Twisted

by Jo Gibson

  A shiny red truck pulled up to the curb across the street, and Jessica watched as Wade Parker got out and swaggered up the sidewalk in his cowboy boots. Wade had been the hottest prospect at Hamilton High four years ago, when Jessica had been a Freshman. He’d been captain of the football team, the highest scorer on the basketball team, and the most popular boy in the Senior class. Wade’s father owned a huge turkey farm on the outskirts of town, and Wade had always had plenty of money to spend. At the beginning of Wade’s Senior year, his father had bought him a brand-new red Chevy pickup with mag wheels, a full stereo system, and white leather upholstery. It had been the envy of every other guy in school, and the girls had gone crazy, trying to get him to take them for a ride.

  Jessica hadn’t been immune to Wade’s charms. She remembered staring at him in the halls with awe, wishing that he would notice her. But, of course, he hadn’t. There had been no reason for Wade Parker to notice a pudgy Freshman girl with curly red hair and a yearning look in her eyes.

  Wade Parker had been voted most likely to succeed in the high school yearbook, and everyone had expected him to do something great. But Wade hadn’t been chosen for an athletic scholarship, and none of the professional teams had drafted him. Regular college was out, since Wade had failed to keep up his grades, and he’d ended up settling down in a house by one of his father’s turkey farms, and marrying Laurie Swensen, Hamilton High’s head cheerleader.

  Jessica watched as Wade pulled open the door to Millie’s cafe and walked in. He’d been going to Millie’s for breakfast every morning since Laurie had left him. The rumor around town was that she’d found him at the Starlight Motel on highway eight, with one of her best friends. It was probably true. Wade wasn’t the type to settle down for long.

  There was a new dent in Wade’s truck, a watermelon-sized depression right in the back, on the tailgate. He had a reputation for drinking and driving, and he’d probably had another accident while he’d been driving home after a night at one of his favorite bars. It was a wonder that Wade hadn’t lost his license; but so far his accidents had been solo spinouts, and he hadn’t been required to report them to the police.

  “What happened to you, Wade?” Jessica asked the question aloud, but she already knew the answer. If Wade had left, he might have had a chance. But he’d stayed in Clearwater, the place where people died at the age of twenty and didn’t get buried until fifty years later.

  Someone honked outside the window, and Jessica looked up. Neal was here. He’d pulled up, right in front of the store, but he wasn’t going to bother to come in for her. He never did.

  Jessica pressed the buzzer. She’d done her duty, minding the store, and now her mother or her father could take over. Actually, she’d done her duty for years and years, ever since her father had taught her to make change. Over the years, she’d spent long days sitting behind the counter, waiting on customers and being bored out of her skin.

  “It’s definitely time for a change,” Jessica muttered to herself as she shrugged into her coat and picked up her books. There was no way she’d settle down in Clearwater like a dutiful daughter, and wind up like Wade Parker. She’d start making plans today, and right after she graduated, she’d leave Clearwater and all of its boring residents in her dust!

  Sixteen

  Cat put on a smile as he approached the bulletin board. Amy was just getting ready to post the results of today’s vote, and she turned as she heard his footsteps.

  “Hi.” Amy smiled at him. “Are you holding your breath, waiting to see today’s results?”

  “Not really. I think I can guess who’s in the lead. It’s Jessica, right?”

  Amy nodded, and tacked up the sheet of typing paper. “She really cashed in today. Another twenty-two votes, and that puts her almost forty votes ahead of Michele.”

  “Hey . . . you got another one.” Cat pointed to Amy’s name on the list.

  Amy frowned slightly as she nodded. “I know. I think it was from Cat again. I’m beginning to recognize his printing.”

  “Did you save it?”

  “It’s right in here.” Amy patted her purse. “That’s just in case Jessica gets another one of his Valentines.”

  “Do you think she will?”

  “I don’t know. I hope not. She’s only had one, so far.”

  “One?” Cat was surprised. “Are you sure?”

  “That’s what she said. And I can’t think of any reason why she’d lie about it.”

  “No . . . I can’t think of any reason she’d lie, either. Unless . . . no.” Cat laughed and shook his head. “That’s really ridiculous.”

  “What’s ridiculous?” Amy looked curious.

  “Well . . . maybe she wouldn’t want you to know if she got another card. After all, you’re the one who suggested canceling the Valentine’s Day Queen contest.”

  Amy’s eyes widened. “You might be right! But don’t you think she’d be too scared to keep something like that to herself ?”

  “She didn’t act very scared when she got the first card. And she said she doesn’t think Cat is dangerous. She thinks he’s just a . . .” Cat stopped. He really didn’t want to recall what Jessica had called him. “I don’t remember exactly what she called him.”

  Amy sighed. “A weird practical joker. But I’m really afraid she’s wrong. I think Cat is deadly serious. What do you think?”

  “I think he is, too.” Cat nodded. At least Amy seemed to have some respect for him. “Why do you think he’s sending those cards?”

  “Well . . . it could be that he objects to the contest. It does seem to bring out the worst in everyone. Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but . . . no. I’d better not.”

  “Go ahead.” Cat encouraged her. “You can tell me.”

  Amy took a moment to think it over, and then she nodded. “Okay, but you’ve got to realize that I’m not trying to be critical. I know I can’t win the contest, so I’m not jealous or anything like that.”

  “Okay.” Cat nodded. “Go on.”

  “And I want you to promise never to repeat this. It could turn into gossip, and I wouldn’t want that.”

  Cat nodded again. “Go ahead, Amy. Tell me.”

  “I watched Tanya, when she was in the lead for queen. And because she had the most votes, she seemed to think that she was better than anyone else.”

  “How could you tell?” Cat laughed. “Tanya always seemed to have a very high opinion of herself.”

  “Well . . . maybe. But that’s not what I meant. Tanya changed when she was in the lead. Maybe I’m not doing a good job of explaining it, but I know she did.”

  Cat nodded. “I think I understand. You’re trying to say that by virtue of being in the lead for queen, she stopped being grateful, and began to think she deserved it.”

  “Exactly!”

  Amy’s face lit up in a smile, and Cat felt ten feet tall. She really looked beautiful when she smiled. And then she turned serious again.

  “It’s like my dad always says, ‘Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ ”

  “Lord Acton.” Cat nodded. “I believe he was referring to the English royalty.”

  “You’re probably right. But the queen contest is our own little taste of royalty, right here at Hamilton High.”

  “You’ve got a point.” Cat smiled at her. “We’ve even got the crowns and the coronation. How about Gail? Do you think she became corrupted by the contest?”

  Amy sighed, and then she nodded. “In a way. Colleen and I were Gail’s friends before the contest started. But after she took the lead, she seemed to feel that she didn’t have to be nice to us anymore. It was like she couldn’t be bothered with anyone on our level.”

  “How about Jessica?” Cat tried not to appear too anxious. He really wanted Amy’s opinion of Jessica. “Is the same sort of thing beginning to happen to her?”

  Amy frowned slightly, and then she shook her head. “Not yet. At least, I don’t think it is. Michele would know. S
he’s Jessica’s best friend.”

  “Are you going to ask her?”

  Amy looked shocked. “Of course not! If I did that, Michele would start looking for signs of trouble, and when you start looking for trouble, you usually find it.”

  “That’s very true.” Cat laughed, and picked up his book bag. It was time to move on. He had to find Jessica, and see if she could pass his test. “See you later, Amy. And thanks for the insights about Hamilton High’s royalty. You know, I really think you’d be the best choice for queen.”

  Amy smiled again. “Thanks . . . I think. But please don’t vote for me. I think it’s a lot safer at the bottom of the heap.”

  Cat was grinning as he walked away. He wished he could tell Amy that she didn’t have anything to worry about. Cat approved of her, and he wouldn’t send her any threatening Valentines if she were in the lead for queen.

  Jessica was in a horrible mood as she walked down the hall to her sixth-period classroom. Her mother had called, right after fifth period, and asked her to come straight home from school to take care of the store. When Jessica had objected, her mother had told her that it was an emergency. One of Dad’s friends had been taken to the hospital, and they wanted to go to visit him.

  “Hey, Jessica! Wait up!” Michele ran down the hall to catch up with her. “Are you going down to the Hungry Burger after school?”

  Jessica frowned. The whole gang would be there, and she would be stuck behind the hardware store counter again. “No. I can’t go. I have to work at the store.”

  “But Neal can’t go with you. He’s got basketball practice.” Michele looked worried.

  “I know that. Neal’s got basketball practice every day after school.”

  “But, Jessica . . . you’re not going to be there alone, are you?”

  Jessica laughed. Michele was beginning to wear on her nerves with all of her paranoid fears about Cat. “I won’t be alone. With any luck, I’ll have a customer or two.”

  “I’d better go with you.” Michele looked determined. “You won’t have customers all the time. And when you’re free, we can study for the big history test.”

  Jessica almost groaned out loud. There was nothing worse than studying with Michele. Michele wanted to go over every section at least ten times, and it took her forever to memorize dates and events. Rather than risk a horribly boring study session, Jessica shook her head.

  “I can’t study, Michele. I won’t have time. I promised my dad I’d start checking the inventory.”

  Michele sighed. “Okay. I’ll just have to study later. I’ll help you with the inventory, instead. I can count boxes and things like that.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Jessica hedged for time. She knew she had to think of some way to get rid of Michele. She wanted to be alone, all alone, for just a little while. She’d had someone hovering at her side for three solid days, and she was getting sick of it!

  “Why not?”

  Jessica sighed. Michele was unbelievably stubborn. She just didn’t want to take the hint. There was only one way she could get Michele to leave her alone. She’d have to make her mad.

  “Look, Michele. I just don’t want you around, okay?”

  Michele started to frown. “But . . . why?”

  “I’m tired of you. It’s that simple. You’ve been hanging around me all day, and I’m sick of it!”

  Michele blinked back the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes, and then she shook her head. “I know you don’t mean that, Jessica. You’re just under a lot of stress, that’s all. I understand. But I won’t let you go down to the store alone. A friend wouldn’t do that to another friend.”

  “Maybe I don’t want you to be my friend. Maybe it’s time for me to get a new friend. And maybe that’s why I don’t want you around. Did you ever think of that?”

  Michele blinked a little faster, but a tear rolled down her cheek anyway. “You don’t really mean that, do you?”

  “Yes! And it just so happens I’ve got a new friend, so you don’t have to worry about me being all alone. Why don’t you just get lost, Michele. Go find something else to do and stop bothering me!”

  Michele took one look at Jessica’s face, and then she burst into tears. “But . . . I’m only trying to help you.”

  “Well, stop trying! I don’t know why you’re so concerned about me, anyway. You said it all the other night at your party. If Cat really is a killer, and he kills me, you’ll be next in line for Valentine’s Day Queen!”

  “But, Jessica! I was just joking! You know I was!”

  Jessica shrugged. “Maybe you were, and maybe you weren’t. But that doesn’t really matter. The only reason you got any votes at all is because the boys feel sorry for you.”

  “Jessica! How could you?!” Michele’s mouth dropped open. And then she turned on her heel and ran down the hall.

  Jessica watched her go with a smile of satisfaction on her face. Thank goodness she’d gotten rid of Michele. And the fact that they weren’t friends any longer was no big loss. Michele wasn’t the right friend for her anyway. She would have had to cut her loose when she left Clearwater, and this whole staged fight had saved her a lot of trouble.

  As Jessica walked down the hall, she passed a group of students getting books from their lockers. She nodded to them very regally, and held her head high. After all, she was their Valentine’s Day Queen.

  What Jessica failed to notice was that one particular pair of eyes was staring at her with unusual intensity. Cat had heard every word she’d said to Michele. He’d seen the tears roll down Michele’s cheeks, and he’d watched Jessica smile as her former friend had run away, down the hall. There was no reason to give Jessica his test. She had just flunked a test of her own making, and now she could never be Hamilton High’s Valentine’s Day Queen.

  Seventeen

  After forty-five boring minutes of sitting behind the counter in the hardware store, waiting for a customer to come in the door, Jessica was regretting her hasty decision to cut Michele loose. There had been no customers, and it was a little eerie, being alone for the first time in several days. What if Michele had been right? What if Cat really did plan to kill her? She was all alone and this would be a perfect opportunity for him.

  There was a loud thump that seemed to come from the storeroom, and Jessica jumped up from her stool. She was halfway to the door before she heard an accompanying meow, and she laughed out loud. It was only the store cat patrolling the area. Her father kept a big yellow tomcat in the back storage area to catch the field mice that always seemed to come in during the fall and winter.

  “Hey, Bruiser . . . did you catch your supper?”

  Jessica grinned as the cat meowed again. Bruiser was a real character. If you asked him a question, he meowed. She’d held long conversations with Bruiser on the days she’d worked at the store, and one day she’d worked him up to twenty-three meows before he’d grown bored and stalked off to the back storage area to look for mice.

  Jessica looked up as she heard a car engine. It was Brett’s mother, and she was making a U-turn at the corner. Jessica hoped she was coming to the hardware store to buy something.

  It would he nice to have a customer. But Brett’s mother parked across the street, instead, in front of Millie’s Cafe. Jessica watched her walk in, and then come out several minutes later, carrying a square bakery box. Jessica didn’t have to look inside the box to know what was in it. It was one of Millie’s pies, and Brett had mentioned that his mother always picked up a cherry pie on Monday night for dessert.

  Although Clearwater had a population of over five thousand, it was a small town at heart. And everyone in town was interested in everyone else’s business. Since the Stevens family had only lived here for a little over a year, Mrs. Stevens didn’t know how things were done in Clearwater. She had no idea that most of the Clearwater women thought that buying a pie, instead of making it yourself, was the height of laziness.

  Seeing Brett’s mother ma
de Jessica think of Brett. He really was handsome, and he was going off to college after he graduated. Brett would be a success, Jessica was sure of it. He wasn’t anything like Neal, who’d told her he’d be content to settle down in Clearwater and stay close to his friends and family.

  Perhaps she should try to date Brett. Jessica began to smile at the thought. She’d be with him at the coronation because he was bound to win the contest for Valentine’s Day King. They would dance the coronation dance together, and sit side by side on the thrones for the ceremony. She hadn’t actually asked Neal to the dance yet, although everyone assumed they were going together. Perhaps she should tell Neal to find another date, and ask Brett to take her to the dance. But would that be fair to Neal?

  Jessica sighed and shook her head. Of course it wouldn’t be fair. She’d gone out with Neal for over a year, and he expected her to go to the Valentine’s Day dance with him. Telling him to find another date wouldn’t be fair at all. But life wasn’t fair, and Neal would get over it, sooner or later. She had to consider her own happiness.

  The more she thought about it, the better it sounded. Neal would understand that since she was going to be the queen, she had an obligation to date the king. She could even suggest that he take someone unpopular to the dance, someone who wouldn’t otherwise have a date . . . like Amy, or Colleen.

  Someone else was pulling into the parking spot that Brett’s mother had vacated. Jessica peered out through the window and recognized Mr. Waller as he got out of his old green Honda. Mr. Waller was a widower, and he always ate his evening meal at Millie’s Cafe. Mr. Waller was carrying several packages, and Jessica started to grin. The rumor around town was that Mr. Waller was sweet on Millie, and since he was the town mailman, he always hand-delivered her packages, instead of leaving a little notice in her mailbox.

  “The mail!” Jessica jumped up the moment she thought of it and hurried toward the front door. Her parents had been in a hurry when they’d left, and they’d probably forgotten to bring in the mail. There might be a letter for her. Or if she was lucky, there would be a notice from the Riverside Mall, twenty miles from Clearwater, telling her that the new shoes she’d ordered for the dance had arrived.