The Waking (The Upturned Hourglass) (11 page)

The sounds of Luci’s home on Halloween night—her mother cooking dinner, her father pouring his collection of packaged toothbrushes in the plastic witches’ cauldron, her little brother chattering with his little friends as they donned their costumes for trick-or-treating—they all reminded Valie of only one thing this evening: Valie did not have a home of her own.

She’d never had a home really. Certainly, she’d never called Alden’s apartment building ‘home.’ The designation just didn’t fit, even when she was very young and didn’t think about the difference. The old man had provided a bed and food, nothing more, and even then, Valie had to beg money from him every week or so to go grocery shopping. The conversation almost always resulted in him barking at her about something or other, or else he would just walk away and Valie would later find twenty bucks on the counter in the kitchen. She had no attachment to Alden or her bed or her things—or
anything
really.

It suddenly struck her how big of a nothing her life truly was.
A big zero. What was a girl supposed to be doing with her life? She’d had tunnel-vision all of these years; she was almost eighteen and had never even looked up, much less in any direction.

Exactly what was out there for her? She’d never had a boyfriend. Clothes didn’t interest her—how could they? She couldn’t afford to go shopping every weekend at the mall in the city. She liked books because they offered her an escape—plus there just wasn’t a whole lot to do when you were naturally awake between the hours of
eight p.m. and four a.m.—but she wasn’t enamored with any particular author or genre. After all, they were just stories. Jonathan was the movie man, an interest Valie did not share. He and Luci were both computer nerds. Valie was a computer’s worst nightmare, because she inevitably screwed something up. Hollow . . . hollow and invisible . . . that’s how she felt.

What had Jack asked earlier? What was she going to do after she graduated?

Graduation day loomed. What
was
she going to do after she graduated? And why had she never really thought about it?

Even now, as she focused all of her thoughts on the future, her mind came up blank—void of any hopes or aspirations. She didn’t see herself here in Anders, but she didn’t see herself anywhere else, either.

Valie had somehow anchored herself to Alden—a stormy, turbulent harbor at best—and now, knowing she would not go back to stay with him, she felt adrift. Her eighteenth birthday was coming up in less than two months. Legally, she would be able to go wherever she liked. But where exactly would that be?

In frustration, Valie slammed the book closed and stared ahead at Luci’s white dresser which stood against the lilac-colored wall opposite the bed. Its top was scattered with random jewelry and make-up. Luci had tried to get Valie to put on make-up countless times.

“Not because you need it,” she had said reassuringly. “It’s just fun to highlight the things you want other people to notice. Like your eyes, Valie. They’re so pretty.”

Valie scowled at the dresser as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror that hovered above it. Jack certainly hadn’t seemed enamored with her eyes. In fact, he had seemed disturbed by them more than anything—and not just by her eyes, but her whole life’s story that, somehow, he had dragged out of her.

Why had she let that happen? She knew better than to open up like that.

She hated how her mind wandered to him more than it should. She hated that she could picture him perfectly, smell the woodsy scent he wore. . . .

For her own good, she needed to forget Jack Haden.

But his face wouldn’t disappear; his scent clung to her memories as if he were there beside her.

“Ugh!”

Valie tore herself from the bed and took up a position by the slightly open window that looked out onto the street, thinking the fresh air would help to clear her head. It was cold outside, but the young kids that were just beginning to wander the streets were undeterred by the weather. An older group of teenagers who she recognized from school were wandering toward what Valie knew to be Tim Wallash’s house a few blocks away.

Maybe there
was
a way to forget Jack Haden for one night….

After ransacking Luci’s walk-in closet, which was filled with wacky outfits and costume pieces—Luci had a “taste for flair” as she liked to put it—eventually, Valie found a black, strapless dress that just grazed her knees. Luci had always complained that the dress was too long on her which, considering her diminutive size, was probably true—lucky for Valie though, because it fit her perfectly.

Valie glanced at the floor-length mirror at the back of the closet. Shifting her hips in a circular motion, she watched as the dress softly swished around her knees in either direction. One glance at her bare feet, though, had her back in the closet digging for any shoes she may have randomly left during one of her stays at the house. Valie’s feet would never fit into any of Luci’s
midget shoes, not even the flip-flops.

Finally Valie found a pair of black flats she had worn to the Anders High fall play which Luci had dragged her to a month before, a play she had
insisted
Valie dress up for, the same play that practically no one showed up to.

To finish off the simple costume, Valie found a sparkling white half-mask, fit for a masquerade ball. One more look in the mirror told her she was ready to go to the Halloween party. She didn’t know what she was going
as
, but she definitely looked different than she usually did.

On the way out of the door, Mrs. Whitworth called from the kitchen.

“Going out, Valie? I thought you were spending the night?”

“I am, if that’s still okay. I just decided to join Luci at the Halloween party at the Wallash’s house.”

“Alright, but take a jacket, dear. It’s freezing outside.”

“Okay, Mrs. Whitworth. Thanks!”

Valie snagged a scarf and Luci’s old, black overcoat that hung on a peg by the front door. It was the same jacket she had borrowed a thousand times before; in fact, she had probably used the thing more than Luci had. Maybe that’s why Luci had asked for a new one last Christmas.

Idly, as Valie wove in between the giggling groups of children in their pirate, princess and monster costumes, she wondered if Luci would approve of her impromptu outfit. She supposed she was about to find out.

To say the Wallash’s upscale house was well-decorated was an understatement. It had been completely transformed so that it no longer looked like just another suburban house, but a haunted, macabre manor house filled with ghosts and other demons of the night. The outer front walls were covered in some dark, garbage-bag-like material with neon paint splattered on its surface and cobwebs extending from the roof to the ground. The natural corners of the house were left intentionally free of decoration to make them seem like shadows from which anything might jump out and grab you.

Valie noticed that most of the little kids were avoiding Tim’s house, not brave enough to go up to the front door, mostly due to the fact that a ghoulish figure sat in a rocking chair nearby. The figure was wearing what looked to be a very detailed wolf-man mask, and the body was so realistic that it was impossible to tell if it were a real person sitting there or not. Valie ventured a guess and assumed none of her classmates would be willing to just sit there all night when there was a party inside.

She quickly ascended the front steps to ring the doorbell, but she refused to turn her back on the strange seated figure—just waiting for it to come to life. She rang the bell, while glancing behind.

“Hey!”

Valie jumped and had to stifle a scream with her hand as Tim greeted her. She quickly realized why he had had to yell, though. The music from inside was throbbing through the house like a loud heartbeat and there were people crowding everywhere, moving and flowing through the halls like blood through arteries.

Tim looked a little bleary-eyed, a look Valie was more than familiar with, so she wasn’t surprised to see the red cup in his hand and smell the beer on his breath. Her classmate was a relatively nice guy who seemed to get along with just about everyone. In sophomore year, Luci had tried to convince Valie that he had a crush on her, but she had completely dismissed the notion. Tim was nice to Valie, but he was nice to everyone.

“I’m glad you came! Hey, you look great!”

Relaxing, Valie smiled and replied with appreciative thanks. She glanced past Tim, trying to figure out if she could survive the crowds with her claustrophobia, when Tim grabbed her by the hand and pulled her inside.

“It’s freezing outside. Come on in! You can stash your coat here in the closet.” He pointed to a closet just inside the entryway.

Valie did so before following Tim to the living room where the music was blasting and lots of kids were jumping in time with the beat of the music, coupling off and dancing together boisterously. Valie didn’t think she could survive in the house without hyperventilating so she looked around at the faces and then yelled to Tim, “Have you seen Luci or Jonathan?”

“Oh, yeah!
They got here earlier! Actually, I think they went straight to the backyard.”

Valie didn’t get a chance to venture another question before Tim started pushing through the mass of people to get to the back door. Valie took a deep breath and followed. Just when she began to panic, she found her way to the open air of the patio.

The house must have been built on a double lot, because the backyard was very deep, much bigger than she had expected. Every inch of it was lit with orange and black paper lanterns that dangled from the wide trellis she stood under and from trees around the patio, and then were stretched along wires to a large eucalyptus tree that stood majestically on the further side of the yard. The fence, too, was lit up with permanent white lighting and decorative lights shaped like pumpkins. About three dozen people in groups dotted the deck and on into the grass where there were covered tables and chairs set up, each with small jack-o-lanterns as center-pieces. One large rectangular table was outfitted with orange and black tablecloths which were mostly obscured by mounds of snacks and drinks--including two kegs of beer. The feel of the yard, though full, was much less crowded than the house and Valie found herself able to breathe.

“Wow,” she murmured.

“You like it? It took days to decorate the whole house. It wasn’t supposed to rain tonight and my parents are away for the week to visit my grandma and I guess I just felt like taking advantage.” Tim grinned boyishly and laughed a little too hard. “Anyway, I have to go catch up with Robbie. We’re trying to set up a beer-pong table in the basement, but that involves clearing out all of the couples that are . . . uh, also taking advantage.” Tim tried to wink insinuatingly, but both eyes blinked instead. He didn’t look like he noticed or cared.

“Sounds like hard work,” Valie laughed, though it was more
at
Tim than
with
him. “I’ll catch you later, then.”

“Later!”

Tim disappeared back into the throbbing house. Still smiling, Valie descended from the deck to the yard to look for Luci and Jonathan.

“I have to say, I didn’t take you for a partier, sweets.”

Valie froze without turning around at the sound of the smooth, low voice behind her. She suddenly found herself searching for escape routes as she looked out at the groups of people on the lawn.

“You seem a little more like a bookworm to me.”

“I’m neither,” Valie replied coldly. She still did not face the boy that spoke from very close behind her. “Why are you here, Jack?”

“The same reason everyone else is: Tim invited me.”

Valie rolled her eyes. It was like she had said to Luci a thousand times before: Tim was nice to
everyone
, even those he shouldn’t be nice to. So much for keeping herself distracted from her Jack Haden problem. Even now her heart did somersaults as he spoke.

“Well, that’s not entirely true, I guess,” Jack continued in a quieter tone—almost a whisper. Valie suddenly felt like he was leaning closer to her. She had grown cold from the night air and she was distinctly aware of the warmth of his body heating the skin of her bare back. “I came because I wanted to be here.”

“Well, the drinks are over there.” Valie said as she took one of her crossed arms away to jab a thumb in the backwards direction toward the table with the snacks and refreshments. “So go have a good time. I hope to
not
see you again later,” she retorted.

“Well that would be hard, now, wouldn’t it? Considering you still
haven’t looked at me.”

Walk away, Valie.
Run
away,
the girl encouraged herself.

Valie’s jaw locked, unable to ignore the challenge in Jack’s words. She didn’t want to look at
Jack, she didn’t want to see those ridiculously blue eyes that spoke more deeply to her than the boy’s own words. She wanted to keep walking, to ignore the boy who had hurt her only hours before. But she’d been slapped with a glove and she couldn’t just walk away.

Slowly, she turned around only to cry out when she was met with the face of a wolf right in front of her own.