Chapter 4- Michael P.O.V

When the door opened before him, he assumed it was Bubba. The cool, soft hug from behind caught him by surprise.

“Hi, Mikey!”

“Alice what are you doing here?”

Michael had met Alice McCoy the previous winter, a couple of weeks before Christmas. Wearing what he was later to discover to be her typical sunny expression, she had popped into his 7-Eleven and asked if she could paint Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman on his windows. He had immediately taken by her enthusiasm. She told him he could pay her what he thought it was worth, and if he didn’t like it when she was done, he wouldn’t have to pay her at all. It sounded like a good deal, but the owners of the store, were Muslims from Lebanon, and he didn’t know if they’d appreciate Christmas decorations all over their place of business. A quick call dispelled his fears; the two brothers were eager to have their store look as American as possible.

The next day was a Saturday. Alice showed up sy nine o’clock in the morning. He expected her to chalk out a few reindeer and spray in a couple of featureless snowmen and call it done. Her supplies threw him for his first loop. She had a huge, flat black case of paints and brushes. She spent a half hour cleaning and polishing the windows before starting, and when she finally did begin, she worked steadily for seven hours, slowly, patiently, meticulously unfolding a rich wonderful tapestry of sparkling elves, joyous children, and racing sleighs. When she finished, she prayed on a sealer that she promised would protect the paintings. When he did finally wash away her work, near Easter, it had been with a heavy heart. But by then he’d had something greater than her pictures to enjoy. He had Alice herself, as both a regular visitor and a good friend. She was a true gift of holiday magic. She had charm and grace, kindness and wit.

She was everything he had imagined his little sister would have been.

Michael’s mother was only seventeen and in high school when she had given birth to him. Old man Jerry Olson split for parts unknown five years after that- Michael still had a few clear memories of his dad- and since then his mother had dated a seemingly endless succession of men. Two years ago one of them had got her pregnant. The guy had no wish to marry her- he, too, would eventually disappear and his mother had vacillated about having an abortion. Finally, over Michael’s bitter protests, she had decided on the operation- sort of late. He did not understand why the doctors had told his mum it had been a girl, or why she had told him.

By a strange quirk of fate, he’d always thought of his unborn sister as Alice. After the incident, he often dreamed of what she would have been like. His little Alice. He still loved his mother more than anyone, but he doubted he’d ever totally forgive her for what she had done.

But now, with Alice McCoy here to see him, it was easy to pretend what had gone before had been only a bad dream.

“What am I doing? I’m cutting just like you,” she said releasing him and walking around the room, lightly tapping the keyboards on Tabb’s brand-new PCs, touching a printout page. Like a perpetually curious child, Alice was fascinated with everything around her.

“You have an art class now, right?”

“Yeah, I’m supposed to be at the park across the street studying tree branches. But they’ve just sprayed there with an awful- smelling insecticide.” She giggled.  “I did start on this one sketch of a giant mosquito sucking the sap of a tree. It was really gross.”

“Can I see it?”

“No.”

“Did you throw it away?” She shook her head. “But I’m going to right after I show it to Clark. It really is weird. I can’t believe I drew it.”

“Clark’s your new boyfriend isn’t he?”

“He’s not that new. I see him a lot.”

“I’d like to meet him. What’s he like?”

Alice shrugged, tossing her bright head of hair. “I don’t want to talk about him. I want to tell you about a friend of mine I want you to meet. She’s from Mesa, like me. She’s really wonderful.”

“What’s her name?”

“I’m not going to tell you. I want to be the one to introduce you so that when you both fall in love, and get married later on, you’ll be able to look back and say it was I who made it all possible. Are you going to the game tonight?”

“I’m going to try. I have to work, but I should be able to catch the second half.”

“Could you get there at half- time? I could introduce you to her then.”

Michael chuckled. He wasn’t really interested in Alice’s friend, not after meeting Jessica Hart, but he saw no harm in saying hello to the girl. “What’s wrong with today at lunch?”

“I won’t be here. I have a doctor’s appointment.”

He paused. “What for? I mean are you sick?”

Alice brushed aside the question. “It’s nothing, I just have to stop in.”

“How are you going to get there? I could give you a ride.” For some reason the thought of Alice going all alone to the doctor disturbed him. He knew she had no parents, and that her guardian aunt didn’t get out often.

“I’m taking a taxi.”

“They’re expensive.”

“I have money. Don’t worry about it. Just be there tonight at halftime. I’ll get her to come.”

“I’ll do my best,” he promised.

She smiled. “Thanks, this means a lot to me. Oh what’s that you have on your screen? It looks like a report card.”

Michael explained how through the use of special codes- he didn’t say where they had obtained them- he and his friend were able to tap into the school’s file. Alice was fascinated, but before she could ask any questions, Bubba returned. And when Bubba realised that Alice had been made privy to what he obviously considered inside information, he quickly tried to present a more innocent picture of their doings.

“What’s on this screen is only a photocopy of existing records,” he said. “It’s not the records themselves. We’re just looking at them, that’s all. It’s no big deal.”

Alice grinned slyly. “Sure, you’re getting ready to turn the school upside down, and it’s nothing? I’m not that dumb. Come on, where did you steal these codes?”

“What codes?” Bubba asked, glancing at Michael. “These photocopies aren’t confidential. You don’t need codes to access them.”

Alice laughed gaily, much to Bubba’s displeasure. “I don’t believe you!”

Bubba feigned nonchalance, quickly manoeuvring out of the file, leaving the screen blank. “Suit yourself,” he said.

“In fact, I think you could get into lots of trouble if certain people knew about this,” Alice said playfully.

Bubba stopped, stared at her a moment. “No one’s going to get into trouble. No one’s going to talk about this. OK?”

She didn’t understand what he was really saying.

“He’s right,” Michael said. “This isn’t something that should get around. Do me a favour, Alice, and forget what I showed you here.”

“All right,” she said cheerfully. “But I know it was all your idea, Bubba. Michael wouldn’t fool with people’s grades.”

“Nor would I,” Bubba said curtly.

Alice laughed again oblivious to the tension in the room. Giving Michael a quick kiss on the cheek, she reminded him to be sure to get to the stadium by half- time. The instant she was gone, Bubba turned off the screen and shook his head.

“Mike, you know you’re not improving your chances of being valedictorian by trying to get us both expelled.”

“Alice won’t talk. She’s my friend.”

“Alice is a fifteen- year- old girl who is not my friend. I don’t trust her.”

“Don’t worry about it. She was only kidding.”

Bubba thought for a moment. “All right, Mike, whatever you say.”