Secret Admirer Page 4
“O Romeo, Romeo,” she murmured to herself. “Wherefore art thou, Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse—”
She stopped when she heard the scream.
A shrill scream of terror. Behind her.
Followed by a frightening crash.
And then silence.
A heavy, frightening silence that made Selena gasp.
10
Selena froze, struggling to catch her breath. Then she forced herself to move. She pushed open the door and made her way back onto the stage.
She heard frightened cries, murmurs of shock. And saw a circle of kids near the back of the stage.
What were they staring at? Why were they so upset?
She pushed her way through the crowd. “What’s going on? What’s happening?” she demanded.
She saw Alison’s sneakers first. In such a weird position. Toes to the floor. Then a few inches of Alison’s legs.
And then the wardrobe cabinet.
The huge wooden cabinet. On its side.
On its side on top of Alison!
“Oh nooooo!” Selena wailed.
She could see Alison’s hair spread over the stage.
Facedown. She’s facedown, Selena realized. Her arms stretched out. The play script still gripped in one hand.
Not moving. Not moving. Not moving.
And the giant wardrobe on top of her. Crushing her body. Crushing her back.
Crushing her.
Alison not moving. Hands so pale and stiff.
Crushed beneath the wardrobe. Her hair spilling over the stage like blood.
As Selena stared down at the ugly scene, she felt her stomach lurch. I’m going to be sick, she realized.
She cupped a hand over her mouth. Staggered back.
Back through the alarmed voices, the muffled cries.
Struggling to keep control. Seeing Alison’s crushed body even with her eyes shut.
Frightened, shrill voices all around.
“Is she dead?”
“How did it fall?”
“Pull it off her!”
“No! Don’t move it!”
“I said pull it off! Are you crazy?”
“Someone call nine-one-one!” Selena opened her eyes to see Mr. Riordan bent over Alison’s body. “Call nine-one-one!”
“I already called!” Danny shouted from the auditorium. “They’re on the way!”
“Is she—? Is she—?” Judy Mason stammered from the circle of kids. Judy was Alison’s best friend.
“I don’t know,” Mr. Riordan replied in a trembling voice. “She was crushed under the wardrobe. I can’t tell if…” His voice trailed off.
Selena heard a low moan.
Alison!
She saw Alison—the wardrobe now lying beside her—try to raise her head.
“Don’t try to move,” Mr. Riordan was telling her tenderly. He knelt beside her. “Don’t try to move. Help is on the way.”
Selena sighed with relief. Please let her be all right, she prayed.
She heard running footsteps and turned to see Katy dashing up the steps to the stage. “What happened?” Katy demanded breathlessly. “I had to get something in my locker. When I came back—”
“It’s Alison,” Selena told her. “The wardrobe cabinet fell over on her.”
“No way!” Katy cried. “How? It’s so heavy—it couldn’t just fall.”
“Maybe it was too full,” someone said.
“Or maybe someone pushed it,” Jake said to Selena.
“That’s stupid!” Katy exclaimed. “Why would anyone want to hurt Alison?”
“Maybe they didn’t want to hurt Alison,” Jake pointed out. “Isn’t that the place where Selena usually sits?”
Selena stared at him, too shocked to answer.
The auditorium doors swung open. Police officers and medics burst in.
A few seconds later, the medics were gently lifting Alison onto a gurney. Selena was relieved to see that Alison was talking with them as they worked. She even smiled at something one of the medics said.
“What did she break?” Judy Mason was asking the medics. “Did she break any bones? Is she in danger?”
Judy followed the medics as they wheeled Alison out of the auditorium.
Selena dropped down onto the stage floor, feeling relieved. Feeling totally drained.
Wiping sweat off his forehead, Mr. Riordan announced that tryouts would be postponed until the next afternoon. Some kids began drifting out of the auditorium, talking quietly, but excitedly, about what had happened.
The police stayed for a while, searching around backstage to determine how the accident had occurred.
Selena remained too, curious and upset, wanting to know exactly what had happened. She couldn’t get Jake’s words out of her mind. Had the “accident” been planned for her?
“Looks like your cabinet was overloaded,” she heard one of the police officers tell Mr. Riordan. “Don’t let it get so full. Better check out the legs. The front leg on the right is weak.”
“It was an accident … right?” Mr. Riordan asked him. “It fell over because of the weight?”
The officer nodded. “Looks that way to me,” he replied.
“Thank you, officer,” Mr. Riordan said gratefully.
A few minutes later, the auditorium stood silent and empty. Selena pulled herself to her feet and made her way over to the tall, wooden cabinet. Are the police right? she asked herself. Did the wardrobe fall because it was too full?
Or did someone push it over on top of her?
No! She answered her own question. No. No. No.
No one in here could do such a thing.
No one.
She ran her fingers along the door of the wardrobe. Beneath the handle she felt something sticky.
Surprised, she pulled her hand back—and stared at an orange sticker of the sun.
11
The next day after school, Selena trudged home from the bus stop, her head buzzing with unhappy thoughts. Wind and rain swirled around her, making the normally dark Fear Street corner appear even gloomier.
What’s wrong with me? she thought. I should be thrilled.
The audition had gone well. She had easily won the part of Juliet. With Alison out of the running, there wasn’t even anyone else to try out.
But winning the role this way didn’t make her happy. Alison was in the hospital—and Selena felt responsible.
The Sun had intended to hurt Selena, not Alison. Katy and Jake had tried to convince her the sticker on the wardrobe was only a coincidence.
But Selena knew better. Someone had expected Selena to be crushed under that wardrobe cabinet.
Selena’s front yard was a sea of mud and she slipped on the steps as she climbed to the front porch. As she unlocked the door, she wished again that her mom didn’t have to work so much.
She switched on the lights and climbed upstairs, hearing her footsteps echo through the empty house. She changed into dry clothes and settled down against the soft pillows on her bed, ready to take turns studying geometry and reading her lines for the play.
Outside the wind howled, shaking the trees and rattling the windows. But Selena felt warm and cozy as she began Romeo and Juliet.
How came thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?
The orchard walls are high and hard to climb….
Selena shut her eyes to fix the words in her memory. She was about to go on to the next line when the phone on her night table jangled.
She set down the script and reached for the phone. “Hello?”
“Selena, it’s me. Danny.”
For a moment Selena sat silently. She could feel the blood throb at her temples. “Hi, Danny,” she finally murmured.
“How are you?”
“I’m fine,” Selena said impatiently. “What do you want?”
“Well … I—uh—don’t know how to say this,” he stammered. “But you and I haven’t gotten along so well lately.”
“No kidding.�
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“I wanted a chance to talk to you, that’s all. I thought maybe we could grab a hamburger or something. Did you eat yet?”
“Are you crazy?” Selena cried. “I told you I don’t want to go out with you!”
Danny didn’t answer for a moment. Then he exploded. “Why not?” he demanded. “All I’m asking you to do is spend a couple of hours with me!”
“I’m just not interested!” Selena shouted back. “Don’t you get it?”
“Yeah, I get it all right. I get that you’re too stuck up now to even talk to me. I think you were nicer when you were fat!”
“Think whatever you want!” Selena told him angrily. “I don’t want to go out with you. I don’t want to see you at all. I don’t appreciate your comment about my weight. And I’m sick of your dumb jokes, too!”
“Excuse me? What jokes?”
“Those stupid sun stickers you’ve been leaving all over the place. Did you actually push the wardrobe on Alison, too? Are you that totally sick?”
“I told you last time, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Danny insisted. “I would never hurt Alison. I don’t even have any stickers.”
“Yeah, right,” Selena scoffed. “Whatever.”
“What is your problem?” Danny demanded. “Even if you don’t want to go out with me, why do you keep making these stupid accusations?”
“Well …” Selena’s breath came in deep gasps. “Well … someone is trying to hurt me!” she blurted out. “Someone is driving me crazy!”
She slammed down the phone.
She didn’t mean to say that. She didn’t want to say that.
She didn’t want to talk to Danny anymore.
She grabbed up the script again. But her body was shaking too hard to read it.
An unwelcome idea filled her head. Maybe he’s not pretending, she thought. Maybe Danny isn’t The Sun.
Selena didn’t really believe Danny had pushed the wardrobe on top of Alison—even if he had thought Selena was sitting there. She had a hard time believing he would try to hurt her.
Maybe it was a stranger, as Katy had suggested. Some stranger who had become obsessed with her.
Selena forced herself to return to the script, but she couldn’t concentrate. Forget Danny, she told herself. Just think of the play. She began to read again:
My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words
Of thy tongue’s uttering, yet I know the sound:
Art thou not Romeo—
Again the phone interrupted her.
“Hello?” she yelled into the receiver.
“Selena?” asked a deep voice. A new voice.
“Who is this?” she demanded.
“It’s Eddy. Eddy Martin. From drama.”
Her heart began to pound again, but for a different reason. “Eddy!” she cried. “Hi. How are you?”
“Well, I’m fine,” he replied. “I called to tell you how terrific you were in the tryouts today.”
“Thanks,” Selena answered. “I still feel kind of bad about it, though. I mean, Alison didn’t even get to audition.”
“True,” Eddy agreed. “But the important thing is that she’s going to be okay. I just talked to Mr. Riordan and he said she could be back at school next week if everything goes okay.”
“Excellent!” Selena cried. “That’s great news, Eddy.”
“Besides, the show must go on,” Eddy declared.
An awkward silence.
“I—I’m looking forward to rehearsals,” Selena stammered.
“Most people would be really nervous,” Eddy pointed out. “Juliet is a big part.”
“That’s what makes it so exciting,” Selena explained. “The bigger the part, the more confident I feel on the stage.”
“Wow!” Eddy exclaimed. “It’s hard to believe you’re the same person. You used to be so shy! You were always wearing baggy clothes and hiding behind those big glasses. And now you’re about to take on such a challenging role, and you’re not even scared!”
Selena’s breath caught in her throat.
How did Eddy know how shy she had been?
How did Eddy know what she used to wear?
She took a deep breath. “Eddy,” she asked softly, “how do you know what I wore two years ago?”
Silence.
Selena held her breath as she waited for him to answer.
“I must have seen an old yearbook or something,” he said finally. “I know a lot about you, Selena. You’d be surprised. Listen,” he added before she could ask more, “are you busy Friday night?”
“As a matter of fact, no.”
“Good. I’ve got two tickets to a sneak preview screening near the college. It’s a Chinese film. It’s supposed to be very funny. Would you like to go?”
“I’d love to!”
“Great.” Eddy hesitated. “There’s just one thing. Don’t say anything to anyone in drama—especially Riordan.”
“Huh? Why not?” Selena asked.
“I don’t think Fm supposed to be going out with the girls in the drama club,” Eddy admitted. “Or in the high school.”
“Why? You’re not a teacher or anything.”
“Well, no,” Eddy replied. “But why ask for trouble?”
“Okay,” Selena agreed. “No problem. I don’t want to get you in trouble. I won’t tell a soul. Not even my mother.”
“Cool. I’ll pick you up around seven.”
Selena hung up the phone and stared at the wall until the flowers on the wallpaper blurred. She couldn’t believe it. Eddy had asked her out!
She’d never felt this way about a boy before. He seemed so interested in her. He remembered everything he had ever heard about her. Selena hugged herself and fell back against the pillows. She couldn’t wait for Friday!
A brilliant flash of lightning split the sky outside. Selena sat up, startled. The house shook as a clap of thunder roared overhead. The lights flickered briefly and rain pelted hard against the windows.
I’d better make sure all the windows are shut, Selena thought.
She quickly checked her mother’s bedroom, then ran downstairs and peered into each of the other rooms. The kitchen window was open a crack, and the rain had already soaked one edge of the table underneath it. Selena hurried to close the window. As she yanked it down, she glanced out at the storm. A flash of lightning lit up a small bundle lying on the porch.
Selena frowned. Had her mom left something outside?
She pulled open the door, darted out into the pounding rain, and quickly retrieved the soaked package.
Back in the kitchen she went, wiping rain off her forehead with one hand.
The rain-soaked package fell apart, the brown wrapping paper dissolving in her hands.
Selena breathed in a foul odor. Heavy and sour.
“Ohhhh.” The odor sickened her.
And then—when she saw what she held—she dropped it to the kitchen floor.
And retched.
And went running to the sink, gagging, covering her mouth, unable to hold down her disgust.
12
Rain pattered against the floor. Turning from the sink, Selena saw that she’d left the back door open.
The rat lay in a puddle of brown wrapping paper near the door.
The dead rat.
Already half-decayed. Its wiry legs stiff. Its patchy fur matted. Its head …
Its head chewed to a pulp. Chewed by a cat or some other animal.
A headless dead rat.
The disgusting aroma floated through the room, attacking Selena’s nostrils again.
She held her breath. Fought back another wave of nausea.
And who had sent it? she wondered, feeling so frightened, so overwhelmed by the ugliness of it.
Who had such a sick mind? Who had left such a sick gift on her kitchen stoop?
She stumbled toward it. Spotted the orange circle on the soaked brown wrapping.
Recognized the sun. The sun. The sun—again.
Selena—
This is you!
This is you—unless you leave the play.
I made a mistake yesterday. I crushed the wrong girl.
But I’ll get it right.
If I can’t be with you, no one else can, either.
Don’t be a rat, Selena. Because …
The rest of the words were washed out by the rain.
Selena stared at the note, trying to steady her hand. She read it again. Again.
In the beginning, the notes had seemed part of a joke. But no longer. This has gone too far, Selena thought numbly.
The Sun really wanted to hurt her. Whoever he was, he had made a mistake when he injured Alison instead of Selena.
There was no doubt about what the next part of the note meant. It was a clear threat. If Selena didn’t quit the play, he’d kill her.
She’d be a dead rat.
Was he outside now? she wondered. Had he waited around to see her take in the package?
She hadn’t heard a car drive up. But then how could she hear anything over the pounding of the rain?
Walking around the decayed rat, she peered out through the open door. The rain poured down, sheet after sheet. She saw only the rain, the darkness beyond it, broken by the bright flicker of jagged lightning.
Selena slammed the door and locked it.
A cold shudder ran down her body. She had to throw away the rat. She had to mop the floor. She had to rid the house of that sickening odor.
And then what? she wondered.
And then what do I do?
Back up in her room, she tried to concentrate on the script. But the picture of the headless, decayed rat lingered in her mind. Refused to fade away.
I’ll call Katy, she decided. I’ll call Katy and tell her what happened. She always makes me feel better.
Katy picked up the phone on the third ring. “Selena? What’s wrong? You sound terrible!”
‘Oh, Katy, I can’t believe it!” Selena cried. She poured out the story of everything that had happened that evening. When she finished, Katy remained silent for a moment. Then she let out a long sigh.