Holler of Horror: County Fair

Chapter One

Jodie's P.O.V.

    They always say that the calm comes before the storm, yet I hadn't been given a single second of peace since I could remember. Things did seem to be semi-normal once I decided to ignore my mom's terrible attempt at sneaking around with the man who made our lives hell, better known as my father, George. The whole town seemed to know though, because the looks of pity began once again. As if I didn't already feel like a bug under a microscope, now it was just pitiful to think these people had nothing better to do than gossip about my mother's wayward ways. My priorities had to lay elsewhere; trying to find a good career path before graduation, making sure I was balancing a healthy school and social life, and covering for my friends so our secret wouldn't be another part of the rumor mill. Murder was much too shocking to fit the typical gossip criteria for such a small town.

    The whole school was buzzing about the county fair. During the month of September, the days of First Friday was long forgotten when the carnies came to town. Two whole weeks of salty sweet magic came to town and helped bring the whole town together to put their differences aside to be put into near-death experiences, those contraptions they slap together in less than twenty-four hours and call 'rollercoasters'. Not to mention the pageants, livestock shows, and the 4-H club exhibits that everyone shows off what they think is the best of the best.
At the lunch table, Stacy and Mariana were flipping through pages of a magazine to pick the best dresses for the pageant while Beth gave her input occasionally. Stacy was ecstatic to have been considered while Mari was just appeasing her mom and dad, although she did enjoy playing dress up.
"The green would really make your eyes pop," Beth pointed to a snug emerald piece that flared at the bottom with glittery chiffon.
"Geez, if I wanted to look like Ariel! Purple is more my color." Stacy is a petite redhead that has two sides; the boy crazy girly-girl, and the kid whose parents were most likely in the military with how little nonsense she put up with. If she said purple was her color, then purple is so totally her color.
Mariana was trying to find something flattering for her shoulders since she wasn't used to having it cut above her collar bone. Oh, and it had to be red or gold to compliment her caramel skin tone. Beth pointed to something out of Jessica Rabbit's closet and the two contestants shared a look and laughed, causing Beth to throw her hands up in exasperation.
"Good Lord you two can never be happy! Find your own dresses."
"It's not like we can even get one of 'em on time, these are just fun to look at. Later we can go down to the boutique and you'll get a full runway treatment," Mariana ruffled her hair and struck a pose which caused even Mackie to laugh.
Mackie; my best friend forever, tomboy extraordinaire, laughing along with the 'girls'. We never needed anyone else, until we did. It had only been two weeks since her weapon of choice decided to vanish, but to seniors in high school, that was basically last year to us.
"Come on, let's just get today over with. Then we can think about dress shopping and doomsday planning."
Doomsday. The day after graduation where everything sinks in and we have to face responsibility as adults.
Just in time, the bell rang and dismissed any lingering thoughts. That didn't stop the shared look between Mackie, Beth, and I. It was the perfect time to have the three of us together and semi-away from the only two unaware of the secret we held. While Mariana and Stacy were changing, we'd have just a few moments to plan our next library date. We had to find some sort of connection between the gun, its victims, and the one responsible.

    The boutique was a part of the town's antique shop nestled upstairs where the lighting was perfect any time of the day. There was a three-way mirror set up by the windows with a few love seats where Beth, Mackie, and I sat waiting.
"We have to tell them soon. I can't keep dodging Mari without her getting suspicious."
"Apparently she's been shadowing my mom at work which really sucks. Now she's home on time every day and I have to lie about what I do after school."
"What about this one?" Stacy had stepped out of her changing room and was twirling in front of us in a golden vintage dress that would have been perfect, save for the puffy shoulders.
"My mom could alter the sleeves for you. You know, if that's not your style," Mackie stuttered over her words as her cheeks turned red. Like I said, no one disagrees with Stacy. She paused for a second and looked over her shoulder at the back.
"Now that you mention it, that isn't such a bad idea. My rack does look great in it. I'm still going to try the others on," and she was gone again.
"Lindy hasn't stopped coming over for dinner so I know she's a nervous wreck not knowing what happened to the you know what."
"The Tribune is chalk full of good stories, but they had me start in the late eighteenth century when the town was founded. There's tons of murder but I can't dictate what's weird and-" I was cut off by Mariana clearing her throat and getting our attention.
In a floor length gown with rhinestones embroidering the trim, the sultry red made her glow. Stacy came out in an lime two piece that washed her out, although she didn't seem to notice due to her mouth gaping open.
"If you don't get that dress I may have to snag it from you. Damn girl, you are hot!" We were all gushing over how Mari had found the one right away when a chill swept through the room.
"Oh what a nice surprise! Are you two competing in the pageant too?" My head snapped towards the condescending tone and came face to face with the one person who seemed to instantly make my blood boil. Shelly Price, the product of my father's infidelity, my half sister was smirking at the five of us. What made it worse, I recognized the woman standing behind her with an equally confident smug look, and a sparkly diamond ring on her finger. I sat in front of her years ago with milkshakes between us to make the introduction as smooth as possible, which may have worked if I was five and not just hitting my teens with a hormonal attitude. She seemed so sweet then, but this look was definitely more fitting. Mackie kicked my shoe and pulled me out of the past.
"It sure is always surprising to see you Shelly." That was about as nice as my mouth would allow due to the string of insults I wanted to fling. Things with Shelly weren't so bad anymore, ever since she blew up my Jeep and all, that didn't mean I trusted her yet. Seeing her mom set off a whole new fire in my chest. It made the whole thing more real than it already was. Shelly was the spitting image of her mother, save for our father's height and eye color.
"Why don't you join us, Jennifer? There's more than enough room," Beth, although she looked like regret instantly set in, was always taking in strays due to her kind heart. Before I could argue, she stood and offered her seat to Shelly's mother.
"You girls are so polite. Beth how is your mother, still wrangling a troop of toddlers?" She lowered herself onto the couch then turned to her daughter. "Put on that blue one and make sure you're still able to fit a two, I'm afraid you've put on too much weight." Shelly lowered her head and disappeared into a dressing room while her mother tried to pull some gossip from Beth as Stacy and Mariana stared in shock. Mackie was miming behind Jennifer that she was crazy and I would have laughed, but for the first time I genuinely felt sorry for Shelly.

    "You're not seriously considering dropping her from the program are you? Mari will not only have to pick a new career path but also restart her volunteer hours." Dinner was a frozen lasagna with bagged salad from the tried and true Piggly Wiggly. No garlic bread since mom started to watch her carbs, yet lasagna didn't count apparently.
"Honey I love having her work with me, but my boss has been complaining about not working enough hours. That girl doesn't leave until I do and she needs to be home at a decent hour. Maybe if she talked to her father about extending her curfew," she trailed off and stuck a plain piece of lettuce in her mouth which she would chew a total of thirty times before swallowing in order to avoid an actual response. She and I both knew she missed her secret dinners with my father, yet she seemed to have no idea about me being in the loop.
"It's one day out of the week mom, it's not like she's actually hindering you from the work you and seven other people handle."
"Jodie Anne, we do more than luncheons and gossip. There's actual planning of park cleanups and event organizations. We are the ones that organize the fair and allow it to run for two weeks. There are legal hoops to jump through for all of this."
I stabbed a few cherry tomatoes and swirled them through the Italian dressing before popping them in my mouth.
"Sorry mom, but I didn't even know that much until Mari told me. Just please don't screw my friend over due to your own personal problems." I shoved a large piece of lasagna in my mouth and stood to clear my place when a shrill sound came from the kitchen. Both of our phones were on the kitchen table, a new thing I suggested for us to be more present during the minimal time we had together, screens black.
"Is that the landline? That thing hasn't been used since the last time we were here." Curious, I moved to the kitchen only to be intercepted by my mom's outstretched arm.
"Oh I told Cathy to call the landline if there was an emergency. There must be some payment authorization mishap again," she swept past while grabbing my dishes and planting a kiss to my forehead. There was a small chance she was telling the truth, probable, but not possible. One thing for certain is my father made my mom act like a giddy teenager. Sneaking around, telling lies, taking secret phone calls behind closed doors. She was absolutely smitten with him, which meant I had to tell her about the ring. I walked into the kitchen to see her leaned over the counter writing something down while nodding.
"Alright Cathy, keep me posted if there's anything else. We'll take care of this in the morning." She looked slightly disappointed while hanging the phone up.
"So, rough day at work huh?" I leaned against the counter next to her and stared toward the front door, ready to bolt.
"You know, Mariana is a good helper. I'd be stupid to let someone like her go. Tell me something good, did the girls find their dress?"
I smiled and pulled my phone out, hesitating for a second to show her the damning evidence.
"You wouldn't believe the stuff they found, although I hope they get a better stock before prom time otherwise I'm going to have Mackie's mom throw something together for me."
"She was always the creative one, always keeping her hands busy. That's a wonderful idea." I guess they still haven't talked since the incident. Brandy has been my mom's best friend since high school, they are each other's better half, and hearing how indifferent she acted was sad.
"Yeah she's altering Stacy's a little bit to make it look a little less Madonna-esque." I showed her the screen and she scrolled through the pictures with a smile on her face until she got to the one of Stacy and her mom standing proudly together in front of the windows of the shop, and she froze.
"Well, those were nice dear. I think I'm going to lay down for a bit. Would you mind loading the dishwasher?" She placed a light kiss to my head and went to her room. I was expecting a bit of yelling or even just some snide remark. While putting the dishes in to wash, half of me wished she had. This just meant she was more messed up about it than I originally thought.