Chapter Nine
Claire
disappeared and shuffled drawers around in the kitchen. Jonny and Jessie looked at one another
questionably.
"What's
the favor?" Claire asked.
"Get
everyone out of the house," Jonny challenged.
"AND you have to keep them out for at least fifteen minutes."
Claire
emerged from the kitchen with a handful of kitchen knives, forks and
spoons. Jessie flipped the stereo off
and Claire grabbed everyone's attention by standing on top of the dining room
table.
"Outside!"
Claire announced as she threw her hands up in the air and revealed what she was
holding. "We're going to play a little game."
Jessie had
never seen a room clear out so fast.
Curiousity and disbelief cleared the room in record time. The backdoor shut and the house was
disturbingly quiet. Jonny smiled and
started towards the kitchen when Jessie stopped him.
"What are
you doing?" she hissed.
"I've got
to see this," Jonny replied.
"She won't
be able to keep everyone out forever," Jessie stated. She had to admit she was curious as well and silently hoped Jonny
would insist on looking out the window.
He didn't fail her.
"That's why
we need to hurry," he smiled brightly and grabbed her hand.
Jessie
allowed herself to be pulled into the deserted kitchen. The crept up to the window and carefully
peered between the curtains. Almost
everyone was sitting cross-legged on the grass in a giant circle. Claire was standing in the center doing what
she did best: grabbing attention.
"This is a
game we played back home." Claire gestured to someone and they moved over so
she could sit down. "I still play it when I go to the family reunions. It starts like this. I'll start to my left,
then to my right, left, right, left again and end looking in front. The person next to me will do the opposite
so that we talk to each other. Then you
pass it on and see how far around the circle you get before you mess up. AND you WILL mess up."
Claire
picked up a spoon and looked to the person her left, holding the spoon out to
him as if it was an offering. The
person happened to be Steve.
"This is a
spoon," she looked to her right. " A what?" to her left, " a spoon," to the
right, " a what?" again to her left, " a spoon." Finally holding the spoon up in front of
her, " oh, this is a spoon." Claire
passed the spoon to her right and started again with a fork as the person with
the spoon started with the spoon.
"If I had a
camera," Jonny whispered to Jessie. "This moment captured on film would be
something I'd treasure for a long time."
"No
kidding," Jessie giggled. Something
about watching football team members, not to mention Brook and Ivy, all sitting
in the grass at night looking like a bunch of little kids needed a photo just
to prove it really happened.
"We better
go." Jonny turned abruptly and Jessie followed as the voices outside began grow
louder with each pass of the utensil.
"This is
a spoon."
"A
what?"
"A
spoon."
"A what?"
"A
spoon."
"Oh,
this is a spoon."
Jonny and
Jessie made their way down the dark hallway of Claire's house. At the end of the hall were two bedrooms,
each across from each other.
As they
inched closer a stream of soft light escaped from under the door and a line of
light revealed the door wasn't shut all of the way.
"This is
a fork." "This is a
spoon."
"A
what?"
"A
fork." "A
spoon."
"A
what?"
"A
fork." "A
spoon."
"Oh, this is a fork." "Oh, this
is a spoon."
Jonny held
his breath. He kept his eyes glued on
the light from the door but was becoming increasingly distracted with Jessie
being so close to him. The whole right
side of his body radiated with heat as Jessie stayed glued to his right arm.
People broke out into laughter and
Claire could be heard starting the circle over again, much to Jessie and
Jonny's relief.
Finally, the two came close enough
to the door to hear. The first voice
was Michael's.
"This is
a knife."
"A
what?"
"A
knife."
"A what?"
"A
knife."
"Oh,
this is a knife."
" I didn't
know your family had moved back into town." Michael's voice was gentle and
low. For some reason it surprised
Jessie. Maybe she and Jonny had the
wrong idea about the group.
"I know,"
Maria replied. "I don't know why dad didn't say anything."
"So does
that mean Zack. . ."
"No," Maria
cut the unfamiliar voice off quickly. "No, Zack isn't interested. Not at all."
There was
silence in the room and the weight was so heavy Jessie could feel in on her
skin even though she didn't have a clue what they were really talking about.
"This is
a fork." "This is a
spoon." "This is a
knife."
"A
what?"
"A
fork." "A
spoon." "A
knife."
"A
what?"
"A
fork." "A
spoon." "A
knife.
"Oh,
this is a . . ."
Jonny took
a bold step forward and tried to look through the crack in the door. He caught Michael's lettermen jacket and
briefly caught a glimpes of a tall kid smoking by an open window, his drink
resting on the ceil as he nervously flicked ashes outside.
"Why?"
someone asked. "It's his duty to take Thomas' place."
"Things are
different," Maria's voice was low and soft. "We are different. It's too
much to ask of Zack."
"He blames
us doesn't he?" Michael asked.
Again, the
room was silent.
"This is
a spoon." "This is a
knife." "This is a
fork."
"A
what?"
The words
started getting confused as the circle grew.
People broke down and started laughing.
Inside, Maria broke the silence.
"You don't
know what it's been like," her voice cracked slightly. "It's been really
hard. First Thomas, then we had to move
and then mom left. He's so bitter."
"Bitter?"
someone piped up and by the tone in his voice Jessie knew the conversation had
just taken a new unsettling turn.
Outside,
the game started again.
"This is
a spoon."
"A
what?"
"A
spoon."
".
. . Oh, this is a spoon."
"Is he
angry?" the same person asked.
"What do
you mean?" Maria sounded confused but Jessie didn't buy it. Something in Maria's untimely arrival to the
day of Randy's warning, told her it was too coincidental. Maria knew something.
"This is
a fork."
"A
what?"
"A
fork."
".
. . Oh, this is a fork."
"Look," Michael
raised his voice and then sighed loudly. "It has to do with the group. We can handle it don't worry. I just have one request. I would like to meet Zack."
There was
silence.
"This is
a knife."
"A
what?"
"Just
once," Michael continued after a moment passed.
"A
knife."
"I'll tell
him." Maria decided out loud. "I can't make him."
"A what?"
"That's all
I ask," Michael gently replied.
"A
knife."
Jessie
could picture Michael's face as he spoke.
She imagined it looked similar to that of a hungry wolf being offered a
rabbit.
"Oh, this
is a knife."
The game
continued outside, this time lead by Steve as Claire stepped into the kitchen.
Down the
hall Jonny saw Michael turn for the door just as Jessie started back down the
hall. Jonny grabbed her arm and pulled
her into the opposite bedroom, closing the door just as the other opened.
"This is
a fork."
Staring at
the small amount of light for so long contrasted with the sudden surroundings
of the pitch-black bedroom. Jessie was
momentarily blind. She was certain they
had been spotted. There wasn't enough
time to get away. She and Jonny were
trapped.
"A what?"
"A fork."
Jonny grabbed Jessie by the waist
and pushed her against the wall.
Michael
froze in the hallway. He knew he heard
someone moving quickly to get out of the way.
Had they been listening to the conversation?
He was
going to find out.
"A what?"
Michael
turned to look at the others as he gestured for them to be quiet. His large hand folded around the cold
knob. What he saw on the other side
made him grin from ear to ear.
"A
fork."
The Quest
kid had the cutest little redhead Michael had ever seen, pinned up against the
wall as the two broke from a heated kiss.
"Don't stop
because of us," Michael joked. "I'd be kissing her too if she were mine."
Michael
shut the door and shook his head. The
small group walked down the hall, past Claire and out to the back.
"Oh, this is a fork."
Jessie
looked at the dark shadow that covered Jonny's face as he stood with his back
to the moonlight. He was probably
really proud of himself.
Probably.
"This is
a spoon."
"A
what?"
"A
spoon."
"A what?"
"A
spoon."
"Oh,
this is a spoon."
One swift blow and a twist, brought
Jonny Quest to his knees.
Jessie
cracked her knuckles and left the room.
How dare
he. Jessie felt hot tears swell up
in her eyes.
"This is
a knife."
"A
what?"
"A
knife."
Jessie
entered the empty living room and briefly glanced in the deserted kitchen. She was alone and didn't know if she really
wanted to be. She took a deep breath
and wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt.
Who am I
supposed to talk to? She folded her
arms across her chest. Claire? What would Claire say if she found out the
guy she liked just kissed me?
"A what?"
Jessie
walked out the front door and started home.
She didn't care if she would need to explain this to their dads. She hated Jonny Quest. She hated him more at this moment then she
had ever hated Brooke and Ivy.
Blinded by
tears, Jessie walked right past Claire who was sitting quietly by the garage,
covered in the dark night.
"A
knife."
Claire
wasn't the type to cry. She didn't cry
when she realized her father was gone and she didn't cry when she realized her
mother wasn't coming home, ever.
But she
cried now.
"Oh, this is a knife."
