Author Note: ….now for something completely unexpected….

T7S

Chapter 12 – Devil in a Pink Dress

T7S

Eric spent most of his Sunday avoiding black cats, the number 13, he didn't watch any TV channel that had a six in it and stayed away from every ladder in his dad's garage. He ate Lucky Charms for breakfast, lunch and dinner just to be on the safe side. Monday rolled around bright but chilly and Eric thought the horrible weekend just might have been a bad dream.

He had breakfast with his dad who seemed to be in an uncommonly good mood. That should have been Eric's first clue. His mom put a paper sack on the table, "Oh honey, I made a lunch for you. Put it in your backpack and you won't have to eat at that awful cafeteria."

"Thanks mom." He replied between bites of banana pancakes.

Kitty smiled. "Oh, honey, please take this bag to the trash when you go to your car? It's some bad tuna that I found in the fridge." He nodded, looked at his watch and declared, "I gotta go! I'm late!"

Eric grabbed both bags, put one in his duffle, slipped into his jacket and hurried out the door. The Anderson's cat suddenly came flying out of nowhere and latched onto his pant leg. The tuna! Eric tried shaking the black cat off his leg but the tiny sharp little claws had dug into the fabric.

Red looked out the door to see his son doing some kind of new fangled dance. Eric's hands were above his head, he was hopping in a circle and then a cat went flying off into the grass. Kids….Red turned to Kitty, "I'm taking Bob to the new auto center this morning."

"Okay honey. Some of the ladies from LOPP may stop by to discuss the Memorial Parade."

Red frowned, "But that's not for another couple of months."

"Well, Red…it is March and these things take time!"

He shook his head, "Well if you need an entertainment act, our son has invented one in the driveway!"

-o-

Eric's leg was killing him. Actually it was both. His kneecap was still sore from the eerie Saturday night drama and now the other leg had been clawed by a possessed puss. He clicked on the radio trying to find the weather report. His usual presets weren't working and he was getting static, just like his bedroom radio.

With one eye on traffic and the other on the radio, he pushed the FM dial and was treated to Cliff Richard's voice whispering, the words to the 1976 version of Devil Woman. "…..I've had nothing but bad luck…Since the day I saw the cat at my door So I came into you sweet lady..." Eric quickly turned the radio off. He couldn't escape it and it seemed like evil was just surrounding him.

Crap!

T7S

The diner was busier than normal and Max liked it that way. Belle, his new waitress, was popular with the older students and faculty at St. Catherine's Academy. Diane, the more experienced waitress, had been training Belle and recommended that Max assign the girl her own set of tables.

Jackie/Belle was excited – this meant no more sharing tips with Diane. She was given the three booths near the front door and the tables in the corner. She had seven tables in her "station" which she was now responsible for. Almost giddy with excitement, she went about filling the sugar containers and making sure each table had ketchup and mustard ready. The napkin boxes were full and the floor swept and tidy. Her only thoughts were "…bring on the customers!"

The noon hour brought a full house and the orders flew through to the kitchen while the smells of hot onion rings and sizzling burgers filled the restaurant. Plates of hot meals were set on clean tables and the big gray containers were filled with dirty dishes just as efficiently. Towards the one o'clock hour, the lunch crowd was dwindling and Diane begged for a break.

"Belle, hon…could you take those two new customers for me? I've got a blister and I need a cigarette."

"Sure, not a problem!" Jackie/Belle was running on adrenaline and making money!

-o-

Eric heard the lunch bell and looked at the clock. Finally! He could take a break from grading papers. However, he was dismayed to find that he missed the first bell for the beginning of lunch and now students were returning to the library. Damn. Now he had to eat lunch in the car.

He gathered his papers and duffle and carried it to the parking lot. Once he opened the Vista Cruiser door, it stunk like dead fish. That should have been his second clue. He had thrown away his real lunch and brought his mom's trash to school! Eric thumped his hand against his forehead – and he was starving! Well, there was always Sam's across the street…he could grab a burger and eat it on the way back to the library!

The glass door swung open easily and Eric almost relished the smell of a cheeseburger on the grill. His stomach started to rumble reminding him of why he was there. He quickly grabbed the nearest table and a menu. Seconds later a waitress popped up smacking gum. "Can I take your order?"

He looked up to beg for a few seconds and looked back at the menu then a sledgehammer fell on his head – figuratively speaking or course! He looked back up at the smiling waitress. Her pretty blonde hair framed a heart shaped face, she wore classic glasses but damn, she looked just like Jackie! That should have been his third clue! Now he was seeing his dead friend in diners!

"Honey, do you want to order or not?"

He looked at the name tag and suddenly his throat was dry. Belle? She could be an exact twin for his long gone friend. She smiled at him and he felt this odd shiver of excitement run down his spine. "Uh…yeah…Can I start with a Coke?"

She scratched down his drink order onto her pad and tucked it in a huge pocket of her apron and gave him a brilliant smile. "Sure, I'll get your drink and you figure out what you want to eat."

Meanwhile, Eric heard the cook shout for Belle to pick up order 708. He leaned sideways and looked at those sexy legs that looked perfect under that pink waitress uniform. White tennis shoes just made the toned calves a bonus. She was friendly and sassy…nah….couldn't be! The Jackie he knew would never be a waitress. She would be complaining about a waitress.

This was just one of those weird voodoo doll coincidences which would be cleared up at tomorrow's sweat lodge appointment with the Shaman. Before he knew it, Belle was right back at his table with a large Coke in a chilled glass. "Decide what you want?"

His heart was pounding. "Wha…what's the special?"

She smiled at him again with that dazzling smile. "Well the Special is meatloaf…" she leaned forward like she was going to whisper, "…but I would recommend the turkey club."

God, he was charmed! "Yeah…club me. I mean turkey please." She wrote down his order, "Would you like fries or onion rings with that?"

"Fr-fries please." He stammered. Belle smiled and tucked her pencil in her pocket. "It'll just be a few minutes."

Eric couldn't do anything but watch her walk away. Did Donna's hips ever sway like that? The waitress attended to some other restaurant patrons in the same manner she did Eric, but he wanted to feel like it was more special than it really was.

He was still daydreaming when the whiff of hot French fries woke him up. The platter was pushed on the table and his check was ripped off the tablet and set under the salt shaker. "Just pay at the register when you're done." She turned to go and Eric quickly said, "Belle."

She turned around at the name, "Did I mess up your order?"

"No. It's good…I was just wondering how long you've been working here. I've never seen you before."

Diane had just come off her break and swooped in, "Hey sweetie, go take your break." She turned to Eric, "Belle's been with us for a few weeks. You must not have been in recently."

Eric looked at the older wiser woman and knew what she was thinking. She was figuring that he was going to hit on the new girl. The defensive posture Diane adopted told him that much. Quickly, he said, "I guess it has been quite a while. I missed the food." He bit into a French fry and smile, "Yummy."

She nodded her head. "Okay…if you need anything else, call me. My name is Diane." She made sure her point got across as Eric nodded and started eating in earnest. How foolish was it for him to think that 1, Jackie was a waitress AND blonde and 2, that he could ever attract someone as lovely as Belle?

This was just one day of weird events overlapping and coinciding and he wondered if he'd see a comet crash into the water tower. That would probably be the frosting on the cake!

The devil sent him a message wrapped in a pink dress and then mocked him.

Eric Forman felt like an idiot.

T7S