Promise Page 14

  “No. My parents agreed the sheriff wouldn’t be brought into it since Luke’s a kid, but he can’t come into the Purple Cow anymore.”

  “So that was it? He steals your MP3 and frames Yo-Yo and then for punishment he can’t eat ice cream?” Kaden asked.

  “No, there’s more,” Elana said. “He got in-school suspension and has to stay after school, too. Plus, my parents insisted Yo-Yo get a formal apology from Luke.”

  “Why in-school suspension?” Yo-Yo asked.

  “It started out as regular suspension but Luke made the mistake of opening his mouth, saying he’d like a little vacation. Mr. Woodhead seemed to think that was a pretty good deal, too. So, Price instantly changed his mind. Luke isn’t totally kicked out of school but instead of going to regular classes, he has to go to detention.”

  “Where’s that?” Yo-Yo asked.

  “Haven’t you ever noticed that desk in the corner by Price’s door?” Elana asked. “He’ll be there all day but has to spend study hall and C.A.R.E. time with the guidance counselor.”

  “For how long?” Kaden asked.

  “Ten days,” Elana said. “Price originally said the rest of this week and all of next but Mr. Woodhead said Luke may just be absent all that time, so Price changed it to ten days, not counting any absent days.”

  Yo-Yo turned to Kaden. “I told you Price would make a good TV judge.”

  “Well, I’ve learned one thing,” Elana said. “I’m done hanging around with Luke.”

  The three walked through the library and into the courtyard. Soon all the sixth graders except Luke were planting zoysia grass plugs. After planting a few plugs, Yo-Yo looked toward the far end of the courtyard and gave a little wave.

  “Who did you wave to?” Kaden asked.

  “Mr. Price,” Yo-Yo said. “Until yesterday, I’d never been in his office. Did you know his desk faces out that window?” Yo-Yo pointed to the far end of the courtyard, then waved again. “If he’s in there, he can see everything we’re doing. It’s almost like on the cop shows where they watch suspects through one-way mirrors.”

  Kaden just shook his head and went back to planting. When all the plugs were planted and the rest of the sixth graders had left, Kaden and Yo-Yo stacked the empty boxes by the door.

  “Elana told us about Luke’s punishment, but what about you? Did you have to ‘pay the price’ for not telling that it was Elana’s MP3?” Kaden asked.

  “I did tell, just not right at first,” Yo-Yo said. “Price had already ruined my chance to look for fingerprints when he grabbed the MP3 out of my locker without putting on rubber gloves. So I was trying to gather more evidence but I ran out of time. After school, when I confessed everything to Mom, she marched me right down to Price’s office. He didn’t have to torture me or anything. Just one look from Price was enough for me to spill my guts.”

  “You told your mom everything yesterday?” Kaden said.

  “Why wouldn’t I? I didn’t do anything wrong. I was framed. Besides, Mom’s a teacher and teachers find out everything . I’d be in big doo-doo if she found out from someone else. Even on TV shows, the cops always tell the captain what they suspect.”

  “Was your mom mad you didn’t tell Price everything right up front?”

  “Neither one of them was too happy,” Yo-Yo said. “I pleaded my case, stating I was only taking a continuance. That’s when you ask the court for more time to gather evidence. I pointed out I would have solved it faster if it hadn’t been for Price’s evidence tampering. Price wasn’t too impressed with my knowledge of the law, though.”

  “So what was the price?” Kaden asked.

  “Price left it up to Mom and Mom-the-parent was influenced by the fact that the crime had to do with MP3 players. So she took mine away for a week for not telling Price it was Elana’s. Since the crime occurred at school, Mom-the-teacher suggested I help with the first-grade musical.” Yo-Yo moaned. “She thought I was really great with the first graders.”

  “Well, Gram will be happy,” Kaden said. “She wasn’t too pleased you didn’t tell on Luke.”

  “I might have made the wrong decision in delaying,” Yo-Yo said, “but I wasn’t going to just let Luke get away with it. That was never an option.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  STILL STRANGERS

  “I’m home!” Kaden yelled when he got off the bus, but walked straight to his cabin. He was dirty again and needed to shower. He went to his dresser to get clean clothes, and sitting on top beside his fan was a cell phone. A note was under it.

  Call me. 555-862-1048. —Dad

  Kaden put the note down and picked up the phone, wondering whether to tell Gram or not. No matter how he looked at it, someone was going to be angry. Gram at Kaden for keeping secrets. Dad at Kaden for not keeping secrets. Gram at Dad for not getting permission. Dad at Gram for insisting he get permission. Kaden could usually talk with Gram but this time he didn’t want to be put in the middle of any more arguments.

  Kaden stared at the phone in his hand. He thought about calling Emmett but for the first time in his life he felt he had someone else to turn to. Pocketing the phone, Kaden put the note under his mattress. Then he went to Cabin Four, shut the door, and closed the window.

  “Awesome!” Yo-Yo said when he answered the call. “Now we won’t have to wait until zoysia watering time to have a private conversation.”

  “I haven’t told Gram yet. Do you think I should? You know how she is about technology. And she’s pretty touchy lately about anything involving Dad.”

  “To tell or not to tell, that is the question,” Yo-Yo said dramatically.

  “That’s what I said,” Kaden stated impatiently. “Should I tell her or not?”

  “You didn’t get it, did you?” Yo-Yo asked.

  “I guess not,” Kaden replied.

  “It’s from Shakespeare, or at least kind of. Hamlet specifically. My mom took me to see the play last summer. I didn’t understand a lot of what they were saying—it was in some old English language—but it was pretty cool. All sorts of murders and some girl drowned and they poisoned people. Everyone died at the end.”

  “What’s that got to do with telling Gram about a cell phone?” Kaden asked.

  “Simple,” Yo-Yo said. “In the play, Hamlet says, ‘To be or not to be, that is the question.’ He’s trying to figure out whether to live or to kill himself. I told you there’s a lot of killing going on in that play. You wouldn’t believe it. People are dropping left and right.”

  “You’re making no sense, Yo-Yo,” Kaden said.

  “Yes, I am. You have to make a decision, just like Hamlet did. Tell her, and you live, but it might be suicide if you don’t tell Gram. She’ll kill you when she finds out.”

  “Yeah, I better tell her,” Kaden said, laughing. But not until later, he thought to himself. First, I’ll call Dad.

  After taking a quick shower, Kaden opened the phone and punched in the number.

  “Hey, Kaden,” Dad’s voice came over the phone, “how do you like your present?”

  “It’s awesome! Where are you?”

  “I’m at the tower. Walk on over, I’ll wait for you.”

  When Kaden got to the muddy spot, he wasn’t surprised the leaves were crushed. He knew Dad had driven over them. When he reached the log barricade, Kubla was on his favorite tree limb, giving warning caws over and over. That didn’t surprise Kaden either. Dad was there, and to Kubla, Dad was still a stranger. But there was something that did surprise Kaden. As he walked past Dad’s parked truck, he noticed the cargo carrier now had locks on the latches. There’d been no locks when they’d put the TV in it. And when Kaden stepped over the log and headed up the path, he had another surprise. An extension ladder angled from the ground to the first landing.

  Kaden looked up. Dad was looking down at him from the top.

  As Kaden continued toward the tower, Kubla flew down from the tree, cawing all the way until he landed on Kaden’s shoulder. The bird was very agit
ated. Kaden tried to pet his head to calm him but Kubla wouldn’t let him. He jumped over Kaden’s head to his other shoulder. He was still making warning noises although they were quieter now. Kaden talked softly to the bird. However, when he started up the ladder, Kubla darted from his shoulder, frantically giving more warning caws. The bird returned to his limb as Kaden went higher and higher but didn’t stop the clamorous racket.

  “That bird’s a pest,” Dad said when Kaden climbed through the trapdoor.

  “That’s Kubla,” Kaden said. “He’s just trying to warn me that something’s wrong. You’re a stranger to him.”

  “I don’t know why he still thinks I’m a stranger,” Dad said. “I’ve met him before. And I’ve been wondering. Why didn’t you answer when I called up at you last Saturday?”

  Kaden looked at Dad. “I wasn’t ready to meet you yet.”

  “Fair enough but I see you were spying on me. That’s a pretty cool periscope in there and I wondered where my binoculars were.”

  Kaden glanced at the metal chest. An open lock hung from its latch, too.

  “Why the lock?” Kaden asked.

  “Don’t want your stash to disappear, do you? You’re not the only one who can get up here, you know.”

  “What’s the combination?” Kaden said.

  Dad pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Kaden. “It’s on there,” he said. Kaden looked at it and put it in his pocket.

  “Where’d you get the ladder?” Kaden asked.

  “It’s Emmett’s,” Dad answered.

  “Really? Emmett loaned you his ladder?” Kaden knew Emmett was very particular about his tools and seldom loaned them out. If something needs fixing, Emmett would say, I’ll be happy to help fix it but I won’t loan my tools. Borrowed tools never seem to find their way back home. Kaden was certain Emmett would include a ladder with things he didn’t lend out.

  Dad laughed. “I figured the old man was still pretty guardy with his tools. So, let’s just say I’m borrowing it.”

  “Without asking?” Kaden said.

  “He won’t even miss it. I bet he hasn’t moved it in years.”

  “You should have asked,” Kaden said.

  “Did you ask me if you could use my binoculars?”

  “No,” Kaden admitted, “but Emmett asked Gram if he could get them out of your cabin for me.”

  “Oh, so Emmett took them, huh?” Dad said. “Guess that makes us even.”

  Kaden didn’t like the way the conversation was going. He seemed to have a knack for making Dad angry but Dad was making him angry, as well.

  “Take them back, then,” Kaden said. “They’re yours. I guess I was just borrowing, too.”

  “No need to get huffy,” Dad said. “You can keep them.”

  Kaden turned to look out the window. Dad sat down. Neither said another word. There was only the constant high-pitched hum of the cicadas. When Dad finally spoke again, his voice had lost that hard edge. “What’s all that other stuff in there?”

  “Just some things I’ve found and some stuff I might use up here,” Kaden said, sitting down on the opposite side of the tower from his dad. He was glad Dad’s mood had suddenly shifted and things seemed to be okay between them again.

  “So what do you need baby wipes for?” Dad said. Kaden stretched his legs out and told Dad about the poison ivy and bird poop.

  Dad laughed all through the story. When Kaden finished, Dad said, “So are you going to introduce me to that pesky bird of yours?”

  Kubla had quieted but was still sitting on his limb. He had not flown over to be with Kaden like he usually did. Kaden got up, took the lock from the latch, and opened the lid of the chest. He rummaged around and came out with a handful of sunflower seeds.

  Dad started to stand up but Kaden stopped him.

  “He probably won’t come if he sees you. Just stay down but hold these.” Kaden handed him all but two sunflower seeds.

  Without saying a word, Kaden extended his arm out a window, holding up a sunflower seed with his thumb and index finger. Kubla opened his wings and jumped from his limb. With wings flapping like black triangles, Kubla crossed the open space, snatched the sunflower seed, and flew back to his limb.

  “Once he eats that,” Kaden told Dad, “he’ll be back for more but he won’t fly away with the next one. Then you can feed him.” Kaden sat down on the floor next to Dad.

  As Kaden predicted, the crow soon came racing back. He landed on the edge of the window, but seeing Dad, he didn’t jump down to Kaden. Kaden put the other sunflower seed in plain view on his outstretched leg. Kubla squawked and jumped sideways along the edge of the window, back and forth, back and forth. He wanted the seed but he was unsure about the stranger.

  “I know you don’t know him but he’s okay,” Kaden said softly to Kubla. “He won’t hurt you.” Kaden nudged the sunflower seed about an inch. “If you want this, you’re going to have to come in here to get it.”

  Kubla couldn’t resist. He finally jumped from the window and landed on Kaden’s lap. As Kubla grabbed the seed, Kaden put his hands around the bird’s wings and petted his head with his thumb, all the time talking calmly.

  “Put one of the seeds on your leg,” Kaden instructed. Kubla watched Dad but jumped up on Kaden’s shoulder when Kaden let him go. The bird muttered in Kaden’s ear, jumped on his lap and back to his head, all the while staring at the sunflower seed on Dad’s leg.

  Finally, Kubla gave in and jumped down on Dad’s leg. Dad reached out to grab the bird like Kaden had done but Kubla gave his hand a hard peck.

  “Ouch!” Dad yelled, “you son of a . . .” He instinctively jerked his hand back but then brought it forward again to slap at the bird. Kubla was quicker, though. He took a flying leap to the chest lid and Dad’s hand missed. Dad cussed more.

  “It wasn’t Kubla’s fault,” Kaden said, getting up and going toward the bird. Kubla jumped onto Kaden’s head, muttering and squawking in a perturbed manner. “You scared him trying to grab hold of him like that. And your tone of voice doesn’t help much either.”

  Dad angrily flung the rest of the sunflower seeds across the room. “I wasn’t doing anything you didn’t do.”

  “I know, but you’re still a stranger to him. It takes time and patience to get to know somebody, you know.”

  Kaden put out his hand, holding two fingers out together. Kubla jumped from his head and onto Kaden’s fingers. Kaden stroked the black feathers with his other hand, quietly cooing and gurgling to him until Kubla cooed and gurgled back. Walking over to where Dad threw the seeds, Kaden squatted down and put his hand close to the seeds. Kubla partially opened his wings to keep his balance, leaned over, and picked up a seed in his beak. Then he sprang from Kaden’s fingers and flew from the tower to his limb.

  “We better go,” Kaden said calmly. “Gram won’t like it if we’re late for dinner and I still have homework.” Kaden put the lock on the latch, twisted the dial, and started down the stairs. Dad followed.

  Once down the ladder, Dad headed straight for the truck. Kaden pulled the cord on the ladder to release the extension catches, and the top of the ladder slid down to nestle in with the bottom.

  “Just leave that in the weeds over there,” Dad called over his shoulder, but Kaden ignored him. He picked the ladder up and carried it to the truck.

  “No, you need to take it back to Emmett.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  UNDER A YELLOW MOON

  Dad didn’t say much during dinner but Kaden kept up a steady stream of conversation, telling about his day. He told the details about Luke’s, Elana’s, and Yo-Yo’s visits with Mr. Price. Gram laughed, saying she could see why the first graders loved Yo-Yo. She nodded, indicating she understood when Kaden said Kubla had met Dad but was still uncertain about him. Kaden decided not to mention he knew Kubla would never trust Dad again. He didn’t bring up that Dad had taken Emmett’s ladder and that it was still in the back of his truck either. Dad now parked his tru
ck in the gap between Cabins Four and Five, and it wasn’t visible from Gram’s cabin. Kaden wanted to give Dad the chance to take the ladder back without Gram’s interference.

  They were almost done eating. Kaden had told just about everything that had happened during the day but he knew there was one more thing to tell. The thing that had weighed heavy on his mind all through dinner.

  “Have you ever heard of Hamlet?” he asked.

  “Of course,” Gram said. “‘To be or not to be, that is the question.’ One of Shakespeare’s most famous quotes. Why? Are you reading it at school?”

  “No, just something Yo-Yo told me. He said he saw the play last summer when I called him this afternoon.” Kaden took the phone out of his pocket and put it beside his plate. “Dad gave it to me.”

  Gram looked at the phone, then at Kaden, then at Dad. “So you were thinking to tell or not to tell, huh?” Gram said.

  “Kind of,” Kaden admitted, “but I learned a lot from all that stuff with Luke.”

  “I think your learning is going on the right track,” Gram said, nodding. “You can keep the phone but you don’t have to go to Cabin Four to talk on it.”

  Kaden looked up in surprise.

  “I was wondering why the window was closed but figured it all out just now when you said you talked to Yo-Yo,” Gram said. “Don’t close it again. It was all steamy in there. The towels will sour.”

  Gram turned to Dad. “You’ve been awful quiet tonight,” she said.

  “I can give my son a cell phone without your permission if I want,” Dad said defensively.

  “I never said you couldn’t,” Gram said.

  “And I get the message, you know. All this about Luke and Elana and Kubla and strangers. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what you’re trying to tell me.”

  “Nobody’s trying to tell you anything,” Kaden said. “I’m just talking about what went on at school and that’s what went on. I tell Gram about my day, every day. Always have.”