“I could probably eat something.” Okay, starving as usual.
“Since we’ve a few minutes to kill before we have to be back at school, I was thinking of making a quick stop at the Burger Palace, my treat, what do you say?”
“Do you think we have time for a second breakfast, Frodo Baggins?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Very funny, Samwise Gamgee.” I also couldn’t help noticing how green his eyes were when he asked what I wanted at the drive up window. Just friends, Maggie.
Sadly, my happiness was short lived. Walking to my biology class half an hour later, I ran into Melody and Hillary giggling away in the hallway. Melody looked over at me and giggled again. Hillary sneered and left.
“Maggie, come here.” Melody’s eyes were all aglow. She must have gotten a juicy bit of gossip from Hillary and needed to share it before she exploded.
“Hey, Melody, how’s it going?” I searched the far corners of my mind trying to come up with an excuse why I needed to be to class early.
“You’re not going to believe what Hillary just told me.”
“I’m not interested in what Hillary’s told you.” I turned to leave, when she clutched my arm, digging her bright pink fingernails into my bicep.
“She and Seth did it.” No way. “She said he has a huge mahogany four poster bed, and his–”
“Stop! I don’t believe it, and I don’t want to hear about it, either.”
“I heard it right from the horse’s mouth,” she said indignantly.
“Why did she tell you, Melody? It’s not as if you’re best friends. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“We may not be best friends, but we are friends.” She was more than a little miffed by my comment. “She knows I keep confidences.” I laughed out loud at her. “There’re lots of things I don’t share with other people, Maggie. You’d be surprised at what Zack’s told me.” She shot me an ignorant grin and left.
I didn’t want to believe what she said about Seth, or maybe I hoped that in the end he would have chosen me. A stupid idea, really. Why would he, especially if Hillary gave him what I wouldn’t. Recommitting myself to a life of celibacy, I wondered how comfortable nun’s habits were as I continued toward my class.
By noon, the cafeteria was all abuzz with the Seth-Hillary rumor. Zack was sitting at a table by himself, and appeared deep in thought; a first for him. He was wearing a pair of expensive baggy jeans, which probably hung halfway down his butt, and a gray tee shirt with the name Hollister sprawled across the front. Mr. Original.
I searched around for Seth and found him sitting next to Hillary and her little clique, but he was glaring hard at Melody. He turned to me and smiled weakly. I smiled and waved. I debated whether to go and talk to him, as a friend, but decided instead to try to weasel out of Zack what he’d said to the gossipmonger concerning me.
“What lies have you been telling Melody about me?” I dropped my book bag down hard onto the table. He jumped.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” He wadded up his uneaten pizza into a napkin and tossed it on his tray.
“If you’re not going to eat that, can I have it?”
“You’re absolutely pathetic, Maggot. Begging people for their garbage is a new low, even for you.” He tossed it into the garbage can in the center of the room.
“It wasn’t for me. There’s a stray dog running around my neighborhood, I wanted it for him.” Why I was explaining myself to a heartless jerk was beyond me.
“Like I said, you’re pathetic.” He wiped his hands off onto his jeans and leaned back in his chair. “I suppose you heard about Hillary and Seth?”
“Yes, but don’t believe everything you hear.” He only grunted. “Does this mean our double date is off for tomorrow, and I don’t have to worry about you spreading any more lies about me?"
He sat staring at Hillary for a few moments before he answered. “Actually, this whole rumor thing is good news! It means the other rumors about her are true.”
“What other rumors?” There were too many flying around for me to keep up.
“That she’s a make-out whore. Obviously, she’s willing to make-out if she’s sleeping with that idiot. At the very least I’ll be getting some lip action Saturday.” His excitement made me ill. “If we happen to disappear at the festival Saturday, Seth’ll have to take you home.”
“You’re revolting.” I started to stand up when he grabbed my sweater.
“Don’t worry, frigid one. He won’t try anything with you. Why should he? He has a million girls to choose from, why would he pick the one girl he has to beg to get what he needs?”
I stormed out of the cafeteria only to hear him yell after me, “Pick you up at 6:30 tomorrow, Frosty.”
11
Saturday morning I made my mom a light breakfast, her stomach still bothered her, and allowed myself only a single slice of bread in hopes of getting food at the festival. I worked on my homework, trying in vain to forget that I had to spend the entire evening with Zack.
He played his horn in front of my house at exactly 6:30, and I dragged myself outside. The sun had long gone, and the night sky was gloomy, which ironically, was exactly how I felt. I zipped my sweater up briskly and sulked to his car.
“Hurry up, will ya? We have to meet ’em at the entrance in fifteen minutes.” He groaned as I sat down. “You’re seriously wearing that vile sweater?” I folded my arms across my stomach and said nothing.
They were standing by the gate waiting for us when we arrived. Seth had on his signature cowboy boots and a dark blue hoodie with the word Port Fare embroidered across the back in gold. The school colors never looked so good. He smiled at me and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his well-worn jeans.
Hillary had on a cropped white fur coat with an adorable pair of khaki pants. Her hair hung like spun silk around her beautiful face.
They were the perfect pair.
She threaded both of her arms tightly around Seth’s right elbow, gloating. I dropped my eyes and forced myself next to Zack, strictly for the body heat. He took my hand, and with significant effort, I didn’t flinch. Well, almost. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seth’s shoulders bounce in laughter, and I smiled at the ground.
I’d never been to the Winter Fest before. It was magical. Laced throughout the trees were small, twinkling, white lights. A light breeze caught the branches, and it appeared as if tiny fairies were dancing about the limbs.
Ten yellow brick buildings filled the area, several of which had huge fabric banners flying across them.
A giant Corvette-shaped banner swayed on the building that held the car show. I pulled a face at the thought of having to go in there. A macabre clown-shaped banner graced the building that held the Funhouse. There was also a banner shaped like a giant bottle of Pepsi over the food court.
Green, pink, and blue paper lanterns were strung along the sidewalks on a thin wire. They appeared to be floating in midair. There were carnival rides outside too, although anyone crazy enough to ride them would probably get a severe case of frostbite.
Both Zack and Seth wanted to go into the car show first. Zack quickly became enthralled with the shiny automobiles, not to mention the scantily dressed girls who modeled alongside them. I couldn’t figure out what the girls had to do with the cars, but they made Zack happy. And because the area was jam-packed with people, I didn’t have to hold his hand, which made me happy.
After what seemed like years, we moved on to the Midway. It was packed with carnival games and boisterous game operators. The operators attempted to draw you into their cubicles with a challenge to try your luck at winning a myriad of prizes hanging from the walls of each booth.
Regrettably, the Midway was more accommodating for handholding. Zack grabbed my hand, squeezing it tight. I attempted to break free, but he held tight, dragging me to the Water Gun Shoot.
“Alright, young man,” the operator said, handing Zack a water gun. “The object of the ga
me is to shoot this water pistol at that red cup. The more water you get into the cup, the bigger the prize.”
Zack aimed the green plastic gun smugly at the cup. “Watch this. I’ve been voted ’Most Valuable Player’ on the baseball team for two years running now, this will be a cinch.” If only I had a nickel for every time I’d heard him say that!
Despite his athletic prowess, he only managed to win a three-inch pink pig. Hillary squealed with delight. “Pink is my favorite color, Zack.” Oh! There was a shock! He gave it to her without a second thought, blushing as she kissed his cheek.
Armed with a malicious grin, he handed me the gun, knowing full well I’d fail miserable. Numerous times while we dated, he forced me onto the ball diamond at the high school, insisting I help him with batting practice, and numerous times I beaned him with the ball, most of the time accidentally.
I snatched the gun roughly out of his hand and pointed at the target. True to form, I missed each and every time. Not a single drop landed in the stupid cup.
Zack took great pleasure in mocking me, and naturally, Hillary laughed at his ill-mannered display. She took a turn next. “I don’t know, Zacky, I’ve never done this before,” she said, ripping the pistol from my hand.
Zacky? I rolled my eyes, as did Seth.
Even she managed to do better than I did, winning a poster of some antiquated rock star. Seth stood vexed with his arms across his chest, saying nothing the entire time, at least not with his lips. I half expected him to smack Zack on the head. He didn’t. Too bad!
After Zack finished humiliating me with the water guns, he led us to another game. It consisted of three wooden bottles stacked on each other, and the object was to knock them over with a baseball. The game operator handed Zack three baseballs. “Watch this.” He winked at Hillary. She smiled and fluttered her eyelashes. Zack, clearly flustered by her flirty eyes, missed the bottles on all three tries.
“How about you, big guy?” The operator held out the baseballs to Seth, tempting him while pointing at me. “Want to win a prize for the pretty little gal?”
“As a matter of fact, I would.” Seth picked up a ball, handed the guy a dollar, and took aim. Bam! The three bottles practically exploded into the air.
“Nice arm. Want to try again for a bigger prize?”
“Why not.” Seth again handed him a dollar, threw the ball, and blew away another three wooden bottles. He repeated his conquest three more times and was rewarded with any prize he wanted. He grabbed the huge stuffed fish hanging above his head and handed it to me. Hillary giggled.
Seth leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Remind you of anyone? And it’s big enough you’ll have to use two hands to carry it, if you do it right.”
Hillary slithered her way between the two of us. “Seth, why did you give it to her? You’re my date.” She gave him her famed pouty little frown.
“You have a pink pig, Hillary,” he said dryly. She went to take his hand and missed as he shoved them into his pockets. She settled for his arm. “Come on, let’s get something to eat.”
I arranged the fish across my stomach, wrapping my two arms over the top of it and snuggling it close against me for warmth. Zack scowled. I looked at him innocently, he turned and stormed off ahead.
The food court was packed. Zack, trying to impress Hillary, let me choose whatever I wanted to eat for dinner. I got the pepperoni pizza because you got two huge slices. The only open seating was outdoors. I swallowed a groan as we walked out into the bitter night air. “I bet you wished you’d worn a real coat now,” Zack scoffed in my ear.
Seth set the food down on our table and slipped off his fleece, exposing a long-sleeved green shirt with a white tee shirt underneath. Never saying a word, he draped the hoodie around me. I tried to give it back, only he assured me he wasn’t the least bit cold. I slipped in my arms and zipped it up tight. It smelled just like him, definitely a good thing!
“She gets your coat too?” Hillary looked at him indignantly.
“Are you cold?” He asked, his tone, blunt. She picked up her hamburger and took a small bite without answering.
When I finished, Seth offered to buy me another piece. I politely refused, though I was tempted to accept it and take it home for my mom.
Zack had parked himself next to Hillary, and judging from the expression on his face, felt the timing was right to make his move. We sat quietly as Hillary and Zack giggled and picked at their food. My hand went mindlessly to my hair, and I began twisting a strand.
“Will you stop doing that, Maggot?” Zack said, sneering over at me.
Setting his Diet Pepsi can down hard, Seth cleared his throat. “Her name is Maggie.” Zack shrugged his shoulders and went back to drooling over Hillary.
“Which car was your favorite?” I decided to try small talk to ease the tension.
“They didn’t have my favorite car. I’m an SLR Roadster fan,” Seth said after swallowing the last of his hot dog.
“A what?”
“An SLR McLaren Roadster. It’s an incredible car.” He practically cooed the words.
“Have you ever seen one in person before?” The talk of cars pulled Zack away from his prize, and she was none too happy about it.
“I’ve driven one.” The smile on Seth’s face made me laugh. How could anyone be that excited over a hunk of metal?
Hillary started fidgeting as the guys droned on about cars, not that I blamed her, I certainly hadn’t meant to ignite the whole car-lust thing again. She slipped her arm around Zack’s shoulders and began toying with his hair. “Let’s go over to the Funhouse,” she purred in his ear. She got up and tossed her barely touched hamburger in the trash. I couldn’t believe she would waste all her food, and my thoughts returned to my poor mother at home eating nothing more than a dry cheese sandwich tonight. She and Zack walked off toward the building with the clown banner.
“Do you want me to take you home?” Seth ran his hand over my hair. It felt nice, really nice. Too nice. “I somehow have the feeling they wouldn’t notice if we left.”
“I’ve never been inside a Funhouse before, and since we’re already here we may as well have some fun.” I tucked the stuffed fish under my arm, and we walked toward the funhouse. Once inside, Seth took my hand to help lead me through the crowd.
“Seth, here’s your fleece back. Thanks for letting me borrow it.” I noticed a tight expression on his face when I handed it to him.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure. All evening I’ve had this strange feeling we’re being watched.” He reeled around, searching the crowd.
“There are a lot of people here, I’m sure someone is looking at us.” Well, looking at him anyway.
“True. My mistake.” He smiled, putting his hand on the small of my back and aiming us toward the Mirror Maze.
“Are you sure you don’t want to wear this?” Seth asked, holding out the fleece. “You look pretty in blue.” Seth winked at me and a shiver plummeted down my spine.
“That’s dangerously close to a flirt.” I said, my voice a little wobbly.
He held up his hands, silently proclaiming his innocence with a shake of his head. Then, without warning, he grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him as if to protect me from something.
“I’m starting to feel a little paranoid,” I said, looking around to see if there was anything abnormal going on around us.
“Sorry.” He laughed. “Guess I had one too many Diet Pepsi’s today. The caffeine’s gotten me a little jittery. Come on.”
If this were him a little jittery, I’d hate to see what he’d be like if he were to ever drink a cup of coffee. He’d probably have a nervous breakdown.
There was a metal pole with a green flag to mark the entrance to the Mirror Maze, along with a worker dressed like the grim reaper. Zack and Hillary entered before us.
“You’ll know when… if… you’ve found the right exit,” the reaper explained in a macabre voice, “there’ll be a pole just like
this one, except the flag will be red. If you become confused and can’t find your way out, don’t worry, I’ll find you… eventually. You can’t hide from me.” He laughed diabolically.
The mirrors were deceptive. More than once I ran into one or missed openings I thought were mirrors. I had new sympathy for all those poor mice running through mazes in search of cheese. Seth had little trouble maneuvering the mirrors, though he did run into one when he was looking back over his shoulder.
Before long, the overhead lights began flickering and an announcement came over the speakers. “The Winter Festival will be closing in ten minutes. Please exit the park in an orderly fashion, and thank you for coming to this year’s festival.”
Somehow, I turned and Seth didn’t. I couldn’t see him anywhere. A sense of foreboding clutched at me and panic took control.
“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re not a child.” After chastising myself for acting stupidly, I took several more turns, becoming even more tangled up in the maze. To make matters worse, no one else was around, and the bizarre silence felt eerie.
I came around another corner and stopped dead. The man from the park stood directly in front of me, this time with a purple disk in his right earlobe. He also wasn’t alone. Standing next to him stood a slightly smaller, yet nonetheless menacing, man. They were dressed almost identical in black polyester pants and shirts, only the smaller one wore white sneakers instead of black ankle boots. Their heavily blood-shot eyes lit up, and they each flashed a sickening smile across their face at the exact same moment. My thoughts flashed to Tammy Byrne, and my knees went soft. I couldn’t scream, I couldn’t run. The larger of the two stepped toward me and ran into a mirror.
They weren’t in front of me, it was only an illusion of the mirrors! I found my strength and took off running. “Seth!”
“Maggie, Where are you? Is everything okay?” His voice sounded desperate.
I stopped and looked around. “The creep from the park is in the maze, and he brought a friend. Please, help me.” I saw someone out of the corner of my eye and spun around. It was them, except this time no glass stood between us. I screamed and took off. I looked back over my shoulder and could still see them only a few feet behind. I darted around a couple more corners and ran into Seth, collapsing into his arms.