“Quick, let’s use the rest of this and go,” Kenadi said. She ripped open the other sacks, and threw it into the air. Just then, the wind shifted, blowing the bread back at us. White crumbs and pieces stuck in her hair and to her clothes.
“Oh crap,” I said as I glanced up to see another swarm of birds, this one headed for us.
Gulls surrounded us, landing on the ground to eat the food. And when they couldn’t find it there, they swooped at Kenadi’s head.
“Run,” she shouted. We bolted down the dune, heading toward the shoreline and away from Trey and Portia.
She didn’t have to tell me twice. My feet slid in the sand as I fought to keep my balance. I dragged my duffle bag behind me, screeching.
I peered over my shoulder to see a seagull grab hold of one of Ken’s braids. “Let go.” She swung at it. When it didn’t stop, she grabbed hold of the other end of the braid and tugged back. “Damn birds. Ow.”
Somehow, the seagull managed to rip the extension from her hair, and we gawked as it flew off with it. “Quick, before more come.”
Our feet pounded the sand. Dang, it was a good thing we were in shape. As we rounded the corner, we raced onto the boardwalk, still being pursued by birds. There, posted next to the walkway was a sign that said, ‘Don’t feed the birds.’ And now I knew why, they turned into savages.
At last, we made it to the parking lot and we dove into Ken’s car.
“Those were attack birds,” Kenadi said, shoving her key into the ignition. “Shit. My mom is gonna kill me. She just paid to get my hair done and now look at it.”
I glanced at her, bird crap splattered in her hair. Her braids stuck up like Medusa’s snakes. I busted up laughing. Not that I fared much better. I had scratches on my arm from where the birds swooped down trying to grab bread. Besides that, I think I had sand in every orifice of my body.
“Sorry,” I said.
But when she looked at me, she giggled too as she pulled a feather off my shirt. “You smell like bird ass.”
From the corner of my eye, I spotted Trey and Portia running down the boardwalk. “We need to go.”
She glanced up, put the car in drive, and drove out of the lot. “This sabotaging business is hard stuff. I think we should stop and get a milkshake on the way home.”
“I’m in.”
***
“Delyla, Trey’s here,” Mom hollered upstairs.
“Coming.” I dried my hair and hurried down to the living room to find him sitting on the couch. He must’ve stopped home to change before he came over because he had on clean clothes and was no longer covered in gull feces.
When he saw me, he smiled. “Hey. Thought I’d drop by for a few minutes.” He glanced at the scratches on my arms. “What’ve you been doing all day?”
Scrubbing bird crap off my sandals. “Laundry.”
He eyed me like he knew I lied. Had he seen me there? Did Portia finally get sick of him?
“Did the laundry have claws?”
“No. These are from Mom’s rose bushes,” I lied. “Jimbo was messing around in them and I had to get him out.”
“Ah, no further explanation needed.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. His gaze rested on me. “So, I’ve got some good news. Portia said yes about prom.”
My fingers dug into the chair cushion. I composed my face and shifted my eyes to the floor. Okay. Keep it together. Don’t let him see how much this bothers you. “Th-that’s great,” I said.
“I know. And it’s all because of you, Del.” He stood and came over to me. “Anyway, I wanted to drop by and give you the news and also pay you for all your help. Hopefully you’ll have enough to get your dress now.”
“Thanks.” I took the folded bills. “Kenadi and I picked it up already, but I’m sure I can get some awesome shoes to go with it now.”
“So, I wondered if you might be able to go to the tux shop this week to help me pick something out. Portia’s gonna wear a pink dress. I thought it might be cool to try to get a bowtie and vest to match.”
He might as well stab me in the face. Geez. I sucked in a deep breath. “Sounds fun. When did you want to go?”
I better get lots of brownie points for the good deeds I was doing lately. Although, I suppose the sabotaging might set me back a few, but still it worked in Trey’s favor. And that made me way miserable. The only consolation was that at least I got to spend more time with Trey. And any time was better than no time, right?
Chapter 27
“I think you should tell Trey you can’t go help him pick out a tux,” Kenadi said as we waited for The Jekyll to take attendance in Trig. “Besides, isn’t that what his girlfriend’s for?”
“Apparently, she’s busy and I’m his only hope.” Kind of like what Princess Leia said about Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars.
“That girl is getting on my last nerve. Because of her, my braids got ruined.”
Actually, it was probably more my fault, but I decided not to mention that. “What did your mom say when you asked to get your hair fixed?”
She smiled. “I kind of didn’t tell her. Latasha got me in for a hair appointment, and I paid for it myself.” Ken held up her new, longer braids. “Good as new.”
The Jekyll glanced up as Walt McBride walked into class late. He dropped a note on her desk. She read it and said, “See me after class. The rest of you, get your homework out.”
Ken scooted closer to me, the scent of her apple lotion hanging in the air. “So, are you really gonna go with him?”
“Yeah. I can’t say no to him.”
“Even after all this?”
I chewed on the end of my pen. “I’m not gonna stop being his friend just because he has crappy taste in girls.”
In other words, I’d sacrifice my happiness for his. Talk about being a complete moron.
“Kenadi and Delyla, unless you’re talking about trigonometry, which I’m pretty sure you’re not, you’ll keep your mouths shut and look at the board.” Jekyll lowered her glasses to stare at us. Her eighties hair stood tall like a hairspray enforced helmet. She’d definitely be protected from any head injuries if something ever fell on her.
“Gonna be a long hour.” Ken wrote on a piece of paper.
“No kidding.” I scribbled back.
***
Trey and I moved through the store, looking at tuxes.
He shoved his hands in his pockets as I held up another one. “What about this one?”
“Honestly, they all look the same to me.” He smirked.
“Men.” I rolled my eyes. “Here try these two while I hunt down shoes, a vest, and bowtie.”
The sales lady glanced up from the counter and smiled. “Hi, can I help you?”
“I wondered if you had any vests and ties in this color?” I held up a sample of the material used to make Portia’s dress. Yes. She is that particular. Totally annoying. Gah.
She smiled. “Come on back here with me, we can see what we have.”
We went into a back area where they had more colors and sizes hanging up. She took down several vests to compare them.
“This rose blush shade is the closest.” She held up the material in comparison.
“I think that’ll work. Let me have him try it on.” My fingers closed around the silky fabric of the vest and matching tie.
The sales lady followed me as I went to the changing area. I knocked on the door. “Trey, we’ve got some things for you to try on.”
He opened the door a crack and grabbed them from me. A few minutes later, he stepped out. My eyes widened. My breath caught in my throat. Oh God. I swallowed hard as my gaze swept over him. The tux was perfect. It made his chest and shoulders broader, his hips narrower. His dark hair was disheveled from changing and although I hated the color pink, it actually looked good on him. Okay not good. Hot. His naturally tan skin tone brought out his smile even more. How had I not seen him before? I mean, really seen him?