The week leading up to the Halloween carnival was chaotic. All the clubs and sports teams were in charge of different stands, and everyone in school was busy preparing for it. People were skipping classes to work on their booths, and nowhere in the school felt safe as people got in the Halloween spirit. The boys at Weybridge loved nothing more than jumping out from behind things to scare the girls, and I spent most of the week on edge.
The school itself transformed too. There were glowing jack-o’-lanterns in the gardens and spiderwebs dangling in the corridors with huge fake spiders crawling across them. The teachers decorated their classrooms, and some even came to class in costume and handed out sweets. I couldn’t believe how much Weybridge Academy embraced Halloween.
“How’s everything for your booth going?” I asked Cress as we made our way to lunch on Friday. It was only one more sleep until Halloween, which meant one more sleep until I saw my mom again. I was struggling to contain my excitement.
“Great,” she said. “We’re pretty much ready. I just have to finalize the roster so everyone knows when they’re manning the booth. Are you sure I can’t convince you to volunteer?”
“Yeah, unfortunately not,” I replied. “Wes is a pretty understanding boyfriend, but I think there are limits.” It was hard to believe we’d only been dating a week. Already, everything about us felt so natural, and it was like we’d been together much longer. I think it was because we’d started out as friends.
“You’re probably right,” she said. “I can’t imagine Wes happily sitting by and watching you kiss other guys. I wouldn’t do the booth either if I had a choice. But since I’m the captain of the team I have to set a good example. Anna, on the other hand, can’t wait. She was the first one to sign up, and she’s not even on the dance team.”
‘Of course, she was.” I laughed.
Someone slung an arm over my shoulder, and I looked up to find Wes grinning down at me. “Hey,” he said, planting a kiss on my cheek.
I blushed as I smiled. I liked how comfortable I felt around him and how normal it felt to have him kiss me on the cheek.
“Hey to you too,” I said. “Where have you been all morning?”
“I got a pass to skip class,” he said. “Had to work on the crew contribution for tomorrow.”
“I feel like I should already know this, but what are you guys doing?” Cress asked.
“We’re in charge of the haunted house,” he said. “It’s going to be super spooky this year.” He wiggled his free hand in the air to emphasize the point.
“I’ve never found haunted houses all that scary,” I said.
“Well, this one will scare you for sure.” Lowering his voice, he said, “Keep this just between us, but we’ve come up with the most terrifying ending to it. We’ve roped in Mr. Keech who’s going to be telling everyone they failed their chemistry test.”
Cress and I laughed.
“That is terrifying,” I agreed.
“Yeah, I thought so,” he said with a pleased look in his eyes.
“So, have you put any thought into a costume for tomorrow?” I asked.
“Well, Sawyer’s pissed at me because I told him I was planning to go as Thor. He wants me to dress as the Goose to his Maverick.”
“Of course, Sawyer thinks he’s Maverick.” I laughed.
“Yeah. He does have a slightly inflated ego.”
“Just slightly,” I agreed.
“And he loves to play on the fact we’re twins when we dress up for Halloween. He thinks it helps him entice girls when we match.” Wes rolled his eyes.
“That sounds like Sawyer,” Cress said.
“How about the both of you? Got your costumes all planned out?”
“Yep.” Cress grinned. “I’m heading down the Marvel path too and going as Black Widow.”
“That’s great,” Wes replied. “You actually look a lot like her.”
“Yeah, I thought it would be a good fit.”
“How about you, Isobel?”
“My mom and I always dress up as zombie waitresses. She’s bringing our costumes.” A month ago, I might have been embarrassed to admit I was dressing up as a waitress because my mom and I always did it while working at her café. Especially after Veronica had shared pictures of me in my café uniform around school. I was surprised to find it didn’t bother me at all, and not one part of me was ashamed of my background. I might not have grown up in a wealthy home like everyone else at school, but I’d had the best mom in the world, and that was worth more than money ever would be.
“Aw, how fun,” Cress replied. “I’m so excited to meet her.”
“Yeah, she can’t wait to meet everyone too,” I said. “I wish she could stay longer than one night, but she said she’s going to try and get here more often.”
“We’re just going to have to make it the best day in Weybridge ever,” Cress said.
“Definitely,” I agreed.
The rest of the school day was pretty much a write-off. No one was concentrating in class, and the teachers weren’t all that focused on schoolwork either.
BEFORE I KNEW IT, it was Saturday. Mom wasn’t arriving in town until lunch and Halloween Fest didn’t start until the evening, which meant I had no good reason for avoid my driving lesson that morning. I tried to convince Cress I was too sick to go, but she wasn’t at all fooled by my pathetic attempts to avoid driving and happily shoved me out the door for my lesson.
I hoped I’d do slightly better this time around, but my lesson was just as pathetic as the last one, if not a little bit worse. The instructor had finally convinced me to pull out of the parking lot onto the open road, but I froze as soon as there were other cars near me. He took over and did most of the driving from then on.
My head was lowered as I returned to my dorm room. It was hard not to feel defeated when most people made driving look so easy. Even my instructor seemed surprised by how slow my progress was. I had a feeling I was the worst student he’d ever had.
I pushed open the door to my dorm room and gasped as my mom jumped out at me.
“Surprise!” she squealed.
All my gloomy driving thoughts completely disappeared as I dashed across the small gap between us and wrapped my arms around her.
“You’re here!” I gasped. “I thought you weren’t getting in for a couple more hours.”
“I made better time than I expected and wanted to surprise you,” she said.
“Well, you certainly did that. My heart is beating from my throat.” I laughed before pulling out of the hug to look at her. Although she was beaming at me and her face was bright, there were bags under her eyes and she looked tired from her journey. She was wearing her usual long cardigan and fitted jeans, but they hung a little loose on her like she’d lost a bit of weight. I hoped it wasn’t anything to do with how hard she was working at the café or how stressed out she was.
Over her shoulder, I could see Cress lingering in the background, a huge smile on her face.
“I see you’ve met Cress,” I said.
Mom grinned as she glanced at my roommate. “Yes, she’s been telling me all about her kiss or scare booth,” she said. “It sounds like it will be hilarious.”
The idea had developed quite a lot since we came up with it. Now, anyone who bought a ticket for the booth would be blindfolded, and they’d either be kissed by whoever was manning the booth or have something strange pressed up against their lips to scare them. The girls had found all kinds of funny things for people to kiss. There was candy floss, cupcakes and other strange feeling foods, but then someone had also managed to commandeer a bunny, some mice, and a pet iguana.
“I hope so,” Cress said. “And your mom said she would have been totally keen to volunteer for the booth. Didn’t you, Ms. Grace?”
“Mom,” I groaned, giving her a slight shove.
“What?” she asked. “I like kissing as much as anyone.”
“Would you like me to die of embarrassment?”
“I can think of worse ways to go” She shrugged.
I felt like Norma had been a bad influence on my mom while I’d been gone.
“How was your driving lesson?” Cress asked.
“Terrible. I’m this close to quitting.” I held up my hand and showed her about a centimeter gap between my fingers.
“Don’t give up,” my mom said. “I think you’ll find it will suddenly click one day and you’ll forget it was ever hard in the first place. You just need to keep practicing.”
“Well, do you want to come practice with me?’
“I think I’ll pass. I love you, Iz, but I don’t need that kind of trauma before my morning coffee.”
“Fair,” I said with a laugh. “I guess you can be glad that at least Matthew’s paying someone else to risk their life with me then.”
“Yes, of everything he’s done for you, that’s one of the things I’m most grateful for.”
I shook my head. “Have you been to Matthew’s place yet?”
I’d told him my mom was visiting and invited him to come to the carnival too. He’d said he couldn’t get away from work for the weekend, but he’d insisted Mom stay at his place tonight. She’d been reluctant to accept the offer, but I’d convinced her it would be a waste of money to get a motel when the house was just sitting empty.
“Not yet. I came straight here because I wanted to see you first.”
“How about we go there now so you can drop your bags and freshen up. Then we can grab some food and still have time to get ready for the carnival?”
“That sounds great,” Mom said. “I could really use a shower. I drove through the night, and I’m feeling a little grimy.” She turned and gave Cress a smile. “It was lovely to meet you, Cress.”
“You too, Ms. Grace. I’ll see you at the carnival tonight.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Mom and I left the dorm and strolled through the school grounds to return to her car.
“I like Cress,” Mom said as we walked. “She seems like a good friend for you.”
“She is. I’m lucky I ended up with her as my roommate.”
“And this school,” Mom continued. “I can’t believe you attend a place like this. It’s incredibly gorgeous.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice,” I agreed. “But you know I’d still prefer to be at home with you.”
Mom waved my comment away. “That’s just crazy talk. I can see how much you like it here. And I love seeing you so happy.”
“I mean, I’m just extra happy today because you’re here.”
“Well, obviously.” Mom laughed. “But you seem to have really settled in here. Even before your falling out with your girlfriends back home, they were always making you feel like you weren’t good enough, and I can tell the friends you’ve made here are supportive and kind.”
I couldn’t argue with that. I was surprised because, when I thought about it, Weybridge was starting to feel like a second home. And as much as I missed my mom, I wasn’t homesick for Rapid Bay the way I was when I’d first arrived here.
“So, when do I get to meet Wes?” Mom asked. She looked around like he might magically pop out of the bushes. I’d told her all about us dating earlier in the week. At first, she seemed a bit worried about me moving on from Noah so soon, but I think the fact that Wes had already been such a good friend to me helped win her over. Now she couldn’t wait to meet him.
“He’ll be at the carnival,” I said. “He’s over there helping set up this morning; otherwise, he would have been around to meet you.”
“Will Sawyer and Anna be there tonight too?”
“Yep, the whole school turns out for this thing. You’ll get to meet all my friends then.”
“If they’re anything like Cress, I’m sure I’m going to love them.”
I laughed because Cress was, without a doubt, the most parent-pleasing one of my friends. Although, I bet Wes would be just as charming. Anna and Sawyer, however, were much more unpredictable. “We’ll see,” I said. “So, how was your drive out here?”
“Long,” Mom replied. “It probably would have been easier to take the bus. Perhaps next time I’ll consider it.”
“So, the drive hasn’t put you off coming back?”
“Not at all.” Mom smiled.
“And how do you feel about leaving the café with Norma?”
Mom blew out a breath. “I’m not good at handing over control, but it’s worth it to spend some time with you.”
It meant so much to me she’d made the effort to come visit me. She always went above and beyond for me, even when her work consumed so much of her time. It was no wonder I hadn’t grown up wondering where my father was. Mom had been better than two parents ever could be.
“But, let’s not talk about Rapid Bay,” Mom said as we arrived at her car. It looked completely out of place in the school parking lot, which was filled with high-end, expensive vehicles, but I didn’t care one bit. Mom smiled. “This weekend is all about enjoying ourselves and spending time together. I want to get a small peek into your life here.”
“Yeah, of course,” I said.
“Now, I must admit, I’m starving. Maybe we should grab some lunch before we go to your father’s place? Do you know anywhere good?
“You ask that like I haven’t been raving about the burgers here ever since I arrived.” I laughed. “Come on, I’ll direct you where to go.”
