"Is he dead?" Becky gasped as I returned to the truck.
"No, but I think you may have killed his can," I said, dangling the bucket in front of her. "What was he doing painting in the middle of the night? And where was he going?"
"It was just paint!" Becky said with a gasp of relief, hanging up her cell phone and revving the engine. "Let's get out of here!" "What was that jerk doing walking in the middle of the road at night?" I wondered out loud. "Maybe he was going to paint some graffiti or something."
"Where did he come from? Where could he have gone so fast?" she mumbled back at me.
In the rearview mirror I caught the reflection of the darkened Mansion just in time to see a light go on in the attic window.
Chapter 6 Exposed
The story of Naked Trevor spread immediately through Dullsville High. Some students said he stumbled into Matt's house in a trash-bag diaper; others said he was found passed out naked on the back lawn. No one had a clue I was involved. Only Trevor Boy knew the real story. Apparently he tried to pass it off to his buddies as an encounter with a cheerleader. Either way, everyone got a laugh.
Trevor left me alone. He wouldn't even make eye contact with me. Gothic Girl had finally gotten the goods on the popular Soccer Snob. But I didn't want him to accuse me of theft. I had to give his clothes back, right?
First there was the shoe. I think it was the left. I strung it on the outside of my locker. At first no one seemed to notice the hanging loafer. Those who finally did looked at it and walked on. But the next morning it was gone. One person had noticed it. Now it was time for others to take notice besides good ol' Trevor.
The right brown loafer was strung up in the same fashion. But next to it was a sign: MISSING SOMETHING, TREVOR? This time I heard giggles as students passed. They didn't realize whose locker it was. But they'd soon be catching on.
Each day a sock would hang out, or a T-shirt. I started noticing Snob Girls who would never talk to me suddenly looking over in algebra with smiling approval. They had been Trevor Tree Girls, promised everything, with nothing to show for it. Well, I had plenty to show.
By the time his khaki pants were hung out, complete with grass stains and dirt, everyone knew whose locker it was. Now kids in the hall were grinning at me. Guys weren't exactly asking me out, but I was suddenly popular--in a quiet kind of way.
Except, of course, with Trevor. But I felt safe. Now that everyone knew whose locker it was, he would be the prime suspect if anything happened to me.
But he did make the odd threat.
"I'll kick your ass, Monster," he said one day. He grabbed my jaw in his hands when Becky and I were starting to walk home.
"Combat boots hurt more than loafers, Neanderthal," I shot back. My face was pressed between his hands.
"Let her go," Matt said, pulling him away. I could see even Matt had enjoyed my prank. I'm sure he got tired of the Trevor attitude sometimes. After all, he was stuck being Trevor's best friend.
"You'll never be anything more than a freak!" Trevor shouted. Fortunately Matt pulled him away again. I didn't feel like going to battle after a long day at school.
"You just wait! You just wait!" he called back to me.
"Talk to my lawyer!" I yelled, secretly hoping I wasn't going to need a plastic surgeon instead. Time for the grand finale. Lots of students were gathered around my locker. I even saw a freshman taking pictures.
It was the climax everyone had been waiting for: Trevor's white Calvin Klein underwear hot-glued to my locker. The sign underneath read: WHITE IS FOR VIRGINS, RIGHT TREVOR?
It would be up there for a while. Everyone saw it. I mean everyone!
"Raven, you defaced school property," Principal Smith scolded me later that day. I had been in Principal Smith's office so many times, it was like seeing an old friend.
"Those lockers have been here forever, Frank," I replied. "Maybe it's time you tell the school board we need new ones."
"I don't think you see the seriousness involved here, Raven. You ruined a locker and embarrassed an honors student."
"What honor? Ask your straight-A cheerleaders and half the drill team how many times he's embarrassed them!"
Principal Smith rattled his pencil in frustration.
"We need to get you involved in something, Raven. Some club you can belong to, something that will help you make friends."
"The chess club have any openings? Or how about the math club?" I asked sarcastically.
"There are other activities."
"Can you guarantee me a spot on the cheerleading squad? Of course, I'd have to wear a black pleated skirt."
"That's one you have to try out for. But I bet you'd be great." "Obviously honors students, like Trevor, really respect cheerleaders."
"Raven, high school is hard for most kids. That's just the way it is. Even the people who look as though they belong usually don't feel they belong. But you have so much going for you. You're imaginative. You're smart. You'll figure it out. Just don't damage any more lockers while you're trying to find the answers."
"Sure, Frank," I said, taking the detention slip. "See you soon."
"Not too soon, okay, Raven?"
"I'll try not to work you too hard," I said and closed the door.
The next day I noticed something on my locker that I hadn't put up. In black paint was written: RAVEN IS A HORROR!
I smiled. Very clever, Trevor. Very clever. I felt warm inside. It was the first time he had ever complimented me.
Chapter 7 Happy Halloween
Halloween. My favorite day of the year. The one day of the year that I fit in. It's the only day everyone accepts and compliments me, and I even get rewarded for it by generous neighbors who don't think I'm too old to celebrate--or are more likely too afraid of what my tricks would be. But this year I decided I really wanted to wear a costume. I shopped in stores I usually never went to and borrowed things from my mom. I strangled my hair into a ponytail and pink barrettes and wore a lusciously soft white cashmere sweater with a pink tennis skirt. I gave myself a healthy glow with some of my mom's base and blush and wore a soft plum lipstick. I even carried my dad's tennis racket. I went around the house saying things like, "Mummy dear, I'll be home after my tennis lesson!"
Nerd Boy didn't recognize me as I passed him in the kitchen. Then his mouth dropped open when he realized it was me and not a neighbor's kid dropping over for sugar.
"I've never seen you look so...good," he said, dressed as a baseball player. I thought I was going to be sick right there and then.