As Cassidy waited nervously in the sunroom, she knew that no matter who her blind date was, she would not complain. Not after what she’d done to Bryn. Of all the girls, Cassidy deserved to get the worst date of the night. If her date turned out to be what Bryn might consider “decent,” Cassidy fully intended to talk him into trading places with Darrell Zuckerman. Sure, it might seem odd for Daisy Buchanan to be dancing with a scarecrow, but if he was a good guy and if this switch pacified Bryn, Cassidy did not care.
Besides that, Cassidy told herself, Darrell Zuckerman was not that bad. Well, unless he was angry at you. That could be bad. She nervously stroked Toto’s plush fur. “I think I know how Dorothy felt,” she whispered, “when she was waiting for the Wicked Witch of the West to destroy her.”
“Dorothy?”
Cassidy looked up from where she was sitting in a wicker chair to see a lanky-looking scarecrow leaning against the doorframe. Despite her previously gloomy thoughts, she couldn’t help but smile as she stood to greet him. Feeling her eye mask to make sure it was in place, she went over and extended her hand. “And you must be my scarecrow.”
He made a deep, loose-jointed bow, very similar to how the scarecrow in the movie would do it. “At your service, Dorothy.” He reached out and patted the stuffed dog. “And Toto too.”
For what seemed like the first time in days, she laughed. “Want to sit down?”
“Y—ye—yes!” He let out a big sneeze.
“Bless you.”
“Thanks. And sorry. My allergies kicked up tonight.” He sniffled as he stuffed a loose piece of straw back into the front of his red plaid shirt. “This isn’t helping much.”
“Oh, dear.” She frowned. “Want to take the straw out before we go to—”
“No!” He clutched his chest protectively. “Where would I be without my straw filling? Just a pile of old clothes? I think not, dear Dorothy.”
She laughed again. This guy was good.
“Besides, the kind lady of the house—I believe her name is Mrs. Jacobs—generously gave me a Benadryl pill.” He sneezed again as he sat down. “Hopefully it won’t make me sleepy. She promised to brew me a cup of coffee before we leave just in case.” Now he seemed to really study Cassidy. “You make a very nice Dorothy,” he said. It sounded like a sincere compliment.
“And you’re a great Scarecrow too.” She tilted her head to one side. “But you don’t seem familiar. Have we met before?”
“I honestly don’t know,” he confessed. “I don’t recall meeting you.” He smiled. “And I’m sure I would remember you.” He reached over and gently tweaked a braid.
“Well, we’re supposed to wear our eye masks until we get to the dance,” she explained. “Although I’ll bet most everyone has guessed who their date is by now.”
“It’d be pretty hard for me to guess.” He rubbed his nose as if he expected to sneeze again. “I’m new to Northwood. I don’t really know anyone. Well, except for a few people in my classes. And the guys in the limo tonight. And, of course, the girl who asked me to do this.”
“Which girl was that?” she asked curiously.
“Devon Fremont.”
“Really?” Cassidy was surprised. Devon could’ve done far worse. In fact, Cassidy had done far, far worse for Bryn, but she was trying not to think about that right now.
“Yeah, Devon’s in my fitness-training class. She was trying to get Kent for your blind date, but he already had plans. As a matter of fact, he’s here tonight.”
“What’s he dressed as?”
“That guy from The Hunger Games.”
She nodded. “That would be Abby’s date.”
He shook his head. “How do you keep it all straight?”
“I’m actually just putting it all together myself.”
He pointed to his head. “Maybe I would too—if I only had a brain.”
She laughed again. “You’re pretty funny. But do you have a name or do I call you Scarecrow?”
“Scarecrow is fine for now,” he told her. “Maybe after I meet the wizard and get a brain . . . maybe I’ll come up with a name by then.”
“So how long have you been at Northwood?” she asked.
“Not even two weeks.”
“That must be hard . . . being new, I mean.” She frowned. “Although, under the right circumstances, it could be nice to get a fresh new start. That actually sounds pretty good to me right now.”
“Why?”
She let out a sigh. “It’s a long story.”
“I think we still have about ten minutes.”
And so, similar to how she’d spilled the beans to Emma, she told him about her stupid mistake of setting up the beautiful Bryn with someone like Darrell Zuckerman.
“You mean Jay Gatsby?”
“Yeah. That’s him.”
“He seemed like a nice guy to me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, sure he’s nice to you. He doesn’t even know you. And as long as you don’t cross him, he’s fine. But I have seriously crossed him. He’ll be enraged at me.”
“For setting him up with a beautiful girl? Why would he be mad at you?”
“Because I know Bryn. She will not take this lying down. Neither will Darrell.” She glanced at the door that led out to the garden. “In fact, it’s taking all my self-control not to make a run for it right now.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
“I am wrong. I was wrong.” Cassidy stood up now, pacing across the sunroom. “I don’t know what got into me. Bryn could’ve had a date with any guy. I so did not have to pick Darrell Zuckerman.”
“You said Bryn was your friend, right?”
Cassidy shrugged. “I guess.”
“Friends forgive each other, don’t they?”
“Yeah, maybe. I mean, Bryn might forgive me . . . eventually. But Darrell Zuckerman—it’s no secret that he’s an atheist, and since he promised to make my life miserable if I messed this up, well, I don’t think he’ll give me any grace on this.”
Scarecrow slowly nodded. “That’s rough, Dorothy.” He pointed at her shoes. “Maybe you should click your heels together and get out of here.”
She looked down at the glitter-coated red shoes and smiled. “I wish I could.”
“But then I wouldn’t get to take you to the dance,” he said sadly.
“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I didn’t want to spoil your evening too. I’ll stick around.” She removed her eye mask. “But I guess we don’t even need these masks right now. It’s not like we’ll recognize each other anyway.”
He smiled as he removed his own. “You really make a pretty Dorothy.”
“Thanks. You’re a great Scarecrow too. I wish I was in better spirits.”
He rubbed his chin as if he was thinking. “If I only had a brain, I would try to think of a way to help you out of this mess.”
Despite her gloominess, she smiled.
“When I’m in bad straits, I sometimes ask myself a question,” he said.
“What question?” she asked.
“What’s the worst thing that could happen? You already said that you think your friend will forgive you . . . in time. But really, what is the worst thing this Jay Gatsby—or Darrell Zuckerman—can do to you? It’s not like he’s going to hire a hit man to take you out, is he?”
“So what would he do then?”
“Well, Darrell is super smart. Genius. And he’s always struck me as a guy who doesn’t play by the rules.”
“Uh-huh? So what would he do?”
She thought hard. “The first thing I thought he might do is get me into some kind of trouble at school—you know, do something really clever and pin it on me—so that I’d get caught and possibly lose the college scholarships I’ve been working so hard toward.”
“But how could you get caught—as you say—if you are innocent?”
“Like I said, Darrell is really smart . . . and devious. And the way he was talking to me—the threats he made—I have no doubt he would carry them out. He would get even.”
“But it seems like even if he tried to do that, you would be innocent and your friends would know it. You could gather evidence and prove your innocence. And even if it was inconvenient, you could prove that he was the one to set you up and he’d be the one to get in trouble. You would be cleared.”
“Do you want to be my lawyer? To help clear my name? If and when this happens?”
“Sure. I’d be happy to help you, Dorothy.” He tapped his head. “If I only had a brain.”
She laughed.
“See, that’s the Dorothy I know. Brave and smart and determined. That’s the girl who will get me to the wizard.”
She pointed at the wall clock. “And get you to the dance.”
He stood and made another low bow. “I am at your disposal.”
“Then I guess this is it. We’re off to see the wizard.” She linked her arm in his. “Or else we’ll be carried away by the evil monkeys.”
He reached up and touched his nose. “Hey, I’m not sneezing anymore.”
“That’s right.”
“I take that as a good sign.” He grinned as he replaced his eye mask. “This is going to be a good evening—for both of us.”
“And Toto too.” She patted the stuffed dog’s head, forcing what she hoped looked like a brave smile. If Dorothy could be brave against all the foes that she had to face, why couldn’t Cassidy be brave enough to face Bryn and Darrell? Scarecrow was right. By imagining the worst that could happen, she realized that she really had been blowing it out of proportion. Sure, she owed both Bryn and Darrell full apologies. But she would deliver them, and if those two refused to forgive and forget—well, she would just deal with it.