.jpg)
After school, I left with Tamara to put up the two tables that she had with Mrs. Woods. Mrs. Woods had short red hair and freckles. She wasn't as thin as my mom. She was big-boned like her daughter. Although Tamara had some weight issues, she had the most beautiful face I had ever seen. I thought that she could easily be a plus-sized model and although some kids made fun of her sporadically, the truth was that they also found her attractive. I'd dare to say that Tamara had a prettier face than Gina's.
"Hi there Natalie. Thanks for helping out," Mrs. Woods said.
"Sure Mrs. Woods. I'm glad to do so," I replied putting up the table. Mrs. Woods who was driving a trooper opened her trunk. There were trays and trays of cookies and cupcakes.
"Okay, let's organize all of this little deliciousness on the tables. I don't know if they'll all fit, so..."
"Oh, that's okay mom, we can just put a few up, and then when they sale we'll just put some more," Tamara said.
"Not a bad idea kiddo."
"Mom, don't call me kiddo," Tamara said. Mrs. Woods shrugged.
"Oh, right. you're the cool kid now," Mrs. Woods said. I laughed.
"What?" Tamara asked me accusingly.
"Nothing," I replied. We placed the cupcakes on the table and the students immediately came down to buy the cupcakes.
"Okay, kids, just give me a sec. We have no change, so please make sure that you have change before buying. Cupcakes are $1.50 and cookies at $0.75 cents. This is for the Halloween dance and with the cash we make we'll be hiring the coolest DJ ever!" Mrs. Woods said. The students were already opening their backpacks and looking for their wallets.
"Um... what's that one over there?" A kid asked me pointing at a cupcake on my side of the table. I had no idea what to tell him."
"Ah... well a cupcake," I replied.
"Duh. What flavor?" He asked me.
"I don't know. I didn't bake them," I replied.
"That's vanilla. This is banana, vanilla flavored, this one's chocolate, and this one's strawberry," Tamara said pointing at the cupcakes.
"Are they made with egg? Because I'm allergic to eggs," the kid went on. How annoying. I wanted to tell him to just grab a cupcake and disappear, but Tamara was a pro.
"Well, we baked special cupcakes without eggs in this area," she said and walked to the other table."
"I want vanilla," He said. Tamara grabbed the cupcake.
"It's $1.50. Give the money to her," Tamara said pointing at me. So I was going to be the cashier. Of course. The boy paid me the money and left with his cupcake. Many students came up to the table, some bought bags of chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal cookies which were on display. Diana, Tamara's mom handed me a shoebox and I was placing all of the money in there. When they sold half of the cupcakes in the display, Tamara's mom took out more trays and placed the cupcakes on the table. Mrs. Krasinski came out of the school to buy some bakery.
"Good job Mrs. Woods," she said.
"Hi Mrs. Krasinkski, thank you so much. Would you like to buy anything for the Halloween party?"
"I'm willing to cooperate. Hi Natalie. So nice to see you out here helping your friend. I wish I could see you more in class though," she remarked. I didn't say anything and she ignored me the second she told me. She scanned for the cupcakes that had pink, blue, red, and green frosting placed on them with little plastic figurines of ghosts, pumpkins, and witch hats.
"I think I'll take four cupcakes and three cookies. My sister will love those," she said.
"Excellent," Diana said and placed her order in a small white box.
"She's the cashier," Mrs. Woods said when Mrs. Krasinski took out her money to pay her. I smiled as she gave me the cash.
"Here's your change," I replied giving her three bucks. Mrs. Krasinski took the money and placed it in her purse.
"Why are you avoiding my class?" She asked me.
"Because it's pointless," I replied honestly.
"Well, do you even know why I'm talking about supernatural creatures?" She asked me.
"No," I replied.
"Because you're going to do a creative project with these creatures for the Halloween dance. That's why I'm teaching you folklore. The projects will decorate or somehow contribute to the dance. Now you know," she replied.
"Oh," I remarked indifferently before she left. I really hated to be wrong. I guess she had a purpose for it after all.
"No more bathroom brakes," she remarked as she left the school premises. She went to her Toyota Camry car to place her order on the passenger side. Most of the teachers came up and bought a few cupcakes. Mr. García was the only teacher who bought cookies. He said he just hated frostings.
"Thank you, Mr. García," Tamara said and behind him was Gina.
"Do you really think these cupcakes will pay for the DJ?" Gina asked.
"Good afternoon Gina. I'm so glad to see you cooperating with the school dance," Mrs. Woods said. Gina's eyes popped right open. She hadn't noticed that Tamara's mom was there with us since she was unpacking another tray of bakery goodies on the table. Tamara instantly changed into the sweetest lie we had all seen whenever a grown-up was around.
"Oh, Mrs. Woods, you look so young," Gina remarked immediately trying to get on Diana's good side.
"Why, thank you, Gina. You're so nice," Diana said. If she only knew how nice. Tamara glared at her with a fury that was pretty intense. I wasn't far away from that sentiment. Gina ordered a dozen cupcakes because she said that she was going to share them with family and friends.
"It's so important to share with our communities and I know that I'm just a teenager, but I just feel that it's the right thing to do," she said. Wow. She could easily win an Academy Award I thought.
"You should be an actress," I said.
"Natalie, don't be like that. It's good to see teenagers doing positive things for their communities. You should follow her example," Mrs. Woods said. Seriously? Tamara packed her cupcakes and handed them to her mom.
"I can't do it. I might throw a cupcake on her face," Tamara whispered at me. I smiled.
"That would be $18.00 dollars, sweetie," I said. Gina stared at me and I knew it annoyed her because she glared at me with a curved frown, but I also knew that she wouldn't talk back at me because Tamara's mom was present. She smiled hypocritical at me and then reached for her pocket and gave me a $20.00 dollar bill.
"Don't worry honey, keep the change. After all, it's for the school dance," Gina replied.
"Why aren't you a doll?" Mrs. Woods said falling for the act. Gina walked out with her dozen cupcakes to her car.
"Hi Natalie," Brad said to me and smiled.
"And you are?" Tamara's mom asked.
"I'm Brad," he replied.
"This is Tamara's mom, Diana Woods," I presented him to her.
"Oh, nice to meet you," he said extending a hand for a handshake. Mrs. Woods shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you too. I've never seen you here before," Mrs. Woods said.
"Oh, he's new mom," Tamara said.
"Oh. Would you like to buy a cupcake for the school dance? Our goal is to hire the coolest D.J. ever," Mrs. Woods said. Brad brushed his immaculate blond hair with his fingertips and smiled.
"Okay, sure," he said and then pointed at the one with pink frosting.
"That one," he said.
"This one's vanilla," Tamara's mom said.
"Yeah, I know," Brad replied.
"Are you sure you want one with pink frosting? Maybe you want one with blue-"
"No, that's okay. I'm taking the one with pink," he said.
"That's $1.50," I said. Brad took out his money and gave it to me.
"I'll be waiting for you," he said. I looked up.
"What do you mean?" I asked him.
"I mean to take you home," he replied.
"You're going home with him?" Tamara asked. I was in big trouble.
"Um... it's okay Brad, Tamara's mom is going to take me," I replied. He looked worryingly at Tamara's mom as he carried the white box. Mrs. Woods waved her hand at me.
"Oh, Natalie, don't be silly. You can go with Brad. You've helped enough. Tamara and I will take it from here. Besides, we've already sold half of the bakery goodies. We'll just try and sell the rest in front of our house. Maybe we'll do a lemonade stand with bakery goodies," she said. How did he do that? How did he convince a total stranger to agree with him? Was it his supernatural powers, his good looks, or his puppy blue eyes? I stared at him and he looked right at me. He was so freaking hot. Maybe he was a Greek god and I didn't know about it. Was he Zeus? I laughed at my own inner thoughts in secret and then I nodded.
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow Tamara," I said.
"Call me," Tamara said motioning her fingers as if they were a phone. I was sure that she wanted to know every detail of my ride with Brad, like if there were many details to share anyway.
"Um, can I buy a few cupcakes, for mom," I said.
"Oh, sure honey, here, have them on the house, our treat," she said.
"No, but I wanted to contribute to the DJ."
"Sweety, you already have and besides Tamara said you're already volunteering for the car wash on Saturday," Tamara's mom said.
"Oh, but still," I insisted. Mrs. Woods packed four cupcakes and boxed them.
"No buts, no scram. Bye Brad. It was nice to meet you," Mrs. Woods said waving at him. Why couldn't my mother be like that, I thought.
"You too. Bye Tamara," Brad replied.
"Bye," Tamara said waving and smiling. I already knew what she was thinking and almost blushed.
"Let me get that for you," Brad said offering to take my backpack. He immediately took the box from me too.
"Um... I was going to carry it, but okay."
"No problem," Brad said as we arrived at his parking spot. His 1974 Norton bike was parked next to Mr. Carter's car.
"Are you insane? You're parking in the faculty's parking lot?" I asked.
"They haven't told me anything, besides I need to park here. It's the safest place," Brad said. Then, he popped his hood, which was under his seat, and placed both our backpacks in with our boxes of cupcakes. Then, he placed the seatback in place and tapped on the seat.
"Have a seat," he said after sitting on his bike.
"You know, I don't know if this is a good idea," I said.
"Why not?" He asked me.
"It's not safe," I replied.
"Are you sure that's what's worrying you?" He asked me.
"Yes. Why would you think otherwise," I replied.
"I don't know, you tell me," he said. Was he serious? Why else would I be afraid of getting on his bike?
"I already told you," I replied.
"Okay. If I promise you that I'll go slow, will you change your mind?" He asked me. Would I? I sat on the back and hugged him for safety. Then, we took off.