Inevitable (3 page)

I squirmed in my seat and focused on the road. The commercial district disappeared behind us. Ripe corn fields flanked us on either side, and I stared at the waving golden tassels.

There were so many times I’d almost told Dana my secret. But I didn't want her to think I was crazy. Like the therapist had. Crazy Jayne.

I pulled up at the middle school. Beth flounced over to the car, grinning at us. I put on my sunglasses and stared out the windshield. The essence of lemons wafted in the air around her. My heart rate increased out of habit, and I swallowed hard.

“Hi!” Beth called. “Are you guys going somewhere?” She paused outside the driver’s side.

Why hadn’t I rolled up my window? I could feel her eyes on me, waiting, watching to see if I would respond. I kept my gaze trained straight ahead. “Yeah, we’re going out tonight. Hop on in, I’ll take you home.”

Beth slowly moved to the back door. I sneaked a peek in the rearview mirror and saw her eyes still on me, her lips drawn together. I rearranged the mirrors so we wouldn’t accidentally make eye contact.

I put my foot on the gas and tried to ignore the guilty feeling in my chest. I would not allow myself to See her.

CHAPTER THREE

“T
his is your junior year of high school?” The manager of JT's Bagel Hut sat across from me at a little table, twiddling with the pen wedged between his ear and visor. The crooked nametag on his shirt spelled out, “Tom.” His eyes scanned the one-page application I had filled out.

“Yes.” My hands ran over my thighs, straightening any wrinkles in my pink skirt. I felt overdressed. Why hadn’t I just worn jeans and a t-shirt? Because I couldn’t get over the idea that an interview was professional, that’s why.

“Hmm.” He put down the application and met my gaze.

I flinched before relaxing. The only thing I smelled on him was garlic and butter.

“Well,” he said, “you seem very qualified with customer service. You’ve never worked with food before?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Not professionally. But I cook a lot.” Spaghettios, anyway. I flashed what I hoped was a dazzling smile.

“Not a problem, we’ll train you. We’ll start you as an associate making minimum wage, but there’s definitely room for advancement. Sound okay?”

“Yes.” I nodded my head, trying not to appear too eager. “Of course.”

He eyed me some more. “Great, then. Can you start tomorrow at four?”

“Hold on.” I reached into my purse and pulled out a small pocket calendar. Tomorrow was Tuesday, and there were no games to cover. Spanish club met on Wednesday. “Sure. I’ll be here tomorrow.”

“You’re a size small, right? We’ll have a uniform ready when you come in.”

Uniform? I had forgotten that tidbit. I worked hard to keep the smile on my face as I stood and shook his hand. My eyes surveyed         his purple-and-turquoise-striped polo. “Medium. Thanks. See you tomorrow, then.”

I turned around. My heels clunked across the gray linoleum as I walked toward the exit. I so didn’t belong here.

My phone started vibrating before I even got to the car. I snatched it up and sighed. Dana wasn’t going to be happy about this. “Hey, Danes, I can’t really talk right now.”

“Where are you?” she demanded. “I’ve got
news
and I’ve been trying to call you for the past hour! Why weren’t you answering?”

“Um.” I slid behind the wheel and fished around my CDs. Sarah Brightman caught my eye. A little operatic Soprano to soothe my nerves. Perfect. “I was busy. What’s the news?”

“Stephen and Jessica broke up.”

My thoughts flashed first to Jessica, the skinny cheerleader with long brown hair. My stomach always clenched at the thought of her. Stephen and I had been so happy until she set her sights on him. When had it happened, anyway? The night of the pool party, when Stephen threw me into the water and dived in after me? Or was it already going on before then?

My thoughts flashed next to the vision I’d seen, of Stephen with a blond at his house, getting ready for prom. I sucked in a breath. He was already on track with his destiny. He had to break up with Jessica so he could go out with the other girl.

“Oh, really?” I tried my best to sound appropriately shocked, while swerving out of the way of a car that almost ran me over. The driver honked, and I mouthed a “sorry.” “How do you know?”

“Babe, it’s all over school. She was—get this—making out with Blackard in the boy’s locker room. Blackard! In the boy’s locker room!”

I blanched. “She dumped Stephen for Blackard?” Corbin Blackard was captain of the football team, and fit the stereotype perfectly: big, handsome, popular, arrogant, rude, and ignorant. Not to mention, he changed girls every weekend. My face flushed with indignation. “That cow!”

“You need to come over here.” Dana was practically purring now. “Get over here, put something nice on, and we’ll head over to Bay Bookstore.”

Stephen worked at Bay. I thought of all the lovely evenings where I had settled down in a chair, book in hand, and read contentedly while Stephen worked. Every once in awhile he would pass my chair and flash me a secret smile, like he and I were the only ones who knew I was there for him. My chest warmed at the memory.

And then the blond girl popped into my mind, and I sighed. “No good, Dana. It’s over between us.”

“What?” she screeched. “It only ended because of Jessica! I bet Stephen feels so stupid now! I know you’re not over him.”

Of course she knew. Everyone knew. But I’d seen the other girl. I wasn’t who Stephen would end up with. “I don’t want to be his rebound.”

Dana groaned. “Then at least come with me to say hi. You never know what might happen, hey?”

Except I did know. It had been two months since Stephen and I broke up, and I missed him. Horribly. But I already knew the ending, and I wasn't going to put myself through that for no reason. “I’m almost home, Dana. You can go by and say hi if you want. Oh, by the way, I got a job. So tomorrow after school I have to work.”

I could hear her getting ready to launch into another speech of some sort, but I didn’t want to hear it right now. I hung up the phone and tossed it across the car, out of temptation’s reach. It rang the rest of the way home, but I couldn’t grab it even if I wanted to.

For a moment I indulged in a fantasy where Stephen and I got back together. He wept for leaving me and I forgave him, and we had a great relationship—for a week? Two? Prom was three weeks away. That didn’t leave much time for Stephen to have a relationship with me and then meet Ms. Prom Date.

And besides, I knew something awful about Stephen’s family now. How could I spend time with him with that between us?
No
, I realized. If Stephen and I hadn’t already broken up, I would have to break up with him now.

I parked the car in the driveway and leaned across the transmission to grab my phone.

Four missed calls. Three from Dana and one from Stephen. Oh boy. It would be a long day in school tomorrow.



Sure enough, the school day dragged by, with me doing my best to sidestep Dana every time she tried to drag me over to Stephen. As soon as it was over, I headed over to JT’s. I was one of the first cars out of the school parking lot, evading Dana and her insistence that I speak with my ex.

“This is where you keep your stuff when you’re working.” Matt, a coworker and my designated tour guide, led me to the back of the restaurant and showed me a rack of hooks. I nodded and slipped my backpack on one of the pegs. “Here’s your uniform. And your nametag. Jayne? Hope they spelled it right, looks funny to me.”

“It’s right.” I picked up the magnetic tag and examined it. “My parents wanted a unique spelling.”

“Okay. Anyway, there’s a bathroom. You can change and then come up to the front. I’ll show you how to work the register and that’s all you’ll do today. Oh, and I’m the shift manager. Which means, I’m in charge when Tom’s not in.” He gave me a grin that bordered on shyness, as if he didn’t want to admit how cool it was to be a manager.

I nodded. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the bathroom. A dirty mop stood in a corner and rust stained the white sink. Could be worse. At least I wouldn’t be messing with food today. I pulled my wavy brown hair into a ponytail, but a few pieces still escaped around my face. Then I noticed the hairnet sitting on top of my uniform. A hairnet. I lifted it between my fingers and sniffed it. At least it didn’t look used. I guess I couldn’t expect to look
nice
at this job.

I suppressed a sigh and put the net on over my hair. Not even the wildest of curls could escape now.

Suitably dressed, I headed for the front of the store. Matt had shoved a baseball cap over his hair, which I guess passed for a hairnet around here. He grinned at me, his brown eyes sleepy.

“Hey, that looks cute on you. Come on.”

He led me to the register and stood behind me, pointing to buttons and whispering hints while I tried to ring up customers. It unnerved me. “You know,” I said, turning around to face him, “I think I might be able to do this better if you’re not hanging over my shoulder.”

Matt lifted both arms up in mock defense. “Just trying to help.”

I took a deep breath and turned back around. I pushed at my forehead, but there was no hair to tuck behind my ear.

“I know it’s the middle of the afternoon, but do you have any breakfast sandwiches left?”

I couldn’t help but smile at Dana’s voice. I lifted my eyes and saw her, giving me a quirky grin just in front of my register. “Sorry, we don’t serve breakfast sandwiches after ten in the morning.”

“Figures,” she sighed. “You look great, babe. Love the hairdo.”

“Ah.” I fingered my hairnet. “You and me both.” I was happy to see Dana. She had thrown an absolute fit when I told her about my job, a fit that was made even worse when I confessed to not returning Stephen’s call. “What can I get for you?” Gabby, the girl working the register next to me, was moving customers at a much faster rate, but I could always play the “I’m new” card.

“A cream-cheese and cranberry sandwich on a honey bagel. And a blueberry muffin.”

I scanned the register and found the items without difficulty. “Anything to drink?”

“Make me the latte of the day.”

“Sure.” I flashed her a smile.

Dana handed me her dad’s credit card. “Get yourself something too, if you’re hungry.”

“I’m good.” I swiped her card. This wasn’t so different from ringing up clothes, after all. “There’s tons to eat here.”

“I bet.” Dana smoothed her hands over her checked green and white sundress. Springtime was for dresses—we both agreed on that one. “Better watch your figure.”

“I know you’ll watch it for me.”

She shrugged. “It’s cuter than mine, so why not?”

Her food came up from the kitchen, and I put it on a tray. “Here you go. Thanks for eating at JT’s.” I smirked.

She slid the tray over and picked up the latte. “Call Stephen. It’s not too late. Don’t be such a scaredy-pants.”

Before I could come up with an adequate reply, she was gone, sliding into a booth in the back.

The thought crossed my mind again that I should just tell her. Tell her everything, about my Sight, and the visions, and my attempts to thwart destiny.

But I knew I wouldn't. This was my burden to bear. My secret. She might think I was a chicken, but at least she didn’t think I was insane.

Crazy Jayne, Crazy Jayne.

The after-school crowd shuffled in and kept me busy for awhile. Dana slipped out with a wave and a motion for me to call her when I got off work. I waved back.

“Hey.” Coworker Matt joined me at the register. “Any problems?”

“Nope.” I shook my head. “So far, pretty easy.”

“Great.” He pulled a wet rag off his shoulder, leaving streaks of water on his purple/turquoise shirt. “Orange juice spill in the left corner. You’re up.”

“I’m up?” I echoed, taking the rag. “What, we take turns doing this?”

“No.” He grinned. “You’re the new girl. You’ll be up a lot today. Have at it!”

Funny guy. I could tell this job was going to be interesting. I stepped through the counter and began wiping up the orange juice. Still better than being stuck in the hot kitchen making food.