Mystery Guest

MARIA & PIP

Please just open it.

I throw a second stone at Pip's window; the sound echoes along the silent street.

Any minute now, her mom and dad are going to wake up.

Pip's phone must be off. My messages aren't reaching her, which is why I walked over here.

I throw a third stone, a bigger one this time.

Is she really sleeping that deeply? Or is she deliberately ignoring me?

The idea of being ignored by Pip chills me. Where am I going to go if she doesn't let me in?

Maybe she's still mad about the fight this afternoon, and that's why she's leaving me outside in the middle of the night.

But then finally her curtains open, and I feel my heart leap.

I did it.

Pip slides her window open, leans on her windowsill, and looks at me. She doesn't even seem surprised to see me here at this time of night.

She nods at the neighbors' roof, which runs underneath her window.

Does she seriously expect me to climb up there?

I look at the drainpipe. It has a few ridges sticking out on the sides. I've seen people climb them in movies. It always looks so easy.

I grab the drainpipe and plant my sneakers on the first ridge.

The first time, I slip back down. The second time, I scrape my bare arm on the brick wall. But the third time is the charm.

From the roof it's easy to get through Pip's window. She pulls me over the windowsill, my legs sliding in last and flopping onto the floor like I'm a rag doll.

It's not the coolest of entrances, but I can't help laughing.

It must be the sense of relief because I managed the climb. Or maybe just because Pip's here.

Even though she's always here, I'm afraid that one day she won't be.

Jax bumps his head against my cheek. Pip's ginger tomcat is always happy to see me.

I sit up and scratch Jax behind his ears.

"What do you want?" Her tone is abrupt, so she clearly hasn't forgotten our fight. "It's the middle of the night."

"I know . . . I . . ." I don't get any further than that before the tears start.

"Maria . . ." Pip sits down on the floor beside me and wraps her arms tightly around me.

I breathe in her scent. She smells like the vanilla perfume I gave her for her birthday.

"It's Ferris," I begin. Of course it's Ferris. Whenever I cry, it's always because of my brother.

When he went away, I hoped that things at home would stop revolving around him, but strangely it's even worse than before.

Mom is always crying, and Dad's gotten even quieter than usual.

After visiting hours, I know I have to steer well clear of both of them unless I want to get yelled at.

Everything still revolves around my brother.

"He's coming home tomorrow. On probationary release."

As I say the words, my stomach flips again. Pip knows what this means.

She's the only one I've told about Ferris.

Part of the story, I mean, because I never tell anyone everything.

"How long is he staying?"

"All summer." Again, it dawns on me what that means. "All summer" is six weeks. Six very long weeks.

"Can they just do that?" Pip looks kind of pale.

"Apparently they can." When my mom and dad told me, I thought I was losing my mind. How could Ferris suddenly be coming home for six weeks? They'd paid a fortune to get him into that center. He could have spent the summer there, couldn't he?

"And now?"

"And now the summer is going to be a disaster."

"We are not going to let that happen," says Pip. The word "we" makes me feel a bit better.

"How about we do something fun tomorrow?" she suggests.

"What kind of fun?" I look back over my shoulder. It's pitch-dark outside, but I know what's out there. Rows of houses, the woods, the fields, cows, and then the highway.

"There's nothing fun around here."

"There's me."

I look at Pip. I wish that were enough, but it's not.

When Ferris is home, I'm going to need three Pips to get me through those weeks. And probably even that wouldn't be enough.

Pip sits down on her bed. Jax immediately snuggles up on her lap. "How about we go swimming at our lake tomorrow?"

I sit down beside her. "Our lake?"

"That's what it is, isn't it?" Pip looks at me. Her green eyes never look directly at mine but always dance around them a little, as if looking at me is too much of a challenge.

There's something cute about it.

"Sure is." I run my finger down her cheek. "You still mad about this afternoon?"

"A bit." Pip turns her face away. "You called me 'safe.' "

I already suspected that was what was bothering her. When I'd said that, Pip winced and said she had to go home.

Pip probably thinks I don't notice when she clams up, but I can see the signals from miles away.

It's like I got an instruction manual for Pip when we got to know each other.

It's not a thick manual. I finished it in no time.

I know exactly what I can and can't do with her. I know her inside out.

"So?" I say defensively.

" 'Safe' is the same as 'boring.' "

"That's simply not true." I would never call her boring again. The last time I did that, she ignored me for two days. They were the longest two days of my life. " 'Safe' and 'boring' are definitely not the same thing."

I think of all the times Pip was there for me this year. Ferris's court case, all that trouble with Mike . . .

Mike.

No, don't think about him.

But he still lingers, like a nasty aftertaste in my mouth. I'm scared he's going to suddenly return to our town one day.

What would it feel like to see him again?

"Can I make it up to you?" I say, changing tactics. I lean forward, but Pip shakes her head.

"Not like that."

"You sure?"

"Sure."

"Then what do I have to do?" I look at her top lip, which is covered in freckles. In the summer, she always gets a freckle mustache from the sun. She really hates it.

I don't. I think it's cute.

Like everything about Pip. Even her name is sweet.

"What do you want? Do I have to tell you how attractive you are? How sexy? How-"

"Maria . . ." Pip shakes her head, but I can see in her eyes that she's almost over it.

"How wildly desirable, how fun, how fabulous, how-"

Before I can continue, Pip shuts me up with a kiss.

She puts her arms around me again, and I feel . . . safe.

"What's going on?" Pip's dad is suddenly standing in the doorway. Startled, I let go of his daughter. Why didn't we hear him coming?

"Sir, I . . ."

"It's the middle of the night!" Pip's dad growls. "How did you even get in here?"

I glance at the window.

"You need to go home, young lady."

As I walk toward the window, he shakes his head.

"Please use the front door."

That guy really hates me.

At first, I thought it was because he didn't want his daughter dating a girl, until Pip told me about her ex. Seems he did like her . . .

"Yes, of course. Sir." I look at Pip, who seems to be struggling not to laugh.

She's never been bothered by the fact that her dad doesn't like me. And that's always given me a certain peace of mind.

No matter what anyone does or says, Pip will always be on my side.

Always.

I said she was safe, didn't I?

"See you tomorrow," says Pip as I leave her room.

"We'll see about that," I hear her dad reply.

Outside, it's still pitch-dark, but strangely I feel a lot lighter.

Pip recharged my batteries. She even made me forget about my brother for a little while.

As I'm walking home, my phone buzzes.

Is it Pip? To say she misses me already?

But no, it's an unknown number. With a weird profile picture: a greenish mask with just one visible eye.

MYSTERY GUEST, it says.

My scalp tingles. I stop beneath one of the lampposts.

And how did this person get my number?

Then I see the message. It's short but powerful.

MYSTERY GUEST:

Bored?

MARIA & MYSTERY GUEST

I click on the profile picture, but that one eye is totally unrecognizable.

Who could it be?

I look at the message on my screen again, but there are no clues.

Why would a stranger ask me if I'm bored?

I look around. The street is silent, as it always is at this late hour. And at all the other times of the day, to be honest.

Our town gives the word "boring" a whole new meaning.

I click on the number. The phone rings out three times before the line goes dead.

No voicemail, nothing.

Who is this?

For a moment, Norah flashes through my mind. Could the eye behind the mask belong to Pip's ex?

Maybe. I don't even know what color Norah's eyes are. I try to avoid her as much as possible.

Unfortunately, though, she keeps turning up, just when I'm not expecting her. In a town like this, you can't avoid each other forever.

Or maybe it's Mike?

I feel anxious at the thought that he got a new phone so he could send me messages.

No, Mike wouldn't do that.

The guy knows he needs to stay as far away as possible from the town and from me.

Doesn't he?

My thumbs hover over the keyboard.

What should I reply?

Bored?

Whoever it is, they've hit the nail on the head.

MARIA:

Always.

I wait a few seconds. My message has been sent.

My heart is pounding against my rib cage, but if I'm honest, it's not an unpleasant feeling.

It's a bit like when I used to take money from my mom's or dad's wallets. Not for the money but for the feeling it gave me.

They sometimes used to notice that something was missing, but they didn't know why. Carrying a secret around with you, knowing something that only you know-it makes you feel alive.

Really alive.

And now I'm talking to someone called Mystery Guest.

I look at the profile picture again. If Norah is behind the mask, I'm going to go crazy.

That girl has been out to destroy me right from the start, and sometimes I'm afraid she'll succeed.

She just kept stirring up trouble between me and Pip. I'm still scared that she'll manage to get Pip to leave me.

What am I supposed to do if Pip's not in my life anymore?

The past few weeks, Norah seems to have been keeping a low profile, but I know it's just a matter of time, because she always resurfaces eventually.

She hates me.

Her instruction manual is way shorter than Pip's. It only has one line: Stay as far away from her as possible.

My phone buzzes again, making my heart rate rocket.

MYSTERY GUEST:

Let's play a game.

MARIA & HER MOM AND DAD

"Maria? Did you hear what I said?"

The next morning, my eyes are glued to the screen of my phone as I chew my second piece of toast without tasting it.

Why did Mystery Guest promise me a game, and then I didn't hear from them again?

Maybe it was just someone at school playing a lame joke. I can think of a few guys in my class who are dumb enough to do something like this.

But I still go on staring at my phone. Because what if this is real?

Then a new message arrives. But it's from Pip.

PIP:

Our date is still on.

I'll leave Dad at home.

I smile.

"Maria?" my mom says.

"What?" Sighing, I put down my phone.

"Would you stop by the baker's later to get some cake?"

"Cake?" I look at her. "What's the celebration?"

"You know, Ferris is coming home this afternoon?"

"That's no reason for cake."

"Maria." My dad's voice is tense. It has been all morning. Mom's looking forward to Ferris coming home, but I'm not so sure about Dad.

My dad and Ferris never got along that well. He was always my mom's favorite.

But Mom is Dad's favorite, so he always stands up for Ferris whenever I say anything negative about him.

"Okay," I say. "I'll go get some cake after I go swimming."

MARIA & PIP

Pip is sitting on her towel when I get to the lake. There's no one else around. It's always quiet here.

There are no restaurants, no spectacular slides. Most kids go to the bigger lake in the next town.

It probably doesn't help that this lake has a view of an old warehouse that has been abandoned for years. There's something sinister about the place. But the lake is nice and quiet, which makes it the perfect place to be together without being disturbed.

"Hey, you're here." Pip perks up.

"Of course I'm here."

I lay my towel next to hers. The first time we came here, there was an arm's length between our towels. Now it's just a few grains of sand.

"You been swimming already?" I ask.

"No way. It's much too cold."

"Really?" When I put my foot in the water, it stings. "Cold" is an understatement. It's like an ice bath.

When I walk deeper in, it's like my skin is being attacked by thousands of needles.

"You're not actually going to swim, are you?" Pip shouts from her towel.

I take a deep breath. "That is exactly what I'm going to do."

"You really are crazy!"

"I know."

And then I start running. With big leaps, I head deeper into the lake until I can't reach the bottom any longer, and I fall forward. When I'm underwater, it's like my heart stops.

But as I surface, it's beating more strongly than ever.

The sun warms my cold body while Pip chats away. She's talking about her summer job at the animal shelter.

"It's a good thing I rescued that golden retriever," I say, "or you wouldn't have gotten the job."

Pip smiles. "You're right. I only found out about the shelter because of you. And it's the best job ever."

It really does seem to be the perfect job for her: helping poor little animals that no one wants anymore.

"A new labrador came in yesterday," says Pip. "A brown one. I'd love to take him home with me."