My impulse was to run. I backed up until I bumped the trunk of the oak tree. Jeremy had his arm around Ivy’s shoulders. Was she crying? I couldn’t see her face.
I took a deep breath and readied myself to face the policeman.
He was short and round with his stomach bumping up against his uniform shirt. As he came up to me, I saw the big droplets of sweat on his broad forehead. His eyes were dark. He had a wide, almost flat nose, with an untrimmed black mustache beneath it. I lowered my eyes and saw that he had a hand on his gun holster as he trotted closer.
“Poppy?” His voice was surprisingly deep.
I nodded. How does he know my name?
He stopped, dark eyes locked on my face, and took a few seconds to catch his breath. Then he gestured to the smoldering cars with his cap, revealing dark, curly hair. “Never seen one like this,” he said.
Was that suspicion in his eyes?
He shook his head. “How did it happen?”
I didn’t know what to say. “It . . . just happened.”
He nodded. I couldn’t read his expression. Had he already figured out the truth? Was he waiting for me to tell him it had started out as a fake, a stupid prank?
The silence was awkward.
Finally, he said, “Do you know who I am? I’m Benny Kline. Manny’s brother.”
“Huh?” A startled sound escaped my open mouth.
“Manny has told me a lot about you,” he said. He turned and motioned toward the cars, and I saw Manny beside Jack, talking to the other officer.
“I . . . I didn’t know,” I stammered. “I mean, I knew Manny had some older brothers. But I didn’t know you were one. I mean . . .”
He laughed, a quiet laugh. “Manny talks about you all the time. You’ve been friends for a while, right?”
Cars were honking. Headlights flashed on as the sun disappeared. The sky glared with red-and-blue lights from the circle of patrol cars. The black smoke had floated away, but the acrid smell remained. The police had convinced most of the crowd to return to their cars. But there was still nowhere for them to go.
“Yeah. Since eighth grade, I think.” I started to relax. Manny’s brother was just curious about me, I decided. He hadn’t hurried over to accuse me.
“There are six of us,” Benny said, tugging at his mustache. “Manny is the youngest. He’s the only one still living at home. He was always the most trouble.”
I blinked. “Trouble?”
“I’m kidding. Actually, all six of us were trouble. That’s why I became a cop. To keep an eye on my other five brothers.”
“Manny’s a good guy,” I said. “We have a lot of fun.”
Benny’s moustache drooped as his smile faded. “Well, this isn’t much fun here tonight,” he said, gesturing again to the ruined cars. “Hey, here come the tow trucks. We’ll get this all cleared away quickly.”
Ivy and Jeremy wandered over to us. Ivy still had that stunned expression on her face. Jeremy kept his arm around her. “I think Ivy may be in shock,” he said.
“I can radio for some medics,” Benny offered.
“No. No. Please,” Ivy said. “I’ll be okay. Really.”
“Have you called your parents?” Benny asked. “You’d better call them right away. And, listen, take photos. Take a lot of photos before they clear the cars away. You know. For insurance.”
A strange laugh burst from my throat. I covered it with a cough. Maybe I was in shock, too. I mean, this was supposed to be a joke, right? A fake accident to put online. And to keep everyone away from the play at school.
But now Division Street was insane with cops, and firefighters, and tow trucks, and our still-smoking, totaled cars, and angry drivers, and an ocean of other cars that couldn’t move. And Benny was telling us what to do for the insurance companies?
A cold feeling swept down my body. None of this would have happened if I’d left the smoke machine in its closet at school.
The whole disaster was all on me!
And how long would it be before my friends would realize that the huge blaze was all my fault? How long before my friends confronted me about it? Or turned against me? Or . . . Or . . .
My eyes darted from one to another. Jeremy standing with his arm around Ivy, talking to her softly, her whole body trembling, her cheeks tearstained. Manny with Jack, talking to some officers, gesturing wildly with their hands. I knew they had to be lying about how the accident had happened. I couldn’t tell if the cops believed them or not.
It seemed so unlikely that three friends in separate cars would have an accident. So unbelievable. I mean, if I were a cop, would I believe it could be an accident?
Suddenly, I found myself thinking about Keith. Quiet, safe, boring Keith. He would never find himself in a mess like this. He would never agree to be part of something so insane. I knew there were more urgent things to think about. But there I was, asking myself, Did I make a mistake by breaking up with Keith?
Then I watched Jack trotting over to us, his eyes on me, his walk as confident as ever, his expression calm, as if this were just a minor setback, nothing to lose your cool over. And I knew I’d made the right choice.
He gave me a quick hug. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I guess.”
Jack turned to the others, who had gathered around. Manny still gripping his phone. Jeremy with a protective hand on Ivy’s shoulder. Jeremy shook his head. “We blew it.”
“Could this be any more stupid?” Ivy said in a trembling voice. “I don’t think so.”
Jack gestured with both hands for everyone to calm down. “You’re right. You’re right,” he said softly. The red-and-blue patrol car lights reflected off his face.
“I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m so sorry. Really.” My breath caught in my throat. “No more pranks.”
“No more pranks,” Ivy repeated.
“No more pranks,” Jeremy echoed.
We were all agreed.
But there was one more prank to come. One more prank . . . The most dangerous and devastating of them all.
