Cabel's Story (2 page)

“What’s happening?” Cabel whispers to the person in front of him.

“It’s a game,” the girl says. She turns to look at him, and Cabel realizes it’s Janie.

“Like a virtual ride or something?”

“Sort of.”

Cabel shrugs and watches. The box surfaces once again and the lid opens. Only one person gets out— a sobbing woman. She points to the box and cries out, “He’s dead!”

Immediately the paramedics are there. They remove the dead man and the kiosk worker signals for the next people in line to get into the box.

“This is not cool,” Cabel says to Janie.

“It is what it is,” Janie says.

The next couple goes down and when they surface, the man gets out. He is sobbing, pointing. “She’s dead!” he cries out. People have to help him walk away.

Cabel’s sweating now. “Come on, Janie,” he says. “Let’s go.”

“We can’t,” she says. “If you get in the line, you must stay for the ride. See?” she points to a sign that says exactly that.

Soon it is their turn.

“Please, Janie,” Cabel pleads. “Come on! We can just go. Do you see what’s happening?”

“We can’t control what’s happening, Cabel,” she says. She looks at him with sorrow in her eyes. “There’s no controlling it. It is what it is.”

The kiosk worker signals Janie and Cabel to enter the box. Up close, Cabel can see it’s lined, like a coffin.

“No, Janie— no. We don’t have to do this!”

Janie gives Cabel a sorrowful look. She hesitates, and then she says, “It’s okay.

You stay. I’ll go.” And then she squeezes Cabel’s hand, brushes his cheek with her fingertips. Smiles a sad, crooked smile.

Cabel watches her step into the coffin. “Wait! What will happen?” But he already knows.

Janie waves. “It’s okay,” she says, sincere. “It would have been me anyway.”

The kiosk worker closes the lid on Janie.

Cabel is frantic, watching the box being lowered. “Stop!” he cries. “Stop! Let me in!”

But it’s too late. Cabel lunges for the box as it disappears into the floor. Cabel falls to the tile, unable to speak or scream or cry. Finally he gasps. “Coward!” he says to himself. “Janie, no! Come back! I’m sorry!”

The wait is endless, but finally the box returns to the surface. The lid opens.

Janie is dead.

Cabel rolls over in the bed. “No,” he whispers.

4:55 a.m.

He sits up. “Sheesh,” he says, awake now. He looks at the clock, disoriented.

Forgets for a moment where he is. The other guys in the room are sleeping soundly.

Cabel takes a deep breath and settles back down on the pillow. He feels his heart still racing. Tells himself to calm down, and after a while, he does. But he can’t get back to sleep.

Finally, he dozes off again, restless.

8:24 a.m.

Cabe ignores the others as they get ready for a final session of Shakespeare before everyone heads back to Fieldridge High. When they are gone, he takes a long

shower and slowly gets ready for the day. Thinking. Thinking about Janie. About the dream. About all sorts of things and how they relate to his life … and to Janie’s, too, probably. Shame. Disappointment. Loneliness.

He pulls up the comforter and sits down on top of it, trying to figure her out.

And knowing that even though he doesn’t understand her, he needs to know what happened … and what could happen. There’s no way he can just let her go or keep silent, like he did on the skateboard night. No way he can look at her again without demanding answers.

11:31 a.m.

Cabe hops up off the bed, hungry and resolved, and grabs his jacket. Slips his shoes on. Thinks about what Janie must be going through right now, this minute.

Wonders if she skipped the morning play to catch up on sleep. He imagines her, stuck in a room with three other girls and their collective dreams all night. He’s sure Janie really needs food by now.

And … well.

It’s not going to deliver itself.