Twisted

by Jo Gibson

  He watched carefully as the packages were taken. And he almost smiled as Santa’s present, the one wrapped in green paper, was chosen. No one was looking at the tags right now. They were too busy following the instructions, scrunching together in a group and looking forlorn. It would have been inappropriate to laugh, even though his heart was singing with joy.

  This turn of events was a pure delight. Not only would he exact his revenge, he’d have a record of it for the rest of his life. He could watch the tape over and over, and relive these wonderful memories.

  It was a very good shot. Everyone looked very sad. And it would have made an excellent bumper card. Of course the station wouldn’t need a bumper card because this tape would never be aired. The station wouldn’t even know that it existed. Santa would make sure of that.

  A warm glow spread through his body as the video camera whirred away. Too bad he couldn’t wear his red velvet suit. It would make this moment even more enjoyable. But taking a risk like that would be very foolish, and Santa was much too clever to expose his identity at this point in the game. He was one of them now, and he’d continue to blend into their group until the very end. Only then would he reveal his secret, and bask in the glory of his success.

  “Cut!” Paul was smiling as he put down his camera. “Okay, everybody. You can put your packages back now.”

  Diana nodded, and picked up her package to hand it to Jay. It was the first time she’d ever actually looked at it, and she frowned slightly as she noticed that it was wrapped in green foil paper. She didn’t remember any rolls of green foil paper in the wrapping booth. And she was sure they hadn’t used any star-shaped bows. Then she noticed the tag, and her frown deepened. It was a different type than the tags they’d used.

  “What’s the matter?” Jay looked concerned.

  “Probably nothing, but . . . I don’t think we wrapped this package.”

  Jay took the present, and flipped open the tag. “This is strange. It says, To Dave. From Santa.”

  “To me?” Dave leaned over, and grabbed the package. “I’m going to open it!”

  Suddenly Diana remembered Sue’s package, and the weird message inside. Sue had opened it. And now Sue was dead. She shivered, and turned to Jay with fear in her eyes.

  “No. You’d better not.” Even though Diana didn’t say anything, Jay seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. He reached out for the package, but Dave pulled it back.

  “Oh, no, you don’t. It’s for me. You saw the tag. My name’s on this present.”

  “But you don’t know if this present’s for you.” Jay tried reasoning with him. “There’s a million other guys out there named Dave.”

  “But I’m the only one here right now. It’s fate. And I’m going to open it.”

  As Dave tore off the paper, Diana noticed that Paul was taping again. She held her breath as Dave lifted the lid on the white box inside.

  “Oh, oh! I guess I’ve been a bad boy this year. Santa gave me an empty box.”

  “No, he didn’t.” Heather reached inside the box and picked up a piece of paper. “Santa left you a note. Shall I read it?”

  Paul nodded, and Heather smiled at the camera before she began to read. “It says, Better not pout; I’m telling you why: Santa Claus is comin’ to town.”

  “Weird!” Dave took the piece of paper, and glanced down at it. “Heather’s right. That’s what it says. Okay, Santa . . . even though I’m stuck out here with a bunch of crazy friends who leave me empty boxes with crazy notes inside, I promise that I won’t pout.”

  “Any idea who left you that note?” Paul prompted from behind the camera.

  “Maybe.” Dave turned to look at Heather. “I seem to remember that a certain young lady, who shall forever remain nameless, accused me of pouting when she turned down my invitation to our high school prom.”

  Heather’s eyes widened in surprise. And then she shook her head. “You’re talking about me! But I don’t remember saying that.”

  “You did. And it obviously left a deep psychological scar. I still remember every word you said.”

  Jay laughed at the shocked expression on Heather’s face. “Don’t leave us hanging, Dave. Tell us!”

  “She said, Sorry, but I’m waiting for Steve Rawlins to ask me.”

  “Well, I was!” Heather gave a deep sigh. “And he asked me the very next day. I did you a favor, Dave. If I’d promised to go to the prom with you, I would’ve just had to cancel.”

  Dave nodded. “Right. It was pretty obvious that Heather thought Steve was a more prestigious date than I was.”

  Heather began to look very uncomfortable as everyone turned to stare at her. “It wasn’t that. You just don’t understand. Steve was the class president, and he got to pose for all sorts of pictures. If I’d gone with you, nobody would have paid any attention to me.”

  “Spoken like a true social climber.” Dave turned to the rest of the group. “Do you want to know what else she said?”

  Diana shook her head. It was pretty obvious that Dave had an axe to grind. “No, that’s enough. That happened a long time ago, Dave. We really don’t want to hear any more.”

  “Oh, but I want to tell you.” Dave grinned, but it wasn’t a nice grin. “Heather said, Stop pouting, Dave. It makes you look even uglier.”

  “Well . . . it did make you look uglier!” Heather began to frown. “Really, Dave. I don’t know why you’re bringing all this up now. I certainly didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I was just being honest.”

  Dave licked his finger and chalked an imaginary mark in the air. “That’s one, Heather. And this present’s the second one. What are you trying to do? Permanently damage my psyche?”

  “Of course not! You’re just mad at me because I wouldn’t kiss you last night. That’s why you’re being mean. And you’re dead wrong about that stupid present. I didn’t give it to you!”

  Dave opened his mouth to argue, but Diana spoke up. “I believe you, Heather. I’m sure you didn’t give Dave that present.”

  “You are?” Heather turned to her in surprise. “Why?”

  Diana thought fast. She didn’t want to embarrass Heather by telling everyone the real reason. If Heather had wanted to say something to Dave, she wouldn’t have bothered writing a note, putting it in a box, and wrapping it up with his name on it. Heather was much more direct. She would have come right out and said it to his face.

  “It’s simple.” Diana grinned as she thought of a perfect way to phrase her answer. “It’s just not your style to be sneaky.”

  Heather nodded. “That’s absolutely right. I’m glad somebody around here knows that!”

  “I agree.” Jay spoke up. “There’s no way Heather could have wrapped that package.”

  Heather turned to Jay with a million-watt smile. “I’m so glad you believe in me, Jay.”

  “That really doesn’t have anything to do with it.”Jay didn’t smile back. “But I know you didn’t wrap that package.”

  “How do you know that?” Cindy looked doubtful.

  “Just look at her nails.” Jay reached out and grabbed Heather’s hand, holding it up so everyone could see her long acrylic nails. “I got a good look at that package. It was wrapped in foil, the kind that tears very easily. If Heather had tried to wrap it, there would have been rips all over the paper.”

  Heather was clearly miffed as she snatched her hand back. There was fire in her eyes as she turned to Diana and pointed. “She could have done it. She’s got short nails. And so does your baby sister.”

  Diana opened her mouth to protest her innocence. Heather was a bitch. She’d just defended Heather, and now Heather was trying to shift the blame to her! But before Diana could say anything, Jay squeezed her hand.

  “They didn’t do it, either.” Jay shook his head. “Cindy was with Paul all day. And Diana was with me.”

  “Diana wasn’t with you all the time.” Heather gave a smug little smile. “You were with me at the fountain . . . remember?” />
  “Of course I remember. It’s pretty hard to forget all the nasty lies you tried to make me believe about Diana. But we don’t need to go over that again. I already told you how I feel.”

  Heather looked slightly embarrassed, but she plunged ahead anyway. “Okay, but Diana wasn’t with you then. And that’s when she could have wrapped that package.”

  “Wrong.” Cindy spoke up. “Diana was with us.”

  Diana turned to Cindy in surprise. She hadn’t been with them the whole time. She’d deliberately spent at least thirty minutes in the furniture store, so that Paul and Cindy could be alone.

  “Let’s just forget it, okay?” Dave looked contrite. “I’m sorry, Heather. I didn’t mean to give you a hard time. I guess I’m just getting jumpy, cooped up out here.”

  Heather nodded. “That’s okay, Dave. And I’m sorry, too, for hurting your feelings.”

  There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at Heather in surprise. Was it possible that being snowbound was having a positive effect on her personality?

  “Well, don’t look at me like I’m crazy!” Heather sighed, and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. “I just decided I’d try to be nice until we get out of here. Otherwise, somebody’s probably going to kill me.”

  “We appreciate your supreme effort, Heather.” Dave started to laugh, and one by one, they all joined in. Heather even giggled, and she didn’t seem at all upset that the joke was on her.

  When the laughter had died down, Jay held up his hands for silence. “Dave was right. We’re all getting a little jumpy. I think we need some recreation. Any suggestions?”

  “Too bad we can’t watch a good movie,” Diana spoke up. “It might make us forget all about the fact that we’re snowbound. The multi-plex was going to show that new Tom Cruise film, tonight.”

  Heather looked interested. “You mean, Show-Off? I’m dying to see that one!”

  “Me, too.” Cindy nodded. “Diana and I were going to catch the midnight show, right after we got off work. And if we weren’t too tired, we were going to go for the triple feature. Show-Off at midnight, My Time at two-fifteen, and They All Ran Home at three-thirty.”

  “The theater’s open that late?” Paul looked surprised as he walked over with his camera.

  “They were running a special for the grand opening.” Diana explained. “Five dollars to get in, and you could stay all night.”

  Paul glanced at his watch and started to grin. “What time was the first show supposed to start?”

  “Nine forty-five,” Cindy answered his question. “And they were going to give out free popcorn.”

  Paul turned on his camera and motioned to Cindy. “Go ahead, Cindy. Lead the way to the theater. I think you’re all in for a big surprise.”

  Ten

  “The lights are on!” Diana stood in the lobby of the Crossroads Theater, and gazed up at rows of lights that lined the ceiling. “But none of us turned them on. How did that happen?”

  Hal laughed at her shocked expression. “Relax, Diana. They’re probably on a timer. A lot of businesses do that.”

  “Come on. Let’s go sit down in theater four.” Paul gestured for them to follow him. “That’s where Show-Off is supposed to run.”

  Cindy looked puzzled as they all trooped into theater four. But the minute she sat down, she turned to Diana with a grin. “I get it. Paul’s doing another bumper card to show how isolated we are out here. He’s going to tape us sitting in the Crossroads Theater, waiting for a movie that’s not going to start.”

  “Not quite.” Paul glanced at his watch again. “It’s nine forty-four, and something should happen, right about . . . now!”

  Cindy gasped as the lights began to dim. Then she turned to Paul in surprise. “How did you know that was going to happen?”

  “Hal figured it out earlier. Everything’s on a timer. Now watch and see what else is going to happen.”

  “Oh, my God!” Cindy almost jumped out of her seat as the curtain rolled back, and the music began to play. She gasped again as the screen came alive with a commercial for popcorn, and she turned to Paul with alarm. “Someone’s here, running the projector!”

  “Relax, Cindy. Nobody else is here.” Paul sat down next to her and leaned back in his seat. “Most multi-plex theaters are run by computer. And the projectionist set everything up before we got snowbound. The movies’ll run, right on schedule, until someone comes out here to reprogram the computer.”

  “So we can watch movies all night!” Jay started grinning. “Let’s hear it for Paul!”

  Everyone clapped, and Larry shouted out, over the applause. “Nice going, Paul!”

  “Hey.” Paul looked slightly embarrassed. “I didn’t do anything except tell you to come here. But I do have one favor to ask . . .”

  “Anything.” Cindy nodded eagerly. “What is it, Paul?”

  Paul gestured toward the screen where a giant bowl of popcorn was revolving slowly, glistening with butter. “It’s this popcorn commercial. It looks so good, I can almost taste it. Do you think you guys can figure out how to run the popcorn machine?”

  They all watched Show-Off together, and when it was over, everyone trooped to the lobby to see if they could figure out how to run the popcorn machine. Cindy took one look at it, and started to grin. “It looks almost the same as the one we had in high school. And I used to make popcorn for the basketball games. Do you want me to try to make it work?”

  “Sure. I’ll help.” Diana hurried behind the counter and began searching for the popcorn. Luckily, it came in pre-measured bags and the machine had instructions printed on the side. In no time at all, they had buttered popcorn.

  “But we need something to drink.” Heather found a stack of cups next to the soft drink machine, and put one under the spout. She pressed a button, and gave a little squeal as her cup filled up with orange drink and ice.

  “Candy, anyone?” Hal dangled a ring of keys he’d found in a drawer in the manager’s office. “One of these ought to unlock the snack case. We’d better write up a tab, though. We don’t want to cheat the theater.”

  “I’ll do it.” Larry picked up a notebook and pen, and started to write down their names. “Who wants what?”

  There was a flurry of activity as Hal unlocked the case and they all chose snacks for the next movie. Jay grinned as he grabbed a bag of gummy bears.

  “You actually like those?” Diana looked shocked.

  “They’re my favorites, especially the red ones. What do you want?”

  “Anything with chocolate. I’m a chocoholic. I love chocolate-covered caramels more than anything else in the world!”

  “More than kisses?”

  Jay was grinning at her, and Diana felt a blush rise to her face. “Uh . . . well . . .”

  “Never mind.” Jay reached inside the snack case again. “You can have both. That way you don’t have to choose. Which do you want first?”

  “I . . . I don’t know.” Diana glanced around. Thank goodness no one was eavesdropping on their conversation!

  “I’ll start you out with the caramels, and I’ll give you the kisses in the middle of the movie . . . okay?”

  “I . . . uh . . .” Diana was so embarrassed, she didn’t know what to say. She glanced down at the candy Jay was holding in his hand, and then she blushed even more. He had a roll of chocolate covered caramels. And a big box of Hershey’s Kisses.

  “Oh. Hershey’s Kisses!” Diana spoke without thinking. “I thought you were talking about . . . uh . . .”

  Jay looked puzzled for a moment, but then he caught on and he started to laugh. Larry and Dave turned to look at them, and Diana wanted to sink right through the floor.

  “Jay! Please stop!” Diana knew she looked just as desperate as she felt. “If you keep on, they’re going to ask you why you’re laughing!”

  Jay chuckled as he led Diana into the theater. They took seats in the sixth row of the center section, and Diana sighed as she stared at the darkened scre
en. She was horribly embarrassed, but she had to know.

  “Jay?” Diana looked up at him.

  “Yes, Diana?”

  “You won’t tell, will you?”

  Jay shook his head. “I promise I’ll never say a word. But I might stoop to blackmailing you.”

  “Blackmailing me?” Diana looked worried. “Exactly what do you mean?”

  “If I keep your secret, you have to give me a kiss.”

  “It’s a deal.” Diana nodded quickly. She was so grateful that Jay had agreed not to tell, she was ready to give him anything he asked for. She reached down for the pile of candy on the seat and handed him the box of kisses. “Here. You can open it right now if you want to.”

  Jay started to laugh again. Then he slipped his arm around Diana’s shoulders, and pulled her close. “That’s not what I had in mind, Di.”

  “Oh!” Diana felt the heat rise to her face again. She felt terribly stupid for misunderstanding. “I . . . I . . .”

  Jay held his finger to her lips, and Diana’s heart started to pound very fast. Then she sighed as Jay leaned down and brushed his lips against hers.

  At first it was just a light, friendly kiss, the kind her dates had given her at the door when they’d said good night. It felt wonderful, and Diana snuggled closer. Jay’s lips were soft, but they were also firm, a strange contradiction that she’d never noticed when anyone else had kissed her. She pressed her lips a little harder against his, and closed her eyes as a delightful shiver rippled through her body.

  Diana gave way to her instincts. Without any conscious thought, she reached up to wrap her arms around Jay’s neck. He tightened his arms around her, and held her pressed close against him, so close she could feel his heart beat faster and faster as the kiss went on.

  Now he was nibbling at her lips, little nips that made her gasp and open her lips slightly. Jay groaned, deep in his throat, and his kiss changed character. It was harder, and he took control of her mouth, probing with the tip of his tongue. It was warm and then hot, like a searing fire, and Diana felt a trembling sensation that started at her toes and rushed all the way up to the very top of her head.