mean. The bathing suit too, I guess.” He took a swig of Gatorade.
Blink. Blink.
“Thanks.” I peeled my eyes off Mom’s name and stuffed the paper in my pocket. “Oh, did you get your phone back?”
Luke pulled out his phone, flicked it open, then snapped it shut.
“So, fluke1019, huh?” I asked. “Is there a story behind that?”
“You saw that, huh?” Luke looked at me for a momentthen smiled. “There is a story, but you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
I laughed. “Secret double agent for the French Foreign Legion? Deep cover for the KGB?”
“Close.” Luke smiled and shoved the phone back in his pocket. “So, do you swim much?”
“Hate swimming.”
Luke laughed.
I put a hand on my hip. “Well, that’s nice. I might have a paralyzing water phobia for all you know and all you can do is laugh?” It was meant as a joke, but one obviously lost on Luke.
His face fell. He started to talk and stopped a few times before managing a sentence.
“Sorry, that was really stupid of me. I just thought…” He stared at the ground and jammed his toe into the turf like he was trying to loosen the dirt from the bottom of his running shoe. “I heard about what happened to your mom last summer,” he added quietly.
Me and my big fat mouth! Of course he’d feel bad about that, even though it was the first time in a year I hadn’t connected swimming with Mom’s supposed drowning. Why did I have to choose that precise moment to have a lapse in memory? And why, why, why didn’t I have those idiot filters replaced between my brain and my mouth during my last moron tune-up?
“No, no. I was just joking.” I caught his eye. “Hey, listen. The sooner you embrace your inner klutz and the sooner you understand what a smart mouth I am, thebetter. Let’s just stop apologizing to each other for our glaring shortcomings, okay?”
Luke looked at me with his curvy lip, trying-not-to-smile smile and extended his hand.
“Deal.”
We shook on it.
“But no more talk about swimming or bathing suits or anything aquatic, okay? Makes me wanna barf.”
“Got it. But do sailboats qualify? ’Cause, my family always does this end-of-school boating trip to D’Escousse. Wanna come?”
All my brain filters unclogged spontaneously. My neurons snapped to attention. The fact that Luke was inviting me on a boat cruise registered on boy-girl level, but something else clicked too.
“When?!”
“Last day of school. It’s early dismissal that day so we’ll probably leave around lunchtime. That’s if they have the lock fixed by then.”
That was it! If I knew exactly when their boat was going through the lock, I might be able to get Mom safely to the ocean. Then she could find the tidal pool to help her transform into a human again. Then, she could come home. Of course, I’d have to find her first, but I would. I had to. And hopefully, the Freshies would have run out of rocks by then. But how could I help Mom and be on the boat at the same time?
Think, think…
“So, like a boat cruise?” I filled in the dead air, hoping to buy time so I could sort things out in my head.
“A boat cruise!” Lainey pranced over, appearing out of nowhere , sporting a jewel beaded crop top and spotless white capris. Cori followed, talking to Trey. She didn’t look my way. I can’t say I blamed her. Lainey grasped Luke’s arm. “That sounds like so much fun. I can’t wait!”
I’m sure the visible tremor working through my body must have looked like I had some sort of neurological disorder, but I couldn’t help it. How did she do it? How did Lainey Chamberlain manage to include herself in every conversation where Luke Martin was concerned?
Unless Luke had already invited her too…
“Yeah, should be a blast,” Trey added. “We’re going to pick up our cousin, Stewart, in D’Escousse. Jade, you coming?”
“Uh…” I did the connect-the-dots on the group dynamics.
Cori and Trey.
Lainey and Luke.
Me and some
Blink. Blink.
“Thanks.” I peeled my eyes off Mom’s name and stuffed the paper in my pocket. “Oh, did you get your phone back?”
Luke pulled out his phone, flicked it open, then snapped it shut.
“So, fluke1019, huh?” I asked. “Is there a story behind that?”
“You saw that, huh?” Luke looked at me for a momentthen smiled. “There is a story, but you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
I laughed. “Secret double agent for the French Foreign Legion? Deep cover for the KGB?”
“Close.” Luke smiled and shoved the phone back in his pocket. “So, do you swim much?”
“Hate swimming.”
Luke laughed.
I put a hand on my hip. “Well, that’s nice. I might have a paralyzing water phobia for all you know and all you can do is laugh?” It was meant as a joke, but one obviously lost on Luke.
His face fell. He started to talk and stopped a few times before managing a sentence.
“Sorry, that was really stupid of me. I just thought…” He stared at the ground and jammed his toe into the turf like he was trying to loosen the dirt from the bottom of his running shoe. “I heard about what happened to your mom last summer,” he added quietly.
Me and my big fat mouth! Of course he’d feel bad about that, even though it was the first time in a year I hadn’t connected swimming with Mom’s supposed drowning. Why did I have to choose that precise moment to have a lapse in memory? And why, why, why didn’t I have those idiot filters replaced between my brain and my mouth during my last moron tune-up?
“No, no. I was just joking.” I caught his eye. “Hey, listen. The sooner you embrace your inner klutz and the sooner you understand what a smart mouth I am, thebetter. Let’s just stop apologizing to each other for our glaring shortcomings, okay?”
Luke looked at me with his curvy lip, trying-not-to-smile smile and extended his hand.
“Deal.”
We shook on it.
“But no more talk about swimming or bathing suits or anything aquatic, okay? Makes me wanna barf.”
“Got it. But do sailboats qualify? ’Cause, my family always does this end-of-school boating trip to D’Escousse. Wanna come?”
All my brain filters unclogged spontaneously. My neurons snapped to attention. The fact that Luke was inviting me on a boat cruise registered on boy-girl level, but something else clicked too.
“When?!”
“Last day of school. It’s early dismissal that day so we’ll probably leave around lunchtime. That’s if they have the lock fixed by then.”
That was it! If I knew exactly when their boat was going through the lock, I might be able to get Mom safely to the ocean. Then she could find the tidal pool to help her transform into a human again. Then, she could come home. Of course, I’d have to find her first, but I would. I had to. And hopefully, the Freshies would have run out of rocks by then. But how could I help Mom and be on the boat at the same time?
Think, think…
“So, like a boat cruise?” I filled in the dead air, hoping to buy time so I could sort things out in my head.
“A boat cruise!” Lainey pranced over, appearing out of nowhere , sporting a jewel beaded crop top and spotless white capris. Cori followed, talking to Trey. She didn’t look my way. I can’t say I blamed her. Lainey grasped Luke’s arm. “That sounds like so much fun. I can’t wait!”
I’m sure the visible tremor working through my body must have looked like I had some sort of neurological disorder, but I couldn’t help it. How did she do it? How did Lainey Chamberlain manage to include herself in every conversation where Luke Martin was concerned?
Unless Luke had already invited her too…
“Yeah, should be a blast,” Trey added. “We’re going to pick up our cousin, Stewart, in D’Escousse. Jade, you coming?”
“Uh…” I did the connect-the-dots on the group dynamics.
Cori and Trey.
Lainey and Luke.
Me and some
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