Chapter 4: First Day

Alice choked down her hot cereal one slow bite at a time and tried not to think about school. First days were always the hardest, even in Denver where she knew everyone.

Who to avoid, who to shun. Where to hide from the pops when they went looking for someone to bully and which bathrooms the mean girls avoided because they were for losers. Alice had none of her normal protections, and it terrified her. Forget she had the chance to start over, to maybe try to fit in. They were already part-way through the first semester, October half over. Friends would be cemented, if they weren't already life-long pacts. As an outsider, Alice would have a hard time squeezing her way in, even if she had a choice.

And with darling cousin Claire all set to ruin it for her, Alice's chances of being anything but a fringe dweller faded to zero. In Alice's mind, her arrival at Walden High grew into a natural disaster of nuclear embarrassment proportions from which she would never, ever recover, not even when she was old and gray.

Betty popped her fear bubble when she dropped Alice's lunch beside her and stroked her hair. "Have a great first day, honey."

Alice couldn't say anything.

"Evan," their mother turned to the tall, handsome blonde, the exact opposite of his short, dark sister. "I want you to walk Alice to school today."

Even while her Neanderthal brother made a face, Alice felt her stomach clench around the mass of food in her stomach, threatening to expel all over him.

"Come on, Mom," he complained, waving his spoon at Alice for emphasis. "I can't be seen with her."

Betty's face hardened. Alice wished her mother would just let it go, but knew the look. As much as she tried to help, her mother just made things harder for Alice.

"I'm not asking." Betty slammed his lunch down, the plain paper bag making a dull thud on the table. Alice hoped it bruised his apple. Not that he'd eat anything in the bag. She knew he'd dump it first chance and buy a burger at the cafeteria instead.

"It's okay," Alice said, hating the soft squeak to her voice, forcing it lower and deeper to keep the hitch from coming back. "I can find it on my own."

She could handle a few blocks. But Betty had her back up and wasn't taking no for an answer.

"You will watch over your sister, young man," she said in her most annoying mom tone. "I want you to make sure she's okay, that no one is bothering her. Think you can handle that?" Betty was so clueless. While she was aware of the bullying in Denver, she refused to even consider Evan was part of the problem in the first place. Alice refused to meet her brother's eyes. She already knew what she'd find glaring back at her.

"Sure, Mom," he said, voice bright as he lied to her face. "I'll take really good care of Alice."

That seemed to satisfy Betty, who turned away, missing the kick Evan gave Alice under the table. It hurt a lot, the tip of his sneaker digging into the bone of her shin, but she wouldn't give in, wouldn't cry out or look up. No way was she giving him the satisfaction.

She followed him with great reluctance to the front door. Betty fussed over Evan for a moment before kissing Alice on the cheek. "You two have a great day."

Evan smiled wide, wrapping his arm around Alice's shoulders and pulling her close. "Sure will, Mom. Right, sis?"

She couldn't help it. She squirmed under the painful pressure of his grip. "Yeah, sure," she said. No use fighting it. He'd find a way to punish her whether it was her fault or not.

So not fair.

Alice glanced over her shoulder, watching their mother wave at them for a good half block before she was gone from view. Evan must have been watching, too, because the moment Betty was out of sight he dropped his arm and punched Alice in the shoulder with so much force she stumbled to the right and into a prickly hedgerow.

"Better tell Mom I was nice to you." Gone was the charming football hero. Evan's face twisted into a mask of disgust. "Like I'd ever hang out with you, Lice. Freak." He laughed and backed away. "See you at school. I'll make sure it's a real special day."

Alice stayed where she was, waiting for him to go. The thorns hurt, but not as much as her shoulder where he hit her. She hated him so much, always had, ever since that night in her closet. She'd looked up to him once, adored him. Not anymore.

Not ever again. She envied other people their close relationships with their brothers and sisters and always wondered why Evan treated her the way he did.

Since he would only tell her it was her fault no one liked her, that she was stupid, ugly and disgusting, she was left to guess. And, after enough times hearing his venom, she believed him. She briefly considered going home sick. Alice knew she could convince Betty. She learned years ago to puke on command so she could get out of things putting her at risk. But she knew it would just be delaying the inevitable. Evan would simply wait until the next day to exact his revenge.

Alice slumped toward school, her backpack feeling like it weighed as much as the world, holding her down. As if even her school supplies begged her not to go. She paused for a moment near the end of the first block and hugged herself.

Maybe her mother would send her to private school. There was one in New Orleans. She could even stay there. Or go home to Denver. Foster care was feeling more attractive than the life she was living. Not for the first time, Alice thought about her final alternative. But, as usual, she just didn't have the courage to do it. Even though it said right on the bottle of Betty's sleeping pills too many would be the ticket, and going to sleep and never waking up seemed like a great way to go, she just couldn't.

Feeling more like a coward and a loser than ever, Alice turned to head for home.

While she might not have the courage to kill herself, it seemed like going to school would take even more strength than finally swallowing a hand full of pills.

Alice gasped in fear and surprise when she heard a door slam and the sound of pounding feet heading right for her. She dodged to the side, out of the path of the oncoming guy who practically threw himself toward her, landing clumsily on the sidewalk as his backpack caught on the hedgerow.

"Alice!" He grinned at her like he was happy to see her, hazel eyes sparkling, ginger hair cut so short she saw the freckles on his face continuing onto his scalp. "Hi!" He stuck out his hand, his thin wrist a few inches from the cuff of his shirt. She noticed his jeans were a little too short as well. His feet seemed larger than they should be, his body almost impossibly thin and lanky. She hesitated, but he didn't seem to mind, seizing her hand and shaking it with both of his. "I'm Peter, Peter Beauregard. We're neighbors!" He said it like she hadn't just seen him come from his house.

"Hi." She pulled her hand free, wiping it on her jeans.

"It's great to meet you." He shrugged his shoulders inside the straps of his pack as he continued to smile at her. "I wanted to come over when you got here, but Mom made me wait." He rolled his eyes. "We're in the same grade. Did you know that?"Since she hadn't known he existed until just now, Alice didn't know how to respond.

She really wasn't in the mood to make friends at the moment. If ever.

"Nice to meet you." She brushed past him, forgetting she was on her way home, not going to school. She felt him right on her elbow as she crossed the street.

"You have the coolest house." His voice was slightly high pitched and when she glanced at him she noticed how much his Adam's apple stuck out and bobbed when he talked. It reminded her of a chicken.

"Thanks." She didn't want to be rude, but Alice just wished he would go away. "Blunt House," he said, ignoring her attempts to ignore him. "It has a really old

history. Like, from before the town was founded."

The name sent shivers down her back even though it was just her last name he'd spoken. And she'd heard others refer to her new home that way. But he added an extra, low weight to his words, as though Peter feared the house for some reason. She found herself curious in spite of herself. "Really?"

He nodded quickly as if sensing he was finally getting through to her. "Yup. Some folks say it's even haunted."

Alice shrugged. "No ghosts yet."

"Well, only if you believe in that stuff." He paused and looked both ways before crossing the next street then rushed to catch up with her when she didn't bother. There were more kids on the sidewalk the closer she got to school and Alice found herself ducking her head and trying her best to be invisible.

Peter wasn't doing much to help her go unnoticed. "I have an Ouija board," he said so loudly she was sure the whole world heard him. "We could check it out."

She turned to tell him to keep it down just as one of his sneakers caught the edge of the pavement and hooked. Alice watched in horrified fascination as he stumbled and fell, almost in slow motion, grabbing for her as he went down. She tried to back away, but her own feet betrayed her, sliding on the damp grass as she retreated, sending her into an undignified heap next to him. Her forehead connected with his nose with a loud crack.

Alice reeled back, clutching her face while Peter groaned and did the same.

Alice heard giggling, looked up through the knife of pain in her head to see Claire and three other girls, all perfectly dressed, watching and laughing. Claire rolled her eyesat Alice and made an ÔL' on her forehead with her thumb and index finger before turning and gliding away.

"I'm so sorry," Peter said, reaching for her. "Are you okay?"

Alice pulled her arm out of his grip with some violence, shoving him away as she struggled to climb to her feet. Peter made it up at the same time, looking terribly upset.

The sight of his regret and apology made her anger bubble up and boil over. "Thanks for making me look like a loser," she hissed at him.

"I didn't meanÉ" Peter's eyes dropped. "I'm sorry."

"Just leave me alone." That was it. He ruined everything. People were staring, pointing, laughing behind their hands. It was the most humiliating thing that ever happened to her and it was all his fault.

Alice turned without another word and walked away from him, head throbbing from more than just the blow she'd taken.

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