“On one condition: when I get your ball down, you have to let me play soccer with you.” I can’t believe my ears. Mackenna Clark is not only going to help me get my ball off of her roof, she actually wants to play soccer! I can tell she means her last statement to be a threat, but I’m ecstatic! Maybe I’ll have a friend after all! She’s brave, funny, pretty, and she plays soccer! This is the best day ever! My hands tingle as I try to hide my excitement.
“Okay, but first you need to prove you can get it down.” She raises her eyebrows, surprised I’m not as unwilling to hang out with a girl as other guys are. She grins.
“You’re on!” She says, racing across the street to her yard. She motions for me to follow. When I reach her, she opens the front door of her house. I freeze.
“I don’t think I’m allowed in there,” I say. She turns to look at me and rests her hand on her hip.
“Why not?” She asks.
“Well, because, um...” I can’t remember what I was going to say! Mackenna rolls her eyes at me.
“Come on, it’s my house, silly! Besides, if it’s my parents you’re afraid of, they’re not even home right now.” I look at her suspiciously.
“Look. do you want your ball or not? Yes? Then let’s go!” She grabs my arms and tugs me inside.
The Clark house is just as my own, but in a parallel universe. The color of the walls is a warm tan rather than my house’s cold gray. Her house on a whole is neater, warmer, and it doesn’t reek of cigarettes. Instead, it smells like vanilla. We pass through the dining room, and above the table hangs a glorious chandelier. I don’t think my house ever had a chandelier. I’m about to tell Mackenna how nice her house is, but then she drags me upstairs and down the hallway.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Where do you think?” Apparently, that’s a rhetorical question because when I shrug, she laughs and then sighs at me as if I’m an untrained puppy.
The room we enter seems extremely formal, but it still has a bed and a nightstand and everything.
“Where are we?” Letting go of my hand, Mackenna crosses the room to the window.
“My sister’s room,” she explains, unlatching the locks. How many secret kids does this family have?!
“You have a sister?” With a little effort, Mackenna gets the window to slide up all the way.
“Yeah, her name’s April. She’s in California right now, at college. She visits every so often, so my mother set up this room for her.” I nod, gazing around the room. The tan is gone. In its place, a dark purple covers the walls. The solemn color makes it feel colder than the rest of the house.
“Do you have any siblings?” Mackenna asks, interrupting my thoughts. When I think about Billy and the argument we had earlier in my kitchen, my cheeks flush. I don’t want to be compared to that freak! And, come to think of it, I don’t really want to be compared to my mom either.
I mean, Mackenna’s family is so perfect. She’s got a nice house, a sane mother, a respectable father, her sister’s in college, and no doubt that’s where Mackenna’s headed. Not to mention that Mackenna herself is just stunning. Comparing that to my family, I consider telling her I’m an orphan. However, if she finds out I’m not, she’ll just think I’m a big fat liar and she won’t want to be friends with me anymore. I decide to tell her the truth.
“Yeah, I have one brother, he’s nineteen. But he’s a jerk; you wouldn’t want to meet him.” I tell her.
“Oh.” Is all she replies. She seems to ponder this for a second, then leans out the window. “I can see it!” She calls back to me.
“Where is it?” I ask, running to the window.
“In the gutter.” She says matter-of-factly. I roll my eyes.
“I know that! How far away is it?”
“Why are you asking me? Look for yourself!” She moves over to let me lean out. My ball is in the gutter, but on the other side of the house! Just looking all the way over there makes me queasy. I lean in quickly. Once I am back in the room, Mackenna sits on the sill and swings her legs around so they are facing the roof.
“What are you doing?!” I shriek. Grabbing her arm, I try to pull her back inside.
“I’m getting your ball. Isn’t that what you wanted?” She sounds frustrated. I let go of her arm. I’m uncomfortable when people get angry at me.
“Just don’t hurt yourself.” I tell her earnestly. I can’t imagine Mackenna’s face, scarred up and bleeding...I shudder.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” I don’t believe her. So, naturally, I’m ready to catch her when she slips a little on the slick roofing. She steadies herself, and then slowly walks toward the ball, out of my reach.
I’m sure I’m going to pass out or have a heart attack or die right there on the spot when Mackenna inches her way along the edge of the roof. What if she falls?! But finally, she makes it. I think she’s going to use the giant Aspen tree to steady herself so she can get my ball, but she turns.
“What are you doing? It’s right there!”
“Watch this!” Mackenna cries to me. Her eyes sparkle with delight.
“Are you sure about this?” I holler from the window. I hope she can’t hear how much my voice is shaking.
“Yeah, I’ve done this a thousand times!” She reaches for a branch that is farther away. All I can think is ‘She’s not going to make it. Oh my God she isn’t going to make it! I’ve never been so sorry to be right.
