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.
“Who would do that?” Carrie says.
I shake my head weakly. “I… I have no idea. I guess somebody thought it would be a funny prank. But I swear, I don’t have a G.I. bug. Can you please buy a blondie?”
“Of course!”
Carrie makes a show out of giving me the money for a blondie, then she picks one up from the tray. But I follow her with my eyes and the second she gets away from me, she tosses it in the trash. I guess I can’t blame her.
I don’t know what to do now. Even if I got the post removed at this point, it’s too late. Everyone has already seen it. What am I supposed to do? Put a sign on my table saying “I didn’t actually spend the last twelve hours vomiting.” I feel like that will only make things worse.
I can’t believe I made all this food for nothing.
But it’s fine. I enjoy the bake sale, but the real moneymaker is the silent auction. And we’re going to clean up on that one. The bidding for the Yankees tickets is really out of control.
After Carrie wanders away, I scan the crowd of children and parents milling around. The bake sale is outside of the gymnasium, but I can see inside if I crane my neck. I’ve been looking for Maria, but I haven’t seen her since I’ve been here. I haven’t seen her since she caught me unearthing Raffey from my backyard. I’ve been desperate to find a way to apologize for that. I also want to tell her that I spoke to Bobby, who has sworn he didn’t have anything to do with it, but she probably wouldn’t believe me
Remembering how much Maria liked my apple turnovers at the book club, I put a couple of them in a napkin and head into the gym. I know she’s volunteering there. Maybe she’ll appreciate it if I bring her some sustenance. After I explain that I don’t actually have a vomiting illness.
I find Maria at the table with the raffle bags. She’s sitting behind the table, next to Julie. Apparently, they are doing the raffle together. I didn’t realize that. And as I approach, I notice they’re deep in conversation. Maria says something, and Julie laughs. It’s a genuine laugh—not Julie’s usual sarcastic laugh.
It’s been months—maybe years—since I’ve heard Julie laugh that way.
I wave to try to catch Maria’s eye when I get close enough. She doesn’t smile or wave back, but we make eye contact. She looks right at me. Then she lowers her head and says something else to Julie. Julie glances my way, then laughs again.
Are they laughing at me?
I lift my chin and stride over to them. I plaster a smile on my face, even though I’m feeling very self-conscious. I should have dressed up more, like both of them did. I thought it would be enough to wear my skinny jeans and a nice cashmere sweater. I mean, I don’t want to get chocolate all over my best clothing…
“Hi!” I say brightly. “How’s it going?”
Julie frowns at me. “April, I don’t understand why you came to the bake sale if you’re sick. It’s very irresponsible of you.”
I grit my teeth. “I’m not sick.”
“But you said on Facebook that you’ve been vomiting for the last twelve hours.”
“That wasn’t me.” I hate the whining edge in my voice. “Somebody was impersonating me. It must’ve been a joke.”
“Mmm.” Julie looks away and fiddles with one of the raffle bags. “Fine. Then maybe you should get back to the bake sale.”
“Just taking a break!” I hold out the apple turnovers. “Would you guys like a sample from the table?”
Maria barely looks at me. Julie eyes the turnovers then shakes her head. “No, thank you.”
“Um, okay.” I stand there awkwardly for a moment with the apple turnovers in my hand. “It seems like the carnival is a huge success though. You did an amazing job, Julie.”
If there’s one thing I know Julie loves, it’s compliments.
“We all did an amazing job, April,” she says. “It wasn’t just me putting this together. I couldn’t have done it without help from all the other parents.”