Chapter 17:
Cat Lady
Avoiding Reed for the rest of the week hadn't been hard. The only time Suzette ever got a decent glimpse of him was at lunch, and she had Ivy to distract her for that hour. But even though the week coasted by at a seemingly normal pace, Suzette still wasn't ready for Saturday when it appeared on her calendar.
It was barely nine in the morning and yet, Suzette felt very jittery. She groaned and slammed a spare pillow over her face, not ready for the oncoming night. Why am I such a scaredy cat? Suzette thought to herself. This time will be no different from the last. Suzette sat upright in bed, her silky pajama pants sliding on her cotton sheets. At least, I hope so.
Suzette scratched her matted bed head and let her feet slap against the hardwood as she stumbled into the kitchen. "Good morning, Sunshine." Georgie greeted her daughter in her familiar, cheery tone. Suzette nodded her acknowledgement and sniffed the air. As the scent of breakfast settled in her nostrils, she came to realization that her mother was making Health Mart's famous pre packaged whole wheat pancakes. Suzette's absolute favorite.
Giddy, she slid into a seat at the table across from Damien. Her father's seat sat empty as usual. His hours were early at the St. Augustine Times. "You're making pancakes?" Suzette asked, though the answer was beyond obvious. Georgie nodded at her, a large smile on her face. "Awesome!" Suzette filled the silence. "We haven't had these in months!"
"The mart was having a special on them so I picked some up last night." Georgie said, stirring more batter. "Plus, today is a day worth celebrating." Suzette grew tense. What had she forgotten? A birthday? An anniversary? Georgie noticed the strained look on her daughter's face. "Did you forget about the annual St. Augustine Times auction tonight?"
Suzette felt like a deflated balloon. She had forgotten about the auction. The newspaper held one every year to benefit the local children's hospital. "It just slipped my mind." Suzette played it off as she dug into the small tower of pancakes Georgie set in front of her.
"So that's why you haven't picked out a dress yet." Georgie said. "Well, be sure to go through your closet and find one before eight."
Eight. Right when she was going to leave for the club. "Okay." She said quietly.
"What a slacker!" Damien exclaimed suddenly, mouth full of syrup. "I've had my tux fitted for weeks!"
Suzette rolled her eyes. "That's because you have to get a tux fitted ahead of time, genuis. All I have to do is go through my closet."
"Well at least I remembered this thing!" Damien stabbed another piece of pancake with his fork and stuffed it in his mouth. "Also, it'd be nice if you wore a blue dress. It'd match my tie."
Suzette playfully stuck her tongue out at her younger brother. "Aren't boys supposed to match their ties to the girl's dress, not the other way around?"
"Eh," Damien shrugged. "Maybe in your world."
Suzette laughed and put her plate in the dishwasher. After she tamed her slept-on hair and pulled on some acceptable clothes, she scooped up her Android and scrolled to Ivy's number. Fingers flying, she sent her friend a text:
Meet at the Creamer. We've got a road block.
Not twenty seconds later, Suzette had her reply:
On my way!
Suzette ran for the front door and slipped on some old tennis shoes for the walk. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" Georgie asked, sipping on some steaming green tea.
"I'm meeting Ivy for coffee." Suzette answered, grabbing her billfold off the counter. "I won't be gone more than an hour."
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Damien spewed from the kitchen, taking on a fake fatherly role.
"Aye, aye sir!" Suzette reached for the door and quickly slid out, not wanting to be stalled by any more of Georgie's sharp questions.
It was a rather misty morning, making for a relaxing walk. Suzette reached The Local Creamer within ten minutes and walked in to see Ivy already waiting for her order. "Chai tea, I'm assuming?" Suzette walked past her best friend and up to the cash register to order for herself.
"How'd you know?" Ivy asked with mock surprise lining her voice.
Suzette grinned. "I'm a wizard, obviously." Leaving Ivy in a fit of giggles, Suzette gave the barista her order of black coffee, something she only had when she was stressed.
Ivy was already half way done with her drink when Suzette joined her at an oval shaped table by the window. "So," Ivy began, taking a drinking break. "What's the S.O.S?"
Suzette blew on her coffee to cool it down. "I forgot that tonight's the annual auction."
"Oh right!" Ivy registered. "My parents and I used to love going to that thing!"
"Used to?" Suzette questioned.
"I guess it's frowned upon to go and not place money on anything." Ivy smirked.
"So that explains why I haven't see you there in recent years." Suzette smiled. "But seriously, how do I weasel my way out of this?"
Ivy looked at Suzette like she was the dumbest person in the world. "Seriously, Suzie you have such a one track mind."
Suzette wasn't sure how to react. "Um, elaborate?"
Ivy twisted one of her blond curls around her index finger. "Play sick."
Suzette wrinkled her nose. "I've never done that before."
Ivy laughed. "Of course you haven't. You're Suzette Kimberly!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Suzette asked, not sure if she should be offended or not.
"You've got a reputation as a good girl, y'know?" Ivy's eyes were sympathetic, as if being a good girl was a fatal disease. "Here." Ivy reached into her floppy leather purse and pulled out a Moleskin notebook. In pen, she wrote something down. Then she ripped out the page and handed it to Suzette.
Suzette read Ivy's curvy handwriting aloud. "One cup of cooked oatmeal, half a cup of sour cream, two chopped cheese sticks, one raw egg, one can of split pea soup, and one fourth of a cup of raisins. Heat for two minutes." Suzette folded the paper. "Ivy, what the heck is this?"
Ivy stirred the remains of her tea with her straw. "It's a recipe for fake vomit that I used all the time when I was little." Ivy looked proud. "One look at it, and my mom would almost vomit herself! It bought me a whole day of an 'excused' absence."
"Wait, this actually worked? You got to stay home from school?" Suzette reacted.
Ivy nodded firmly. "Oh yeah. It'll work for you too, I promise."
Slightly grossed out, Suzette put the recipe in her jeans pocket. "Alright, I'll give it a try. If it works, you'll get a text around 8:15. Could you come pick me up?"
"For sure." Ivy said. "I'll wait for you to say the word and then rev 'er up!" Ivy stood up to throw her cup away. "So, I'll see you then?"
"What if it doesn't work?" Suzette asked, still unsure.
"For goodness sake, Suzie of course it will work!" Ivy tossed her hair over her shoulder as she pushed open door, letting the misty morning air in. "Quit being such a scaredy cat!"
YOU ARE READING
Punch!
Teen FictionIt all started with curiosity. But as Suzette Kimberly soon learns, curiosity killed the cat. When she bursts into a suspicious after school meeting between four teenage boys, she wants nothing more than to know what they're up to. But when she disc...
