Who Killed the Homecoming Queen? Read online

  Sandy grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. “You think you can break up and then walk away from me, just like that?” he asked angrily.

  Glaring at him, Tania tried to peel his fingers off her arm. “Let go, Sandy!” she ordered through clenched teeth.

  Sandy tightened his grip and shook her.

  Tania’s head whipped back.

  Eva gasped. He’s going to hurt her, she realized.

  “Let go!” Tania screamed.

  She swung her free arm up to slug him. But Sandy grabbed that one, too.

  “I’m not letting you go!” Sandy roared furiously. “I’ll never let you go!”

  “Stop it, you’re hurting me!” Tania screamed.

  Eva saw Sandy’s hands reach up and grip Tania’s shoulders. His eyes blazed with rage. He shook her viciously, back and forth, until her head wobbled like a rag doll’s.

  He’ll kill her! Eva thought. He’s crazy!

  “Stop!” she shouted. “Sandy, stop it!” She started toward them.

  Sandy kept shaking. Harder and harder.

  Twisting in his grip, Tania finally managed to crash her fist into the side of his head.

  Sandy staggered and stared at her, blinking in pain. Then he lunged at Tania. His hands circled her throat.

  “What are you doing?” Tania shrieked. “You’re choking me! Stop it! Stop!”

  He’s killing her! Eva thought desperately. Sandy’s killing her. I have to stop him!

  Tania’s cries turned to horrible strangling sounds. Her eyes bulged. Her arms dropped limply at her sides and her knees buckled.

  Eva stared in horror as Tania slumped lifelessly to the ground.

  “No!” Eva screamed into the silence. “Nooo!”

  chapter 7

  “Cut!” Keith shouted. “That was excellent! Take a couple of minutes, everybody!” He straightened up from the video camera.

  Eva watched Tania roll onto her back and stare up at the blue October sky.

  Sandy strolled away from her, flexing his hands and grinning to himself.

  Eva sneezed loudly, then sat cross-legged in the grass and sighed. They’d already done the scene three times.

  It had been fun at first, but now she felt a little bored. And hungry.

  “Eva, that was an excellent scream,” Keith told her. “Really gave me the creeps.”

  “Thanks.” It gave her the creeps, too. The entire story did.

  “The whole scene went very well, guys,” Keith announced. “Unfortunately, we have to do it again.”

  “You’re kidding.” Sandy wheeled around. “What for?”

  Keith pointed to the sky. “Check out the plane.”

  Eva glanced up and saw a small silver plane gliding overhead. She hadn’t noticed it before, of course. But now she could hear how loud it was.

  “I don’t want that on the soundtrack,” Keith explained. “And there’s no way to keep it off except to wait until it goes by.”

  Sandy shook his head angrily.

  Keith shrugged. “Hey, that’s an outdoor shoot. What can you do?”

  “So why don’t we shoot indoors?” Sandy demanded. “It would make things a whole lot easier.”

  Keith shook his head. “Lighting rooms can be tricky. Besides, I wrote the thing for outdoors, and that’s where I want to tape it.”

  “Great!” Sandy rolled his eyes. “I don’t know if I can top the performance I just gave.”

  Eva rolled her eyes. Mr. Conceited, she thought. The first video Sandy has ever been in, and suddenly he’s acting like he’s Tom Cruise!

  “Give us a break, Keith!” Sandy argued. “Play the tape back. Maybe the plane noise isn’t on it.”

  Keith pointed to the headphones slung around his neck. “I already heard it, loud and clear,” he replied. “Would you stop griping, Sandy? Let’s do the scene again before something else goes wrong.”

  With a scowl and a huge, dramatic sigh, Sandy began moving toward Tania, who still lay on her back. “Come on, Tania,” he told her. “Let’s get this over with. If we’re lucky, we might actually be finished by morning.”

  Tania didn’t move.

  “Hey, Tania, get up. Tania?” Sandy dropped to his knees beside her.

  “Hey!” he cried. He turned to Eva, his face twisted in panic.

  “Something’s really wrong with Tania! She isn’t moving!”

  chapter 8

  “She’s not moving!” Sandy cried frantically. “She won’t wake up!”

  Eva and Keith raced to Tania’s side. Before they reached her, Sandy grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to pull her into a sitting position.

  “Tania, wake up!” he cried hoarsely. “Wake up!”

  Tania’s head flopped back as Sandy shook her.

  “Stop it, Sandy!” Eva shouted. She dropped to the grass and cradled Tania’s head in her hands. “Let her back down! You’re going to hurt her.”

  “Oh, wow!” Sandy quickly let go. As Tania fell back against Eva, she moaned softly and her eyelids fluttered.

  “Look, she’s coming around,” Keith murmured. “Hey, Tania. What happened? You okay?”

  “Of course she’s not okay! Are you nuts or something?” Sandy snapped angrily at Keith. “Don’t just stand there. Call for an ambulance!”

  “Sandy, shut up!” Eva cried. “Tania just said something. You’re yelling so loud, you didn’t even hear her!”

  Sandy scowled, then bent over Tania. “What is it?” he asked. “What’s wrong, Tania?”

  “I said ‘no ambulance,’” Tania whispered. “I’d die of embarrassment. I don’t need a doctor. I need a candy bar.”

  “But …”

  “It’s just the blood sugar thing,” Tania choked out. “Too much excitement again, I guess.”

  Eva sighed with relief. “Anybody got some candy?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I have a Hershey’s bar in my backpack,” Keith replied.

  “Well, get it!” Sandy snapped.

  Keith hurried to his pack, fished out the candy bar, and brought it back.

  Tania sat up and ate it quickly. “That’s better,” she announced, licking chocolate from her fingers. Then she started to get to her feet.

  “Whoa, not so fast!” Sandy told her. “Just sit here for a while. You’re still so pale, you know.”

  Tania laughed. “So are you, Sandy. Haven’t you ever seen anyone faint before?”

  “Not somebody I care about.” Sandy dropped next to her in the grass and slipped an arm around her shoulders. “You really gave me a scare. I don’t know what I’d do if something really bad happened to you.”

  You’d run straight to Cherise for sympathy, Eva thought in disgust. And she’d give you plenty of it.

  “I’m fine,” Tania assured Sandy. “But thanks for being so worried.”

  Sandy smiled and pulled Tania closer to him.

  Eva felt like gagging.

  What a two-faced creep he is! she thought. Putting on this big dramatic act of caring about Tania. Acting as if she’s the most important person in the world to him.

  And all the time he’s sneaking around with somebody else.

  It’s like Keith’s video come true, she thought.

  There’s just one difference—Tania doesn’t know what a phony Sandy is. She doesn’t know about Cherise.

  I have to tell her, Eva decided, as she watched Sandy help Tania to her feet. Sandy has her fooled. She thinks he’s the greatest guy in the world.

  She should know the truth about him. And I have to tell her.

  “Okay!” Keith cried as Tania brushed blades of grass from her jeans. “Is everybody ready for another take?”

  “Keith, I can’t,” Tania declared, glancing at her watch. “I have to be in the auditorium in ten minutes. I have a rehearsal for the homecoming ceremony.”

  “This won’t take long,” Keith insisted. “You’ve got the lines down cold. And the last take was perfect except for that plane.”

  “I know, but �
�”

  “Besides, I don’t have forever to do this video,” Keith pleaded. “It’s October. We’ve been lucky so far, but the weather could change any day.”

  “Hey, give her a break,” Sandy told him. “She can’t stay. It’s not her fault.”

  Tania laughed. “Actually, it is. If only I hadn’t fainted.”

  As Keith ran a hand through his hair in frustration, Tania grabbed it and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry, Keith. I promise not to faint next time.”

  Blushing, Keith gave her a lopsided grin.

  Jeremy’s right, Eva realized. Keith has a major crush on Tania.

  Tania gave Keith’s hand another squeeze, then turned to Sandy and kissed him quickly on the cheek. “See you later.”

  As Tania ran down the hill toward the school, Eva grabbed her book bag and followed.

  Now’s my chance to tell her about Sandy, she thought to herself. I’ll just tell her and get it over with. It won’t be fun, but at least she’ll know the truth about him.

  I just hope she won’t be mad at me for telling her, Eva thought.

  Picking up her pace, she caught up to Tania as she was about to enter one of the side doors of the auditorium.

  “Hey, Tania. Can I talk to you a minute?”

  “Sure” Tania shoved open the door and they stepped inside. “What is it?”

  “I …”

  “Whoa, it’s pitch black in this place,” Tania interrupted as the heavy door clanged shut behind them. “I guess I’m the first one here. Where’s a light switch?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  Eva blinked, waiting for her eyes to adjust. They stood in one of the side aisles, next to the back row of seats. “I guess we could turn the stage lights on. But why don’t we sit down and talk?” she suggested, pointing to the seats.

  “Sure, but let’s get some light in here.” Tania began walking down the carpeted aisle toward the stage. “What do you want to talk about?”

  Eva frowned, trying to decide how to start. Should I just blurt it out? Guess what? Sandy’s fooling around with Cherise.

  “Eva?” Tania’s voice came from farther down the aisle. “What is it?”

  “Well …” Eva slowly started toward the stage. This was harder than she thought.

  “Is everything okay?” Tania asked. Her sneakers squeaked as she began climbing the wooden steps leading up to the stage. “You seem awfully worried about something.”

  “I am, sort of,” Eva admitted.

  Eva climbed up behind Tania onto the darkened stage. Just tell her and get it over with, she thought.

  She took a deep breath.

  But before she could say anything, a shadow caught her eye.

  A moving shadow.

  Eva gasped as a figure rushed from the darkness.

  “I’m going to kill you, Tania!” a voice cried. “I’m going to kill you!”

  chapter 9

  Tania screamed and jumped away.

  She collided with Eva. The two of them staggered backward, then crashed to the floor of the stage.

  In a panic, Eva rolled out from under Tania, then scrambled to her feet. As she reached down to pull Tania up, the stage lights burst on.

  Eva gasped and shaded her eyes, blinded by the bright overhead spotlights.

  “You get everything you want—don’t you, Tania?” a voice demanded angrily.

  Eva lowered her hand, blinking in the light.

  Leslie stood a couple of feet away, glaring furiously at Tania.

  “Leslie?” Tania’s voice shook. “What … what’s …”

  “Yeah, what’s going on?” Eva cried. “You scared us to death! What’s the matter with you, anyway?”

  “Just stay out of it, Eva,” Leslie snapped. “This is between me and Tania.”

  “What is?” Tania asked. “Leslie, what did I do?”

  “Oh, sure,” Leslie said sarcastically. “Like you don’t know.”

  “I don’t!” Tania cried. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about!”

  “Ha.” Leslie bared her teeth in a vicious smile. “First you get to be Homecoming Queen. Now you steal the role in Keith’s video. You knew I was counting on that role for my college portfolio! I can’t believe you stole that from me, too!”

  “But …”

  “I could kill you, Tania!” Leslie clenched her fists. “I really could!”

  Eva shuddered. Leslie is totally out of control, she realized.

  “You don’t care about acting,” Leslie accused, glaring at Tania. “But I’ve wanted to act since I was a little girl. And you know it! You know it and you still took the part from me!”

  “Stop it, Leslie!” Tania shouted. “Just stop a second and listen to me!”

  “Why should I?”

  “Because I didn’t even know you wanted to be in the video,” Tania explained.

  Leslie tossed her head, looking skeptical.

  “I didn’t know,” Tania repeated slowly. “Keith never told me. Leslie, I don’t blame you for being upset. If Keith had said something, I would have told him to use you. But he didn’t!”

  Leslie stared at her a moment. Then her shoulders sagged, and the fury went out of her eyes.

  Eva sighed in relief.

  “I’m really sorry,” Tania murmured.

  Leslie nodded. “Well …” She paused. “I have something to tell you, Tania.”

  “You do?”

  “After all, why shouldn’t I ruin your day, too?” Leslie said bitterly.

  “Huh?” Tania frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Eva’s heart sped up. Leslie is going to tell her about Sandy and Cherise, she realized. I can’t let Leslie do it! She’ll enjoy it too much. And Tania will be really embarrassed—in front of her biggest rival!

  “What is it?” Tania asked Leslie.

  “Not now!” Eva cried. “Leslie, come here.”

  She grabbed hold of Leslie’s arm and pulled her into the wings.

  “What is your problem?” Leslie demanded, annoyed.

  “I know what you were about to say!” Eva whispered furiously. She squeezed Leslie’s arm. “Don’t you dare tell her about Sandy! I know you’d just love to hurt her. But don’t you dare!”

  “Stop it!” Leslie hissed, jerking her arm away.

  “You stop it!” Eva insisted. “Keep your mouth shut about Sandy and Cherise!”

  Leslie glared at her for a moment. Eva stood her ground. “Fine. I won’t tell her … now,” Leslie finally answered.

  She spun around and stalked off.

  “What was that all about?” Tania asked. “What did she want to tell me?”

  Eva took a deep breath.

  But as she started to speak, the stage doors clanged open and the rest of the Homecoming Court trooped in.

  I can’t tell her now, Eva thought. Not with people around. “Nothing,” she said, forcing a smile. “Forget it. It wasn’t important.”

  The next afternoon, Eva stood by the big fountain in the Division Street Mall and gazed around. She and Tania had made plans to meet here to shop for Homecoming dresses again. But so far, she hadn’t spotted her friend.

  Of course, it’s Saturday, she reminded herself. The place is packed. Tania’s probably stuck in the crowd, trying to find me.

  Eva craned her neck, but it was impossible to see over the heads of all the shoppers. Frustrated, she climbed up on the low stone wall surrounding the fountain to get a better look.

  As she peered around, she spotted a tall guy with curly, reddish-brown hair and a scattering of freckles across his cheeks.

  “Jeremy!” Eva stood on tiptoe and waved her arms. “Jeremy!”

  Jeremy turned, startled. When he saw Eva, a shy smile spread across his face, and the dimple appeared next to his mouth.

  He’s so cute, Eva thought. She hopped down from the wall and threaded her way to his side.

  “Hey, Eva. I’m glad you saw me,” Jeremy said. “I was about to give up trying to find you.”
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  Eva’s heart did a little flip. “You were looking for me?”

  He nodded. “Tania told me to tell you she’ll be late,” he explained. “She dropped me off here, but she had to go back home. She has to return something and she forgot to bring it. She said if you don’t want to wait at the fountain, she’d meet you at Pete’s Pizza.”

  “Oh.” Okay, so he was only looking for me so he could deliver a message, Eva thought to herself. He’s here, isn’t he? I should take what I can get.

  “Well, I don’t feel like standing around in the crowd,” she declared. “Want to get a Coke with me at Pete’s?”

  “Sure, Eva.”

  “Great.”

  Eva took his hand. She began pulling him through the mass of shoppers. It was a good excuse to hold hands, she thought.

  They got lucky at Pete’s and slid into a booth just as another couple was leaving. They ordered their Cokes. Then Eva shrugged out of her jacket and leaned her elbows on the table. She felt almost as if she and Jeremy were really a couple.

  “Did you come shopping for something to wear to Homecoming, too?” she asked. Maybe she could find out if he had a date.

  Jeremy shook his head. “I want to check out the CD stores,” he told her. “My mom’s birthday is in a couple of weeks. I thought I’d see if I could find anything.” He paused and shook his head again. “I can’t believe I said that!”

  “What? What’s so weird about buying your mother a birthday present?”

  “Nothing, except I’ve never said those words before—my mom,” he explained. He paused as the waiter set down their Cokes. “It’s still new,” he added. “Having a family, I mean. Chores and curfews and stuff like that. It’s changed my life.”

  Eva stuck a straw in her soda and laughed. “Wait until you get grounded.”

  Jeremy’s brown eyes turned serious. “I wasn’t complaining,” he said. “It’s great for me. Before Dad married Tania’s mom, I was on my own a lot. And I … well, I got into some trouble at my old school.”

  Eva gazed at him curiously. “What kind of trouble?”

  “Oh …” Jeremy hesitated again. “Never mind. It’s in the past. Done. Finished.” He quickly gulped some Coke. “Let’s not talk about it.”

  “Sure. Okay.” Eva still felt curious, but she didn’t push it.