Keeping Secrets (14 page)

But he did raise his eyes when he heard a voice say, “I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm under,” the voice was lowered, “house arrest.”

The voice belonged to Willow, and when Mr. Barnes glanced at her, she looked down at her desk, cheeks reddening.

“Everything all right?” Mr. Barnes asked her.

She nodded.

Mr. Barnes hesitated. “Okay,” he said, and Willow gave Flora a sideways look, then sagged in her seat.

The room was full now. Every desk was taken, and several students were sitting on the floor. “Are we all here?” asked Mr. Barnes. “Anybody missing?”

When no one answered, he said, “Today we're going to talk about
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
. As you know, my policy is to stay in the background. Does someone want to lead off, or would you like me to ask a question to get things started?”

A forest of hands shot into the air, and Mr. Barnes smiled. “Amy?”

“Okay. Well, how about if I begin by summarizing the book? We started last month's meeting with a summary,” said Amy Adams. When no one objected, Amy went on. “All right. Um,
Zachary Beaver
is about what happens when the fattest boy in the world — that's Zachary, only it turns out he isn't really the fattest boy — comes to Antler, this small town in Texas, one summer. He affects a lot of people's lives, especially the lives of Toby and Cal. Toby's the narrator,” Amy added.

“What I liked,” said Jacob, “are the people in Antler. Some of them have small parts in the book, but they leave big impressions. Like Miss Myrtie Mae.”

“At first,” said a boy sitting against the back wall, “I couldn't tell what Toby's intentions with Zachary were. Like, I thought he was going to be mean to him. And actually, he
was
kind of mean to him, but then things changed.”

Mr. Barnes held up his hand. “Excuse me, I have to interrupt. Why do you think that happened?”

There was silence. Then Flora said, “I think Toby began to identify with Zachary. They were both outcasts. And also, they had both been abandoned. Toby had been abandoned by his mother, and Zachary had been abandoned by Paulie Rankin.” Flora paused. “And in a way, by his own mother when she died.”

Mr. Barnes had learned enough about his students to know that Flora had lost her mother — and her father — less than two years earlier.

“You know what's interesting?” Willow spoke up.

“Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt again,” said Mr. Barnes. “I seem to be breaking my own rule today. But for those of you who don't know her, this is Willow Hamilton. She's new here at Central. Okay, Willow. Go ahead.”

“Well, I was just thinking that we don't even get to meet two of the most important characters in the book.”

Mr. Barnes grinned. “Good point.”

But several of the students said, “What? I don't get it.”

“Think about it. What does Willow mean?” asked Mr. Barnes. “The reader doesn't meet two of the most important characters in the book. Who's important but never actually appears?”

“Ooh, ooh! I know!” cried Olivia. “Wayne. We never get to meet Cal's brother. We just hear his letters.”

“Oh, then Toby's mother must be the other one,” said Nikki. “She calls Toby once, but we don't really meet her.”

“That's pretty interesting, isn't it?” said Mr. Barnes.

“Characters can have an impact on a story even when they're almost,” Willow paused, “almost invisible.”

“Yes,” agreed Mr. Barnes, regarding Willow thoughtfully. He was mentally taking notes on Willow now, and the first two were
Under house arrest
and
Feels invisible?
When he realized that her eyes continually strayed to the door of the classroom, he added,
Is she waiting for someone? Is she afraid of someone?

Eventually, Mr. Barnes's own eyes drifted, not to the door of the classroom but to his watch. “I think we're going to have to wrap things up,” he said. “You have about fifteen minutes in which to choose your next book and then we'd better go.”

It was Willow who suggested the book that was ultimately agreed upon:
Homecoming
, by Cynthia Voigt. “It's about a mother who abandons her kids,” said Willow, and Mr. Barnes added another note to his list.

“All right,” said Mr. Barnes. “Great meeting. Have a good evening.”

As the students leftthe room, some in a hurry, some hanging back to laugh and talk, Mr. Barnes gathered up the papers on his desk. He kept one eye on Willow, though, and watched her as she was surrounded by Flora, Olivia, and Nikki, and the girls made their way to the door. Willow was still a foot or two away from it when an arm snaked into the room and yanked her into the hallway.

Nikki, Flora, and Olivia jumped, and Flora emitted a gasp. But Willow said only, “Mom,” in a very low voice, and Mr. Barnes heard the quiet edge of resignation in the word.

“What are you doing here?” Mrs. Hamilton asked Willow sharply. “You're under house arrest. Have you forgotten?”

Mr. Barnes stepped into the hallway. “Excuse me,” he said. He extended his hand. “I'm Mr. Barnes. I teach English here. May I help you?”

The bluster leaked out of Mrs. Hamilton. She didn't accept Mr. Barnes's outstretched hand, but she let go of Willow. “No,” she said. “No, thank you. I just … I just need my daughter. Willow, come on, please.”

Willow followed her mother down the hall. She didn't look over her shoulder. Mr. Barnes thought he could feel anger in Willow's footsteps. He turned his attention to Olivia, Nikki, and Flora, and was about to ask Flora a question when she waved self-consciously to him and disappeared down the hall with Nikki and Olivia, keeping a safe distance behind the Hamiltons.

Mr. Barnes knew the seventh-grade guidance counselor at Central only slightly. He returned to his desk, opened his computer, and considered composing an e-mail to her. But before he had typed a single word, he closed the computer and walked down the hall to her office. He wondered whether anyone had had a chance to look closely at Willow Hamilton's transfer records. He felt sure he would find a notation about her family situation.

Flora, Olivia, and Willow walked down Main Street one Friday afternoon. They scuffed their feet through the last of the autumn leaves, which were falling, tired and dull and sad, from several towering oak trees.

“The leaves look like they just ran out of energy,” remarked Willow as one drifted in front of her and landed at Olivia's feet. “They couldn't hang on anymore.”

“I guess in a way that's true,” said Flora. She stooped to pick up the leaf and twirled it on its stem. “Can you believe winter's almost here? It feels like it was just summer. But in a couple of weeks we'll be on Thanksgiving break.”

“Yum,” said Olivia. “I can't wait. We're going to my grandparents' for Thanksgiving this year.”

“To …” Willow paused. “To Gigi's?”

“No, to my other grandparents'. But Gigi and Poppy will be there, too. What are you guys going to do?”

Flora grinned. “Mr. Willet invited Min, Ruby, Mr. Pennington, Aunt Allie, and me to come to Three Oaks for Thanksgiving. He said they give this enormous, fancy dinner there. Turkey and gravy and stuffing and pumpkin pie. Everything!”

“Cool,” said Olivia. “What about you, Willow?”

Willow shrugged. “We haven't made any plans yet.”

“Oh.” Olivia stopped in front of Sincerely Yours. “Well, I'll see you guys later.” She disappeared through the door, ready to start her afternoon of work.

Willow looked longingly through the window.

“Want to go in for a few minutes?” Flora asked her.

Willow shook her head. “No. I was just thinking that Olivia's really lucky. I mean, to have a job and” (she waved at Mrs. Walter, who had come out from behind the candy counter to give Olivia a hug) “well, she's lucky, that's all.”

They continued down the street, and when they reached Needle and Thread, Flora opened the door and stuck her head in. “Hi, Min!” she called. “I'm going home now.”

Min, who was ringing up a customer, signaled to Flora to come inside. “Hi, girls,” she said a few moments later as the customer left with her purchases. “Flora, what do you want to do about dinner tonight?”

“Well, I know what Ruby will want to do.”

“Pizza?”

“Pizza.”

“I think we've had enough pizza lately. Is chicken okay with you? I could pick one up on the way home. Just turn the oven on at five o'clock, and I'll take care of everything else.”

Flora hugged Min across the counter, then hurried out of the store.

“Is your grandmother always like that?” asked Willow.

“Like what?”

“So …” Willow scrunched up her face, thinking. “So calm,” she said at last.

Flora shrugged. “I guess. Well, actually, she's gotten, um, calmer, as Ruby and I have gotten older. We're allowed to be home by ourselves now, and sometimes we cook a little.” The girls left Main Street and a few minutes later turned onto Aiken Avenue. “Willow? Can I ask you something?” said Flora, and without waiting for an answer, she continued, “Whatever happened with house arrest?”

Willow made a face. “It's over. I mean, Mom forgot about it.”

“She forgot about it? But it sounded like such a big deal.”

“Listen, don't try to understand my mother. No one understands her. Not even my father.”

Flora frowned. “Well, what were you under house arrest for?”

“An, um, infraction.”

“Of?”

“Just my mom's rules.”

“But what did you
do
?” Flora paused, suddenly realizing that she sounded a bit like ghoulish Ruby, eager for all the details of someone's misfortune. “If it isn't too personal,” she added lamely.

Willow muttered something about doors, and Flora decided not to press the point. When the girls were standing in front of the Hamiltons' house, Flora looked at her watch and said, “Hey, Willow, you're home later than usual. Is that going to be all right with your mother?”

“My mom's not here. She won't be home for about an hour. She took Cole to the mall to get his hair cut.” Willow sounded quite pleased about this.

“Are you sure she isn't home?” asked Flora.

“Positive. Why?”

“Could I come in? This was the Willets' house for so long and, I don't know, I just wondered what it looked like now. I could tell Mr. Willet about it the next time I'm at Three Oaks.”

“Well … okay,” replied Willow. She led the way along the path to the front door. As she searched through her purse for her house key, she said, “Take your shoes off, okay?”

“Take my shoes off?” Flora repeated. When Willow didn't answer, Flora removed her sneakers by stepping on the heel of each one with the toes of the other foot. She waited in her sock feet while Willow unlocked the door and stooped to take off her own shoes, which she carried into the hall. Then she leaned back outside to arrange Flora's sneakers so that only the heels were touching, the toes pointing in opposite directions as the shoes formed a severe line.

Flora was about to ask her what she was doing when again an image of nosy Ruby nudged its way into her head. She kept her mouth shut.

Flora stepped into Willow's house. “Gosh, it's dark —” she started to say, then stopped herself. “But it looks really nice with all the shades down. It's, um, cozy.”

“No, it isn't,” replied Willow. “It's claustrophobic.” She shrugged her shoulders and spread her hands as if to say, “But what can I do about it?”

Flora poked her head into the Hamiltons' living room. “This is just like our house,” she told Willow. “I mean, you have the same floor plan. The houses on either side of you are opposite. They're mirror images. Olivia explained that to Ruby and me one day.”

“Has Olivia lived in the Row Houses all her life?” asked Willow.

“Yup. She was born here. So was her mother. So was my mother. So was Min, for that matter.”

“Wow. That is so cool.”

Flora was busily looking around, taking in everything so she could give Mr. Willet a detailed report when she saw him. The very first thing she noted was that the living room was as neat as a pin. Not a single thing was out of place. Throw pillows were arranged symmetrically on the couch. A lamp was positioned in the exact center of each end table. There was not a speck of dust in sight. Flora thought of her own living room. When she had run by it on her way out the door that morning, she had noted vaguely that she and Ruby had left an unfinished game of Monopoly on the floor. King Comma wasn't in the room, but Flora could see where he had been sleeping because he had left a ring of black fur on a green couch cushion. Two half-gnawed bones belonging to Daisy Dear lay before the fireplace. And Min's knitting spilled out of its bag and onto an armchair.