Wishing Pearl (26 page)

“I’m going to pay for this later.” Tricia eyed her pie like it might gobble her up, but she took a huge bite anyway. “Mmm, so good.”

Ju-Ju stared at the dessert trays for a moment and then asked, “Can I go get a Ding Dong from my cupboard?”

Aha!
Ju-Ju was the Ding Dong freak Ben had mentioned. She’d rather have one of those waxy, tasteless snack cakes than a piece of homemade pie fresh from the oven? Crazy.

Patty laughed. “If that’s what you want, go ahead.”

Ju-Ju made a record-breaking trip to the kitchen then slid back into her seat. She pulled the hockey-puck-sized dessert from its white plastic wrapper and placed it on her napkin.

Tricia nudged Olivia. “Watch this.” She nodded toward Ju-Ju.

No worries. Olivia had no intention of looking away as Ju-Ju peeled the chocolate coating from the cake and ate the flakes one by one. Then, with only chocolate cake exposed, she picked up her spoon and cored the cream-filled center out and ate that in one bite. On her napkin remained only a donut-shaped chocolate cake, which she picked up and nibbled around the edges until it shrank and eventually disappeared.

Tricia giggled at Olivia’s openmouthed expression. “Funny, eh?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Who knew eating a Ding Dong could be turned into such a spectacle?

Ju-Ju glared. “How do you eat your Oreos? You unscrew and scrape, right?”

Olivia nodded.

“Well, I basically dismantle my Ding Dong like you do your Oreo. Deal with it.”

“Fair enough, weirdo.” Olivia winked at Tricia and Skye.

“You girls going shopping tomorrow?” Kira pressed the palms of her hands on the table in front of Olivia and smiled a syrupy sweet smile. Her two cronies—what were their names anyway?—stood just behind Kira with a brainless smile in place, ready for orders.

“Yes,” Ju-Ju hissed. “Pretty sure it’s mandatory.”

Kira’s smile wavered. “Yes, well. I was just hoping to get some shopping tips from the rich girl over here.” She tipped her head at Olivia. “Oh. Wait. On second thought, if I’m bargain shopping, I’d be better off asking
you
for help, Ju.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and spun toward the door. She spun around and looked at Tricia. “I’d ask you for help with fit, but, well …” She shrugged and pranced away.

Her followers parted like the Red Sea to let her pass through.

Tricia swallowed her pie with a loud gulp, put down her fork, and pushed her plate out of reach. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom.” Her chair squeaked back as she left the table and hurried out the side door.

Ju-Ju squinted at Kira’s retreating back. “I’m going to keep my eye on that girl. Olivia, I’d suggest you do the same.”

Seriously? Prayer time at 5:00 a.m.? Was God even awake at five o’clock in the morning? Standing in the foyer after their extra-early quiet time, the girls anxiously waited to load into the vans for their Black Friday trip to the mall.

Ben stood on the third step and spoke over the banister to the group, his eyes twinkling. “Girls, we’re about ready to go. I just have to point out that most of you would only just now be rolling out of bed and whining about the time. Funny how, for a special event like shopping, you can get up even earlier than you normally do, with hardly any complaining. Hmm.”

Well, what did he expect? Of course shopping on Black Friday was easier to get out of bed for than a prayer time that meant nothing to you and a breakfast you didn’t even want to eat. Still, Olivia could see his point. She could probably try to make a better effort to wake up on time without complaining. But first, shopping!

They left no corner of the mall unexplored. Arms full of packages, Olivia had purchased more than anyone, and that was even with trying to hold back on some of her purchases so she wouldn’t make the other girls feel bad. She was proud of herself for purchasing only Christmas gifts for other people, forgoing a new outfit or anything else for herself.

At the preset meeting time, Olivia, Ju-Ju, and Skye collapsed in orange plastic chairs in the food court next to Tammy while they waited for the rest of the group to arrive.

“Where’s Tricia?” Tammy signed as she glanced around the noisy food court.

“She ran into the restroom.” Olivia let her bags slide from her lap to the floor. “In fact, I think I’ll go, too. Do you guys mind watching my stuff?”

“Naw. ‘Course not. You go on.” Skye waved toward the public bathroom. “We’ll be right here when you get back.”

Olivia navigated around strollers and shopping bags scattered on the floor near the tables she passed. Her shoulders sagged at the sight of the line extending out the restroom door and past the one for Taco Bell. No Tricia though. She must have made it in already. Olivia counted the people ahead of her—she could be all the way back home at Diamond Estates before making it through that line. Maybe she could at least go in just to wash her hands.

Standing at the sink, she peered into the mirror and wiped away the smudged eyeliner.
Ugh
. Dark circles. Puffy eyes. Looking just like she’d risen before dawn.

A toilet flushed. Then another. Women milled around. Where was Tricia?

As a
whoosh
faded away, Olivia heard someone gag. Gross! A toilet flushed, more retching. Her stomach churned at the thought of some stranger vomiting only a few feet away. She shook the water off her hands and pulled the lever for the paper towels. Oh no—empty! Olivia looked at her wet hands and then rubbed them on her jeans as the door to the far stall swung open and she locked eyes with Tricia.

“Was that you in there? Are you okay?” Olivia went to Tricia’s side and reached a hand out to touch Tricia’s shoulder.

“Yeah. It’s no big deal. Just something I ate, I guess.” Tricia shrugged and turned her back to Olivia to wash her hands.

“Are you sure? That sounded awful.” Olivia searched Tricia’s face in the mirror. “Look. Your eyes are all red. You look terrible.”

“I’m fine. Really. Please don’t make a big deal out of it.” Tricia left the crowded bathroom with Olivia following right behind.

Approaching the group after having crossed the packed commons, Tricia grinned and held up her few shopping bags. “Success!”

Weird. She looked totally normal. If Olivia threw up, she was in bed for at least a day. How had Tricia bounced back so quickly? She was Superwoman.

“Are you going to tell them you’re sick?” Olivia whispered.

“Shh. Please don’t say anything. I’m fine. Really.”

“If you say so.” Olivia shrugged.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Olivia rooted around in her largest bag searching for the CD she’d purchased for the prayer room. She had to remove several things before she uncovered it. “Here you go, Tammy. I really love this group, and it’s a worship album, so it’s allowed at the center. Do you think maybe we could have it on some morning during prayer?”

“Definitely. I know this group—it’ll be perfect. Thanks for contributing. It’s good for you guys to make the time personal to your own tastes.” Tammy accepted the CD and tucked it into her bag.

“No problem.” Olivia bent to replace the items she’d pulled from her bag. Something caught her eye on the bottom. She lifted a sweater and stifled a gasp as she uncovered a green-and-white dream come true.

An unopened pack of Newport Menthols.

G
lancing to her right and her left, Olivia tried to be discreet. Had anyone noticed? Where had the cigarettes come from? They were her favorite brand—she could almost taste them. Were they a gift from God? Manna from heaven?
Yeah right
. Someone put them there—someone who wanted her to get in trouble.

Should she tell Tammy and let her sort it out? But what if Tammy didn’t believe Olivia and thought they really were her cigarettes? Plus it would cause a huge problem with the other girls. They were probably testing her. If she ratted them out, they’d hate her. No, she couldn’t risk that by telling. Plus an unknown enemy was out to get her, and she didn’t want to stir up even more trouble by making her mad.

Olivia rummaged in the depths of the big shopping bag, pretending to fold some items as she sorted through her purchases. She slipped the pack up her sleeve and collected some garbage from the table, intending to toss the cigs and then dump the messy trash on top.

On the way to the waste cans, Olivia felt the lump of the cigarette pack in her sleeve. What if she kept it? What if she hid the cigarettes and pulled them out only when she really, really needed one? The thought of a private walk through the woods with the warmth of the minty cigarette smoke coursing through her lungs almost brought tears to her eyes.

No one was watching her—that she knew of—so she’d never get caught. But she still had no idea who’d slipped the pack into her bag. In all likelihood, the culprit was waiting to see what she did. Maybe she was watching Olivia right now. Since she had no idea who had planted the pack, where she was at the moment, or what her intentions were, Olivia needed to cover her tracks. Pretending to dig into her sleeve, Olivia let some items fall into the can and then dumped the food remains right on top. She made enough of a show of it that whoever knew about the cigarettes would think she tossed them, but anyone else would just think she had a bad itch on her arm.

Safe
.

Now, who was out to get her? It couldn’t have been one of her roommates. Skye and Tricia seemed to really like her. She and Ju-Ju may have had a rougher start, but Ju-Ju didn’t seem the type to do something that mean and juvenile. Olivia really didn’t know the others girls well enough yet for them to have any reason to do something so cold and hateful. Something that could have gotten her sent home.

Lost in her thoughts as she walked back to the table where her friends sat, Olivia tripped on something in the center of the aisle and went sprawling onto the ground. She popped right up, before she even realized what had happened, and whipped her head around to see what made her stumble. Kira’s foot stuck out across the middle of the aisle. Had she tripped Olivia on purpose? Then Kira winked at her.

Of course
. Kira had hidden the cigarettes. Olivia should have thought of her first thing because Kira had made no secret of the fact that she didn’t like Olivia. But what had Olivia ever done to Kira? Or what did Kira
think
Olivia had done?

“Everyone is present and accounted for.” Patty tucked her clipboard into her bag and pointed toward the doors. “Let’s move out.”

Everyone gathered their belongings. Olivia scooped up her bags and shouldered her purse. She tried to clear her mind, but the pack of cigarettes still hidden in her sleeve was calling her name. She’d better not let them fall out while they were riding in the van.

She took a seat and perched her things around her feet and on her lap.

Tammy popped her head in once they were all settled. “Inspection time, girls.”

Obediently, everyone held their bags open as Tammy poked through the purchases to make sure nothing was against the rules.

When her turn came, Olivia’s hands trembled as she held out each sack and even helped Tammy lift out the items and look in and under each thing. Kira knew about the bag check and probably assumed Olivia didn’t. Her plan had likely been for Olivia to get caught with cigarettes during the inspection. Olivia could hear herself protesting that they weren’t hers and imagined no one would have believed her. Why would they?

If she would stoop that low, what else was Kira capable of?