Beckoners (21 page)

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I'm not a rat.”

“Everyone's going to know by the end of the day anyway, you've said so yourself. What's the difference if you tell now?”

“I never told anyone anything. That's the way I thought she wanted it. I'm not going to start spreading rumors now.” Zoe stabbed at her fries with her fork. “That's the difference.”

“Will you at least tell me how April found out? Did you tell her?”

“Why don't you ask her?” Zoe stabbed the fries harder. “Seeing as you two were both in on it.”

“I wasn't
in
on anything. I had no idea.” Leaf took her fork away. “I swear I didn't know. I thought it was all made up. I thought it was just a scenario. I thought it'd be a great way to get more people to read the paper, you know?” He took one of her hands in both of his. “Tell me what happened, Zoe.”

“You won't tell anyone?”

He kissed the back of her hand. “Never.”

“Okay.” Zoe took a deep breath and let it out slowly with the first words. “It was at Beck's birthday. I saw Jazz and Brady and freaked. I ran down the mountain and then Simon and Teo saw me and took me home. I was a mess. I went home and I wrote about it in my diary and April read it. The end.”

“So it was Jazz,” Leaf murmured.

Zoe covered her face with her hands again. “I didn't mean to say her name.”

There was a commotion in the far corner. A large chunk of the Jesus birthday cake flew across the room. Zoe looked up and saw the top of Beck's head.

“Where is she?” Beck hollered. “Zoe? If you're in here you better run for it because you are dead, bitch!”

Beck stormed down the middle of the cafeteria, dragging April behind her. The rest of the Beckoners and a posse of Brady's friends were close behind, all of them eating a piece of birthday cake. Beck pointed at Zoe. “On second thought, don't move!”

Jazz brought up the rear, clutching herself and staring at the linoleum as she dragged her feet. Heather stopped mid-stride and spun on her heel.

“Hurry your ass,
Jasvinder
.”

“We're leaving.” Leaf kicked a chair out of the way and stationed himself between the Beckoners and Zoe. “Let's go.” He took her hand and pulled her towards the fire exit, but Trevor blocked their way, flanked by two enormous I'll-do-anything-for-free-weed zombies Zoe had never seen before.

“You're not going anywhere.” A dollop of icing stuck on Trevor's chin. He stuck his tongue way out to lick it off.

Heather flounced up and jabbed Zoe in the chest. “Dog says she read about my party in your diary. But you know what? I don't believe her. I think you told her.”

“She didn't.” April gasped between sobs, cheeks blotchy and red. “She didn't tell me anything!”

“Shut up, bitch.” Beck shoved April onto her knees.

“Did you tell her?” Heather leaned forward. “Or did she read it in your little diary?”

“I didn't tell her anything. I didn't tell anyone.”

“See? I told you, Heather,” Janika said. “I said she never told, didn't I?” She turned to Lindsay for confirmation. Lindsay ignored her.

“This is ridiculous.” Leaf's grip on Zoe's hand tightened. “Do you people always act like you've had frontal lobotomies?”

“Stay out of this, tree boy.”

“Gladly, and I'll take Zoe and April with me. If you'll excuse us...” Leaf tried to push past Trevor, but Brady grabbed a hold of Leaf's collar and held him back.

“You're not going anywhere, asshole.”

Leaf held out his hand and smiled a used-car-salesman grin. “And you'd be the rapist?”

Brady let go of Leaf, balled his fist and ploughed Leaf in the face with such force that it knocked him over. Trevor stepped neatly to the side so Leaf would hit the floor when he fell. Leaf groaned, eyes squeezed shut.

“Leaf!” Zoe knelt beside him.

Lindsay towered over them with the iced teas. “You should ice that.” She dumped the ice tea onto them. Laughter cut through the spectators who'd gathered. Everyone closed in, like they'd all taken one giant step closer. All Zoe could see was a thick border of legs and torsos blocking the exit and cheering on the Beckoners.

“Ask Jazz!” April screamed, struggling to get up. Beck and Lindsay held her down, boots on her back. “Ask
her
why she's still a Beckoner! She's the one Brady raped!”

Jazz's dark eyes went as wide as pucks. The word “rape” rippled through the crowd disapprovingly, as though they were watching a hockey game and the away team had just scored.

“Shut up, April.” Zoe wiped her face with the bottom of her shirt. “Just shut up.”

“But it's not true!” Heather shouted at the crowd. “Don't you get it? Zoe made it up! It never really happened!”

“I didn't make it up.” It took all of Zoe's will not to look at Jazz. “It happened.”

“And what does that say about me, huh?” Brady loomed over her, rage dripping off him like sweat.

Zoe looked around, at the crowd hanging on her next words, at Heather, who stared hard at Jazz. Brady's scowl quivered.

Zoe took a deep breath. “Do you really want me to get into that here?”

“Zoe!” Simon called, following Teo, who was pushing their way through the crowd. “Leaf! Are you okay?”

“No,” Leaf mumbled.

Teo took one look at Leaf on the floor. He grabbed Brady by his collar.

“Did you do that? Huh?” Teo shook him. “Did you hit him?”

“Don't touch me, you faggot!” Brady struggled to get away. “Get him off me!”

Brady's friends surged forward.

“Fight! Fight!” the crowd chanted. “Fight! Fight!”

Teo let go of Brady. As Brady set himself up to punch Teo, Teo hooked the back of Brady's leg with his foot. Brady fell over backward. As Trevor grabbed one of Teo's arms, and one of his cronies grabbed the other, Teo strained forward, landing three hard kicks to Brady's side. Brady struggled onto his knees, and then stood, obviously in pain.

“Oh my God!” Simon climbed onto a table. “Help!” He waved both his arms frantically, as Brady took a moment to recover before starting in on Teo, who was being restrained.

“OKAY, break it up!” Cromwell's voice sliced the taut silence. The crowd booed in disappointment, and reluctantly split to let him through. Cromwell hurried forward, two security guards following him.

“What exactly is going on here?”

“Nothing, Cromwell.” Beck flashed him her princess-of-everything smile. Heather draped an arm over his shoulder and batted her eyes. He pushed her away and nodded at Leaf, whose nose was bloody, his eye swelling shut.

“What happened to you?”

“I fell.”

“Tell me something I'll believe.” Cromwell turned to the security guards. “Clear this place out. I want it empty. You,” he nodded at April, still huddled on the floor in tears. “What's the matter with you?”

“She tripped,” Lindsay said.

Cromwell whipped a finger at her. “I wasn't talking to you.” He pulled a balled-up tissue from his sports jacket and handed it to April. “Get up. Clean yourself up and wait for me in my office.”

“Oooo,” someone way back in the safety of the crowd sang, “April and Cromwell, sittin' in a tree...”

“ENOUGH!” Cromwell's face went a hot red. He held out a hand to April. “Get up.” April took his hand and struggled to her feet.

Cromwell got busy directing three more security guards who'd arrived.

“Hey, Dog, hang on,” Beck said. “I got something for you.” She smacked the back of April's head with a rolled up copy of the paper. “Bad dog,” she whispered. “Bad dog.” She hit her with the paper one more time, before Cromwell turned his attention back to the Beckoners. Beck handed the paper to April.

“Beck, you and your little savages are going straight to Mr. Seaton's office, accompanied by Officer Tucker here.” He sent them off with a guard fretting at their heels like a border collie. “And you two,” he wagged a finger at Zoe and Leaf, “the two of you get out of my sight before I change my mind about letting you go.”

Harris showed up the
next day, unannounced. Zoe knew it was him when he was still two blocks away. His truck had gotten worse. It was a miracle he'd made it all the way down from Whitehorse without it dying along the way. Zoe watched from her window as Alice ran, in her bare feet, through the icy rain to the truck. She leapt into his arms, covering his face with kisses.

“You're not moving in, are you?” Zoe sat on the bottom stair and watched him lug in two big suitcases.

Alice eyed her severely from the door.

“Nice to see you too, kid.” Harris opened his arms. Zoe stayed where she was. Cassy ran to him. Zoe couldn't help but feel betrayed. Harris swept her up and onto his shoulders. He kicked one of the suitcases. “And by the way, my crap's in the truck. These are full of presents.”

From that point on
, Zoe spent most of her time next door. This accomplished two things: avoiding Alice and Harris's happy little family act and avoiding the Beckoners. It was strange, not having the Dungeon to go to. They were all so used to the tiny room that even though Wish told them more than once that it was okay to come downstairs, Simon and Teo and Leaf and Zoe pretty much stayed in Leaf's room. April was not there.

That afternoon after the mess in the cafeteria, while she boiled and cooled teabags to put on Leaf's black eye, Zoe had sworn that she would never speak to April again. April had phoned at least once every day, and the guys had all tried to change Zoe's mind, but as far as Zoe was concerned, April had burned whatever creaky, rotting, carpenter ant infested bridge there had ever been between them.

The next time Zoe
saw April was in the mall on Christmas Eve. Zoe finally had to admit that Harris was not going to leave anytime soon, so she went out to buy him a present, leaving him and Alice happily bumping around the tiny kitchen, cooking and baking for that night's dinner at Fraser House. Alice twisted out of Harris's embrace as Zoe left.

“Be back before six, hon.”

“Yeah.” Zoe rolled her eyes as Harris began nibbling Alice's neck.

“I mean it,” Alice said. “Dinner's at seven.”

Zoe had truly believed
that the mall would be deserted except for a few last minute shoppers. On the contrary, it was crawling with crazed consumer lunatics fighting over the last this or that like it was food and they hadn't eaten in weeks. Zoe wondered how many of the dozen or so violent spats she witnessed involved self-proclaimed peace-loving Christians.

After over an hour of pushing her way through the crowds, Zoe just needed to sit down for a minute. She headed for the washroom on the upper level. Normally it was empty, but that day there was a lineup out the door of haggard mothers wrestling with squalling babies and red-faced toddlers. The two chairs just inside the door were both occupied by limp old ladies. Zoe joined the line and ended up sitting on a toilet until the bathroom slowly began to empty. At long last there was perfect silence, except for the Christmas carols piping in through tinny speakers in the ceiling.

The bathroom wasn't entirely empty, though. Zoe spied the familiar yellow canvas shoes first. It was April, slumped in one of the chairs by the door, a heap of shopping bags and packages on the chair beside her. When April saw her come out of the stall, she got up to leave. Zoe was too tired to be angry at that moment. She went to the sink and washed her hands, waiting for April to leave first.

April was halfway out the door, and then she paused.

“I'm really sorry, Zoe.”

Zoe ignored her.

“I'm sorry,” April said again.

“I heard you the first time.” Zoe dried her hands and put the paper towel in the garbage. “Where'd you go on Friday?”

“Cromwell sent me home.”

“Oh. Same with us.”

April sat down again. “You're still mad at me?”

“Of course I am.”

“Are you going to stay mad?”

“That's my plan.” Zoe wanted to leave, but she found herself
sitting beside April instead and saying, “You should never have read my diary. That wasn't right.”

April sighed. “We could go in circles with this. What you did wasn't right either.” She tightened her grip on her bags and stood up again.

“Wait,” Zoe said. “Maybe I didn't do the right thing, but a lot of people would've done the same thing in my place.”

“That doesn't make it right.”

“It might not, but still, what happened at Beck's birthday has nothing to do with what happened in the cafeteria. What I did or didn't do did not cause that.”

“No, it didn't.” April stared at her feet. “I'm sorry about the scenario. It was a stupid idea. I wasn't thinking about you at all. I just wanted to get back at the Beckoners. I screwed up.”

“You sure did.”

“How's Leaf? He looked terrible.”

“He's okay. There's hardly a bruise anymore. It'll make a good story some day.”

“What we go through for a story, huh?”

“You're telling me.” Zoe rehearsed the next words in her head several times before saying them out loud. “I owe you an apology.”

“What for?” April looked surprised.

“For the Beckoners. For everything. For treating you so bad.”

“You're not that bad.”

“But I have been.”

“Yeah. You have.”

“You know what's strange?” Zoe looked at April. “If I hadn't met Beck first...if things had happened in a different order...we might've been friends right from the beginning.”

“I don't know about that,” April said.

“I think it's true.” Zoe stood up. “You on your way home?”