Afraid (2 page)

When the old woman handed her the shoes, Tammy sat down to try them on. Donna crossed her fingers and hoped that they wouldn't fit, but when Tammy stood up again, she was smiling. “Look! They fit me perfectly!”

“Yes, I knew that they would.” The old woman nodded. “But you must promise to be very careful when—”

“How much?” Tammy interrupted what was sure to be another warning.

The old woman frowned. “I do not know. Since the red shoes have never been for sale, I have not put a price on them.”

“A hundred dollars.” Tammy opened her purse. “That ought to be plenty. So what do you say? Is it a deal?”

The old woman looked as if she was about to refuse, and Tammy spoke up quickly. “Two hundred. That's four times what you're asking for any other pair of shoes. And I'll give you cash!”

Donna tried not to gasp in shock. Two hundred dollars was a fortune to pay for a pair of shoes!

“Let me think for a moment.” The old woman stared at Tammy for a few seconds, and then she nodded. “Yes. I can see that you are destined to have the red shoes. I will sell them to you for two hundred dollars.”

Tammy pulled out a roll of twenty-dollar bills and began to count out the money. “And then we're all going on the Ferris wheel. I promised the gang we'd meet them there.”

Donna took a deep breath for courage, and then she stepped forward. “Tammy? Do you really think you should?”

“Don't be an idiot, Donna!” Tammy gave her a look that would turn a puddle of water into a solid sheet of ice.

“Don't waste your breath.” Steve gave Donna a little pat on the shoulder as they walked out of the tent. “Nobody can change Tammy's mind, and she'll just get mad at you if you try. She's been like this ever since her parents got divorced last year.”

Donna began to feel a little sorry for Tammy. “That must have been hard for Tammy.”

“It was.” Steve nodded. “Come on, Donna. We'll get in line for the Ferris wheel and buy the tickets.”

As they turned onto the midway and hurried to take their place in the Ferris wheel line, Donna glanced up at Steve. He didn't look very happy for a guy who'd just earned a full football scholarship. Perhaps it was Tammy's reaction to the news. She'd acted as if it wasn't the least bit important to her.

“Steve?” Donna smiled up at him. “Congratulations on your scholarship. I think it's really fantastic!”

“Thanks, Donna. You're going to college, aren't you?”

Donna nodded. “Yes, I'm going to State, too. I just got my letter of acceptance last week.”

“Hey! That's great!” Steve gave her a hug, and then he turned his attention to the ticket seller. “I'll take ten, and we'll use two of them right now.”

A huge smile spread over Donna's face. Steve was going to take her on the Ferris wheel! The first of her dreams had actually come true.

“Hey, Donna.” Steve took her arm. “What do you say we go for a spin while we wait for everybody else to show up?”

Donna nodded. “Sure! The Ferris wheel is my absolute favorite ride!”

The giant wheel stopped, and Steve and Donna got on. A moment later, they were rising up into the night sky.

Donna smiled as they neared the top of the wheel. “I love it up here!”

“So do I. You can see the whole city.”

Donna held her breath and wished with all her might. They just had to stop at the top! And another of her wishes came true, because they did!

“King of the Mountain . . . right, Donna?”

“Right!” Donna laughed out loud. She'd seen the neighborhood boys play King of the Mountain when she was a child. They'd rush up a big snowbank and the first one to get to the top would yell out that he was King of the Mountain. Then he'd try to push the other boys back down as they tackled him to become the next king. “I'll bet you were always king.”

Steve shook his head. “Not always. Sometimes Jerry would knock me down. It's going to be great if Jerry gets his scholarship. Maybe the three of us can take some of the same classes and study together.”

“That's a great idea.” Donna smiled happily. But then she remembered Tammy. “What about Tammy? Isn't she going to State, too?”

“Tammy? At State?!” Steve gave a little laugh. “Her father's sending her to some expensive Ivy League college in the East—if he can buy her way in. Tammy's grades aren't very good.”

Donna nodded and tried to keep from showing how excited she was. Tammy wouldn't be going to college with Steve. But
she
would!

“Donna?” Steve looked very serious. “It was really nice of you to be so concerned about Tammy . . . especially after the way she treated you.”

Donna nodded and kept her lips firmly sealed. Her grandfather always said the best thing to say was nothing at all when you weren't sure how the other person felt.

“Tammy used to be nice until her parents split up. Then they both felt guilty and they tried to buy her off with money. Her mother takes Tammy shopping every time she visits, and she buys Tammy everything she wants. Her father sees all the stuff her mother bought, and he increases Tammy's allowance. It's like a contest. They both want Tammy on their side and they don't realize what they're doing to her. And now Tammy's got the idea that money will buy her anything, even friendship and love.”

Donna nodded again. She was impressed with Steve's insight, but she wasn't about to open her mouth for fear she'd say the wrong thing.

“Tammy's really not as awful as she seems. She's just confused. She's hurting and she never thinks about how anyone else feels. I know that's hard for you to understand, Donna. You're such a caring person.”

Donna began to blush, and she was glad it was dark. Steve really seemed to like her!

“Anyway,” Steve said as he put his arm around Donna's shoulders, “I wish that Tammy could be as nice as you are.”

This time Donna knew exactly what to say. She smiled up at Steve, and said quite simply, “Thank you, Steve.”

D
onna was feeling great when she walked into the Jefferson High cafeteria at noon on Monday. She'd finally decided on a subject for the school newspaper contest. The title of her article was “Curses and Superstitions,” and it would be all about Tammy's red shoes. She'd spent most of the weekend making notes, describing the carnival booth and the beautiful red shoes in their glass display case. She'd even written down exactly what the old woman had said about the ancient curse.

“Hi, Donna!”

Lisa Jensen, one of the first girls Donna had met at Jefferson High, waved at her. Donna waved back and walked quickly to Lisa's table. “Save me a spot, will you, Lisa? I'm just going to grab a salad and something to drink.”

Lisa nodded. “Okay. I heard you were with Tammy's crowd at the school carnival.”

“I was.” Donna shrugged. “But I'm not really part of Tammy's crowd. And I'd much rather sit with you.”

Lisa smiled and her whole face lit up. She was sitting alone, eating a sandwich she'd brought from home. Lisa always sat alone so she could study at lunch. She was very serious about her grades and she was hoping to get an academic scholarship to State next year.

As Donna went through the line of students waiting for their lunches, she thought about Lisa. Lisa was small and pretty, with long dark hair. Her father drove a tow truck for the city and her mother was a file clerk at night. Lisa worked as a waitress to help out her family, and she never had time to attend any school functions.

Lisa wasn't part of Tammy's crowd. At first Donna thought it was because she was always busy. When Lisa wasn't waiting tables, she was taking care of her younger brothers and sisters. But Donna was wiser now that she'd been at Jefferson High for almost two months. She knew the real reason why Lisa wasn't accepted. Lisa's family had no money. There was no way that Tammy and her friends would invite Lisa to one of their parties.

“Hey, Donna . . .” Jerry tapped her on the shoulder. “I hear you're writing an article about Tammy's red shoes.”

“That's right.” Donna began to grin. News certainly traveled fast in the halls of Jefferson High! She'd just signed up to write about the red shoes this morning and Jerry already knew about it.

“So where are you sitting?” Jerry picked up his tray and waited for Donna to pay the cashier.

“With Lisa Jensen. She's over there by the windows.”

“Okay.” Jerry nodded. “Do you think she'd mind if I sit with you? I've seen her around, but I don't know her very well.”

Donna began to grin. Jerry was very popular and he wanted to sit with them. That ought to raise some eyebrows!

“Lisa won't mind.” Donna picked up her tray and led the way across the crowded cafeteria to Lisa's table. “Lisa? You know Jerry, don't you?”

“Uh—sure!” Lisa looked so surprised, it was almost comical.

“Hey, Lisa.” Jerry sat down directly across from her. “You sure blew the top off the curve on the calculus test! I don't know if I should talk to you, or not.”

Lisa began to blush. “I—I'm sorry.”

“Why?” Jerry grinned at her. “If you've got the brains, flaunt 'em, right?”

“I—I guess so.” Lisa still looked very uncertain. “But messing up the curve doesn't get you many friends.”

Jerry laughed. “Oh, I don't know about that. You could be very popular with me if you helped me study for next week's test. How about it, Lisa? Will you?”

“Well—yes. I could do that.” Lisa began to smile. “There's only one problem. I work after school.”

“Where do you work?” Jerry looked interested.

“I'm a waitress at Shelly's Coffee Shop on Fourth Street. It's right across from the hospital.”

“I don't think I've ever been in there.” Jerry frowned slightly. “What kind of place is it?”

Lisa laughed. “It's ptomaine central. At least that's what the interns call it. We send them most of their patients.”

“Ptomaine? As in ptomaine poisoning?” Jerry cracked up when Lisa nodded. “I was going to say I'd come in for a burger, but I think I'll pass. What time do you get off?”

“Nine. That's when we close. But then I have to go home and baby-sit. My mother works late, and my dad's on call most nights.”

“I could come to your house if your parents wouldn't mind. Would that be okay with you, Lisa? I don't want to blow this next test.”

Lisa hesitated, and Donna thought she knew why. Lisa had mentioned that her family lived in a small, rented house on the edge of town. She was probably embarrassed and didn't want Jerry to see it.

Jerry leaned across the table. He looked very serious. “Come on, Lisa. Please help me out.”

“Well . . . okay.” Lisa gave him a shy smile. “I guess we could study tonight, if that's all right with you.”

Jerry nodded, and then he stood up to wave at someone who'd just gone through the lunch line. Donna turned and began to blush as she saw that it was Steve.

“Hey, Steve! Over here!” Jerry waved once more and sat down again. And a moment later, Steve came over to their table.

“Hey, Donna . . . Lisa.” Steve set down his tray and pulled out a chair. “Any news on your scholarship, Jer?”

Jerry nodded. “I got it—but they weren't exactly thrilled when they saw how I was doing in calculus. Of course that's going to change now that Lisa's come into my life.”

“I'm tutoring him.” Lisa was blushing as she explained.

“Great!” Steve gave her a warm grin, and then he turned to Donna. “I beard about your article this morning. It's a really good idea. Everybody's waiting to read it.”

Donna frowned slightly. “Everybody except Tammy, right?”

“Wrong.” Steve shook his head. “Tammy thinks it'll bring more publicity for the play, and all that stuff.”

“But my article's not due until the end of next week and the play opens this Friday.”

Steve nodded. “I know. That's why Miss Adams is going to ask you to do a flyer about the cursed shoes. Tammy wants to send some to every school in the county so they'll come to see her in the play.”

“Oh.” Donna tried not to show how upset she was. Tammy was trying to sabotage her article! Miss Adams would expect Donna to use all the best lines from her article in the flyer. And then, when “Curses and Superstitions” was published in the school paper, the students would have already read part of it.

Steve seemed to know exactly how she was feeling because he reached out to take her hand. “Look, Donna, I know you'll be using some of your best stuff in the flyer, but it could be almost like a serial in a magazine. You know—the first part will come out and everybody'll read it. And then they'll be holding their breath, waiting for the next part.”

Donna nodded. What Steve said was true. Perhaps she could turn Tammy's dirty trick to her advantage.

Just then, there was a sharp rise in the noise level. It seemed like everyone in the cafeteria was talking at once. Donna turned toward the door to see what was happening, and she saw Tammy coming in with a group of her friends.

“Attention everyone!” Tammy clapped her hands and the talking died down to a whisper. She walked to the front of the room and stood there, smiling. And then she reached into her large leather purse and pulled out the pair of red shoes.

“I thought you'd all like to see these. They're genuine cursed shoes and I bought them at the school carnival. Some of you probably saw the tent made out of carpets. It had a sign that said Magical Footwear.”

Most of the students nodded. Everyone had noticed the unusual booth.

“Remember the old woman who ran the booth? She was dressed all in black and she looked like a witch. She swore up and down that these were cursed shoes! I'll be wearing them in the fall play, so I want all of you to come on opening night.”

There was a round of applause. Tammy had certainly gotten their attention.

“So what's the curse?” Somebody called out the question, but Donna couldn't see who it was.

“It goes like this . . .” Tammy lowered her voice and it was so silent in the cafeteria, you could hear the sound of the motor on the soft drink machine. “Any girl who wears these red shoes will be blessed with incredible talent. But there's a terrible price to pay. She'll be cursed with bad luck! So come to the play to see if I'm blessed with incredible talent.”

There were whistles from several tables, and then someone called out. “Right. And then we can watch you have bad luck!”

Donna turned to see who'd spoken, but there was such a crowd in the cafeteria, she couldn't tell. And then Tammy held up her hands for silence again.

“The new girl is writing a flyer for me.”

Donna was so surprised her mouth almost fell open. She wasn't writing a flyer for Tammy. She was writing an entry for the school newspaper contest! But Tammy went right on speaking.

“It's going to be all about my cursed shoes, so watch for it on the table outside the
Gazette
office. I want you to help me put it up in every shop window in Jefferson City. Let's make this the best fall play we've ever had!”

Some of the students who were in the play started to cheer, and Donna sighed. Tammy really was an incredible ham. And then Tammy picked up her red shoes, stuffed them inside her purse, and headed straight for Donna's table!

“The queen cometh.” Jerry glanced at Steve. “And she does not look pleased.”

When Tammy arrived at Donna's side, she smiled. To everyone else it might have looked like a friendly smile, but Donna saw the dangerous glitter in her eyes. “Donna—I do hope you'll get started on that flyer right away. As you can see, I've just recruited everyone to help pass them out.”

Donna nodded. What else could she do? “So you're really going to wear the red shoes in the play?”

“Of course. I said I would, didn't I? And don't start in about that silly curse! Just remember—if I don't wear the shoes, you won't be able to write your entry for the contest!”

Donna's sense of duty made her speak up. “My entry doesn't matter, Tammy. Just be very careful.”

“Oh, sure.” Tammy waved Donna's concern away. It was clear she wasn't worried about the curse. And then she turned to Steve. “You're not going to give me any grief about the shoes, are you?”

There was a definite challenge in Tammy's voice, but Steve just smiled. “No way, Tammy. I know how stubborn you can be.”

“Well, maybe sometimes.” Tammy giggled. “But that's only because I'm always right. Let's go now, Stevie. I'm not eating lunch.”

But Steve shook his head. “Sorry, Tammy. I
am
eating lunch and I'm not through yet. I'll catch up with you in class.”

The moment Tammy had left, Lisa turned to Donna. “Do you really believe in that curse?”

“Not really. But my grandfather used to have a saying about not tempting fate, and I can't help thinking that's what Tammy is doing.”

“You don't have to worry about Tammy.” Jerry gave a little laugh. “She's too stubborn to let a little thing like a curse get to her.”

Lisa nodded. “And that story about the curse can't be true. The old woman probably made it up so she could sell the shoes for more money. It's really a very clever sales gimmick.”

“Wasn't there a story about red shoes?” Steve looked thoughtful. “Something about a dancer who wore them and danced herself to death?”

Jerry snapped his fingers. “You're right! I remember reading it when I was a kid. But Tammy's not going to dance in the play, so we don't have anything to worry about . . . right, Donna?”

“Right.” Donna nodded, but she knew that she
did
have something to worry about. It had absolutely nothing to do with the curse of the red shoes, but it was still very dangerous. She'd seen how angry Tammy had been when Steve had refused to leave with her. And if Donna had read the look in Tammy's eyes correctly, she'd just made one nasty enemy!