Bad Connection (2 page)

Obviously my dream involved a car wreck. It was nighttime, and the car went into the Willamette River. And it seemed like Kayla Henderson was involved. Is it possible that Kayla was driving? That she's been involved in a real accident? That could explain why she's been missing these past few days. Maybe her car is sitting on the bottom of the river right now. Or maybe I'm just blowing this all out of proportion. Sometimes I wonder why God can't just get a loudspeaker or a IV series or a big billboard that would grab everyone's attention and just make Himself perfectly clear.

Yet even as I try to make light of this, the chilling thought of poor Kayla being the victim of a horrible accident, sitting
pinned in a car at the bottom of a river, sends a serious shiver down my spine. I pull on my sweatshirt, stick my feet into my UGGs, and go out to the kitchen, where I turn on the lights and start to make a pot of coffee.

My mom always appreciates it when I do this, not that I do it too often, but I nearly drop the glass coffee carafe when I hear the deep sound of a man's voice talking behind me. I almost think that it's God. But I turn to see that it's only the TV.

Sometimes when my mom's feeling extra stressed, she'll set it to turn on at six in the morning. She calls it her “gentle” alarm clock. Although the tone of this dude's voice feels anything but gentle. Still, he's got my attention, and I stand there holding the half-filled coffee carafe as I listen.

“Breaking news near Fremont early this morning, “
he says in an urgent voice.
“Forty-six-year-old Cindy James lost control of her Nissan on wet roads, crashing through the guardrail and plummeting thirty feet into the Willamette River shortly before midnight last night. The accident occurred just five miles south of Fremont. Fortunately for Ms. James, two other drivers witnessed the wreck and immediately called 911. Gary Forsythe of Gresham and Hank Burns of eastern Washington scaled the steep river-bank to see the car partially submerged in the turbulent waters. Swift-thinking Burns then managed to return to his truck to get a chain and a rope, which the two men were able to secure to a nearby tree and her bumper, preventing the small car from being completely submerged and swept away by the current. “

As he describes the wreck, some footage is being shown, and it seems very similar to how it was in my dream. Although the perspective is different. And there's another thing. Instead of Kayla Henderson in the driver's seat, it seems it was this Cindy James person. They show a photo of someone I've never seen before. Or maybe it's the person I got a glimpse of just before I saw Kayla.

But-now I question whether I really did see Kayla. Maybe I just imagined it was her because I've felt so concerned about her these past couple of days. Or maybe I just got a bad connection. I'm not sure. But I guess I'm relieved that it's not my friend in the wreck. And I'm relieved that Cindy James seems to be doing okay too.

“Ms. James suffered a broken collar bone and several fractured ribs, but after emergency crews used the Jaws of Life to extract her from the crushed car, she was transported to Fremont General Hospital and is said to be in good condition, “

I stand there for a few more minutes as they hit other news highlights that don't mean much to me, and they finally move on to the weather outlook for the rest of the week. But as I continue making coffee, I have to wonder why I had that dream. I mean, it seems that Cindy James's situation was under control. It's not like she needed my help. And it obviously had nothing to do with Kayla. So I gotta wonder, why would God use my “gift” to disrupt a perfectly good night's sleep with something that really has nothing to do with me? I don't get it.

I suppose I'm sort of distracted by all this as I plod through my morning routines—getting dressed, eating some breakfast, riding to school with my best friend, Olivia. But it's not until we're on our way to PE, which is fourth period and right before lunch, that Olivia confronts me.

“You seem kinda moody today. Everything okay, Sam?”

“Yeah.” I shrug, trying to brush it off. No reason to burden her with my little problem, which isn't really a problem. It's more like an irritation.

But then after PE, as we're all getting dressed in the locker room, the conversation, once again, becomes focused on Kayla Henderson. She's been the hot topic among the girls for the past few days—everyone seems to be speculating on where she is right now. And naturally, especially after this morning's dream, I am easily pulled in.

“Everyone
knows
that Kayla is a tramp,” says Emma Piscolli in a very superior-sounding voice.

“That's a little harsh,” I say as I button my jeans.

“She's slept with half the guys in school,” continues Emma.

In moments like this, it's hard to believe that Emma actually used to be one of Kayla's best friends. But then there was that big fight over Parker Davis last spring. I guess love triangles leave everyone wounded.

“You know this for a fact, Emma?” demands Olivia. “Do you have a tracking device or a monitor on her or something?”

I try to laugh, hoping it might lighten things up. “Yeah, and if you do, can you tell us where she's at right now?”

“Or who she's with?” adds Brittany Fallows. oa

Emma pulls her T-shirt over her head then puts both hands on her hips. “I can make a pretty good guess.”

“What?” asks Brittany.

“I think Kayla has run off to get married.”

Naturally, this makes us all laugh.

“I'm
not
kidding.”

“Yeah, right.” Olivia rolls her eyes. “Like who gets married while they're still in high school? Tell us another one, Emma.”

“I'm serious.” Emma looks at me now. “Don't you remember that guy Kayla told us about not that long ago? The one she met last summer?”

“Oh yeah,” I say as I recall about a month back when Kayla and Emma and I worked to set up the photo exhibit for the Fall Art Fair. “She did tell us about this really cool guy she met while she was visiting her aunt in San Diego. Saying how great looking he was and how he was really into her.” Okay, I don't admit that I hadn't totally believed Kayla at the time, how I thought maybe she was making the whole thing up for Emma's benefit since I suspected she was still hurting over the breakup with Parker Davis.

Emma nods. “And I happen to know she'd been e-mailing this guy regularly.”

“An online romance?” asks Brittany.

“Yeah.” Emma picks up her bag and slings a strap over her shoulder. “And I think that's where Kayla is right now.”

“Okay, even if Kayla was having an online romance, what makes you think she'd want to get married?” I ask in a slightly cynical tone. That's so totally ridiculous.”

“Yeah,” says Olivia. “It's crazy, Emma.”

“How many girls do you know who get married at our age?” I point out as I zip my boot.

“Not unless they're insane or rednecks…” says Brittany.

“Or pregnant.” Emma's brows arch with suspicion.

“An online pregnancy,” says Olivia. “Now that's a new one for the medical journals.”

“I didn't
say
she was pregnant,” retorts Emma.

“No,” I toss back at her. “Just that she's getting married.”

“Hey, it's just a guess.”

“A
stupid
guess.” Olivia looks at me. “Ready to go to lunch, Sam?”

We tell the others good-bye and head out of the stuffy locker room.

“Can you believe Emma?” Olivia says as we head down the hall toward the cafeteria. “I know Kayla has her problems…” Olivia sighs. “And I guess it's true that she's gotten a little wild this past year. But running away to get married? It seems pretty far-fetched to me.”

“Yeah, it's hard to believe.” But as we get in the lunch line, I'm thinking that it's also hard to believe how much Kayla has changed since middle school, back when we were still good friends and Kayla was more into soccer than guys. But we all grow up and change. Even so, it makes me sad. And I'm still trying to figure out why she made that sudden appearance in my dream. Is God trying to tell me something?

“Do you think anything really happened to her?” Olivia glances at me as she fills her cup with ice.

I shrug as I pick up a drink cup. I tell Olivia a lot of things, but I'm just not ready to tell her about this. Not that I have anything to tell. Not really.

“I mean, have you gotten any feelings about her?” she asks in a hushed tone, I'm sure so that no one will hear.

Olivia knows about the few “unusual experiences” I've had in the past. Although, up until this morning, I haven't had anything happen to me for almost a year now. I actually hoped that it was all over. That God had moved on, picked someone else… I guess I was wrong.

“Not really,” I say lightly. “Not anything that means anything. Of course, I'm worried about her, and I've been praying for her. But that's pretty much where it ends.” Okay, I'd probably say more, but there are too many listening ears right now.

“It's just so weird. I really thought she'd be back by now.”

“How long has she been gone?” I ask.

“Well, I heard her mom on the news last night. She hadn't seen Kayla since Saturday. And it's Wednesday today”

“It really doesn't sound good.” I pick up a tuna sandwich and set it on my tray. “And I know things aren't too cool at her house—they haven't been for the past couple of years, ever since her parents split up. I guess I just figured maybe Kayla ran away to stay at a friend's house, you know, to just lay low for a while. Maybe she thought it would get her mom's attention.”

“What friend though?”

“I know…”

“Well, it has gotten her mom's attention. Did you see the news last night? She was really crying and falling apart.”

I shake my head. “I missed that.”

“It's just so weird.”

“Yeah. Pretty weird.” Okay, that's an understatement. The truth is, I can't think of Kayla today without feeling seriously worried.

Where is she?

O
livia and i pay the cashier and go fine an empty table, where we sit down and, as usual, bow our heads. We don't pray out loud. But we do pray. And sometimes we take some heat over our lunch blessing.

Some people call us religious freaks, and one guy likes to call us “the nuns.” But we just laugh it off, No big deal. It might be harder if we had to handle it alone. Having a best friend by your side makes a lot of things easier. I thank God for Olivia on a daily basis.

“So, if she's not at a friend's house…” continues Olivia, obviously still stuck on the Kayla mystery. “Where do you think she is, Sam? Do you think she's been kidnapped?”

“Not according to the news the other day.” I stick a straw in my drink.

“I know. They say she took her purse and clothes and money and stuff and that it looked like it was clearly a runaway situation. Her mom told the news that she hadn't been home all day on Saturday. But isn't it possible that someone entered the house and forced Kayla to get those things, tried to make it look normal?”

I kind of laugh. “Can you imagine a kidnapper breaking into your house and then telling you to neatly pack your bags?”

“I guess that sounds kind of nutty.”

Just then we are joined by Emma and Brittany and a couple of other girls. And although we haven't been that close with these girls during the past year or so, I'm not that surprised they've been hanging with us lately. I know it has to do with our old connection to Kayla. It's like we're all worried and slightly freaked, and something about being together and talking about it seems to help some of them. Maybe it's therapeutic.

Though to be honest, it makes me uncomfortable. Especially today. And some of the speculations, particularly this latest one from Emma, who never seemed all that concerned about Kayla in the first place, can be rather maddening.

“Did you guys hear Emma's latest theory?” Amelia Carnes asks as she sits next to me. “About why Kayla is missing?”

“You mean her little marriage hypothesis?” I venture.

Amelia laughs. “Yeah, is that nuts or what?”

“I think she just
hopes
it's true.” Brittany jabs Emma with her elbow as they sit across from us. “That way she won't have to keep competing with Kayla for the attention of Parker Davis.”

“Yeah, right. Everyone knows that Parker and I are history now anyway.”

“That's for sure.” Amelia nods over to a nearby table where Parker is obviously, flirting with Corrine Ashton.

“I couldn't care less,” retorts Emma. “I'm totally over him.”

“He seems to be totally over you too,” observes Olivia.

“It's mutual.” Emma blows the wrapper off her straw, right in Olivia's face.

“So that doesn't have anything to do with your story about Kayla running off to get married?” I ask.

“Nothing whatsoever.”

“But why are you so sure of this now, Emma?” asks 9 Amelia. “You never mentioned it to anyone before.”

“I was at her house last night. Her mom let me get on her computer, and I was reading some old e-mails.”

“No way!” Brittany leans forward. Actually, I think we're all leaning forward now. “She wrote about it in her e-mails?”

“Was there really any talk of marriage?” I ask.

“Well, these were old e-mails,” Emma admits. “We're guessing she may have deleted the more recent ones, to erase the trail, you know. But judging by the old e-mails, we could tell that this guy was really into her.”

“What's his name?” I ask.

“His first name is Colby. But we couldn't find his last name anywhere.”

“Do the police know about this?”

Emma nods. “Yeah, Kayla's mom has let them go through her room and their whole house. They downloaded everything from her computer and took some other things too.”

“Still,” I persist, “I don't get why you think that Kayla would run off to marry this Colby kid. I mean, how would they even support themselves? Get real! What kind of life could two teenagers possibly have down in San Diego? Slinging hamburgers at McDonald's and living out of their car or maybe on a beach?”

“Yeah,” says Amelia. “Even if Kayla was that desperate, she's not that stupid.” '