Grape Bubblegum

by Beth Bowland

  The buffet table had all sorts of stuff on it. Various meat selections: ham, turkey, chicken, jumbo shrimp, lobster tails, crab legs, lots of dipping sauces…After having our fill, we hit the dance floor. The band was hot! Not sure of their name, but was sure they were flown in from somewhere.

  Spencer was a pretty good dancer. He was so cute. For all I cared, he could’ve been doing the chicken dance. The band then announced they were going to slow it down. I’d never slow danced in my life. I sorta pulled away from Spencer thinking he wouldn’t want to stay on the dance floor, but he held onto my hand and pulled me to him.

  The music started, and he put his hands on my waist. I frantically searched for Shannan to rescue me, but she was all tangled up in Joel’s arms with her eyes closed. Well, crap! When the heck did she become so in love? She knew I needed her…why wouldn’t she open her eyes and look at me? I mimicked what I saw the other girls doing, putting my arms around his shoulders. What if I stepped on his foot?

  “What’s wrong?” Spencer asked, smiling down at me.

  My face flamed. “Uh, I don’t know how to slow dance,” I stammered out.

  “Hmm. So what are we doing?” He smiled at me.

  I couldn’t help but giggle. “I guess we are, aren’t we?” I replied.

  Spencer pulled me closer. He smelled so good. I decided right then to close my eyes, relax, and enjoy this dance with my dream guy.

  For most of the night, we managed to keep our distance from Mitzie and Aaron. I’d long forgotten about Mitzie. I could only think about Spencer. This was the most special night of my life.

  Chapter 10

  OH, NUTS! I ROLLED OVER and turned off my alarm. It seemed as if I’d just laid my head down. Thanksgiving break had flown by. I let out a long, obnoxious yawn and stretched once again before getting up. I’d stayed up too late watching movies.

  I finished getting dressed, gobbled down some breakfast, and out the door I went. Actually, I was looking forward to school today, for one reason alone. Spencer. I missed him. I’d received a couple of emails during our time off. He and his mom went out of town.

  It was an enjoyable walk to Shannan’s house. There’d been a light snow last night. I kicked a fallen twig out of my way as I walked up to her door.

  Shannan answered in her usual chipper way. “Good morning!” she said, smiling.

  “Good morning, yourself,” I answered. “Have you spoken to Craig? I called and Miss McGinnis said he was busy and couldn’t come to the phone. He never returned my call.”

  “I thought he was going to Virginia?”

  “Oh, yeah. I forgot. I wonder why she didn’t say that.”

  Shannan stopped walking, turned, and looked at me. “Hey, I gotta tell you what happened last night.”

  “What?” I said.

  “I guess it was around eight. I was in the den talking to Mom. We both heard sirens that seemed really close, so we peeked out the window and saw the lights. Two squad cars were parked in front of Mitzie’s house.”

  “What?”

  “Girl, lemme tell ya. Mom and I continued to peek out the window and saw Francis standing in front of the house. I don’t know what the cops were saying to her. From her body language, it looked as if she was trying to defend herself. She kept shaking her head and pointing towards the house.”

  “Too bad you couldn’t hear what was being said.”

  “The funny part was that you could see all the other neighbors peeking out their windows. Apparently, they didn’t know window-peeking etiquette. Their lights were on. Everyone should know when you peek out the window, you turn off the lights, so no one can see you peeking.” She reached in her coat pocket and pulled out her lip gloss, reapplying before continuing. “Then Mrs. Carmichael came out the door, and when she got close, Francis pulled off her shoe and threw it at her. I could hear Mitzie’s mom yelling, but I couldn’t make out all that she was saying. Mrs. Carmichael then went back into the house, and when she came back out, Mitzie was with her. I could see her pointing to Mitzie’s arm.”

  “Do you think Francis attacked her?”

  “Yeah, I bet so. Dr. Carmichael came outside and started talking to the cops. Then they all went back inside. About an hour later the police left and that was it.” Shannan shrugged.

  “Wow! I’m actually hoping to run into Mitzie today,” I said.

  We continued on to Craig’s house.

  “Maybe Francis called Craig and told him about it, you think?” Shannan rang the doorbell, and Miss McGinnis answered.

  “Good morning, Miss McGinnis.”

  “Hello, girls. How are you today?”

  “Pretty good. Is Craig ready?” I asked.

  “Craig left about thirty minutes ago. He said you kids were no longer walking to school together.”

  Shannan and I looked at each other.

  “Oh,” I said.

  “Someone called him early this morning. He hopped up and started getting ready, saying he had to be there early today to take care of something,” Miss McGinnis said.

  “I wonder who called,” Shannan said.

  “I have a sneaky suspicion that it was that Francis girl. He’s been spending a lot of time with her. I told that boy she’s too old to hang out with him. I can tell she’s trouble. Well, anyway, have a good day, girls.” Miss McGinnis closed the door.

  We turned around and started walking again, neither of us saying anything at first.

  “I wonder why he had to be at school early,” I said.

  “There’s something weird about Craig and Francis,” Shannan said.

  We picked up the pace.

  Happy Monday morning, I thought to myself, walking to Dodd’s biology class. I was glad I had on a heavy sweater because it was cold inside the building. Maybe whoever was in charge of turning on the heat in the morning overslept?

  I heard laughter in the distance and immediately recognized the voice: Spencer. He was standing in front of the doorway to Mr. Dodd’s class talking to some of his friends. How cool would it be if he was waiting for little ol’ me…I smiled to myself.

  “Hi,” Spencer said.

  “Hello,” I replied, trying to keep myself calm. I was so excited to see him. I wanted to shower him with kisses. Of course, I didn’t want him to know this. He gave me a warm hug.

  “Did you have a good Thanksgiving?” Spencer asked.

  “Yeah, it was a lot of fun.”

  “I’d better get going so I won’t be late. If I don’t see you later, I’ll call you tonight,” Spencer said with a huge smile on his face.

  “Cool.” I floated into my class. Mr. Dodd’s class set the pace for the rest of the day. Everything seemed to be on fast forward.

  I sat in Mr. Webster’s classroom anxiously awaiting Craig’s arrival. He walked in as soon as the bell rang, taking his seat across from me. He began shuffling through his notebook. Billy Jacobs came in right after him. He and his putrid smell took their seat behind me.

  “Hi, Craig,” I said.

  He glanced up long enough to give me a dirty look.

  “Craig?” I whispered loudly enough so he could hear the frustration in my voice.

  He huffed really loud and narrowed his eyes. “What?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” he snipped back at me and continued to shuffle through his notebook.

  I paused for a moment and gathered my thoughts. “How was your trip to Virginia?” I asked.

  “What are you talking about?”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. “You said you were going to spend Thanksgiving in Virginia with your parents.”

  “No, I didn’t.” He scowled and turned away.

  “Craig, why am I feeling like you’re mad at me about something?”

  He snapped his head back toward me. “God, you’re so annoying. Francis was right.”

  “What did Francis say about me? She doesn’t even know me. Did she tell you not to walk to school with us?” I pressed, trying to get som
e understanding of his attitude change.

  Craig didn’t answer, only glared at me.

  “Bradley,” Billy Jacobs interrupted the conversation. “Dude, who’s the chick you were with this morning. She’s hot.”

  “None of your business,” Craig shot back at him.

  I quickly looked at Craig, but he wouldn’t make eye contact with me.

  “Hey, Peppercorn,” Billy leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “Don’t worry if he doesn’t want you now that he’s got an older chick. You can focus your attention on me.” He made that sickening kissing noise.

  Ugh!

  Chapter 11

  THE HOUSE FELT NICE AND TOASTY. Mom was sitting in the den, reading.

  “Hi, sweetie. How was your day?”

  “It was pretty good, no complaints, and lots of homework tonight.”

  “Dinner’s done, if you’re ready to eat.”

  “Cool, thanks. Where’s Auntie?”

  “Her friend Gladys invited her over to spend the day. I think she said her son was visiting. He was going to take them out for dinner.” Mom started reading her book again, and I went upstairs and started my homework.

  About an hour passed after I got home before my cell phone rang. I flipped it open.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, Bea.” It was Spencer. My stomach fluttered.

  “Hey, yourself. Did you get a new number? Usually your number comes up as ‘private.’”

  “Oh, yeah. My mother finally got me my own cell phone.”

  “I’ll program you into my phone.”

  “Man, have you looked outside recently?” he asked. I quickly hopped off my bed to look out the window.

  “Oh, geez. It’s a blizzard.”

  “Yeah, we’re supposed to get gobs of it. It looks like we may get snowed in.”

  “I won’t complain.”

  “Hey, I had an interesting conversation with your pal, Mitzie,” Spencer said.

  “Excuse me. Did you say ‘my pal’?”

  “Just kidding, Bea.”

  I felt a twinge of jealousy for some reason. Why was she talking to him? Didn’t that barracuda know Spencer was my man? Okay, not technically mine, but close enough.

  “What did Miss Mitzie have to say, besides bad-mouthing me?”

  “Actually, she was telling me about her cousin. I think her name is Francis. She’s been staying with her.”

  “Yeah, what’s up with that girl?” I sat back down on my bed, lying across the pillows. “She’s always talking to Craig. Shannan said the police were over at their house.”

  “Didn’t you tell me that Craig said she was staying with her until school started?”

  “Yeah, he said it was because her parents were upset with her since she didn’t want to start school right away.”

  “According to Mitzie, she’s staying with them because she just got out of the juvenile detention center. Her parents didn’t want her back in their house.”

  “Whoa!” Now this was not something I expected to hear. “What did she do to get sent to that place?”

  “Stealing and drug use.”

  “You’re kidding?” I screamed.

  “Yep, they got into a fight this past weekend. That’s probably when Shannan saw the police at their house. Mitzie said her diamond earrings were missing. She confronted Francis about it, and that’s how the fight started.”

  “Did Francis deny taking them?” I asked.

  “Yeah, she denied it. They started arguing, and Mitzie went and searched Francis’s room and found them. Francis claims she musta planted them in her room to get her into trouble. Mitzie was going to tell her parents, and Francis threatened her. I guess Mitzie pushed her and Francis slugged her. They started fighting, and the housekeeper called the police.”

  I got up and started walking around my room, not sure what to say. I only managed to mumble out a “whoa” every few seconds.

  “Yeah, whoa is right,” Spencer said with a laugh.

  “You know, Craig has been acting really strange lately. I hope he’s not allowing her to get him into anything stupid.”

  “I think that Craig dude is just plain weird. But I didn’t want to say anything since he seemed to be a good friend of yours,” Spencer said. Something about his comment made me think he was a little jealous of Craig.

  “Yeah, I thought he was my friend. He’s totally ignoring me for some reason.” I felt aggravated all over again.

  “Well, my mom’s yelling for me. I gotta go see what she wants. Ciao,” he said.

  “Okay, I’m going to go eat dinner. Bye, Spence.” I closed my cell.

  I wondered if theft was what Craig meant when he said he and Francis had stuff in common.

  My first alarm went off. I rolled over and smacked it to shut it up. A few moments later, my cell phone started ringing.

  “Hello,” I grumbled out.

  “Morning, buttercup.” It was Shannan sounding wide-awake and way too perky.

  “What are you doing up so early?”

  “Snow day!” she screamed into the phone.

  “You’re kidding!” I jumped up and ran to the window. It looked like a winter wonderland outside. The moonlight glistened against the snow-covered branches. I grabbed my remote control and turned on the TV.

  “What are you doing?” Shannan asked.

  “I’m checking the TV, so I can see it with my own eyes,” I replied.

  Shannan started laughing. Sure enough, our school’s name scrolled across the screen saying it was closed. “Oh, happy day.”

  “Good night, I’m going back to bed,” Shannan said, laughing.

  She called again around two PM. I was dancing to Whitney Houston’s video “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” The eighties so rocked. I told her all that Spencer had said the night before, and she was just as shocked as I was.

  “Wow, Bebe, this school year is really getting interesting,” Shannan said.

  “I can’t help but think that Francis has somehow tainted Craig’s mind against us. Or she has him doing something dumb.” I picked up the remote and started channel surfing. “I think Craig has a lying problem. He denied saying he was going to spend Thanksgiving in Virginia.”

  “Yeah, just like he denied having a sister, remember?”

  “He’s strange.”

  “I was outside earlier helping my dad shovel the driveway. Mitzie came over and tried to make small talk.”

  “I bet that was awkward,” I said, readjusting the phone to my ear.

  “Yeah, it was because this girl totally ignores me when she sees me outside. I asked her about Francis, and she got all teary-eyed.”

  “What did she say?”

  “I didn’t have to coax her very much. She did say Francis was a troublemaker, and Craig was also a troublemaker, but tries to act all innocent. Then her mom came to the door and wanted her to do something. I didn’t get much.”

  “I guess it’ll all come out soon enough,” I said.

  “True. The sad thing about Mitzie is, sometimes you can’t help but feel sorry for her. Then she goes and shows her butt and makes you mad at her all over again.”

  Chapter 12

  MENTALLY I HAD TO PREPARE MYSELF for Mr. Webster’s class. I knew Craig would be there. Every day he wore a different personality. Twice he even said he was sick and left during class. As usual, he waited until right before the bell rang to come into the room. I waited until he took his seat before saying anything. I’d been choosing my words carefully before speaking. He hadn’t seemed too stable lately.

  “Hi, Craig.”

  “Hey,” he mumbled.

  “Well, have you started your Christmas shopping?” I asked.

  Craig shook his head and mumbled again. “Besides my granny, I ain’t got nobody to shop for.”

  I should’ve known to pause right there, but I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I pressed. “What about your parents? Will you get to see them over the break?” I braced myself for his response. For
some reason, I already knew it wasn’t going to be pleasant.

  “Bea, why are you always asking so many stupid questions about my family? Why are you so interested in them?” His eyes narrowed, and a red hue spread across his face.

  “Craig, that’s just a general question. Most people ask what you’re doing over the holidays. No biggie. I won’t ask again. I thought we were friends. I enjoyed hanging out with you, and then you just started being all weird and stuff.”

  “Well, Beatrice, maybe I’m just not who you thought I was. Maybe you’ve never met the real me. Francis understands me.”

  “Francis is a troublemaker. Why would you want to hang around her?”

  “Bea, just shut up. Can you do that…shut up?” He sneered and turned away.

  My eyes welled up with tears. I took a piece of gum out of my purse and started chewing it to take my mind off how I felt. I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t let him see me. I chomped down harder on the gum and kept blinking my eyes, hoping the tears would go away. I couldn’t believe his words hurt me so much. For the remainder of the class I didn’t hear a word Mr. Webster said. My only focus was to get out of that classroom.

  As soon as that bell rang, I was out the door. I made a beeline to my locker, grabbed my English book, and headed to Mrs. Thompson’s class.

  “He said what to you?” The words roared out of Shannan’s mouth. “I can’t believe that egghead. We’ve been nothing but friendly to him, and now he’s being a complete jerk.”

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. You don’t think Francis has him doing drugs, do you?”

  “I dunno.” Shannan angrily kicked a pop can out of her path, adjusted her scarf, and took a deep breath in through her nose and out her mouth. In yoga terms, I think it’s called a cleansing breath.

  We continued walking home and stopped when we saw Craig and Francis standing beside her car, talking in front of his house. They were standing close, and I saw Francis hand him a small, brown package, which he quickly placed in his jacket pocket. A car horn blew as it pulled up beside us and stopped. It was Spencer’s mom. Francis and Craig looked up to see us staring at them.