The Wrong Number

“Hey—come back!” her father yelled. Chuck ignored him and kept jogging. Deena hesitated, looked back at her father, then followed Chuck.

  At the head of the tangle of cars a red Plymouth sat crumpled against the concrete divider, smoke pouring out of its engine. While Deena and Chuck watched, flames began to lick up from the bottom of the car toward the doors.

  “Look out!” someone shouted. “It’s on fire!”

  The crowd began to move back. Deena watched with horror as the fire began to grow. She edged back even farther on the shoulder, to get as far away from the car as possible. All at once she noticed that Chuck wasn’t with her. He was standing at the front of the crowd, staring at the flames as if he was hypnotized.

  Suddenly there was a brokenhearted scream from the crowd. “Tuffy’s in there!”

  Deena turned to look and saw a young boy holding a bloody towel to his forehead. “Tuffy!” the boy called. “Save Tuffy!”

  “There’s a dog in the car!” someone else shouted. And now Deena could see the face of a small black and white dog at the back window. The dog was jumping up and down, barking hysterically.

  The flames licked higher and higher.

  Suddenly someone broke loose from the crowd and began running toward the burning Plymouth.

  “No!” shouted a man in the crowd. “It’s going to blow up!”

  The figure kept running, then disappeared into the thick smoke.

  To her horror, Deena realized it was Chuck.

  “Chuck! Chuck! Come back!” she shrieked.

  But she was too late.

  The car exploded in a blazing fireball of red and orange flames.

  chapter

  3

  Even though it was after midnight by the time they got home, and even though school started the next day, Deena couldn’t sleep. She just lay in her bed, thinking about everything that had happened that night.

  While everyone in the crowd watched in silent horror, Chuck had come running out of the smoke and flames. Mr. Martinson came up just then. “What’s going on?” he demanded.

  No one answered. They were all staring at Chuck, his face and hands blackened by the explosion, his shirt ripped. He trotted back to the side of the road, carrying the black and white dog in his arms.

  “Tuffy! Tuffy!” screamed the little boy.

  “Chuck! What in the world?” cried Mr. Martinson.

  Chuck ignored everyone for a moment. He was petting the little animal, talking to it soothingly, his blackened face very close to the face of the dog. After a moment he straightened up, then handed the small animal to its owner. “Here, kid,” he said.

  The boy’s mother, who had a big bruise forming on the side of her face, impulsively hugged Chuck. “Oh, thank you,” she said. “You don’t know how much that dog means to Timmy. You’re a hero, you know that?”

  “Hey, it’s okay,” Chuck said, looking embarrassed. “I used to have a dog myself.”

  Deena gazed at her half-brother with new respect. He was standing there with the goofy grin on his face and he wasn’t even hurt, though he’d leapt into a burning car.

  Later, lying in bed thinking about it, Deena remembered what the woman had said. To everyone at the accident scene, Chuck had been a hero. He must really be brave, she thought.

  Or crazy.

  The next morning at breakfast Deena decided to let Chuck know she was proud of him and try to make him feel welcome. Her father had already left for work, and her mom was running late as usual.

  There wasn’t time for anything fancy, so she poured two bowls of bran cereal, then washed a bunch of blueberries and sprinkled them on top. She had almost finished eating hers when Chuck came in, yawning sleepily.

  “Hi, Chuck,” she said brightly. “I’ve fixed you some cereal. If we hurry, we can get to school early, and then, if you want, I can introduce you around.”

  For a moment Chuck just stared at her. “Forget it, kid,” he said. “1 don’t need any help getting along.”

  “But I only meant—” Deena stopped. Her cheeks were burning as if he had slapped her. He poured some milk on his cereal, not caring if it slopped out onto the table.

  A moment or two later Deena’s mom came into the kitchen, adjusting an earring. “Hurry up, kids,” she said. “I’ll drop you at school on the way to the office.”

  Without a word Chuck stood up and dumped his cereal into the sink. Deena just stared at him. What was the matter with him? she wondered. Was he really crazy?

  By the time she got to the lunchroom at noon Deena had nearly forgotten her troubles with Chuck. It was good to be back, she thought. Right after she had filled her tray and found a seat, Rob Morell came sauntering in with a bunch of guys from the track team, trying to look cool the way he always did.

  In the past Deena had thought Rob was as cool as he thought he was. After all, he was good-looking, smart, and a star athlete—the kind of boy she could never think of anything to say to. But that day, she felt different. She smiled, remembering her phone call Saturday night, and how she had had Rob eating out of her hand. It gave her a feeling of power, a feeling she could do anything she wanted.

  She stared at Rob and smiled, not caring if he saw or not. You might think you’re the hottest guy at Shadyside, she thought. But little do you know I’m the girl of your dreams. Yes, me. Shy, quiet little Deena!

  “Yoo-hoo! Anybody home?”

  Deena looked up, startled out of her daydream of power over Rob. Jade was standing behind her, holding a lunch tray. She was wearing a yellow- and white-striped sundress, and her long red hair was tied back with a white ribbon. She looked fabulous. In fact, all the boys in the lunchroom were staring at her.

  “Well? Do want me to join you? Or are you going to spend the rest of the afternoon in the clouds?”

  “Sure, Jade, have a seat,” Deena said.

  Jade set her tray down, then sat next to her friend. “I thought you’d be eating with your new brother,” she said.

  Deena shrugged. “He’s made it pretty clear he’s not interested in socializing with his little sister,” she said. She tried to sound as if she didn’t care one way or the other.

  “Oh,” said Jade, looking disappointed. Then she brightened and began looking around the crowded lunchroom. “Well, what does he look like, at least? Where is he?”

  “He’s—” Deena swiveled her head around the lunchroom, but she saw no sign of Chuck. “Well, I don’t know where he is,” she said. She frowned, suddenly nervous. Why wasn’t Chuck at lunch? she wondered. She knew they had the same lunch period.

  “I’ll meet him some other time,” Jade said. Then she leaned forward. “Guess who’s just become the hot couple of the month?” she said.

  “Who?” said Deena.

  “Bruce Kipness and Sherry Murdoch!”

  “Really?” Deena said. Bruce and Sherry were the two fattest kids in the school.

  “They’re both in my geography class, and they walked in holding hands this morning,” said Jade.

  “Well, I guess that’s nice,” said Deena.

  “Yeah, probably no one else would want to go out with either of them,” said Jade. “Oh, and I’ve got to tell you what Mrs. Overton was wearing. You know she cut her hair really short—almost as short as a boy’s.”

  “What?” said Deena.

  “I said Mrs. Overton—what’s the matter with you?” said Jade, sounding exasperated.

  “I don’t know,” Deena said. “I guess I’m a little worried about Chuck. Somehow I have a feeling he—”

  Before she could finish her thought, her words were cut off by a sudden banging as the cafeteria doors flew open. Deena turned to look, but all she could see were two bodies crashing into a stack of used trays by the door.

  “Fight!” someone shouted, and the room echoed with the noise of chairs being scraped back, dishes and silverware clattering onto the tables.

  By now everyone was standing, and a crowd had started to gather by the doors. Deena was on tiptoe, st
ruggling to see who it was.

  “It’s Bobby McCorey,” Jade called over the excited shouts of the other kids. “He’s fighting with some new kid!”

  Uh-oh, Deena thought. She climbed up on the chair to see. “Oh, no,” she groaned. “It’s Chuck.”

  “Look out!” a girl beside her cried. “The new kid’s got a knife!”

  chapter

  4

  Okay, okay.

  So he was having a little trouble keeping it together.

  Big deal.

  The plan was still working, right on schedule. Still no one suspected a thing.

  Only one more week now. One more week and he could put the final step of his plan into effect.

  One more week and all his troubles would be over.

  Nothing could stop him now. Nothing and nobody.

  It would just be too bad for anyone who tried.

  chapter

  5

  The Second Week in September

  This school year was going to be a disaster. Deena was sure of it. It was Saturday afternoon, the kind of late summer day when you knew fall would be coming soon. She was standing in the circular driveway in front of her house wearing an old bathing suit under cutoff shorts, washing her mother’s silver-colored Civic.

  But her mind wasn’t on the Honda, it was on all the awful things that had happened the past week.

  First there were her classes—all of them were harder than she’d expected. Why had she decided to take trigonometry? She’d never pass it in a million years.

  Second was her social life. It was going to be a replay of last year, when the only reason she ever got asked to parties was because she was Jade’s friend. She felt even more tongue-tied this year than last, if that was possible.

  And last, but definitely not least, was the biggest problem of all. Her brother Chuck.

  She still had trouble believing that he’d been stupid enough to get into a fight the first day of school. Even worse, he’d been carrying a knife. It took three teachers to break it up. What a temper Chuck had! The only reason he hadn’t been kicked out was that her father had gone to the principal and practically guaranteed there would be no more trouble.

  Deena had overheard her father yelling at Chuck the night after it happened. “And another thing!” Mr. Martinson had shouted in a voice Deena had only heard once or twice before. “If you make so much as one misstep—even being caught without a hall pass—you’ll be kicked out on your ear! Do you understand?”

  Deena couldn’t hear Chuck’s answer, but she could imagine the look on his face—the snowl.

  That was practically the only expression she’d seen on his face all week. He was grounded indefinitely, but instead of trying to make the best of things and hanging out with the family he disappeared into his room in the basement right after school and stayed there the whole evening, emerging only to eat a silent dinner.

  It was almost as if he wasn’t there. Deena wouldn’t have minded, except the whole atmosphere of the house had changed. Everyone was on edge. Deena’s father, who was usually the most easygoing man in the world, had become short-tempered, snapping at Deena and her mother over nothing. And Deena’s mom, who was always tense anyway because of her job as chief administrator at the Shadyside Social Services Agency, had become even more jumpy than usual.

  Deena sighed. Who said your teen years were the best of your life? she wondered. She watched as the soapy water slid down the gleaming sides of the Civic, then turned on the hose and began to spray the car down.

  “Hey, Deena!” She looked up to see Jade walking up the long flagstone path to the driveway.

  “Hi, Jade,” said Deena. “What’s doing?”

  Jade shrugged. She was wearing a tight, sleeveless white knit shirt and green shorts, and her hair shimmered like liquid copper in the late-afternoon sunlight. “I was supposed to go out with Mike Kamiskey tonight,” she said, “but he just called to cancel. He has a bad cold—or so he says—so I thought I’d come over and see what you’re up to.”

  “You knew I wouldn’t have a date, you mean,” said Deena.

  “Hey, don’t get all uptight,” said Jade. “I just thought I’d drop by is all.”

  Deena turned off the hose and stood looking at the car critically. “Hey, it’s okay,” she said. “My mom and dad went into the city for a concert. They left me money to order in pizza and rent a couple of movies. You’re welcome to join me.”

  “Sounds like fun,” said Jade. Then she smiled her mischievous smile. “What about Chuck?” she asked.

  “Forget about him,” said Deena. “He’s Mr. Antisocial. He only comes out of his room to eat.”

  “I’ll bet I could change that,” Jade said.

  “I said forget it!”

  “Okay, okay,” said Jade. “He sure is good-looking. What a waste!”

  “I don’t believe I washed the car,” Deena said, staring out the window. It had been pouring rain for the last hour.

  “My mother says it never fails,” said Jade. “Washing the car can make it rain even if there aren’t any clouds in the sky.”

  “Want more pizza?” Deena asked after a moment. She pushed the big square box across the coffee table to her friend.

  “I’m stuffed,” said Jade. “Maybe we ought to see if Chuck wants some.”

  “Will you forget about him?” said Deena. “He’s probably in his room plotting to overthrow the whole high school. Come on, let’s watch another tape.”

  “I have a better idea,” Jade said. “I think it’s time for Rob Morell to get another call—from his secret admirer.”

  “Oh, Jade, I don’t know,” said Deena. For some reason her heart had started beating fast, as if she had just run a race.

  “Come on, Deena,” pleaded Jade. “Let your secret side out.”

  “Well, I suppose it’s just harmless fun,” said Deena.

  “Exactly,” said Jade. “Harmless, and fun.” She already had the phone book open and was punching the numbers into Deena’s phone. She held the phone to her ear a moment, then thrust it into Deena’s hand. “Here!” she said, sounding excited.

  It was just like last week, only better. Deena wasn’t the least bit nervous once she started talking. If anyone was nervous, it was Rob! He was tripping all over his tongue.

  “Well, couldn’t we go out for a cuff of coppee?” he asked her after a few minutes of chatting.

  “I think you mean cup of coffee, Rob,” Deena said in her sexy whisper. “And I’d like that a lot. But first I have to be sure—”

  “Sure of what?”

  “Of you, and of things.” She was trying to think of more to say when there was a sudden, hollow click on the line.

  “Hello?” said Rob. “Hello, are you still there?” He sounded afraid that she had hung up.

  “There must be trouble on the line,” said Deena. “I’m sorry, Rob, but I have to go now. I’ll call again one evening soon.” She hung up, feeling giddy with power.

  “That was great!” said Jade. “But what was that noise?”

  “I don’t know,” said Deena. “Maybe there’s something wrong with the phone.”

  “I hope not,” Jade said. “Hand it over. It’s my turn.”

  “Who are you going to call?”

  “I thought I’d try Mike Kamiskey,” she said. “Find out if he really had a cold tonight.” She began punching in the numbers, but before she could finish there were three hard knocks on the door, and it swung open. There stood Chuck, wearing cutoffs and a turquoise-colored R.E.M. T-shirt, grinning in that goofy way he had. “Hello, girls,” he said.

  “Chuck, didn’t you ever hear of privacy?” said Deena.

  “Hey—we’re family, right?” countered Chuck. Then, turning to Jade, he added, “What’s your name?”

  Deena glanced at Jade. She was looking at Chuck as if he were the lead singer in the world’s hottest new rock band. Deena sighed. “Chuck,” she said, “this is—”

  “I’m Jade Smith,” cut
in Jade, smiling her widest, most honey-dripping smile.

  “I’m Chuck,” said Chuck, smiling right back.

  And I’m going to throw up, Deena thought.

  Chuck sat on the antique bench Deena kept in front of her dressing table. With his powerful muscles and big frame he made it look like a piece of doll furniture.

  “What are you doing in here?” said Deena.

  “Hanging out,” said Chuck. “But I don’t need to ask what you girls are doing in here. Or should I say—what you’re up to.”

  “What do you mean?” said Deena.

  “ ‘This is your secret admirer, Rob,’ ” he said in an imitation of Deena’s sexy whisper. “ ‘I’d just love to get together with you sometime. . . .’ ”

  “You’ve been spying on us!” said Deena. She felt herself blush to the roots of her hair.

  “That explains the clicking noise,” said Jade.

  “I wasn’t spying,” said Chuck. “I just happened to pick up the phone. I’m sure Dad would be interested in what you’re up to.”

  “Chuck, no!” said Deena. “You wouldn’t tell! Dad would take my phone away!”

  “So what?” said Chuck. “You don’t need one if all you know how to do is make silly calls to a bunch of stupid high school boys. I mean, if you want to play around on the phone, at least have some imagination.”

  “And I suppose you have a better idea?”

  “I might,” said Chuck.

  “Stop arguing, you two,” said Jade, not looking at all perturbed. She gave Chuck a mischievous smile. “Why don’t you show us what you have in mind?”

  “Wait a minute,” said Deena. “Why don’t we just forget the whole thing? I don’t think—”

  “Come on, Deena,” said Jade. “It’s just harmless fun. You said so yourself. What’s wrong with letting Chuck in on it, too?”

  Oh, no, thought Deena. Chuck’s ideas were bound to be trouble, but what could she do? If Chuck told on her, that would be the end of her telephone, if not of her entire social life. And after all, Chuck was acting sort of friendly right then. Maybe he was just lonely.