Shucked (12 page)

I gasped. It was one of the few
intact dogu in the world and I’d held it in my hands, played with it, slept
with it, and even tossed it in the air a couple of times. If I’d destroyed it,
I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.

Anger bubbled up in my gut, the same
thing I usually felt when it came to my mom. If she was going to send me a
priceless artifact, she could have at least said it was a collector’s item and
worth a lot so I wouldn’t play with it. If I broke the dogu, it would be on
her, not me.

“And then I’m going to do some
research. There’s something big going on here, Becky. We need to figure it
out.”

“Together?”

“Together.”

Becky and I shook hands. So much for
a quiet life on the farm.

Chapter Seventeen

After school, I ran from the bus stop
to the front porch. I rattled the handle, frustrated Mimi left it totally
locked up, even when she was home and she knew I was coming. Reaching into my
backpack, I pulled out the set of keys Gramps had grudgingly given me. He kept
telling me if I lost them that someone would use them to break in the house. As
if they’d magically know which house the keys went to.

Before I could get past the third
lock, Mimi flung the door open. She looked at me with quizzing look. “How was
your day, Tabitha?”

“Fine, thanks.” I slipped under her
arm, kicked off my shoes, and ran up the rickety stairs to my bedroom. I
slammed the door shut, ignoring the scent of freshly baked cookies wafting
under the door. Tossing my backpack on the floor, I ran over to my bookshelf,
scared the dogu had gone missing.

But there it was, sitting in the
exact same place it was when I left for school in the morning. I didn’t have
any of my field tools with me, so I slipped a sock over my hand. I reached out,
carefully, now with reverence for the item I’d played with so carelessly.

As I slipped it into my
cotton-covered hand, I marveled at the workmanship. What had seemed to be machine
made now astounded me at the detail. It was a masterpiece made from clay. The
symmetrical swirls, like tattoos, drifted across the waist and legs of the
small figure. It must have taken an artisan with very steady hands to craft
something so intricate thousands of years ago with primitive tools.

My heart leapt around in my chest. I
tried to calm myself and look around my room for the box it had arrived in. Mom
had packed it in packing peanuts and that was exactly where it was going. I
wouldn’t risk one more second with it just hanging around in my room.

A brown cardboard corner stuck out
underneath my bed. I kicked it out with my foot and it tumbled across the
threadbare carpet. Reaching down, I grabbed the box and dropped it on my bed. I
sat down next to it and carefully nestled the dogu in the peanuts. Before I closed
the flaps, I whispered a simple
sayonara
.

Now where to hide it? I couldn’t just
leave it sitting out. I headed over to the closet, pulled down the attic
ladder, and climbed up. I’d never been in there before. I’d always thought
ghosts hid up there, making the house groan and creek in the night. Even though
I was old enough to know better, I’d seen things with shamans in South America
that led me to believe there was far more out there than we could see. They
took hallucinogenic drugs, stupidly forbidden to females, and the shamans would
hold private meetings to impart their visions.

Even though we couldn’t participate,
I heard things and saw things outside the tents I couldn’t explain. It
reaffirmed my fears, but led me to be even more curious about what I couldn’t
see or touch.

Dust bunnies scattered across the
floor, hiding from destructive feet. Boxes were stacked three or four high,
containing treasures Mimi couldn’t bear to part with. A few steamer trunks,
probably worth thousands at auction, dotted the floor, filled with even more
treasures. When I was little, Mimi had tried to coax me to go through her private
memories, or so she called them. I’d always shaken my head vehemently, scared
of what was up there.

Out of respect for Mimi, I didn’t
open any of the boxes. Someday soon I’d join her, candles in hand, and go
through her treasures. Today I had to find a hiding place for the dogu, and
fast, before she realized I was up there.

I tiptoed over to the corner,
stepping on a floorboard that creaked so loud I thought I’d hear her calling me
right away. I waited a moment, holding my breath, until I was sure she hadn’t
heard me. I set the boxed dogu behind a huge blue steamer, studded with golden rivets.

I backed up a few steps. No one would
ever see it there, not unless they moved the steamer trunk. Without a proper
light, and even in the filtered sunlight from the filthy attic window, the box
remained hidden in the shadows.

And it would stay there until my mom
decided to grace us with her presence. I didn’t want anything to do with a
stolen artifact.

I climbed down the ladder, making
sure to keep my footing solid. The last thing I need was to fall and break my
ankle. It would bring up too many questions that I didn’t want to answer. Then
again, maybe it would help me turn Alex’s eye away from Kailey.

Chapter Eighteen

“So, have you started thinking about the
Harvest Dance yet?” Becky nibbled on a fingernail like a rabbit with a
cloverleaf. I’d just finished a second tutoring session with Alex, but Becky
stuck around because she said she wanted to talk to me about something. Alex
acted like the professional Mr. Fenton wanted him to be. He taught me math
without a hint of the closeness I thought we’d established – before Kailey
sucked him back in.

“Isn’t biting your nails bad for your
modeling?” I whispered to her, making sure no one else was around. I was also
trying to change the topic. I had a vague idea of what the Harvest Dance entailed
and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a part of it. It was Alex or no one. Not that
I’d interacted much with any other boys in school yet. It’s not like anyone was
lining up to ask me out on a date.

She shrugged, her braids bouncing on
her shoulders. “Nah. They put on acrylics if I need them. It’s not like I’m a
hand model or anything.”

“It’s a little gross,” I said in the
kindest way possible. I even forced a little smile.

“Yeah, I know. I’ve tried to stop,
but it hasn’t worked yet.” She took another nibble. “Obviously. Hey, I’m
skipping school on Monday. I’ve got a job in Chicago for a prom print ad.”

“Prom? Isn’t that in the spring?”

“Yeah, but these things are done
months in advance. Anyway, my mom said you can come along with me if it’s okay
with your grandma.”

“Really?” I tried to not to squeal. “That
sounds like so much fun! Will your mom drive us?”

Becky shook her head and wiped her
damp fingers on her jeans. I tried not to vomit in my mouth.

“She’ll take us to the train and
we’ll go into the city by ourselves. I do it all the time,” she said.

I continued to smile so hard my cheeks
began to ache. But I didn’t care. Finally, I could blow this town for a day and
escape to somewhere much more fun. “I’m sure she’ll let me go. I mean, why
wouldn’t she? I’ve been places around the world that are far more dangerous than
Chicago.”

And maybe we could slip away to the
Field Museum. I’d done some research on the Internet last night. Even though
they didn’t have any dogu in their collection, they did have an extensive Asian
exhibit. On the off chance I could talk to one of the employees, maybe I could
get some information. One thing I’d learned hanging around archaeologists
– they were always in each other’s business. If there was something to
know, I might be able to cajole it out of one of them.

“Great! Okay, I’ve gotta run. I need
to finish my homework and get some beauty sleep over the weekend. Call me as
soon as you have permission.”

Becky ran off down the hall, the
opposite direction of me. She could walk home. I had to wait for Mimi in the
parking lot. I’d hoped Alex would have offered to drive me home again, but since
he was back with Kailey he acted like I barely existed. My pride wouldn’t allow
me to ask him for a ride, either.

I’d called Mimi during lunch and
asked if she’d pick me up. She didn’t ask why Alex wasn’t driving me home again
and I didn’t offer an explanation. Talking about what happened might trigger the
tears again.

I slipped on a pair of sunglasses as
I stepped out of school. Mimi’s station wagon sat idling not far from the front
door. I jogged over, cocooning myself inside her car as fast as I could. I took
a deep breath, filling my lungs with Becky’s great invitation and blowing out Alex’s
crappy turnaround.

“Mimi, Becky’s going into Chicago Monday
for a shoot. She asked me to go with her. Is that okay?” Mimi knew about
Becky’s modeling career. She knew everything no one else in town knew.

Her steely grey eyes focused on the
two-lane road in front of her. Fields meandered past us, the corn tall and
waving to us in the light breeze. I rolled the window down, letting the pure
freshness wash my sinuses. The country had its own unique smell, a combination
of manure, animals, and dirt. I’d never admitted it out loud, but it was my
favorite scent.

“I’m not so sure, Tabitha.” She held
up a hand in the air, cutting me off before I could protest. “I know you can
handle yourself. I’m not concerned about that. My worry comes from your
schoolwork.”

I sank down in the seat, the old
leather crackling under my butt.

“You’re new to formal schooling. I’m
not quite sure you’ve completely caught on yet.”

I rifled through my backpack and
pulled out my math homework. I waved it around, the big red A screaming my
success. Okay, in reality it only meant I was really good at Googling answers.
I didn’t consider it cheating yet because I was still learning. I needed all
the help I could get. “I’m getting it Mimi, I really am.”

So it was a lie. But I would get it
soon. I would.

Mimi sighed, her eyes darting toward
me, but not leaving the empty road for long. “I’m going to let you go. But only
because I think you could use it. This week has been completely life changing
for you. Your mother…”

She trailed off like she always did
when she talked about my mom, which wasn’t much.

“Well, regardless of your mother’s
decisions, I’m glad this came up.” She paused, her voice a little quieter. “I
wasn’t sure what to do to make you feel better other than baking up another
batch of cookies.”

My heart tugged a little. She’d
always loved me in such quiet ways and rarely expressed it. It was just as hard
for her as it was for me. When I was little, I sometimes wished she was my mom.

“Thanks, Mimi. Really. Thank you so,
so much.” Guilt scraped at my chest, reminding me I’d lied to get permission. But
the math could wait. It was only one day. I still had the whole weekend to look
at the textbook again and try to make sense of it all.

Chapter Nineteen

Becky and I stood on the platform,
waiting for the train to pull up. Bright and early, her mom picked me up and drove
us thirty minutes to the nearest town with a train stop.

“You girls both have your money and
your return tickets, right?” She fidgeted around nervously next to us. “I’m a
little concerned sending you out alone.”

“Mom, I do this all the time. What’s
the big deal? You should feel better because Tabitha’s with me. There’s even
less of a chance something will go wrong. Not that anything ever does, so wipe
that freaked out look off of your face.”

I ducked my chin and laughed into the
front of my hoodie. Mrs. O’Connor did look seriously concerned with her
eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed. But then she surprised me by rolling her
eyes.

Her finger pointed right at my nose.
“Tabitha, I hope you’re nothing like your mother. When we were your age, we
used to get into big trouble all the time. And most of the stuff we did, no one
ever found out about.”

My ears perked up at that. Mom never
talked about high school. I didn’t even know she’d had a best friend as a kid
until Becky laid out the whole story. “Like what?”

Mrs. O’Connor shook her head. “Nope.
I’m not telling you. I just want the two of you to know that I’m watching. I’m
tracking your phone, Becky, so I’ll know if you go somewhere you shouldn’t.”
She waggled a finger in the air at us.

My mom hadn’t ever cared where I went
or when, as long as I eventually came home. It was nice having someone care
about me that way. Even if she was being a total helicopter mom.

“Mom, seriously? I’ve never done
anything wrong in my entire life. You couldn’t ask for a more perfect,
well-behaved child.”

From what I’d seen of Becky, I was
pretty sure she wasn’t lying. I felt kind of bad I was going to ask her to lie
later today. I had to get to the Field Museum. It was too important to let the
opportunity go.

“I just want to see Chicago, Mrs. O’Connor.
I promise we won’t do anything stupid. Trust me, I’m not my mom.” Guilt crept
around my insides, but I pushed it away. We weren’t doing anything that was
going to get us in trouble. Museums were harmless.