“I’m in the kitchen.”
Sammy runs in first full speed, sliding across the floor in his socks.
“Whoa . . . dude? What are you doing?”
I laugh. “What? Nothing, I haven’t touched this little science experiment of yours.”
Sammy frowns as Mom and Piper enter, carrying grocery bags, stopping at the entryway, stunned.
“What the . . . Marigold!” Mom shrieks.
“Huh?”
“What did you do?” She looks around the room in sheer exhaustion. “Are you . . . is this . . . were you looking for bedbugs again?”
“What? NO!”
But just the mention of them makes me start to itch, and to be honest, this does look like something I would do on my worst days. But I didn’t.
“Look at this mess! I don’t have time to clean all this up. I have to start dinner and finish another two thousand words tonight to stay on deadline.”
Piper cautiously steps around the kitchen in awe.
Baffled, I glance at Sammy. “Wait, this wasn’t you?”
“No! We just got home. . . .”
DING DONG DING DONG
Mom groans to the sky and drops her bags. “What now?”
As she stomps to the front door, I survey the kitchen, the room now off-putting. Something like this . . . would take hours, and they just got home. I rub my arms, a chill running through me.
“Are you Piper’s mama?”
A harsh voice snaps from outside and I rush over to the kitchen doorway. On the porch is a Black woman, her long thick hair tied into a low ponytail. At her hip is the mini version of her. Big beautiful eyes, long lashes, staring into the house . . . at Piper. Piper calmly walks into the hall, stopping a few feet from the door.
“Um, yes. I’m—”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m Cheryl. So listen, I don’t know what you folks do out in California or wherever y’all from,” she says, hands waving. “But around here, we keep our children on a short leash, you understand? Now I ain’t the one to tell a mother what to do with her children, but it just ain’t safe for our babies to be playing in them damn houses.”
Mom frowns, trying to compute. “Sorry, I don’t understand?”
Cheryl juts her lips toward Piper. “At school today your little girl tried to convince my Lacey to come play with her in one of the abandoned houses!”
Mom whips around at Piper, who only stares at Lacey.
“Piper,” Mom gasps. “Is this true?”
Piper doesn’t flinch, her cream face still, lips in a hard line. A wide-eyed Lacey clutches her mother’s jean jacket, trembling.
“She said she plays in them houses all the time,” Cheryl continues. “Invited her over to have some sort of tea party. Do y’all know how dangerous them houses are? Besides them falling apart, you know what kind of people be in there squatting, smoking, and shooting up drugs? These girls could get raped and we’d be none the wiser!”
Mom is horrified. “Piper, what were you thinking! We told you not to go near those houses!”
“Marigold plays in them too,” she shoots back.
The rug rips out from under me and I fall on my tailbone.
“What?”
“Oh. I see. It’s a family problem,” Cheryl huffs, crossing her arms.
Sammy and I exchange a shocked look. Indignant, Mom steps into her line of sight.
“Now, Cheryl, I know you’re upset . . .”
But Cheryl ignores her, dragging Lacey down the porch steps, grumbling.
“You stay away from those people, you hear! Stay away from that little girl at school too. And tell your friends to do the same. Can’t trust these new folks as far as you can throw them.”
Mom slams the door closed, spinning to us. “Has everyone lost their mind! Piper, it’s bad enough the whole neighborhood acts like we’re lepers, now you want them to think we’re unfit parents too? And why would you rope Marigold into this?”
“Because I’ve seen her go in there in the mornings. She’s doing drugs!”
All the blood rushes to my feet as Mom shoots me a glare. But there’s no way Piper could’ve seen me. I’ve been careful.
“Oh, really?” I sneer, calling her bluff. “So which house?”
Piper falters, pointing out the window. “The one next door.”
Got her!
“She’s lying! I’ve never been anywhere near that house!”
“And there’s no way to get inside,” Sammy adds. “You’ve seen it, Mom, the place is the only one on this block locked up like a fortress.”
“Piper,” Mom groans.
“No! I’m not lying!” She points in my face. “Ms. Suga’s seen you! She knows what you’re trying to do.”
Mom pinches the bridge of her nose. “Piper . . .”
“I want my daddy! You can’t call me a liar! I want my daddy!”
Mom rubs her temples. “Everyone go to your rooms. NOW!”
8:30 p.m. ALARM: Don’t forget English homework.
I stare up at the ceiling, phone calling for my attention, but I can’t stop replaying the afternoon over and over in my head. Even if Piper pointed to the wrong house, she was a stone’s throw away from the truth. Was she following me, watching me from her room? There’s no way anyone could see from that far. And—
Ughhhh! That freaking smell is back!
It must be coming from the vents, so there’s clearly something dead and stuck inside the walls. Sometimes, I can’t smell it at all. Other times, it’s suffocating. Mom keeps calling Mr. Watson to come by and investigate, but he seems to be too busy and I’m nearly out of oils to burn. I can’t go another night without sleeping. This calls for something stronger.
A puff of thick white smoke halos the burning sage as I wave it around my room. My guru always says when used properly, sage can help to cleanse the energy of a place. And we could sure as hell use some of that. Ever since we’ve moved here I’ve felt off. But it’s not just me; Sammy too. And Mom, and Bud. Maybe the whole house needs to be cleansed.
I step into the hall, waving the sage in all four corners, then hit the bathrooms, the kitchen, the living room and dining room.
Sammy coughs, opening the front door to let in the cool night breeze. “Geez, are you trying to smoke us out too?”
“You’ll live,” I grumble, waving the sage inside the sitting room before heading back upstairs to do the bedrooms.
Piper is standing in the threshold of her room, lava lamp glowing behind her. She stares at me, her dark eyes following my every move.
“What?” I snap. “What’s your problem?”
She takes a deep breath and boldly raises her chin. “This is Ms. Suga’s house.”
“Okay . . . and?”
“And she doesn’t like this smoke stuff.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever, Piper! You’ll get over it.”
“She said she doesn’t want you selling drugs in her house either.”
I swallow to hold my composure. There’s no way she could know.
“What are you talking about? Where did you—”
“She says you have to leave. The rest of us can stay, but you have to get out. She doesn’t want a junkie in her house.”