Melody screamed and scrambled back. Pens and markers dug into her as she tried to scramble away from the bed. When her back was pressed into the wall, she noticed the ghost — well, clearly not a ghost, but a figure that had not been there ten seconds earlier — was stunningly, amazingly, hot. The girl on the bed, even with pillow marks stretching red lines across her face and her beach-blonde hair a tangled mess, looked as if she was modeling for a photo shoot.
A K-pop idol and a Victoria's Secret model living in the same house, Melody thought, then cringed at herself for even the thought of it. She had been there a day and she was already spending too much time with Diana, she supposed.
The girl straightened and tilted her head a little as she stared at Melody, much like how a curious puppy tilts his head. Melody's heart was pounding in her chest and kept pounding as the girl continued to stare straight through her, not speaking.
Footsteps came running toward the room, and Doctor Robinson froze in the doorway. Her eyes were frantic, and she looked almost confused about the scene in front of her. The strange girl didn't glance over at the doctor, just continued looking at Melody. Melody felt as if she were a mouse being stared down by a barn cat who had plenty to eat. The hunter wasn't hungry, so she was just toying with the prey for entertainment.
"Thank you, Melody." The doctor said the words carefully and with complete control. "You may take the basket and leave. Heidi will direct you on where to go."
Not needing to be told twice, Melody scrambled to her feet, slipping on a pen as she stood. She grabbed the basket and scurried out of the room. The door buzzed and squeaked shut behind her.
"What was that?"
Melody jumped again at the voice. But instead of being a ghost, it was just Puzzle standing outside her room.
"Uh, hey," Melody said, feeling uncomfortable.
Puzzle raised an eyebrow. She looked exhausted, her skin sallow and some strands of hair were limply falling out of her hair bun. "What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Melody turned back to the door. "I think I did."
Puzzle followed her line of sight. "Oh, you mean Jordan. Yeah."
Melody grimaced and pulled her black hair away from her face. "So no one thought it would be nice to warn me about the crazy woman in the last room?"
The other girl shrugged. Melody rolled her eyes and picked up her basket. "Where do I wash these?" she asked. Of all the questions she had on her mind, that was not one of them. But it was what Melody said. She felt hot and angry and nervous. She felt as if those dark blue eyes had somehow looked right through her skin and into her insides. She hated it.
Puzzle seemed annoyed by the question. She half-rolled her eyes. Melody noticed the other girl had a light shimmery glitter on her eyelids. She was beautiful too, Melody realized. Tired, but undeniably beautiful. She remembered what she had said to Key before, about Puzzle not being mean, just angry. Perhaps it was time Melody practiced what she preached. She took a deep breath. "Would you please show me where to bring this?"
The politeness seemed to surprise Puzzle. She nodded slowly. "Sure. Come with me." She turned and began walking, and Melody followed.
When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Puzzle looked at Melody a little more intensely.
Melody felt a nervous little flutter go down her spine. "What?" she asked.
Puzzle tore her eyes away. "Sorry. It's just that you're new. It's nice to see a new face, I guess. Do you speak Spanish?"
Melody ran over what she could remember from her one semester of Spanish class before she attempted and failed to learn Japanese. "Not really. Only a few words. Sorry." She paused. "Lo siento."
Puzzle laughed then, a bright hearty laugh that was as visible as it was vocal. Her whole face seemed to light up and her eyes closed as she laughed breathily. "Good enough," she said. "Eso es lo suficientemente bueno."
"Yeah, no, I didn't get that," Melody said. "Something about being sufficiently good." The basket she was balancing on her hip was starting to ache, but it had felt nice to make Puzzle laugh.
Puzzle led them through one set of gates and into a small room with a washer and dryer. As Melody worked, she noticed Puzzle wasn't leaving. She started the machine— an old, archaic thing that needed washing powder instead of detergent and rattled the entire room and stood up.
"Why does Jordan get different clothes than the rest of us?" she asked. Jordan's clothes had been multicolored fleeces and polyester pink tanktops, with only a few of the regular grey, cotton pieces she had collected from the rest of them.
Puzzle shrugged. "It's what she chooses to spend her 'good behavior' points on. Like Diana gets makeup, Cy gets books, Key gets a share of the money we make to save up for culinary school. Jordan likes clothes."
"What do you spend yours on?"
Puzzle shrugged a little. "Ballet shoes. And crosswords. What are you going to spend yours on?"
Melody noticed the way Puzzle stood on the balls of her feet and the natural agility she seemed to move with. "You're a dancer?" Melody asked.
The other girl gave a slight, curt nod. "I was, once."
"Why did you stop?"
Puzzle shook her head. "You ask too many questions." She turned away from the small laundry room, and Melody followed. "We have to go out to the garden now. Jim likes us planting the winter crops as soon as possible."
Melody paused. She hated when people didn't answer her questions. "What's your name?"
Puzzle stopped mid-step and gave her a long sidelong glance. "Everyone calls me Puzzle."
"I know. I'm just—" Melody tried to come up with something smart to say. "I'm writing this all down in a notebook. I want to write it all down. It's good reporting. To have full names." She cursed herself for her lack of eloquence.
"What's wrong with my nickname?" Puzzle asked.
Melody shook her head. "Nothing. I like your nickname. It's just not very scholastic."
Puzzle closed her eyes and laughed. "Very well. My name is Lourdes. You can write that down, but don't call me that, for fuck's sake."
Lourdes. Melody rolled the thought around in her mind. Lord-ess. It sounded different and exotic. It sounded important. Melody tried to remember if she had ever met someone named Lourdes before. Nobody came to mind. Melody looked closely at the sad, skinny girl who was waiting for her to follow and imagined her as a Lourdes, not a Puzzle. Suddenly, the girl who said she was once a dancer seemed more majestic, grander.
"What are you looking at?" Puzzle asked. Melody flinched. But the question hadn't been said angrily, she sounded curious, as if she really was wondering what Melody was searching for.
"I'm just wondering how I'm going to describe you in my book," Melody said.
"Did I give you permission for you to put me in your book?"
Melody stepped back at the question. She had thought Diana had been telling the truth when she had said anyone in the house would be happy to share their story. "No," she said quickly, her tongue tripping over the short word. "Sorry, I just assumed—"
"Nah, it's cool," Puzzle said. She was grinning, as if proud of herself for her little trick. "Go ahead. I'll even do an interview with you. But there's no way in hell you're calling me by my real name, okay? I'm Puzzle." Then she turned with amazing agility and grace and walked down the hallway.
Melody stood there for a second, blinking. "Well," she muttered quickly before following, "I get why they call you Puzzle." She shook her head and chased after Puzzle. She was pulling on a jacket over her bare arms. Several others were hanging on the hooks on the wall.
"Don't bother claiming one," Puzzle said with a jerk of her head toward the coats. "They're all the same."
"Why don't we each get one?"
Puzzle shrugged. "It doesn't make any difference. Welcome home." She turned on a slippered heel and pressed a button on the wall. There was a buzzing noise, and Puzzle looked up to the ceiling. In the corner, by the door, was another camera with a blinking red light.
There was an answering buzzing noise and Puzzle yanked the door open with a harsh tug. A blast of cool, fresh air hit Melody in the face. She shivered, despite the thick jacket she was zipping up.
"Another day in paradise," Puzzle said.
"It could be worse, couldn't it?" Melody said in response as they walked out the door together. Puzzle looked angry again, her lips drawn into a tight line. The glitter on her eyelids was dull in the gray winter light.
"Yes, it could be worse," Puzzle agreed. "I wouldn't last a day in the state place."
"You mean the state prison?" Melody almost tripped as she walked off the front porch. She glared at the step. A piece of rock had fallen off before, and the jagged edge had caught on the leg of her sweatpants. "Damn," she muttered.
"No, I mean the state zoo," Puzzle said without turning around to see what Melody was cursing.
"Funny," Melody said, checking the hem on her pants. "What are we planting today?"
"Asparagus. Yay," she deadpanned.
Melody snorted into the sleeve of her coat.
The wind was cold and hit Melody's bare skin like a splash of ice water. She followed Puzzle around a corner of the burnt red building.
Melody glanced up at the building. It was a daunting, tall building, even though it was only two stories. She touched the rough brick with her fingertips and took a deep breath.
Home, she thought. That's what they had said. Melody was home. She pulled away from the building in disgust.
"Hey, you gonna help, or you gonna keep standing there?" a familiar warm voice shouted over the cold air. Melody turned to see Cypress and Colt kneeling on the edge of a tilled patch of dirt. Beyond them, Jim, the man who had driven Melody here, was kneeling and looking down at something in the dirt.
Cypress had his arms crossed over his broad chest, like an angry school principal ready to deliver a scolding. But even though there was a distance, Melody could tell he was smiling. Puzzle was over by them, stretching her arms over her shoulders.
"I dunno, standing here seems like a pretty good option," Melody said back. She made a point of smiling widely enough that the boys could see she was joking. She took a final glance at the building and still followed Puzzle, right to the boys. "What are we doing?"
When she got to the plot, Jim gave her another one of those wide, reassuring smiles. "Asparagus is a late winter crop. We'll be keeping this plot busy for the rest of the year, this is just the first one. I know it doesn't look like much now, but it'll be great soon."
"It's too early for positivity," Puzzle said.
"It's like noon," Colt said. He looked at Melody. "Hey."
"Hi. Do you plant any flowers?" Melody asked Jim.
The man's strange mustache moved as he answered. "Not really. Would you like to?"
"Yes," Melody answered faster than she should have, fast enough that Puzzle and the two boys looked at her warily. She swallowed. The cold air was going to give her a sore throat. "I, uh, I like gardening. My dad taught me."
Jim nodded thoughtfully. He clearly wanted to make a show of listening to her. Melody swallowed again. So this is what it felt like when people thought you were crazy. She knelt on the old carpet the other three were kneeling on and pulled on a pair of outdoor gloves. "What are we doing?" she asked.
"Digging holes," Puzzle said. "Boring as all hell. Wish I got out of it like the others."
"Key has asthma, Diana is seeing her family, and Jordan's in intensive therapy," Colt said.
"Still better than gardening," Puzzle grumbled.
Cypress grinned at Melody. "I was thinking that while we're here, we could talk about your book."
"Wanna be my first interviewee?" Melody asked as she picked up a small spade.
The boy's smile got even wider. "I'd love that."