Chapter Four

* Working Girl…*

The bad thing about coming home and having a grand plan in getting your boyfriend back, is not having enough money to pay attention, let alone rebuild a damned tree fort. I grabbed the paper off the dining room table and searched through the want ads. I circled a handful of advertisements, but didn’t find anything too promising.

“What are you doing?” Mom asked as she walked into the dining room. She had her usual cup of coffee in her hand and she was whistling.

That was new.

“Looking for a job.” I looked at her curiously. “What are you so happy about?”

Mom’s face reddened for a moment, and then shook her head. “Nothing. Life. So, are your friends coming still?”

That was weird. “Uh, yeah, I talked to Alexis a few days ago. She and Todd will be here next Monday. I’m hoping to get us all a job at the Fun Fair or something.”

The Fun Fair was our county’s only real form of entertainment, and it was also the only typical place in which a college student would apply, as it was a seasonal position.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were going to work?”

I frowned. “Well, I can’t be a free-loader all summer. I mean, I have my savings from the Library, but that’s going to go away real fast if I don’t get something here.”

“Okay, well I just don’t want you to think you have to have something. We’re doing fine.”

“I plan on rebuilding that fort.”

Mom took a deep breath and looked mad once again. Me bringing up the fort was obviously not a happy thing for her to hear.

“Why are you doing this?”

“I saw him the other night.”

Mom looked at me and sighed. “And?”

“And, I think Alexis may be right. I think he still has feelings for me. And even though he has a girlfriend, and this may not work out, I still want to be his friend. I love him, Mom.” I started to cry, and felt so dumb. That’s all I’d been doing lately, and to be honest, I was getting on my own nerves.

Mom smiled sadly. “I just don’t want to see you hurt. I don’t want to see him hurt, either. Maybe I was wrong about you two.”

I shook my head. “No, Mom, that’s the thing. Everyone knew except for me. I mean, I felt something when I was with him. I did. I felt this Zing, and it was amazing, and I thought I had that same kind of feeling for Jessup, but…”

“It wasn’t there?” Mom asked. She placed her hands in front of her on the table and leaned back in the chair.

“No. It left. I guess the thought of having something with someone close to where I was, someone who liked the same things that I liked was exciting, and I wanted to have it all. I wanted to be in college, have the normal experience, date, love and all that, and it was impossible with Payton a million miles away. He’s not innocent either. Honestly, he kept pestering me every few minutes about what I was doing, and he was so jealous… He was different. I thought it would be easier for both of us if we just…”

“Found someone else?”

“No, I guess, if we just did whatever until I was done.”

Mom frowned, and looked at me as if I disappointed her.

“Keri…”

I put my head down. “It’s not that I wanted to… well…”

“Sex is a serious thing, Keri. You don’t just do that with whomever…”

Mom’s face was red now, and she looked mad.

I felt stupid, the kind of stupid only a mother could make you feel. “I didn’t do anything. I couldn’t.”

Mom took a deep breath and shook her head. “I love you, Keri, but honestly what the hell were you thinking?”

“I don’t know. I just… I really thought Jessup and I had this thing… and then we didn’t.”

“And now you want Payton?”

“I know I sound immature, and that I don’t sound like I know what I want, but I do.”

“And that is?” Mom asked.

“I just want to be with Payton. Around him, with him… friends, really whatever it is I can get at this point.”

“That’s going to be harder than you think, honey.”

I nodded. “I know I really screwed things up, but I’m going to fix it.”

“What if he doesn’t want what you want?”

“Then I’ll go back to school knowing that I tried. I’m not leaving until he knows how much I love him.”

Mom’s frown left her face and she smiled. “I’m proud of you, honey.”

I smiled back at her. “I’m proud of me, too.” Then we both laughed.

Two days later, I was standing in a waiting room at Aeris International. Aeris was a job finding service that helped place people into careers. I found out about them through a high school buddy that told me they hired people to work at the Fun Fair.

When they called my name, I stood and walked to the reception area. A woman came out right away and led me through some glass doors into her office.

“I’m Samantha Salzbrennar,” she said as she held out her hand for me to shake. I shook it, and she gestured me toward one of her empty chairs.

“So, you want to work at the Fun Fair?” she asked, and I nodded.

“Yeah, it would be an ideal place,” I said, smiling. I had a folder with me that held my resume and references. She held her hand out and I handed it to her.

“So, you’re a college girl?”

I nodded. “Yes, I go to Ohio State.”

“Nice. I went to Ohio Northern.”

I smiled, and looked at her. “Ohio weather, am I right?”

She laughed, and I felt more at ease. When in doubt, go with the weather.

“So, how long do you plan on being home?”

“Just until September, and then I’ll be heading back to Ohio.”

Samantha nodded. “And what about breaks?”

“Well, I guess I never really thought about it. If I have a job, I’d be more than happy to come home for those as well.” I couldn’t help but think of Payton. Would we still be fighting like we were now, or would we have made up by then? The promise of that made my heart flutter.

“So, you’d be willing to come home and work for your Thanksgiving and Spring breaks?”

“Yeah, and Christmas, too, if you need the extra help,” I offered. Samantha smiled and marked something down on her clipboard.

“Do you have any experience in food service?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Unfortunately, I don’t. I work at the University Library while in school. I have good references, though.”

Samantha nodded once more, and then frowned. “You wouldn’t be interested in a mascot job, would you?”

My eyes widened, and I laughed. “Um, yeah, of course, that would be fine. Anything would be great.”

Samantha’s eyebrow hitched. “Why’d you laugh?”

It was embarrassing, but I needed the job. “I had an incident years ago at the fun fair with a mascot.”

“An incident?”

“Yeah. When I was five. My Dad and I came here every summer with my buddy, Payton, and I had an accident…”

Samantha looked confused.

“While sitting on the mascot’s lap,” I finished.

Samantha grinned. “You know what they say about karma, right?”

I laughed once more, and nodded. “I’ll take the job.”

“Good. You’ll start on Friday.”

“Ms. Salzbrennar?” I asked, nearly forgetting the other question I wanted her to answer.

“Yes?”

“My friends from school are looking for a job, too. They’ve both worked in food service. Do you have anything else?”

“As a matter of fact, I do… How soon will they be here?”

“Monday.”

“Bring them in with you when you come in to work. You’ll be a busy girl this summer. Our hours are 9 to 5, Monday thru Friday.”

“Thanks so much for this opportunity!”

Ms. Salzbrennar laughed. “Oh, I wouldn’t thank me yet!”