Whitney (6 page)

I felt so unappreciated. Parties and Entertainment might not be in charge of saving lives, but we were important. We helped to bring people to the park. “I’m doing what I was told. I went away.”

“She probably didn’t mean far away and forever. She probably just meant away from her.”

I sighed, shrugged. “Then she should have said precisely what she meant.”

And I was not going to feel guilty that they had six birthday parties and a bunch of kids to deal with — without me around. They would just have to find someone else. Maybe then they would appreciate me a little more. I figured they’d need at least two people to replace me. I was that good at handling parties. I made sure people felt important.

Caitlin rolled to a sitting position. “Don’t you ever worry about getting fired?”

“No.”

“Well, I do, so I better get back to my station.”

I watched her walk over the sand-covered deck to the lifeguard tower where she’d watch all the swimmers. I couldn’t imagine anything more boring that sitting around watching other people having fun. At least with the parties, I was involved. I talked with people, helped them solve problems — like when they were a party favor short or dropped their cake on the way in — took their pictures so they’d have the memories. I got to move around, dance when they brought music, sing when they didn’t. I liked what I did. It was almost like I was in charge, except when Lisa told me to go away.

It wasn’t fair that the woman was upset with Lisa, and it wasn’t fair that Lisa got upset with me. We could have offered the woman free tickets so she could come to the park another day. People usually forgave
anything for free tickets. That was what I had wanted to say.

Real world indeed.

I didn’t much like it. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about what had happened at the pavilion. An image of Marci with her professionally straightened auburn hair filled my mind. I didn’t want to think about her either. I wanted to think about something interesting, which led me to thinking about Jake. I wondered if he would have kissed me if David hadn’t been around. Should I have kissed him?

I didn’t even know how to go about it. Oh, I knew the basics, but I didn’t know how to initiate it. Maybe he didn’t either. Weren’t we a great pair?

Some time later I heard squeaking wheels rolling in the distance. They reminded me of the ice-cream cart that Jake pushed around. Scooping ice cream probably was the most boring job, although it did have one perk. It gave him a chance to work with me.

“Brooding?”

I opened one eye. Jake was standing there. His question didn’t deserve an answer. I looked at my watch. “Are the parties over already?”

“Yep. I’m off to refill the ice-cream carts for round two of insanity.”

When we didn’t have any parties going on, Jake set up his cart in Mini Falls and sold ice cream. It was where we’d first met. He’d been selling ice cream near Splash where Robyn and I had worked. Come to think of it, he didn’t become the permanent ice-cream party guy until I moved to P&E. I wondered if he requested the transfer. Something to think about.

“So did the woman ever stop yelling?” I asked.

“Yeah. Lisa gave her complimentary park tickets.”

“That’s what I was going to suggest before I was told to disappear.”

“She didn’t actually tell you to disappear. She just said she’d handle it.”

“Whatever. Are you on her side?”

“There are no sides here.” He sighed. “I didn’t really come over here to talk about work.”

“Why
did
you come over here?”

He rocked on his heels, adjusted his red visor. “I don’t know.” He started to walk away, stopped, and looked back at me. “You like baseball?”

Where did that question come from? “You mean to watch it or to play it?”

I could see his brow wrinkling. “What difference does it make?”

“Well, if it’s to play it, not really.” I wasn’t going to admit I’d never played, plus with sports, the players usually got sweaty. I really wasn’t into getting sweaty. Within the water park, outdoor fans and mist-makers kept things reasonably comfortable, and I had opportunities to go into the offices. “If it’s to watch it, maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“I’ve seen a couple of games on TV, but I’ve never actually gone to a game.”

His mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding?”

“Nope.”

“Huh.” He shook his head. “Tomorrow’s your day off, right?”

“Yeah.”

“My dad and I were going to a game tomorrow night, but he has to work. So I have an extra ticket. Want to go?”

Did that make it a hand-me-down ticket? I wasn’t really into hand-me-downs, second-chance stores, garage sales, or used items. They all had an ickiness factor. I mean, if someone else didn’t want them, why would I?

On the other hand, the ticket hadn’t been used
and
it was a chance to do something with Jake. It was almost a date. Almost. It wasn’t like he’d planned to ask me. I was his fallback option since his dad couldn’t go. But it was better than not being an option at all.

“Yeah, I do want to go,” I said. “Thanks.”

“Great. Game starts at seven. I’ll pick you up at six.”

“Okay.”

“And see if you can get the limo guy not to follow.”

I laughed. “Not a problem.”

Or at least I didn’t think it would be. I needed to get Aunt Sophie’s permission to go out with Jake at all.

And
that
could be a problem.

“Just you and this boy?” Aunt Sophie asked, like the words didn’t fit together into a sentence she could decipher.

We were sitting at the counter in the kitchen. It was Wicked Wednesday, the day when Aunt Sophie ordered in pizza. Even though she was slender, she had high cholesterol, so she ate healthy six days a week. But she believed everyone was entitled to a bad day now and then.

“Yeah, I mean it’s kinda sort of a date, but not really a date. I mean, it’s a
baseball game
.” I made it sound like it was something worse than wearing designer knockoffs. Maybe if
she thought I didn’t desperately want this, she’d be okay with it.

“And what’s his name?”

“Jake. Remember? You knew who he was last night.” How could she forget in less than twenty-four hours?

“Oh, right. And he wants to pick you up and drive you?”

“Yeah.”

She bit into the pizza loaded with everything and sighed happily. She chewed, swallowed, and pursed her lips. “Bad things happen at baseball parks, Whitney. They have dangerous stuff there. Hot dogs, nachos, cotton candy —”

Oh, yeah, the dangers were everywhere. She obviously hadn’t looked over the menu at Scavenger’s, a little restaurant at the water park. “I’ll eat before I go.”

“Is anyone else going?” she asked.

I groaned. “I don’t know. Maybe ten thousand fans.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I meant with you and Jake. I know group dating is
popular with kids your age. I’m trying to determine exactly what the situation is here.”

“Aunt Sophie, I work with Jake every day. He’s a nice guy. And I’m not sure it’s really a date. Like I said, he had this extra ticket and invited me. We’re just buddies.”

She sighed. “All right. You can go —”

“Yes!”

“— but there are restrictions. You need to be home by ten thirty and I want you to use your cell phone to send me a picture of the scoreboard at the top of each inning.”

“Why would you care about the score?”

“I don’t. But that way I know you’re at the game.”

“If you don’t trust me you shouldn’t let me go,” I grumbled, realizing that I could be convincing her to change her mind about letting me go. On the other hand, it was sort of a reverse psychology thing, making her prove she trusted me instead of me proving I could be trusted. All the money Dad had spent on Dr. Succop wasn’t totally wasted.

Aunt Sophie reached over and tugged on
my hair. “All right. No pics. But do be home by ten thirty.”

I got up, wrapped my arms around her, and hugged her tightly. “Thanks, Aunt Sophie.”

“If you really want to thank me, bring me back a bag of cotton candy.”

“Isn’t that bad for your triglycerides?”

“Only if
I
buy it.”

I laughed. Aunt Sophie never seemed to mind taking care of me. She had her own place in town, but when Dad was away on business, she stayed here. She illustrated children’s books, so she could pretty much work anywhere she wanted. I still looked through the books that she’d illustrated. I liked her drawings.

I sat back down to finish eating my pizza. It seemed a lonely life for her. Maybe I
would
bring her some cotton candy. Seemed like the least I could do.

*  *  *

“I knew you couldn’t
not
buy anything,” Caitlin said.

It was the next day, our day off. Caitlin, Robyn, and I were at a shoe store in the mall. Caitlin was looking at her reflection in the mirror, twisting one foot then the other, admiring the gold leather thong sandals that I was going to have to buy for her, because I lost our bet. Within half an hour of our arrival at the mall, I purchased a pair of aqua Capris and the cutest top. I’d come to the shoe store to find matching sandals.

“Well, I’ve got my first official date tonight.” Date. That sounded so strange to say. And even though I was the backup plan for Jake, I’d decided to treat it like it was the original plan and was a real date. Who knew? Maybe it would be. “I couldn’t
not
buy something new to wear. A true friend would have postponed the bet.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, well, there is friendship and then there are shoes, and shoes always win. I can’t believe I’m wearing Jimmy Choos.”

“They look really good,” I told her.

“Yeah, I know.”

With a sigh, Caitlin sat down, and the clerk carefully removed the sandals from her feet.

“Shall I wrap these up?” he asked.

“Nah, I just wanted to try them on. But thanks.”

“You’re not getting them?” I asked.

“No.” She slipped back on her own shoes — sandals with little cheap rhinestones along the straps. “I’m not going to have you spend four hundred and fifty dollars for a pair of shoes.”

“My dad will be the one doing the spending and he won’t even notice. A bet is a bet.”

“Yeah, well …” She stood up and slung her tote bag over her shoulder. “Like I’m really going to make you buy me shoes. Get real.”

She headed out of the store. Unsure what to do, I looked at Robyn. “We had a bet.”

She shrugged. “She’s always wanted to come here. She figured they wouldn’t chase her out if she came with someone who probably
does
buy her shoes here. Don’t worry. She’s
been eyeing some purple flip-flops with silver sparkles on them. You can get those for her.”

“She’s all about the sparkles, isn’t she?”

“And the friendship.”

It was so strange. I’d never had friends who didn’t want something from me. I might not have realized it at the time, but it always came down to what I could give them. Robyn and Caitlin were different. So very different.

I bought the sandals that I’d selected, apologized to the guy for putting him through all that trouble with Caitlin for nothing, took his business card, and promised to ask for him when I came back to shop for shoes for school. I would bring Aunt Sophie, too. He would earn enough commission from her shoe sales to put him through a semester at college.

I left the store and saw Robyn and Caitlin standing together, looking over the second-floor railing, down onto the concourse below. They were so comfortable with each
other. I wanted that kind of friendship. I didn’t know how to get it.

“So, what now?” I asked.

They both turned to face me.

“Cheesecake Factory?” Caitlin suggested.

“Works for me.”

To my surprise, we didn’t have to wait, maybe because it was a weekday. We were taken to a booth and placed our orders. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who had memorized the menu on previous visits. Caitlin and Robyn didn’t even open their menus.

“Okay,” Robyn said, leaning forward on her elbows. “Everyone’s talking about the luau, so give us the scoop.”

“What do you mean everyone’s talking about it? It’s only been a couple of days since we got the party order.”

“What can I say? The secret is out. So spill it.”

It was a little unsettling to know that gossip and news traveled so fast around the park. Not that the party was a secret. And Charlotte and Lisa were really worried about
it, so there was no telling who they’d told. The park was sometimes rented after hours to companies. They didn’t expect much. Just lifeguards to be on duty and the concession stands to be open. But people paying for a birthday party expected more. And the Spencers expected us to pull out all the stops. They wanted a party their daughter would never forget. After all, she didn’t turn sixteen every day.

“Well, Charlotte is her usual unimaginative self. She suggested leis again.” We met yesterday afternoon for further brainstorming. “Lisa’s great at making things happen. You just have to tell her what you want to happen.”

“But you, my friend,” Caitlin said, pointing at me, “are the party genius.”

I felt myself blushing at her calling me her friend, even as I tried to act cool by pointing at myself. “I am. I suggested that we really give Tsunami an island atmosphere. My big idea was a bonfire in the sand near the water.”

While Marci wasn’t my friend anymore, I was feeling a little protective and competitive about Paradise Falls. I wanted us to put on an event that everyone who attended — and maybe even everyone who worked there — would be talking about for summers to come.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Robyn asked.

“Not if we move everything back so nothing is around to catch on fire — except for the wood of the bonfire, of course. And we won’t make it huge or anything. People do it on beaches all the time. Plus I thought we could have a clambake, limbo dancing — that’s where you have a pole that people try to go under without knocking it off its stand. The pole just gets lower and lower and lower. Then I thought we could hire a live band.”

“Sounds like a blast.
I
want to go to this party,” Caitlin said.

“You probably will, because we’ll need all the lifeguards.”

“Yeah, but sitting in the tower watching people isn’t as much fun as being down there
partying with them. Maybe we could have an employee party right after and use all the great things you’ve got planned for this one.”

“My plans haven’t been approved yet.”

“But they will be. When has the park ever said no to you?”

“I don’t know —”

“You made it happen for the employees before.”

I had. Earlier in the summer, I arranged an employee get-together night. But it had cost the park very little — just some hot dogs and a few other refreshments. What we were planning for the luau would be costly.

“I’ll see,” I said, not making a total commitment.

“I think it would be so romantic,” Robyn said. “I’ve never been on a tropical island.”

Of course, I had. Dad and I had taken cruises, flown to islands on his private jet for long weekends. Yes, we were wealthy. The funny thing was that how much money my family had didn’t seem important to Robyn or Caitlin.

Caitlin put her elbow on the table, her chin in her palm. “Who are you, Whitney St. Clair — and why do you have so much power?”

I almost told them, almost told them everything. But I liked being a little mysterious. So I laughed instead. “If I had power, Lisa wouldn’t have told me to go away yesterday.”

“That ballistic mother was so weird,” Robyn said.

“Actually, she was a preview for what we might have to deal with when the Spencers’ party takes place,” I said.

“You think they’ll be that bad?” Robyn asked.

“Count on it.”

When we finished eating, we walked around the mall a little longer, trying on different outfits, laughing at one another, challenging each other to get outrageous with clothing choices, but not buying anything. All of it was a strange experience for me. I usually shopped with Aunt Sophie.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true. I
bought
with Aunt Sophie. She wasn’t much of a shopper, but she was a real buyer. She went to stores to buy things, not to shop around. She always knew what she wanted, went in, and bought it. She didn’t goof around.

I discovered that I liked goofing around. Hanging out with Robyn and Caitlin was way more fun than hanging out with Aunt Sophie. I felt a little guilty thinking that, because I liked Aunt Sophie. But she was my aunt, not my girlfriend. It was strange to think that I might have BFFs again.

Since I needed plenty of time to get ready for my
date,
we left the mall late in the afternoon. We were all fifteen; none of us had driver’s licenses, so I provided the transportation. David gave Robyn and Caitlin a ride home. He dropped Robyn off first, then we went to Caitlin’s house. She lived only a couple of streets over. She could have walked from Robyn’s, but David was all about service and taking care of his passengers.

When David pulled to a stop in front of Caitlin’s house, she said, “Wait here just a sec.”

David left the back door open while Caitlin hurried into the house. I couldn’t imagine what I needed to wait for. It was a couple of minutes before she came rushing back out. She stepped into the limo and sat on the plush leather seat beside me.

“Here. It’s one of my favorites.”

She handed me a necklace with unevenly-shaped aqua stones in a circle. One teardrop stone hung downward and was caught in a silver oval.

“It’ll look great with your new outfit,” she said.

I stared at her. I didn’t know what to say.

“Are you giving this to me?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“I’m letting you borrow it. I got it when we went on vacation in New Mexico last year. I bought it from an artist at a little sidewalk stand. It’s one of a kind. Trust me. You’ll look hot.”

Caitlin and I had always had this sort of love-hate relationship going. I really didn’t know what to make of her gesture. It was taking our relationship to another level, one I’d never experienced. “I’ve never borrowed anything.” If I needed it, I bought it.

“Well, now you have. That’s what friends do. Swap things.” She got out of the car and then looked back in, wiggled her eyebrows. “Text us if he kisses you.”

Then she was gone.

Text them? I leaned back and smiled. I’d call them.

*  *  *

Caitlin was right. The necklace was perfect.

I wasn’t. My hair didn’t want to settle into place properly. The mascara kept leaving behind little black dots because I blinked before my eyelashes were dry. And Aunt Sophie, almost as nervous as I was about the date, came in to check on me, caught me using her makeup, and ordered me to wash it all off.