Under the Boardwalk by Barbara Cool Lee

the ride." Hallie felt the car move.
    "Remember seeing King Kong in Tom's office?" Kyle asked as the doorway arched overhead and they were plunged into darkness. "His big brother's coming up, so don't be scared."
    "Very funny, Mister Madrigal," Hallie said. "Jeez, I'm not a little girl."
    She heard him chuckle next to her. "No, you're definitely a grown woman. I'm convinced of that."
    King Kong made his grand entrance with a roar, bending the bars of his cage to "almost" reach into the car and grab them, and after that the displays went by rapidly: a medieval dungeon, a creepy axe murderer, aliens exiting a flying saucer and shooting green laser beams at them.
    "The best seat in the house is behind that guy," Kyle shouted in her ear over the sound of the space battle. "Behind the little green alien on the left there's a good spot where you can see the whole back half of the ride."
    "See? I can't see anything," Hallie yelled back.
    "Your eyes adjust to the dark in a few minutes," he explained when they exited the ride and found themselves blinking at the morning light outside. "Then you can see everything. You can actually walk around in there without tripping on anything once you get used to it."
    He hopped out as the car came to a stop, and Hallie followed. "I warned you it was really lame," he said. "This is one of the rides we really need to update. Once you spend a shift sitting back there you'll have every scream and axe murder memorized."
    "Why does somebody have to sit back there?"
    "You just need to make sure the kids stay in their seats and don't get out and start wrecking stuff. The little darlings spray painted the axe murderer with pink hearts last summer. They had to replace the original mannequin with a surfer from another exhibit. He's still wearing his board shorts under that suit they put on him."
    She shook her head. "Too weird."
    "Just buzz twice from the back and the person out front stops the ride and turns on the lights."
    She leaned in close to him. "What do I do about the couples kissing in the dark?" she asked innocently.
    He laughed out loud. "If you see anything interesting, take notes. I'll quiz you later."
    Had he cast a spell on her? she wondered. If she had any intention of keeping her life on a safe, even keel, what was she doing flirting with him? She'd better get herself under control before she got emotionally involved. ( Who're you kidding, 'before you get emotionally involved'? her little voice scolded.)
    "Excuse me?" she said, realizing he'd been talking to her.
    "I was just thinking out loud," he said. "It's a bad habit of mine—talking to myself."
    She grinned sheepishly. "Really?"
    "Anyway, I said I'm gonna swing by and see if Zac and Brandon need a ride to work, then I've gotta get the Little Guy out of that field, and figure out what parts I'm gonna need to fix him. That should take all morning. I'll see you when I pick you up after work."
    "See you then," she said. She walked over to the stool where Charlie sat. David Cooper had always said she was too emotional. Kyle didn't seem to be getting all worked up about one little kiss—which was a good thing, because she wasn't about to get involved with Windy's big brother. She heard his footsteps coming back, and turned around.
    "The chart said your lunch hour's at one," he said. "Could we, maybe, do lunch . . . ?"
    "Yeah," she said casually. "We could."
    He grinned. "See you at one, then." He strode away and Hallie watched until he disappeared around a corner.
    Charlie sighed. "He's your boyfriend, huh?"
    Hallie shook her head. "He's just a friend of a friend. He's kinda nice though."
    "What a cutie," Charlie said wistfully.
    "They all are. It's a Madrigal thing, I think."
    The nail file came out again, and Charlie started popping her gum again. "Sorry about the gum. I know it's annoying, but I can't smoke on the job, see, and it's driving me nuts. Want a piece?"
    Hallie nodded. Charlie handed her one, and Hallie saw her trying not to