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I was so shaken by Eddie’s confession that I completely forgot to ask Wayne to come over after school. It didn’t matter now anyway. The masquerade theme was out. Denise had Amanda and the entire cheerleading squad coming tomorrow to vote in her favor. It was over.
I didn’t know how I was going to break the news to Matilda, but it wasn’t going to be pretty. At this point, I wasn’t even sure what would be worse, seeing her attempt to cry or listening to her empty threats about having me committed. In her current state, I knew I wouldn’t have any trouble getting her to the garbage disposal if I absolutely had to.
To my dismayed surprise, Wayne was waiting on my front steps when my mom and I pulled into the driveway. My mom smiled and waved at him as I got out of the car. She was already in her yoga attire, since her class started soon. “You kids behave. I’ll be back in a couple hours.”
I watched her leave with a panicked frown before turning to face Wayne.
“Hey,” he said softly, shuffling his feet. “Missed you at lunch today.”
“Yeah, the prom committee had a meeting.”
“I heard. For the record, I think a masquerade would be awesome.” He smiled.
“Thanks.” I laughed. “Too bad Denise and the rest of the cheerleading squad would rather have a disco.” I unlocked the front door and stepped inside. Then I turned back and sighed. “You wanna come up to my room?”
Wayne grinned and hurried up the front steps to join me inside. We stopped in the kitchen to grab a couple sodas and a bag of chips before heading upstairs. My room wasn’t too messy, and I had even taken the time to make my bed before I’d left for school that morning. It was probably due to all the extra guilt I was harboring.
Wayne plopped down on my bed and immediately noticed Herbert and Gertrude, who I had decided not to kill with fire after the Matilda contamination. He picked them up and danced them across his lap, giving life to them with his best Muppet voices. Henson would have hired him on the spot.
“Gee, Gertie,” he said for Herbert. “It sure would be swell if you’d go to prom with me.”
“Well, I’d love to, Herbie,” Gertrude replied, “but there’s this really swell bunnyman that I’ve had my eye on.”
“Oh yeah?” Herbert squeaked. “Well, I heard your bunnyman has his eye on a dapper gentlehare.”
I raised an eyebrow at Wayne, but he went on. “I also hear that he’s your cousin.”
“It’s okay,” Gertrude cooed. “We can be kissing bunny cousins.”
I snatched the bunnies away from Wayne. “Okay. Okay. Seriously. I think Herbert and Gertrude have been through enough lately.”
I set them on my dresser and opened my soda, promptly choking on the first drink as I noticed Matilda’s glowing eyes peeking out through a gap in my closet door.
“You okay?” Wayne stood, but I quickly nodded and went to sit on the opposite side of the bed so he wouldn’t be looking towards the closet. He patted me on the back, and I inched away from him, hoping to keep Matilda from doing anything stupid. She was supposed to be in the shed. This day just kept getting better.
Wayne waited for my coughing fit to end. Then he set his soda down on my nightstand and reached for my hand before I could recoil from him further.
“Janie, I don’t know what happened between us. You’re my best friend, and I like you just the way you are. I don’t know what made you think that you had to act like the Ds to impress me, but you really don’t.” He shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong. I loved Matilda, but it wasn’t because of the way she dressed or acted at school. There was more to her than that. She wasn’t perfect, but who is?”
“Wayne, there’s something you should know. I didn’t start dressing and acting like the Ds to impress you.”
“You didn’t? Then why?”
“It’s hard to explain. I really wish I could, but I can’t.”
He frowned at me. “It doesn’t really matter. What I’m trying to say here, is that I would be honored if you would be my date for prom.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing would come out. This moment was one that my life had pretty much revolved around since freshman year. I should have been overjoyed. I should have squealed some sort of affirmative reply and thrown my arms around him, laying a big sloppy kiss right on his puckered lips. Instead, I just wanted to crawl under my covers and die.
It was right about that moment that Matilda chose to push open my closet door and fall face first onto the floor. Her vacant white eyes rolled up to look at us, and her mouth hung open, exposing blackened teeth and gums. Wayne froze, staring in disbelief, like he couldn’t quite figure out what had just happened. Then he jumped off my bed and threw his back against my bedroom wall before letting out the schoolgirl scream of the century.
“She’s totally faking. I promise,” I blurted, throwing my hands up in air.
“Faking?” I was sure Wayne was going to hyperventilate. “Janie, she’s dead!”
“Well, not exactly.”
“Not exactly?” Wayne looked from Matilda to me and then back at her again.
“She’s undead. You know, like a zombie?”
“Zombie? Are you on drugs?”
“No. I’m perfectly sober and sane,” I said in the most even and calm voice I could manage. “Ask Eddie. He’s the one who raised her.”
“Eddie dug her up?”
“No, he raised her. I’m pretty sure she dug herself up. Her nails were all icky,” I said, making a sour face.
“You’re sick, Janie. You need help.” Wayne was slowly backing towards my bedroom door.
“Wait! I’m serious. I can prove it.” I ran over and grabbed Matilda by both hands, pulling her into a sitting position. Her head lolled to one side, and she slumped against my dresser. “Snap out of it! I’m not going to prom with him. He’s all yours. You can cut the act now.”
Wayne gagged and covered his mouth. “Oh, god. She smells awful. How long have you had her in your closet?”
“Over a month now, but she sleeps in the shed, since the cold helps preserve her a little better.” I pushed her tongue back in her mouth and closed up her gaping jaw. “Come on, Mattie. Rise and shine.” I slapped her cheek gently, mindful of her fragile skin. It made a wet, hollow sound.
“Oh, Janie.” Wayne turned slightly green and looked away. “I can’t do this. Please, stop touching her. You’re making me sick.”
“Wait! I know. Just hold on for five minutes.” I dropped Matilda back to the floor and dug my phone out of my bag, desperately dialing with shaky fingers. “Eddie! Something’s wrong with Matilda. It’s like she’s dead again. I don’t know what to do.”
“I know.” Eddie sighed into the phone. “I fixed it. I broke the spell.”
“What? Well, you have to unbreak it. Now!”
“But, but you were mad at me. You wanted her dead again. Didn’t you?”
“I did, but now I don’t. Wayne is here, and—”
“Wayne is there?” he groaned.
“Yes, Wayne is here,” I hissed. “And he thinks I’m certifiable, because his girlfriend’s corpse is on my bedroom floor,” I said through gritted teeth. “Unbreak the spell. Now. Please.”
“I’ll be right over.” He hung up. The phone buzzed in my hand before it had left my ear.
“Yes?”
“You don’t have any chicken blood on hand, do you?”
“I’ll get some. Just get over here.” I hung up and dialed the only other person I trusted enough to task with such a freak request. “Chloe?”
“Janie?” she said timidly.
“Are you still at school?”
“Yeah, I’m working on a new painting.”
“I saw it today,” I said. “It’s amazing.”
“Thanks.” She sighed. “Janie, I’m so glad you called.”
“I’m so glad you answered. I need your help. In a bad way.”
“What is it?”
“You have to steal the new order of chicken blood that just came in to the chemistry lab in Mrs. Roth’s class. I need it, kinda now.”
“What? Seriously?” She was suddenly skeptical. “Is this some plot to get me back? I’m really sorry, Janie.”
“I know, Chloe. I’m sorry too. Honest. I swear on the Doctor.”
“You really need chicken blood right now?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’ll explain everything when you get to my house, and believe me, there is a lot to explain.”
“Okay. Alright. Doesn’t Mrs. Roth lock up the lab when she leaves for the day?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think a fire extinguisher would get the job done?”
“I love you, Chloe.”
“You better. I’ll see you in ten.”