Entangled: A Novel Part 8

As Miss Spencer retched over the wastebasket, Hayden stood motionless at the bedside, not knowing what to do next. In the dim light of the hotel room, even with all the retching and funky smells, she found herself wanting to put her arms around Miss Spencer and comfort her, but she knew that would be inappropriate.

As soon as Miss Spencer's dry heaves seemed to subside, Hayden went into the bathroom and wet a washcloth with cold water. She wiped Miss Spencer's mouth and forehead. Miss Spencer let out a soft low moan.

"Hayden, I don't know how to thank you for this." Miss Spencer closed her eyes and a few minutes later appeared to be fast asleep.

Hayden stood at her bedside and watched her sleep. Miss Spencer was a beautiful woman, Hayden thought. What could have happened to make her do this to herself? Was she in love with someone and they didn't love her back? And who wouldn't love her? If she were Hayden's, she would treat her like a queen. She would never do anything to make her cry.

After a while, Miss Spencer started to snore. Now that she was asleep, Hayden wondered if it was safe to leave her alone in this condition. Maybe now that she was safe in bed, she would sleep it off. But Hayden remembered a story her mother told her in one of Sara's "Evils of drugs and alcohol speeches" about a girl named Karen Ann Quinlan who in the 1970s got so drunk that she fell asleep, choked on her own vomit, and ended up a vegetable. She certainly didn't want that to happen to Miss Spencer, so she pushed a pile of clothes off a wooden desk chair, pulled it closer to the bed, and stayed until the silvery light of dawn peeked around the heavy blackout drapes.

The desk chair creaked as Hayden got up to leave, and Abbey awoke with a start.

"Who? What?" Abbey sat up and looked around the room. Suddenly, she saw Hayden, and things started coming back to her.

"Shh...it's okay. I'm sorry for waking you, but I was just about to leave. I have to get home and get ready for work. Calli and I are starting a new job at Waldameer."

"Oh, Hayden, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get so involved in this...mess." Abbey fell back onto her pillows. Her head was pounding. She closed her eyes, but each time she did, the room started spinning. She hated herself for letting Hayden see her like this. She hated Ann for making her feel so worthless. Thinking about Ann made her throat tight.

Hayden sat on the bed next to her. "Miss Spencer, is there something I can do, or is there someone I can call that maybe will help you feel better?"

Abbey swallowed the sadness that stuck in her throat. "No, not really," she said in a low, husky voice.

"I just wish there was more I could do."

"Well, for one thing, you can call me Abbey. I'm not your teacher anymore, and I surely don't deserve the respect you've shown me through all this."

"That's not true," Hayden said. "I'll always have respect for you. You were one of my favorite teachers, and if it weren't for you, I'd never have gotten into Mercyhurst."

The mention of Mercyhurst brought back thoughts of Ann. Sadness clouded Abbey's face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hayden asked.

"Talk about what?"

"What's made you so sad. My mom always said if you keep something inside, it will brew and fester, but if you let it out in the light, you can see it and deal with it, and it never is as bad as you might think."

"Your mom is a pretty smart woman." Abbey tried to pull herself together.

Hayden returned to her seat in the desk chair, and Abbey sat up, her back supported by the headboard of the bed and several pillows. She reached over and grabbed several Kleenexes from the box on the nightstand. She blew a loud honk into the tissues. She dabbed at her eyes as she thought about the best way to explain to Hayden what had brought all this on.

"I lost someone I loved very dearly," Abbey said.

"Did they die?"

"No, they didn't die, although it feels that way sometimes."

"Oh. Was it one of your parents? Brother or sister?"

"No, honey, it wasn't a relative. It was a...very good friend."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thank you." Abbey looked at Hayden. She couldn't believe the level of maturity this girl had. Someone raised her right. "Hayden, you're a good kid. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along."

"It's okay. Wouldn't you have done the same for me?"

"Absolutely." Abbey felt a warm wave of grat.i.tude spread inside of her. "You know what? I'm feeling better, and you better get going. I don't want you to be late on the first day of your new job."

"Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"I'll be fine. Thank you very much for taking care of me."

"You're welcome, Miss Spencer. I mean, Abbey."

Chapter Twelve.

It was six in the morning by the time Hayden got home. Before going to her room, she checked to see if Calli made it home. Calli's door was shut, and a faint yellow light spilled out under the bottom of the door. Feeling better knowing Calli was home safe, she went to her room, undressed, and stretched across her bed to catch some sleep before she had to get ready for work.

Hayden couldn't stop thinking about Abbey and who the friend was she lost and who had her so upset to the point where she tried to drown her sadness in alcohol. Hayden sat up in the narrow roll-away bed and hugged her knees to her chest.

During high school, Hayden looked up to Miss Spencer. Actually, she idolized her the way some kids idolize their teachers, like they were more than human. Hayden thought she was beautiful and smart and sophisticated. But seeing her like she did made her realize Miss Spencer was no different than anyone else. She suffered pain and disappointments, too.

Hayden pulled on her cotton bathrobe and padded out to the kitchen. She filled the gla.s.s Mr. Coffee carafe with cold water to make the day's first pot. Within minutes, the delicious aroma of fresh-brewed coffee filled the tiny kitchen. Hayden filled the cup and added three teaspoons of sugar as she sat at the secondhand breakfast set that came with the rented bungalow. Early morning sunlight warmed the kitchen as Hayden drank her coffee. She looked at the clock on the stove. If Calli wasn't up by seven thirty, Hayden would have to go in and wake her up, a task she dreaded. Calli was not a morning person.

Hayden finished her coffee and headed into the shower, half hoping the noise would wake Calli. She finished her shower, wrapped herself in a towel, and headed down the hall to Calli's room. She tapped on the door. "Calli, you up?"

No response. Hayden knocked again. "Calli, come on, it's time to get up and ready for work. We need to leave soon."

Hayden turned the gla.s.s crystal doork.n.o.b and let herself into Calli's room.

"Hayden! What are you doing?" Calli shrieked, covering her nakedness with the bed sheet.

Hayden jumped back and closed the door behind her. Her heart pounded. Seeing Calli half naked wasn't the disturbing part. The disturbing part was that Calli wasn't alone.

Hayden ran back to her bedroom and locked her door. Even though Calli talked a good game, Hayden a.s.sumed that because she was a virgin, Calli was, too. But by the look of what was going on in there, Hayden was dead wrong.

Hayden sat motionless on the bed and listened to the hurried footsteps in the kitchen. The back door opened, there were m.u.f.fled voices, and the door slammed shut. Seconds later, there were more footsteps, then the shower in the bathroom came on. It wasn't until then that she felt safe to come out of her room.

Fifteen minutes later, Calli emerged from the bathroom, her short hair spiky and still wet and her gingerbread uniform on.

"You want to tell me who that was?" Hayden fixed her stare on Calli, who refused to make eye contact.

Calli walked over to the Mr. Coffee and poured herself a cup. She ripped open a box of cherry Pop-Tarts and took one out. She sat at the table across from Hayden before she answered. "No, not really."

"You can't be bringing strange guys here. Who knows what can happen. We could get robbed, we could get raped, what were you thinking?"

Calli took another bite of Pop-Tart and a sip of coffee. "Trust me. I wouldn't let something like that happen. I'm careful."

"Careful! You let a stranger into our house in the middle of the night. Are you crazy?"

Calli finished her Pop-Tart and drained her coffee cup. "Hay, you worry too much. Nothing's going to happen." She set her cup in the sink. "Ready to go?"

On the inside, Hayden was fuming. Not only did Calli abandon her to take care of Abbey on her own, she went and picked up some stranger and did G.o.d knows what with him in their home. Hayden grabbed her backpack from the hook by the back door, and they headed out for long, hot day at the park.

Hayden drove in silence, her anger churning inside of her.

Calli finally broke the silence. "Is that how it's going to be, you're not going to talk to me all day?"

"I'm sorry, but what you did was wrong. Something terrible could have happened. You don't think sometimes, you know?"

"I can't always be perfect like you."

"What do you mean, perfect?"

"You always have to do the right thing. Sometimes, I want to do what I want to do, no matter if it's the right thing or not."

"I understand what you're saying, but don't you think that can be dangerous?"

"You know, once in a while, you got to live on the edge. Life's too boring sometimes. You got to take chances every now and then to keep it exciting."

"But what if something happens, what if..."

"What if what?"

"What if you get pregnant?"

Calli laughed. "I'm not going to get pregnant."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we didn't...you know..." Calli turned her head toward the pa.s.senger window. "Go all the way."

"What? I didn't hear you." Hayden looked over at her friend.

"I'm no fool. I know where babies come from. And that's the last thing I want."

Hayden felt relieved that Calli had at least acted responsibly.

Hayden pulled the Civic into the Waldameer parking lot and parked in the second row of the employee lot. The polyester gingerbread uniform already clung to her back as they walked up to the employees' office and found their names on the schedule.

"Funnel cake booth? c.r.a.p!" Calli said. "It's already ninety degrees out here. We'll die from heatstroke. Anyway, I don't know anything about making funnel cakes."

"It can't be that bad. Can it?" Hayden said.

"I thought we'd get to work in the cotton candy or candy apple booth, something cool like that," Calli said as they headed down the asphalt path toward the funnel cake booth. "n.o.body looks cool selling greasy old funnel cakes. My makeup will melt. "

The funnel cake booth was sandwiched between the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Scrambler. The small booth looked like a gingerbread house straight out of a Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. Inside the booth, standing in front of two deep fryers full of hot grease, was an older woman dressed like Calli and Hayden. She eyed the girls as they walked in.

"Hi, I'm Hayden, and this is Calli. We're supposed to work here today."

"h.e.l.lo, I'm-"

"Let me guess. You're the witch who tried to eat Hansel and Gretel," Calli said.

"Calli!" Hayden turned toward the woman. "I'm sorry. She's not a morning person." Hayden extended her hand to the woman. "You are?"

The woman looked down at Hayden's hand and stepped back. "Peggy. I'll be showing you how to make funnel cakes this morning."

Peggy bent down and heaved a twenty-pound sack of flour onto the wooden table that sat in the middle of the booth. She took a large kitchen knife and splayed the top of the sack open like she was gutting a deer. Puffs of white flour filled the air.

Calli stepped closer to Hayden and whispered, "Wow, don't f.u.c.k with Peggy. She really knows how to handle a knife."

"Stop it!" Hayden tried hard to suppress a laugh. Calli could be so inappropriate sometimes. "You're going to get us fired before we even start." Hayden turned her attention back to Peggy, who was filling five-cup-sized metal measuring cups with flour.

"First we use twenty cups of flour." Peggy dumped the flour into a large stainless steel vat. "Then we add in twenty eggs along with two gallons of milk. Then we add four cups of sugar and about a cup of salt." Peggy stirred the mixture with what looked like a boat oar. Hayden and Calli exchanged glances. This looked like hard work.

"You have to keep stirring until all the ingredients are incorporated." Peggy raised her arm and wiped away the sweat that dripped from her brow. Because of the hot oil in the deep fryers, the temperature in the booth was twenty degrees hotter than outside. Hayden looked over at Callie and could actually see her midnight-blue eye shadow melt off.

Once Peggy was done mixing, she walked over to the fryer to check the temperature. "The oil has to be three hundred twenty-five degrees. No more, no less." She took a spoonful of the batter and flung it into the hot oil. Immediately, it sizzled and bubbled. The blob of wet dough turned golden brown and floated to the surface. "See, this is perfect."

After making the batter and testing the oil, she showed the girls how to use the funnel to make the cakes. She filled the funnel with batter, then swirled the batter around in the hot oil to make what looked like fried dough doilies. She made Hayden and Calli try their hand at it.

"That vat of batter should last you a few hours. Once it gets down to a half, you better start to mix up a new batch," Peggy said.

"That will be your job," Calli told Hayden. "I don't want any part of that mess. I'll make the funnel cakes." She filled the funnel and swirled it in the oil. "This part is kind of fun."

As the day went on, the crowds grew larger. Hayden couldn't figure out for the life of her why anyone would put a greasy fried cake booth in between two rides that were infamous for making people throw up. But that didn't seem to be a deterrent for the people who stood in line, sometimes three or four people deep, for the fried dough covered in powdered sugar.

Calli had gotten into a groove, turning out some really interesting funnel cake designs. Hayden also noticed that when any cute guys came up to buy a cake, Calli somehow managed to draw her initials into the cake design. It wouldn't have surprised Hayden one bit if Calli had found a way to include her phone number, as well.

There was an apple dumpling emergency at the apple dumpling booth over by The Comet, the wooden roller coaster. (Really, who made the decision about where to put these food booths?) Peggy was summoned to the call through the walkie-talkie that was hooked on to the lace ruffled belt of her uniform.

"Do you think you two can handle the customers while I take care of this?" Peggy asked.

"Sure, we'll be fine," Hayden said.

Peggy ducked under the wood plank that served as the countertop for their booth. Without looking back, she left Hayden and Calli to fend for themselves.

A lukewarm breeze fluttered through the booth as Hayden took inventory of their supplies of flour, eggs, and sugar. When the vat of batter got low, Hayden picked up one of the twenty-pound sacks of flour and sliced it open. It was harder to do than it looked. She poured cup fulls of flour into one of the stainless steel pots. A white cloud of flour puffed up from the pot and clung to her damp skin. She added the wet ingredients and stirred the batter. Calli continued with her funnel cake artistry.

After the batter was made, Hayden counted out ten-, five-, and one-dollar bills as she balanced the cash drawer and prepared the first money bag pickup of the day. In between rushes of customers, Calli wiped off the counters and filled the powdered sugar containers without her usual sarcasm or complaining.