Chapter Seven
“Both of us need to confer for a minute, Paulina.” Po grabbed me by the elbow. “Ohhh, look at that! The line for Space Mountain opened up again. Two birds, one rock. Feel free to vlog without us. Wouldn’t want that pretzel to get cold.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Paulina’s eyes twinkled. And no—it didn’t come from her glitter eyeliner.
Po’s knees wobbled, yet she somehow mustered the strength to drag me through the line’s entrance.
I shook off her grip and charged up the ramp, outpacing her and this new mess she’d created. “What’s with showing her my sketches without my consent?” I hissed over the crowd’s hum. “And telling her I’d plan her quince just to keep flirting with her? You don’t even know if she’s into girls.”
“I guess we’ll find out, because you are doing her party.” Po’s face flushed. “Who cares if I want to keep flirting with her? That doesn’t mean this opportunity doesn’t benefit you, either. You know what they say…” She wiggled her eyebrows. “What’s good for the goose is good for the duck.”
I tore a hand through my frizzing hair. “No one says that. Plus, the only reason she wants me to plan her party is because she thinks I work for Mandy.”
A buzzer sound flew from her lips. “Wrong. She’s impressed by your instinctual party-planning visions.”
“Let’s test your hypothesis, then. I’ll go over there right now and tell her I’m not a Mandy intern.” Yet. “Wanna bet how fast she revokes her offer?” I turned around, ready to plow through the suddenly packed line.
Po snatched the back of my blouse. “Not so fast, Little Cuchara. There’s only one way out of this line.”
Before I could protest, her hand traveled to mine. I was caught off guard by how much of my frustrations she dislodged with that little pump she gave me.
“Fine,” I said. With the long queue of people crammed behind us, I supposed the most efficient way out was through. “But the second we get off this thing, I’m telling her I’m not doing it.” I yanked my hand away. “You better keep your trap shut this time.”
I stepped into the hallway leading to the indoor portion of the queue. The sci-fi-inspired melodies of the ride’s soundtrack emanated from invisible speakers. A perfect excuse to refrain from arguing with her. Soothing blue-and-purple light glowed through the last hallway, beckoning us into the loading area.
We zipped through the last part of the queue in record time, but the park guests in the Lightning Lane moved even quicker. Some of them had started to pile into the designed-to-look-like-a-rocket-ship roller coaster. The coaster hissed and clicked, its riders cheering as it took off without us.
Po must’ve glimpsed my jealousy. She pointed to the next group jetting past us and said, “That’s what I was trying to say. Paulina could be your ‘lightning lane’ to the internship.” She leaned over the railing, holding the weight of her chin on the back of her hand. “If Mandy’s as fancy as you say, she’ll probably care more about quality over quantity. Booking a niche famous YouTuber’s quince?” She gave a little whistle. “She’d have to be impressed by that more than by doing a few classmates’ shindigs, no?”
I hated how my pulse quickened. At this rate, Po should fill that empty extracurricular slot on her schedule with debate team. Because she was convincing me this party could be a good—no, great—idea.
“Even if Mandy does care about quantity over quality,” Po continued, “Paulina’s channel—”
With Paulina’s subscriber count flashing inside my head, I blurted, “Would be the best advertising ever.”
She tapped her temple. “Bingo.”
We weren’t even on the ride yet, and already I felt like I was flying. Equally as quickly, my conscience dragged me down to earth again. “I mean, no. Not doing it.”
We stepped through the turnstile and slid into the rocket ship’s seats. A cast member pushed down the padded safety bar across my stomach, then Po’s. “What do you mean ‘no’? This could totally work.”
The tightness in my stomach began to build. Not because of the lap bar digging into my belly button, either.
The rocket thrust forward. Gained speed.
As much as I didn’t want it to—so did Po’s proposal.
A swirling solar field of lights flashed over the walls. I imagined similar projections swirling over Paulina and her court. The space soundtrack swelled, but all I heard was a waltz.
The coaster nose-dived down, shattering my fantasy.
“No, it can’t!” I yelled over the click-click-click of the ride climbing up the tracks again. “Need I remind you that the Lightning Lane’s pay-for-play? Are you suggesting I foot this masquerade’s bill with my moral fiber?”
I couldn’t gauge Po’s reaction. Not when the only light came from flickering stars. While the coaster zipped through the cosmos, I went through more reasons on my this-is-a-bad-idea list.
“What if Paulina finds out I’m not an intern yet?”
Po answered with a scream. So did everyone on the coaster as we plunged down another dip. I let loose a shriek of my own. An appropriate reaction to my planner reputation getting ruined.
“Even worse,” I yelled. “What if this gambit got back to Mandy?”
No more parties. No more fairy godmother’s apprentice robes. No master class in creating HEAs.
The road back to my family’s own HEA, lost forever.
I white-knuckled the lap bar, holding on for dear life. Po, on the other hand, squealed with glee. “Nail the party—which you will because you’re you—and you’ll get the internship.” If anyone could continue gabbing through the g-force of the next set of twists and turns, it was her. “As far as Paulina and Mandy go, what they don’t know won’t kill them.”
She howled through the next drop. “If that doesn’t convince you, what about ‘With great risks come great rewards’?”
It took all my neck muscles to face her. “You got that pearl of wisdom right.”
“I’m right about lots of things. This especially.” She shut her eyes, shooting her arms straight into the air, like she wanted to soar down every inch of this free fall.
I didn’t let go of the lap bar. Shrieking one more time, I didn’t know what surprised me more:
Po being so persuasive, or me wanting to be persuaded.
When the coaster pulled back into the loading area, Po jumped out of the rocket ship and sprinted to the monitors displaying the picture snapped on the coaster’s last turn.
Po’s face was picture-perfect. Mine showed off a scream worthy of an Edvard Munch painting. Except the curves of my lips did hint at a smile.
Po snapped a pic of our photo and said, “Admit it. You had fun.”
With an exaggerated eye-roll, I said, “Yes, it was fun.” I meant it, too.
“Ooh, you said the f-word!” She draped her arm over my shoulder. “Are you ready to have more fun?” She gestured toward the area where we’d left Paulina vlogging. She started to say something else.
Her voice fell away as my senses zeroed in on Melina, walking out of the bathrooms ahead. A stack of brightly colored teacups rose between the mouse ears of her Mickey headband. Yes! She was going to love the Alice in Wonderland–themed Pinterest boards I’d made.
I rushed forward like the White Rabbit. Do not be late for this very important date.
No matter how much Po’s scheme made sense, this was the planned path. The road more safely traveled.
I expected to keep moving in this direction. Only, as soon as I stepped back into the sunshine, I stopped midstep.
Space Mountain’s line had quadrupled in ten minutes tops. The queue stretched so long that cast members had to add extra partitions along the side of the building. Park-goers inched forward slower than a snail’s pace. Trudging through a never-ending and windy road.
The line looked too much like what I’d been feeling since After Mom. I wiped my sweaty palms on my blouse, eyeing the Lightning Lane.
The sight of people walking straight into the attraction made my broken heart yearn. No waiting in long queues. Skipping the crap and heading directly to the fun parts.
I wanted that for my family. I wanted that for myself. And I wanted it now.
If planning Paulina’s party could fast-track Mandy teaching me the tricks of the HEA trade, so be it. Nothing else mattered.
In the distance, Melina was quickly getting lost in the crowd.
When my loafers lifted, they pivoted away from her teacup Mickey headband and headed toward Paulina and the half-eaten pretzel.
It was probably cold by now, but her party was about to heat up.