Snowed in Together (7 page)

Ellyce tilted her said to one side. "I'm a fan of old movies. I think what Dracula actually said was, 'I vant to suck your blood.'"

I shrugged. "So I improvised."

Ellyce gave me a thoughtful smile and said nothing else until we got to the kitchen. "Okay, what's this 'real food' you promised we'd prepare?"

"Confession time. It's going to be eggs for the main course again, 'cause that's all we've got. But I figured we could heat some milk and melt the chocolate bars in it, so we'd at least have something different to drink."

"Yum!" Ellyce smiled and patted her stomach.

I loved the thought that I'd pleased her with my idea. I started heating the milk and Ellyce started fixing the eggs.

"There's not much grated cheese left." Ellyce shook the container. "I guess we can call this scrambled eggs."

I leaned close to Ellyce, as if I was inspecting the food. As my arm brushed against hers, my mind almost turned to scrambled eggs. "L-ooks good, and it beats having cheese curls for dinner."

"No kidding!" Ellyce laughed, then said, "I was supposed to have dinner at The Electric Station in
Eugene
with Matt tonight."

"Oh?" My heart sank at the mention of Matt's name.

"It's the six-month anniversary of our first date." Ellyce raised her eyebrow. "I guess that sounds silly?"

"Silly? No. Of course not. Never." Silly, no. Heartbreaking, yes. I didn't want Ellyce dwelling on romantic thoughts about Matt. "Um … what would you have ordered?" Dumb question. Goes right back to Matt! But most importantly I wanted to keep the conversation going, and it was the first thing that popped into my head.

"Hmmm …." Ellyce closed her eyes to think.

Standing there with her eyes closed, scrambling the eggs, she looked more beautiful than ever. I wanted to take her in my arms, kiss her and make her forget she ever met Matt.

"Oysters!"

"What?"

“The sautéed oysters. That's what I'd order."

"Interesting choice," I said. "You realize, of course, that oysters are considered an aphrodisiac."

"Wes Taylor!" Ellyce exclaimed, trying to keep a straight face. "I'm shocked,
shocked
, that you even know about such things. You're supposed to be Mr. Innocent. Tiffany said so."

"She said you were Innocent too, so how do you know what an aphrodisiac is?"

"Oops. I guess I've blown my cover."

"That makes two of us."

Ellyce gave me a smile that sent my pulses racing. There was something in that smile, something in the way she looked at me. I so wanted to kiss her. I had a feeling, somehow, that's what she wanted too.

When Ellyce turned her attention back to the eggs, I leaned close and puckered my lips. Even from inches away, I knew I was zeroing in on a perfect landing on her gorgeous mouth.

Chapter Nine

"Hi, guys. Whatcha doin'?" It was Tiffany. Tony, Jeff and Cari followed her into the kitchen.

My mouth froze in mid-pucker. To deactivate my lips, I licked them back to a neutral position.

"Oh. Uh. Nothing. Nothing's up," I babbled. Man, I cooked alone with a girl for a few minutes and right away I started hallucinating about kissing her. I dipped a ladle into the hot chocolate, poured some into a cup and handed it to Tiffany. "Try this."

Tiffany took the cup, peered inside, sniffed, then looked at me with suspicion. "Like, what is this, exactly?"

"Just try it," I said. "Don't you trust me?"

"You do seem to be the cub-scout type." Tiffany hesitated, then cautiously took a sip. "Mmm, hot chocolate. It's good!"

Tony grabbed a cup and thrust it at me. "I could use some of that."

"Me too," Jeff said. He held out two cups, and after I filled them, handed one to Cari.

After everyone oohed and aahed over the hot chocolate and pronounced it fit to drink, Ellyce said, "Where are Ms. Tenray and Mr. Korman?"

"They're both feeling pretty stiff and sore," Jeff said. "They asked if we'd bring back something for them to eat."

"I think we should all eat in the art room." Cari blinked nervously. "Just in case more tree branches come crashing down."

"Good idea," I said. "We can put everything onto a couple of carts and roll it down there."

It was kind of chaotic with six of us "helping," but we loaded the food, plates and tableware onto two carts and took it back to the art room. Ellyce and I brought a couple of plates of eggs and two mugs of hot chocolate over to Korman and Tenray.

"How're you feeling?" I asked, as I handed a plate to Korman.

"My shoulder is pretty sore," he said. "But I'll survive."

"Can you manage eating with your arm in the sling?" Ellyce asked. "I could help, if you need it."

"If he needs any help, I'm here." Ms. Tenray radiated a smile in Korman's direction.

"Oh. Okay," Ellyce said. "Holler if you need anything."

As Ellyce and I went back to the student side of the room, she whispered, "I kinda felt as if we were intruding."

"Yeah," I whispered back. "I think they
vant
to be alone."

Ellyce put her hand over her mouth to smother a giggle.

"What's all the whispering and giggling about?" Tiffany said. "Or shouldn't I ask?"

Ellyce's eyebrows drew together as though she was in deep concentration. She smiled mischievously and said, "You shouldn't ask."

Tiffany looked as if she'd explode from curiosity, but she didn't say anything. I wondered if I'd sparked that impish side of Ellyce, or if it'd always been there and I just hadn't known. I was fantasizing about discovering all kinds of facets of Ellyce's personality, when there was a low rumble in the direction of the ceiling.

"Uh, oh," Tony said.

"On, no." Cari bit her lip. "What if the ceiling caves in from all the snow?"

"Don't worry," Jeff said. "The school roof was designed to hold up to five feet of snow."

He was so quick to announce that statistic that I knew he was just making it up. But I noticed everyone relaxed, so maybe it was a good thing.

Then the lights flickered.

Tiffany grabbed Tony's arm. "What if the lights go out again?"

"I'll protect you from the big, bad wolf," Tony joked.

Tiffany didn't laugh. For the first time all day, she looked worried.

Fortunately, the lights stopped flickering. Ellyce and I loaded up a couple plates of eggs and mugs of hot chocolate and tried to enjoy our food.

There was an eerie silence. I guess no one felt like talking. Maybe it was because we knew that once the eggs and hot chocolate were gone, all we had were Tiffany's mints and cheese curls. Or maybe we were worried that the roof really would cave in. Whatever the reason, we were awfully quiet. It was actually starting to bother me.

I guess it was too much for Tiffany too, because suddenly she said, "Look, we're not dead yet. Let's not sit around like a bunch of mummies."

"Dead? Mummies?" Tony said. "Man, you really know how to lift a guy's spirits."

Tiffany threw up her hands in exasperation. "I just mean that I'm bored. Let's … let's at least take care of these dirty dishes. They're depressing."

"Good idea," I said. It was something to keep us occupied for a few minutes, anyway.

We gathered up all the plates, forks and mugs, loaded them on the carts and took them back to the kitchen in a clattering, crooked line. Once there, we decided to wash and dry them and put them away, then clean up the kitchen, too.

"We so are desperate for entertainment," Tiffany said, as she wiped off a counter with a towel.

"You're beautiful when you’re domestic." Tony grinned.

Tiffany snapped her towel at Tony, but missed.

Tony snatched the towel, snapped and landed a blow right on her butt.

"Yike!" Tiffany rubbed her lower region. "That hurt!"

"Aw, I'm sorry," Tony said. "Should I kiss and make better?"

"You wish!" Tiffany exclaimed. She tried to look outraged, but a small smile crept across her face.

"People, people." Ellyce pretended to be stern as she clapped her hands. "Enough!"

Suddenly there was a loud creak from the direction of the cafeteria.

"Let's get back to the art room," Cari said, trembling.

"Yeah," Jeff said. "That's probably the safest place to be right now."

No one argued or made any jokes. I think we all were kind of worried. We just didn't want to show it.

Once back in our little corner of the art room, however, everyone started to fidget. The only sound was a duet of snores coming from the direction of Korman and Tenray.

Finally, Tiffany said, "If I'm going to die, it's not gonna be from boredom. Let's do something."

"Okay!" Tony wriggled his eyebrows. "Let's make mad, passionate love until we drop from exhaustion?"

Tiffany put a finger to the side of her head and pretended to think this over, then said, "Maybe later. I was thinking of something more … verbal. I mean, these could be our last hours on earth. We should have a Last Confession."

"Hold it," Tony said. "First, I'm not planning on these being my last moments--unless, of course, you were serious about 'maybe later.' Second, I think this Last Confession bit falls in the same category as 'What would you do for a million dollars."

"And what category is that?" Tiffany asked.

Tony wriggled his eyebrows--they were getting a good workout. "Dangerous."

"Like, we aren't already in danger, stuck here in the middle of the snowstorm of the century?" Tiffany replied.

I noticed that the talk of Last Confessions and danger was scaring Cari more than ever. Jeff must've noticed too, because suddenly he raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture and said, "This isn't a Last Confession. It's more entertaining, something I never told anyone before."

"Oooh, a secret!" Tiffany flashed an eager grin. "We can all share our deepest secrets!"

I curled my toes. Revealing my deepest secrets was not my idea of fun.

"Okay," Jeff said. "Here goes. You know the Sheldon Ranch over in
Eastern Oregon
?"

"I've heard of it," Tony said. "There's some kind of ghost story connected with it, isn't there?"

"Oh, I know!" Tiffany said. "I heard from my next-door neighbor. Back around nineteen hundred, someone discovered there was still gold in a small, old mine on the property. The owner tried to keep it secret, but word got out. One night the owner thought he saw a couple guys sneak in to try to steal some of the gold."

"Yeah, I remember now," Tony said. "Barking dogs alerted the owner. He sneaked out and fired a shotgun into the entrance of the cave. He meant to just scare the thieves, but there was a cave-in."

"Thanks for butting in." Tiffany elbowed Tony. "As I was saying, there was a cave-in. The owner tried digging through the debris, but it was too much for him. So the next day he went and got some help. After he and the others cleared the opening, they searched the mine. But it was empty."

"Yeah," Tony said. "Everyone thought the owner had imagined the whole thing, that there'd never been anyone in the cave at all."

"Do you mind?" Tiffany glared at Tony.

"Please …." Tony bowed his head. "Be my guest."

"Thank you," Tiffany said. "Anyway, the next night the owner wakes up. He hears moaning and groaning coming from the mine. He grabs a flashlight, runs and takes a look. No. One. There. Next night, same thing. So he asks a couple guys to spend the night to see if they hear anything. They figure he's nuts, but they agree to come. In the middle of the night, they hear moaning and groaning."

"Yeah," Tony said. "Some people said it must be the wind or something. But anyone who actually heard it said it sounded exactly like two guys moaning and groaning."

"Eventually, the mine was sealed up. But it still moans and groans!" Tiffany exclaimed.

"A ghost story," Ellyce said. "How comforting."

The lights flickered. Cari let out a small scream, then laughed nervously when the lights came back on. "Jeff, you would have to bring up a ghost story!"

"The ghost story is just a small part of it," Jeff said. "My secret about the ranch is something else."

"Well!" Tiffany said. "What is it?"

"My great-grandparents--my mother's grandparents--once owned the Sheldon Ranch."

"They did?" Tony said. "I never knew that."

"Of course you didn't," Jeff said patiently. "If you'd known, it wouldn't have been a secret."

"Oh, yeah. Duh!" Tony laughed. "So what happened? Why didn't your mother inherit the ranch? Why aren't you rich?"

"Well … I've never told anyone this before. I don't know why, exactly …. " Jeff hesitated, then went on. "I guess I always felt … I don't know … ashamed. Even though I know it's nothing I should be ashamed of."

We waited in silence for Jeff to go on. Finally, he said, "The government confiscated the land from my great-grandparents and then sold it. You see, my great-grandparents were forced to go into an internment camp in World War Two."

"That's awful," I said. "I mean, what the government did was awful. Your great-grandparents didn't do anything wrong."

"I'll say," Ellyce said.

"Yeah," Tony said. "The government blew it, big time!"

"Talk about unfair!" Tiffany slammed her hand down on the mat.

For a moment, Cari said nothing. Then, "Jeff, I didn't know, that is, are you Japanese? You don't really look, um, uh … " Cari looked down at the floor.

Jeff tilted an eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm part Japanese--on my Mom’s side. I was born in
Oregon
, so were my Mom and her parents. Her grandparents moved to the
US
in the early twenties." His jaw clenched. His eyes narrowed slightly. He hesitated, then asked, "Why? Does it matter?"

"No. Of course, not. Well. Um. Not to me," Cari said. "I was just surprised. I mean, now that you mention it, I guess you
do
sort of look … that is … I should've realized …. I guess I just never thought of you as Japanese."

"You sure this isn't some kind of problem for you?" Jeff's mouth formed a thin line of concern.

"Oh, no. No," Cari said. "I--"

"
Something's
bothering you," Tiffany said. "Whatever it is, I think you should tell him, Cari."

I got a weird spasm in my stomach. My toes curled tighter than ever. I had a feeling that being trapped by the snowstorm, that worrying about dying, however remote the possibility, was doing something to us, something that would cause all of us to reveal our secrets. I gritted my teeth, determined that I was not going to reveal the deepest, darkest secrets about
my
life.