XII. The Scare (Part 2)

Queenie Parker

Ah! It feels so good to have chicken noodle soup flowing through my system! It's a weird, sort of early dinner, but I don't care. It's delicious; in a cup; and convenient while riding in my sister's car home from school. I down it so quickly I start to choke as the broth goes down the wrong tube.

"If you start to lose air, I won't do the Heimlich maneuver on you!" Says Diane, my considerate sister. "Drink at your own risk!"

"And if I die, you'll get charged with negligence. I'm a minor!" I belch.

"Why did I have to pick you up?" My sister rolls her eyes. "You're so nasty!"

"You'll live." I mutter.

"Come again?" Diane pulls up at the stoplight, turning on the windshield wipers at a swift speed. "I'll throw you out in the middle of this storm and tell mom you walked back to the school."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!" I drink more of my soup.

Overview: my sister is an older, taller, curvier, bustier version of me, leaving me with the shallow genes, but everything else is similar: the caramel skin; the black, curly hair; the brown eyes, but hers are darker than mine's. We're stuck with each other as we drive back to our house. Usually mom comes to pick me up, or I ride with Vivian and her dad to her house, but mom had to work a little late, and I have no idea where Vivian is, so here I am. It's a wonder that we haven't started hitting each other yet! Diane's a senior at Degrassi, but we hardly see each other in school, let alone hang out. I'm counting down the months until she's off to university! Coincidentally, I end up riding home with her in this thunderstorm; the type of weather that she hates to drive in. Chicken, I think. I could do better than her, and I only have a permit!

"The radio." I say. "Turn it up." Lightning flashes in the sky, followed by a loud thunder clap, and I scream.

"Oh my goodness." My sister moans. "Girl, it's just thunder. This is the longest ten minutes ever!"

"Remember that the next time you drive out in this storm." I smirk at her.

"Be quiet for once!" My sister turns up the radio. "This actually sounds important."

She's right. This is what I hear:

The National Weather Service has issued a Thunderstorm warning for the following cities.

The names of all of the cities are a blur to me except for Degrassi Street, the name of the street we're currently on. No kidding, I think as I watch the rain patter the windows of my sister's car. Outkast is playing on the radio after the service announcement, and I blast the car with the lyrics of "Roses". We both sing at the top of our lungs, out of tune most of the time. It's the safest place for tone death people like us to sing. Sometimes I wish I could sing like Beyoncé or even Vivian, who's so bashful about her talent that I don't even bug her about it! I caught her in the girls' restroom one afternoon singing when she thought she was alone. Speaking of Vivian, I've barely seen her today. I knew she was having it pretty rough, so I gave her some space.

My cell phone rings, and here begins another dance break as I rock out to Aaliyah's "More Than a Woman" on my phone.

"Answer the damn phone, nut!" Diane shouts.

"Shut up." I flip up the phone. "Hello?"

"Queenie? This is Vivian's father." The man sounds worried.

"Oh, hi, Mr. Graham. Is there anything you need from me?"

"Please, dear. I need to know where Vivian is. I've been waiting for her at the school, but she never showed up. I've called her cell phone several times, but she hasn't answered!" Mr. Graham's voice raises volume and shakes a little. He's panicked.

This is making me uncomfortable. "That's totally unlike Vivian to not call you and tell you where she is." Way to calm her father down, genius! "I'm really sorry, Mr. Graham, but I haven't seen much of Vivian today. Did you try calling...uh...how about Rick? She hangs out with him a lot."

"Rick? Okay." He sounds a little less frantic. "Do you have his number?"

"Yep." Rick and I decided to exchange numbers on our little quest to find Vivian this past Friday when she went off with Jay. "I really hope you find her." I say after I tell him the number. "Sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"You've helped plenty, Queenie. Thank you. I haven't thought of calling Rick. Bye."

"Bye."

Suddenly, Tornado sirens sound above the our loud music in the car. "That's not good." Diane states the obvious. "I can't drive home like this! I'm going back to Degrassi for now."

I stifle a moan. Tornadoes aren't very likely in Toronto, but then again predicting mother nature is a difficult job. I guess we are safer back at the school.
The radio forecast updates its warning.

As we go back in the opposite direction, the rain forcing Diane to drive cautiously on the slick roads, my cell rings again, and it's Rick. "Hey, Rick!" I say. "Vivian's dad called me a few minutes ago asking me where she is. Do you know?"

"Um...h-hi, Queenie." I don't like the sound of Rick's voice: it's more shaky than Mr. Graham's. "Y-yes I do know where she is."

"Really? Great!" I sound bright, but I can't feel relieved; not with the way Rick is speaking. "Is she there with you? Can you put her on the phone?" I'm sure Vivian's safe and sound with Rick. That's why he's calling right? Maybe her phone died and she wanted Rick to call for her. I'm forcing myself to think this and not the opposite: that Vivian is one to call even when her phone is broken; that Vivian's not okay; that Vivian's out in this possibly tornadic weather. No: let's not think that about little, doll-sized Vivian.

There's a sigh at the other end of the line, and my heart pounds. "Uh...n-no. Unfortunately I can't."

"Why not? Where is she?" I raise my voice now. The panic has spread to me. There's a beep in the phone line: it's probably Vivian's dad calling Rick.

"Uh...she-she fell into a well out behind my house."

"WHAT?" I lean forward in my seat. "Isn't she alright? Why hasn't she called?" The line beeps again.

"That's why I'm calling you." My heart races as Rick continues. "That well, Queenie, was quite a long drop, and she...isn't responding."

It feels like someone is grabbing my heart with ice cold hands. "That's not good." I say. "Oh, no. Well let's see...you've tried calling her cell right?"

"I've called her fourteen times! She didn't answer once!"

"Oh." I press my forehead against the dashboard. "Please tell me you called for help. This is serious!"

"Of course I did!" Rick shouts almost. I've never heard him shout before. The line clicks a third time. "I had to go to my mother's house to get my phone."

Suddenly the car stops. I glance up to see the familiar student parking lot adjacent to the school building. As Diane removes the keys from the ignition, she passes me a frown of bewilderment. I wave her off with my hand as I step out of the car with the hood on my red jacket pulled over my head.

"Rick," I speak, absent mindedly following my sister into the school building. "Vivian's father is calling for you. I'm gonna let you go so you can talk to him and tell him about his daughter. Alright?"

There's another sigh. "Alright."

Speaking of which, I bump right into Mr. Graham who has his cell phone up to his ear. "I can't reach Rick!" He glares at me. "Where the hell is that boy?"

"Sir, I'm talking to him now!" I don't like seeing him on edge. "Rick," I say into my phone, "I'm handing you over to Vivian's dad. You don't need to call anymore."

As I hand over my cell phone, Principal Raditch and Snake, Degrassi's coolest teacher, approach us. "Everyone, we need you all in an enclosed space with no windows." Says Raditch in a stern voice. "The weather's getting serious, and we don't know whether a touch down will actually occur or not."

"Hello, we're also in the middle of an emergency!" I snap, only to cover my mouth after I realize that I'm speaking to the principal. "Sorry." I ignore Diane's annoyed look. "My friend, his daughter," I point at Mr. Graham, "is in trouble, and she's out in this weather."

"Is she a student here?" Raditch looks at Mr. Graham a few feet away who sounds every bit of pissed off.

"Yes." I answer. "Her name's Vivian Graham. Her father over there is trying to figure out where she is, and he's using my cell phone."

Now Snake is looking over at Mr. Graham too, who's nearly shouting in the receiver. "Thank you, son." He says a little more calmly. "I'm heading out that way." I watch as he flips my phone shut and walks over to hand it back. "I'm going back out to get my daughter." He says sharply to the two faculty men. "Don't stop me."

"Mr. Graham, the weather's getting worse." Raditch objects. "It's best to take shelter—"

"Dan." Snake says to him. "He's not a student here, remember? We're not responsible for holding him back." He nods curtly at Vivian's dad. "Go."

"Thanks for understanding." Vivian's dad dashes out of the door, bringing in the sharp siren cries.

"Queenie," Snake says to me, "this way."

As I follow the two adults and Diane towards a narrow corridor, I place a hand over my pounding heart. Please let Vivian be okay. I pray over and over as I let myself be escorted to shelter.*

Don't worry: things will get back to Vivian AND Rick in the next installment! :)