Want to Know a Secret? (39)
Which means whoever is sending me these messages was in my backyard.
I stand in the middle of my backyard, my hands coated in dirt, and I shiver. I run back into the house and find my phone on the coffee table where I left it. My hands are almost too shaky to type in my reply:
Please tell me what you want.
As usual, there is no reply.
Chapter 23
To: Fall Carnival Committee
From: Alice Knowles
Subject: Re: Carnival
I am supposed to help out tomorrow at the fall carnival at the beanbag toss. But I noticed tonight that I have a bit of a scratchy throat, so I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it.
To: Fall Carnival Committee
From: Patty Westman
Subject: Re: Carnival
I was supposed to make brownies for the carnival, but I just realized that I don’t have any eggs in the house! So unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to bring brownies as promised. That is, unless somebody wants to come to my house and bring me some eggs!
To: Fall Carnival Committee
From: Teresa Yu
Subject: Re: Carnival
I just realized that this weekend is my parents’ anniversary! I was supposed to volunteer at the bouncy house for the 2-3 PM shift, but I can’t do it because of this prior obligation.
To: Fall Carnival Committee
From: Julie Bressler
Subject: Re: Carnival
The grocery store sells eggs, Patty.
Can anybody take Teresa’s shift at the bouncy house?
To: Fall Carnival Committee
From: April Masterson
Subject: Re: Carnival
No worries, Patty! I’ll make extra brownies!
To: Fall Carnival Committee
From: Sean Cooper
Subject: Re: Carnival
I am doing the 1-2 PM shift at the bouncy house, so I’ll do Teresa’s shift after. Unless it turns out to be my parents’ anniversary too.
The fall carnival takes place on the first weekend of November.
It’s a massive event. Because of the chilly weather, everything is set up in the large gymnasium of the elementary school. There are two bouncy houses (one for jumping and one with a slide), loads of games, and I am manning—what else?—the bake sale. People were supposed to bring in baked goods early this morning, but unfortunately, nobody ever does what they say they’re going to do. But I have enough experience now that I anticipated it, so about three-quarters of the food on the table was made by me. I spent most of the morning baking.
The silent auction is still going as well and will be active until midnight. We’re going to announce the winners tomorrow. I think we’re going to break some records.
Strangely enough, the bake sale is not going very well. Usually, half the food is gone by an hour into the carnival. And I made all the baked goods everybody loves. I don’t understand why nobody is buying anything. I’ve sold only one brownie and two cookies.
“Would you care for any baked goods?” I call to Carmen Landers, who is passing by the table with her five-year-old son. “We’ve got just about everything!”
“Mommy, I want a brownie!” the little boy cries. “The one with M&Ms!”
I did make two kinds of brownies. One with M&Ms and one without.
Carmen looks down at the table, then up at me, and she flashes me an uncomfortable smile. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“But Mommy—”
But Carmen is yanking her son away from the table, even as he’s crying for a brownie. What’s going on? Every other game or event seems to be doing great. Only the bake sale is crashing and burning. I don’t get it.
And then Carrie comes over, looking much more tired and probably a lot older than the infamous babysitter. I feel desperate to make a sale, so I shove a tray of blondies in her direction. “I made your favorite,” I say.
“Um.” Carrie frowns. “I… uh, I’ll pass.”
What is going on here? “Are you sure? You love my blondies!”
She furrows her brow. “April, are you sure you should be here?”
I put my hands on my hips. “What are you talking about?”
“After what you posted on the school Facebook page, I figured you wouldn’t show up…”
What?
Immediately, I’m fumbling with my phone, loading the school Facebook page. I see all the notices on Facebook about the auction and the carnival. And sure enough, there’s a post from April Masterson:
OMG, you guys, I have never been so sick. I have been throwing up for the last 12 hours! Baking and G.I. bugs don’t go well together!
My mouth falls open. “I… I didn’t make that post.”
Carrie’s eyes widen. “Really?”
I click on the name April Masterson. It opens up a Facebook profile set to private. The profile photo is the same as mine, but it’s clearly a dummy account. Somebody set it up to make that post. And God knows what else they’ve posted. I’ll have to contact the principal to have the account taken off the school’s Facebook page.