Free Death Wind by William Bell

Chapter One
    ALLIE’S PARENTS were arguing again.
    Allie slammed her bedroom door, rolled onto her bed and stared at the ceiling.
Eight o’clock in the morning and they’re at it already
, she thought. She tried to block out the noise, but the harsh words made their way upstairs and through her door. Her mother was a shrieker. The madder she got, the higher her voice went. Her father was a rumbler. When he got mad,his voice got deeper—and he would have the Hurt Look on his face.
    They were arguing about Allie again. It was the old story. Her mother said her father was “too soft” and let Allie get away with too much. After she shrieked for awhile, Allie’s father would say her mother was “too stiff” and she should give a little.
Right on
, thought Allie as she lay on her bed.
I wonder what you guys would think if you knew the mess that I’m in now
.
    Allie climbed out of her bed and plunked herself down in the chair at her little desk, leaning on her elbows and cupping her hands over her ears.
Stop!
She cried, inside her head.
Stop arguing!
    The report card lying on the messy desktop caught her eye. She groaned, flip-ping the stiff yellow booklet open. There were three bright red circles on it. She had failed three out of four subjects. Last year she had stood near the top of her class, but this year, since she started going outwith Jack, her marks had dropped. Her nickname used to be “Brainy”—Razz had given it to her in grade seven—but no one was using it lately.
    Allie looked across the room to the calendar. There was a big photo of a pink kitten batting a ball of blue yarn with its tiny paw. The yarn was all tangled around the kitten’s legs and head. Below the photo the days of the month were arranged in neat rows. May 1 had a red circle around it, drawn in crayon. Today was May 6.
    Allie was five days overdue. She was afraid she was pregnant.
Wouldn’t that be just my luck
, she thought. Jack had dumped her three weeks ago. He had told her in the cafeteria at lunchtime, while stuffing fries and gravy into his mouth. He told her he didn’t want to be pinned down anymore. But they could still be friends, he had said.
Yeah, sure
, thought Allie,
you’ll be my buddy if I’m knocked up, won’t you, Jack?
    Allie wondered now what she had ever seen in Jack. He was cute, sure, and a lot of fun. And it had made Allie feel good when she stole Jack from that snob, Angela Burrows. But for the last couple of months he hadn’t paid much attention to her. Except for sex. Allie knew she could never tell him about the red circle on her calendar.
    The shrieking and rumbling downstairs got louder. Her parents were arguing about money now. Allie looked down at the three red circles on the report card, then back at the red circle on the calendar. She could imagine what would happen when her parents found out. Her father would put on the Hurt Look and make her feel super guilty. Her mother would put on the I Told You So Look and start to wind up the shriek machine. Worst of all, Allie admitted to herself, they would be right.
    Allie wished she could disappear. She wanted to be like that soft white fluff ona dandelion and float away on the wind. Somewhere, anywhere but here.
    Then Allie made up her mind. Maybe she
could
disappear—get away from her parents’ arguing and from the four red circles.
    She went to the dresser and got a scrap of paper out of her purse. She stepped outside her room to the upstairs phone and punched in the numbers on the piece of paper. Allie cupped her hand around the mouthpiece of the phone.
    â€œHello.”
    â€œHello,” said Allie. “Is that you, Razz?”
    â€œYou’re talkin’ to him.”
    â€œThis is Allie,” she said.
Will he remember?
she thought.
I hope so, or I’ll look like a total goof
    â€œHey, Brainy! How are ya?”
    â€œO.K., I guess.”
    Allie took a