Trinity (37)

Katherine flips open to a random page. I can feel my heartbeat in my ears. I need to stop her. She can’t be serious.

My hand darts out and grabs Maggie’s upper arm, and I pull her towards me. I can see Katherine’s eyes skimming the page, her eyebrows pulling together. Before I say anything, Maggie whispers, “Is that…?”

“Pearl’s journal,” I squeak. “We have to do something.”

Immediately, Maggie is on her feet, and she’s pulling me up as well, dragging me towards Katherine before I even know what’s going on. “Trinity doesn’t feel good, Katherine, maybe you should take her inside? Or, like, get her an aspirin or something?”

Katherine’s gaze settles on me, and I grimace. She has deep brown eyes, and the scrutiny in her gaze reminds me of Sister Bertha.

Reluctantly, Katherine tucks the journal under her arm. “Fine. Follow me.”

Maggie lets go of me, and when I don’t move, she gives me a shove towards the doorway of the barn, where Katherine is just passing through without a backwards glance.

Katherine leads me into her house, which is cluttered with things: falling-apart books, a wall full of dartboards, her little sister’s swimming trophies, half-full mugs of coffee, scattered Scrabble tiles. It’s no surprise, considering eight people live here.

We step into the tiny first-floor bathroom, and Katherine begins to rummage in the medicine cabinet, before pausing and looking at me.

“Do you actually need an aspirin?”

I draw myself up as tall as I can. “Why did you take it?” I ask, eyes on the journal still under her arm.

She sighs dramatically and tosses the journal at me. Despite being a foot away, I don’t catch it, and have to retrieve it from the floor.

“I didn’t take it,” she says, her lips pursed. “I picked it up because you left it in first period.”

I smooth a hand across the front of the journal, as if checking it’s still in my hands. “I did not. Andrew knocked everything off my desk, and--”

“And this one was under your desk, which I didn’t see until second period, because I have Mrs. Marley two periods in a row.” She gives me a withering look. “Why would I steal your weird little journal?”

She thinks it’s mine. If she thinks it’s mine, then she’s right; why would she steal it? “But why didn’t you give it back?” I ask. “I’ve been looking for it for two days.”

Katherine flips a long piece of hair over her shoulder. “Hmph. I’d forgotten.” She states it like it’s obvious, but her eyes roam around the room, anywhere but me. I wait.

“Fine,” she spits, turning to close the medicine cabinet. She catches my eye through the mirror. “I read it. I didn’t know what it was, so I started reading it. And I know it’s not done, but it’s really good.” She raises a brow. “I want to read the rest when you finish it.”

My lips part, but I don’t make a sound. Katherine likes Pearl’s book. Pearl hates Katherine--I think, and somehow she’s the first person to read this book. How did this happen?

Katherine turns towards me, a hand on her hip. “And if you need ideas, I know how I’d finish it. Obviously I want Odette and Alain to be together, but I think it should be Alain who tells her how he feels. That way Odette knows he’s committed before breaking the curse. She is going to break the curse, right?”

Once again, I stand helpless. “Um…”

She shakes her head. “Alright, then. Don’t tell me.”

We stand there for a few moments before Katherine says, “Can I get out of this bathroom? You’re blocking the doorway.”

“Oh,” I say, and step out and into the hallway. “But why were you going to read it to everyone? That’s…” I was going to say ‘mean’, but the word dies on my tongue.

Katherine stalks past me, navigating nimbly through her house and over and around piles of things. “Andrew was making me mad,” she replies over her shoulder. “As usual,” she tacks on.

“It’s not yours to share,” I tell her back, emboldened now that she’s not looking at me.

We’re on the front porch when she stops. “There’s nothing to worry about, it’s a good story.” It’s a technically a compliment, but her tone is condescending. “Everyone would like it. I think it would be cool if you read it--some of it--at the talent assembly.”

I stare at her with wide eyes. She scoffs. “I forgot you have stage-fright.”

“I don’t–”

“You do,” she cuts me off sharply. “You should have heard yourself when you read that reading at school service that one time." I grimace. "Oh and one thing, then I have to get back before Andrew breaks something.” Her eyes dart to the barn, as if she expects to see smoke, but everything appears to be in order. “Since you owe me a favor, I--”

“I do?” I interrupt, eyebrows drawn together.

Katherine frowns. “I didn’t read your thing out to everyone, so, you’re welcome. And I found your book. So that’s two, really. But anyway, all I need to know is if Pearl and Henry are really dating, and then we’re even.”

Her brown eyes are expectant and stormy, and I can feel my heartbeat increase. Do I say yes? Do I say no? I don’t even know what Pearl would want me to say, or Henry for that matter. “Uh, I don’t know if they’re dating, per se, but… they do spend a lot of time together,” I offer. It's true, at least.

Katherine stamps a foot on the ground and then takes a deep breath to calm herself. “Sorry, Trinity, I’m not mad at you. Henry’s a sneaky, miserable… ugh.” She presses her hands together, as if in prayer. Maybe she is praying?

“All right. Whatever,” Katherine says after a moment, then turns to me. “And all the planning stuff is over, so feel free to leave whenever.” Then, she stalks off towards the barn. I hesitate, because I got the impression that she’d like me to leave now and not ‘whenever’, but I do need to get my backpack, at the very least. I stare up into the sky and sigh, then trail behind her.

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(first part: https://theprose.com/post/432343/trinity)

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(previous part: https://theprose.com/post/455378/trinity-36)

(next part: https://theprose.com/post/457103/trinity-38)