After they had ordered, Candace asked Josh, “Do you think I was being too sensitive about the party?”
He shook his head. “I would have left too. I’ve never been accused of being overly sensitive, so go figure.”
“I just hope I didn’t embarrass Kurt by leaving so abruptly,” she said.
“Hey, as I see it, he’s the one that should be embarrassed for taking you some place that made you uncomfortable,” Josh said. “It’s his problem. Not yours.”
Across the room someone dropped a tray, and dishes hit the floor with a crash. Candace jumped several inches off her seat and yelped. Josh looked at her, startled.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. My nerves are just a bit fried.”
He nodded. “Totally understandable with everything that’s happened. Something happens to people during Scare. There’s a lot of stimuli, people lunging out of the dark, loud noises, all of that. It can make some people a bit jumpy and they don’t have half the excuses you have.”
“Just call me some people.”
“That’s one thing I would never call you. You are unique, special. I still can’t believe how you chased down Will like that. That was truly awesome. Crazy, but awesome.”
Candace blushed. “It was no big.”
“Yeah right. I know you’re terrified of mazes. You chased him through one — that’s big in my book. If it hadn’t been for you, Scare might have been ruined.”
“Thanks,” Candace said.
“No problem. You need to learn to take more pride in your accomplishments.”
“I guess I just feel like they’re not really mine, you know? It’s like the Party Zone. That name was a no-brainer. I have a hard time believing I was the first one to come up with it, and yet everyone makes a big deal. Now this. I was in the right place at the right time to help, that’s all.”
“But you did help. That’s the huge part. A lot of people wouldn’t. A lot of people don’t care enough to try and make a difference. You do.”
Candace smiled. “Okay, so I need a few lessons in tooting my own horn. I’ll work on it.”
“Thank you. You know, I heard they’re thinking of turning your latest adventure into another maze next year,” Josh said with a sly grin.
Candace threw a piece of ice from her water glass at him.
“Joking, joking,” Josh said, hands raised in front of him. “Call off your missiles.”
19
Halloween, or Shock Day, as Candace had started calling it, arrived. She woke in the morning. The skies were light without a cloud in them. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. The rain the weatherman had predicted had decided to cut her some slack.
She dressed and got to The Zone as quickly as she could. Martha was already waiting for her in the Comfort Zone with a dozen other referees to whom she was giving assignments. It would be the base of operations for the entire event and as such was going to see heavy traffic from key referees.
“I’m coordinating the parade,” Josh said with a grin.
“I’m helping with the prizes for the costume contest,” Roger told her.
“I’m keeping the candy stations stocked,” Megan added.
“I’m taking tickets at the gate,” Becca said, a sad look in her eyes.
“I promised Gib you wouldn’t even be here,” Candace blurted out before she could stop herself.
Gib, it turned out, was behind her. “The Muffin Mansion crew are here, all of us. We figure it’s the least we could do after you saved the park.”
“Thank you,” Candace said, humbled by the show of support.
Martha handled the briefing before sending everyone out to do their assigned jobs. “Let’s move, people. One hour to Shock!”
“And you are going to be running the costume contest,” Martha said. “We’ll be using the stage at the Party Zone.”
“But I need to help run things,” Candace protested.
“You’re the woman of the hour, and we need you where everyone can see you.”
“You mean, I’m not going to be directing things from up here?” Candace asked.
“That’s right. I’m kicking you out of your comfort zone.”
From the look on Martha’s face, Candace knew she had intended the pun. She sighed and headed out into the park.
Sugar Shock officially started at eleven, and the costume contest was scheduled to begin at twelve thirty. Candace ran around checking that everyone had what they needed before the park opened.
Finally the moment of truth arrived. The gates opened and Becca took the first ticket.
Candace roamed the park, overseeing everything that was going on and trying to find Sue. At last she spotted her friend in between a little boy dressed like a Jedi and a little girl dressed like a princess. They had to be Sue’s siblings.
Candace ran up to them, and before Sue could say anything, she dropped down on one knee. “You wouldn’t be Gus and Mary, would you?” she asked the two children, both of whom were staring at her wide-eyed.
They both nodded. “How did you know?” Gus challenged.
“I’m a friend of your sister’s,” Candace admitted.
“This is Candace,” Sue told them.
“Cotton Candy!” Mary said. “We’ve heard all about you!”
“Sorry,” Sue said, looking embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it,” Candace said. To Mary she said, “I used to be Cotton Candy over the summer, but now I’m Candy Corn.”
“Why is that?” Gus asked.
“Because I’m so corny,” Candace joked. “Either that, or it’s because I have special treats for kids like you.” From behind her back she produced two giant candy-corn-shaped lollipops. “Don’t let the other kids see. It will make them jealous,” she said.
Gus and Mary took the lollipops and stuffed them quickly into their bags, both quivering with excitement.
“So cool,” Mary cooed.
Candace stood up.
“Thank you,” Sue said. “That was really sweet.”
“Don’t mention it. You’re the only person I know who was bringing kids. I had to spoil somebody. One of the perks of helping organize this thing.”
“You’ve done a great job,” Sue said.
“It’s even better than last year,” Gus said solemnly.
“Why, thank you,” Candace told him.
“We’ve already got twice as much candy,” Mary said.
“Then everything is going according to plan,” Candace said.
In truth, the whole thing was going better than she could have hoped. She was especially happy that she had found Sue so she could give away the special treats she’d found for Gus and Mary.
“Well, we should go get the rest of the candy,” Sue said.
“Thank you, Candy Corn,” Gus and Mary chorused together.
“You’re welcome,” she said.
“I’ll see you tonight,” Sue said.
“You bet.”
Candace watched as Gus and Mary started running, dragging Sue with them. Everywhere she looked she saw kids doing the same thing to parents, grandparents, and older siblings. Everyone was laughing and having a good time.
Candace glanced at her watch. She had fifteen minutes before the costume contest was set to start. She walked slowly toward the Party Zone, enjoying seeing all the kids filling their bags with more candy than they could eat in a month.
Roger joined her in the Party Zone, a huge bag of prizes at the ready. They had broken the contestants up by age and category, including: funniest, prettiest, scariest, most original, and best replica. Stuffed animals, T-shirts, stickers, DVDs, and more came out of the sack. There were enough prizes for each child that entered the competition. Four jumbo stuffed animals were awarded to the ‘best of show’ in each age group. Candace was having the time of her life. It was way better than just handing out bite-size pieces of candy. At three o’clock Sugar Shock came to a close. The janitorial staff swept in to cle
an up the candy wrappers and spilled sodas. The leftover candy was distributed at the End Zone to the children as they left, but not before Gib had escorted Becca to her car.
Within an hour the entire thing was cleaned up. Candace walked through The Zone, amazed at how hard and how fast everyone had worked. Sugar Shock had been a success, and she was grateful. With only two and a half hours left before she would have to get her cart ready for Scare, she climbed back to the Comfort Zone.
Martha waved at her, and Candace staggered into one of the side rooms to lie down on a cot. “All I need is two hours,” she muttered to herself as she flipped onto her side.
She had just drifted to sleep when she heard someone walk into the room. “Hey, Candace.”
She opened her eyes and saw Kurt. He sat down on one of the other cots.
“Hey. How did you get in here?”
“Lots of people coming in and out, and one of them didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to be here.”
“Oh.”
“I hear Sugar Shock went well.”
“Very well,” she said, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn.
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
“I just wanted to apologize.”
“For what?” she asked. He had to be talking about the party.
“For not talking to you about the other night when you caught those guys.”
“Oh.” Candace struggled to sit up a little.
“I play a hero every day in this park, but when my girlfriend was in real danger, I was nowhere around.”
“Kurt, that’s not your fault.”
“I keep telling myself that, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. To tell the truth, I’m not sure if I could have been all heroic and saved you even if I had known.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” she urged.
“A little late for that.”
“Well, I forgive you, if that helps. But I never expected you to come riding in on a white horse and rescue me.”
“I would have liked to.”
“That means a lot,” she said. “Is that why you were acting weird at the party?”
“I don’t know, I guess,” he said with a shrug.
Well, that was better than nothing.
Kurt just sat there, brooding silently. Finally Candace had to break the silence. She needed to get some rest, and she wasn’t going to be able to as long as he was sitting there staring.
“Is there anything else?”
He shook his head and stood up. “No. Happy Scare.”
“Happy Scare to you too,” she said with a smile.
He walked out, and after a moment she lay back down. She wished she could tell what he had been thinking, but he’d tell her when he was ready.
She had just drifted away again when someone else called her name.
She opened her eyes and saw that it was now Roger who was sitting on the cot across from her. “I need to ask you a question,” he said.
“At least you’re supposed to be here,” she said.
“What?”
“Nothing. What was it you wanted?”
“A question answered.”
“What am I, the guru of The Zone?” she joked.
He didn’t answer. “I want to ask out Becca. Do you think she would say yes?”
She looked at him for a moment. It seemed like an unlikely pairing, but obviously he had been thinking about her quite a lot. “Go for it!”
“You think?”
“Yeah. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? She says no and you guys have the same relationship you do now.”
“You’re right,” he said, jumping to his feet. “I’m going to ask her tonight.”
“Good for you.”
Roger rushed out and her head hit the pillow hard.
Candace got a total of maybe fifteen minutes of sleep. After Roger, at least a dozen other people had come in to say something or ask her something. As she staggered, bleary eyed, toward the carts, she wondered if she would have been better off just staying up.
“Candace!”
She turned and saw Sue jogging up.
“I don’t have any more advice left in me,” Candace said.
“Okay. I wasn’t looking for any.”
“Oh good. What’s up?”
“We have to meet at the Holiday Zone tonight before taking our places. Didn’t you see the flyers?
In truth she hadn’t. She followed Sue over to the Holiday Zone where everyone had gathered. A minute later several referees appeared, carrying a throne on which John Hanson sat. He was dressed as a scarecrow and wore a crown on top of his head.
“Who’s he supposed to be?” Candace asked.
“The Scare King,” someone whispered.
“Another year, another Scare!” he shouted.
The crowd cheered and whistled.
“In a few minutes Halloween night will be upon us and with it the howling monsters, the crazy witches, and the ravenous wolves. Of course, I’m talking about the players!”
Everyone cheered and laughed.
“Tonight, enjoy yourselves, have fun, and most of all Scare the living daylights out of them!”
The crowd roared and the Scare King stepped down off his throne and walked amongst his people.
“You have to admire his style,” Candace said to Sue.
“You really do,” she agreed. “Thank you, by the way, for the special treats for Gus and Mary. They loved them.”
“I was just glad I could do it,” Candace said.
The crowd began to disperse, and she headed for her cart. Like the Scare King had said, the ravenous wolves were about to descend, and she knew they’d be wanting their candy corn.
It turned out the cart led her right back to the Holiday Zone. Candace took up position close to the exit of Candy Craze. Somehow, she never seemed to leave it, she thought with a smile.
“Candace?”
She turned and saw Lisa standing there, dressed as Candy. The other girl looked wildly uncomfortable. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“I know you could’ve had this part back if you wanted it,” she said.
Candace didn’t like Lisa. Still, the other girl’s distress made her feel sorry for her. “Don’t worry about it. Just be the best Candy you can be,” she said with a smile.
“I will!” Lisa promised before turning and running toward the entrance to the maze. She stopped short and turned back around. “Oh, and I’ve been practicing something.”
“What?”
Lisa threw back her head and gave a bloodcurdling scream that could rival Candace’s own.
“You go, girl,” Candace shouted when Lisa had finished.
Within minutes the players swarmed into the park in twice the numbers of the previous nights. It seemed like every last one of them wanted candy corn. For three hours Candace filled one order after another.
A referee ran by screaming, followed by another.
“The pirates are marauding!” someone shrieked as they rushed by her cart.
“Isn’t that what pirates do?” Candace called out.
“You don’t understand,” the girl yelled back, pointing the way she had come. “They’re marauding this way!”
And then Candace heard them.
She turned and saw the horde sweeping toward her, players scattering before them. Suddenly they were at her cart. Candace screamed as they began to grab bags of candy corn and toss them to the crowd waiting for the maze.
“What are you doing?” she yelled, trying to wrestle the bags away from them.
“We’re liberating this cart!” Gib shouted.
“But you can’t! Whose going to pay for these!”
“All you need to see is this,” Gib said, pulling a piece of parchment from his vest. “Letters of Mark from the Scare King. This cart and all its candy corn is ours!”
“What?”
Gib leaned close. “These letters give us the right to do as
we see fit according to the contract between us and the Scare King. And if you’re worried about the pay, recheck your till. The Scare King anticipates all.”
Candace moved to the side and watched in amazement as they redistributed all the candy corn. Then she saw something terrifying. Becca had a bag of candy corn in her hands.
“No!” Candace yelled, reaching for her.
It was too late. Becca downed half the candy corn in one swallow. “Oh dear,” Candace breathed.
And suddenly it was as though there were a dozen Beccas. She was everywhere at once, moving at lightning speed and shrieking. She brandished her sword and led a charge against a group of referees who had clustered nearby.
Candace saw Becca trip and twist her ankle. A moment later Becca was up and had climbed onto Gib’s back. “Hop!” Becca screamed, waving her sword. Gib led the rest of the pirates as they chased after the other referees.
Candace just stood stunned. “What just happened?” she asked in bewilderment. Her cart whirred to life, and she followed it back to the cart station where it shut back down and refused to budge.
Candace sat down and laughed hysterically. Martha finally came by. Candace told her what had happened. Martha’s radio came to life, and Candace could hear security officers across the park talking to each other. It sounded like they were planning some sort of assault against the Pirate Queen.
Martha handed Candace a bag. Candace looked inside and saw her Candy costume. “What’s this for?” she asked.
“You know what they say. Two Candys are better than one.”
Candace hugged Martha and then ran to change. On her way to Candy Craze, she saw the pirates. Becca was still on Gib’s back shouting “Hop!” They had pinned down the security forces who had been fools to go in after them.
She ducked into the Candy Craze and found Lisa. Lisa took the first three runs through the maze while Candace took the last two. Suddenly the wait time was cut in half. None of the players seemed to notice or care that it was a different girl.
“Good to have you back,” Ray said.
“Better to have you back,” Candace joked as she struggled against him.
The Fall of Candy Corn Page 16