A Surprise

by Linsdie Nicholas

The door slammed in my face and I heard his feet stomping down the hall in monsterly delight. He would enjoy something like this.

I yanked the door back open and screamed at him. "Fine then, don't tell me, but someone is going to die!" He only giggled as he himself opened the heavy outside door and pulled it shut with a boom. I sulked back into my room.

Rodney was a jerk. He had only come over to rub my nose in the fact that I didn't know, and I didn't even know I should have known until he got there and it was driving me nuts now that I did know I didn't know that I should have known. I didn't even know what I should know.

The Rodney-mobile sputtered to a start as the balloon I was filling with water reached peak expansion. Knotting the warbling rubber ball, I ran to the balcony and heaved it over the edge. The splat would have been sickening, had I not been in such a lousy mood. I laughed wickedly when Rodney climbed out of the now motionless vehicle, the giggles of moments ago replaced by semi-obscene language. Hearing me up above him, most of his words were aimed at me. It is a little known fact that his precious lemon of a car won't run when it is wet.

"Tell me now!" I demanded, delightedly, secretly hoping he wouldn't so I could keep torturing him. He decided that moment to hide behind the hood and I could hear him start to tinker.

I grabbed the paper towels from the kitchen and started dropping them, one by one, all around him.

"I could kill you if I wanted," he said very loudly up at me.

"That would be rather difficult, considering, you are down there, and I," I paused, "am up here."

The phone rang then and I jumped. I cursed, knowing Rodney would make his escape while I wasn't watching him.

The phone was Rodney's little brother.

"Did he tell you?" he asked as soon as I picked up the phone, and even before I could say hello.

"No," I said, frustrated. "Why don't you tell me, Frankfurter?"

"Nope," he said. "He told everybody not to tell you. And don't call me Frankfurter."

"Who's everybody?" I asked. Frankie had hung up, already. I said 'bye to the receiver and put it down.

I could still hear Rodney tinkering outside.

"That was Frankie," I yelled over the balcony to Rodney.

"Did he tell you?"

"No."

"Good."

I wanted to scream. Much more of this was going to drive me batty.

"Why don't you tell me?" I whined, making myself feel like I was about three years old.

"'Cause you're my friend," he said, his voice muffled by the hood.

Good God, what was this about? "Aren't friends supposed to tell each other things?"

"Not when it would hurt you."

"Then how am I supposed to find out?"

Rodney sighed. "I didn't want it to be from me."

Oh? "Why?"

"'Cause I didn't want to be the one who told you." He put so much thought into it, it was sad that he was being redundant with me. Getting to the point never came easily to Rodney.

My frustration was growing quickly by now. I screamed at him.

"Why did you come here, then? Why didn't you tell me? Why did you tell me there was something I should be so worked up about, but not tell me what it is?" I was mad now and I didn't know why. I didn't know much that morning. Or was it afternoon? I wasn't wearing my watch so I didn't know what time it was. I was dizzy. The balcony was swaying so, I thought it was going to fall. I screamed, but it turned out to be one of those unsatisfying silent ones.

I tried again, screaming for Rodney, who was so far away, he'd only be able to hear me if I yelled. But he didn't seem to, he was frozen, not moving. Looking horrified.

His look subdued me. "What's wrong, Rodney?" I whispered as he melted, along with the rest of the so familiar surroundings, and I was left with nothing. "Please tell me." I didn't even realize I had yelled that time.

It was Frankie who was there when I woke up. I realized where I was as soon as my eyes opened. "Tell me," I tell him.

"Tell you what?"

"I don't know," I say.

"You were dreaming," he says, "calling for Rodney and stuff. There was an accident." He is just like his brother. "You bumped you're head pretty hard."

"How's the Rodney-mobile?" I wiggle my toes.

"Burnt to a crisp."

"And Rod?" I have a headache.

"Same."

"Huh." Someone was going to die.