Chapter 2
Brady Black hobbled noisily down the street with his group of friends. Usually Jason would be with them, but today he got caught by his dad before he had a chance to come out to meet them and was now slaving away at home, washing his dad's car.
Phillip was laughing about something, Belle hanging all over him.
"Chloe Wesley, man we sure dodged a boring bullet. I'm sure she would have invited all of us up onto her porch for lemonade and bible talk."
Brady guffawed loudly with the rest of them at the remark. Chloe was known for being quite the religious one. But he had to admit that in church, she did have a really nice voice. Even he could give her credit for that. She had always been the quiet, shy one since the first day they had met thirteen years earlier when Belle, who lived just next door to him, had brought her home from school. That was about the only time Chloe was ever invited anywhere, after that she was pretty much ignored. Brady, on the other hand, had had a steady climb to the most popular group at Salem High. The girls all fawned over him, and he played on the football team. What more could he ask? Nothing really. At least, nothing that a high school jock with pretty cheerleaders around him all the time could possibly want. He had it all; a nice house, money, two parents and popularity. Compared to Chloe, he was a celebrity, and she was a lonely girl with nothing much. But his thoughts were not lavished too much on Chloe at this point.
Right now, all he could think of was the play that the junior drama class was going to give in about one month's time. He, along with his friends, all planned on going. It would be a good laugh. Besides, he had also heard that Chloe (amazingly his thoughts return yet again on this young woman shunned for no good reason by all teens yet loved by all the adults) had a part in this play as well, apparently somewhere in the context of a lead role. Being the amazing vocalist that she was, her character was written to sing a song to the lead actor in the play. The concept made his friends howl, but he sort of liked the sound of her voice. It was quite soothing. He spoke from experience.
When he had broken his arm in the sixth grade, a concerned Chloe had come to comfort him until a ride was arranged to take him to the hospital. She had spoken with such a soft voice that the pain had melted away. It was a strange feeling to have when someone spoke to you, and he wondered if he was the only one. See no one could be too rude to Chloe in person without taking a major guilt trip because she had been so nice to them for so long. Instead, they did it behind her back. They knew what they did was wrong, they just did anyway. It was in their nature.
Now Brady fell into step with Mimi who was batting her eyelashes up at him.
"What are you doing tonight huh?" She asked, smiling sweetly up at him.
"Ah, I dunno. Stuff."
"Let's all go catch a movie at the drive in." Phillip broke in, Belle's arm intertwined with his own.
"That's a great idea!" Belle chimed, giving her blonde hair an enthusiastic toss and smiling widely.
Brady shrugged his shoulders and looked down at Mimi who was practically groveling at his feet.
"Whatever."
Mimi jumped up and smiled, clapping her hands together.
"Great. It's a date then?"
Brady made a face, then thought 'what the heck' and nodded in agreement.
They all made their way to the drive in that night and saw "The Blob", although Brady thought it was the stupidest movie he had ever seen. Mimi seemed to be scared right out of her socks, and if she wasn't she was acting pretty good cause she was clinging to him like a wet T-shirt. Phillip appeared to be getting a little bit bored as well, though with Belle pushing herself up against him like that Brady thought for sure he was getting claustrophobic too.
Brady turned his eyes back to Mimi.
"Say Meems, I'm just gonna step out for some air ok? I'll be back soon."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"Um, no. That's okay."
He opened the car door slowly and stepped out, stretching his legs a little. Then he set off, walking around the parking lot full of cars and crazy teens. The drive-in was located at the top of a cliff that people named 'Lookout Point' because during the war, many jet pilots had gone there to run through obstacles and were often flying so low that their planes brushed the bushes lining the edge of the cliff. This caused people who were occupying the surface of the cliff to constantly yell 'Look out!' as they flew by, thus the name Lookout Point.
Brady walked to the edge of that very cliff and looked down its rocky slope. He had a clear view of the town cemetery from where he stood, and he could make out the dark silhouette of a woman sitting on a tombstone, swinging her legs. Brady glanced down at the watch on his wrist. It was ten thirty. What kind of a woman would walk into the middle of a cemetery in almost complete darkness? He peered yet again at the figure of the woman. She had a flashlight in her hand and was flicking it on and off, lighting up the patch of willow trees in the corner of the cemetery. He glanced back at the car he had just left and saw Mimi popping her head out the window, obviously searching for him. He rolled his eyes and decided to go down and check out the mysterious woman in the cemetery before heading back to Phillip's car.
He took a path down the side of the cliff, marked out clearly for people who couldn't just drive their cars up the road. Reaching the bottom, he walked silently to the black wrought iron gates of the cemetery. He opened one slowly, a creaking sound protruding from its rusty hinges. The moonlight illuminated most of the landscape, making it easy for him to see the moving figure sitting about sixty yards from where he stood. He was finally able to make out who it was, sitting there. As it turns out it was Chloe, quite unaware of the fact that she was sitting in a cemetery in the dark, where zombies could stick their hands out of the dirt and pull her under in no time at all.
Brady walked slowly to where she sat perched on the tombstone marked "Hemsby." He decided that this was the perfect opportunity to scare her. He slunk slowly up behind her, and just as he got close enough he poked her in the back. Chloe didn't even flinch.
"Hello Brady." She said, without even turning around.
"How'd you know it was me?"
"I have eyes you know. I saw you coming down from Lookout Point."
"Oh."
Brady took a seat on a tombstone beside her. Chloe finally turned her head and met his gaze. Brady could see redness around her eyes. She'd been crying. He decided to stop that thought right there. He didn't want to ask her about it for fear of upsetting her again, so he tried a more subtle approach.
"What are you doing here?" He asked curiously, mimicking the way she swung her legs back and forth.
"I'm just working on this star chart." She held up a sketchbook opened to a page where she had obviously been mapping out the stars.
"Oh…" Brady said, pretending to be interested. "How come?"
"It's for my science project."
"Oh."
Chloe looked at him for a moment, appearing as though she was waiting for him to continue, then shrugged her shoulders and looked up again at the sky, drawing a new star onto her chart.
"Um, that's really good Chloe." He tried to sound nice. "But I think I should probably head back now."
"Ok." Chloe nodded her head. "I guess I'll see you in church tomorrow?"
"I guess."
And with that, Brady left Chloe sitting on her tombstone, working away on her star chart. As he reached the pathway up to the drive in, he turned to see if Chloe was still working on her project or maybe even staring after him. But her back was turned, her star chart placed neatly on the ground by her feet. And as he got farther away, he swore he heard a muffled sob coming from the direction of the cemetery.
Brady Black hobbled noisily down the street with his group of friends. Usually Jason would be with them, but today he got caught by his dad before he had a chance to come out to meet them and was now slaving away at home, washing his dad's car.
Phillip was laughing about something, Belle hanging all over him.
"Chloe Wesley, man we sure dodged a boring bullet. I'm sure she would have invited all of us up onto her porch for lemonade and bible talk."
Brady guffawed loudly with the rest of them at the remark. Chloe was known for being quite the religious one. But he had to admit that in church, she did have a really nice voice. Even he could give her credit for that. She had always been the quiet, shy one since the first day they had met thirteen years earlier when Belle, who lived just next door to him, had brought her home from school. That was about the only time Chloe was ever invited anywhere, after that she was pretty much ignored. Brady, on the other hand, had had a steady climb to the most popular group at Salem High. The girls all fawned over him, and he played on the football team. What more could he ask? Nothing really. At least, nothing that a high school jock with pretty cheerleaders around him all the time could possibly want. He had it all; a nice house, money, two parents and popularity. Compared to Chloe, he was a celebrity, and she was a lonely girl with nothing much. But his thoughts were not lavished too much on Chloe at this point.
Right now, all he could think of was the play that the junior drama class was going to give in about one month's time. He, along with his friends, all planned on going. It would be a good laugh. Besides, he had also heard that Chloe (amazingly his thoughts return yet again on this young woman shunned for no good reason by all teens yet loved by all the adults) had a part in this play as well, apparently somewhere in the context of a lead role. Being the amazing vocalist that she was, her character was written to sing a song to the lead actor in the play. The concept made his friends howl, but he sort of liked the sound of her voice. It was quite soothing. He spoke from experience.
When he had broken his arm in the sixth grade, a concerned Chloe had come to comfort him until a ride was arranged to take him to the hospital. She had spoken with such a soft voice that the pain had melted away. It was a strange feeling to have when someone spoke to you, and he wondered if he was the only one. See no one could be too rude to Chloe in person without taking a major guilt trip because she had been so nice to them for so long. Instead, they did it behind her back. They knew what they did was wrong, they just did anyway. It was in their nature.
Now Brady fell into step with Mimi who was batting her eyelashes up at him.
"What are you doing tonight huh?" She asked, smiling sweetly up at him.
"Ah, I dunno. Stuff."
"Let's all go catch a movie at the drive in." Phillip broke in, Belle's arm intertwined with his own.
"That's a great idea!" Belle chimed, giving her blonde hair an enthusiastic toss and smiling widely.
Brady shrugged his shoulders and looked down at Mimi who was practically groveling at his feet.
"Whatever."
Mimi jumped up and smiled, clapping her hands together.
"Great. It's a date then?"
Brady made a face, then thought 'what the heck' and nodded in agreement.
They all made their way to the drive in that night and saw "The Blob", although Brady thought it was the stupidest movie he had ever seen. Mimi seemed to be scared right out of her socks, and if she wasn't she was acting pretty good cause she was clinging to him like a wet T-shirt. Phillip appeared to be getting a little bit bored as well, though with Belle pushing herself up against him like that Brady thought for sure he was getting claustrophobic too.
Brady turned his eyes back to Mimi.
"Say Meems, I'm just gonna step out for some air ok? I'll be back soon."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"Um, no. That's okay."
He opened the car door slowly and stepped out, stretching his legs a little. Then he set off, walking around the parking lot full of cars and crazy teens. The drive-in was located at the top of a cliff that people named 'Lookout Point' because during the war, many jet pilots had gone there to run through obstacles and were often flying so low that their planes brushed the bushes lining the edge of the cliff. This caused people who were occupying the surface of the cliff to constantly yell 'Look out!' as they flew by, thus the name Lookout Point.
Brady walked to the edge of that very cliff and looked down its rocky slope. He had a clear view of the town cemetery from where he stood, and he could make out the dark silhouette of a woman sitting on a tombstone, swinging her legs. Brady glanced down at the watch on his wrist. It was ten thirty. What kind of a woman would walk into the middle of a cemetery in almost complete darkness? He peered yet again at the figure of the woman. She had a flashlight in her hand and was flicking it on and off, lighting up the patch of willow trees in the corner of the cemetery. He glanced back at the car he had just left and saw Mimi popping her head out the window, obviously searching for him. He rolled his eyes and decided to go down and check out the mysterious woman in the cemetery before heading back to Phillip's car.
He took a path down the side of the cliff, marked out clearly for people who couldn't just drive their cars up the road. Reaching the bottom, he walked silently to the black wrought iron gates of the cemetery. He opened one slowly, a creaking sound protruding from its rusty hinges. The moonlight illuminated most of the landscape, making it easy for him to see the moving figure sitting about sixty yards from where he stood. He was finally able to make out who it was, sitting there. As it turns out it was Chloe, quite unaware of the fact that she was sitting in a cemetery in the dark, where zombies could stick their hands out of the dirt and pull her under in no time at all.
Brady walked slowly to where she sat perched on the tombstone marked "Hemsby." He decided that this was the perfect opportunity to scare her. He slunk slowly up behind her, and just as he got close enough he poked her in the back. Chloe didn't even flinch.
"Hello Brady." She said, without even turning around.
"How'd you know it was me?"
"I have eyes you know. I saw you coming down from Lookout Point."
"Oh."
Brady took a seat on a tombstone beside her. Chloe finally turned her head and met his gaze. Brady could see redness around her eyes. She'd been crying. He decided to stop that thought right there. He didn't want to ask her about it for fear of upsetting her again, so he tried a more subtle approach.
"What are you doing here?" He asked curiously, mimicking the way she swung her legs back and forth.
"I'm just working on this star chart." She held up a sketchbook opened to a page where she had obviously been mapping out the stars.
"Oh…" Brady said, pretending to be interested. "How come?"
"It's for my science project."
"Oh."
Chloe looked at him for a moment, appearing as though she was waiting for him to continue, then shrugged her shoulders and looked up again at the sky, drawing a new star onto her chart.
"Um, that's really good Chloe." He tried to sound nice. "But I think I should probably head back now."
"Ok." Chloe nodded her head. "I guess I'll see you in church tomorrow?"
"I guess."
And with that, Brady left Chloe sitting on her tombstone, working away on her star chart. As he reached the pathway up to the drive in, he turned to see if Chloe was still working on her project or maybe even staring after him. But her back was turned, her star chart placed neatly on the ground by her feet. And as he got farther away, he swore he heard a muffled sob coming from the direction of the cemetery.