The Legend of Woman Hollering Creek: Penn Files

In Which Julian Penn Meets Kingston Estate

JULIAN stared up at the house. It was falling apart in places—right around the front windows, up at its triangular top, all across two of the second-floor balconies.

Even the stairs that led up to the bright red front door sagged a little. The whole house leaned to the side, like a wind had blown it crooked and it never found a reason to right itself.

Julian couldn’t blame it. It didn’t look much like a home.

He could hear the concern in Mom’s voice when she said, It’s...interesting.

We’ll make it a home, Dad said, taking off his cap and running a hand through his thinning brown hair.

Dad always said cheery things like that, like this move from one city to another, from a house where Julian had grown up in to a house that looked like it might fall down around them as soon as they all stepped inside, was simple and fun and good. Like it didn’t bother him one bit to say goodbye to all his friends in Pflugerville and pack everything they owned into a U-Haul and drive all this way to San Antonio.

It probably didn’t bother Dad. After all, he was the reason for this move.

Well, Dad and something else Julian didn’t like to think about.

Julian scowled at the ground. Even the grass seemed to have given up in this place. It looked like a field of brown hay. Mom wouldn’t be able to walk barefoot here. Had Dad even considered that?

Had he thought about anyone but himself?

Julian knew that was unfair. It wasn’t Dad’s fault the school where he’d coached high school football for the last ten years had let him go. He hadn’t won enough games to justify another year’s contract. That was the official statement of the school. But Julian had heard Mom and Dad talking late one night. Dad had been a whistleblower, whatever that was. He’d called attention to something others didn’t want to see or know. Julian never did hear what it was.

But whistleblower sounded a little better than failure, didn’t it?

So Dad had accepted a coaching job at a much smaller school that wasn’t known for winning at all. Dad wasn’t the type to show his disappointment, but Julian wondered if he still felt it.

Was he disappointed about this house, too? No one would ever know.

Just look at those creepy woods, Dad said, wiggling his eyebrows at Julian and his sister, Bella. I thought the kids would enjoy exploring those.

They’re safe? Mom said, blue eyes scrunched up. She tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. Something she did when she was nervous.

Mom was always overly concerned with safety, even though Julian was almost twelve and Bella almost eleven. Their birthdays were three days apart, right in the middle of fall. For as long as Julian could remember, they’d shared a cake, one half Julian’s (chocolate with chocolate frosting), the other half Bella’s (vanilla with strawberry frosting), and a birthday party, half the guests Julian’s friends (he never had many), half of them Bella’s (she always had a lot and could never invite them all).

He wondered if they’d even have a party this year, so far from all their old friends.

Dad shrugged. I mean, as safe as woods can be for adventurous kids. He wiggled his eyebrows in Julian and Bella’s direction again. He was really trying to make the most of this. Julian almost felt sorry for him.

Dad was the only one who’d seen the house before today. He’d come out here looking for places to live while Mom stayed with Julian and Bella so they could finish out their school year at Pflugerville Elementary School. They hadn’t seen much of her in the weeks Dad had been gone, because she was, in her words, tying up loose ends.

Mom was a journalist, transferring from the Austin newspaper to the one in San Antonio.

No one had even asked Julian or Bella if they wanted to move. If Mom and Dad had, Julian would have said, No. Absolutely not. Even with a house full of memories. Full of...

Well, he wouldn’t think about that.

And even though Mom and Dad had decided to stick around Pflugerville for almost the whole summer and Julian had spent practically every day with Conner, his best friend, he still felt sore about this move. It didn’t help things that he had to be the new kid the same year he was starting sixth grade.

Talk about bad timing.

Bella piped up from behind Julian. We won’t get into any trouble, she said. I’ve always wanted to live by woods. Her pale blue eyes sparkled.

Did she mean it, or was she just saying words? That was the problem with people like Dad and Bella, people who tried to make the most of every bad situation: You never knew if you could really believe them.

Julian scowled at the ground again. He, for one, wouldn’t enjoy exploring the woods. They probably were dangerous. They probably had wolves and snakes and all kinds of predators that might eat two unsuspecting kids out trying to find something to do with the rest of their summer. He squinted at them. Shadows, everywhere. Scary things hid in shadows. He looked away.

He was no adventurous kid. If Dad stopped long enough to look at him, instead of looking at the version of Julian he wanted Julian to be, he would know that.

And just like Julian’s silent protests had somehow sneaked out into the open, Dad said, I’m sure Julian will take care of Bella, make sure they don’t get into any trouble in the woods.

Julian glared at Dad’s back. Didn’t Dad know Julian couldn’t protect anybody from anything? Hadn’t he proven that, back in Pflugerville?

Mom and Dad moved toward the house, Bella trailing them. Julian stayed where he was, glaring at their backs, until Dad turned around and said, You coming, Julian?

He didn’t even wait to see if Julian was going to answer, just started up the crumbling stairs with Mom and Bella. He reached them right as Mom stumbled. Dad grabbed her arm. They both laughed, but Julian wasn’t sure if Mom was amused or annoyed. Sometimes it was hard to tell.

First on the list? Fixing these stairs, Dad said. Don’t want anyone hurting themselves. He grinned back at Julian and Bella. Especially your mother.

Mom had broken her foot once, on regular, straight stairs. These leaning ones seemed especially dangerous for someone who always had her attention focused on something in the distance.

Dad called it Mom’s Thinking Trance.

Julian couldn’t say he was the most graceful person in the world, either. He’d taken a few falls in gym class last year that earned him the nickname Jump Up Julian. For all the times he jumped to his feet and tried to pretend nothing had happened.

That was another reason he wasn’t looking forward to starting a new school. With a dad who looked like a body builder, walked like a dancer, and could play every sport like he’d been a pro, people expected you to be at least a little bit like him. Julian and Dad were polar opposites.

Julian didn’t even like sports. He preferred music. The only reason he’d checked pre-athletics on his sixth grade mock schedule was to please Dad. But as soon as Dad learned that Julian couldn’t dribble a ball or throw a perfect spiral or even run two hundred meters down a track without wheezing like he had asthma (he didn’t), he’d be even more disappointed in Julian than he already was.

Dad opened the front door, and Bella ran through. Julian stared at the flaking brown paint that covered it.

You might want to go check out the bedrooms, Julian, Dad said with his lopsided smile. Before you sister gets the best one.

Julian didn’t care one bit about who got which bedroom. He’d rather be anywhere but here. He trudged up the steps and through the door like he hadn’t even heard Dad.

Dad put a hand on his shoulder and walked with him into the foyer. Don’t worry, buddy. We’ll make it a home.

Julian wondered if Dad realized he’d already said that, which made Julian wonder if Dad really believed it or if he was just trying to convince himself it was true. It didn’t really matter to Julian; he already knew this would never be his home.

Home was a hundred miles away. Home was the house he’d lived in all his life. Home was the place where he’d shared a room with Papaw.

This place looked like it already belonged to ghosts. Cobwebs in the corners of the high ceiling, spiral stairs with an inch of dust on the rail, windows streaked so thick with dirt you could hardly see out of them.

Julian shivered, even though it was one hundred three degrees outside and extra stuffy in the house.

We’ll get someone out here to clean it up, Mom said, threading her arm through Dad’s. They started up the stairs, and because Julian didn’t want to be left downstairs all alone, with all those dark corners and who knew what living in them, he followed them.

Mom and Dad’s feet kicked up a dirt cloud. Julian sneezed.

Bella had already chosen the largest bedroom. She looked apologetic when she said, I like this one best. You can see the woods.

He shrugged. I don’t care.

The second bedroom had a window facing the woods, but it also had a window facing the front yard. It’s like it was built into the corner of the house, specially for Julian. It was smaller than the other room by at least a quarter, but Julian didn’t mind. He’d need some curtains, though. He didn’t like the thought of other people seeing inside his room.

There’s another room, you know, Dad said, knocking on the door frame. A puff of dust exploded by his hand. He coughed and stepped all the way inside.

I like this one, Julian said. At least this bedroom, facing the front of the house, showed a way out. The other was across the hall from Bella’s bedroom, with windows that only faced the woods. Like you were trapped in the middle of nowhere, no road pointing the way to civilization.

They were trapped out here. Town was two whole miles away. After Pflugerville and its close neighbors, market on the corner, library six blocks away, fire station half a mile from home, two miles seemed like another country. No neighbors, no help, no...

Something cold trickled down Julian’s spine. He tried to ignore it.

Well, this is a cool room, Dad said. I can see your desk over there and your bed here, and you have plenty of space in the closet. He nodded at Julian, like he couldn’t imagine anyone thinking otherwise. We can even paint it that electric green color you’ve always liked.

Papaw hadn’t liked the color green, especially the neon kind, so Julian’s old bedroom was a calm and boring blue.

Julian knew Dad was trying, so he thought maybe he should try, too. He said, That would be nice.

Kingston Estate, Mom said, joining them in the room. What a name.

Maybe we should rename it Penn Estate, Dad said, winking at Julian.

Doesn’t live up to a grand name like that, Julian couldn’t help saying.

Give it time, Dad said. We’ll have it looking like an estate again soon.

Dad said things like that all the time, too. He made big plans, and then because of his coaching and the extra hours he had to work practically every day, even when football season was over (or before it began), he never got around to doing any of the things he dreamed about. Julian thought the front stairs would probably be just as saggy next year when they moved out.

That’s what Dad had said, in the very beginning: Give it a year. Julian planned to hold him to that promise. He’d already begun counting down the days.

Three hundred sixty-four to go.

Mom and Dad left the room without Julian noticing. He stared out the window, at the trees, limbs waving in a breeze he didn’t remember feeling outside.

Something about those woods...

Julian shuddered.

He was going to need curtains on these windows as soon as he could possibly get them.

In Which Julian Wants to Be Alone—Sort Of

SOMEONE knocked on Julian’s door, three taps, a pause, two more. Bella’s secret code.

Julian was supposed to feel annoyed with his sister for intruding, but he never could quite feel that way, no matter how unwelcome she was in his room. She was a good friend.

Of course he would never admit that to his school friends. He was almost glad he and Bella would be going to different schools this year. But also a little sad.

Come in.

Bella was already grinning when she threw open the door. Wow! she said. Look at this room! She gazed up at the ceiling, much higher above them than the ceiling had been in their old house. It’s like a castle!

A decrepit castle, Julian said. He tried not to let it sound like a grumble, but that was impossible. And more words tumbled out. A decrepit castle that’s practically disintegrating as we walk around in it. Maybe our beds will fall through the floors tonight.

We don’t have any beds, Bella said, as if that meant the floors might hold up. "Mom says the