The Spring of Candy Apples (A Sweet Seasons Novel)

by Debbie Viguié

  He sounded so fierce, Candace found herself backing away from him.

  “Now look here, you galley rat,” Gib said, clearly addressing Roger. “If you want to work at the Muffin Mansion, then you have to prove your worth.”

  “Sir, yes, sir,” Roger tried to shout. It came out as barely more than a whisper.

  “Take a good look around you. Notice everything about this place. I’ll give you sixty seconds. Go.”

  Roger raced around the room. Candace watched in fascination as he opened cupboards, counted ovens and inspected the storage area. He looked like a madman. He came back front and center just in time for Gib to call time.

  “Close your eyes,” Gib ordered.

  Roger did as he was told.

  “Now, tell me the five biggest differences between this kitchen and the one at the Muffin Mansion.”

  “There are two more ovens here, but all of the ovens are smaller than the Muffin Mansion.”

  “Go on.”

  “No beakers, test tubes, Bunsen burners, or any other scientific equipment.”

  “Continue.”

  “Flour is stacked in the storage area instead of being dispensed from a barrel.”

  “What else?”

  “Only one sink here instead of three.”

  “And the last?”

  Roger went completely pale. “I-I-don’t know.”

  “Open your eyes,” Gib growled.

  Roger did, flinching when he saw the angry expression on Gib’s face that was only inches from his own.

  “What is the fifth thing?” Roger asked.

  “It’s clean!” Gib bellowed.

  The forcefulness in his voice caused Candace to back up until she bumped into one of the refrigerators.

  “And do you know why that is?” Gib asked.

  “Because I don’t work here?” Roger suggested.

  “That’s right! Every pan clean all the time. And when you knock over the flour, clean it up! Don’t stand there writing love notes in it.”

  Candace bit her lip to keep from laughing.

  4

  The next day Candace and her team met to decide how they were going to handle Talent Show. Pete and Sue she knew well. Traci she was getting to know, but Corinne was a mystery. What on earth could they all do together for the talent show?

  “Okay, so what is our talent?” Candace asked the small group. She looked around and saw only blank stares. “There has to be something we could be good at.”

  “I’m good at running trains, but I’m not sure how that would be a demonstrable talent,” Pete said.

  “Okay, but at least that’s a talent,” Candace encouraged.

  “Don’t you act?” Traci asked. “You said something about being in a play.”

  “Not in public . . . yet,” Candace said. “But let’s pick something we can all get behind.”

  “I can chew gum and blow really big bubbles,” Corinne said.

  “Yeah, then they can watch me clean it up,” Sue said with a frustrated sigh.

  “Seriously, there has to be something. What are the other groups doing?”

  “I heard the Muffin Mansion is recreating the finale from The Lord of the Dance,” Traci said.

  “I didn’t know Gib could do Irish dancing,” Candace said, for a moment distracted from her mission by trying to picture him dressed up like Michael Flatley.

  “I think it’s Becca’s thing,” Traci said. “They’re calling it The Lady of the Dance.”

  That at least made sense.

  “What about singing?” Corinne suggested.

  “You don’t want to hear that from me,” Sue said.

  “Or me,” Pete added.

  “A couple of guys from the Dug Out are doing that whole comedy routine, ‘Who’s on First?’ ” Traci said.

  “And I saw a group practicing juggling,” Corinne said.

  “What are the Kowabunga guys doing?” Candace asked.

  “No one knows,” Pete said. “They’re keeping it real quiet.”

  “Okay, so we know what some of the other groups are doing, but what can we do?”

  “Maybe we could twirl fire batons,” Sue said with a smirk.

  “Or play water goblets,” Traci said.

  “Okay, enough with Sandra Bullock and Miss Congeniality. We’re not in a beauty pageant. We need a group activity that we can either all do or learn,” Candace said.

  A breeze kicked up and knocked over several of the plastic cups. Corinne reached out and grabbed them, then stacked them into a pyramid before breaking them back down and stacking them in a tower.

  Candace watched fascinated as Corinne’s hands flew around the cups. The clacking sound they made as she stacked them was somehow soothing. “Where did you learn to do that?” she asked.

  “What? Oh, the cups?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Slow days at food ser vice. You do anything to beat the boredom. You know there’s a whole new sport that’s sprung up around stacking cups. Lots of bored fast-food workers in the world, I guess,” Corinne said.

  “That’s it!” Candace said.

  “What?” Sue asked.

  “Corinne can teach us all to stack cups.”

  Traci looked at her like she was crazy, but Pete caught on. “With ten hands I bet we could make all kinds of interesting shapes pretty quickly,” he said.

  “Exactly. Corinne said it, it’s become a sport.”

  “I’m not good enough to compete in the sport,” Corinne said.

  “But you are good enough to compete in a talent show. And with your help, we will be too,” Candace said.

  That night Candace went online and was surprised to discover that cup stacking actually was a sport. It was mostly played by children. On YouTube she saw videos of some of the top competitors in the world. She couldn’t even follow what they were doing with their hands. The pattern they were doing was called the cycle.

  “Okay, I know I can’t get fast enough to be impressive, but I’m guessing we can do something big and that might look even cooler,” she said out loud.

  At any rate it was worth a try. Hopefully none of the other teams had the same idea.

  The next couple of days passed by in a blur of work and school. Candace was grateful that she hadn’t seen Kurt at the park. She was even more grateful that she hadn’t seen Lisa. She wasn’t sure what she would do if Lisa tried to taunt her. Then again, she often thought that Kurt and Lisa could already be back together once she was out of the way.

  After only a few short shifts, she and Traci had gotten to be friends. Compared to most Zone referees, the crew who worked at the Candy Counter seemed pretty mellow. It was almost a disappointment. But when she caught a glimpse of Roger in Muffin Mansion training, she was relieved.

  The day of the slumber party finally arrived, and Candace spent the whole day feeling hyper and slightly out of control. She put it down to Becca’s influence. Candace was excited. She had never had enough friends to have a slumber party before. Her birthdays had usually consisted of doing something with her parents, Tamara, and possibly a couple other relatives.

  After school, Tamara and Candace picked up the ice-cream cake and headed back to Candace’s house where her mom had gone all out on decorations. There were balloons and streamers everywhere. Apparently her mom was also excited about the big party.

  Becca was the first to arrive, followed closely by Jen and Traci. Sue was the last to arrive, but she had a look of triumph on her face when she came through the doors.

  “Sibs are both at sleepovers,” she explained. “I’m so looking forward to this.”

  Candace hugged her.

  “Okay, let’s get started!” Candace said. “First up we’ve got some games.”

  They played several individual and relay-race games. Some Candace remembered from other parties. Others had been suggested to her by Josh who seemed to have an endless knowledge of party games. They ended with charades, which Candace, Traci, and Jen won.

&nbs
p; After cake and presents, her parents headed upstairs for the night.

  “Hey, can we turn on the Escape! Channel for just a second?” Becca asked.

  “Sure,” Candace said, turning on the TV. “What’s on?”

  “I just want to see which of my sister’s shows is on tonight.”

  “Your sister?” Tamara asked.

  “Yeah, Bunni Sinclair. She works for the Escape! Channel.”

  “As in Bunni’s Best?” Jen asked excitedly.

  “Yeah.”

  “I love her shows!” Jen said, grabbing Becca’s arm. “You have to get me her autograph.”

  “Sure,” Becca said with a smile.

  Candace flipped to the Escape! Channel. A middle-aged man with white hair was screaming and running through a creepy-looking house chased by a guy with a night-vision camera.

  “That’s the ghost guy,” Jen said.

  “He screams like a girl,” Traci said.

  The show ended and a minute later a pretty, blonde woman with a strong resemblance to Becca filled the screen. An announcer said, “Tonight, ‘Bunni’s Best Backpacking Equipment.’ ”

  “It’s a repeat. You can turn it off,” Becca said.

  An advertisement came on, and it was Bunni. “I’m Bunni Sinclair for the Escape! Channel, and you’re watching ‘Bunni’s Best.’ Coming up after my show, ‘Girl Meets Guam.’ ” Bunni’s nose twitched.

  “ ‘Girl Meets Guam’? That oughta be good,” Tamara smirked.

  “They’re all crazy over there,” Becca said.

  “I just can’t believe your sister’s on television,” Candace said. Becca shrugged.

  Candace turned off the TV.

  “Okay, Truth or Dare!” Tamara shouted. Everyone formed a circle on the floor.

  “Jen, truth or dare,” Tamara said.

  “Umm . . . truth?”

  “Who do you want to marry?”

  “That’s easy. The Jonas Brothers.”

  “Which one?” Candace asked.

  “All of them,” Jen said with a dreamy smile.

  “Okay, so we have one polygamist among us,” Tamara laughed. “Your turn.”

  “Okay, Candace, truth or dare,” Jen said.

  Candace hesitated. It wasn’t like she didn’t trust the girls who were there. They were all friends, but she wasn’t sure what Jen might ask her. “Dare.”

  “I dare you to drink that bottle of Coke,” Jen said, pointing to a 2-liter bottle that was almost full.

  Candace groaned. “This is going to hurt,” she said. She stood up and got the bottle. “Can I pour it in a cup and take my time?” she asked hopefully.

  “Nope, straight from the bottle, and you’ve got five minutes.”

  Candace felt naughty drinking straight out of the bottle. She sat down on the ground and hefted the bottle. Fortunately the Coke was still cold. About halfway through she took a breather and sat gasping for a minute.

  “You got one minute left!” Tamara said.

  Candace swallowed faster. She emptied the bottle and set it down right as Tamara called time. Her stomach felt like the liquid was sloshing around in it, and she groaned.

  “That was impressive,” Becca said, eyes envious.

  Candace saluted her. “Okay, Becca, truth or dare.”

  “I’ll take the soda please,” Becca said, eyes wide.

  “Sorry, different dare, one that doesn’t involve sugar. So, truth or dare?”

  “Truth,” Becca said, looking supremely disappointed.

  “How’s Roger as a kisser?”

  Becca blushed fiercely. “Good. Very sweet and very passionate. It’s like he can read my mind, and he knows just how to kiss me at any given time.”

  “Lucky,” Traci said. “My boyfriend is all tongue all the time. It’s so gross.”

  They all squealed in response and then started laughing.

  “Sue, truth or dare?” Becca asked.

  “Truth.”

  “What do you find most attractive in a guy?”

  “Great, broad shoulders, the broader the better. Unless you were talking about nonphysical stuff, then I’d have to say ‘sweet.’ ”

  “Boo on the sweet, too boring,” Tamara said, tossing a pillow at Sue.

  Sue caught the pillow. “It’s true. I like sweet guys. Traci, truth or dare?”

  “Dare, definitely.”

  “I’ve got a good one,” Sue said, “but only if Candace says it’s okay.”

  “What is it?” Candace asked.

  “Traci has to sneak upstairs, pound on your parents’ door, and make it back downstairs without them seeing her.”

  “No way!” Traci said.

  Tamara burst out laughing and fell over, clutching her sides.

  “I used to do that to my parents when I had slumber parties,” Sue said.

  “And they didn’t ground you for life?” Jen marveled.

  Candace was pretty sure her parents would be cool about it, but she was also sure they’d want some warning.

  “Well?” Becca asked.

  “Let me think about it for a minute while I go to the bathroom,” Candace said, jumping to her feet. “Too much soda.”

  Candace made her way upstairs and then knocked softly on her parents’ door before going in. They were both still awake.

  “Sounds like fun down there,” her dad said.

  “It is, thank you,” she said.

  “Then why are you up here?” her mom asked.

  Candace explained to them what was going on.

  “I swear I didn’t say anything to anyone,” Candace’s mom said to her dad.

  “What?”

  “Your mom used to do the same thing to your grandparents,” her dad said with a chuckle. “It’s fine by me as long as we have a two a.m. moratorium on banging.”

  “You guys rock,” Candace said before scooting out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom.

  A minute later she rejoined the others in the living room. “What did I miss?”

  “We’re laying the ground rules,” Becca said.

  “Traci has to pound five times on the door,” Tamara said.

  “And all of us have to stand at the top of the stairs and watch her,” Jen said.

  “If Candace says it’s okay,” Sue reminded.

  They all turned to her, and Candace nodded solemnly. They got up and crept toward the stairs as a group. They were about halfway up when Candace whispered to Tamara, “Did you tell them my dad has a terrible temper?”

  Tamara looked at her like she had lost her mind.

  “No, but maybe I should have,” Tamara said, struggling to play along.

  “I’m not doing this!” Traci hissed, and started to back down the stairs.

  The rest of them pushed forward until they were at the top of the stairs.

  “I want truth!” Traci said.

  “Too late!” Sue said.

  Candace felt sorry for the other girl and for a moment toyed with letting her off the hook. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The whole thing was so funny, including the look of fear on her friends’ faces.

  Candace pointed to her parents’ door, and Traci crept forward toward it.

  “Remember, five times,” Sue whispered.

  Even Candace’s heart was pounding when Traci lifted her hand. She swung her fist, but before it could land, the door flew open. Light blazed out around her father.

  Everyone screamed and went running and sliding back down the stairs. Someone stepped on Candace’s foot, but they all kept going. When they reached the living room, they slid into fake sleeping positions on the floor like that could somehow save them.

  Her dad must have been jumping on the stairs because each footfall seemed to shake the house. He was like the mighty ogre come to punish them.

  “Having a good birthday?” Tamara whispered.

  Candace reached out and squeezed her hand. “The best.”

  “I know you’re not sleeping!” her father said.

 
; It took all of Candace’s self-control not to burst out laughing. She bit her lip as her dad stalked around for a minute. He finally turned and went back upstairs. When they heard the door close behind him, they all broke into giggles.

  Everyone sat up except for Traci. For a moment Candace thought the other girl had fallen asleep or fainted or something, but she could see her eyelids fluttering.

  “Is Traci asleep?” Becca asked.

  “Only one way to find out,” Jen said.

  “I think it’s time to freeze her bra,” Candace added.

  Traci sat straight up, and Candace fell over laughing.

  5

  Sunday morning her mom came into the room and woke Candace up, handing her the phone. “Martha from The Zone,” her mom explained.

  “Martha? I don’t work Sundays,” Candace said groggily.

  “I know, that’s why I had to call you at home,” Martha said with a chuckle. “Tomorrow afternoon I need you to wear a suit and report to the Party Zone at four.”

  “Why?”

  “Several news channels are going to be there to do a piece on the five scholarship finalists.”

  “What?” Candace asked, coming fully awake.

  “You’re going to be on the news, so wear something nice.”

  Candace groaned. “I’m not ready for this.”

  “I would be surprised if you thought you were,” Martha said. “You’ll be great, I know it. Remember, tomorrow at four. I’ll see you there.”

  Martha hung up before Candace could protest. She sat there for a second before leaping out of bed and racing down the hall. “Mom! I need you!”

  Candace nervously smoothed down her navy blue skirt. She straightened the jacket, trying not to dislodge the tiny microphone one of the news crew had pinned on it. She had pulled her hair back in a barrette, and one of the strands was pulled painfully tight. She thought about taking it down and putting it back but was afraid she would just make it worse. She checked her lipstick for the third time, using her cell phone camera since she didn’t have a mirror. Around her the other finalists seemed equally agitated.

  The news crew finished setting up, and the five were directed to chairs lined up together. Candace sat on the far right, wishing there was a way she could just slide out of the frame and not be seen.