OMG, A CUL8R Time Travel Mystery (21 page)

“Did you see any on the menu?”

“Actually no . . .”

“Well anything not on the menu won’t be on your order,” Wendy clarified.

“
Then, I’ll take a hamburger with fries and a bottle of water,” Kelly ordered.

“Bottle of water?  We
have it in cups.” Wendy looked confused.

“Then a
Diet Coke, please.”

“Diet Coke? 
We have Coke or Tab.”

“
What’s a Tab?” Kelly asked.

“It’s a Coke without all the calories.”

“Oh, then I’ll take that.”  Kelly sat back in her chair, glad to let Wendy’s attention move to someone else.

“Same as her but with a Coke,” Scott ordered.

“Okay.  And you?”  Wendy turned to Austin.

“I’ll have a double burger and fries with a
Coke.  Can you super-size that?” Austin asked.

“Supersize what?”
Wendy was growing impatient with the whole group as more cars traded places in the lot.

“The fries and
Coke.  Make them bigger. You know, super-size them.”

“So you want a large fry and large
Coke?”

“Exactly.”

“You?” Wendy glanced at Zoey and her expression softened.  “Oh hi.  How’d it go on your first day?”

“Not too bad.  Some things are a little different than . . . uh, where we came from,” Zoey answered.

“What would you like to order?”

“I’ll take a plain hamburger and a Tab.”

“I’ll put this right in, thanks.”

They sat there and observed the comings and goings for about t
en minutes when their food finally was delivered by Wendy.

“Listen, sorry I got so nastygram with you all
.  This week is homecoming. I don’t have a date and Janet’s grandmother died.  She had to go out of town for the funeral, and they’re expecting me to do it all.  They won’t even let me off on Friday for the game . . . anyway I’m sorry.”

“Janet?” Zoey asked.

“Yeah, Janet is the other girl who usually works evenings with me.  She’s just a junior, but she’s cool.  Unfortunately, she’ll be gone until Saturday, and I have to handle it on my own.

“
Can’t you hire someone temporarily?” Kelly asked.

“Do you know anyone who needs a job?”

“Maybe,” Kelly said cautiously, sliding a sideways glance at Scott.  Did this violate any of the rules?  He shrugged, giving her his approval.

“Can you skate?”

“I boogie board.”

“Boogie what?  Never mind, I’ll take that as a yes.  So
let me talk to the manager.  The hours are a bummer and you’ll run yourself ragged.  But the good things are that you get to keep your tips and they pay in cash daily.  Interested?”

“Sure, I could use the extra money.”

“I’ll go check right now.  You guys need anything else?”

“I think we’re good.  Thanks.”
Austin answered for the group.

Wendy skated over to a convertible and picked up their tray, then skated inside.  She returned a few minutes later, dropped off an order at a new car, then came back to their table.”

“You’re all set up.  Can you start tomorrow?”

“I . . . uh, yes.”  Kelly was amazed it was that easy.

“He said you can fill out the paperwork tomorrow.  We start at 3 p.m., but he said if you could get here around noon, that would be better.”

“Tell him I’ll be here at noon, then.”

“You don’t go to school?” Wendy asked.

“No, I . . . I’m home schooled.”

Wendy looked at her like she was speaking a foreign language.  “Yeah, right.  Well, see you tomorrow when I get here after practice.”  She smiled at Zoey.  “And I’ll see you in first period.”  She flashed a flirtatious look at Austin, then skated off.  An old pickup truck had just parked in an empty space, and she went over to it.

From their angle, no one at the table could see who was inside, but it appeared that Wendy was having a pretty heated discussion with its occupant.  After a couple of minutes, she skated
away, and the truck backed out and drove off.

“Well I found
a job.  I can’t skate though, but how hard can it be?” Kelly finished the last of her fries.  “You guys all have something important to do, so maybe I can, at least, help a little with the expenses and keep an eye on Wendy when you’re not around.”

“
Cool.  Maybe you can get us a discount on our food.” Austin extended his hand for a fist bump with Kelly which she returned with enthusiasm.  They could save money and eat well.

“I wonder who was in
that truck.  He seemed really pissed at her.” Scott took another bite of his burger.

“Maybe it’s her ex-boyfriend,” Zoey suggested.  “She said she didn’t have a date for homecoming.  Maybe they just broke up.  I’ll try to find out tomorrow.”

Within a few minutes Wendy had stopped back by to check on them.  “Do you need anything else?”

“Can I get a refill on my Coke
, please?  ” Austin asked.

“No
, but I can get you another Coke,” she looked at him and smiled.  She skated off for another large Coke.

“
How do you do that?” Scott asked.

“What?” Austin replied.

“Get girls to drool on you without so much as trying.”  Scott was more impressed than envious.

“It’s a gift.”  Austin shrugged and smiled.

Wendy skated up with a new drink for Austin.  “Here you go.  Will there be anything else tonight?”

“We’re good,”
Austin said.  “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I hope so.”  Her smile revealed two very appealing dimples in her cheeks.

Zoey bristled, but remained commendably silent.  She apparently was more concerned with getting back to 2013 than in protecting her claim on Austin.

THURSDAY

THEY ALL WENT
to breakfast together before Austin and Zoey headed off for school.  Scott and Kelly walked to the park and sat at a picnic table and compared notes.  “So what did we learn yesterday?”

A young couple were sitting on a blanket, reading books and listening to a small transistor radio several feet aw
ay.  The strong harmonies of The Beatles drifted across the crisp October air.

“I sort of like that music,” Kelly admitted.

“Really?  That’s what you learned?”

“No, I was just making a comment.  Everywhere we go, we’re surrounded by music.  It’s kind of cool.”

“Yeah, I’ve always liked Beatles’ music,” Scott admitted.  “Some of the lyrics are really amazing.”

“I don’t think our music will be so eternal,” Kelly noted.  “I can’t imagine ever hearing a Justin Bieber song in an elevator.”

“Does that mean you like Justin Bieber?”

“Sure, but he’s getting a little goofy for me.
I’m not too crazy about seeing his underwear all the time.  And what’s with that whole monkey thing?  My favorite is Taylor Swift.  Her songs mean something.”

“I sure wouldn’t want to be her ex-boyfriend.  I don’t want a break-up song written about me.”

Kelly laughed.  “Yeah, but I sure would like to look like her. So tall, so thin.  Great hair, great face. She’s perfect.”

Scott looked at her critically.  “You’
re not so bad.”

“
That’s a positive negative.”

“You’re not like any other girl I’ve ever met.”   Scott ducked his head, suddenly shy.

“You’re not like any boy I’ve ever met.”  She felt her own cheeks flush hotly.

“I meant that in a good way,” he hurried to add, realizing she could misinterpret
it.

“Me, too.”

Scott looked up and Kelly met his gaze.  It was awkward and warm at the same time, and they both smiled, then looked away.

“Anyway, I hope Zoey has more info tonight.”  Scott traced
the names that had been carved into the wooden table top with his finger.  “She’s turning out to not be horrible.”

“
There’s that positive negative again.”

“Yeah, well, she’s sort of difficult to like.”

“She actually left me a bath towel last night.”  Kelly realized Scott wouldn’t understand the full significance of that, but she saw it as a giant step forward.

They stayed in the park and talked a little, but mostly listened to the music until Kelly had to go to work.  Scott walked with her and
sat at the table on the end, going through their notes. His plan was to go back to Wendy’s house and try to wait for her parents to get home.  Then he could pose as a reporter for the school paper writing a story about Wendy.

It didn’t take long for Kelly to realize that skating was a lot harder than it looked.  Luckily, she had good balance, honed from hours on horseback because she spent the rest of the day slipping, sliding and catching herself before she fell. 
Her manager teased her that they would have to pay her extra for providing entertainment to the customers.  She made delivering people’s orders look so dangerous and difficult that several times customers burst into spontaneous applause and rewarded her with a larger than average tip.

Scott watched, trying to hide his amusement and trying not to wince when she banged into a table or grabbed onto a p
ole to keep upright.  He reluctantly told her he was leaving and slipped away to Wendy’s house.

Kelly was almost glad to see him go.  It was humiliating to flaunt her
clumsiness in so public a venue.  She was actually very athletic, but having grown up in the country with a gravel driveway and roads, she had had no opportunity to learn how to skate.  It was simply not an activity she had ever tried or become proficient at.  Now she was taking a crash course, literally, in skating while carrying a loaded tray of food.

When the same pickup truck as last night drove up and Wendy jumped out of the passenger’s side, Kelly could have kissed her.  Wendy waved goodbye at the driver who had his window rolled down so Kelly got a good look at him.  There were no farewell kisses or hugs, but Kelly sensed there was a high level of intimacy between the two even if they weren’t being public about it.  He watched Wendy walk into the building, then he drove away.

Several minutes later, Wendy skated out, her long straight hair billowing behind her.  “I heard you’ve been pretty busy,” she said as she executed a perfect stop in front of Kelly.

“We’ve been slammed.  Of course, it didn’t help that I had to get a few of the orders redone because they fell off the tray.”

“I thought you knew how to skate.”

Kelly winced.  “I thought I could fake it.  Apparently, it’s a learned skill.”

Wendy laughed.  “And yet you’re still here.  Shows persistence.”

“Or stubbornness.”  Kelly smiled.  “I’m really glad to see you.”  For more reasons than
you know, she added to herself.

They didn’t have a chance to talk for the next hour as kids getting out of school and practice started dropping by.  When there was a lull in the action, Kelly took a break, delighted to get off her feet for a few minutes.  Wendy skated up with two glasses of Tab and sat at the table with her.

“Here, I thought you could use this.”  She handed Kelly one of the glasses.  “Mr. Bennet said you’ve put on quite a show today.  I have to admit that I’ve never been applauded.”

Kelly looked at her to see if she was upset, but Wendy was laughing.  “It’s been interesting.”

They sipped their drinks.  It took Kelly a couple of minutes to get up the nerve to ask, “Was that your boyfriend who dropped you off?”

“Oh
no, not him.  He’s just . . . a friend,” she protested, almost too vigorously.

“You said something about not having a date for homecoming.”

“Yeah, I’m currently between real boyfriends right now.”

“So is Austin.  I mean, he’s doesn’t have a girl to be his date to homecoming.  Maybe you two . . .?”  Kelly left it hanging, hoping Wendy would pick up on it.

Wendy didn’t say anything for a few seconds as she weighed her options.  A slow smile lifted the corners of her mouth.  “That might work out really well.”  She looked at Kelly.  “So how do you know Austin and Zoey?”

“Oh, I’m a friend . . . of the family.  Both of our dads got transferred here, so I’m staying with them until my parents find a place.”

“You said you were home schooled.  What is that exactly?”

“It’s just like it sounds, I go to school at home
.  My mom was a teacher.”

“That sounds rad.  Sleep late, study when you want . . .”

“Oh no, my mom would never let me get away with that.  We have a regular schedule, and there are state-mandated tests to make sure I am learning on level.”

“But how about clubs?  You don’t get to take drama or art or cheerleading.”