Autumn's Wish (15 page)

And they're off. I'm so invisible, I may as well be on one of my future jumps. I'm not complaining. Getting these two together is definitely part of my peace-and-harmony-to-my-little-corner-of-the-universe mission. Still, it's two-thirty in the morning and I have to be at the school gym in less than eight hours to start decorating for the dance.

“Hey,” I say. “I'm so sorry to butt in, but Taylor's my ride and I have to get up kind of early, so…”

They both look heartbroken, but they hide it well.

“Oh, sure, no problem,” Drew says. Then he relocks eyes with Taylor. “It was incredible meeting you, Taylor.”

“You too,” she says. “Maybe…we'll see each other again sometime?”

“I'm just going to step in here,” I say, then lean in toward Drew. “We're seniors at Aventura High and there's this big dance tomorrow night. It involves computer dates, but the Don't Be a Ghoul rule only requires Tee to spend one song with the guy. Will you go with her as her guest?”

Drew looks confused. “Um…are you asking me out…for her?”

“No,” Taylor says. Then she smiles. “
I'm
asking you out.”

It's a moment of pure fiercetude, but then her insecurities creep back in. “I mean…unless…”

“I would love to,” Drew says, and for the next bit of forever they do nothing but smile and blush.

Seriously, I could hold out a paper cone and get cotton candy from the sweetness.

“Great,” I say. “So…um…maybe you guys swap numbers so you can figure everything out in the rapidly approaching morning?”

They do, and then he gives her an adorably awkward hug good night and calls out the same to me. Once Taylor and I are in her car, I kick back and soak in her happiness as she gushes about the guy I know she'll be with forever.

When I'm back home in bed, I pull out the locket again and talk to the
zemi.
“I totally get why this is our mission,” I say. “We're pretty darn good at it.”

I kiss the
zemi,
then fall fast asleep.

I wake up two seconds later.

Okay, it's six hours later, but it feels like two seconds. I'm crazy tired, but I roll out of bed, stuff myself into drawstring shorts and an old T-shirt, twist my rumpled hair into a messy low bun, and schlump my way downstairs. I have to shield my eyes from the bright streak of my mom. She zips around the kitchen in a blazing-yellow dress. Her makeup's already done, her hair hangs in loose curls, and she floats around the kitchen like a cartoon princess singing with woodland creatures.

“You're sunny today,” I say. “What's up?”

“Everything!” she chirps as she hands me a mug of pumpkin tea latte. “I have two wonderful kids,
two
wonderful branches of Catches Falls, and it's a gorgeous day today. Here.” She opens the toaster oven, wraps a pumpkin pie Pop-Tart in a napkin, and hands it to me. “We should get going if you need to be at the gym by ten.”

I'm glad she remembered. I'd much rather get a ride than zombie-walk. Still, she's awfully dressed up just to drive me to school. And she's feeding me a lot of pumpkin stuff. I look suspiciously at my mug and Pop-Tart, then try to sound casual. “So your Trader Joe's friend…the pumpkin guy…”

“Pumpkin guy?”

I grimace. Am I crazy, or is her voice oddly high-pitched right now?

“Yeah,” I say. “What was his name? Len? Ben?”

“Oh,
Glen
!” she says, still whizzing around the room and wiping down counters.

“Right. Glen. Did you ever end up meeting him for that coffee?”

“We did,” Mom says. “It was nice. It's always good to make a new friend. You ready?”

I raise an eyebrow, waiting for her to elaborate, but she doesn't. I want to ask if she's seeing him today, if that's why she's so dressed up, but I don't bother. I'll deal with her and Glen, but today I have other futures to mold.

The sisterhood of the Senior Social Committee spends the whole day transforming the gym into a spooky paradise. Lots of spiderwebs, colored lights, black lights, fog machines, Japanese lanterns shaped like jack-o'-lanterns, and
actual
insanely creepy jack-o'-lanterns that Swoozie Lyman—who is apparently a genius artist—carved over the past week. It'll all look a million times better at night, but it still comes together really well, and I have so much fun with everyone that I quickly forget how tired I am. There's only one hellish moment when I pass too close to Carrie and Kassie while they're speaking in low voices to one another, and I hear Carrie say, “We
just
made it out of sight before his parents walked in. I swear, if they had walked in one second earlier…”

She doesn't finish the sentence, just raises her eyebrows meaningfully. From that moment on, I'm tortured by an endless stream of way-too-vivid visions of what those raised eyebrows didn't say.

At four in the afternoon, the sisterhood takes off so we can get dressed and ready. We're supposed to come back at seven—an hour before the dance starts—to put out food and drinks and turn on all the lights, the fog machine, and the music. Before Carrie can offer, I pounce on Gus and ask him to give me a ride home. If Carrie's going over to J.J.'s house before the dance for more of what happened last night, I don't want to know about it.

The dance is semiformal, no costumes. Personally, I
love
Halloween costumes. Halloween was my dad's favorite holiday, and the four of us always went all out with themed costumes and decorations. But whatever—the senior class didn't want costumes, so we're not having them. Instead I put on an off-white over-one-shoulder dress, with a wrap top and flowing skirt that drapes to mid-thigh. It has excellent spin properties, so it's perfect for a dance. The locket isn't exactly the ideal accessory for the dress, but no way am I leaving it home. I throw it over my head and tuck the
zemi
medallion down the front. I wear my hair long, with just a little curl, and add a wide silver bracelet and funky hoop earrings. My silver heels won't be comfortable for dancing, but I fully expect to kick them off when the party gets good.

My oversized pink shoulder bag looks nothing but weird with the outfit, but I need someplace to stash my Scare Pair cards. I also toss in some lip gloss, my wallet, and my phone and I'm ready to go about five minutes before Gus—who agreed to grab me on his way back to school—honks his horn.

My heart thumps as Gus and I clomp our way down to the gym, our shoes echoing down the nearly empty halls. What if I don't get the chance to put my Scare Pair cards in with the real ones? What if someone catches me when I try?

I don't have to worry. Gus and I are the last to arrive. Carrie and the other six girls are already in the gym working, and the two low plastic bins of stuffed Scare Pair envelopes are already set out on a card table outside the main doors.

“You're late!” Carrie cries when she sees us. “Autumn, make the punch. Gus, start working on the fog machine.”

“On it,” I say. “I'm just going to ditch my bag back in my locker.”

“Just toss it down somewhere!” Carrie retorts.

“Two seconds,” I assure her. “I don't want to have to think about it later.”

I kick off my heels and trot out the doors, then quickly peek back inside to make sure everyone's hard at work and concentrating on their own thing. Once I'm sure they are, I yank out my eight altered Scare Pair envelopes and very quickly slip them into—or
near
to—their rightful alphabetical spots. Then I sprint down the hall, ditch my bag, and sprint back.

I'm a little surprised none of my futures have shown me as a super-spy. I think I'd be really good at it.

We're still working on the room at seven-thirty when the first people start to show up. It's insanely early for a school dance, but we figure people are stoked about their Scare Pairs and want to find out right away. Carrie sends Kassie and Brody to hand the cards to early arrivals, then shuts the gym doors so we can finish up in peace. By the time we emerge at eight o'clock to start the party for real, there's a big crowd. Some of them have their cards, some need them, some are already laughing with or chatting up their computer dates. Everyone seems so buzzed and energized I get all wrapped up in the excitement.

“They like it!” I say, nudging Carrie. “It's a huge success!”

Carrie grins back and all eight of us start handing out cards as fast as we can, then urge people into the gym where the music blasts, the fog seeps across the floor, and recorded screams and maniacal laughter keep making people jump.

J.J.'s the first of my friends to come in. My breath catches when I see him. He's wearing black suit pants and a black button-down shirt and carrying a sport jacket slung over one shoulder. He walks down the hall toward me, a slow smile on his face. I smile back and almost say something, until I realize he's not looking at me at all. I'm standing right next to Carrie. The smile and intensity are all for her.

Ignoring everyone else, he wraps his arm around Carrie's waist and kisses her for just this side of an eternity. I tell myself to look away, but I can't—not even when it feels like my toenails are being peeled off my feet one by one.

“Do you have a card for me?” he asks her, still not even looking in my direction.

“I do,” she says flirtatiously. “And I think you'll like it.”

She flips through the envelopes, frowning when J.J.'s isn't exactly where it's supposed to be. Then she flips around some more and pulls it out. She watches J.J. with a knowing smile as he opens it and pulls out the card.

“Mariah Amhari?” he asks.

For a moment, Carrie looks utterly perplexed. Then she beams. “Yes! Isn't that fun? And since Mariah and I are both on the Senior Social Committee, we think we should set a good example and actually spend some time with our Scare Pairs. Mariah!”

Carrie moves to Mariah, who's on my other side and a little bit behind me. She leans in close and rises onto her tiptoes so she can whisper into Mariah's ear, “You actually switched! You are the best!!!!”

“What?” says Mariah, but Carrie's already leading her to J.J.

I'm just as surprised. I had no idea Carrie would think Mariah was behind the swap. This is perfect!

“Here you are!” Carrie says, presenting Mariah to J.J. “Go on in and have fun!”

Mariah still looks like she's about to object, but I'm ready. I've already pulled her envelope and I hand it to her now. “Can't forget
your
envelope!”

She opens and reads it, then looks curiously at Carrie. Carrie literally needs more face to contain her smile. Mariah shrugs and takes J.J.'s arm, but she raises an eyebrow to me before they go in, and I can't help but grin. It's pretty clear Mariah thinks
Carrie
made the switch so she can be with Keith. As for J.J., he still looks completely confused, but he's a true gentleman. He gives Carrie just one searching look, then turns his full attention to Mariah, chatting her up as they make their way into the gym.

“I don't know how she did it,” Carrie says, “but I'm soooo glad she did.”

I wheel around. Carrie's back is to me and she's talking to Kassie, but Kassie gives a warning nod. Carrie wheels around and blushes when she sees I've overheard. “N-not that…,” she stammers. “I mean…I don't…”

Entertaining as it is to watch her struggle for an explanation, I need her to relax and have a good time. “You don't have to explain,” I assure her with a smile. “It's a fix-up dance. It's fun.”

Carrie visibly relaxes. And when Keith Hamilton shows up a few minutes later, she sprints to him to give him his envelope. When he opens it, he looks as happy as she does. Carrie links her arm with his and calls out to the rest of us, “The remaining cards are all yours, sisters! I'm going inside to make sure everything's okay!”

“Right,” Gus says once she's gone. “If by ‘everything' she means Keith Hamilton's scrawny body. Hashtag-whatever, hashtag-breeders.”

“You never know,” I say. “He's scrawny now, but one day he could be an underwear model.”

Gus, Swoozie, Brody, Kassie, and Meegan just look at me; then we all burst out laughing.

My next victim to hit the dance is Zander. Swoozie hands him his Scare Pair envelope, and when he opens it he fist-pumps and shouts, “YES!” then high-fives his friends before going into the gym.

Taylor and Drew come in together. She's in a short sparkly sheath dress and high heels, but Drew's still taller than her by a couple inches. They remind me so much of the way I saw them in the future that I feel all warm and happy inside. Tee gets her Scare Pair envelope from Brody and I sincerely hope whoever she's paired with doesn't have high hopes for a love connection, because Taylor's one hundred percent taken.

Reenzie and Sean come in soon after that. They look dazzling, of course, like they're ready to be anointed prom king and queen. I give Reenzie her envelope and Meegan gives Sean his. When he opens it, he glares at me and his face turns to stone.

“Is this a joke?” he asks.

“I didn't do it!” I object. “It was the computer!”

“I'm not dancing with you.” Staring daggers at me, Sean crumples the Scare Pair card in his fist. “Reenz, I'll meet you inside.”

He stalks into the gym. Reenzie scrunches her brows and leans close. “For real now—did you set yourself up with him?”

“Reenzie. He hates me. Why on earth would I set myself up with him?”

Reenzie smiles. “You're right. He totally hates you. Here, why don't you take my Scare Pair.”

She hands me her card and I look at it. “Derek Montzer. The nose picker. That's really sweet of you, Reenzie.”

She smiles. She has no idea I'm being facetious.

“I'm gonna let you keep him, though,” I say. “I'm sure he's looking forward to your dance. Don't be a ghoul!”