Pork Page 5

  “Why Steee-ven scared woods?” Pork asked.

  “I think there’s a ghost in there. And I think it’s watching me,” Steven said in a whisper.

  Pork smiled. “No ghost, Steeee-ven. No ghost woods,” she said, standing up with Mildred cupped in her hands. She ran up the ladder and deposited the bird in its nest by the window. Steven stared at the swaying trees in the woods and goose bumps popped up along his arms again. Maybe Pork was right. Maybe there were no ghosts in the woods. It was the spy. His momma must have sent someone to find out where he’d been going every day.

  When Pork returned and found him still staring into the woods, she said, “Pork take Steee-ven woods.”

  Steven’s eyes widened and almost popped out of their sockets. “No, I can’t go in there,” he said and she cocked her head. “They’ll catch me, Pork.”

  Chapter 6

  A few days later, Steven walked through the hallway with his head held slightly higher than usual. Butch and his friends hushed and the girls glared at him. They hadn’t said a word to him since he punched Butch. Instead, they had resorted to silent stares. Sandy ran from behind him and held his hand as they made their way to the classroom at the end of the hallway. The chatter resumed as soon as Steven disappeared from their view.

  “Would you like to join me during lunch, Sandy?” he asked before taking his seat at the back of the class.

  “Yeah, I’d like that,” Sandy said, her porcelain white skin flushing red. Steven nodded and walked to the back as Ms. Clapthorne stepped in.

  The morning dragged on with lesson after lesson and Steven had a hard time concentrating. His mind kept drifting to the woods. He’d been visiting the tree house for nearly three years now, and in all that time, he had never once crossed the creek or gone into the woods. According to Pork, it was a perfectly safe place, but then why did he get goose bumps whenever he looked at it? Whatever was in there was surely out to get him, and if he so much as followed Pork into the woods, he was certain his momma’s spies would catch him. But the more he thought about it, the more he felt the need to confront his fears.

  “I’ll do it one of these days,” he said, and the whole class turned to look at him. Sandy had a confused look on her face. When he realized he had spoken out loud, his face turned scarlet.

  “What did you say, Steven?” Ms. Clapthorne asked, looking a little worried.

  “Nothing, Ms. Clapthorne. I’m sorry.”

  She stared at him for another minute before continuing with the class. Steven straightened up to force himself to concentrate.

  ***

  “What did you say in class?” Sandy asked as they ate their sandwiches on the bench outside. “It was so weird. You usually don’t say a word.”

  Steven crinkled his nose. “Do you remember I told you I play the guitar after school sometimes?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I actually play it in a secret place I found years ago.”

  “You know a secret place?”

  “Yeah. It’s a tree house by the creek, close to the woods,” he said. Sandy held her uneaten sandwich in the air, her eyes glued to his face. “A few weeks ago, I saw a little girl by the creek. She was unconscious when I found her.”

  “Really?” Sandy gasped. “Who is she?”

  “She’s from the woods.”

  “Why was she unconscious?”

  “I don’t know. I tried asking her but she wouldn’t tell.”

  “Was she hurt?”

  “No, not hurt. Just unconscious. I guess she tried to cross the creek but it was too hot, so she fainted.”

  “Yeah, it’s been a very hot spring,” she said. “Is she there now?”

  “No. She goes home every evening but comes back to the tree house the following afternoon.”

  “Oh,” Sandy said as she ate.

  “Just the other day, we found a bird by the creek. Someone had clipped its wings so it can’t fly. Pork and I decided to care for Mildred until she can fly again. Pork…”

  “Wait. Pork? Who is Mildred?”

  “Oh. Sorry. Pork is the name of the girl I found lying unconscious by the creek. Funny name, isn’t it?” Steven chuckled. “And she named the bird we found Mildred.”

  “It’s a stupid name,” Sandy said, though Steven wasn’t sure if she meant the bird’s name or the girl’s.

  “Anyway, Pork digs in the soil by the creek to find worms for Mildred. She’s only eight but she’s kind of amazing. When I first saw her, she wouldn’t say a word. Probably she was terrified of me. But she would eat my sandwiches.” Steven shrugged. “Eventually she started talking, but her English isn’t very good. I can understand her, though.”

  “Is she like your girlfriend?”

  He thought about Sandy’s question for a moment. Was Pork his girlfriend? She was funny and sweet, but she was way too young.

  “No,” he said finally.

  “Did you play the guitar for her?” Sandy asked, not completely satisfied with his answer.

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “Did you two sleep together?”

  Steven remembered the time when he and Pork fell asleep in the tree house. Did that count?

  “Yeah, sort of.”

  “Then she is your girlfriend,” Sandy said, her eyes wilting at the corners. She ate the rest of her sandwich in silence and Steven did the same, not at all convinced by Sandy’s logic. “Can I see the tree house? Would you take me there?”

  “Sure. When would you like to go?”

  “I can go today,” she said.

  ***

  After lunch, Steven suffered through class, then waited for Sandy outside the classroom when school was over. When she finally appeared, Steven took her to his momma’s house first to prepare some sandwiches. To his surprise, Sandy called her nanny on a cell phone to inform her she’d be late for dinner. Steven didn’t even know she had a cell phone. But such was the life of the wealthy in Halstead. He wasn’t exactly comfortable having Sandy in his momma’s house, especially when she was home. Steven wasn’t prepared to tell Sandy about his momma’s problems just yet. But he had to make the sandwiches and he didn’t want to be rude, so he welcomed her in.

  “Hello, Mrs. Walthurst,” Sandy said when she saw Steven’s momma on the couch. She thought his momma looked a little tired, but Steven knew she was drunk. At least she was fully clothed in a decent nightie and sitting upright instead of half-naked in a drunken stupor.

  “Hello,” his momma replied with a pleasant expression. “How are you, child?”

  “This is my friend from school. Her name is Sandy,” Steven said.

  His momma rose from the couch and walked over to them with a big smile.“Oh, what a beautiful name, Sandy!” His momma’s voice was high. “And what beautiful hair you have. Fiery,” she said, taking Sandy’s braid in her hand. “Tell me, what’s your favorite color?” he heard his momma ask Sandy just before he rushed into the kitchen.

  He decided to make peanut butter sandwiches and slapped the pieces of bread together as quickly as possible before stumbling back into the living room. His momma was still talking to an impressed Sandy on the only other chair in the room.

  “And then all the noblemen in the city came to visit Princess Atillia before she was taken by the dragon for a hundred years as promised,” Steven’s momma finished a story he’d never heard before.

  “Let’s go, Sandy,” he said, desperate to get her out of the house. His momma’s mood could shift any moment now.

  “Where are you two going?” His momma turned her attention to Steven.

  “We’re going to study in the library,” Steven lied. Sandy stared at him.

  “So you’ve been spending all your time with Sandy?”

  “No. Sandy’s only joining me for today,” he said, reaching for Sandy’s hand.

  “Well, you two should go on, then. Don’t let this old woman jabber on at you.” She smiled at Sandy, and Sandy returned it kindly. “I’ll see you later, son. Sandy, you have t
o come again another time and I’ll tell you what happened to Princess Atillia.”

  “You mean there’s more?”

  “Of course there is, dear. She can’t die in the dragon’s dungeon, can she? She’s a princess.” His momma made the grand gesture of a noblewoman and Sandy smiled.

  “I will, Mrs. Walthurst. I’ll see you again,” she said before Steven tugged her arm and half dragged her to the door. “Thank you, Mrs. Walthurst.”

  “Goodbye, children. Take care,” his momma said, following them to the door. She watched them leave as Steven kept glancing over his shoulder. She’d never accompanied him to the door before, but today she watched them until they took the bend. Is she waiting to signal her spies to follow me?

  “Your mom is really nice. I can’t believe Butch said all those things about her,” Sandy said when they had been walking for five minutes or so.

  “Yeah,” Steven replied.

  “Why did you lie to her about the library?”

  “She doesn’t know about the tree house. I never told her.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s my secret place. Remember?”

  “Why did you tell me about it?” Steven shrugged and Sandy blushed. “Can I join you at the tree house other days as well?”

  Steven thought about this for a moment and looked over his shoulder again. He didn’t see anyone following them, but the spies could be anywhere. Steven felt especially suspicious since his momma had been in a good mood just now for longer than she had ever been. He couldn’t imagine what his momma would do to him if she found out he’d been meeting Pork at the tree house.

  “I don’t know. We’ll see,” he said finally. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it and needed more time to think it through. When they finally reached the bridge, Steven crossed it first and held out a hand for Sandy. “We’re here. See? That’s my tree house.”

  “Wow!” Sandy said, looking up at it while Steven beamed with pride. “It’s really cool.”

  “Come on up. I’ll show you around.”

  Sandy climbed the ladder, and Steven helped with her backpack when she came up the balcony.

  “Wow! Beautiful view,” Sandy said, spreading her arms.

  “It’s awesome, isn’t it?”

  “It’s amazing.”

  He let Sandy sit on the balcony to enjoy the sun for a minute while he went in and cleaned up the tree house a little.

  “Pork will be here any minute now,” he said as Sandy sat on the floor. “This is where I keep the guitar,” he said, dragging the wooden chest from under the ledge. He opened the lid and removed his guitar case to play “Smoke on the Water” for Sandy. He was sure she’d love it, just the way Pork did. “Would you like to hear me play?”

  Sandy nodded. Steven perched the instrument on his lap and began to strum while Sandy closed her eyes and nodded to the rhythm. It was the only song he knew, but it was enough to impress her.

  “How did you learn to play like that?” she asked when he was done.

  “I’ve been practicing.”

  “Can you play other songs?”

  “Nah. But I’m planning to learn a few more.”

  “That’s cool,” Sandy said.

  Steven put the guitar on the floor and walked to the window. Mildred was chirping madly, demanding to be fed. Steven removed a container from his backpack and tore a small piece of his sandwich for Mildred. The bird pecked at the crumbs greedily.

  “I wonder what’s taking Pork so long today,” he said, looking out the window. And then, turning back to Sandy, he said, “Did I tell you I found her unconscious again yesterday?”

  “Where?” Sandy joined him by the window and looked out.

  “There, right by the creek.” Steven pointed to a spot next to a boulder by the stream, almost hidden behind the tall grass. “I found her unconscious but she wasn’t dirty like that first time I saw her.”

  “I see.” Sandy walked away from the window and sat on the floor again with her legs folded . “Do you know where she lives? Does she have a family?”

  “She lives in the woods with her pa. But she won’t tell me any more than that.” Steven was still looking out the window, willing Pork to appear, but she didn’t. He wondered if her fainting yesterday had something to do with her absence today. What if something bad happened to her? What if his momma’s spies in the woods had caught her? Maybe they were holding her hostage to get to him. Steven shuddered involuntarily.

  “Do you come here every day?” Sandy broke the manic thoughts in his mind.

  “Yeah.” He turned away from the window and sat on the ledge, feeding Mildred some more bits of bread.

  “I really like your mom.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. She’s so kind and funny.” Sandy smiled. “That story she told me about Princess Atillia, that was just awesome. I bet she told you all kinds of bedtime stories when you were little and takes real good care of you.”

  “Yeah, she does,” Steven lied, not really interested in telling Sandy the truth. He was more concerned about Pork’s whereabouts. He stroked Mildred’s tiny head and the bird closed its eyes whenever his finger pressed on it. Steven smiled.

  “Why do you spend so much time here?”

  “I like it here. It’s peaceful.” Steven shrugged.

  “I think you should spend more time with your mom,” Sandy said with a crinkled forehead. She was serious. Steven was desperate to change the subject.

  “Didn’t your momma read bedtime stories to you, Sandy?”

  “No, not really. My mom and dad are hardly home. They’re always working.”

  “Who takes care of you, then?”

  “Nanny Gwen. She’s nice.”

  “Well, don’t you have, like, family holidays and stuff?” Steven tried to think of things normal families did together.

  “Mom and dad go to Europe twice a year but they never take me along.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know,” Sandy said.

  “So what do you do when you’re alone?”

  “I read books, watch TV, play on my PS4.”

  “What’s a PS4?”

  “It’s a video game system. You know what a video game is?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “You should come to my house after school one day, Stevie. We can play together and it’ll be fun.” Sandy’s eyes sparkled with excitement, something he hadn’t seen before. She was usually serious and to the point. In fact, he never would have guessed she played video games.

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  “Why don’t you come after school tomorrow?” she pressed on.

  “Well, let me think about it, okay?”

  Sandy nodded. Steven glanced out the window and had a niggling feeling that Pork was not coming today. He was sure she’d turn up the next day, and when she did, he intended to get to the bottom of her story. At present, he was concerned about Mildred and getting her some worms.

  “Sandy, will you help me dig worms for Mildred?”

  “Eeew! That’s gross,” Sandy said with a grimace.

  Steven’s face fell. “I know. But Pork’s really good at it. She’s brave and she knows where to look.” Steven continued stroking Mildred’s tiny head as his forehead wrinkled. A kind of anxiety coursed through him and he wanted desperately to feed the chirping bird, but still, he couldn’t stomach the idea of touching a worm.

  “Didn’t you just feed it bread?”

  “I like giving her worms. If her wings weren’t clipped, she’d look for them herself.”

  Sandy pondered his statement for a while and decided if Pork could do it, then so could she.

  “Fine. I’ll help you if you promise to stand by me. I mean, I want Mildred to eat worms too, but I’m not going to do it alone. She’s your bird,” she said with her nose held high.

  Steven smiled and followed Sandy down the ladder. They crossed the clearing and paused by the creek. The creek was no more than two inches in some parts and as
deep as a child’s ankle in others. It wasn’t much lower than the clearing, either. Less than one foot down and the banks were almost even, lined with rocks of various sizes. He stood by the bank as Sandy crouched and dug with her bare hands. She didn’t look happy about it but she plowed through.

  “Pork always looks for worms over there, where the soil is black,” he said, pointing to her left.

  “I’m sure there are plenty of worms right here. It’s not rocket science, Stevie,” she said, rolling her eyes. Fifteen minutes later, Sandy had failed to find a single brown worm. The sun was high and scorching their skin.

  “Let’s try under the shade there.” Sandy finally pointed toward the area Steven had suggested earlier and he followed without a word.

  Ten minutes later, they’d found four worms. They went back up and fed Mildred until she settled comfortably in her nest. Sandy went back down to the creek to wash her hands and returned five minutes later.

  “Are you hungry? You can have Pork’s share if you like. I don’t think she’s coming today.”

  “Sure, I’ll have it.”

  They finished the peanut butter sandwiches in less than ten minutes, watching Mildred as they ate.

  “Can you walk me home? I don’t want Nanny Gwen to worry about me,” Sandy said when they’d finished the last of their drinks.

  “Sure. Let me pack up and then we can leave.”

  The two walked past the clearing, turned onto the narrow trail, and finally reached the main street. From where they stood, they could see Judge Watterson’s house standing tall and mighty. It was the biggest house Steven had seen in town. Butch and Tommy were on a wide patio, drinking iced tea and munching on peanuts, when Steven and Sandy walked past.

  “Hi, Stevie,” Tommy called out, and Steven made brief eye contact without breaking stride. “Who’ve you got there? Is that Sandy?” he asked while Butch watched them without a word. He had a toothpick sticking out of the corner of his mouth.