Every Little Thing in the World by Nina de Gramont Page B

hopped into the bow of the canoe and took up his paddle. The two boys pushed away from shore. For a second Brendan, the professional actor, looked like he knew what he was doing. He was dressed so exactly right, wearing a khaki Aussie hat with a feather peeking out of the band, Patagonia shorts, and a maroon Harvard Crew T-shirt. But they made it just past the dock before the canoe’s bow started drifting back toward shore.
    By now our group was already far down the lake. If we didn’t hurry, we’d lose them around the first bend. Despite Jane’s brief flurry of authority, I didn’t quite trust her and Silas to wait for us, or even remember we belonged to their group.
    I paddled back to Brendan and Mick. “Maybe for now you guys should just switch sides,” I said. “When you want to go left, both of you paddle on the left side. When you want to go right, paddle on the right side. Straight, just paddle on opposite sides.”
    When Mick looked up, the fury in his eyes startled me. I couldn’t tell whether it came from the frustration of trying to canoe, or from being bossed around by me, a girl. But ina few seconds his face rearranged itself, and he followed my directions as if he didn’t care—about anything.
    A few minutes later, the four of us paddled side by side—the boys with their awkward, semifrantic shifting, and Natalia and me at an even and elegant pace.
    We spent the morning in sight of the rest of our group but a good clip behind. It was hard not to feel leisurely on such a bright summer day. A family of mallards floated upstream, the father in the lead and the mother taking up the rear, four ducklings in a fluffy, proud line between them.
    â€œSo sweet,” Natalia said. Brendan smiled but Mick just kept staring straight ahead, squinting. He was the only person on the water not wearing sunglasses.
    â€œYou need shades, man,” Brendan said, though he couldn’t have seen the squint.
    Mick shrugged, then after a minute said, “They’re in my pack.”
    â€œWant to stop so you can get them?”
    â€œNo, it’s straight.”
    We paddled a little farther. And then Mick said—as if that small exchange about sunglasses had spurred his ability to speak, “Shit. Whoa. Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?”
    We were far behind the group, and sun slanted sharply in front of our eyes. But I saw what Mick meant. From where we floated, it looked like Jane had peeled off her shirt. It also looked like she wore nothing underneath.
    â€œIs she just floating down the lake topless?” Mick said.
    â€œNo,” said Natalia. “She must be wearing a halter, or something like that.”
    We saw Jane’s canoe come to a stop. She stood up in what looked like full, unashamed nakedness and plopped into the water.
    â€œI’m getting closer,” Mick said. He started paddling like mad toward the gaggle of canoes up ahead. Brendan struggled to keep up, switching his paddle from one side to the other. Natalia and I laughed, watching them go.
    â€œAh, nudity,” Natalia said, “bringing together all men, everywhere.”
    â€œWe had Brendan to ourselves for a minute there,” I said. “Wait till we tell Kendra and Ashlyn and everybody.”
    â€œMaybe you can date him,” said Natalia. “After all, here we are, out on this lake. Those two other girls are certainly no competition for you. And I can’t, because of Steve.”
    â€œMaybe,” I said, without much enthusiasm, still thinking of Cody. And then I recognized a hint of condescension in her comment, like being stranded on a remote lake, with no other girls as possibilities, was the only way I could ever hook up with someone like Brendan.
    â€œYou can go back home with a movie star boyfriend,” Natalia said.
    â€œSure,” I said, but my voice sounded stony. Natalia and I had been friends since kindergarten, and best