Trouble in the Trees (9 page)

I hadn't yet tackled the third tree, the Knife, but I knew it was going to be a challenge. Every one of its branches went straight up with very little slope or angle. There were no flat surfaces at all.

I also knew, because Sarah was now sitting upright instead of lounging around, that there wasn't going to be time for anymore climbing today.

“Can we do something else now, Bree?” Sarah called up to me.

“Like what?” I asked.

“Let's go see what everyone else is doing.”

“Like who?”

“Come on, Bree, let's just go.”

“All right,” I said. But I took my time getting down.

“You're sure those trees aren't on Cedar Grove property?” Sarah asked as we walked toward the townhouse complex. “It's pretty hard to see where the property line is.”

“It's really clear on the map I got at the Easter egg hunt,” I told her, “but I'm not sure how accurate the map is.”

“Well, it probably doesn't matter,” Sarah said as she ripped the foil off a chocolate Easter egg she had retrieved from her pocket. “You can still use the map to defend yourself if you get caught. I don't think you should worry about that silly bylaw anyway.”

“But Tyler will turn me over to the Neighborhood Council if he sees me in a tree. Any tree. And I don't want to face them again. That would be bad.” I shuddered, thinking about it.

“Tyler's not out to get you,” Sarah said. “He's just competitive. And he likes to tease you because he always gets such a big reaction.”

“Tease? He's mean, Sarah. Maybe you don't get it because he's nicer when you're around.”

Sarah shrugged and handed me a chocolate.

I didn't say anything as I took the egg. I was mad at her for defending Tyler. Maybe I was right about them liking each other. Yuck.

As we got closer to Cedar Grove, I could hear the skippers chanting, “
Ice-cream sundae, banana
split…
” For once I wanted to join them, just to avoid Tyler.

But Sarah was heading straight toward the garage with the basketball hoop. Tyler's garage. I listened, hoping to hear a street hockey game over the skipping song, but there was only the sound of a ball bouncing against the pavement.

“Hey, Tyler,” Sarah called out as we got close.

“Sarah. Bree. Wanna play?” Tyler took a shot and missed the net.

“Air ball,” I said under my breath.

“I'll play,” Sarah said, giving me a dirty look. Sarah's a good basketball player. I mean
really
good. We don't usually play together because she beats me every time. I had no doubt she'd give Tyler a close game.

“Where's Michael?” I asked.

“Dentist,” Tyler replied as he passed the ball to Sarah.

“You two play one-on-one,” I said. “I'll sit out.” I didn't know exactly what was going on with Tyler and Sarah. Whatever it was, I didn't like it and I didn't want to be a part of it. I just wanted to do some more climbing.

I sat down on Ethan's front step and watched. Sarah was already up three to one.

Within minutes, Ethan was sitting next to me.

I was glad to see him. Glad to have someone to distract me from the basketball match. “What've you been doing?” I asked.

“Reading. Just finished my book.”

“Why don't you play video games or something?” I asked, although it wasn't really a question. And because I was feeling miserable, I added, “You know, like other kids.”

Ethan just shrugged. “I like to read.”

“Where's your mom?”

“Getting ready for some big meeting,” Ethan replied.

“A Cedar Grove Neighborhood Council meeting?”

“Nah. Something at the school.”

Poor Ethan. His mom would never let him spend time playing video games. And she was never around to do anything fun with him. Good thing he had me and the rest of the Cedar Grove kids.

“Want to play catch?” Ethan asked. “Help me test my arm a bit?”

“Sorry, Ethan,” I said, feeling bad about disappointing him. “I have to walk Sarah home as soon as she's done this game. Then it'll be time for dinner.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the basketball game. Sarah was up seven to six. Tyler was still smiling and joking around even though she was winning. Why was I the only one he hated losing to?

I tried to think of something funny to share with Ethan. Something to change the mood. And that's when I remembered my promise.

“Listen,” I said as quietly as I could, “were you serious about learning to climb trees?”

Ethan looked at me, his forehead wrinkled with confusion.

“Yeah, I guess,” he said slowly.

“Then let's do it,” I said, keeping my voice down.

“But how? It's illegal.”

“I found some trees. They're not on Cedar Grove property.” I was whispering now.

“I'm not allowed to leave Cedar Grove without my mom's permission,” Ethan said miserably.

“But they are ALMOST on the property.”

“You know how my mom is about rules, Bree.”

“I know, I know. Just come with me tomorrow after school. You can stay on Cedar Grove property and watch me climb. I'll teach you what I can, and if you get bored, we'll play catch.”

“Really?” Ethan said, his voice rising with excitement. “And there will be no risk of a fine?”

“Shhhhh.” I smiled and made a slight movement of my head in Tyler's direction. “It's all legal, but I don't want everyone finding out about the trees.” I really didn't need any more trouble from Tyler. And if the Easter egg map was wrong, I didn't want to know. That would be bad.

“Should I wear camouflage?” Ethan said, gesturing toward my capris.

“You don't need camouflage. You won't be that close to the trees. Just meet me by the mailboxes tomorrow at four. And bring your glove.”

“Okay, but I doubt I'll need my glove. I won't get bored watching you climb. I think I'll bring my notebook instead so I can write down all the things I learn!”

“Bring whatever you want, Ethan, but remember, this is supposed to be fun.” I was suddenly having doubts. How much could Ethan learn if he couldn't go into the trees? And what if his mom didn't even want him watching? Was there some way she could stop me from climbing those trees too?

But Ethan was excited. And the basketball game was over. It was too late now.

Sarah had won. She gave Tyler a high five that lasted longer than it needed to and then turned to me. “Let's go, Bree. I gotta get home before Dad kills me.”

“See you tomorrow. But remember, the trees are a secret,” I whispered to Ethan as I stood up to leave.

He looked up and nodded, all smiles.

Chapter 15

Teaching Ethan to climb was fun. For a few days he only watched, just as we'd planned, but soon he couldn't stop himself from getting into the Spoon. I tried to convince him to follow his mom's rule and stay on Cedar Grove property, but the trees were so close and, well, Ethan was desperate to do some climbing himself. I couldn't really blame him and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

After a couple of days on the Spoon, he was ready to try the Fork. I could get to the top of it by then, but I had to plan my route carefully. I gave Ethan a few pointers and let him attempt the Fork alone. I think he scraped his knees a couple of times but he never fell.

When he got tired, he'd sit on the other side of the Cedar Grove property line and watch me tackle the Knife. I was getting closer to the top every day. But I didn't push too hard. It was fun watching Ethan learn, and I knew that once I had the Knife figured out, I'd be desperate to find new trees to climb. And that would be bad, since there weren't any.

“You're such a good climber,” Ethan said to me when I plopped down next to him on the grass one day. We'd been climbing together for a week. I wasn't sure I had anything more to teach Ethan. The rest was just practice.

“So are you. Helps that you have a great teacher!” I said, laughing.

Ethan smiled.

“You've really practiced hard,” I said. “Doesn't your Mom wonder what you've been up to these last few days?”

“I guess she'll expect me to be pretty good at baseball,” Ethan said, looking at the gloves that lay on the grass beside us, unused. “But she's too busy to care. And she's not worried as long as I'm with you.”

“Really?”

“Yup, she thinks you're very responsible. She talked about it after you gave that presentation to the Neighborhood Council.”

“Really?” I said again. I was surprised. Especially since the council hadn't listened to anything I had said. And Ms. Matheson's words,
You do not set the
best example, Brianna
, had stuck with me.

“Yup.”

“Well, that's good,” I said as I lay back on the grass, letting the sun hit my face.

“Um, I have a favor to ask, Bree,” Ethan said.

“What?”

“Well, it's just that some of the other Cedar Grove kids would like to learn how to climb too.”

“Like who?” I asked, not really paying attention to what he was saying. I was enjoying the warmth and the fact that someone thought I was responsible. I was proud that Ms. Matheson had been impressed by my presentation to the council, even if it had been a waste of time.

“Like Salina.”

I bolted upward, momentarily blinded by the sun. “How does Salina know I'm teaching you to climb?”

“Oh, I might have told her,” Ethan said as if it were no big deal.

“Ethan! The trees were supposed to be a secret!” I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. I'm sure my face turned a thousand shades of red.

Ethan looked at me anxiously. “But Salina promised she wouldn't tell. And I didn't tell anyone else.”

“A secret is NOT something you tell one person at a time,” I stammered.

“It's just that I was so excited about it and I wanted to tell someone, and now Salina is excited too and so I was just wondering if you could teach her to climb.” Ethan looked as if he was about to cry.

I lay back down, hitting my head hard against the ground. What was I going to do now? If I started teaching other kids how to climb, it was only a matter of time before everyone, including the Cedar Grove Neighborhood Council, found out. I wasn't even sure it was legal to be climbing these trees. I was probably breaking another bylaw. And even if it was legal, the other parents might still think I was putting their kids in danger. I was sure the council would kick us out of our house for that.

On the other hand, if I refused to teach Salina to climb, she might get mad and tell people anyway. And knowing about the rivalry between Tyler and me, she would definitely go to him first.

I couldn't believe I'd gotten myself into this. All I'd done is offered to let Ethan watch me climb. The rest had just happened.

After I had calmed down and thought it through, I finally said, “Okay, Ethan. Bring her tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Bree. Really, thanks. That's great.”

Ethan looked so relieved that I almost smiled. But instead I glared at him with my best principal face and said, “But you must promise not to tell anyone else.”

“Not a word.” Ethan clamped his lips together between two fingers and gave me the thumbs-up with the other hand.

If only I believed him.