Whitney

by Jade Parker

  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 on
to 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.

  “But Aunt Sophie —”

  “No arguments. You look like a Cirque du Soleil performer.”

  I hated to admit that she was right. I had applied it a little heavily. But then, this was my first real date. I wanted to be beautiful. I wanted Jake not to take his eyes off me. If he still thought of me as a buddy, I wanted him to think of me as something more.

  Aunt Sophie stood like a prison warden, arms crossed over her chest, making sure I did what she’d ordered. After I finished drying my face, she said, “Sit down.”

  I looked at her. She pointed
to the small bench in front of my vanity. I did as she ordered. She came over and started messing with my face, applying a little rouge and mascara.

  “These aren’t really the right shades for you,” she said. “Wait another year, when you’re just a little bit older, and we’ll go makeup shopping.”

  She was brushing powder over my face. “Do not tell your dad that I let you walk out of the house in makeup.” She leaned back and smiled. “What do you think?”

  I looked in the mirror. It didn’t look like I was wearing makeup, and yet it did. “Perfect.”

  She was standing with me in the foyer when Jake’s big black truck rumbled into the drive. With a small leather tote over my shoulder, I headed outside. Aunt Sophie followed. She gave Jake all kinds of rules: home by ten thirty, no crazy driving, and no bad behavior that might cause my dad to get out his shotgun.

  “My dad doesn’t have a shotgun,” I mumbled later as I buckled up after Jake got back behind the wheel.

  Jake grinned. “That’s good to hear.”

  His teasing made me wonder if he was planning on some bad behavior. Did I want him thinking about behaving badly? I was pretty sure that I didn’t.

  Jake was wearing a baseball cap, a maroon T-shirt, and jeans. I didn’t think he’d gone to nearly as much trouble as I had to get ready. I felt a little silly, maybe even a little overdressed. This was a date, right? Or were we just friends hanging out?

  Had he asked me out because he felt sorry for me? Because Lisa had yelled at me? I just didn’t know what to think. I was back to being unable to accurately define our relationship.

  On the way to the baseball field, we talked about the water park and the insanity of the birthday parties. I told him about some of the plans for the luau.

  “Your friend will be impressed that you’ve thought of all these things to make her birthday special,” he said.

  I scoffed. “Yeah, right. Besides, I don’t plan to let her know I was involved.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just don’t want her to know I’m there.”

  I guess he heard in my voice that I didn’t want to talk about it. I’d made up my mind. I could do everything behind the scenes, never be discovered … or uncovered. My secrets would remain safe.