The Mars Project, Julie Steimle [read aloud txt] 📗

to Kevin. “We won’t let it get out of hand,”

But Zormna’s eyes only narrowed more at them all. The boys could tell Zormna didn’t trust them that much. She shook her head briefly then lifted her eyes directly to Brian, then Mark, and then Jonathan, singling each one out. “If I hadn’t promised you that you could have a party at my place then I wouldn’t do this. But, a promise is a promise.” Zormna rose to her feet, turning to a trashcan to dump her lunch. “Don’t make me regret this.”

Jeff smirked with a peek at them.

Jennifer shrugged and followed Zormna. Kevin followed with her, relieved to be getting away from the wrestlers.

“Told you,” Jeff said.

“Well, you weren’t exactly supportive,” Jonathan snapped.

Jeff shrugged. “I’m supportive of her.”

They all stared at Jeff, who started eating his apple with his eyes now glancing at the changing leaves of the tree above. He had definitely changed. Half a year ago he would have been teasing and mocking Zormna over how ridiculously clueless and backward she was. And he would have enjoyed watching her house get trashed. But Brian sighed, realizing that they had been the ones to encourage Jeff to let ‘bygones be bygones’ and make peace with Zormna.

*

The week flew by fast and it was Friday before Zormna knew it. It was a full day for her. She had to wear her cheer outfit to the school, and she had practice after school. Then she had the football game. And then—if she had the energy—she had the school dance. And last would be Adam Arbor’s eighteenth birthday bash. What she didn’t know was that word had spread that there was a party at her place after the dance, and absolutely everyone wanted to come, including Joy who acted a little nicer toward her at practice with Jennifer McCabe that morning.

“Act Three, Scene Four is finished,” Mr. Humphries said, sitting on his desk and crossing his ankles. “What do you think?”

No one offered a hand.

“Nothing?” he said with such mock surprise. “You think absolutely nothing?”

Michael stood up in the front. “I heard this play was cursed. Is that true?”

The room filled with moans, but their teacher held up his hand.

“That rumor has puzzled many scholars. It is said that an accident almost always happens during the play of Macbeth that either harms someone or kills someone. Some people even believe that there is a real spell in the play.” Mr. Humphries smiled. “In light of Halloween coming up and the debate over that, do you think superstition and fear just might have some validity?”

A boy stood up eagerly, someone neither Jeff nor Zormna knew, raising his hand. “But that’s vandalism, not Halloween. People only want to stop pumpkin smashing and mailbox bashing.”

Their teacher nodded. “That is some of it. But some people fear cults too. Some people think Halloween is an evil holiday.”

“Then they don’t understand it,” that same boy replied. “Halloween is a celebration of the autumn equinox. It is a day of fun. Only jerks twist it to hurt people.”

Anne Mary raised her hand in a huff. She was a fluffy haired girl with peaches and cream skin, blue eyes and a dab of freckles just across the tops of her cheeks and nose under her eyes.

“Yes?” Mr. Humphries said.

Standing, she declared boldly, “Halloween celebrates devils and witches. People dress up and pretend to be evil. It is Satanic.”

The boy (whose name still escaped Jeff) glared at her. “It is not! People wear costumes, traditionally, to prevent such things from hurting them.”

Anne Mary shook her head and glared at the boy (whose name Zormna was now struggling to recall). “What a crock! It’s all of the devil!”

Joy, Brian, and few others moaned. Some murmured that Anne Mary was being too fanatical about it.

Mr. Humphries raised his hands, trying to pacify the arguers. “Calm down, we can talk civilly.”

The others watched. Though some had laughed, some nodded with Anne Mary. Zormna watched with confusion on her face, not familiar with the holiday any more than she was with that boy. Conversely, Jeff sat with his amused classmates, merely listening to the argument.

Their classmate who was for Halloween shook his head. “No. It is just a pagan holiday. People believed that Halloween was the darkest night of the year—”

“It is the darkest night of the year!” Anne Mary spat back. “It is evil!”

Joy rolled her eyes toward Zormna, shaking her head with a shared look to her brother next. Adam was smirking.

“Calm down,” Mr. Humphries’ reasonable voice said again. “Speak civilly.”

“It is not. People dressed in scary costumes to ward off evil spirits and they carved vegetables and lit candles in them to do the same,” the boy replied to her, ignoring his teacher.

“No they didn’t! It is all cultist! People sacrifice cats every year. I lost a cat on Halloween!” Anne Mary shouted.

“Sometimes people take advantage of a holiday to do harm,” Mr. Humphries replied flatly. “Now—Neil, Anne Mary—please sit down. We have to continue our Macbeth discussion.”

“Neil…” Jeff and Zormna almost said in unison—then shared a look.

The kids around them snickered, including Joy who was also struggling to remember the boy. He just didn’t hang around their group.

The boy and the girl sat down, but they both glared at one another from across the room, as Mr. Humphries said to Jeff and Zormna, “Do you both care to add something?”

Both Jeff and Zormna raised their hands in surrender, shaking their heads.

“Ok, it is time to read some papers,” he said, flipping through the stack in his hands. It had become increasingly thicker as time went on. There were some he still wanted to have read that he didn’t have time before.

“Jeff Streigle, read this one.” Mr. Humphries handed the paper to Jeff who looked slightly surprised though he reached out his hand to take it.

Jeff stood up. He read the title. I Regret Fighting With My Father. Taking a breath, he peeked at his teacher. Apparently his teacher had been moved by it.

Reading, Jeff said, “If I ever had a regret, it would be that I regret ever fighting with my father. I used to think that many things were my father’s fault. Things happened when I was young that made me resent him, and at times hated him. I felt he was stifling me, and at times I thought he wanted me to live the same miserable life that he lived. I hated that. At times I argued with him just for the sake of opposing him. I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I was so mad at him I didn’t care….”

He continued to read. Midway through his reading, Zormna looked up at him. It didn’t sound like he was talking about his made-up father at all, who was famous for ‘beating’ Jeff. It was a fraction of a slip from his alibi, but somehow fitting all the same. He was sharing something real for once. She understood what he was describing.

“…With all my regrets,” Jeff read. “I really wish I parted with my father on better terms. I wish I could erase all the mean things I said. And I wish that one day we will meet again, on better terms.”

Jeff looked up and handed the paper back to his teacher. Mr. Humphries nodded as he took it.

“And for contrast, Miss Clendar, please read your paper.”

Zormna stood up to take the paper from him, wondering if he was punishing them for their outburst. But then she glanced at the paper. It was also about her regrets. She smirked.

Everyone looked at her, expecting a tragic story about someone getting killed or something she wished she had done in Ireland. Clearing her throat as well as her amused expression, she read: “I really regret turning my teacher’s aide’s hair green at my old school.”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Jeff smirked with the rest of them.

Zormna innocently smiled, continuing. “I should have used the other cleaning chemical. It would have turned his hair purple, and then I wouldn’t have been caught.”

Everyone laughed even louder. Their teacher shook his head with a faintly disapproving smirk, yet an entirely amused grin hid behind his eyes.

*

“So you were punished for pulling how many pranks?” in Miss Bianchi’s class, Sam asked, leaning near her to get the entire story while others listened in. Jessica seemed incredibly interested, though Jennifer was ignoring her.

Zormna merely shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “Over thirty, I think. I can’t really remember.”

He laughed.

Jennifer glanced back at her and then Sam. She let out a perturbed sigh. Zormna was almost always with Sam lately, which for some reason just felt wrong. Especially since she did not believe the rumor that Zormna and Sam were dating. Zormna had never been interested in romance.

“Did you ever do any without getting caught?” he asked.

Grinning with a shrug, Zormna replied, “Sure, except my teachers were really quick. There was very little that they did not see.”

Miss Bianchi cleared her throat.

They settled back into their chairs.

“Oktoberfest is this Saturday. That means all volunteers must be there bright and early at seven. Credit will be counted off for being late.”

Zormna sighed wearily. It was possible that she would be late.

*

Biology clicked by.

Chemistry clicked by.

Lunch slouched by with a moment to savor the chicken chow mien.

Health dragged by.

P.E. danced by.

Computer class was a complete waste of time.

Zormna sat staring at the computer screen, filling out the spreadsheet that recorded expenses of a lemonade stand somewhere in imaginary land. So far one lemon cost about 35 cents and the water was worth a dollar a pint. She typed as she looked out to the darkened window. She was dreading the weekend. She would get no rest at all.

*

“Pirates! Pirates! Root them out! Pirates! Pirates! Blast them out!” they chanted during practice.

Michelle was pacing like an irritated tiger as she growled at them when the cheerleaders at the base of their pirate ship pyramid didn’t raise the lighter girls fast enough.

“You have to do it faster! You have to do it better!” Michelle bellowed.

Joy glanced at Zormna. She pretended to make gagging noises behind her.

“Homecoming is in two weeks. That means we need to be ready for halftime. We have to be better than Flags if we want to win in the competitions this year,” their head cheerleader chided them.

The girls all moaned. They all knew that Michelle had a thing about winning at competitions, but her rivalry with the flag captain of their own school was ridiculous.

“You want to look like fools out there? We have to be the best. The school is counting on us,” Michelle said, not realizing the real reason they had moaned.

Jennifer McLenna and the other flag girls crossed the field just then. The flag captain smirked at Michelle. Michelle returned the look with a snarl. The other flag girls peered at the cheerleaders with a certain level of contempt and much of the same regard came back. They were just as guilty of stupid competition as their captains were.

“Wannabe cheerleaders,” a blond cheerleader named Yalin said under her breath.

Joy, Stacey, and Jennifer McCabe snickered in their corner of friends.

Zormna rolled her eyes. “Can we get on with the practice?”

Flag girls sneered back, whispering to each other their own nasty comments.

“Slut.”

“Ho.”

“Tramp.”

“Witch.”

However, they passed by.

“Skank.”

Eventually.

*

The game flew in full force. The night had settled and halftime was long since over. They led 14 to 7. The Pennington team made up for their humiliating defeat at Monroe. And they would be at Glen Hills the week after, though it was always easier to win a home game.

The cheer team cheered with all their might though they nearly cheered themselves hoarse when they landed their final touchdown.

“Pennington wins! 21 to 7!” echoed from the loudspeakers.

The home side cheered, screaming and sounding off air horns and foam string, clanging cymbals in the band and playing the Pennington fight song.

…And ho maties! We’ll hoist them up! The Pennington pirates have come! We’ll fight with our