Chapter Four
Note: This chapter is a bit longer than the others, but please take time to read it, it's definitely worth it. If I do say so myself.
"And my mom totally flipped when she found out that I meant that I wanted a
nose ring. She thought I just wanted another hole in my ear." Angelene exclaimed as she
thumped Sherry on the back. Everyone laughed as they walked down the hall of the local
shopping mall. It was a few days after they had all met, and they had spent all of those
days hanging out.
"That is so tacky." Trini told her. "Besides, you've already got enough holes all over
you. What's next? Your tongue?"
"Maybe." Angelene replied. "Maybe."
Sherry grimaced. Okay, so the idea of piercing her body parts wasn't that
appealing to her, but hey, live and let live.
"You should get your ears pierced Sherry." Angelene said suddenly.
Huh? Sherry's head snapped around, confused. As if she had just said something in a
language she couldn't understand.
"Me?" she asked, her voice more steady than she felt.
"Yes." Angelene replied, examining Sherry's earlobes.
"You should be lucky you can." Trini replied. "My earlobes are so skimpy I can't
even think about earrings."
"Yeah," Damien butted in. "Earrings would drag those lobes down so low, they'd be like
an elephant."
Derek and Toby chuckled loudly at that-drawing attention to themselves by other
patrons-and the three girls rolled their eyes in annoyance.
"You really should get your ears pierced." Angelene repeated.
Sherry squirmed uneasily, "I really don't feel like it."
Angelene shrugged, "No big deal. I just thought you'd like to give yourself a little more
personality."
Translation: Angelene thought that Sherry's shorts and t-shirt style was boring.
"Oh, let's go in this store!" Angelene said. She went from one topic to the next like a bee
in a garden.
Sherry didn't let the thought of a garden bother her this time. She just nodded
then quickly went in without a word. It wasn't after she looked around very closely, she
realized that they were in a bookstore. Not exactly their usual shopping place.
"Hey Sherry," Trini called to her from a shelf. "Come check out this book."
Okay, so Trini liked books. That made sense. She was the quieter of the group. Sherry
walked over and smiled.
"What's up?" she asked.
Trini held up a thick paperback.
"Anne of Green Gables." Sherry replied. "I've read that before, it's okay."
"Really?" she asked.
Sherry nodded, then picked up another book and read the back. She was nearly done
when she heard Trini's purse close with a soft click.
She turned back to Trini, who was standing with her hands on her hips, as if she
had been waiting for Sherry to finish for hours.
"Are you finished?" Trini asked brightly.
Sherry nodded, "Were you going to buy that?"
"Buy what?" asked Trini.
"The book that you were-" Sherry stopped and stared at the shelf. The copy of the book
Trini had been looking at was gone.
Sherry shook her head, "Nevermind. Yeah, I'm done."
Trini nodded, "Let's get the others." She started off and Sherry followed her, stunned.
Did Trini take the book... had she shoplifted? Sherry pondered this until they were
walking through the mall again. No. she decided. She had better judgment than that
when picking friends.
"Oh Sherry!" Angelene exclaimed as she saw something in one of the nearby
stores. "Isn't this just adorable?" she pulled Sherry into the store and gestured towards a
shiny black chain mail halter top.
Sherry laughed, "It is, but I don't think it's your type." She gestured to Angelene's
grunge look.
Angelene regarded her with a laugh of her own. "Oh, I don't mean for me. I mean for
you."
"Me?" Sherry choked out. "In that?"
She was sure her eyes were bugging out of their sockets as she stared at the top.
Angelene nodded her smile growing, " You'd be a knock out in it."
Sherry shook her head, "It's... um... nice... But, um, where on earth would I wear it?
My school has a uniform."
Angelene's smile widened so much Sherry thought her cheeks would split, "You could
wear it tonight."
"What?" Sherry asked suspiciously. "What's happening tonight?" Nobody had
mentioned any plans for that night. (And Claire would probably never let her leave the
house wearing that halter)
Angelene toned her smile down a bit, "Oh, just to the movies."
But Sherry had a strong feeling that wasn't what Angelene had in mind at all.
"Thanks." Sherry replied. "But this top is not my style."
"It would look great on you." A third voice interrupted. Sherry turned around to see
Toby smiling at her.
Sherry's knees went weak, something about Toby always made her weak. She
was about to change her mind about the top when her senses returned. "It's not my
style." She repeated.
Toby shrugged, "Whatever."
"So you sure you don't want to come tonight?" Angelene asked as they dropped
Sherry off at the cabin.
Sherry shrugged, "I'm not really sure." But her mind was screaming, 'Are you
kidding?!'
"Well, if you change your mind, meet us at Kirby's store." Angelene told her. "Is that
too far?"
Sherry shook her head, even though it was. And that place could be downright scary at
nighttime.
"Meet us there if you change your mind." Angelene told her.
Sherry nodded, even though she was pretty sure she wasn't going to show up. She waved
to them until they had disappeared and she entered the house.
"Hi there." A voice said.
Sherry jumped, startled. She turned around and saw Claire sitting on the couch, reading
the paper.
"Oh, hi Claire."
Claire gave her a smile, "How was your day?"
"... Fine." She replied, an ugly vision of Trini taking the book and stealing it went
through her mind. It felt so horrible to be hiding her suspicions from Claire.
"Did you have fun today?" she asked. She seemed to want to talk.
Sherry nodded, "It was okay, I guess."
"Sherry." Claire said in a weird, unfamiliar tone. "About your new friends... Are you...
do you think that maybe you're spending too much time with them?"
Sherry shook her head. Claire sighed, "Well, I don't like waking up and seeing
that your not in bed. What time did you leave with them today?"
"7:30..." Sherry replied avoiding Claire's gaze.
Sherry picked gingerly around all the boxes in the attic. It was time to figure out
just what was in that box. Finally, she found the box that was taped up. Bending down,
she slashed at the tape with the small knife. She opened it and inhaled a bunch of dust
bunnies. She sniffled then sneezed, her eyes began to water. Peeking into the box
she sneezed again.
She reached inside it and felt something soft. Pulling it out she was struck with a
weird premonition. No Sherry. She thought. Don't take it! She pulled it out. It was a
white shirt. Her white shirt. From her school girl outfit. From Raccoon. She suddenly
remembered when they had first came to the cabin. She'd given her clothes to Claire,
saying to get rid of them. They had held too many memories for her. Besides, it was
hard to get the blood stains out.
Reaching deeper, she found her blue shorts. She stared down at it's soft fabric, tears filling her
eyes as she remembered. She and her friends always used to hang out at school. Always. Gathered around an old tree on campus, talking about what pains their teachers were.
Then one day, they all just started disappearing, until no one sat under that old tree with her. She had never seen them again. And after everything that happened, she found out why. Her mother
told her that it was going to be alright. That she didn't need to worry. She was good at
making friends. She would make more. Her mother always knew just what to say. Her
mother... taught her about everything.
She felt something inside the pocket, stiff and flimsy. Pulling it out, she
gasped. This time, the tears fell like rain. It was a picture. Of her mom and dad. On
their wedding day. Once again, she remembered. That night, before her mom dropped
her off at the police station, something had told her to take the picture. To keep it. All of
a sudden, Sherry remembered her mother and father. Vibrantly. She remembered every single detail
about them, clear as crystal. She was filling in all the blanks that were missing. Smiling, she
remembered the long talks they would always have.
It was as if a window in time had opened up and allowed her to travel back. To
remember the good times. To live again. To be happy again. To be with her parents-
especially her mom-again.
But after awhile, the memories wore off. She crashed back to earth. Back to the
attic, back to the clothes, back to the pain. And she felt 100 times worse than she had
before.
"Mommy..." she murmured sadly. A fresh new batch of tears formed and she cried
silently. Tucking her legs beneath her, she covered her face with her hands, her throat was
hurting from her suppressed sobs.
She hadn't cried ever since Raccoon. Now she was making up for lost time. She began crying for every single thing that had happened to her since her parent's death.
Tears streamed down her cheeks and her strangled cries filled the tiny attic. Sherry had never felt so alone in her entire life. About an
hour later, she went to her room. Suddenly angry.
She had told Claire to throw the outfit away. She told her that she didn't want it
anymore. That she didn't want to see it again. How could Claire not listen to her. How
could the best listener in the world not listen? She gritted her teeth, feeling betrayed.
How dare she? How dare she let Sherry find those horrible memories like that!
From downstairs, she heard voices. She wiped her eyes and went down.
"I'm sorry, but Sherry can't come out right now." Claire told someone. Sherry paused.
"Well, okay. No biggie. See ya later." Angelene's voice replied. The door closed and
Sherry saw Angelene and the rest leave.
"Who was that?" Sherry asked accusingly.
Claire turned around, a mixture of shock and guilt on her face.
"That was for me wasn't it?" Sherry demanded. She felt her face turn red with anger.
"It's too late for a little girl like you to be going out." Claire defended. "And I don't like
it that your hanging out with them so much."
'Little.' Sherry thought. 'Little girl. I'm not anyone's little girl. Not anymore anyway.'
Sherry fumed, "Who do you think you are?"
Claire stepped back, "Excuse me?"
"You don't have any right to send people away-especially when they're looking for
me!"
"Sherry, I just have a bad feeling about them."
"I don't care!" Sherry shouted. "I hate you! I hate you and everybody else! Who are
you to talk about them anyway? You don't even know them!"
"Well, neither do you!" Claire said, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm just trying to do
what's best for you!"
She was hurt. 'Who cares?' Sherry thought bitterly. 'Let her. Let her feel sad. Just like
you were feeling.'
"Sherry." Claire replied in a stern voice. "I'm in charge of you, and I don't want you
going out at this hour. And I don't want you hanging out with them."
Sherry glared at her angrily before stomping up the stairs.
She made up her mind. She was going to meet up with Angelene and the others.
Note: This chapter is a bit longer than the others, but please take time to read it, it's definitely worth it. If I do say so myself.
"And my mom totally flipped when she found out that I meant that I wanted a
nose ring. She thought I just wanted another hole in my ear." Angelene exclaimed as she
thumped Sherry on the back. Everyone laughed as they walked down the hall of the local
shopping mall. It was a few days after they had all met, and they had spent all of those
days hanging out.
"That is so tacky." Trini told her. "Besides, you've already got enough holes all over
you. What's next? Your tongue?"
"Maybe." Angelene replied. "Maybe."
Sherry grimaced. Okay, so the idea of piercing her body parts wasn't that
appealing to her, but hey, live and let live.
"You should get your ears pierced Sherry." Angelene said suddenly.
Huh? Sherry's head snapped around, confused. As if she had just said something in a
language she couldn't understand.
"Me?" she asked, her voice more steady than she felt.
"Yes." Angelene replied, examining Sherry's earlobes.
"You should be lucky you can." Trini replied. "My earlobes are so skimpy I can't
even think about earrings."
"Yeah," Damien butted in. "Earrings would drag those lobes down so low, they'd be like
an elephant."
Derek and Toby chuckled loudly at that-drawing attention to themselves by other
patrons-and the three girls rolled their eyes in annoyance.
"You really should get your ears pierced." Angelene repeated.
Sherry squirmed uneasily, "I really don't feel like it."
Angelene shrugged, "No big deal. I just thought you'd like to give yourself a little more
personality."
Translation: Angelene thought that Sherry's shorts and t-shirt style was boring.
"Oh, let's go in this store!" Angelene said. She went from one topic to the next like a bee
in a garden.
Sherry didn't let the thought of a garden bother her this time. She just nodded
then quickly went in without a word. It wasn't after she looked around very closely, she
realized that they were in a bookstore. Not exactly their usual shopping place.
"Hey Sherry," Trini called to her from a shelf. "Come check out this book."
Okay, so Trini liked books. That made sense. She was the quieter of the group. Sherry
walked over and smiled.
"What's up?" she asked.
Trini held up a thick paperback.
"Anne of Green Gables." Sherry replied. "I've read that before, it's okay."
"Really?" she asked.
Sherry nodded, then picked up another book and read the back. She was nearly done
when she heard Trini's purse close with a soft click.
She turned back to Trini, who was standing with her hands on her hips, as if she
had been waiting for Sherry to finish for hours.
"Are you finished?" Trini asked brightly.
Sherry nodded, "Were you going to buy that?"
"Buy what?" asked Trini.
"The book that you were-" Sherry stopped and stared at the shelf. The copy of the book
Trini had been looking at was gone.
Sherry shook her head, "Nevermind. Yeah, I'm done."
Trini nodded, "Let's get the others." She started off and Sherry followed her, stunned.
Did Trini take the book... had she shoplifted? Sherry pondered this until they were
walking through the mall again. No. she decided. She had better judgment than that
when picking friends.
"Oh Sherry!" Angelene exclaimed as she saw something in one of the nearby
stores. "Isn't this just adorable?" she pulled Sherry into the store and gestured towards a
shiny black chain mail halter top.
Sherry laughed, "It is, but I don't think it's your type." She gestured to Angelene's
grunge look.
Angelene regarded her with a laugh of her own. "Oh, I don't mean for me. I mean for
you."
"Me?" Sherry choked out. "In that?"
She was sure her eyes were bugging out of their sockets as she stared at the top.
Angelene nodded her smile growing, " You'd be a knock out in it."
Sherry shook her head, "It's... um... nice... But, um, where on earth would I wear it?
My school has a uniform."
Angelene's smile widened so much Sherry thought her cheeks would split, "You could
wear it tonight."
"What?" Sherry asked suspiciously. "What's happening tonight?" Nobody had
mentioned any plans for that night. (And Claire would probably never let her leave the
house wearing that halter)
Angelene toned her smile down a bit, "Oh, just to the movies."
But Sherry had a strong feeling that wasn't what Angelene had in mind at all.
"Thanks." Sherry replied. "But this top is not my style."
"It would look great on you." A third voice interrupted. Sherry turned around to see
Toby smiling at her.
Sherry's knees went weak, something about Toby always made her weak. She
was about to change her mind about the top when her senses returned. "It's not my
style." She repeated.
Toby shrugged, "Whatever."
"So you sure you don't want to come tonight?" Angelene asked as they dropped
Sherry off at the cabin.
Sherry shrugged, "I'm not really sure." But her mind was screaming, 'Are you
kidding?!'
"Well, if you change your mind, meet us at Kirby's store." Angelene told her. "Is that
too far?"
Sherry shook her head, even though it was. And that place could be downright scary at
nighttime.
"Meet us there if you change your mind." Angelene told her.
Sherry nodded, even though she was pretty sure she wasn't going to show up. She waved
to them until they had disappeared and she entered the house.
"Hi there." A voice said.
Sherry jumped, startled. She turned around and saw Claire sitting on the couch, reading
the paper.
"Oh, hi Claire."
Claire gave her a smile, "How was your day?"
"... Fine." She replied, an ugly vision of Trini taking the book and stealing it went
through her mind. It felt so horrible to be hiding her suspicions from Claire.
"Did you have fun today?" she asked. She seemed to want to talk.
Sherry nodded, "It was okay, I guess."
"Sherry." Claire said in a weird, unfamiliar tone. "About your new friends... Are you...
do you think that maybe you're spending too much time with them?"
Sherry shook her head. Claire sighed, "Well, I don't like waking up and seeing
that your not in bed. What time did you leave with them today?"
"7:30..." Sherry replied avoiding Claire's gaze.
Sherry picked gingerly around all the boxes in the attic. It was time to figure out
just what was in that box. Finally, she found the box that was taped up. Bending down,
she slashed at the tape with the small knife. She opened it and inhaled a bunch of dust
bunnies. She sniffled then sneezed, her eyes began to water. Peeking into the box
she sneezed again.
She reached inside it and felt something soft. Pulling it out she was struck with a
weird premonition. No Sherry. She thought. Don't take it! She pulled it out. It was a
white shirt. Her white shirt. From her school girl outfit. From Raccoon. She suddenly
remembered when they had first came to the cabin. She'd given her clothes to Claire,
saying to get rid of them. They had held too many memories for her. Besides, it was
hard to get the blood stains out.
Reaching deeper, she found her blue shorts. She stared down at it's soft fabric, tears filling her
eyes as she remembered. She and her friends always used to hang out at school. Always. Gathered around an old tree on campus, talking about what pains their teachers were.
Then one day, they all just started disappearing, until no one sat under that old tree with her. She had never seen them again. And after everything that happened, she found out why. Her mother
told her that it was going to be alright. That she didn't need to worry. She was good at
making friends. She would make more. Her mother always knew just what to say. Her
mother... taught her about everything.
She felt something inside the pocket, stiff and flimsy. Pulling it out, she
gasped. This time, the tears fell like rain. It was a picture. Of her mom and dad. On
their wedding day. Once again, she remembered. That night, before her mom dropped
her off at the police station, something had told her to take the picture. To keep it. All of
a sudden, Sherry remembered her mother and father. Vibrantly. She remembered every single detail
about them, clear as crystal. She was filling in all the blanks that were missing. Smiling, she
remembered the long talks they would always have.
It was as if a window in time had opened up and allowed her to travel back. To
remember the good times. To live again. To be happy again. To be with her parents-
especially her mom-again.
But after awhile, the memories wore off. She crashed back to earth. Back to the
attic, back to the clothes, back to the pain. And she felt 100 times worse than she had
before.
"Mommy..." she murmured sadly. A fresh new batch of tears formed and she cried
silently. Tucking her legs beneath her, she covered her face with her hands, her throat was
hurting from her suppressed sobs.
She hadn't cried ever since Raccoon. Now she was making up for lost time. She began crying for every single thing that had happened to her since her parent's death.
Tears streamed down her cheeks and her strangled cries filled the tiny attic. Sherry had never felt so alone in her entire life. About an
hour later, she went to her room. Suddenly angry.
She had told Claire to throw the outfit away. She told her that she didn't want it
anymore. That she didn't want to see it again. How could Claire not listen to her. How
could the best listener in the world not listen? She gritted her teeth, feeling betrayed.
How dare she? How dare she let Sherry find those horrible memories like that!
From downstairs, she heard voices. She wiped her eyes and went down.
"I'm sorry, but Sherry can't come out right now." Claire told someone. Sherry paused.
"Well, okay. No biggie. See ya later." Angelene's voice replied. The door closed and
Sherry saw Angelene and the rest leave.
"Who was that?" Sherry asked accusingly.
Claire turned around, a mixture of shock and guilt on her face.
"That was for me wasn't it?" Sherry demanded. She felt her face turn red with anger.
"It's too late for a little girl like you to be going out." Claire defended. "And I don't like
it that your hanging out with them so much."
'Little.' Sherry thought. 'Little girl. I'm not anyone's little girl. Not anymore anyway.'
Sherry fumed, "Who do you think you are?"
Claire stepped back, "Excuse me?"
"You don't have any right to send people away-especially when they're looking for
me!"
"Sherry, I just have a bad feeling about them."
"I don't care!" Sherry shouted. "I hate you! I hate you and everybody else! Who are
you to talk about them anyway? You don't even know them!"
"Well, neither do you!" Claire said, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm just trying to do
what's best for you!"
She was hurt. 'Who cares?' Sherry thought bitterly. 'Let her. Let her feel sad. Just like
you were feeling.'
"Sherry." Claire replied in a stern voice. "I'm in charge of you, and I don't want you
going out at this hour. And I don't want you hanging out with them."
Sherry glared at her angrily before stomping up the stairs.
She made up her mind. She was going to meet up with Angelene and the others.
