lot. No sign of anyone else.

The auditorium was in the back of the big old building. Lights near the office told her that the custodian was working in the front part of the school.

The stage door was propped open with a brick. There didn't seem to be any light inside.

If only Katy could have come with me,
Selena thought.

There was no putting it off. She had to go in.
Jake's my friend,
she told herself.
One of my oldest friends in the world. There's no way he'd hurt me. No way
.

She felt around on the wall until she found the backstage light, and switched it on. “Jake?” she called. “Jake, are you here?”

No answer. Just the echo of her voice off the auditorium walls.

Maybe he's not even here,
she thought suddenly.
Maybe this is another joke. I bet he's sitting at home laughing, wondering how long I'll wait for him
.

“Jake?” she called again, more loudly this time.

Still no answer.

Selena began to relax.

She moved out to the auditorium and switched on the houselights. All the seats were empty.

“Very funny, Jake,” she said aloud. “You're a real riot.”

She returned to the stage. Someone had left a script on a stool by the stage door.

She picked it up and glanced at the name scrawled across the top. Jake's name.

Jake's script.

He
did
come here, Selena realized. Was he still somewhere in the auditorium? Was this part of a trap?

All of Selena's fears rushed back into her mind. “Jake?” she called again. “Where are you?”

She glanced around the stage area, but saw only props and folded clothes.

Maybe he's in the locker room,
she thought. She crossed to the backstage door and poked her head through. The locker room appeared empty.

He must have left his script here earlier this afternoon,
Selena thought. She didn't really care anymore. She only wanted to get home. Only wanted to forget about this strange day.

She returned to the door and was about to switch the lights off when something caught her eye.

A bundle of clothes piled beneath the ladder to the catwalk.

That's odd,
Selena thought.
Who left a costume on the floor?

Puzzled, she stepped forward to take a closer look.

Selena's breath caught in her throat.

The clothes didn't look right. A costume wouldn't lie so stiffly.

And she saw sneakers. And jeans.

Not a costume, Selena realized. Not a costume.

A person.

A person, crumpled in a heap. Crumpled on the stage.

Arms bent under the body. Head snapped to the side. One leg pointed at an impossible angle.

A body like a fallen marionette.

Glassy puppet eyes staring up at her.

“Jake?”

The name escaped her lips in a whisper.

“Jake?”

21
 

“H
e fell off the catwalk,” Selena uttered, feeling numb. Feeling dazed. As if the words she spoke into the phone receiver had no meaning, made no sense. “He broke his neck. The police said it was an accident.”

“I just can't believe it!” Katy's voice trembled on the other end of the line. “What was Jake doing up on the catwalk?”

“No one knows,” Selena replied. Then she added in a whisper: “No one will ever know.”

She shuddered as she remembered the way Jake's blank, lifeless eyes had stared up at her. She remembered screaming and tearing at her hair. For how long? She didn't know. The school custodian found her slumped against the wall near Jake's body.

“Oh, Selena.” Katy sighed, “I feel so bad. I'm sorry I wasn't with you when you found him. I still can't believe …” Katy's voice trailed off. She let out a sob.