"Hey, Matt – you're back at the top!" Riley exclaimed as everyone crowded around the notice board.
Matt stood a little apart from the jostling crowd, Gina and Nora plastered to his sides.
"Oh, Matt! You're the best!"
Matt grinned as Gina kissed him soundly on the cheek.
"Way to go, handsome!" Not to be outdone, Nora kissed him on the other cheek.
"Hey – you know what? That dork Candy is at seventh place!" laughed Vince.
Matt looked curiously at Candy as his friends jeered and heckled her. She flushed and walked away quickly, clutching her ratty old tote close to her, not meeting anyone's eyes as they taunted her. Matt was puzzled as he looked at her retreating back. Candy had easily topped him in the last three tests, partly because he hadn't really been trying, true, and her slipping suddenly to seventh place seemed very strange.
"Matt – c'mon, give us a treat," said Jen, and the others joined in.
"Okay, okay, let's go to that new place – The Cream King – after school," Matt grinned, and everyone cheered.
Candy stowed her bag away in a corner of the kitchen and went to the washroom to change into her work T-shirt. She had just gotten back to the kitchen when Mr. Benson came in.
"Candy – hurry, there's a big party out there – go get their orders – fast!"
Candy picked up her little notepad and pen and hurried out to where Mr. Benson had joined two tables to accommodate the big group who had just come in.
"Oh, no!" Candy's heart sank as she saw Matt's gang seated there, talking and laughing loudly. It sank further when she saw that Gina was sitting on Matt's lap, her arm around his neck.
"Heyyyy!" Vince spotted her first and let out a long whistle. "Hey, guys, look who's here!"
All eyes turned to Candy, and she felt her face heat.
"Hey weirdo, what're you doing here?"
"Matt, she's following you around – I think she's into you!" Nora said nastily, and everyone laughed loudly.
Candy steeled herself and went up to the table. She could feel Matt's brilliant blue eyes on her, though he did not say anything.
"I'm your waitress for today. May I take your orders?" she said, keeping her voice steady.
"Oh – waitress, huh? We need a maid at our place," Gina giggled. "Why don't you take the job?"
"Yeah, but you got to be careful, Gina, or she'll steal from your place, like she tried to from Matt's locker," Nora chimed in, and Gina pretended to frown.
"Guys, let's just order, okay?" Matt said above everyone's voices.
"But Matt -"
"Save it, Gina." Matt sounded impatient and they all sobered a little at his tone.
"I'll have a chocolate fudge sundae…"
"Banana split for me – no wait, make mine a raspberry vanilla double -"
"What's in the Rainbow Delite?"
"Hey, I changed my mind, I want the same as her…"
"Triple fudge with nuts for me -"
Everyone spoke together, and every time Candy had a few orders noted and turned to the next person, someone would change their mind and that would set everyone off again. With great difficulty she at last managed to get it all down, repeating the order to make sure she had it right. Of course, everyone had something to change and it took Candy a good ten minutes to finally finish.
All through, Matt simply sat there, watching her with those brilliant blue eyes.
"Uh – you haven't ordered anything – what would you like, sir?" Candy glanced quickly at Matt and then back down again.
"He'll share with me of course, stupid." Gina cut in before Matt could say anything. "Won't you, baby?"
"Sure," he said, his eyes still on Candy.
Candy rushed away with their order, relieved to escape. Ten minutes later, Fred the cook piled a tray for her.
"Sure you can carry everything?" he asked, looking at the laden tray.
"It's only ten bowls of ice-cream, I'll manage," Candy replied, lifting the heavy tray. She stepped out of the kitchen and walked to the table, balancing the tray carefully. She was so intent on what she was doing that she missed Nora winking at Gina.
"Ohhh!" Candy cried out as she tripped and fell, the tray jerking out of her hands, spattering ice-cream on everyone around. Nora quickly drew her foot back, smirking to herself as she joined in the general uproar.
Candy heard angry screams around her, heard the crash of breaking glass and the tinkle of falling cutlery as she pitched forward, hitting her head on the edge of the table before everything went black.
When she opened her eyes, she was on the floor, eleven accusing pairs of eyes trained on her, though Matt's brilliant blue gaze was not among them. There was broken glass and ice-cream all around her and as she tried to sit up, she cut her hand on a shard. Candy bit her lip, becoming aware of a throbbing pain in her head.
"Look at what she's done!" screamed Gina angrily. "She's RUINED my Jimmy Choos!"
"And my dress –"
"My jeans -"
"Hell, our party!"
As everyone spoke, Mr. Benson glared at her.
"You – Candy – get up at once and clean this mess and then see me in the kitchen."
Candy struggled to her feet. She touched a hand to her forehead and felt something warm and sticky. Great, she'd cut her head as well, she thought resignedly. How clumsy, how stupid could she get? She'd gotten this job barely a few weeks back, and now she would most likely lose it.
"I'm so sorry, everyone." Mr. Benson was speaking ingratiatingly to the group. "I'm really very sorry – I apologize for my waitress's clumsiness – if you'd like to get cleaned up, the washroom's through there – and please, if you'll give me ten minutes, I'll have your order ready, and it'll be on the house."
Grumbling, everyone moved off to get cleaned up till only Matt and Candy were left.
"Are you okay, Clarke?" he asked her gruffly.
"I – I – I'm so sorry, sir, I'll just get everything cleaned up…" Candy rushed into frantic speech.
"Matt! C'mon here!" one of his friends called. "Get away from that mess!"
Matt hesitated, glancing at Candy before moving away.
By the time everyone returned, Candy had cleaned the mess and swabbed the floor. Mr. Benson fussed over Matt's group while Candy quickly changed out of her Cream King T-shirt back into her regular clothes. She dabbed her forehead and the cut on her palm with antiseptic from the First Aid box, then quietly went to the kitchen to wait.
Fred looked at her sympathetically but before he could say anything Mr. Benson came in.
"You – girl!" he snapped as soon as the kitchen door swung shut. "Do you know how much loss you've caused me?"
"I – I'm sorry," Candy faltered. He was going to fire her, and then her aunt and uncle would be mad at her, and then – she didn't want to think further than that, knowing their tempers.
"I should just fire you for the nuisance you are," he went on, paying no attention to her apology.
"Please – please Mr. Benson – don't do that!"
"You should have thought of that when you were screwing up out there," he said harshly. "You're lucky I need someone right now so I'm not gonna fire you."
"Oh – th-thank you," Candy began, but he continued.
"But I'm gonna keep last week's pay to cover the damages you've caused."
"Oh!" Candy's head, which was already throbbing, began to hurt even more as she thought of her aunt's reaction.
"Consider yourself lucky I haven't thrown you out." Mr. Benson spoke before she could say anything. "Now get out there and do some work – and don't dare go near that table – I'll handle them myself."
"Yes, Mr. Benson," Candy said in a low voice.
Somehow, she managed to get through the rest of her shift though her body ached all over, especially her head. She sensed Matt's eyes on her as she waited on the other tables but she dared not look in his direction, and finally he and his gang left. Mr. Benson confiscated her tips as well at the end of her shift so Candy went home empty-handed that evening, dreading her reception.
She was halfway through cooking dinner when her aunt came in.
"Gimme the money," she said without preamble.
"I – I didn't – I don't have any," stammered Candy, trembling inside.
"What do you mean – no money?" asked her aunt harshly. "Ed – come in here!" she yelled to her husband.
Candy cowered as her uncle's huge, beefy form appeared in the doorway.
"Now tell us the truth – what happened?" Her aunt shook her roughly.
Slowly, haltingly, Candy narrated the happenings of the evening.
"You little mess! Why can't you do anything properly?" screamed her aunt, advancing on her.
"Wait, Lucy, that thick skin needs something stronger than your hand," Uncle Ed said, unbuckling his belt.
"No, please, Uncle Ed – ahhh!" Candy cried out as the belt lashed across her back.
It was her aunt who finally intervened.
"Enough, Ed, or you'll kill the brat," she said.
Ed's face was red and he was panting with the exertion as he gave a final lash of his belt and moved back. Candy lay unmoving, nearly unconscious.
"Let's get her out of the way – I suppose I'll have to finish cooking dinner now. This girl is nothing but trouble," Lucy grumbled as they hauled her to the pantry where she slept. They dumped her unceremoniously on the thin mattress that served as her bed, and left.