fluttered out. Idly she picked it up and glanced at it, then gasped.
âWhat is it?â Terry took the paper from her. In crude block letters the note said:
YOUâLL WISH YOU WERE BLIND TOO.
chapter
4
I ce.
Ice, Terry thought.
He felt frozen to the spot, chilled through. He felt as if heâd turned to ice.
And then he felt hot, hot with anger. âI canât believe someone would do such a cruel thing!â he said finally.
Niki didnât answer. She just stood there, obviously upset.
âThereâs only one person mean enough to do this,â said Terry. âAnd you know who it is as well as I do.â
âDonât start anything, Terry, please,â said Niki.
âI havenât started anything, but Iâm ready to finish something!â said Terry heatedly. âAlex is behind this. It can only be Alex.â
âTerry, no, please donât!â Niki clutched his arm. âIt wasnât Alex. Alex likes me. Youâre wrong. Youâre not thinking clearly.â
âListen, Niki, I know thatââ
âYou donât know who it was. If you say anything to Alex, it will only make things worse!â
âYes, but I canât justââ
âPlease,â Niki repeated. âLetâs just forget it.â
âForget it?â Terry was shocked that she could even suggest such a thing.
âItâsâitâs just a joke,â she said. âItâs mean, and stupid, but thatâs all it is. If we pretend it never happened, whoever did it wonât get any satisfaction.â
Terry could see that she was probably right, but he didnât like it. âJust not mention it?â
âRight,â said Niki. âAnd not act upset.â
âThatâs going to take an Academy Award-winning performance,â said Terry.
âPlease, Terry, for me,â she said.
He looked down at her and felt himself melting. At times like this he knew that Niki was the most important person in his life, and he would do anything for her. âOkay, Funny Face,â he said. âFor you.â She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.
âThanks.â
âIn fact,â Terry said, âI have an idea. Letâs walk home by way of Peteâs Pizza. We can practice our Academy Award performances over Cokes.â
Niki smiled again, a genuine, loving smile. âYouâre on,â she said.
P eteâs Pizza was one of Shadysideâs most popular teen hangouts, and that day it was jammed, both with kids from Shadyside and from the nearby junior college. Terry and Niki were lucky to find a tiny booth vacant.
While they waited for their orders, Terry started telling Niki about his biology project. It was so noisyin Peteâs that he could barely hear anything she said, but she picked up everything he was telling her. He had just gotten to the part about how the seed splits into two when Niki interrupted him.
âTerry, look,â she said, pointing.
He followed the direction of her finger and saw Justine standing in a phone booth, a serious look on her face.
âMaybe we ought to ask her to join us,â Terry said. âShe told me she wants to get to know you better.â
âOkay,â said Niki. âWeâll just keep an eye on her andââ She stopped speaking and a strange expression came over her face.
Terry took her hand. âWhatâs wrong? Niki, what is it?â
âMaybe nothing,â said Niki. âButâlook at Justine.â
Terry turned to the phone booth again. Justine was still talking into the phone, with an odd, intense look. It was as if sheâd changed into a different person, older, and cruel.
âI didnât mean to eavesdrop,â Niki said. âButâI read her lips. And she said, âTheyâll pay. Every one of them will pay.â â
chapter
5
Halloween Night
T he wind picked up, gusting wildly