Secrets: The Hero Chronicles (Volume 1) (13 page)

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Why haven’t you worked on your problems yet?”

“I was waiting to see how long it would take for you to look at me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Now don’t get upset, Nicholas. I was curious to see if your avoidance of me also applied to looking at me in class. Have I done something to make you upset with me?” she asked.

“No, you haven’t.”

“Then what is it? You don’t have to answer me now, but give me a chance to be your friend at least. Tomorrow at lunch let me eat with you. I will get my food and meet you under the stairs.” Her angelic face looked innocent. Blood started to rush to my face.

“Please don’t be upset with me,” she continued. “I came back to see if you were okay today and saw you go into the stairwell. I went in there to find you, and I heard you under the stairs. I didn’t say anything to you because I was afraid that you would think I was stalking you.”

I was speechless.

“Well, I will assume from your silence that it’s okay to eat with you.” She began to work on her problems, breezing through them just as I had. I watched her work on her problems. Her fluid, artistic writing was just another thing that made her perfect in my eyes. The bell rang.

The next day in class Elle didn’t say anything to me, but she had a big smile on her face. Every time we made eye contact, the butterflies in my stomach exploded.

“Breathe,” I whispered to myself. It didn’t help.

I sprang to my feet when we were dismissed for lunch and was the first one out the door. I took a different path to my hiding spot. There seemed to be a bigger crowd in the halls and around the entrance to the stairs than last time. After a couple of minutes, I slipped through the door and slid back behind the stairs. Sitting under the stairs was not relaxing at all. It was more like sitting in a dentist chair, waiting for the drill. I propped myself up against the wall, waiting for her. Each time the door opened, I held my breath. Maybe she forgot.

“Nicholas, it’s me,” Elle called under the stairs like she was waiting for me to open a secret door to let her in. She peaked her head in. She looked around at the small space like she was sizing it up. I hadn’t really seen her yet today. She looked stunning as usual. She was a bright ray of sunshine in this dark, poorly lit place under the stairs. She always dressed very simply, but it made her look even more beautiful and breathtaking. Her beauty was indescribable. She didn’t have to wear all the fancy clothes or jewelry that the other kids wore.

“Is this seat taken?” she asked. “Oh, a smile. Careful, I might think you want to be friends.” If only she knew what I thought about her.

“So what are you eating, Nicholas? Anything good?”

I showed her the gourmet sandwich and pasta salad that Cora had made me.

“Wow! Did you get that here?” She had a tossed salad, french fries, and a grape pop that she had gotten from the cafeteria. It looked pretty standard.

“No, my mom made it. She’s kind of like a chef. Well, not quite, but she loves to cook.”

“Well, no wonder you don’t eat the cafeteria food all the time. If my mom packed lunches like that, I would avoid the cafeteria too!” It wasn’t one of Cora’s fancier lunches, but the bread was homemade and the turkey had a cranberry dressing on it. I guess the sandwich next to the tri-color pasta salad looked pretty fancy.

I took a bite of my sandwich. She began to eat her salad, croutons first, dipping them into her dressing. When they were gone, she stabbed one piece of lettuce at a time, dipping them the same way she did her croutons. In between her bites of salad, she would take one of the fries and dip it into her ranch dressing too. She was absolutely adorable.

“So why are you eating under here?”

I didn’t have to think hard about this one. Cora had prepared me to answer this question a million times. “I like my privacy.”

She thought for a moment in between ranch-covered fries. “I can leave if you’d like.”

I cut her off. “No, no, that’s fine.” My lack of control amused her, making her grin from ear to ear.

“Good. I wasn’t going to leave anyway. I am determined to be your friend. You’re stuck with me, Mr. Nicholas Keller.” I loved the way my name rolled off her tongue. It made me feel important, like someone special.

“So what’s forcing you under the stairs? Being private is one thing, but this is . . .” She shrugged her shoulders as if to tell me I was mental.

“Well, I just don’t like all the attention, you know, with all the football stuff.”

“What did you expect? You are the first underclassman to start varsity—heck, to be on varsity. Not to mention you’re a great player!”

I looked down hoping she didn’t see my red cheeks. “I didn’t know that I was good before I came here. Well, actually, I never thought I would play.”

“Why? You must have been the star player at your last school.”

“Elle, I had never played in an actual game before, not even a scrimmage. I only played football because my dad did.”

“What does your dad think now with you being the big time varsity star?”

I didn’t look up to answer. “My dad died some time ago.”

“Oh, Nicholas, I’m so sorry.” She took my hand and her warmth flowed through my body, making me feel comforted. Elle looked horrified that she had asked such a hurtful question, but how could she have known?

“Elle, it’s okay. He’s been gone for a while now.”

Her eyes watered up.

“Please, Elle, it’s okay.” I grabbed her other hand to comfort her. I couldn’t bear to see her sad.

“I really stuck my foot in my mouth, and here you are trying to make me feel better about it. I was right, you are something special, Nicholas.”

I let go of her hands and sat back.

“Nicholas, do you mind if I eat with you tomorrow?”

I smiled. “I would like that very much.”

“Well, great! It’s a date! We better get going.”

We walked back to class together. It was the first time I had walked through the halls without looking over my shoulder. With her around, all my worries vanished.

THE VISIT

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

T
he rest of the week was peaceful. With Elle at my side, the occasional uncomfortable situations were muted. She was very calming. I ate lunch with Elle everyday. I don’t know what she said to her friends about why she was gone at lunch, but I didn’t care, just as long as she was with me. Friday was no different than the last couple of days, but it was game day so I did get a little more attention than normal with people wishing me good game and such.

I was going to make a couple of key plays just to keep us from losing. That was my game plan from now on. I figured if I just did that, I would still be able to start but not bring attention to myself so I could stay on the team.

I walked home from the bus stop. Cora was in the kitchen.

“Hey, Nicholas, what do you want to eat before tonight’s big game?”

I walked into the kitchen. Cora was wearing a green and gold jersey that had a white “32” on the back, my number.

“Cora, where did you get that?”

“Well, I wanted to show support. The moms of the varsity team got these made, so I threw caution to the wind and bought one to support the Boosters. Do you like it?”

“Of course! It just caught me off guard.”

By Cora doing this, she would bring attention to herself and inevitably to me. With her playing the part of my mom, I was sure people in the stands would treat her the same way I was treated at school—like a celebrity.

“So what do you want for dinner before the game?”

“I will take a mushroom burger.”

“Okay, coming right up.”

Just then the doorbell rang.

“Nicholas, are you expecting someone?” She didn’t look too concerned.

“It’s probably Eric seeing if I need a ride to the game tonight. I didn’t get to talk to him today.”

“Okay, then will you get the door?” Her hands were already covered in raw meat. I walked to the door and opened it. A man and a woman stood outside the door. They were dressed like most of the wealthy older couples that lived around here. He was wearing loafers with pressed khaki shorts and a green polo shirt. She was wearing matching shorts, a gold shirt, and a large white derby hat.

The lady spoke, “Is Cora home?” I stood there. Something about her made me feel uneasy. I wanted to slam the door on the two of them. “Nick, is Cora home?” the lady asked again. Cora was suddenly standing next to me.

“Hello, Cora,” the lady said.

Cora stood frozen, staring at the pair of them. Her mouth was wide open. Something was wrong. I glanced outside to see if they were driving the sea green truck.

“You aren’t the people who have been following me, are you?” I blurted out.

The couple looked at me and then looked back at Cora. My paranoia was getting the best of me.

“What do you want? I told you I had nothing more to say to you at the scrimmage,” Cora said.

“I would like to have a word with you in private, dear.”

“Do we have to do this now? We are getting ready for the game tonight.”

“Yes, I know you are, but this can’t wait,” the lady responded firmly. Cora looked concerned. She was trying to tell me something, but I didn’t know what it was. Cora’s look went from concerned to scared, but that had to be a mistake because Cora was never scared of anything, especially not an old woman in some crazy, big hat.

“Now, now, dear. There is no reason to fret. Mr. Theasing can talk to Nick while you and I talk.”

Cora snapped at her, “His name is Nicholas.”

“Oh, yes indeed, I am so sorry dear. Cora, just a word, please. It will only take a moment.”

The couple walked in the front door without waiting to be invited. Cora did nothing to stop them. My muscles began to tense up. I could feel my heart starting to pound and the fire erupting. I was ready for whatever happened next. Cora grabbed my arm, sensing I was getting ready for a fight.

“Nicholas,” she looked into my eyes, “Ester and I are going to talk in the kitchen. Show Mr. Theasing to the family room. Talk about football.” She spoke very slowly in a calm tone.

“Oh yes, Henry loves his Winsor Cougar football,” Mrs. Theasing responded.

Mr. Theasing followed me into the family room. He sat down opposite me. I avoided making eye contact, trying to listen to Cora and Mrs. Theasing in the kitchen, making sure Cora was okay.

“So, Nicholas, you had one hell of a game last week.”

I didn’t look his way, hoping this would convince him to stop talking to me.

“Nicholas, you are the best player out there, even better than Oliver Rails.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you ready for tonight’s game against the Millville Eagles? They have a soft defense, so Oliver should play better.”

Cora’s conversation was growing louder. Something was wrong. I looked over at Mr. Theasing. He too was staring at the kitchen door, concerned or scared; it was hard to make out which. He began to look as white as a ghost. From the look of his reaction, he must not have known what his wife was planning to talk to Cora about. He caught me looking at him. He coughed, clearing his throat loudly enough that they could hear him in the kitchen. The heated debate silenced.

He turned his attention back to me. “You’ve been playing football for a while?”

“Well, sort of.”

“What? You had to have been a star before, right?”

“Well, I’ve been on teams for the past four years, but never played.”

“Surely you’ve played in some games before this year.”

“No, this is my first year of getting into games.”

He looked like someone had just punched him in the stomach, winding him. “Woo, a player of your caliber is a rare find. We are sure lucky to get you. You are the first underclassman—”

“I know,” I interrupted, “the first underclassman to play varsity. I know.”

Cora walked through the swinging kitchen doors completely expressionless. “Well, thanks for stopping by,” she said to Mrs. Theasing, sounding completely composed.

I got up and Mr. Theasing walked over to his wife, who was wearing a fake smile.

“Cora, thank you for your time, and good luck tonight in the game, Nick.” She smiled like she had made a joke. “Nicholas, I mean. We will be watching you with great anticipation.”

Cora’s solemn face didn’t change after she shut the door.

“So what was that all about? How do they know you? Were they the same people that you were talking to during my scrimmage?”

Cora turned toward me and said, “Nicholas, I will tell you everything, but not now. You have to do something for me, no questions asked.” Cora never kept anything from me so this must be serious.

“Okay, whatever you want,” I told her. I was looking into her brown eyes. She looked like a little lost kid not sure what was going to happen next.

“Quit football now,” she said.