OMG, A CUL8R Time Travel Mystery (20 page)

Kelly tried not to let her implications sting because actually, Zoey had a good point.  Reluctantly, she agreed, “Zoey’s right.  I don’t know how to act in a school, much less to infiltrate the popular group.”

Scott tried to think of a reason to argue against it, since it was not consistent with his plan.  “Zoey, my only concern is that you won’t take this seriously enough.  This is Wendy’s reputation we’re dealing with.  We’re trying to take away the stigma of her suicide and try to find out what really happened.”

“I get it,
dork
.  I’m not popular just because of the way I look.  People
like
me.”  When she saw all three of her companions’ skeptical looks, she retorted, “Well, they
do
.  I promise you that by the end of the day, Wendy will be my new BFF.”

“
We don’t want forever.  We just need you to stick with her until Saturday.”

“
Whatever.”  Zoey sat back with confidence.

“Okay, then Austin, you’ll be her back-up.  Maybe you can get
Wendy to crush on you or something,” Scott said.  “Be creative.  Just try to find out if she has a boyfriend that’s about to dump her or something that would cause her to be depressed.”

“What about me?” Kelly asked, suddenly feeling like a fifth wheel.

“You’ll hang with me.  We can find out about her family.  Are we ready to head out?”

Everyone nodded and slid out of the booth.  Scott paid the bill and got directions to the Salvation Army.  Along the way, they stopped at a drugstore so Zoey could pick up a few essentials.  She was at first upset that she couldn’t find her favorite products, and even more so when Scott refused to give her more than five dollars to buy everything she needed.

“Minimum wage is $1.25 an hour.  I’m not going to give you the equivalent of a day’s work for your vanity,” Scott informed her, empowered by having control of the purse strings.

She ended up with a toothbrush, lip gloss and mascara.  She looked everywhere for a flatiron, but no such product existed in the 60s.  Shopping at the Salvation Army thrift store proved an even greater challenge.  Nothing even came close to her standards, but when threatened with having to wear the same dress every day for the next three days, she found three dresses and a school-approved gym suit, along with a pair of
low heels that would go with every outfit.  Austin found a couple of button-down shirts and some gym shorts.  Zoey whined until they made one more stop at a five-and-dime store to get her a package of clean underwear.

The next stop was the school.  Scott went over their agreed-to story that Austin and Zoey were siblings
.  Their mother was dead and their father had just been transferred to Fort Myers Beach, but he couldn’t come with them today because he had to go to work.  Kelly gave them her address from Friendswood to use.  Without the benefit of computers, it would take the school days to request transcripts, and by then, they would have accomplished their mission and be gone.

Austin and Zoey headed into the school building that looked much different than the one in 2013. 
Scott and Kelly walked back downtown and found a phone booth.  The first one had had the book stolen out of it, so they walked a couple blocks further down until they found a booth that had a book that was intact.  Neither of them had ever been in a phone booth before and laughed as they crowded in.  Scott lifted the metal-clad book up to the tiny shelf and opened it.  They flipped through it until they came upon the address where Wendy lived in case Zoey didn’t gather that information today.  It was only a couple of blocks from the school, so they walked by just to see what they were going to be dealing with.  No one appeared to be home, but Scott knocked on the door anyway.  When there was no answer, they left, disappointed that they would have to wait until later to meet the family.

They headed to the library
to research public records to see if they could find anything out about Wendy’s family.  Any clues would help.

Meanwhile at school,
Austin studied his new schedule and was delighted that he had finished registration just in time for gym class.  To his surprise, registration had been a breeze.  He had nearly chickened out when he walked up to the desk and was greeted by a much younger Mrs. Carter.  But then he remembered that there was no way she would recognize him since, technically in this time frame, they’d never met.  She was sympathetic when he told her about his mother, a story that had actually brought tears to his eyes because it was so close to being the truth.  He filled out all the paperwork with the information Kelly had provided, and Mrs. Carter said she would get it right into the mail so they could have their transcripts by the end of next week.

Perfect.

Since their story had been that they were fraternal twins, they were both placed into twelfth-grade classes.  Zoey’s schedule was very different than his because she had been able to get into almost all of Wendy’s classes.  Zoey had played the friend card by telling Mrs. Carter that Wendy was an old friend, and it would really be helpful if they were in the same classes since Zoey was starting the semester so late.  Outside the office, he and Zoey had gone their separate ways, promising to meet up after school and walk back to the motel together.

Although the high school was in the same location as the current one, it had radically changed over the years.  In 1966, it was still the old wooden building that had housed all
twelve grades until two years ago when a separate elementary school and junior high was built, and those grade levels had moved off campus.  Much smaller than the modern brick building Austin was used to, it was very easy to find his way around.  There weren’t but a few hundred students in all four grades, compared to the two thousand that were in the 2013 version of South Beach High.

As with all new students, Austin and Zoey attracted a lot of attention.  It didn’t hurt that they were both attractive.  Austin was not oblivious to the flirtatious looks of the girls he passed in the hall as he headed for the gym.  Now he just had to figure out which one was Wendy.

He found an empty locker in the locker room and changed into his gym clothes with a couple dozen other boys his age.  As he jogged out on the practice field he was excited to see that he recognized the coach.  The coach Decker he knew was much, much older, probably in his sixties.  The 1966 coach Decker must have been just out of college.  Austin relaxed because that meant he already knew what would be expected of him.   He glanced over at the girls’ PE class and saw Zoey, already surrounded by a group of girls.  For whatever reason, she was right.  If anyone could quickly infiltrate the exclusive ranks of the pretty and popular, it would be her.  She noticed him looking her way and gave him a little finger-wiggle wave.  Austin waved back as she headed off to play soccer.

“Cute girl
.” Austin turned to see Coach Decker, too, was watching Zoey.

“Zoey? 
She’s my . . . uh, sister,” Austin said.

“
Oh.  Well, why don’t you get out there and show me what you’ve got.”  Coach Decker tossed him a football.  “You look like you know your way around this.”

“I’ve played a little ball . . . back in Texas
, and you know how Texans are about football.”  Austin joined the rest of the class, and they ran a few drills, taking turns being quarterback.  After leading his squad to three quick touchdowns, Coach Decker blew his whistle and sent everyone else to the showers.  But he called Austin aside.  “You’ve got one hell of an arm.”

“We won the title for the last two years.”

“I can see why.”  The coach studied Austin for a few seconds.  “I’ve got three QBs and all three have been injured.  I’ve got no one to even suit up for Friday night. It’s homecoming against our arch rivals, the Naples Golden Eagles. You interested in stepping in?  I could simplify the plays for you.  It’s a really important game, and I’d hate to have to forfeit.”

“Run any
wildcat formations?”

“Wildcat?  Funny you should ask.  I’ve been thinking about some new plays and that’s what I was calling them
.”

“
Huddles and slant plays?”

“Oh
, yeah, I’ve been trying to teach those to the boys.  I could get you with the first team at practice today.  Interested?”

Austin looked doubtful.  This violated one of Scott’s rules.  He couldn’t remember which one, but he was pretty sure Scott would
n’t approve.  “I promised my dad I’d look after my sister.  She’s hoping to stay late for cheer practice in case she can make the squad.”

“
Perfect.  You’ll be on the field next to them, and both practices get over about the same time.  Besides, I know the head cheerleader.  I’m sure I could put in a good word to Wendy about your sister.”

Wendy?  How many cheerleaders could the school have named Wendy? 
Austin jumped at the opportunity.  “I’m sure Zoey would appreciate that.”

“I’ll see you after school then?
”

“
I guess so.”  Austin knew Scott would have a cow, but surely the fact that this was a shortcut to Wendy would make him chill. “Better run.  I don’t want to be late to class.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“You did what!”  Scott’s eyes bulged as he stared at Austin.

“It seemed like the quickest way to get Zoey and Wendy together.  Besides, it’s Coach Decker.  I just wanted to see what he was like when he was young.”

“That clearly violates rule number six and it’s borderline on number five.”  Scott was practically shouting.

Austin had never seen his friend so upset.  “It’s going to be okay
,” he tried to reassure him.  “It’s just a way of fitting in and not raising any suspicion.”

Scott just kept shaking his head and muttering.  “First, Zoey jumped in, now this.”

They were all in the girls’ room, hanging out after everyone had returned.  Kelly was stretched across the bedspread, regardless of germs.  After having walked all over town today, she was exhausted.  Austin was sore from his first football practice of the year.  Scott was furious.  Only Zoey seemed invigorated by the day’s activities.

“If anyone is interested,
I’ve
got some information,” she announced.  Everyone, even Scott turned toward her.  Once she was sure she had their full attention, she continued, “I met some cool girls, but the cheer squad was full.  But Coach Decker who also coaches them told me I could work out with the rest and be a back-up.  Well I got to team up with Wendy . . . yes,
that
Wendy to learn the moves.  She and I hit it off great.”  She paused for dramatic effect.

“And . . .?”  Scott prompted impatiently.

“And, I know where she works after school.  She’s a carhop at the Avalon drive-in.  I thought we could drop by there for dinner tonight.”  Zoey was clearly pleased with herself.

“I’m hungry.”  Kelly perked up.

“Me, too,” Austin agreed.

Scott, never one to stay mad for long, relaxed and nodded his head.  “Good job, Zoey.  I think we could all use some food.  It’s been a long day.”

“The Avalon is just a couple blocks away, thank goodness.  My feet are killing me,” Kelly said.  “By the way, I stopped by the office and paid for another day on our rooms.  They were asking about our parents, but I told them they were still at work.  I’m not really comfortable lying.”

“Would you be more comfortable sleeping in the alley or under the pier?” Zoey asked rhetorically.  “This room is bad enough, but at least we have a bathroom and a lock on the door.”

Kelly sighed.  It was definitely for the better good.  Besides this couldn’t be held against her since she didn’t really exist in this time period, could it?

They reached the Avalon, a
busy drive-in restaurant.  Colorful neon lights circled the building and stretched out over the awning-covered parking spaces.  Each one had a speaker with a built-in microphone so customers could drive into the space and order from the posted menu.  Several minutes later, a carhop, dressed in a short uniform zipped out on a pair of roller skates with the order and hung a tray on the side of the vehicle.  She collected the money, then skated over to another car where the customer had finished and removed their tray.  There was also a group of tables in between the two rows of parking for people to sit who either didn’t have cars or who wanted to get out and congregate with people from other cars.

“It’s sort of like a Sonic with attitude,” Zoey commented, and everyone nodded their agreement.

The kids found an empty table toward the end of the dining area because it would give them a good vantage point to watch what was going on while being able to talk freely and not be overheard.

A girl skated toward them, and Zoey nudged Scott in the ribs.  “That’s her.”

As Wendy braked to a smooth stop next to them, all eyes were on her with uncommon interest.  She didn’t seem to notice as she handed them menus.  “What can I get for you?” she asked as she flipped open her order pad and tapped it impatiently with her pen.

“Do you have any chicken nuggets?” Kelly asked