Grim Hill: The Secret Deepens Read online

  “Last time a ball flew out of nowhere and slammed me.

  I think it was a message about spying.” Then I explained to Emily what had happened between me and Jasper. “So I’ve decided to feed him some fake strategies.”

  “Sweet, I love intrigue,” said Emily, which made me think she still saw this whole thing only as fun. Emily pointed to one player and asked, “Who is that guy? He’s pretty good.”

  I squinted and focused on the player who zigged and zagged swiftly around other players and appeared to set up a perfect long shot for Clive. Then I got distracted as I watched with a sinking heart as Clive made an easy kick and the ball rose high, sailed over half the field, and went straight into the net. So when the other boy – the one Emily had asked about – came closer to the bleacher, it still took a moment to recognize him. He somehow looked taller, leaner, and more muscular in a soccer shirt. Oh, and a bit older without his glasses.

  “Jasper Chung?” I whispered in surprise.

  “Cat,” Emily said in a worried voice as she looked at her watch. “The boys have been practicing a good forty minutes longer than us. And they’re still going strong.”

  Okay, maybe for Emily it was also about winning. And these guys had just played well.

  What was it Jasper warned me about? Something about an advantage the boys had over us – something about endurance. I watched in alarm at how they weren’t the least bit winded. Clearly, the girls were going to have to figure out a plan that would work against their strengths. The girls were going to have to figure out a way to make skill count the most.

  CHAPTER 4 A Secret Trap

  SATURDAY MORNING MOM was putting the finishing touches on the birthday cake while Sookie, who was too excited to stay still, danced around her. Mom had sliced into two layer cakes and placed them in the shape of a butterfly, which was the cake Sookie had asked for. Creamy pastel pinks with mauve swirls frosted the cake. Handing me two long pieces of red licorice ropes, I added the antennae as Sookie dotted the wings with sparkly sugar gumdrops.

  “These are perfect butterfly wings,” announced Sookie, who was actually quite fussy about wings in general. Butterfly wings had to have different colors, angel wings had to be white, and fairy wings had to be spotted – although technically, both Sookie and I knew that fairies didn’t actually have any wings at all.

  Someone tapped on the back window. Before I could fully open the door, a shiny, gold-papered present with a gigantic yellow bow was thrust into my arms.

  “Jasper? Jasper Chung?” Again I was surprised. My friend had abandoned his hair spikes for a trendier faux hawk. He was wearing designer jeans. “What happened to your glasses?”

  “Contacts,” he said as he tapped where his glasses used to be. “For sports.”

  “But you’re not playing soccer today – you’re coming to …” My words died on my lips as Jasper turned red.

  “You are coming to Sookie’s party, aren’t you?” I whispered.

  “There’s a big practice today for the boys’ team. Everyone has to show.” Jasper hung his head.

  “But you’re her only – ”

  “Hi, Jasper!” Sookie had come up from behind and peeked under my arm. “You’re early! We haven’t got everything set up yet.” Her face dimpled as she smiled.

  “Um.” Jasper swallowed. “I’m dropping the gift off early because I’ve got to be somewhere.”

  Sookie was going to be hurt. Jasper was letting me down

  – again, I thought, as blood rushed to my face.

  But Sookie gave a slight shrug and said, “Okay,” as if it didn’t matter one little bit. She walked back and finished putting gumdrops on the cake.

  Jasper let out a sigh of relief. “Catch you later,” he said to me, and then he ran off before I could say anything. Personally, I thought Sookie was in shock. But when I walked back to the kitchen table, she seemed fine.

  “So,” I asked tentatively, “do you want to change plans and go out now?”

  “Nope,” said Sookie as she licked mauve frosting off a spoon.

  “Sookie has a new little friend who is coming over soon,” said Mom.

  “That’s great,” I said. It was a relief that Sookie’s special day wasn’t going to be ruined because her one friend wasn’t coming to her party. Then I realized I’d be spending the afternoon playing Monopoly with two little kids. Jasper was going to pay. But I had to at least pretend I was looking forward to the birthday celebrations, so I acted excited about not having to cancel the board game. Then I dove into prepa

  rations for the lunch in order to distract myself from thinking about Jasper.

  I helped Mom make peanut butter and banana pinwheel sandwiches and deviled eggs. Just as popcorn popped in the microwave, the doorbell rang. Sookie raced off to answer it, and by the time I caught up with her, a boy about her age stood inside the living room.

  “This is Skeeter,” Sookie said to me. “That’s my big sister, Cat,” she said as she pointed up at me.

  “Skeeter? That’s an unusual name,” I said grinning.

  “Yeah, and ‘Cat’ isn’t? At least my hair isn’t striped green,” the kid shot back with a glare. I felt my expression change instantly. It was going to be a long afternoon. Skeeter handed my sister a gift that had been rolled around in a pile of wrapping paper and stuck together with wads of tape. Sookie didn’t seem to mind. She looked thrilled as she carried it over to the coffee table.

  “Can I open my gifts now?” she called to Mom in the kitchen. Mom came out and asked for a minute, then she went into the hall closet and brought out a delicately wrapped pink parcel with frilly lace ribbons and pink rosebuds glued to the middle. That gift couldn’t have looked more different from Skeeter’s.

  “Open mine first,” begged Skeeter.

  Sookie tore away the wrapping paper, revealing a plain cardboard box that had Aladdin’s Lamp written on top. She ripped open the box and pulled out a blue aluminum lamp, and when she rubbed the lamp, it glowed softly. When she flicked on a tiny switch, a bulb on top got brighter.

  “Ooh, thank you!” She smiled with delight.

  “I picked it out myself,” said Skeeter. “I also put in the batteries.” He seemed so proud of himself that I warmed up to him a bit.

  Then Sookie opened Mom’s gift and squealed when she saw her own mp3 player, pink with little white flowers. Excitement tingled through me as I handed her the gift that Jasper – or more likely, his mother – had wrapped. “It’s from Jasper and me,” I emphasized.

  When Sookie tore open the gift, and I must say, the elegant wrapping was lost on her – she hugged the purple satin box to her chest, and then she ran her fingers hungrily over the silver glittery letters. Opening the magic kit, she peeked inside and her face lit up as she thanked me. Even better, she and Skeeter decided they didn’t want to play Monopoly after all. Instead, right after we ate, they ran upstairs to the attic to practice a few tricks so they could perform a magic show for us. Mom and I could clean up in peace. But as I wrapped up the cake in foil and put it in the fridge, we heard a huge crash in the attic.

  Mom and I flew up the stairs, and when we ducked through the low door to the attic, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

  “What’s going on here?” Mom said in her I’m-tryingnot-to-sound-annoyed-but-I-really-am voice.

  They’d pulled apart the whole attic. Boxes were strewn all over the floor. Every toy and game we owned had been taken off the shelves, with cards, dice, and playing pieces tossed everywhere. The magic tricks from Sookie’s box were scattered all over the card table. And a big, dusty green and gold trunk – probably what had made the crash – had been pulled out.

  “Skeeter thought we should look for props for the magic act,” Sookie said nervously.

  “Oh did he?” Mom said in that voice again. I shook my head, changing my mind back again about Skeeter. Clearly he

  was a bad influence.

  “Sorry,” Skeeter mumbled quickly, not sounding one bit sorry.
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br />   “We’ll put everything back,” Sookie said with a sigh.

  “I’ll help,” I volunteered, feeling very generous because it was her birthday. And I was still grateful that at least I didn’t have to play with them. We started picking up all the stuff on the floor, and while Skeeter did assist, as soon as my mother left, he got easily distracted.

  “What’s in here,” he asked, leaning over and fiddling with the latch on the trunk.

  “Don’t know,” I said. “It’s locked.”

  “No it isn’t.” Then as bold as could be, Skeeter lifted the lid and peered inside. “Wow.”

  Sookie and I ran over to the trunk. It was funny – something was telling me to slam the lid down and stay away from it. When Sookie bent over and exclaimed in oohs and ahhs, I couldn’t resist taking a peek. A strong scent of Christmas tree rose from the trunk. If I closed my eyes and sniffed deeply, then I would have believed I was in the middle of a forest. I helped them lift the heavy lid all the way open.

  Inside, folded in tidy squares, were exotic clothes. In excitement, Skeeter heaved the lid back farther and it snapped off, falling to the floor with a smash, then a clatter.

  “Sorry,” said Skeeter.

  “What’s going on?” called Mom.

  “Nothing,” Skeeter, Sookie, and I shouted together.

  Well, there was nothing we could do about it, so I dug in with the other two and pulled out the clothes. What had first caught our attention was a purple silk turban that had a sparkling ruby pinned in the middle, and a big black feather poking out from the brooch.

  “Hey, that looks really old,” said Skeeter. “Sookie, it looks like a genie hat. You should wear it when you rub the Aladdin’s lamp I gave you.” He reached for the turban.

  “Don’t touch that,” I snapped. Skeeter pulled back in surprise. “I mean” – then I felt embarrassed – “be careful, it might be fragile.”

  Skeeter gave me a dirty look, but he shrugged and left the turban alone. Sookie, who was never slightly worried about what I said, reached in, pulled the hat out of the trunk, and set it on her head. “Very aristocratic,” she observed in a dusty attic mirror.

  Where did she get those words?

  We fished through the rest of the trunk. There was a red bow tie and a white satin shirt. There was also a sparkly red dress, and a long, blue cape. Soon I noticed I was the only one digging through the trunk. Sookie and Skeeter were back messing with their magic tricks.

  “Hey,” I warned Sookie. “Careful – a magician isn’t supposed to share her secrets.”

  “He’s my assistant,” was all Sookie said.

  I folded up the clothes, took the turban off Sookie’s head, and gently laid everything back inside the trunk. I had no idea how to put the lid back on – Skeeter had snapped the hinges – so I had to go downstairs and explain to Mom what happened.

  Mom didn’t appear too miffed. “I’d forgotten that trunk was up there,” she said to me.

  “So it’s not ours?” I said trying to remember if I’d seen the movers bring it in.

  “Maybe it’s one of your father’s items that got mixed up with our boxes,” said Mom. “If Sookie and Skeeter are so

  curious about the trunk, it’s better if the lid is off.” As usual, whenever anything about Dad came up, Mom quickly changed the subject.

  “Trunks can be dangerous because children can get trapped inside,” said Mom. “Are you sure the lid is too heavy for those two to put it back on?”

  “Trust me.” I rolled my eyes. “Even Skeeter won’t be able to figure out how to mess with it. It weighs a ton.”

  “Now, Cat,” said Mom. “Boys can play more rambunctiously than girls. We’re just not used to it.”

  Even my mother was making excuses for stupid boy behavior.

  “We’re ready for the show!” Sookie shouted. As she and Skeeter trudged down the stairs, magic trick kit in tow, the doorbell rang again.

  When I opened the door, all I could say was –

  “Not you!”

  CHAPTER 5 A Slight of Hand

  “CAT, HOW IMPOLITE,” my mother said as she came up behind me. “Please come in.” Mom opened the door as I stumbled backward. “Hello, I’m Mrs. Peters, and this is my daughter, Cat.”

  “I have the pleasure of having history class with Cat,” Clive said with so much charm, I knew he was trying to upstage me. To make sure I understood, when he walked through the door and out of my mother’s view, he sneered at me.

  “What do you want?” My voice was flat, but polite enough. Well, perhaps not, judging by the look Mom gave me.

  “I’m here to pick up my brother,” Clive said.

  “Skeeter is your brother?” Dismay choked off my words. Sookie, no … not your only friend …

  “Oh good,” Sookie announced from the bottom step. “We have one more person for the audience.”

  Skeeter nodded excitedly. He and Sookie walked to the end table, and Mom gasped as Skeeter pushed away the table near the fireplace, tipping the crystal lamp until it teetered over the edge. I leaped and grabbed the lamp just before it toppled over.

  “Good reflexes,” Clive chuckled.

  “Hey,” I said to Skeeter. “Watch it.”

  “Sorry,” said Skeeter, a word he clearly used a lot. “We need this table for the act.”

  Mom and Clive were already sitting on the couch, so I chose the overstuffed chair – it was farthest away from Clive.

  Sookie and Skeeter got the show under way.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Skeeter announced. “May I introduce the world’s greatest magician – Sookie!”

  Clive let out an annoying chuckle. Sookie stood behind the end table, and Skeeter handed her a pile of silver triangles that jingled as she tossed them on the table. She made a big show of demonstrating how the triangles were all separate.

  “Now watch,” Skeeter announced dramatically, “as Sookie links all the triangles together by magic.”

  Sookie tried containing all the triangles in her hands, but a few kept slipping through. And when she tried to pick them up again, more triangles fell between her fingers. Finally, she abandoned a couple on the end table, shook the rest in her closed fists, and when she brought her hands together and released the triangles … they all fell back on the table, still completely separate.

  Clive chuckled again.

  “Glad you find us so amusing,” I said.

  “Cat,” Mom warned.

  Poor Sookie looked mortified. Skeeter seemed puzzled. “I don’t know,” he said to her, scratching his head. “It worked before. Maybe you should have said some of your magic words.”

  I squirmed uncomfortably in the chair as Sookie prepared her next trick. She was trying to rejoin a piece of rope that Skeeter had cut in half while she held the two ends taut. But the two pieces of rope dropped back on the table. I felt my face flush as I watched her provide Clive with endless amusement. Maybe the magic kit was not such a great gift.

  The ball in the cup dropped to the floor and rolled under the couch, which was the only way Sookie could make it disappear. When she poured water into a vase, it leaked all over the carpet. Finally, Mom put an end to the agony when she got up and said, “Why don’t I get Clive and Skeeter some cake to take home.”

  I sighed in relief, but as soon as Mom left, Sookie threw her magic box down in total disgust. Skeeter started scooping all the spilled tricks back into the box. “Don’t give up,” he told her. “You can do it.”

  “But that’s where you two have got it all wrong,” said Clive, standing up from the couch.

  “What do you mean?” asked Sookie.

  “You’ve got it backwards. David Copperfield, Blackstone, Houdini – guys are supposed to be the magicians. Girls are supposed to be the ones who get sawed in half.”

  Sookie looked crushed, and I got ready to tell Clive off. But Skeeter came to the rescue.

  “You’re wrong, Clive. Sookie is a really good magician.”

  Clive shrugge
d his shoulders. “I’m just saying that if you switched places, the act would probably work better. Name some famous women magicians.” Clive looked so sure of himself when I couldn’t name even one. Just then, Mom came back with a plate of birthday cake wrapped up for Clive and Skeeter. As I walked with them to the porch, grateful that the two boys were finally leaving, I overheard Skeeter talking to his brother.

  “I don’t care what you say, Clive. Sookie is the best magician. I like being the assistant.”

  Sookie’s new friend was all right – for a boy.

  As soon as I stepped back inside, I said, “Okay, Sookie, let’s go on the computer and look up famous women magicians.” But Sookie didn’t seem that interested. Instead she was looking sadly at her box of magic tricks. “I don’t understand,” she was saying as she flipped through the pamphlet. “It worked before. What did I do wrong?”

  “You can’t always be good at something right away. It takes practice.” But even as I said that a faint shiver went up

  my back, as if it wasn’t really good advice I was giving her. I shook it off and went to turn on the computer in the den. After typing in “famous women magicians,” the name Adelaide Herrmann, Queen of Magic, came up. “Hey, Sookie, take a look at this. I wonder what a conjurer is.” Then, I pulled up the Queen of Magic’s bio.

  The phone rang. It was Mia telling me that the boys had finally abandoned the soccer field and we could use it now for practice. I rushed out the front door, leaving the picture of Adelaide Herrmann on the screen. It was a spooky poster of a woman standing beside a Greek column. She held a sword, and a decapitated head sat on top of the column. Skeletons floated all around.

  But only soccer was on my mind.

  When I arrived on the soccer field, I looked at the uniforms Mia and Amarjeet were handing out. They were nowhere near as dazzling as the soccer outfits we wore for the Halloween match. Funny, every day that event seemed to shrink in my mind as if it had happened a couple of years back instead of only a month ago. As for our Darkmont uniforms, we provided our own white shorts and were given the boys’ old jerseys that were yellow and red – but the red stripe had faded to orange. We did get new red and yellow socks that matched the jerseys – sort of.