Avalanche Dance by Ellen Schwartz Read Free Book Online Page B

anything.
    “What else?”
    How much worse can it get? “Smoking pot.”
    A gasp from my mom.
    “Who was with you?”
    This is the question I’ve been dreading. The question I haven’t even wanted to ask myself. I feel sick every time my mind veers near it. Why did they run? Why didn’t they help me? Why did they leave me to get caught?
    They were scared, I tell myself. They were freaked out. The bloody cabin was burning down! They didn’t just abandon me. I won’t believe that they did. And I won’t rat them out.
    “No one,” I say quietly.
    “Molly!” my mom says.
    “Molly, tell the truth,” my dad snaps.
    “Mr. and Mrs. Norquist, I’m going to have to ask you to let Molly answer the questions,” Constable Sawchuk says.
    He turns back to me. “I’ll ask you again, Molly. Who was with you at the cabin?”
    “No one.” Louder this time.
    He folds his hands. “The cabin collapsed, so it’s going to take several days to sift through the remains to see what’s there. But one of the firefighters told me he saw the melted lump of what used to be a ghetto blaster in the ashes. Are you telling me that you hauled that down there to listen to music and drink booze and smoke marijuana all by yourself?”
    I can’t look him in the eye. “Yes.”
    An impatient sigh from my father.
    “And how do you account for the fact that there were several different sets of footprints in the snow?”
    I shrug. “Maybe some other people used the cabin before –”
us
, I almost say “– before me.”
    He leans back in his chair. “Molly, you do realize that this is a very serious situation, don’t you? Aside from the underage drinking and marijuana misdemeanors, you’re looking atsignificant charges related to the destruction of the cabin. The punishment could be severe.”
    I don’t trust myself to speak. I nod.
    “So protecting your friends or whoever else was there isn’t doing yourself or them any favors. They need to come forward and take responsibility for their actions.”
    They will
, I think.
When they hear I’m in trouble, they will
.
    “It was just me.”
    He makes an impatient sound. “We’ll leave that for now. How did the fire start?”
    “I – I was cold, so I started a fire in the old woodstove.”
    “What happened?”
    “The chimney started roaring, and sparks started shooting out –” I have to stop and swallow. “And then a chunk of pipe fell off, and a ball of fire shot out, and the floor caught. I tried to stop it –” I hear my voice trembling. “But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.”
    He nods. “Why did you run?”
    “I couldn’t save the cabin.” I pause. “I – I was afraid of getting caught.”
    He looks at me for a long moment. Then he says, “Molly Ann Norquist, you are charged with trespassing and destruction of property.”
    I gasp.
Charged
. Until now, it hasn’t seemed real.
Will I go to jail? Will I have a record? What will happen to me?
    He tells us to report to youth court in Norse River the next day. Then he releases me into the custody of my parents.
    We step outside. The sky is that purple-blue shade just before dawn. There’s a faint whiff of smoke on the air.
    “You’re a disgrace.”
    “How could you?”
    “You’re ruining your life.”
    We’re in the kitchen. My mom’s sobbing, her head on her arms, and my dad’s pacing, slapping the back of one hand into the palm of the other as he bites off each word.
    He stops. Points to me. “Are you going to stick to this charade of being alone?”
    “Yes.”
    “Oh, Molly.” My mom lifts her head with a moan. “You know that’s not true.”
    I don’t answer. My friends wouldn’t squeal on me. I won’t squeal on them.
    “And how could you do this to Bridget and Andrew?” my mom asks.
    That brings tears to my eyes.
    “I’m telling you now, Molly,” my dad says. “The party’s over. You’ve been running wild, but it’s going to stop. No more drinking. No more drugs. No more being out