Page 32 of Obligation
“Ladies, please go with Amber.” Mallory motioned to Amber.
Carissa stood and followed Amber from the room, Georgia Rose close behind. Amber led them into the dining room. The ridiculously large table was covered with dozens upon dozens of bags of marshmallows, boxes of graham crackers, and packages of chocolate bars.
“Your job actually starts right now.” Amber giggled. “We need to make single serving baggies of s’mores.” She opened a box of sandwich baggies. “In each bag, we put a full graham cracker, broken neatly in half so it fits, two marshmallows, and half a chocolate bar.” She demonstrated as she spoke.
“How many do we have to make?” Carissa asked.
“All of them,” Amber said with a nod. “I’m going to label each baggie with our letters and a price sticker. Everyone who pays admission gets one free S’mores. We’ll sell the rest.”
A sense of overwhelming impossibility crashed down on Carissa. She’d be here all night with as many supplies as were piled on the table. There had to be enough stuff to make at least a thousand or more S’mores.
“Um…” Georgia Rose raised her hand. “May I make a suggestion?” Her voice was low but melodic, a perfect combination of sweet and shy.
“Of course.” Amber’s smile was warm and encouraging, and Georgia Rose straightened a little.
“We should create an assembly line so this will go quicker. Like, you start by labeling each baggie,” Georgia Rose said to Amber, then turned her attention to Carissa. “We’ll start prepping the food, making piles so when the baggies are ready, we can just stuff and seal.”
“That’s a great idea,” Carissa said with genuine enthusiasm.
“Really?” Georgia Rose’s eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe Carissa had just complimented her.
Carissa nodded. “Yes. I think you’re right. Having a process will make this go faster.”
“I agree,” Amber said. Her gaze bounced from Carissa to Georgia Rose. “Love the teamwork and support I’m seeing here, by the way.”
Georgia Rose beamed, and warmth spread through Carissa. Knowing she’d made a good impression on Amber lifted Carissa’s mood. Amber pulled out a chair and sat. Carissa and Georgia Rose did the same, and the three of them began the monotonous task of prepping, dividing, and stuffing S’mores into baggies. They worked in silence for a while, each of them finding their own groove.
“This is actually kind of fun,” Georgia Rose said. “I mean, in a calming sort of way.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Carissa tilted her head.
Since she started this task, she hadn’t once thought of Danny or their argument tonight—or the inevitable fight they’d have tomorrow night. Her thoughts were blissfully quiet.
“So, Georgia Rose,” Carissa broke a chocolate bar in half and stacked the pieces in a pile in front of her, “where are you from?”
“Georgia.” She sighed. “I know. I know,” she said with a heavier sigh. “My parents thought it would be cute to name me after the state I was born in. That alone is bad enough, but they just couldn’t stop there. They gave me another first name. Rose. After the state flower.”
Carissa laughed. She couldn’t stop herself. But then she cupped her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry.” She cleared her throat. “It’s really not funny. Georgia Rose is a beautiful name.”
“No, it’s okay.” Georgia Rose giggled. “It really is funny. I hated it when I was younger and kids picked on me for it, but now… Well, it’s a great conversation starter.”
“True.”
“Carissa is a great name, too. How’d your parents come up with that?” Amber asked as she carefully affixed a TOP sticker to the front of a baggie.
“They didn’t. At least, not intentionally.” Carissa tore open a new package of candy bars. “I have a twin brother. We were supposed to be Cory and Carrie, but someone at the hospital misread the paperwork and listed Carissa on my birth certificate. My mother loved the name so much she decided to keep it.”
“Wow. That’s a way better name story than mine,” Georgia Rose said.
“Does your brother go here to HFU, too?” Amber asked.
Carissa shook her head. “No. Much to my father’s horror and displeasure, my brother is attending a trade school about half an hour away. He wants to eventually start his own welding shop doing custom jobs for cars and stuff.”
“That’s cool.” Georgia Rose nodded, dropped two marshmallows into a baggie, and sealed it. “Do you live around here?”
This girl sure was full of questions, but talking did help pass the time faster, and truth be told, Carissa was enjoying the easy back and forth. Playing Twenty Questions with Georgia Rose was a million times better than fighting with Danny, or awkwardly semi-flirting with Bradley.
“I was born and raised in Harmony Falls, so I’m a true California girl. Right now, I live on campus with Tiffany, in Dory Hall.”
