Kingdom of Cages(79)

Mom was on her feet and across the room before Chena even saw her move. “Are you all right?” Did you burn yourself?” She took hold of the pot’s handles and lifted pot and rag away from Chena.

“No.” Chena was shaking. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t help it. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

“I know,” said Mom, looking at the empty pot and then at the floor with its lake of thin, steaming soup. “ Let’s get this cleaned up, all right?”

“Okay.” Chena reached for the rags, and she saw Teal, still standing in front of the door, now with her arms folded across her chest.

You did that on purpose, Teal’s face said. You did that so I wouldn’t ask any more questions. I know you did.

I didn’t, really, she tried to say back. It was just an accident. I promise.

“Teal, come help,” said Mom.

Teal turned and stormed out the door. It banged shut behind her, loud enough to make Chena wince.

Mom just sighed. “Well, we’ll let her go for a little while. Help me here, Chena.” She got down on her knees, mopping at Chena’s mess.

Chena knelt beside her and started working. There was nothing else to do.


Teal wasn’t home by the time Chena and Mom got the beans cleaned up. Mom announced they should go look for her. She went to check the library and sent Chena to search the dorms and dining hall.

Chena had a feeling she knew where Teal was, but she was grateful for the chance to get away. She really wanted to find Sadia and ask her what had happened, why Shond was being taken away, why Regan had questioned her, with Mom there.

But Sadia wasn’t anywhere. She wasn’t in the dorms or the dining hall, and when Chena started asking, people just stared at her, or, worse, turned their backs on her. Bewildered and frightened, she climbed back to their house and all the way up onto the roof. There, in the weeds, she found Teal lying sprawled on her back, staring up at the waving branches overhead.

Chena stepped into her line of sight. Teal focused on her for a moment, and then her gaze flickered away.

“Mom’s looking for you,” said Chena, squatting down next to her. “Let her look,” announced Teal bitterly. “Like she cares what happens to me.”

“This isn’t Mom’s fault.” Chena snicked a blade of grass off its stem with her fingernail and started tearing it into little pieces. “She’s doing her best.”

“She isn’t doing anything!” Teal pounded the ground with her fist. “She’s just sitting around wringing her hands and saying, ‘Oh, my goodness! Whatever shall we do?’ ”

“Teal…” Chena scattered little bits of grass. “You’re not seeing everything—”

“No, of course not.” She sat up abruptly. “And you’re going to tell me what’s going on, are you? Because you know everything! You’re not here ninety percent of the time, you don’t care piss and spit about anybody but yourself, and you’re still the one she actually talks to!”

Chena opened her mouth and closed it again. No, no, don’t tell me I screwed this up too. “That’s not it, Teal—”

“Go away.” Teal closed her eyes.

“I can’t,” Chena said.

“Chena!” Mom’s voice called up from below. “Is Teal up there with you?”

“Yes!” Chena called back down.

Teal’s eyes snapped open and her face tightened into an expression of pure anger at Chena’s betrayal.

There was a moment of silence from Mom. At last she said, “Okay, as long as we know where she is.” Chena heard the door open and close.

Teal went back to staring at the branches. Anger stabbed through Chena. What was she supposed to do? Teal wanted to be impossible. Nobody knew what was going on. Nobody could know. Not here, anyway, where they couldn’t even get their hands on a decent computer.

Chena stood. “You want to stay up here all night and get bat shit on you, you do that.”

She pounded down the steps without looking back and slammed the door hard behind her.

Mom was in the bedroom. Chena could see her through the open door.

“She’s staying up here?” Mom asked, lifting the lid on the clothes box.

“Yeah.” Chena leaned against the inside threshold.

“That’s okay. Come help me get some stuff together.” She frowned at the clothes. “We won’t need that much, just enough for a couple of days until we get settled.”

“What about the rest of it?” Chena gestured vaguely around the room. “What do we do with this stuff?”