Chapter 7-1
643 Words
Chapter 7
The Fox and the Box
Penny and Zoe rounded off their day with an exploration of the school grounds, lunch at the little restaurant next to Sullivan’s, and a walk along the Chehalis River. Zoe kept stopping to pluck interesting rocks at the water’s edge.
Later, they walked to Zoe’s house, where her grandmother had fallen asleep on the couch watching her favorite afternoon soap operas. They tiptoed through the small house to Zoe’s room, where she showed off her rock collection and a full shelf of books, all of which she had read at least once.
“We used to move a lot,” she said. “I never got a chance to make many friends, so I read.”
Her reading tastes ranged from Nancy Drew, to Harry Potter, to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Most were fantasy, everything from Lord of the Rings to Discworld. There was even a selection of old geology textbooks, and a few dedicated to nothing but gems and crystals. Some of these had library stickers from towns where Zoe had lived at one time or another.
Penny finally thought to check the clock on Zoe’s nightstand, and panicked. It was five until five.
“Don’t worry, I’ll give you a ride back,” Zoe said, guiding her out through the back door, into the overgrown backyard—where Penny saw a bicycle so old and ugly, she would have almost rather been late than accept a ride on it. It was bulky, with faded yellow paint, rust spots dusting the frame like freckles, a worn banana seat, and long, curving handlebars that would have looked at home on a motorbike.
Zoe seemed to have read Penny’s mind.
“I’ll stay off Main Street,” she said with an apologetic look.
Zoe pumped the bike’s pedals with reckless abandon, shooting blindly across intersections, hopping over curbs; and Penny sat behind her, holding on for dear life.
They skidded to a stop in the gravel parking lot behind the bookstore just as Susan stepped from the back door and locked it behind her.
“There you are,” she said upon spotting them. “I thought maybe you forgot about me.”
“I didn’t forget,” Penny lied, climbing down from Zoe’s bike. She felt depressed as she stepped toward the old Falcon. The best day she’d had in weeks was at an end now, and the thought of spending the rest of the evening alone in her room, or watching TV in the living room, was unbearable.
“Susan, can Zoe stay over tonight?”
Penny was sure Susan would say no, and equally sure that Zoe would be tired of her company by then.
Susan gave them a quick look, seemed to be making up her mind, and said, “Sure, why not. Do you think your grandmother will let you, Zoe?”
“Maybe,” Zoe said, but she sounded unsure. “Can I call and let you know?”
“That’s fine. Will you need a ride?”
“No,” Zoe said quickly. “I know where you live. The big house on Clover Hill. I can ride my bike.”
Penny gave Zoe her phone number, which Zoe wrote down on the back of her hand. Then Zoe was off, spraying a rooster tail of dust and gravel as she pedaled toward her house.
Susan watched her until she disappeared around a corner a block away, then turned back to Penny. “Isn’t that a long way to ride?”
Penny thought so too, but said, “She does ride pretty fast.”
They stopped at the little video store at the end of town and rented a movie in anticipation of Penny’s first sleepover, then drove home with the windows open in the waning heat, a comfortable wind blowing through the car.
“Well, what do you think kiddo? Gonna survive out here in the sticks?”
Staring out the window at the blurred countryside, Penny thought she saw something pace them, then disappear into the brush; something furry and red, about the size of a dog.
She smiled.
“It’s weird, but I think I’ll get used to it.”
- Writer
