Page 104 of Losing the Rhythm

“Nothing too crazy,” Lillian said, flashing her a smile. “Paxon’s regionals are on Saturday.”

“Oh. What does that mean?”

As they explained how the soccer season went, I tuned them out, unable to take my eyes off her as she took her first bite of her lunch. All I could wonder was how I truly felt about her. What were these butterflies in my stomach? Why did my hands suddenly feel clammy? Why was I feeling like a nervous wreck?

All I really knew was that she kissed Justin and Seth and it didn’t sit too well with me. Not at all.

Chapter Thirty-three

Once school ended, Toby was there waiting for me at my locker.

“Friendate with me,” he said.

“This is the first I’m hearing that,” I said.

Toby let out a little laugh. “The situation didn’t really call for it with all the shit going on right now.”

“True.” By some miracle, the day went by quietly, though a little tensely. Multiple times, it looked like someone was prepared to approach me but as soon as they saw who I was with, they backed off. And Lillian and Hazel’s friends stayed away, never joining in on anything thanks to the twins’ influence.

“What are we doing?” I asked.

“Spookfest!”

The way he said that made it seem like I was supposed to know what he was talking about. My blank expression made him realize I didn’t know what that meant.

“Okay. You don’t know. Well, lots of great bands playing Halloween music. A cornfield maze where monsters chase you. If you want, we can do the challenge where we have to escape before we get caught three times. They attach flags to our waists and it’s considered a capture if they’re able to grab one. If we can escape without losing all three, we win a prize.”

That actually sounded like a lot of fun.

“Let’s do it.”

Toby grinned, sensing my excitement. “That’s my girl. I was thinking of doing it after sunset. They’ll give us flashlights, and it’s extra spookier.”

Spookfest ended up being in a massive empty field with cornfields still up and no doubt turned into mazes. The area marked for parking was almost full, people headed toward the entrance. Music was already blasting from somewhere past the huge barn entrance. I could practically feel the ground thumping from the spooky beats.

“This is so cool.”

Toby covered our fare and we followed the masses through to the back of the farm, where it opened up to stands to buy food or souvenirs or play games. It was almost like a little carnival.

“The sun sets at about six thirty, so we have like an hour to waste. Then we’ll get ready for some horrific fun.” Toby rubbed his hands together.

“Then let’s check out the music,” I said.

“You read my mind.”

Picnic tables and benches were set up in a large area with a small stage nearby. A group of three were currently up there, singing some well-known Halloween music.

“Let me get you some food,” Toby said before I even had a chance to get comfortable at an empty table. Then he was gone. I laughed at his boundless energy and opted to wait rather than go chasing after him.

The band was doing well, belting out lyrics, making the songs theirs as they added more of a rock spin to it. I got lost in the smoothness of the woman, the talent in how she added the spookier tones.

“One Goblin’s Drool for you,” Toby said. “And some skelly fingers and brain mass.”

“What?” I couldn’t hide the disgust.

Toby laughed as he put the food down. “A green fizzy drink that I’m told is sweet and their best seller. Some fries. And a pulled pork taco.”

It all looked delicious. Toby was right, the drink was sweet and delicious. I thought it was something with passion fruit in it, but I couldn’t be sure. The fries had light seasoning on it, making those good too. The best thing though was the pulled pork taco. I devoured that in moments, sad I didn’t have another. Toby’s taco was a steak one that according to him was just as delicious.

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