Fire with Fire

I’VE GOT MY BACK PRESSED UP AGAINST A WALL OF HAY bales, and the sticks are pricking through my nun habit. It’s a dead-end part of the maze, but I don’t care. I’m hiding so no ghouls or zombies or whatever can get me from behind. Every so often, I crane my neck and peer around the corner and keep my eyes peeled for Mary.

Obviously I’d find her faster if I actually looked for her, but I’m not moving from this spot. Mary can come to me. I didn’t pay thirty dollars to die of a heart attack in this damn maze.

I hope she’s having fun. Kid deserves to have a good time. I’m glad that little doofus in the mummy costume was trying to chat Mary up while we were in line. She could use a boost to her self-esteem, big-time. Sure, I’m no guidance counselor, but Mary needs to realize that she’s not the girl she used to be.

A pack of people creep past the alley where I’m hiding out. A girl in a ballerina costume breaks off from the group and heads toward me, walking cautiously on her tiptoes. She’s got on a pink leotard, pink tutu, pink everything. Of course it’s Lillia.

“Lil,” I say, stepping out of the shadows.

She jumps and screams a horror-movie scream, but she’s smiling, too. Scaredy-cat Lillia loves this stuff—who’d have known? She must think I’m one of the workers, because she’s about to run away, back to her friends. But then I say her name again and she stops cold. It takes her another second to recognize me, I guess because of my costume.

“Kat! Oh my God! Is that you under there?”

“Taketh not the Lord’s name in vain!” I say in a booming voice.

She giggles. “Where’s Mary? She was coming with you, right?”

I nod. “Wait till you see her costume. She looks amazing. I’m talking leather pants amazing.” As I say it, I realize that I wish it were the three of us hanging out together tonight. But I push the thought out of my mind, because it doesn’t make sense to feel sad about something you can’t do shit about. She’s here with her other friends. I quickly change the subject. “Did everything go okay at the elementary school tonight?”

“It was fine. I think the kids had fun. The parents were happy.”

“Cool.” I felt bad, seeing how stressed Lillia was all week. “Hey. You know, I would have come and helped. But you didn’t say anything, so—” Her cheeks get flush, so I back off. “I’m not upset or anything,” I clarify. “I mean . . .” I don’t know what I mean. I’m babbling.

“Don’t worry. It all worked out. I didn’t think to ask you, though. I know it’s not your thing. But thanks for offering to help”—she smirks—“when it’s too late to actually, you know, help.”

I touch a finger to her shoulder and make a sizzle sound. “Nice zinger, Lil. I like how I’m rubbing off on you.”

She looks like she’s about to make another joke at my expense when we hear Reeve say, “Shit!”

His voice sounds like it’s coming from the other side of the hay wall.

We both roll our eyes, because Reeve’s such a douche, but then there’s Mary’s voice, all tiny and small and Mary-like.

“I . . . I didn’t see you.”

In half a second, Lillia and I both have our ears up to the wall, listening.

Lillia whispers to me, “Mary’s talking to him.”

I whisper back, “Eff talking. Kick him in the nuts!”

That makes Lillia giggle.

We both gasp when we hear Mary say, “Calling a girl Big Easy because she’s fat—do you not know what that does to a person?” Lillia grabs my arm and starts hopping up and down excitedly. I can’t believe it. The kid’s really going for it!

Then we hear Reeve say, “Go fuck yourself.”

Lillia’s hands fly to her mouth. Fucking Reeve Tabatsky. He’s as much of an a-hole as he was before his accident, if not a bigger one.

Lillia and I wait to hear what she’ll say back.

And then Mary says, “I’m sorry.”

Lillia closes her eyes and drops her chin to her chest.

Damn.

We see Mary sprint past our alley.

I go to race after her, and Lillia makes a move like she’s going to come with me, but I shake my head. “No. Stay with your friends. We shouldn’t let anyone see the three of us together!” Only, she doesn’t listen. She runs right alongside me.

“Mary!” We’re both screaming her name, pushing people out of our way. I see her pink-streaked hair a hundred feet or so ahead.

Finally we catch up. Lillia grabs hold of Mary’s shirt. “Mary!”

Mary spins around. She’s crying. She tries to tell us what happened, but she can’t get the words out.

“We heard it. We heard everything.” Lillia gently pushes some of Mary’s hair out of her face. “You look amazing, by the way.”

The compliment doesn’t even register on Mary’s face. It’s blank. Like she has PTSD or something.

I turn her by the shoulders and make her look me in the eye. “What do you need us to do?” I say, quick. “Just tell us.”

I think she’s going to answer me, but instead she breaks free and runs off.

We let her go.

“This feels wrong,” I say, and chew on my finger.

Lil’s perfect ballerina bun has unraveled. Strands are falling out of the coil, but she doesn’t seem to notice. “We’ve got to give her space if that’s what she wants.”

“I guess . . . But what if she does something to herself?”

Lillia looks unsure now too. “Oh my God. Do you think?” She takes a deep breath and sighs. “Poor Mary.”

I don’t even know what I’m doing, but I lean in, like I’m going to give Lillia Cho a hug. And she leans in, like she’s going to give me one back.

“Lillia! Lil! We’re lea-ving!”

It’s Ashlin.

“Go,” I whisper. “I’ll see if I can find her.”

Lillia frowns, but she walks backward away from me.

“We’ll go over to her house tomorrow and check on her.”

I nod my head.

As I head toward the maze exit, some ghost gets in my face. I’ve got so much anger inside, I shove him and say, “Enough already.” A few people look at me like I’m insane. And that’s exactly how I feel. Insane with worry for my friend.