Chapter 11

Trent and I enjoyed an affectionate carefree lunch at the old-fashioned soda shop that wasn’t far from our school. A lot of our fellow classmates hung out there after school and on weekends. The chef cooked the juiciest cheeseburger in town. After we finished our meal, we shared a vanilla milkshake. Neither of us mentioned any uncomfortable subjects like Little James Bow-Ridge or sex.

We were sitting in our favorite booth, chatting about our finals, when Paul arrived. He sat across from us and didn’t say anything. Paul studied our body language and when he noticed Trent playing with my braid, Paul’s shoulders visibly relaxed. A bright smile spread over his features. “Hi you two,” he said.

I was happy when Paul joined our conversation about finals and from that the topic bounced over to his sister.

“Hey Paul, I saw Kayla yesterday. She told me the great news--that Freddy asked her to go steady,” I said.

Paul snorted, “Yeah, who’s surprised that happened? Raise your hand if you are.”

“Uh-huh, it was a given. I’ve been telling my little brother that he should ask her out for years. Kayla’s a sweet girl,” said Trent. He kissed my cheek and then said, “But not as sweet as my Viv.”

Paul watched Trent’s display of affection with a slight smile. “Good to see that you two aren’t listening to gossip. Vivvie, what did you do to get Eva’s panties in a wad? I mentioned the art show and how I was looking forward to seeing her work and your work. The mention of your name made steam fly out of her ears.”

Trent laughed, “Here panties are in a wad most of the time, Paul”

The bell hanging over the door of the soda shop announced customers entering. In unison, we all swiveled our heads around to see who had walked in. Paul let out a short whistle. “Speak of the devil,” he said.

It was Eva with Dirk Vendall in tow. He saw us first and took a few steps in our direction. When Eva noticed where he was headed, she jerked him backwards by his shirt collar and motioned towards a booth on the opposite side of the soda shop. I wondered how she would explain why she didn’t want to sit with us, since she normally hung out with us after school. Dirk followed her but sat looking towards our booth wearing a forlorn expression.

Trent said to Paul, “Dude, she’s got Dirk by the balls. We need to do something.”

Paul snorted again, “Like what? By him a blow-up doll?”

“You guys,” I said, “Dirk can’t help if he loves her. Sometimes you can’t control who you fall in love with.”

The bell rang again. As if on clue, Javelin stood in the doorway. He gave the shop a quick once over. I saw him frown when he saw Eva. And when he looked in our direction, I felt the burn of his glaze as he looked at Trent’s hand on my braid. A warm flush ran over me and Trent could feel the heat rise off my body. He gave me a side glance and released my hair.

Javelin walked over to our booth. “What’s up?” He and Paul gave each other five. Trent sat beside me, like a soldier posed for war. I smiled at Javelin when he looked at me.

“You,” he said pointing at me. “We need to talk. In private.” He ignored Trent’s existence. I felt Trent stiffen.

He said, “Whatever you have to say to my girlfriend, you can say it in front of me.” He started to stand up, but my hand of his arm stilled him. “Trent, there’s no need for any trouble.” I said. My mind raced. How was I going to handle this situation without causing a fight.

Then Mavis and Jerome entered the shop and when Jerome saw Javelin, he let out a whoop of happiness, saving the day. He was a burly black guy, all muscle and brawn. Javelin’s grin split his face and when Jerome picked him up in a bear hug, I thought it would split in two.

“Man, when did you get into town? Why haven’t you called?” Jerome asked. He put an arm around Javelin and steered him to the counter, where they sat talking. Mavis winked at me. I loved her so much at that moment, I thought I was going to cry.

In character, she said, “I’ve got nothing for you, girl.” She tossed her head and went over to the booth where Eva sat. I looked down at the table, trying not to laugh. When I looked up both Trent and Paul were staring at me. Pretending to be upset, I dabbed the corners of my eyes with a napkin. Trent clumsily patted my back. I looked over at Eva’s booth and saw her triumphant grin. She chatted with Mavis, who sent evil looks my way. Eva looked happy. If she only knew, I thought.

Paul summed it up for us. “This whole place has gone crazy.”

I thought about the curse that was purportedly going to affect this generation of the founding four. There was a representative of each family in the soda shop. Javelin was a Bow-Ridge, who was the first family to settle in the area. His family made it rich off the lumber harvested from the thick woods. There was Paul Florence, whose family has always been a part of the political system--from Mayor to sheriff. Dirk Vendall’s family was the real estate monger and Trent Sawyer’s father owned the most profitable banking system in the county. None of them seemed to worried about the curse that hung like a black cloud over their heads.

Trent broke through my musings. “Viv, I hope the whole summer won’t be like this. Why don’t you and Eva have a catfight and get it out of your system now?”

Paul laughed, “Should be fun tonight--watching Eva send Viv evil eyes.”

I took his statement to be my cue to leave. “Well guys, I need to get home. I’ve got an art show to prepare for.”

Trent and Paul stood up. Paul said, “We’ll be there, Viv.” Trent made a big production of kissing me goodbye. Mavis would have classified the kiss as a “Hollywood moment.” When he released me, I instinctively looked over at Javelin. I wasn’t surprised that he witnessed the scene, but his look of anger made my eyes go wide as saucers. Why should he be angry because Paul kissed me?