The Star Group by Christopher Pike

to pay for Gale's food.
    We met Mr. Ramirez and his family at the hamburger joint. His wife was so pretty that I could see how he stayed away from all the hot girls at school. His two kids, a boy and a girl, were sweet, their eyes sparkling with the night lights and excitement. Mr. Ramirez congratulated Teri on her short but emotional speech.
    “I was touched,” he said.
    “What about my speech?” Jimmy asked. He was asking everyone.
    Ramirez shook his head. “It was unique. I think it must have taken as much guts to make a fool of yourself as it did for Daniel to shoot the pier.”
    Jimmy nodded. “That was exactly why I did it. To praise Daniel and show him up at the same time.”
    I noticed that the dwarf had followed us to the restaurant. I was going to point him out and ask the others which one he was, but he turned away when I looked at him. Again, I didn't give it much thought.
    We headed for Pirates of the Caribbean next. Along the way we teamed up with Judy Farley and Cindy Converse. Both were cheerleaders and it was Cindy who had inherited Shena’s mantel as most beautiful girl in the school. She was an exquisite brunette with long brown hair and thick lips surrounding a sensual mouth. When Cindy saw that Jimmy was alone, she immediately started hitting on him and I was disappointed that Jimmy returned her affections. Jimmy and Sal were slightly drunk, I could smell the alcohol and figured they had put away a few beers in the parking lot. Sal could drink and maintain his dignity, but Jimmy got wild. As Cindy jostled close to him in the Pirates line, Jimmy pinched her side and bumped his head against hers. It looked painful but Cindy seemed to like it.
    The two snuggled close in the back row of the ride. But I had other things on my mind – Gale squeezed up close to me as the pirates fought all around us.
    “Are you having a good time?” she asked me.
    “Wonderful. You?”
    She pressed closer, staring up at me with her darling green eyes.
    “It’s special to spend tonight with you,” she said.
    I chuckled nervously. “We should have done this earlier.”
    “You should have asked me out before.” She paused. “Why didn't you?”
    A serious question. I told her the truth.
    “I was afraid,” I said.
    She liked that. “Afraid of little old me?”
    “Not anymore.”
    She leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Good.”
    When we exited the ride, with Jimmy and Cindy on much closer terms, I noticed that the dwarf was right behind us. I seemed to be the only one who saw him. I brought our roving band to a halt; I mean this dwarf was definitely trailing us. I pointed him out to the others and this time he froze.
    “Who is that dwarf?” I asked. “He's been following us half the night.”
    Teri giggled. “I think it's Dopey.”
    “No,” Sal said. “There was no prejudice against white people in my house while I was growing up so we watched Snow White a lot. That's Sleepy.”
    Jimmy squinted, his arm around Cindy. “I think its Shorty.”
    “There's no dwarf named Shorty,” I said.
    “There should be!” Cindy howled. She was clearly drunk.
    I strode over to where the dwarf was standing. Naturally it wore a happy face, but its demeanor was anything but joyful. It lowered its head at my approach.
    “Why are you following us?” I demanded.
    The voice came out muffled, female. “Welcome to the happiest place on Earth.”
    “Yeah, sure,” I said as the others moved closer. “Who are you?”
    “Snow White,” the dwarf said, “The fairest in all the land.”
    Jimmy lost his stupid smile and let go of Cindy. He should have guessed. I had. “Who are you?” he whispered.
    Shena took off her dwarf head; it took her a whole minute. Jimmy aged visibly in that short time. She smiled at us as she shook her hair free, but it was a forced smile. The gang just stared.
    “I have a friend who works here,” she explained. “She let me borrow her costume. I thought I would surprise you all.” She turned to