Slow Dance in Purgatory

“Yes! I’m at the school. They stuffed me in a locker! You gotta get me out of here!” He shifted ever so slightly, attempting to alleviate the screaming pain in his weight bearing leg. Just a tiny adjustment and his foot snapped down on the lid, shutting the phone once more, denying him Maggie’s response.

“ARGHHHH!” Shad moaned in defeat. His phone was almost dead, and Shad was dead tired. Hopefully, Maggie heard enough information and would be coming soon. His phone started ringing almost immediately, but the phone was pushed too far back beneath the heel of his bottom foot now, and he couldn’t do anything but listen helplessly as it rang and rang. He wished futilely for smaller feet and giant miracles. He was going to need one or the other to get himself out of this mess, because he hadn’t told Maggie which locker he was in – or even which hallway.

He exhaled slowly, then inhaled deeply and repeated the process several more times. He just had to stay calm until Maggie came. He breathed in again and then stopped, sniffing the air in confusion. Was that smoke?





19


“GREAT BALLS OF FIRE”

Jerry Lee Lewis - 1958





Maggie grabbed her glasses and her sweatshirt and flew down the stairs. Shad had sounded freaked out. Did he really say he was inside a locker?? Maggie couldn’t imagine that, but he had definitely said the school.

“Aunt Irene? I’m taking the car! Be back in a few. I’ll call you!!!” Maggie raced through the kitchen, not stopping to see if it was okay with her aunt. She didn’t have time to explain or plead her case if her aunt didn’t want her to go.

She jumped in the Caddie and was out, heading down the road, less than five minutes after Shad called. She punched in Gus’s number as she drove, knowing that to leave him out of the loop if Shad were really in trouble would be foolish.

“Gus?..... Hi, it’s Maggie. Do you know where Shad is?” Maggie listened impatiently as Gus gave his typical warm greeting and eventually got around to answering her question.

“Shadrach told me he was goin’ to a party. He seemed real excited about it, too. I was glad for him. Seems like maybe he’s finally making some more friends.”

Maggie was instantly suspicious. “Who? Who invited him to a party?”

Gus seemed a little taken back by her sharp response. “Well…. let’s see. I think he said some of the football players were gonna be there. Derek….that was the kid’s name he mentioned. Derek. Do you know him, Miss Margaret?”

“Ohhh, man,” Maggie moaned. Did she know him? Did she ever.

“Gus, I got a call a few minutes ago from Shad. He said he was at the school. I didn’t hear everything. His phone was beeping like an old man’s hearing aid – um, sorry, no offense, Gus. Anyway, I think he’s in trouble. I’m heading down there right now.”

Gus hemmed and hawed for a minute, and then he sighed, “Thank you for calling, Miss Margaret. Will you give me a call if there is trouble? Shad might not want me swoopin’ in. For all we know the party went bad, and he went to the school to shoot some hoops. ‘Course if there’s a bunch of kids down there I need to know.”

Maggie agreed and clicked off, resisting the urge to floor the old car and get to the school. She had a bad feeling, and it was getting worse the closer she got to Honeyville High. As she turned onto the winding lane leading to the school, Maggie gasped and cried out. Black smoke was billowing from the roof and some of the upper windows on the east side.

She hit redial and when Gus picked up she yelled into the phone.

“The school’s on fire!! I’ve got to find Shad! Call the fire department!”

“Miss Margaret, wait….don’t go in the school! Wait until help gets there –“

Maggie clicked her phone shut. She didn’t have time to debate the issue. If Shad was inside and stuck in some locker, which is what Maggie thought he had said, she couldn’t wait. She roared to a stop and leaped out of the car, not even bothering to shut off lights or take the keys from the ignition. She ran for the side entrance, key in hand, thankful that for the moment all the smoke seemed to be concentrated on the east side. She was through the locked door in seconds. She ran into the school, calling for Johnny.

“Johnny? Johnny! I need you!” Maggie ran down a long corridor. The smell of smoke was thick in the air, but the halls were still relatively clear. Her legs felt like rubber, and fear and desperation pounded in her chest. She ran to the section of hallway that housed the freshmen lockers.

“Shad! I need you to yell as loud as you can so I can find you!” Maggie tried to control her breathing, listening intently for any shouts or moans or any sign at all that Shad was trapped nearby.

“Maggie!” Johnny was suddenly there, and Maggie went limp with relief, allowing herself to be pulled into his strong arms as he immediately started to propel her toward the exit she had entered moments before.

“Maggie, the school is on fire. You’ve got to get out. I don’t know if I can stop it!”

“Johnny! No. Listen to me!” She gripped Johnny’s forearms, demanding that he stop and face her. She would have to talk fast; she could see by his face that he wouldn’t brook any argument.