Red Rain: A Novel

  “I read the papers, Mark. I know what happened at your house. The murder, I mean. You must be under a lot of pressure. I think Ethan should stay away.”

  “Well, if it makes you feel any better—” He realized she had clicked off.

  He slammed the phone onto the counter. He turned to Lea. “Nice morning, huh? That was a warm family moment.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you blaming the twins? You’re going to berate me again for bringing them here?”

  Elena backed away, hands raised. “I don’t want to hear this.”

  “How are you getting to school?” Mark spun on her. He didn’t intend to sound so angry.

  She backed up against the kitchen table. “Ruth-Ann’s dad. He’s picking me up. You don’t have to chew my head off. I didn’t do anything.”

  Before Mark could apologize, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Roz stormed into the kitchen, still in her long blue flannel nightshirt and carrying Axl in her arms. Her hair was unbrushed. Her eyes darted around the kitchen.

  “Roz—? Are you okay?” he started.

  “Who did this?” she demanded. “Who was it?”

  Elena squinted at Axl. She was the first to see it. “Oh my God.”

  “Who snuck up to the attic last night?” Roz shouted. “Who would do this to my baby?”

  Mark took a staggering step toward her, then stopped short when he saw what Roz was talking about. The fat blue arrow, pointing up, on Axl’s left cheek.

  44

  The halls at Sag Harbor Middle School smelled of some kind of strong disinfectant. The sharp odor made Samuel’s eyes water and his nose burn. He had always been very sensitive to smells.

  When he was younger, the pungent aroma of burning meat from the island’s smoker pits always made him nauseous. But he had outgrown that a while ago.

  The four of them walked past the principal’s office and turned the corner into the long hall that led to Miss Montgomery’s classroom. Daniel walked with an arm casually draped over Ira’s shoulder.

  Samuel kept close to Ethan, who still seemed reluctant to devote himself wholeheartedly to ruling the school. His assignment from Daniel was to keep close to Ethan and make sure his transition was smooth.

  Samuel glimpsed a few kids turning from their lockers and staring at them as they passed. He wasn’t surprised that the face arrows would draw some attention.

  Two dark-haired sixth-grade girls, fresh from a morning basketball team practice in their blue-and-white team uniforms, noted the arrows and giggled. But they didn’t stop to comment or ask what the arrows meant.

  “You know those girls, boyo?” Daniel asked Ira. “They’re pretty awesome.”

  Ira shrugged. “I know them, but they don’t talk to me. I—I’m not really popular, you know.”

  Daniel chuckled. “You will be.”

  Samuel saw the big bulldog-faced kid, Derek Saltzman, bending over the water fountain on the wall. Derek raised his head as the four boys approached.

  He narrowed his beady gaze on Ira. “Hey, Sutter. Did you have a shower this morning?”

  “No. Why?” Ira said.

  Derek filled his mouth with water, then turned and sprayed Ira’s face and the front of his jacket. “There’s a shower for you, dude.” His laugh sounded more like hiccupping, a series of high whoops.

  Ira wiped water off his cheeks with his hand.

  Derek noticed the blue arrows for the first time. “What’s up with that?” He took his thumb and smeared it over Ira’s cheek. “Hey, it doesn’t come off.”

  “Want one?” Daniel said.

  “Yeah, boyo. Join the club,” Samuel said.

  Ethan hung back, almost using Samuel as a shield. Samuel knew Ethan was afraid of Derek.

  “You look like fucking freaks,” Derek snarled. “Here. Want to wash it off?” He spit another stream of water into Ira’s face.

  Daniel stepped in front of Ira to confront Derek. “You’re a tough lad. Want to spit water in my face?” Daniel’s features hardened, and he gave Derek an icy stare.

  Oh, please, Daniel. It’s early in the morning. Don’t spoil the whole school day.

  But Derek wasn’t intimidated. “Fuck yes!” He sucked in a long drink and spit a stream of water in Daniel’s face. Then he laughed his whooping laugh.

  Daniel didn’t move a muscle. Just let the cold water run down his cheeks and chin.

  Daniel. Please.

  “You forgot to add something to those arrows on your faces,” Derek said, returning Daniel’s unblinking stare. “You’ve got to put the words I’m with Stupid.”

  Some boys across the hall burst out laughing at that. Samuel spun around, surprised to find a small crowd watching the confrontation. He recognized the two girls from the basketball team and five or six other kids from his class.

  Daniel and Derek continued their staring contest. Derek leaned his back against the porcelain fountain and crossed his beefy arms in front of him.

  Samuel watched his twin clench and unclench his fists. Samuel’s stomach tightened in dread. He knew this meant trouble. A lot of trouble.

  But couldn’t it wait till later? Couldn’t they have a quiet school day first?

  A hush fell over the hall as the two boys continued to glare at each other. No locker doors slammed. No footsteps on the tile floor. No voices.

  And then heavy footsteps. And a ringing shout. And before anyone could move, Mrs. Maloney bulled her way through the crowd.

  “What’s going on here? What is the fuss and commotion, may I ask?”

  Samuel took a step back. The principal wore a long gray crewneck sweater and a plaid skirt over black tights. Her beaded earrings jangled as she walked.

  She pushed past Samuel, Ethan, and Ira, and strode up to Daniel and Derek, her eyes moving from one to the other. “Well, boys, I like shows. I like to be entertained. Can anyone explain to me what this show is about?”

  They didn’t answer.

  “Well, there must be a show because I see you’ve got an audience.” She motioned to the crowd of onlookers blocking the hall.

  Neither boy spoke.

  The principal narrowed her eyes at Derek. “Is there a problem here? I hope you haven’t been giving our new students a bad idea of our school.”

  “He spit water on the new kid,” a boy shouted from the back of the crowd.

  “He spit on Ira, too,” another boy chimed in.

  Mrs. Maloney sighed and shook her head, making her earrings jangle. “Oh, Derek, Derek, Derek. After that nice long talk we had in my office the other day? You do remember that talk, don’t you?”

  Derek nodded his head and grunted.

  “Well, we don’t spit on people in this school. Lordy no. Do we need to have another long talk? Maybe call your mother in again?”

  Derek’s cheeks turned red.

  Daniel tapped Mrs. Maloney on the arm, startling her. Samuel watched him turn on his sweetest, most angelic smile. “He didn’t mean us any harm, mum,” Daniel said in a tiny voice. “It was a joke, see.”

  Mrs. Maloney reacted with surprise. “A joke? Spitting on other kids is a joke?”

  Daniel’s dimples flashed. His blue eyes widened in innocence. “He meant it to be funny. He wasn’t being mean.”

  “Yeah. It was a joke,” Derek claimed. “I saw someone do it on TV.”

  Suddenly, Mrs. Maloney didn’t seem to be interested in Derek. She was squinting at Daniel. Then her eyes moved to the other boys.

  “Oh, good Lord in heaven!” she exclaimed, slapping her cheek with one hand. “I didn’t even notice. My eyes must be going.”

  Samuel knew she had just seen the blue arrows on their faces.

  This is not going to be a quiet morning.

  “Well, goodness. Big blue arrows on your handsome faces. Ira, did you boys start a gang?”

  Ira swallowed. “N-no.”

  “Do we allow gangs at Sag Harbor Middle School?” she asked, running a stubby finger down Ira’s cheek. ??
?I don’t think so.”

  “It’s not a gang.” Daniel stepped in. “It’s a club.”

  The bell clanged right above their heads. The sound made Samuel jump. The disinfectant smell had given him a headache. The tension in the hall wasn’t helping. He thought about soft waves, frothy, clean, and cold, splashing on yellow sand.

  “Everyone get to class.” Mrs. Maloney waved them all away with both hands. “You too, Derek. Everyone but the Blue Arrow Gang.”

  Derek flashed Daniel a nod, as if to say thank you. He thought he’d escaped punishment this time. But Samuel knew he was mistaken.

  Mrs. Maloney herded the four boys to her office. She brought in folding chairs and motioned for them to sit. Then she sat down heavily behind her desk and thumbed through a few pink phone-message slips.

  She wasn’t really reading them, Samuel thought. She was getting herself together, preparing what to say.

  When she glanced up, her expression was stern. “Please explain these face tattoos to me.”

  “We want to rule the school,” Daniel replied without hesitating.

  She blinked. “I don’t understand.”

  Daniel wore his most innocent face and spoke in his high, little-boy voice. “The arrows point up, see? It means we want to go up.”

  “Up with Sag Harbor Middle School,” Samuel added, always ready to help his twin. “Up with our school.”

  Mrs. Maloney rested her head in her hands. “So you lads are telling me you want to be cheerleaders?”

  “Not really,” Samuel answered. “We want to show that we are together, see.”

  “No, I don’t see.” She turned to Ira. “I know your father believes that kids should do whatever they want. But did he really approve of you painting arrows on your faces?”

  “Not exactly,” Ira replied in a whisper.

  Mrs. Maloney sat up straight. She tapped one hand on the desktop. “Well, I’m glad you lads want to do well and show some pride in your school. But I think you’ve gone about it the wrong way. I’m afraid I can’t allow it.”

  “Yes, you can,” Daniel said in his little voice.

  She blinked at him. “I want all four of you to go wash those arrows off right now.”

  “No, we won’t be doing that, mum.” Daniel’s matter-of-fact reply.

  She used the desktop to push herself to her feet. “Go to the boys’ room now. Stay in there till the arrows are gone. Go!”

  No one moved.

  “We won’t be doing that,” Daniel said. He stood up and nodded to Samuel.

  Okay. Heaven give me strength. Here we go.

  Samuel concentrated. It took so much energy to heat up his eyes.

  Mrs. Maloney crossed her arms over the front of her sweater. “Daniel, I don’t understand. At your old school, did you talk back to your principal and disobey him or her?”

  “We want to rule the school,” Daniel said.

  “Answer my question. Why are you acting like this? I know you are new here and things may be different for you. . . .”

  Daniel turned to his twin.

  Samuel saw only red now. A billowing sheet of red in front of him. His eyes made a sizzling sound, like bacon frying.

  Burn time, Mrs. Maloney.

  “Daniel, if you don’t obey me, I have no choice—”

  “You have no choice,” Daniel said.

  45

  Mrs. Maloney uttered an alarmed cry. “Samuel? Your eyes! What’s wrong with your eyes?”

  “Are you going to burn her?” Samuel heard Ethan’s voice behind him.

  “Are you going to kill her?” From Ira, alarmed.

  Samuel saw only shimmering sheets of red. But he could feel the excitement in the room.

  “Ouch! Stop it! Are you crazy? What are you doing?”

  I hate it when they scream like that.

  Did we remember to close the office door?

  Samuel felt his brother’s hand on his arm. “Careful. Careful. Not too much,” Daniel whispered. “Just enough to let me get inside her brain.”

  Mrs. Maloney was silent now. Samuel kept the fiery beam trained on her head.

  Burn. Feel the burn.

  Silence, except for the pop and sizzle of the red heat.

  “Almost done,” Daniel said calmly. “Ease up, boyo. I’m almost there. Ease up. Ease up. We don’t want to leave burns. We don’t want her to remember, do we?”

  Samuel pulled the heat back. It was easier to harness it than to fire it up. He could feel his eyes cooling. His headache was gone. He gazed around the room and saw the principal slumped in her leather chair, a dazed smile on her face, arms dangling down the sides of the chair.

  Ira and Ethan sat expressionless watching with silent awe.

  Daniel still leaned over Mrs. Maloney, staring into her eyes. He patted her broad shoulder gently. He brushed a hand over her head, straightening her short hair. He lifted her hands and placed them in her lap.

  “Did it work?” Samuel asked.

  He grinned. “No doubt. No worries. Be happy.”

  He dropped back into the chair between Ira and Ethan.

  Mrs. Maloney shook her head, as if waking up from a short nap. She squinted at the four boys for a long moment. Then she smiled.

  “I’d better make that announcement now,” she said.

  She stepped around them to a table with a microphone and a stack of electronic equipment. She threw a switch. Cleared her throat. Leaned over till her mouth was a few inches from the microphone.

  “Attention, everyone,” she said.

  Samuel could hear her voice echoing from classroom to classroom all down the hall.

  “Attention, everyone. This is Mrs. Maloney. I have a special announcement this morning.”

  The speaker squealed. She jerked her head back. Then resumed:

  “Our school has a new slogan I think you will all be proud of. It’s Up with Sag Harbor Middle School. And we have a new school symbol. It’s a wide blue arrow pointing up. Because we all want to move up, don’t we?”

  A pause. She turned and flashed Daniel a grin.

  “So I’d like every student to stop by the art room at some point before you leave today, and we will have the school arrow painted on your face. I want you to wear it proudly. Don’t forget. Everyone must stop in the art room and receive your school arrow today. Have a special day, everyone. Up with Sag Harbor Middle School.”

  46

  “Lea, please come away from there. You’re not even writing. You’re just staring at the screen. Please—”

  “I . . . can’t, Mark. There’s so much more to write. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m going to pull you away. You don’t leave this room. We have to talk.”

  “Maybe when it’s finished . . .” She turned on the desk chair to face him, her face pale, eyes tired.

  “I’ll take you to lunch in town. Where shall we go? We need to talk about the kids. The boys. How we’re going to deal with this arrow thing.”

  She uttered a sigh. “The arrow thing. It’s so silly, isn’t it?”

  “Well, yes and no. We need to figure out how we’re going to handle the twins. I mean when there’s conflict. You and I have been at each other’s throats.”

  “No. We haven’t. We—”

  “Yes, we have. You’re always the good guy, Lea, and I’m forced to be the bad guy.”

  “But you are the bad guy.”

  He stared at her. “Was that a joke? Are you serious? You’re joking, right?”

  She shrugged. “I can’t do lunch today. I’m so sorry. I have to work.”

  “But you don’t have a deadline, do you? You’re not even writing it as an assignment for anyone.”

  She spun her chair back to face the laptop monitor.

  “The kids are worried about you, Lea. Elena asked why you never talk to her anymore. The twins—well, you see they need some guidance, some care. You have to admit you’ve been neglecting them. And poor Ira—”

  “Do you think he’ll always
be called Poor Ira?”

  “That’s not funny, Lea.”

  “I’m not neglecting the twins. The twins and I have a special bond. Even if we don’t spend time together . . .”

  “You’re not making sense, sweetheart. Please get changed and come to lunch with me? It’s a beautiful day and . . . and . . . I love you. I want to spend time with you.”

  She turned. Her eyes went wide. Her whole face constricted. He realized she was staring at the bed.

  “Mark—why do we have black sheets? Black sheets mean death!”

  “Huh? We’ve had those sheets for years. We—”

  “No!” She jumped to her feet, face wide with alarm. “No! Black sheets are death! Death!”

  “Lea—what are you doing?” He made a grab for her. Missed.

  She dove to the bed. Grasped the end of the top sheet. Tugged it up. She gritted her teeth. Uttered an animal growl. And ripped the black sheet between her hands.

  “Lea—stop!”

  She ripped the sheet. Pulled hard. Ripped it some more.

  “Lea—please.” He ran over to her. Grabbed her arm. “Please stop.”

  She tore frantically at the sheets, growling and grunting. “Black sheets are death. Death. Death. Death.”

  47

  After school, Samuel could see how surprised Derek was when he and Daniel showed up at his front door. The twins knew Derek’s house because it was one of the first school bus stops.

  Derek had a stack of Oreos in one hand and a smear of chocolate on his front teeth. “Hey, you two weren’t on the bus,” he said, blocking the doorway.

  “We walked,” Daniel said. He eyed the Oreos. “After-school snack?”

  Derek nodded. “Sorry. These are the last ones.”

  We didn’t come for cookies, stupid.

  “Nice house,” Daniel said, peering into the front room.

  It is a nice house, Samuel thought. Big, with lots of tall glass windows reflecting the afternoon sunlight, at the top of a gently sloping front lawn, surrounded by leafy old trees.

  “You want to come in?” Derek couldn’t hide his surprise at seeing them. The uncertainty seemed to change his personality. As if he’d momentarily forgotten to act tough.