Awakening (Book One of The Geis) (8 page)

The afternoon sun swept over the fairgrounds. Maples and quaking aspen quivered on the mountains, splashed with enough color to remind me that this could be one of the last truly warm days.

Vendors filled an empty horse pasture near the rodeo grounds, their booths leaving a permanent impression on the yellowing grass. Artwork and homemade novelties paraded next to booths where brick oven pizzas and hot dogs on a stick competed for the attention of hungry fair goers.

The grounds were full of people, most of them laughing and carefree, though every now and then I would get a vibe from someone who wasn’t happy to be there. Just a few minutes earlier, I could tell that the guy who bought a box of chocolates for his wife would rather be anywhere but a county fair.

“Mmm, can you smell that?” Christa asked. She was perched on a folding chair under a sign that read
Maggie’s Lollipop Sweet Shop
. For most of the afternoon, Christa and I had sat at Mom’s booth, selling candied apples, ghost-shaped divinity, and hand-dipped chocolates.

I stopped arranging the last of the lollipops and closed my eyes. I breathed in the enticing smell of fried foods mingled with the smoky scent of burning wood from the bonfire.

“The bonfire?” I asked.

“No, can’t you smell that kettle corn?” Christa pointed to a booth a few spots down from the one we were manning for Mom.

My stomach growled and we both laughed.

“I can’t wait for tonight’s street dance.” Christa pulled a mirror out of her purse, checking her reflection before finding her wallet. She smoothed her already perfectly flat-ironed hair.

I groaned. “I don’t even know if I want to go now.” The thought of facing Taminy again wasn’t a pleasant one.

“Don’t worry about Taminy. She’s a lot of talk.” Christa made a face. “I bet no one’s ever stood up to her before.”

“Or pushed her down?” I covered my cheeks with both hands. “Lucas is going to think I’m some kind of psycho.”

“Psycho and psychic are not the same thing.” I looked at Christa to see if she was serious. She cracked up. “You should see your face.”

“It’s not that funny.” We’d stayed up late the night before, going over my reaction to Taminy.

“I still think that it’s pretty cool what you can do. Now you need to figure out how to use it to your advantage.”

“Cluing in on people’s feelings? How is that going to help me out?”

“I don’t know. Can you tell when your mom is in a bad mood?”

I shrugged. Where was she going with this?

“Use that as a sign that it’s not a good time to ask for a favor.”

“I’ve always done that. Don’t you?” I sighed, frustrated with the overwhelming feelings I’d been experiencing lately, not just from Taminy, but from everyone around me.

Christa watched a couple walk by, hand in hand. “I’ve decided that if Derek doesn’t ask me to dance tonight, I’m going to ask him.”

“No way, you wouldn’t dare.”

“Don’t you remember how we sat in the shadows at the back to school dance? That’s not going to happen this year.” Christa walked out of the booth, wallet in hand. “I’m going to go get some kettle corn, I’ll be right back.”

Christa’s boldness surprised me. I wasn’t brave enough to ask Lucas to dance, no matter how much I wanted to.

Now that the sun had gone behind the mountain, the air held an autumn chill. Business had slowed, and most of the candies were gone. I packed the caramel apples back into their boxes.

Voices wafted from the direction of the carnival rides.

“I bet you can’t go on Zero Gravity three times in a row without puking.”

I froze with my hands still in the box. I knew that voice better than anyone else in the high school.

The crowds parted and Lucas came into view. He was wearing a football jersey with his number printed on the front. He had recently gotten a haircut, and I could see a tan line around his ears and down his neck where the sun had not been able to reach. He walked with a few guys I recognized from the football team.

To my surprise, Lucas looked my direction, motioning his friends to go on without him.

“I’ll take one of those.” His voice gave me goose bumps. I stared as Lucas opened his wallet and grabbed a couple of bills.

I stood still, holding an apple by its stick in each hand. This was my chance. I looked into his eyes, trying to calm my nerves enough to detect his emotions.

Nothing happened.

His gaze was steady and I noticed how the blue of his eyes was lighter in color around the pupil, gradually greying around the edges. But that was all.

Lucas cleared his throat, still holding out the money to me. “Are you still practicing keeping your cool?”

My cheeks flushed as I relived my embarrassment in the park. “Uh, no.” I fumbled for a place to set the apples down, finally putting them both in the packing box, and taking one out again. I thrust it at Lucas. “Here.”

“You sure got Taminy riled up. She couldn’t stop talking about it.”

I winced. “Listen, I’m sorry about the other day—”

Lucas put his free hand on the table, leaning toward me. “Don’t sweat it, Champ. It doesn’t hurt Taminy to get knocked off her pedestal every now and then.” He winked. “Thanks for the apple. Maybe I’ll see you around later on.”

I didn’t move as I watched Lucas walk over to the bonfire. My face was hot and my heart hammered. See you later on? Did he mean at the dance? Suddenly I was anxious to get home and clean up for the dance. And “Champ”? What did he mean by calling me that?

Christa came around the corner, holding up a two-foot long bag of kettle corn like an award. “Hungry?”

I had been starving two minutes earlier, but now I wouldn’t be able to eat a bite. “You will never believe who just bought an apple.”

“Maybe Lucas will still ask you to dance. After all, he said he would see you later. It’s too bad you couldn’t tell what he was feeling.” Christa sat next to me on a bench, close enough to the bonfire that we would get asked to dance, but far enough away that we wouldn’t smell like smoke. Christa had curled her hair for the dance and it framed her face, softening her features.

“Did you see how she was flirting with him? And he gave my caramel apple to her.
My
apple!”

“Yeah, that’s pretty disgusting. But I haven’t heard that Lucas is going out with anyone.” Christa combed her fingers through my hair. “Besides, Taminy flirts with anything that moves.” It wasn’t true, but it made me feel better.

The street had been blocked off, and a live band blared music out in the open. It sounded exactly like the country music that played on the local radio station.

Most of Star Valley had turned out for the dance. I could see Mom and Dad dancing by the band. Dad was swinging Zoey around, and Mom was doing the tango with the baby.

I peered through the dark, hoping to find Lucas.

“Hey, what are you two wallflowers doing?” Christa’s brother Josh climbed over the bench to sit right between us. His t-shirt and Wranglers looked crisp under the leather jacket he wore.

“There are no walls for us to hold up, so I guess we’re keeping this bench from drifting away.” I spotted Lucas through the crowd. He stood with his back to us, apparently saying something funny to the giggling group of girls who circled him. I sighed.

“Nervous?” Josh asked me.

“Oh, kind of.” I didn’t realize my unease was so obvious.

“Has dance been kicking your butt?”

I pried my eyes away from Lucas and looked at Josh. “Yeah, but we didn’t have class today.”

“You really like that ballet stuff, right?” Josh took off his watch and twirled it on his finger, catching it each time it circled around. Christa grabbed for the watch and missed.

“Since when do you care about ballet, Josh?” Christa said.

“Just being friendly.”

The lively music ended, a slow song starting up in its place. Groups of dancers filed out of the street and a few couples drifted back to the center of the blacktop. Lucas asked one of the fluttering girls to dance. My heart dropped.

“What about that other dance you were talking about?” Josh asked.

“Irish? Oh, I like it. I really wish I had someone to teach it to me.”

“I bet you could teach yourself, if you wanted it bad enough.” Josh smiled.

“I’m going to do it.” Christa’s voice was barely audible above the music.

“What are you going to do?” I looked past Josh to where Christa leaned forward with her hands clasped at her chest.

“I’m going to ask Derek to dance.”

I followed Christa’s gaze to where Derek stood by the bonfire, his silhouette visible against the flames.

“Ask Derek to dance? Are you kidding me?” Josh nudged Christa. “I double-dog dare you.”

Christa didn’t say anything—she simply unfolded her legs from where they had been entwined around the bench and walked toward Derek.

I stared after her. Christa stopped behind Derek and tapped him on the shoulder. After a nod, Derek followed Christa out to the dance floor and they swayed to the slow music.

“That’s so awesome.” Josh shouted over the crowd. “Good job, sis!”

I tried to keep an eye on Lucas, but the crowd of dancing couples blocked my view. I realized that Josh was still sitting next to me on the bench. Would he think I wanted him to ask me to dance? I put some distance between us, in case I made him feel uncomfortable.

Josh cleared his throat. “So, what do you like to do? Besides dance, I mean.”

“I like to cook. My mom owns an online specialty candy store.”

“Do you think you’ll do that someday too?” Josh had his back turned to the bonfire now and his face was blackened in shadow.

I looked at up at his outline. “Make candy? No, I help my mom out, but I would rather dance.”

“McKayla, are you asking me to dance?”

“Um, no. I mean, well . . .” Was Josh serious?

Josh grinned. “I could have sworn you said you would like to dance.” His voice was playful, but his eyes were serious.” I didn’t know what to say. “Well, come on then, dancer. Show me how it’s done.” Josh pulled me onto the dance floor. I put my arms around his neck, not sure what I should say.

Silence followed. I wracked my brains to think of something to fill the void.

“So, you’re a wrestler, right?” I said.

“Yep. Wrestling is a lot like dancing.”

I looked at Josh out of the corner of my eye. Was he joking with me again?

“You have to know how to control individual muscles to pull off the moves.” Josh continued, “Is that how dancing is?”

“Well, yes.”

“When the moves are put together right, I can use them as an advantage over my opponent.” Josh looked down at me.

“You’re right, I never thought of it that way. When I dance, I don’t really think about the separate muscles. I just dance.”

I realized that I was going on about myself. Hadn’t I asked him about wrestling? Before I had a chance to steer the conversation his way, the band wound down and the music stopped. I looked around, embarrassed again. I didn’t want Christa to see me dancing with her brother.

A curly blonde caught my eye and my heart dropped. Lucas sat next to a girl on the bench. I could tell by her immaculate hair and size 4 tennis skirt that it was Taminy. Lucas followed her into the sea of dancing couples and I looked away.

“Do you want to go over to the bonfire and get some hot chocolate?” Josh was saying.

I blinked, my face like a stone mask.

“Thanks, but I’m not thirsty right now.”

Josh walked me back to the bench, shoving his hands into his pockets. He walked a few steps toward the bonfire, and then turned back. “See you around,” he said.

I waved.

A few stragglers hung out by the band, but I was one of only a few without a dance partner. I hugged my elbows.

“McKayla, are you having a good time?” Mom and Dad came up from behind me.

“Yeah, are you guys?” I put on a cheery face, trying not to sound too phony.

“I don’t want to go home. I want to stay for the bonfire.” Zoey stood behind Dad, arms folded. Mom sighed.

“Can Zoey and Benji sit here with you while Dad and I have a dance? We are going to go home after this one.” Mom handed a sleeping Benji into my arms. His soft little hand melted into mine and he nuzzled my arm. Zoey sat down on the blacktop at my feet, pouting at our parents’ retreating figures.

“Didn’t you have a fun day today, Zoey?” I asked.

“No. I want to stay up, and Mom says I have to go to bed.”

“Well, you did get to go to the carnival, and the rodeo earlier.”

“It’s no fair, you get to stay up and do whatever you want, and I have to go to bed.” Zoey’s voice trembled.

“Oh yeah, whatever I want? Like work in Mom’s booth all day, and go to a dance where everyone else is having a great time? It’s much better to stay in sixth grade where your biggest problem is racing to get king of four-square at recess.”

Zoey stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms.

Christa bounced onto the bench, not noticing the forlorn looks on both Zoey’s and my faces.

“Did you see? When the song was over, Derek asked me to dance the next one. Can you believe it? He was so nice, and did you know that his dad owns a body shop, and he knows everything about how a car works? He even re-built the truck he drives to school.”

I tried hard to be happy for my best friend. And I was happy for her—I really needed to shake this black mood that clouded my brain.

“You and Josh seemed to be hitting it off.” Christa was saying, “What were you guys talking about?”

Benji squirmed in my arms. I realized I was holding him too tightly. “Nothing in particular, why?” The question came out more defensive than I intended.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean anything.” Christa looked concerned.

“No, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to be so short with you. It hasn’t been the best night.”

“I take it Lucas hasn’t made it over here yet?” Christa asked.

Hearing it said out loud like that made me feel childish.

“No. I think I’m going home early.” I stood with the baby. To Zoey I said, “Let’s go wait for Mom and Dad in the car.”

“I think I’ll stay a little longer. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Christa gave me a quick squeeze and ran back to the fire.