“Hey, Kayla,” Hailey called out to her as she approached the two of them. “Are you still planning on sitting with me?”
“Yeah sure,” Kayla said. “Save us a seat.”
“Oh,” Hailey glanced deliberately in Sara’s direction. “I think there is only room for you.”
Kayla stared at Hailey dumbfounded, but Sara spoke up before she had a chance to object.
“That’s OK,” Sara said, with complete calmness in her voice. “I’m at a really good part in my book, and I think I’ll just find a nice spot in the sun and see how it ends.” With that, she flashed both of them her big smile, and then turned and walked away.
Hailey linked arms with Kayla as though they had been friends for years, and led her to a table near the middle of the cafeteria. Kayla recognized a couple of the faces as Hailey introduced her to the group. There was Kyle, a guy with wavy black hair and glasses she recognized from her pre-algebra class. He looked kind of like the musician type. There was also a guy named Zack she recognized as the guy Hailey had been talking to from their gym squad. He fit the part of a jock so well; Kayla had almost laughed the first time she saw him. The two other girls Hailey introduced her to she hadn’t seen yet.
Come to find out they were eighth graders: Janea and Trish. Janea had long blond hair and light blue eyes. She wore a red shirt with a trendy denim skirt. Trish had short brown hair. Kayla noticed she was wearing a lot of rings and bracelets. She liked the silver charm bracelet on her left hand.
As Kayla sat back and ate her lunch, she started to feel less homesick. She was so easily accepted into this group. She wondered to herself why she had ever worried about making friends.
She looked out the window to see where Sara was, expecting to see her reading her book, but instead she saw her eating lunch surrounded by guys! Well, at least two guys, but the thing that intrigued Kayla was that Tyler was one of them. Of course Josh was the other. Sara threw her head back and laughed at something Tyler was saying. What were they talking about? Kayla wondered.
“Aren’t you locker partners with that Sara girl?” Trish said breaking into Kayla’s thoughts and making her feel like it was a crime to be Sara’s locker partner.
“She is for now,” Hailey answered for her, “but next year she can be my locker partner. She hasn’t heard the lowdown on Sara yet.”
“What are you talking about?” Kayla asked innocently.
“About how her father is actually a murderer,” Trish said. The way she narrowed her eyes into little slivers that looked like almonds made Kayla shiver.
“Yeah,” Hailey joined in, “well, at least he tried to murder someone. Have you met Justin yet?”
“Who’s Justin?” Kayla asked.
“He’s Sara’s older brother,” Hailey said. “He’s the one Pastor Ryan tried to kill!” Hailey’s voice took on a hushed tone. “It was seven years ago. Pastor Ryan poisoned him because he didn’t want him to take over his church someday. But, it didn’t work out that way because the ambulance came and the paramedics saved his life.” Hailey crossed her arms for added emphasis, “Sara claims he had an allergic reaction to a bee sting, but I saw him. His face was all swollen. I’ve been stung by bees plenty of times, but nothing like that ever happens.” Hailey finished her story with deep authority in her voice.
“That’s a stupid story,” Kyle said while he ate his roast beef sandwich. “You know you just made that up.”
“No she didn’t,” Janea defended, “It’s the truth.”
“Yeah, you are just defending Sara,” Hailey said with a disgusted look, “because you used to have a crush on her in fourth grade.”
Zack just seemed to ignore the whole thing. With his head down, he just kept eating his chips. Crunch, crunch, crunch Kayla’s head started to pound with every bite he took.
Kayla had to do something fast. She quickly searched her lunch for a topic idea. “I sure miss our California fruit,” she said as she pulled out her apple.
At first everyone just stared at her goofy smile, and then Hailey spoke up, “Yeah, everything about California is better than this place.”
“What about their silly fruit inspection booths?” Kyle said. “There’s nothing more annoying than having a bag full of fresh cherries and having to give them away.”
“Yeah,” Janea said, and have you ever noticed they never ask for the same thing? I think they just ask you for whatever they happen to be hungry for.”
“One time,” Trish said, “we were going on a family vacation to the coast, and of course, to get to the closest beach you have to go down into California and then back up into Oregon again. Well, we had all of these apples, and luckily we remembered before we got to the border. Dad made us eat all of those apples, and do you know what happened when we got to the boarder? The guy asked if we had any plants or animals! Here Dad was all ready to hand him our apple cores, and he asks for plants or animals.” She shook her head for emphasis, and her short hair flipped back and forth with the movement. “What would they do to you if you did have your dog with you? Put him in some sort of anti-Oregon decontamination dip?” With that, everyone laughed.
“Speaking of food, have you guys been to that new Grill yet?” Zack asked, “I hear they have some killer food.
“Does Sara’s dad run it?” Hailey asked, and everyone burst out laughing again.
After lunch, Kayla still had a slight headache, and her stomach was in knots again. She didn’t like what Hailey had said about Sara. Surely it wasn’t true, but then again, she didn’t know Sara all that well. As she walked to Spanish class, she pondered Hailey’s words and tried to dismiss them as gossip. To her relief, neither Hailey nor Sara was in her class. She noticed with a little smile that Tyler, the cute guy from her gym class, sat behind her and there wasn’t even a seating chart. She decided Spanish was going to be one of her favorite classes.
Chapter 5
Shopping Adventures
After school on Friday, Mom picked up Kayla, and to her surprise, announced they were going to go on a shopping spree. First they dropped Cole off at Nana’s, and then headed to Centerville Mall.
The mall was a little bit smaller than the one she was used to in Riverside, but it did have a lot of cool stores. They found a parking spot near the main entrance, and then made their way into the mall.
As they walked past one of the make-up booths, in the first department store, Mom said, “Oh that reminds me, I need to start scheduling some more make-up parties soon. A woman’s work is never done!”
“Mom,” Kayla said with a slight roll of her eyes. “We’re supposed to be having a fun shopping day. You can’t think about work right now.”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry.”
“Look Mom, they have khaki trench coats!” Kayla said as she searched for a size small, and then slipped it on over her clothes.
“It fits nice,” Mom said eyeing her.
“I’m glad most of the school year is during the winter,” Kayla said as she walked over to the mirror on the wall. “I don’t think I could stand the no shorts dress code if school was in the summer like back home.” She did a few turns to admire the jacket.
“You would get used to it,” Mom said. “Private school is not the only place you will have to deal with a dress code. Most offices have dress codes. As a matter of fact, almost any job you get will have some sort of dress code.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“At least they don’t make you wear a uniform.”
“Thank goodness,” Kayla said.
“Hey, what do you think about this top?” Mom said, holding up a shirt that looked like it was directly out of the army, but the camouflage was blue.
“I don’t think it is quite my style,” Kayla said, trying not to hurt Mom’s feelings. They looked around a little longer, and then got the trench coat for Kayla and some black pants for Mom.
Next they went to a couple of Mom’s favorite stores, and then to Maurices. Kayla got a new denim s
kirt at Maurices. It was short and faded. She also got a sparkly white top to go with it, and a pair of brown boots just for fun.
“Let’s go to the food court,” Mom suggested after they purchased the boots. “I’m starving.”
As they made their way to the food court, Mom asked, “Where do you want to eat?”
Without hesitating, Kayla said, “Subway!”
As they got in the Subway line, Mom pointed to the hot dog place next to them and said, “Speaking of uniforms.”
Kayla turned to look. The guy at the counter was wearing a huge hot dog hat! “No kidding,” Kayla said, laughing. “At least I don’t have to wear something like that to school.”
“Are you ready,” the lady at the counter asked Mom when they got to the front of the line.
“Yes, I’ll have a turkey salad,” she said.
“I’ll have a chicken sub on wheat,” Kayla said, and then proceeded to let the lady know what veggies she wanted.
Mom paid for their food, and then they both filled up their water cups and found a seat in the crowded food court near the yogurt place. Kayla couldn’t help feeling lonely even though there were people all around her. It was strange to go to the mall and not run into anyone she knew.
“Do you think you can eat some yogurt?” Mom asked when Kayla was almost finished with her sandwich.
“No, I’m stuffed,” Kayla said, “plus, I want to check out the store we passed on our way here called Dianne’s.”
“Alright then,” Mom said as Kayla helped her clear their table. “I want to go there too. I think my best friend from high school might be the owner. I haven’t talked to her for years, but I heard she had her own store.”
Dianne’s was a medium sized store in the center of the mall. The windows were glass, and the store was brightly lit with antique lights. It kind of reminded Kayla of the Spaghetti Factory. The carpet was red, and there were several three-way mirrors scattered throughout the store.
Kayla immediately fell in love with the clothes. They were stylish, but kind of unique. She picked up a pair of blue leather pants, and a rhinestone tank top. The tank top was on clearance, but it was still thirty dollars, and the pants were over a hundred. Kayla grabbed several other items, and then headed for the dressing room while Mom looked around.
“Hi,” Kayla heard a lady say to Mom. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Dianne?” Mom said. “So you are the owner.”
“Kim? I can’t believe it’s you!”
Kayla stopped paying attention to their conversation and tried on the blue pants. They were a little bit too big. Suddenly, her ears perked up when she heard Dianne mention Fairview Academy.
“My daughter goes there too,” Mom said. “Maybe they have met.”
When Kayla came out of the dressing room, Dianne and Mom were still talking. They ware both smiling and reminiscing about their high school days.
“This is my daughter, Kayla,” Mom said in a formal introduction. Kayla took a good look at Dianne. Kayla immediately noticed her “big hair.” It was bleached blond and didn’t have any shine to it, but it was fluffed up with what looked like a lot of backcombing and hair spray. She wore pointy heels and a tight black skirt.
“Have you met my daughter?” Dianne asked Kayla. “Her name is Hailey Sanders.”
Kayla couldn’t believe it. Hailey’s mom and her mom were good friends! No wonder she and Hailey had hit it off right away. “Actually, I sat with her at lunch this week,” Kayla replied.
“So, you’re friends,” Dianne said. “Well then, I guess I’ll be seeing you around. Are you ready to make your purchase?”
Kayla handed her the rhinestone tank, and then found a purse and several necklaces she also wanted. She put the blue pants back while Mom paid for her little pile on the counter.
“That was so much fun,” Mom said as they walked to their car. She had a far away look in her eye like she was still thinking about her high school days with Diane, and Kayla could tell she was not expecting an answer. Man, if only Sara and Hailey weren’t enemies, Kayla thought. What had gone on between them anyway? There must be some way to be friends with both girls. Kayla felt like she was caught in a spider’s web.
That night Kayla’s best friend from California called.
“Jerusha, it’s so good to hear your voice!” Kayla said. “I miss you so much.” Jerusha had been Kayla’s best friend since second grade. She was a gorgeous black girl with a perfect complexion and long shiny hair. Her dad worked in the police department where Kayla’s dad had worked.
“I miss you too sister. This year has just been terrible so far,” Jerusha said, making Kayla feel bad for deserting her just before seventh grade. “Everyone is coupled up already, and it is only the first week of school! All of our friends are still nice to me and all, but I feel like a third wheel.”
“I guess I’m not the only one with problems then,” Kayla said. She told Jerusha about how she had made friends with two girls who seemed to be enemies, and she didn’t even know why.
“Hang in there,” Jerusha said, “I’m sure things will get better.”
“You too,” Kayla said as she got a call on the other line. “Hello, oh, hi Nana, I’ve got Jerusha on the other line, but we were just about to get off, hold on.” Kayla said good-bye to Jerusha, and then gave Mom the phone. Kayla worked on her homework for a while, and pretty soon, Mom popped her head into her room and announced they were all going to go to Main Street Grill on Saturday night.
All right! Kayla thought. She went to her closet to pick out an outfit to wear.
Chapter 6
Main Street Grill
When Kayla heard the doorbell ring, she raced down the stairs to greet Nana. She had decided to wear her favorite jeans and a screen tee that said, “Surf’s up.” She wore a brown belt, her brown boots from Maurices, and a baseball cap.
“You look adorable,” Nana said after she came in. “Where are your Mom and Cole?”
“Oh, Mom’s almost ready, and Cole is…” before Kayla could finish her sentence, Cole came bounding down the stairs and threw both arms around Nana.
Kayla wondered if maybe she had just been imagining that Cole had changed. He seemed like lately he was more himself. Mom followed a couple of minutes later, and then they all made their way to the car.
They could hear the music from Main Street Grill all of the way down the street where they found a parking spot almost a block away. Kayla was so excited. She wondered if she would see anyone that she recognized from school.
A man who looked like he was in his thirties opened the door for them. He gave Mom a big smile, and it made Kayla feel strange. People didn’t smile at Mom like that when Dad was with them. For the first time, Kayla thought about the possibility of Mom getting remarried. She didn’t like the idea, not one bit.
As they walked through the glass double doors, Kayla looked around. The Grill was decorated Hawaiian style with palm trees, and surfboards. Tahitian dance music was playing over the sound system. A young waitress asked them how many were in their party, and then seated them in a booth near the back. There was a stage in the front of the room, and it looked like they were just getting set up for the concert.
“Would you like anything to drink?” their waitress asked. Kayla looked up, and quickly recognized the woman as Josh’s mom.
“Just water for now,” Mom said as Josh’s mom passed out their menus.
“Aren’t you the people from the flower shop?” she asked them.
“Yes,” Nana said, “I own Main Street Flowers, and this is my granddaughter, Kayla. She helps me there sometimes.”
“Well, I’m Rachel Coffman,” Josh’s mom said, and then Mom introduced herself and Cole before Mrs. Coffman left to give them a few minutes to look over the menu.
“I’m going to have a cheese burger with fries and a root beer,” Nana said when she came back to take their order.
Kayla ordered a veggie burger, French fries, and a
Diet Coke. Cole and Mom both got hamburgers and milk shakes.
The band started up while they were waiting for their food. Kayla was surprised to see Kyle, the guy from Hailey’s group with black wavy hair and glasses, playing base guitar. The band was actually pretty good. Kayla scanned the crowd for Hailey, and sure enough, she was sitting at a table up front, by the stage.
After their food came, Kayla asked if she could go and join Hailey’s table.
“Sure,” Mom said. “I’m glad you’re fitting in so well here already.”
Hailey was sitting with Janea and Trisha. They were laughing and joking about something when Kayla walked up.
UNDERCOVER ANGELS: Kayla's Big Move Page 3