ODDILY (22 page)

Maxim watched his sister reach over and give him a hug. He understood the difficult time she had about sharing him, especially when all these years she had him to herself. He needed to be sensitive to her feelings, as well as Oddily’s.

29

Oddily curled up on the couch and studied the driver’s manual until her stomach growled in protest. She stood up and stretched, knowing she needed to eat something, and glanced at the disarray of leftover Chinese food still on the coffee table. She crinkled her nose and chose to dine at the lodge restaurant even though she would feel embarrassed to dine amongst a bunch of strangers.

After shoving the hundred dollars that Maxim gave her into her back pocket, Oddily headed down the cobblestone path to the main lodge. She noticed she was moving at a snails pace, dragging her heels, and no wonder! Who in their right mind wanted to eat alone?

“
But I eat by myself all the time,” she reminded herself, as her soft voice carried through the air. “Surely this will be no different from eating in the school cafeteria.”

Somewhat comforted by her analogy, Oddily hesitated when she arrived at the large doorway to the lodge.  People tried to move around her, arriving and leaving the lodge, but she continued to stand there in a state of indecision.

“
Miss?” an employee rushed to her side. “Are you joining us, or leaving?”

“
I’m entering,” she smiled.

“
Then, would you mind stepping inside? The door sensors can’t detect whether to open or close.”

“
Oh, I’m sorry,” Oddily suddenly realized what the attendant meant. She could clearly hear the doors making a strange noise in their track and jumped out of its way, allowing the sliding doors to close behind her. She headed over to the restaurants reservation desk and was about to ask for a seat at the counter when she heard her name.

She glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of Pepper with her best friend Carrie, along with an elder woman. Pepper beckoned her to come and join them, so Oddily obeyed even though she knew they would bring up what happened at the dance. A sense of doom filled her petite body as she approached. If the truth were to be known, she would rather have ignored them. They were never going be her friends, so why bother!? Besides, she had Maxim now. She didn’t need anyone else.

“
Hey girl, cute outfit.” Pepper gave Oddily the once over. “Did you get those jeans at ‘Popular Chic’?”

“
Yes.” Oddily tentatively smiled when there was no mention of the dance.

“
We’re headed over to the carnival as soon as my aunt Kizzy is settled in her room.”

“
You girls run along,” the older woman waved her hand as though she were shooing at flies. “Your mom will be here in a bit which gives me just enough time to freshen up.”

Pepper hugged and kissed her aunt before turning to Oddily. “I want you to join us.”

“
Me?” The invitation caused Oddily to be more excited than cautious, but frowned after a quick reality check.  “What if I run into someone from school?”

“
We’ve got your back, girl.” Pepper stepped up to Oddily and put an arm around her. “Come on, the three of us will have a blast.”

“
Do you think there will be anything to eat?” Oddily didn’t know how to respond to Pepper’s display of friendship and was surprisingly relieved when Pepper removed her arm.

“
There’s plenty of comfort food, unless you’re on a diet.”

That did it. Food became the driving force to get Oddily into the back seat of Pepper’s black SUV, and they drove off with hip-hop music blaring out of every open window. The exuberance coming from Pepper and Carrie was infectious as Oddily listened to them sing along to the tunes. They bobbed their head’s and waved their arm’s out the top of the sunroof, honking at every car full of cute boys who passed by.

Oddily decided to join in on the fun and opened her mouth to sing with them, rocking from side to side while tapping on her thighs. She watched Carrie’s brown shoulder length hair whip around her head from the open windows and, for the first time, she was glad to have short hair. All she could feel was a slight tickle across her forehead and at the nape of her neck. Surely, with the way Pepper smiled, she felt the same way about her own shorter style.

“
Look, the Ferris wheel!” Pepper pointed out the window.

Oddily’s sweet face wore such an expression of astonishment, it exposed the simple fact that she had never been to a carnival before. Music poured from the loudspeakers filling the evening air. The rides had strings of red and blue lights that bobbed in the warm spring breeze. The gentle wind carried the sweet scent of cotton candy and freshly popped popcorn to her nose.
Mmmm…food!

After Pepper had parked, the three of them got out and walked through the fair grounds. Pepper and Carrie shared gossip as best friends usually do, while Oddily remained silent gawking at everything. Whenever she recognized anyone from school, she turned away. She did, however, watch a bunch of ‘junior high’ students gather around a dart-throwing booth, goofing around and pretending to throw darts at one another. She smiled to herself at their display of fun, and even giggled when a group of young boys happily raced past her.

“
Where is the House of Mirrors?” she overheard one of them ask.

“
No, I want to ride the Roller Coaster,” another boy insisted.

While Oddily followed Pepper and Carrie, the Ferris wheel covered with white lights came into full view with a long procession of kids waiting for their turn.

“
Let’s get into line.” Carrie excitedly picked up her pace.

Oddily kept up with them as her belly growled a new round of protest.

“
Was that you, girl?” Pepper overheard the loud gurgling sound.

“
I need something to eat,” Oddily admitted, rubbing her stomach.

“
Damn girl…go get some food. We’ll stay right here until you return.”

“
Are you sure?” Oddily hesitated.

Pepper studied Oddily for a minute before turning to Carrie, “Hey girlfriend, save us a place in line.”

“
What sounds good to you?” Pepper asked while heading for the food stands. “There are hotdogs, caramel apples, snow cones, cotton candy, French fries….”

“
A hotdog sounds good.” Oddily walked faster than usual to keep up with Pepper.

“
Hey girl, how are you?” Pepper’s bubbly personality greeted someone Oddily had never seen before.

Oddily stopped and tried to wait patiently for Pepper, but she became fidgety inside as though she wanted to jump out of her own skin. She desperately needed food, and didn’t know how to excuse herself without being rude. After all, Pepper and Carrie had befriended her, and she refused to mess things up.

Oddily held on to her noble idea of waiting until a kid walked by shoving buttered popcorn into his mouth. That was the last straw! She threw all politeness to the wind and ran over to the hotdog stand, pulled out her hundred dollar bill, and plopped it on the counter. “I would like one hotdog, please.”

The franchise employee, who wore a red and white stripped hat, glanced at the bill and shoved it back at her. “I ain’t got enough change. Ya got somethin’ smaller?”

“
No, I’m sorry,” she stared at him with a frantic look of dismay.

“
Can’t help ya kid….next!”

Oddily rejoined Pepper who had finished her friendly visit.

“
Wow, you eat fast,” she laughed.

“
He wouldn’t take my money,” Oddily held out the hundred dollar bill.”

“
Put that away,” she ordered with a quick glance around. “You can’t go waving that much money around here. It’s not safe!”

Suddenly, Oddily felt stupid after realizing the truth of Pepper’s advice and put the money in her pocket.

Pepper reached into her purse and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. “Here…go get your hotdog, or whatever else you want and pay me back Monday.”

Oddily gave Pepper a hug. “You are the best. Thank you.”

Oddily rushed back for her hotdog, fries, and coke. At first she couldn’t eat fast enough to reduce her hunger, but soon she became full and a little woozy as they rejoined Carrie. Pepper’s friend had ridden the Farris wheel three times while waiting for them and was going for her fourth.

When it was their turn, Oddily watched Pepper and Carrie squeeze into one seat, trying to make room for her. As much as they tried, it would have been too crowded, so Oddily declined. She waited for the next lift, and within moments was lifted into the sky.

Halfway up, the car jerked to a stop. Oddily cried out, her body tossing forward while it rocked back and forth.

“
Are you okay?” Carrie called out to her.

“
Fine,” she squeaked while clutching the safety bar. She pressed her backside against the seat as the Ferris wheel moved again carrying her to the top. Oddily glanced down at the grounds of the carnival. Below, she viewed an array of festive lights from all the rides and game booths, plus the murmur of a growing crowd as the fullness of night presented itself.

Oddily swallowed hard as the car began its descent, making its slow steady circle, and suddenly cringed at the notion of going around again.

“
Are you all right?" This time, Pepper called out to her with a note of concern when Oddily’s face twisted in a grimace.

“
Yes, I…I don’t think I’m fond of heights.”

“
What?—I can’t hear you!”

Oddily nodded her head with exaggeration and Pepper gave her the okay sign with her fingers.

Once again the Ferris wheel jerked to a halt to allow more people on, and this time Oddily shrank in her seat after she saw who came aboard. It was Paul, and he caught her staring at him.

Please let me fade away
, her thoughts screamed when Paul waved at her after pulling down the safety bar. She ducked and bit her lower lip.

The car descended and was about to go another round when Oddily called out to the carnival employee and begged him to let her off. Thankfully, he heard her and after jumping out, she took a deep breath and rejected an urge to kiss the ground.

Oddily waited for her new friends and surprisingly, Pepper and Carrie looked like the bearers of grim news.

“
Oddily…we’ve got something to tell you.” Pepper wrapped her arm around her shoulder and led her behind one of the game booths. Oddily glanced first at Pepper, then at Carrie wondering why the change in mood.

“
What’s wrong?” Oddily stopped and pulled away.

Pepper gave Carrie an uneasy glance, but her best friend just shrugged, “She’s going to find out anyway.”

“
You’re right. Okay, listen Oddily—Maxim’s here with a girl.” Pepper spoke so fast, her words ran together until she finished with, “We spotted them from the ride.”

“
Oh!” Stunned, Oddily became numb all over.

“
Girl, you have to get over that jerk!”

“
Don’t call him a jerk,” Oddily’s typically arched brows furrowed with sudden anger.

“
Show her,” Carrie became annoyed by her defensive stance.

Pepper reluctantly agreed. “Come on…we’ll let you view them for yourself.”

The girls led Oddily out from behind the booth and pointed in the direction of the cotton candy machine. Oddily’s heart leaped in her chest when she spotted Maxim with his sister examining the fluffy, pink, sugary stuff on a cardboard cone. He must not have liked it, because he spit it out after only one taste and threw the rest in the trash. They both talked and laughed with one another and Oddily couldn’t help but wish for the time when he would enjoy himself like that with her.

“
That’s Maxim’s sister,” Oddily smiled.

“
I didn’t know he had a sister,” Pepper laughed as she curiously stared at the couple, “but now that you mention it, they do look alike.”

“
Maxim…Maxim!” Pepper waved to get his attention.

Maxim’s head turned to the sound of Pepper’s voice and nodded her way, but then turned his back to her.

“
He’s not very social,” Pepper complained, turning to the others. “Hey Carrie, where’s Oddily?”

“
I think she ducked behind the dart booth.”

“
What are you doing back here?” The girls spoke like one when they found her.

Oddily suddenly felt foolish. “Maxim told me he had business tonight, so I don’t want to disturb him.”

“
Girl, you have a right to be here,” Pepper became forceful.  “Your presence isn’t going to disrupt him from doing his business, whatever the hell that is.”

Then a disturbing thought came to Pepper’s mind. What if Maxim had decided he didn’t like Oddily after all, and blew her off with his lame excuse? It was a possibility that she decided to keep to herself. “Okay, we’ll hang out over by the carousel where we can still keep an eye on them, but they can’t see us.”

“
I’d rather wait in the car if you don’t mind,” Oddily’s sweet voice sounded exceptionally low.

“
Hell yes, I mind!” Pepper took Oddily by the shoulders and playfully shook her. “Girl, I’m going to help you grow some balls!”

“
Excuse me?” Oddily’s head snapped to attention.