Part 6 (1/2)
”Oh, I'm looking forward to it getting to know more about her, maybe over that beer I mentioned. Are you up for it, Mister I'm Not Twenty One Yet?”
Jonathan hesitated only for a second. ”Yeah, okay, that sounds good. My dad said we should relax and live a little on the cruise; I guess having a beer qualifies.”
Kevin released his shoulder and clapped him on the back a couple of times. ”Yes, Jon, my man, it sure does.” He glanced back over his shoulder at Candi, who was now standing right behind them. ”You comin', Gumdrop?”
”No thanks, I'm going back to wait for Sarah.” She stared at her brother hard before turning and walking back toward the cabin, while the boys continued to the stairs at the end of the corridor.
Kevin shouted, ”Suit yourself!” already forgetting about their exchange.
Candi stood in front of her cabin door. She knocked, then used her key to go in.
Sarah was still sitting at the makeup table. ”Back so soon?” she asked sweetly, as if nothing had happened.
”Yeah,” Candi responded quietly. She stood there for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of dealing with Sarah head-on, deciding eventually that it would be better to fix it and move on than to let it fester. ”Listen, Sarah, I'm sorry I said that stuff about your dad or whatever. I don't want to fight with you; I just want to hang out and have a good time. I'd prefer to do that with you, but if you don't want to hang out with me, that's fine too. I'll understand.”
Sarah stopped with her makeup application and turned to look at Candi, sitting on the edge of the bed. ”What is it exactly that you would understand?”
Candi started playing with her cuticles nervously. ”Well, that hanging out with me might not be what you would want to do, I guess.”
Sarah continued to push her, ”And why wouldn't it be what I want to do?”
”I don't know maybe I'm not like your other friends at school and so maybe since I'm not like them, the things I do might not be your idea of fun or whatever.” She was frustrated trying to explain this concept that was floating around in her head, which was essentially: I'm not cool enough for you.
But Sarah was hearing something totally different. ”So what you're saying, basically, is that you're too goody-goody for me and you don't want to hang out ... is that it?” Her tone was getting b.i.t.c.hy, a barely controlled temper simmering beneath the surface.
”What? No! Of course not, don't be silly! I don't think that at all. It's just ... it's just that ... well ... you and I travel in different circles. I mean, your friends are more sophisticated than mine are, wear fancier clothes and shoes, go to parties and stuff. I wish I could do those things, but I can't or I don't I don't know which, actually, but it doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say is you're cool and I'm not, so if you don't want to hang out with me, I totally understand, okay!”
Candi stood up and walked quickly to the door. She didn't wait for a response; she turned the handle, jerked open the door, and rushed out into the hallway, letting the door slam shut behind her again. Great, she thought, this is the second time in ten minutes I've run out of the room. I'm such a wuss. Sarah's going to think I'm a total drama queen.
She wasn't sure if Sarah had purposely goaded her into it, but somehow she had figured out Candi's deepest thoughts and got her to say them out loud. Running away was the only escape from her humiliation.
As Candi walked quickly down the hallway towards the stairs, all she could think about was how Sarah was probably going to go back to school and tell all her friends about how much of a loser Candi Buckley is. The thought was just too depressing to dwell on. So much for moving up the social food chain.
Back at the cabin, Sarah sat staring at the door that had just closed with a bang. She carefully reviewed the exchange she'd just had with Candi, turning mindlessly back to the mirror to finish up her makeup. As she went through the motions of putting on blush, she put it all together, finally figuring out what Candi had been trying to say.
So, the little Sugar Lump thinks I'm cool. That's nice. And the poor thing didn't think she was worthy of Sarah and her friends. Sarah laughed out loud at that. The irony was that Sarah's friends were only interested in being with Sarah because they thought she was rich and well-connected, or because Kevin was her brother and they wanted to be his one and only true love. And truth be told, Sarah was jealous of the relations.h.i.+p Candi seemed to have with her parents. It was so open and loving. They didn't care what anyone thought of them. Life would be so much easier if it was really that way.
Well, if she had any hope at all of having a good time on this cruise, she definitely needed something to keep her occupied. Since Candi seemed to be worried about being cool, maybe there was something Sarah could do to take care of that. She got up from her ministrations and headed to the bed where Candi's bags were sitting.
Without any regard for Candi's privacy, she opened them up, one by one, examining their contents. Tsk, tsk, we have a LOT of work to do here. This girl dresses like I did in sixth grade. No, make that fifth grade. As she lifted up different outfits and pulled them in at different points in the fabric, mentally pairing them with pieces of jewelry she knew she had with her, she realized that maybe she could help Candi pull off something cute with this pitiful selection of clothing.
She threw everything back in the bags without folding any of it, just as she heard an announcement come over the loudspeaker. A garbled, disembodied voice said that the muster was going to take place in thirty minutes and that everyone had to attend. They were going to check cabins to make sure they were empty; the muster wouldn't end until every pa.s.senger had checked in.
Even without this threat, Sarah didn't plan to miss the muster for anything. She had a show to put on. She was a little disappointed that her parents would likely be in a different muster line on a separate deck, but she knew if she didn't see them now, she would at dinner. She sat down with her magazine and waited for her roommate to come back. They needed to show up with their life jackets, and Candi's was still in the room, she knew it wouldn't be long.
A few minutes after muster horns sounded, Sarah heard m.u.f.fled sounds coming from the hallway and some banging around in the room next door where Kevin and Jonathan were staying.
The door to the cabin opened and Candi stood in the entrance.
”I guess we have to go to the muster now. I'm here to get my lifejacket.”
”Here.” Sarah threw it to her from the bed where she had been sitting and waiting. She stood and walked over to join Candi in the hallway, shutting the door behind her.
The boys' door opened and Kevin and Jonathan came out into the hallway. Sarah smelled alcohol.
”Have you guys been drinking already?” she smiled in approval. Her parents were going to hate that.
Jonathan's hair was sticking out on the side making him look just slightly adorable. Sarah frowned, and without thinking, reached out to smooth it down.
Jonathan stood stock-still, looking as if he were afraid to move, his mouth hanging open. Just his eyes followed her hand as it went up, smoothed the hair down, hesitated for a second, then dropped back down to her side.
”Yeah, we ... ” Kevin had started to answer before he was struck speechless, watching his sister's tender gesture.
Candi looked horrified, probably worried that Sarah was going to smack him or something. Her expression transitioned into shock at the realization that it wasn't violence being meted out, but kindness.
Jonathan appeared completely awestruck. His mouth hung open, and it was clear that the drink he'd had with Kevin had gone straight to his head. Sarah surmised from his current state that he probably never drank; plus he was skinny, so he was probably already buzzed.
Candi reached over and pushed up on Jonathan's chin, closing his mouth. ”Please ... you're going to drool on someone.”
Kevin broke out with a confused laugh. ”Okaaaay, so, everyone got their lifejackets?” Then, for the first time, he noticed what his sister was wearing. ”What the h.e.l.l are you wearing, Sarah?” His good mood soured immediately; he sounded angry.
”I'm wearing clothes,” she answered stubbornly.
Jonathan snapped partially out of his reverie by shaking his head and then looked at Sarah more closely, squinting his eyes at what she was wearing. He was still in some sort of trance though. He responded to Kevin's question as if he was under some kind of mind control. ”Yeah, Kevin, can't you see? She's wearing clothes. Leopard clothes.”
”Okay, so we've established that Sarah is wearing clothes,” said Candi, in an annoyed voice. ”Can we please go to the muster now?” She turned and started walking down the hall.
Kevin ran his fingers through his hair. ”You know Dad is going to have a s.h.i.+t fit when he sees you in that.”
Jonathan just stood and nodded as if in agreement, his eyes still in a daze.
Sarah saw the nodding, and it sparked her anger, making her even madder than she already was with her brother. ”If I was one of your floozies, you'd like this muster outfit, Kevin.”
”Yeah, well, you're not one of my floozies, you're my sister, and I don't like to see my sister dressed like that!”
Jonathan started shaking his head slowly from side to side, appearing as if he agreed with Kevin.
Sarah turned on him, ”Stop agreeing with him, and stop staring at my b.o.o.bs, Jonathan!”
That snapped Jonathan out of his daze.
”I ... I ... I wasn't! I wasn't staring at your ... you know ... your ... whatevers! I was just staring at nothing! And you smell good ”Nothing? Now you're saying I'm nothing? And you're smelling me now, too?! Weirdo!” Sarah shot him a dirty look and took off, storming down the hall, following the direction Candi had recently taken.
”No! Not nothing! You're something! You're something!” Jonathan started walking quickly after her with this finger raised to emphasize his point, trying to figure out where he'd gone wrong and realizing he really didn't have a point. Why do I get so confused whenever she's around?
”Yeah, you're something all right,” echoed Kevin, following all of them at a slower pace.