Unlocked (3 page)

“What can I get for you, Hannah?”

“Funnel cakes.”

“Hmm.” He leaned forward and drummed his fingers against the countertop. “You'd rather have one of my Indian fry breads.”

“You think you know what I'm craving?”

“Best fried food at the Western Idaho State Fair.”

I couldn't help but smile. “What makes it the best?”

“Secret family recipe.” He peered to his left. “Right, Grandma?”

An elderly woman, with thick gray braids extending to her waist, peeked up. “Stop flirting. Just work.”

I laughed and couldn't resist him. “I'll try it.”

“All right!” He patted the counter and turned toward a coworker.

I pulled a $10 bill from my pocket to pay, but when I lifted it, two ants darted across its edge and onto my wrist. I gasped, dropped the cash, and shook off the ants.

“Three dollars,” Eugene said.

I bent to grab the money from the ground, but a man's hand reached it first. I shrieked and straightened up, but there were no men anywhere near me. And no one had picked up the $10 bill. My chest tightened, and when I snatched the cash from the ground, another ant fell from it. I stomped on the bug and twisted my foot into the dirt.

“Hannah?” Eugene said.

The women and kids waiting in line gawked at me. I turned away from them and slid the money across the counter to Eugene.

“You okay?” he asked and then bit down on his lip ring.

I nodded.

He gave me my change and passed me the large, round fried bread.

“Enjoy!” he said.

“Thanks.” I drizzled honey over the bread.

Manny called from across the fairway, “Hannah!” He waved a corn dog smothered in mustard. I took one step along the side of the trailer, expecting to see a man standing there, but instead a family laughed and posed for a picture. I shook off the strange feeling and hurried over to the picnic table where Manny waited.

“Why did you go behind the funnel cake trailer?” Manny asked.

I swung my legs over the bench just as Lily and Jordan joined us with an onion blossom and chili cheese fries.

“I didn't—”

“Carnival food is to die for!” Lily clapped her hands.

“It certainly is.” Jordan dug into his fries.

Manny rubbed his shoulder against mine and scooted closer. I wiped mustard from the corner of his mouth, and he pointed toward my fry bread.

“What happened to funnel cakes?” he asked.

“Eugene talked me into—”

“Who?” Manny asked.

“You know,” Jordan said. “That dude with all the piercings.”

“Oh.” Manny studied me for a few seconds. Then he moved a drink toward me. “I got your usual.”

“Dr. Pepper!” I took a long relaxing pull on the straw. Then I covered my mouth and let out a burp.

“Really?” Lily asked. “Were you raised in a barn?”

“Hey,” Jordan said, “at least a nervous belch is better than a nervous bladder.”

“Speaking from experience?” Manny asked.

“I don't have nervous burps,” I said. “I have a recurring reaction to soda.”

“Mmm. Hmm,” Lily said.

“So, Hannah”—Jordan had chili covering his fingers—“what was it like to be hypnotized? Do you remember the stupid stuff you did?”

“What stupid stuff?”

“You don't remember?” Lily said.

“Of course I remember. I was awake the entire time.”

“You were under his influence,” Lily said. “Your green eyes were frozen in an empty stare, and yet you were totally absorbed with everything he told you to do. Especially when you were lusting after that naked hottie!” Lily dunked her onion into some fry sauce and popped it into her mouth.

“He wasn't naked,” Manny said, but when Lily waggled her eyebrows he blushed.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Jordan said, “but Hannah can tuck money into my shorts any—”

“Stop.” Manny pointed at Jordan. “Don't talk to her like—”

“Chill,” Lily said. “It's not like she was going to actually do anything with the guy.”

I clutched Manny's extended hand and pulled him closer.

Then Lily winked at me and continued, “Hannah's holding out for a special someone.”

Jordan laughed.

I sighed and let go of Manny's hand. “I played along to give you a good show,” I said to Lily.

“They would've known if you were faking,” she said. “They made us leave the stage. Besides, you did everything he told you to.”

I wanted her to know I was awake the whole time, but I also didn't want her to be disappointed that the magical mystic of a hypnotist was a fraud.

“You were hypnotized.” Jordan scooped more fries into his mouth.

“Let's enjoy our last night of freedom,” I said. “School starts Monday.”

“I can't believe we're seniors!” Lily said.

“I can.” Manny tilted his head toward me. “We have to get into the same college.”

“We will,” I said. “Princeton would be nuts to reject you.” I used the last piece of bread to wipe up the honey from my plate. Eugene was right; it was the best fried food at the fair.

“Maybe we could go to a local college and stay closer to our families,” Manny said.

“Where's the adventure in that?” Lily asked. “I know I won't get into some fancy East Coast school with my grades, but I definitely want to get out of Idaho and see the world before I die.”

Unlike Lily, it wasn't about adventure for me. I had goals and a plan to achieve them.

“Hannah, why do you want to break the bank with such an expensive school anyway?” Lily asked.

“My dad went there.”

“Is that where your parents met and fell in love?” Lily giggled. Then she leaned over and planted a kiss on Jordan. “Mmm. Chili.” She licked her lips and turned back to me.

“Uh, no,” I said. “My parents had been married for years before my dad decided to go back for his master's degree in psychology.”

“Did your mom go there?” Manny asked.

“No, she earned a business degree from a college in Atlantic City.”

“You know,” Lily said, “Chelsea wants to go to Princeton, too.”

“Did I hear my name?” Chelsea said from behind me, and I twisted around.

“You want to go to Princeton?” I asked.

“Yup.” Chelsea took a few steps and then perched on the end of the table. Mark wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because it's the ultimate, and only the best students are accepted.” Chelsea smirked.

Manny whispered to me, “What if my SAT score is too low?”

“Stop worrying,” I said. “We will be together.” I reached for his hand, but a small black ant crawled across the tabletop. I flicked it away.

“Hannah?” Manny's eyes darted between the table and me.

“Just getting an ant off—”

“Ants! What ants?” Lily jumped up.

“Calm down, freakazoid,” Manny said. She leaned over and smacked his shoulder, leaving a smear of fry sauce on his polo shirt.

“Don't tell me to calm down! I do not want to get stung!” Lily said.

“No chance—”

“How do you know?” Lily asked.

“Red fire ants infest southern states. Idaho is a northern state.”

“So? Maybe it was a biting carpenter ant,” Lily insisted. She licked her fingers and dabbed a napkin against her lips.

“Unlikely,” Manny said.

“Whatever,” Lily said. “Let's go. We'd better start with an easy ride like the Ferris wheel until our food settles.” She turned to Chelsea and Mark. “Are you joining us?”

Chelsea, apparently lost in her own thoughts, stared out at the people moving down the fairway. Mark drew his finger along Chelsea's cheek and said, “We're cruising over to the tunnel of love.” He did a little spin and mimicked the “exotic male dancer” from the hypnotism show. Then he struck a pose and flexed his biceps for everyone. We all laughed. Chelsea clutched his hand, and they sauntered away.

Manny collected our trash from the table and threw it into a nearby can. A breeze blew across the fairway and goose bumps popped out on my legs, which was odd, considering it was an August night in the high mountain desert. It had to be at least ninety degrees. I linked my arm through Manny's to steal some of his body heat.

Jordan and Lily climbed into a car on the big wheel first. I was content to be separated from them for a while. Manny and I settled into the next car, and the wheel rotated, sending us backward. We crested and spotted Jordan and Lily in front of us. He combed his fingers through her long hair, leaned in, and kissed her. A deep, mouthy one. When he finished, he peered back at us and grinned.

“He creeps me out.” I realized I had said the words aloud and tried to recant. “I mean—”

“No, I agree,” Manny said. “I've never liked him. Just because he's senior class president, he thinks he's God's gift to women. He's supposed to be dating Lily, but he's always watching you. I'd like to punch—”

“No you wouldn't,” I said. “Hurting him is not going to fix anything.”

“You're right,” Manny said.

We reached the apex of the Ferris wheel, and soon after, Jordan and Lily's car dropped out of sight. The wheel stopped in place, and we had the best view ever. We gazed out across the fairgrounds, being cautious not to rock our seat.

“The flashing lights and crowds seem so far away,” I said. When Manny said nothing in response, I turned toward him. He fidgeted with his collar, and then his dark brown eyes burrowed straight to my heart. He fingered the ends of my hair and leaned in toward me. He paused a few inches from my face, and my breath caught. He closed the distance between us and pressed his lips to mine. He smelled like corn dogs and a hint of shaving cream. His fingers enclosed the back of my neck and shivers ran up and down my spine.

He drew back slightly. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” I whispered.

He leaned in, and the car jerked forward. I shrieked and grabbed the safety bar. We stopped again.

“Sheesh!” I squinted at the ground below. “Good thing I'm not scared of falling from here.”

“I've already fallen . . . for you,” Manny said with a goofy expression on his face.

“Oh my gosh—” I started to tease him, but before I finished, he leaned in and kissed me. This could become a wonderful habit. The wheel started to rotate. Manny's lips brushed against my ear, and I relaxed into him.

“I've waited so long to kiss you,” he said. “This makes everything perfect. I never want any of it to change.”

“I agree.” It was perfect. Lily always teased me for not making a move on Manny sooner, but I appreciated that he wanted to go slow. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. We watched the sights stirring below us.

A dark mist moved over the nearby kiddie roller coaster and blocked out the flashing lights. “Look at that,” I said.

“Where?” Manny asked.

“That black cloud, blotting out the coaster.” I made sure his eyes tracked where I pointed.

“I don't see it.” He shook his head.

The cloud of darkness disappeared.

The Ferris wheel swung us to the bottom of the circle, and lifted us backward, putting Jordan and Lily behind us and moving up.

“Plant one on her!” Jordan yelled.

“Don't even,” I said to Manny.

“Ignore him. We're having a nice time.”

“Agreed.” I rested my head against his shoulder, but when we reached the top of the wheel, I scanned the area for that ominous black cloud.

Manny leaned forward and rocked the car. “What are you—”

“Be careful.” I pulled him back.

“Jordan and Lily are out of view.” Manny stroked my cheek. “I love your long dark hair. I love the curve of your neck. I love the way you smell.” He leaned in and kissed me, and we got lost in the moment.

The wheel swung around and before we knew it, Lily hollered out. “It's about time!”

“Give her some tongue!” Jordan taunted us.

Uggh. I jerked away from Manny.

“Don't let them ruin this,” Manny said.

“I won't. I never want to kiss in front of them, or anyone. I want it to be something special that you and I share.”

“No problem.” He squeezed my hand.

The ride ended, and we walked toward the Twister.

Lily dragged me aside and whispered, “So? Details! How was it?”

“Perfect. Until you and Jordan started yelling.” I fake punched her shoulder.

“We were just teasing.”

“I know, but please, stop.”

“Okay,” she said. “I'm sorry.”

I wrapped my arm around her. “Come on, let's hit the rides.”

After several trips around the coasters and more fried food, we played a few of the carnival games. Manny won a large pink elephant for me by showing off his mad water gun skills. Jordan won a small monkey for Lily.

“The game was rigged,” Jordan said.

“Right,” Manny said.

We paused at a booth full of velvet paintings and half admired, half mocked the framed pieces. Some depicted tigers and elephants, but others were totally cheesy with clowns and dogs playing poker. Paintings on fuzzy fabric seemed pointless to me, but Jordan shelled out money for one of the eerie clowns.

We piled into my small blue Mazda around midnight. I settled behind the steering wheel and started the engine.

“Pop the hatch,” Manny said. Apparently, the pink elephant was too big to hold on his lap. He hopped out, and Lily and Jordan started making out in the back seat.

When Manny slammed down the hatchback, he startled the lovers. Jordan caught my eye in the rearview mirror, and I looked away. Manny returned to the front seat.

“Buckle up,” I said to everyone. In the mirror, Jordan still gawked at me. “Buckle up.”