From Bad To Cursed

4

I TURNED AWAY FROM the brightness of the muted television an rested my eyes on the ceiling. The glow from the screen made the whole room flicker like a rainbow campfire.

        And then I heard it--

        A footstep in the hall.

        I froze. All my concentration shifted to listening for another sound. The flashing TV hovered on the outer fringes of my awareness. I felt like I was seeing, hearing, breathing out of my ears.

        Another step.

        I was on my feet and standing at the entrance to the hallway so quickly I felt a little light-headed. I balled my empty hand into a fist.

        Kasey stood perfectly still in the middle of the hall, her body angled toward our parents' bedroom door. Her long, old-fashioned Christmas nightgown hung to her ankles, till creased from being folded in its gift box for eight months.

        I'd seen her like this once before -- silent. Waiting. Plotting.

        Against our parents, against me.

        Slowly, hesitantly, she raised her hand.

        "Kasey!" I said.

        She jumped about a foot in the air and landed hunched over, clutching her chest.

        "God, Alexis!" she hissed. "You scared the crap out of me!"

        I didn't move any closer. "What are you doing out of bed?"

        "Going to the bathroom," she said. "What are you doing out of bed? It's one o'clock."

        I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

        "So you're playing security guard? You think I'm going to try to kill everyone?"

        "No, of course not." Although . . . hmm. Maybe that was what I was doing.

        Kasey reached for our parents' doorknob.

        "Wait," I said.

        "I need to pee, Lexi," she said. "Do you have to analyze every detail of everything I do."

        "I'm not trying to analyze you," I said. "I'm trying to keep you from peeing on Mom and Dad's carpet." I pointed to the door on my right. "Bathroom."

        Her shoulder's slumped. "Everything looks the same in this place."

        "You'll get used to it."

        I went back to the couch, feeling virtuous for not pointing out that it was, after all, her fault that we'd had to move to Silver Sage Acres.

        A minute later, Kasey drifted into the room and sat on the loveseat, her arms crossed in front of her. "Why's the sound off?"

        I shrugged. We stared at the silent infomercial.

        As I stared to nod off, Kasey spoke. "How about we skip school tomorrow?"

        "I don't really do that anymore," I said. "Besides, everybody knows you never skip your first day."

        She curled her knees under herself. "Maybe I can catch chicken pox between now and eight o'clock."

        "It'll be fine," I said, trying not to think of the bazillion things that could make it not fine. "I'll help you."