Selfish Elf Wish (8 page)

“Great!” I scream back.

I follow him as we weave through the jumble of bodies to the front of the club where the music is slightly less deafening and the cool air smells like beer and sweat and slushy snow, which is strangely refreshing after the warm woodsy smell on the dance floor.

I plop down on a red vinyl couch and almost slide to the shaggy orange rug because I’m so slippery with sweat. Timber brings over two big plastic tumblers of ice water from the bar.

“You made it!” We turn around to find weirdo Dawn leaning between us from behind the couch. She slings her arms around our shoulders and hugs us both tight to her neck. “Did you bring your friends? Is your cousin here? What about your brother?”

I try to wriggle away from her a little, but she’s got a tight grip on me. “Grove drove us all here,” I tell her. “And I’ve seen tons of people from our school, too.”

“Hurray!” she squeals, and hugs me tight again. “Clay and I worked so hard to get the word out about Bella’s show. E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, flyers, smoke signals!” She laughs and finally lets go of us, but then she climbs over the back of the couch and ends up sitting between us, smoothing down her body-hugging white dress. I scoot away. I don’t care what anybody else says, this girl is one odd duck. “What are you drinking? Water?” She grabs my cup and peers inside. “I can get you something better.” She waves to a skinny waitress with scraggly bleach-blonde hair and three eyebrow piercings.

I hold up my wristband, red for underage. Timber has the same. We don’t have fake IDs and I have no interest in drinking anyway.

“No, no.” Dawn pats my leg. “What do you think we are?” She laughs. “How about a Red Bull or a Fuze?”

“I’ll take a Bull,” Timber says, but I shake my head.

“Water’s great for me,” I say.

“Come on. It’s on the house,” says Dawn. “For bringing all these kids out. A lemonade at least?”

“Okay.” I peel my legs off the couch, where I’m sticking as the sweat dries. “Lemonade would taste good right now.”

“And bring me a cranberry juice,” Dawn tells the waitress. “Isn’t this so much fun?” She turns back to us. “You guys have to come a lot. We want to have more live music and dancing. You can perform anytime you want.”

I look at Timber, wondering if he’ll take her up on the offer, but instead he says, “Our friend Ari has a band. They’re really good.”

“Tell him to get Clay a demo and we’ll book him,” she says. The waitress returns with our drinks. From the crowd on the dance floor we hear cheers erupt. The applause goes on for several seconds, then the DJ shifts the music back to some dance tune.

“She must be done,” Dawn says. She grabs my leg. “I think it went well, don’t you? I think people liked her.”

“Uh, yeah,” I say then take a big gulp of lemonade so I don’t have to talk.

“She’s star material,” Dawn says as people flood toward the bar.

In the midst of all the people, Briar comes bopping off the dance floor with Kenji trailing behind her. She spins, loops her arms overhead, and runs toward us all in time to the music. “What’s up, Zeph!” she screams then falls on top of me, splashing lemonade everywhere.

“Bri!” I yell, pushing her off. She tumbles to the floor, her feathery green top poufing up so her pale belly shows. She’s nearly in hysterics, she’s laughing so hard as she tries to pull herself upright.

Dawn rushes to Briar’s side and offers her an arm. “Oh my God! You’re so cute. I just love this girl. And did you see her dancing? Oh my God. We should get you on
So You Think You Can Dance
, girl!” Suddenly Briar is on her feet, hugging Dawn as if they’ve known each other for years. I look at Timber. He laughs while pounding his Red Bull.

“And who is this?” Dawn asks, one arm around Briar’s waist, the other reaching for Kenji, who sidesteps her, never taking his hands out of his jeans pockets.

“Kenji Kenji Kenji Kenji!” Briar sings, then she snorts, then she laughs again.

I lean close to Timber. “What’s wrong with her?”

He raises his eyebrows. “She sounds a little tipsy.”

“You mean drunk?” I ask, too loudly.

“Oh poo on you, Zephyr-poo,” Briar says, wagging finger at me. “Party pooper all the time. I’m not drunk. I don’t even drink.” She’s not very convincing since her words are slurry and she’s swaying. “Just having a good time.” She lifts one arm and yells, “Hup freakin’ ba!” which sends Dawn into a fit of giggles, and they hug again. Make that two odd ducks.

“What’s with the
hup ba
?” Timber asks me.

I shake my head. “It’s just something people say where we’re from.” I look to Kenji. He shrugs, face blank. I can’t imagine he’d give her booze.

“Your boyfriend is so funny,” Briar says to Dawn.

“Boyfriend?” Dawn asks, confused. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Clay,” Briar says.

“He’s my brother,” Dawn says, slapping Briar on the arm.

“Aha!” Briar shouts. “That makes more sense. He showed me all around your ...” Briar leans too far forward and nearly stumbles. “Establishment,” she adds, righting herself again. “Grove’s with him checking out the back room, which is gorgie, by the way.”

“Gorgie?”
I ask no one.

“It’s a smaller stage. More intimate. It’ll be perfect for singer-song-writers or poetry readings,” Dawn tells us. “My God, we’d about die if your dad would come do a set.”

I ignore her.

“And they have a fox!” Briar says. “A fox in a box!” She hops with excitement, which sends her stumbling backward, pulling Dawn with her to the couch, where they tangle together laughing.

“A fox?” Dawn asks, breathless with laughter. “You must’ve seen our cat.” At this they both dissolve into hysterics again. I can hardly take these two.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone else leaning over the couch on the other side of Timber. Hoping it’s Mercedes, who might know why Briar’s acting so weird, or at least what
gorgie
means, I spin around and lean across Timber’s lap to come face-to-face with Bella.

“What the . . . ?” I rear back.

“Oh, it’s you,” she says, as if she’s surprised.

“Why wouldn’t it be me?” I ask. I probably look like a sweat-soaked troll right now with a rat’s nest for hair. That would only be fitting because although Bella just sang and danced under a spotlight for thirty minutes, she’s still as fresh and dainty as an orchid in a hothouse. The girl is not even perspiring. Her hair is silky, her eyeliner’s in place, and the black dress hardly looks mussed.

“Timber’s got lots of friends,” she says.

I tighten my grip around the sweating cup in my hand. I want nothing more than to throw my lemonade in her face or zap her, which I won’t do.

“So,” she says to Timber. “What’d you think?”

He reaches out and pats her shoulder. “You were great, Bell,” he says, and now I want to zap him, or at least throw my lemonade at him.

“That’s just a little bit of the show Clay is helping me work up,” she says. “We wanted to test-drive it tonight. But of course, now I’ll have to put it on hold to work on
Idle.
” She stops and rolls her eyes. “Can you believe what a waste of time that whole audition was today? Anybody could have told Padgie what would happen.”

Where is Mercedes when I need her?

“If he’d just gone ahead and cast the thing a week ago, we could already be learning lines and blocking scenes. I’m afraid the whole thing is going to blow.”

“There’s plenty of time,” says Timber.

“Have you even seen the whole script?” she asks. Timber shakes his head. “Me either, but I do have the first act. We should get together and start running lines before he gets the whole cast together.”

Now my blood is boiling. Rehearsing alone! She’s got to be kidding. Briar crawls across the couch to sit beside me. “I hate that girl,” she fake whispers to me, but if Bella hears, she doesn’t react. “Why’s she all up in your boy’s grille?”

“First off,” I whisper to her, “he’s not my boy, and second, are you sure you’re not drunk?”

She rolls her eyes and sticks out her tongue. “Yes I’m sure, and why aren’t you more worried about that?” She flicks her fingers toward Bella, who’s massaging Timber’s shoulders now.

“Moose crap,” I say.

“Let’s get her,” Briar growls in my ear.

“No,” I whisper. “We can’t.” But I want to! I want to more than anything.

“Just a little one,” Briar pleads in my ear. “Harmless. No one will know,” she whispers.

Bella’s leaning so close to Timber now that her cleavage is practically in his face. I know that I made Briar promise not to use magic. But this time I’ve had it. It’s time to fight fire with magic. I look at Briar. She grins, one eyebrow up, the corner of her mouth twitching. “Skunk breath,” she whispers.

“And belches,” I add.

Briar and I mutter incantations behind our fingers then zap our spells at Bella. It only takes a second before her hand shoots up to her lips. Her cheeks puff out, her eyes bulge, but she can’t hold it in. Briar and I fall over each other, stifling our laughter as the first burp rips from Bella’s pretty mouth, spewing everyone nearby with the putrid scent we’ve cursed her with.

Timber jumps back in his seat, nearly landing on top of me. “You okay?” he asks her.

Bella stands upright and presses her hand to her belly. “Jesus,” she moans. “I think I’m going to be sick.” Her hand shoots up to her mouth again and another belch comes up. She groans.

“Honey!” Dawn rushes to her side. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” Bella says, flustered and embarrassed. “Maybe it’s the heat or something I ate before the show or ...”

Another belch. Dawn steps back, her face squinched from the odor.

“Maybe I’m getting the stomach flu,” Bella moans, clutching her sides.

I bury my face in Briar’s lap and shake from trying not to laugh, but when I look up, Grove is standing across from us, looking furious with his eyebrows down and his mouth tight.

“Uh-oh.” I jab Briar in the side.

“Scat, crap, dung,” she says when she catches Grove staring hard at us.

He shakes his head and then as quick as a sneeze, he flutters his fingers, casting a counter spell to take our hexes away. By now Bella is on the couch beside Timber. He rubs her back.

“We need to get you home,” Timber tells her. “Is Gunther here? Did you take the train or drive?”

Bella looks up at him, her green eyes swimming. “We took a cab, but I don’t know where Gun is,” she whines. “Will you take me home?”

“Faker,” Briar whispers to me.

“Actress,” I say.

Grove steps forward. “We drove,” he says. “We can get you home.”

My mouth drops open. He has got to be kidding. But he shoots me another harsh look and I keep my thoughts to myself.

“Go tell Ari and Mercedes that we’re leaving if they want a ride,” Grove says to me. I push myself up off the couch.

“I’m not going.” Briar flops back and crosses her arms. “I’m still having fun.”

“Your fun is over,” Grove tells her.

“Kenji can get me home,” Briar argues. “Can’t you?” She smiles up at Kenji, who remains off to the side with hands shoved in his pockets. He looks to Grove, who shakes his head.

“Guess not,” Kenji mumbles.

Briar huffs. “Pansy,” she says not so quietly.

Grove looks at me. His face is stony, and I know I’m in trouble. I shuffle off to find Ari and Mercedes on the crowded dance floor.

 

By the time I drag Ari and Mercedes back to the red vinyl couch, Bella is sipping a club soda and smiling. “Really, I’m so much better now,” she says with her hand on Timber’s knee. Gunther stands behind her, punching buttons on his little sideways phone thing like he couldn’t care less.

“Is she okay?” Ari asks. “What happened?”

“She thought she was going to barf,” Kenji tells him.

I glance at Briar, who pouts on the other end of the couch, and I ball my fingers into fists to keep myself from zapping someone out of sheer frustration.

Grove squats down in front of Bella. “You sure?”

“I’m sure.” She blinks like a baby deer. “And I don’t want to ruin your night.” She lays her hand on his shoulder. Could she touch more people?

“You’re not ruining anything,” he says.

Dawn reappears, leading Clay by the arm. He moves through the crowd like a snow leopard in white jeans and a rippling linen top unbuttoned so his smooth pale chest peeks out. He steps in front of Bella and squats down beside my brother. “Everything okay?” He reaches out and holds Bella’s face in his hands. “Let me look at your eyes.”

Now I want to barf.

Mercedes digs her fingernails into my arm. “What the frig?”

I shake my head, unable to explain how our hex backfired and wound up making Bella the center of all male attention in the universe.

“Truly,” Bella says, staring at Clay while he “examines” her. “It was just a passing thing. I felt so sick there for a minute. Thought I was going to faint but then it went away.”

“Perhaps it was too soon for you to perform,” Clay says.

“Oh no,” Bella assures him. “Must have been something I ate, but I’m really okay now. Thank you.”

Grove stands and holds out his hand. “Let us get you home safely,” he offers.

Clay stands, too. “We’ll call a limo.”

Bella turns around. “Gun?”

Gunther glances up from his phone, his Mohawk up like a shark’s fin on top of his head. “Yeah, whatever.”

Bella turns back to my brother. “I don’t want to trouble you,” she says. “You’ve already got your hands full.” She smirks at Mercedes and me, then she turns back to Clay. “If you could call me a car, that would be great.”

“Anything for our star,” he says, and strides off.

Grove turns to us. “Get your things.”

“Who put you in charge?” Briar asks.