parents aren’t stealing all your money?”
“I don’t. Listen, if my parents end up blowing all the money or siphoning it off to some offshore account, they obviously want it more than I do. It’s only money.”
“How can you not care? You earned it.” She watched him bat at the brush with the paddle while trying to hold the boat in place. The boat rocked from side to side. She gripped the edges.
“I’m sixteen. What do I need with a bunch of money? When you think about it, it’s not normal for a kid to be loaded. Aren’t we supposed to earn our money when we’re adults?” He jabbed at the brush again.
She admired how his t-shirt stretched across his shoulders and arms. “I’ve got to say, Rock Star, you surprise me.” She hated to admit it, but his connection to money seemed very healthy.
“Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.” He poked at the brush, this time leaning way out and tilting the boat to a precarious angle.
“Adam! You’re gonna flip the boat!”
“Just. About. Got it.” With one more jab, he leaned further, and the canoe tipped too far.
Marti screamed and the boat flipped before she had the forethought to close her mouth. Her body splashed into the cool, murky drink.
Chapter 7
Marti flailed underwater, and the long water lily stems rubbed against her legs like the snakes she feared. She swished her legs to come up for air and discovered the water was only a few feet deep.
She popped up between the canoe and the edge of the bog. Adam held his arm high with the sandal. “I got it!”
“You jerk!” She tried to stand, but her feet sank into thick muck on the bottom of the lake. She cringed and wanted to scream. She tried to tread water to avoid the disgusting lake bed. She swallowed some of the algae-laced lake water. She coughed and spit as she felt slimy green beads of algae in her mouth.
Adam laughed. “My bad.”
“How are we gonna get back in the boat?” She tried not to whine or cry as the plants tangled around her limbs.
“First, we have to flip it over. I’ve done this before with my brothers.” Adam moved to the edge of the canoe and attempted to push on the side. As he pushed with his arms, he tried to stand, and Marti saw his surprise and disgust as his feet pushed into the gunk.
She raised her eyebrows. “So now what, Sherlock?”
“This is gross.”
She could tell he was trying to swish the lake sediments from his feet. He didn’t seem to realize that oily-looking slime covered his head and streaked his face. Awareness hit. She touched her own face and cringed; slime covered her as well. She tried to scrape it away, but knew it wasn’t really working.
“Let’s try to drag the canoe into deeper water, away from the plants,” Adam suggested.
They towed the flipped boat away from the edge where their feet didn’t touch bottom. The water became much better, but a thick layer of green algae still floated on the surface. Marti wiped her mouth and chin, praying she didn’t swallow any more lake scum.
“Now what?” She held onto the edge of the boat.
“We need to get underneath and push it up and over.”
“I’m not putting my head underwater again.”
“Well, I don’t know any other way to flip the boat.”
“Can’t we just try to lift this edge of it really fast?”
“It won’t work. The boat will fill with water.”
“Oh.” She tread water. Her life jacket rose up around her face as she bobbed.
“We gonna do this or what?” Adam didn’t look happy about it either.
“So how does this work?”
“Feel underneath where the crossbars are? You’re going to take a breath and pull yourself under the boat. There will be plenty of air,” he reassured.
The idea of going into a small claustrophobic space and trying to breathe set her heart thumping at a rapid pace. Why couldn’t they have gotten the assignment for something easy, like taking pictures of rocks?
“When we’re both in
“I don’t. Listen, if my parents end up blowing all the money or siphoning it off to some offshore account, they obviously want it more than I do. It’s only money.”
“How can you not care? You earned it.” She watched him bat at the brush with the paddle while trying to hold the boat in place. The boat rocked from side to side. She gripped the edges.
“I’m sixteen. What do I need with a bunch of money? When you think about it, it’s not normal for a kid to be loaded. Aren’t we supposed to earn our money when we’re adults?” He jabbed at the brush again.
She admired how his t-shirt stretched across his shoulders and arms. “I’ve got to say, Rock Star, you surprise me.” She hated to admit it, but his connection to money seemed very healthy.
“Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.” He poked at the brush, this time leaning way out and tilting the boat to a precarious angle.
“Adam! You’re gonna flip the boat!”
“Just. About. Got it.” With one more jab, he leaned further, and the canoe tipped too far.
Marti screamed and the boat flipped before she had the forethought to close her mouth. Her body splashed into the cool, murky drink.
Chapter 7
Marti flailed underwater, and the long water lily stems rubbed against her legs like the snakes she feared. She swished her legs to come up for air and discovered the water was only a few feet deep.
She popped up between the canoe and the edge of the bog. Adam held his arm high with the sandal. “I got it!”
“You jerk!” She tried to stand, but her feet sank into thick muck on the bottom of the lake. She cringed and wanted to scream. She tried to tread water to avoid the disgusting lake bed. She swallowed some of the algae-laced lake water. She coughed and spit as she felt slimy green beads of algae in her mouth.
Adam laughed. “My bad.”
“How are we gonna get back in the boat?” She tried not to whine or cry as the plants tangled around her limbs.
“First, we have to flip it over. I’ve done this before with my brothers.” Adam moved to the edge of the canoe and attempted to push on the side. As he pushed with his arms, he tried to stand, and Marti saw his surprise and disgust as his feet pushed into the gunk.
She raised her eyebrows. “So now what, Sherlock?”
“This is gross.”
She could tell he was trying to swish the lake sediments from his feet. He didn’t seem to realize that oily-looking slime covered his head and streaked his face. Awareness hit. She touched her own face and cringed; slime covered her as well. She tried to scrape it away, but knew it wasn’t really working.
“Let’s try to drag the canoe into deeper water, away from the plants,” Adam suggested.
They towed the flipped boat away from the edge where their feet didn’t touch bottom. The water became much better, but a thick layer of green algae still floated on the surface. Marti wiped her mouth and chin, praying she didn’t swallow any more lake scum.
“Now what?” She held onto the edge of the boat.
“We need to get underneath and push it up and over.”
“I’m not putting my head underwater again.”
“Well, I don’t know any other way to flip the boat.”
“Can’t we just try to lift this edge of it really fast?”
“It won’t work. The boat will fill with water.”
“Oh.” She tread water. Her life jacket rose up around her face as she bobbed.
“We gonna do this or what?” Adam didn’t look happy about it either.
“So how does this work?”
“Feel underneath where the crossbars are? You’re going to take a breath and pull yourself under the boat. There will be plenty of air,” he reassured.
The idea of going into a small claustrophobic space and trying to breathe set her heart thumping at a rapid pace. Why couldn’t they have gotten the assignment for something easy, like taking pictures of rocks?
“When we’re both in
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