spilled soda somebody had just reported over by the piano. He took a long time mopping. Some of the girls were really lovely, and he liked watching them dance.
Kip was standing with her so-called boyfriend. Why weren’t they dancing? If he, Lee, were here with Kip, he would be dancing.
Her boyfriend said, “Listen, Kip. I’m not going to get involved. They want to run around the cliffs in the dark, that’s their problem, not ours.”
“Mike, you’ve got to stop them. Come on, you’re a boy, make them stop.”
Mike groaned and rolled his eyes. “Kip, nobody is going to make Con or Gary do anything, least of all me. You can make your little brothers obey you, and no doubt you can make your girlfriends obey you, and you can make your yearbook staff obey you. But you can’t push Con and Gary around tonight, do you hear me? This is their dance, they bought tickets, and if they want to dance up on Two Cliffs with Anne and Beth Rose, so be it.”
“But they could fall,” Kip protested.
Mike said, “Kip, they don’t want to die at seventeen. They don’t want to get their bones broken and their lungs punctured. They’ll be careful, okay? They’ll watch what they’re doing. So just leave it, okay?”
Kip glared at him. And then she whirled. If her boyfriend wouldn’t stop Gary and Con, she would give it another try herself. Lee hadn’t noticed the skirt before, but now he saw how full it was, and how it swished like a ballet dance when she spun around so angrily.
Mike caught Kip’s arm and held it hard. Mike wasn’t interested in dancing. He was just furious. “I am so sick of the way you interfere with everybody, Kip. It just so happens that I’d kind of like to walk up to Two Cliffs at night myself, and don’t interfere with me, and don’t come along. Got it?”
Kip flinched as if Mike had hit her. She actually turned her face away from those words and bit her lips. “Mike, please—”
Mike said, “Kip. Get lost.”
He walked away.
Kip stood still.
Lee seriously considered taking his mop up on the cliff and giving Mike a little shove over the rockiest, highest part.
He might have, too, except that Mr. Martin appeared by his side. “Lee, we got more spilled food all over the verandah. Go sweep that up. Then we need more soda on the bar out on the terrace, and we’re out of hot hors d’oeuvres at the snack bar there. Be sure to put out more chips while you’re at it. Potato chips are cheap. Check the dip. Come on, Lee, move along.”
Should he tell Mr. Martin what the boys were planning?
It didn’t sound dangerous to Lee.
Besides, Lee wasn’t at all sure that Two Cliffs was really the destination. Hadn’t he dried Anne’s hair himself? Hadn’t he watched that beautiful redhead Beth Rose dance with his wrestling opponent Gary? Those were two gorgeous girls. If he, Lee, were wandering around in the dark with girls that lovely, it wouldn’t be to see the profile of Two Cliffs in the dark.
As crowds do, this one shifted.
The quiz-oriented group around Pammy and Caitlin moved toward the piano and ferns that hid Molly. Gary, trying to convince Beth Rose to go with him on an All Night Hike, decided four might be fun and began looking for a couple with more get-up-and-go than Beth Rose. The dedicated dancers were really warmed up now and swinging all over the place. Sharp elbows and whirling skirts took up space the rest had to avoid.
Anne said, “Just take me home, okay?”
Con said, “Anne, I did not push you, okay?”
Gary said, “Just a walk, that’s all, Beth Rose, and nobody’s going to fall over the cliff edge, okay?”
Kip said loudly, “Maybe we should all get out our quizzes and work a little harder to find some of these answers.”
Molly said, “Kip, nobody cares, okay?”
And Con said, “Hey, what are you up to, Gary? Did you say a walk up to Two Cliffs? That would be neat. In the dark? I love it! Let’s go. Come on, Anne, let’s go with them.”
“Great,”
Kip was standing with her so-called boyfriend. Why weren’t they dancing? If he, Lee, were here with Kip, he would be dancing.
Her boyfriend said, “Listen, Kip. I’m not going to get involved. They want to run around the cliffs in the dark, that’s their problem, not ours.”
“Mike, you’ve got to stop them. Come on, you’re a boy, make them stop.”
Mike groaned and rolled his eyes. “Kip, nobody is going to make Con or Gary do anything, least of all me. You can make your little brothers obey you, and no doubt you can make your girlfriends obey you, and you can make your yearbook staff obey you. But you can’t push Con and Gary around tonight, do you hear me? This is their dance, they bought tickets, and if they want to dance up on Two Cliffs with Anne and Beth Rose, so be it.”
“But they could fall,” Kip protested.
Mike said, “Kip, they don’t want to die at seventeen. They don’t want to get their bones broken and their lungs punctured. They’ll be careful, okay? They’ll watch what they’re doing. So just leave it, okay?”
Kip glared at him. And then she whirled. If her boyfriend wouldn’t stop Gary and Con, she would give it another try herself. Lee hadn’t noticed the skirt before, but now he saw how full it was, and how it swished like a ballet dance when she spun around so angrily.
Mike caught Kip’s arm and held it hard. Mike wasn’t interested in dancing. He was just furious. “I am so sick of the way you interfere with everybody, Kip. It just so happens that I’d kind of like to walk up to Two Cliffs at night myself, and don’t interfere with me, and don’t come along. Got it?”
Kip flinched as if Mike had hit her. She actually turned her face away from those words and bit her lips. “Mike, please—”
Mike said, “Kip. Get lost.”
He walked away.
Kip stood still.
Lee seriously considered taking his mop up on the cliff and giving Mike a little shove over the rockiest, highest part.
He might have, too, except that Mr. Martin appeared by his side. “Lee, we got more spilled food all over the verandah. Go sweep that up. Then we need more soda on the bar out on the terrace, and we’re out of hot hors d’oeuvres at the snack bar there. Be sure to put out more chips while you’re at it. Potato chips are cheap. Check the dip. Come on, Lee, move along.”
Should he tell Mr. Martin what the boys were planning?
It didn’t sound dangerous to Lee.
Besides, Lee wasn’t at all sure that Two Cliffs was really the destination. Hadn’t he dried Anne’s hair himself? Hadn’t he watched that beautiful redhead Beth Rose dance with his wrestling opponent Gary? Those were two gorgeous girls. If he, Lee, were wandering around in the dark with girls that lovely, it wouldn’t be to see the profile of Two Cliffs in the dark.
As crowds do, this one shifted.
The quiz-oriented group around Pammy and Caitlin moved toward the piano and ferns that hid Molly. Gary, trying to convince Beth Rose to go with him on an All Night Hike, decided four might be fun and began looking for a couple with more get-up-and-go than Beth Rose. The dedicated dancers were really warmed up now and swinging all over the place. Sharp elbows and whirling skirts took up space the rest had to avoid.
Anne said, “Just take me home, okay?”
Con said, “Anne, I did not push you, okay?”
Gary said, “Just a walk, that’s all, Beth Rose, and nobody’s going to fall over the cliff edge, okay?”
Kip said loudly, “Maybe we should all get out our quizzes and work a little harder to find some of these answers.”
Molly said, “Kip, nobody cares, okay?”
And Con said, “Hey, what are you up to, Gary? Did you say a walk up to Two Cliffs? That would be neat. In the dark? I love it! Let’s go. Come on, Anne, let’s go with them.”
“Great,”
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