Chance Of Rain (9 page)

He turned in our direction and looked Angel up and down. “You’re hired. Have Ashley introduce you to Conner. He’ll show you the ropes for ticket sales and the concession counter. You can fill out your paperwork later with the others.” He looked down at the stack of applications on the clipboard. “This is going to take weeks to get through.”

Angel and I looked at each other and smiled.

“I’ve got two new girls I need you to train for the café,” Mack told me, almost out of breath. “Lindsey and…um…Erica, I think. They’re waiting on you now.” Then he was gone.

I found Bri talking to the new girls. She made eyes at me when she saw I was with Angel.

I introduced Angel and myself to Erica and Lindsey. They seemed friendly and were about my age. Erica’s hair was long and straight and matched her dark eyes. Lindsey’s hair was strawberry blond, her eyes pale blue.

Angel went with off Conner, and Bri and I quickly filled Erica and Lindsey in on what they needed to know as customers began to stream in. The theater was so crowded that it felt like a Friday.

It finally slowed down around nine forty-five. I was heading toward the kitchen when I heard, “Could I trouble you for a refill, ma’am?”

“How long have you been sitting there?” I asked Trent.

“Long enough to see you’ve earned your paycheck tonight.”

“I know that’s right.” I looked down at my achy feet.

“You’d better go finish up before you get fired,” Trent said as Mack walked by.

Fifteen minutes later I was snug inside my favorite Challenger, heading home. Warm air blew through the vents. It was very soothing.

Trent reached up and turned on the overhead light. “Here ya go,” he said, handing me a sheet of paper.

“What’s this?”

“Your freedom,” he said, grinning.

It was a list of cars for sale. “How’d you know?”

“Bri told me in class today.”

“These are all in my price range, and they’re the models I like too.”

“Bri again,” he repeated.

I smiled at his thoughtfulness. “So…what else did you two talk about today?”

He arched his brows. “Stuff.”

“Uh-huh. I see. What kind of
stuff
?”

He shrugged. “Poe. Poetry. You know.”

He eased the Challenger into my driveway and put the car in park. “I’ll take you tomorrow to look at them,
if you want
.” I don’t know how he made that sound seductive, but he did.

“I’d like that,” I almost whispered.

I was quiet then.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“No. It’s just that I always thought my dad would help me look for my first car. But please don’t get me wrong. I really appreciate everything you’ve done. And I don’t know a thing about cars. I could really use your help.”

“You’d better get inside. Someone’s waiting on you.” I looked up to see my mom at the window, peeking from behind the curtain.
Mommm!

“See ya tomorrow,” I said then jetted for the front door.

X

60 %

T
he next morning Bri was right on time as usual. I said bye to my mom and jumped into the Chevelle. I got Bri up to speed on the latest with Trent, and then she filled me in on the details with Cole.

“I think he’s the one, Ash. Seriously, I could see myself marrying him.”

“That’s OK with me, as long as you don’t mind the three of us rooming next year at college,” I said with a laugh.

“Not a prob. So are we hitting the gym tonight since we don’t have to work?”

“I would, except Trent offered take me right after school to look at cars.”

“You’re welcome,” she said matter-of-factly. “OK, well, you leave me no choice but to begin my new weight-loss regimen,” she said very seriously.

“And what might that be?” I asked.

“It will involve Cole.”

“Oh?”

“It’s called sexercise. Kidding. Don’t have a stroke.”

She turned up the radio and moved her body to the music. I thought we were going to wreck a couple of times, but I was laughing too hard to care.

Before we got out of the car, I asked her, “What else did you and Trent talk about yesterday?”

“Not a whole lot.” She shrugged. “He broke the ice by cracking a joke about how it was very convenient for you to have a chauffeur for a best friend.” She grinned. “We laughed, and then I mentioned you wanted a car and gave him the deets.” She reached for her backpack. “You know, we barely got any
studying done, because he was too busy listening in on you and your Latin lover.”

“Really?” My smile covered my entire face.

“He may have told you y’all were just friends, but I don’t know. It seems like he likes you.”

When we walked into first period, Angel and Trent were already there. They each had an empty beanbag next to them, and they looked at me and smiled.

Bri immediately pretended to show me something on her phone. We turned so they couldn’t see our faces. Then Bri typed:

Who ya gonna choose? LOL
.

Then she typed:

Gonna make this e
-
z 4 u
.

She turned and flopped down next to Angel. Now I wouldn’t hurt his feelings, and I could sit next to Trent! I made a mental note to be sure to thank her for
suffering
through an entire class period sitting next to one of the hottest guys in our senior class. It was unbelievable what my dear friend endured for my sake. I bit my lip so I wouldn’t smile.

Just then Lacey walked in. Without being too obvious, I scrambled to the beanbag next to Trent before she even saw that it was available.

“Ashley,” he said.

“Trent,” I responded just as coolly.

It was a great day to be teamed up with him. Our assignment was to take turns reading to each other. He pulled my beanbag close to his. “There. That’s better.” He smiled.
Don’t overanalyze. Don’t overanalyze
. “I couldn’t hear you from way over there.”

I read from
The Tell-Tale Heart
until Ms. Elliott told us to switch.

Trent took the book from me. When his hand brushed mine, I had to remind myself to breathe. I leaned my head back to listen, and he leaned
toward me, only inches from my ear, and read in a voice that was barely above a whisper. I watched his lips form every word. I’d never experienced Poe like this before.

“‘I saw it with perfect distinctness—all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones,’” Trent read.

How could anyone make that sound sexy? He had a gift.

“‘Villains!’” Trent continued reading. “‘Dissemble no more! I admit the deed!—tear up the planks!—here, here!—it is the beating of his hideous heart!’”

I was in such a trance that I was startled when the bell sounded. Trent laughed.

In Spanish we watched a movie about the culture of Latin America. The room was dark, and I felt so relaxed that I almost fell asleep. It must have been because of my bedtime story in first period.

By the time art rolled around, I was wide-awake again.

We got to experiment with clay, and I felt like I was back in kindergarten. Mrs. Frost told us we’d have the opportunity to make something a little later in the semester, so we should go ahead and start thinking about what we’d like to do. I decided I’d make my mom a coffee mug. I hadn’t made her anything since I was in elementary school, and she’d love it.

As Trent and I walked to his car, he asked me, “What do you want for lunch?”

“I feel like—”

Before I could finish answering, Angel walked by, “See ya later, Ash.”

“Mexican.” I grinned, biting my bottom lip.

“Get in the car.”

At the Blue Iguana, Trent and I ordered beef fajitas for two. We shared a booth near a window and ate lots of chips and dip while we waited. Their salsa was homemade, and I wasn’t sure what was in the green sauce, but it was creamy and delicious. Their chips were the best around—so thin you could read the menu through them. And they were always salted just right.

I heard our fajitas before I saw them. They were sizzling in sautéed onions, and they smelled wonderful. I placed a hot, handmade tortilla on my plate and added some beef and a lot of onions. Then I smothered it in shredded cheese and sour cream.

I was halfway through devouring my first fajita before I realized I was in my own little world. I looked up and saw Trent staring at me in disbelief.

“Binge much?”

My mouth was stuffed, and my plate was almost clean. He hadn’t even begun to eat.

I swallowed then gave him a toothless smile.

A grin touched his lips as he reached toward me with his napkin. “Sour cream,” he said, as he gently wiped it away.

I thought about going limp and just letting my body slide off the bench and under the table. Instead I took a sip of iced tea. “So here are my top three choices.” I handed him the list he had given me.

We devised a plan of attack. We decided we’d start with the car that was the farthest away and work our way back home.

After lunch we took the 106 to Jasper; it was a beautiful drive. Hilly, green pastures lay on both sides of us. Going to Jasper was like stepping back in time. The little buildings that lined its streets were historic. My favorite was the tiny bank that was no bigger than a doughnut shop.

We took a couple of turns off the highway and found the address with no problem. I knew we were at the right house before I saw the number, because there it sat, shining in the sun—a shiny, red 2000 Eclipse. I didn’t realize just how much I wanted a car until the opportunity to have one was right there in front of me. I wanted that car!

“How can this car only be a thousand dollars?” I asked Trent.

Trent looked at the paper. “Because it has almost two hundred thousand miles on it. Let’s take a closer look and hear what they have to say.”

Mr. Cook came to the door moments after we knocked. He was very friendly, and his potbelly more than filled his overalls. He shuffled his feet as he stepped across his front porch. He talked as slowly as he walked.

“She’s got a lot of miles on her, but they’re all highway. None of that stop-and-go city stuff.” He turned and spat some tobacco juice into the grass. “She’s always been mine, so I know she’s been well taken care of. I did all the
maintenance myself. No one’s ever smoked in her either. She still smells brand new.” He handed me the keys. “Take her for a spin.”