The Summer Before Boys by Nora Raleigh Baskin Page A

around my stomach, a string that became a rope that became a heavy chain. I could hardly breathe. I was so afraid for Eliza.
    And just underneath the tightening in my chest I was afraid for myself.
    â€œExactly where, what part of the trail did you last see her?”the night manager was asking me. “Be very specific. This is important.”
    The night manager was a tall man, because when he stood up from behind his desk I had to look way up at him. He had a very serious expression on his face, that kind of grown-up way of acting like everything was going to be all right when, in fact, he was very worried.
    I pointed on the map as close as I could remember to where we were standing when Eliza and I had our fight. And I left her there.
    â€œAnd do you remember what time it was?” he said. “As close to exactly as you can.”
    I knew. I took out my phone and looked at the time of Michael’s text. “Ten thirty-three.”
    Uncle Bruce looked stricken but he didn’t say anything to me. “Does that help, Steve?” Uncle Bruce asked. The night manager’s name was Steve.
    â€œWell, we can do an approximation,” Steve said, taking some maps out of a drawer and spreading them out on the desktop, “of what the average person on foot can cover in say, an hour or two. Even at a leisurely pace a healthy person could travel three to four miles without even knowing it. We’ve had hikers end up over in Accord.”
    â€œYou mean Eliza could have walked right out of Mohawk?Not be in New Hope any more?” I heard myself cry out and then I felt Uncle Bruce’s hand on my shoulder. It was comforting and warning.
    â€œNo need to panic, sweetie. We are going to find her. She might even be right here in the hotel. It happens.” Steve spoke slowly and directly to me. “So you are going to have to tell us—”
    â€œJulia,” Uncle Bruce filled in.
    â€œAnd be honest, Julia. Is there any reason Eliza might be upset? Is there any reason she might not want to be found?”
    â€œMaybe,” I answered.

thirty
    H uge halogen lights that were normally used to dry paint on the walls in large rooms were set up on the roof of the hotel and lit up the sky like strange white suns. They were supposed to act as directional beacons in case Eliza was out there somewhere, nearby, and might follow them back to the hotel.
    Every available staff member who knew the trails had been sent out with a two-way radio. The recreation staff, the activity staff, and even the maintenance staff, like Uncle Bruce, everyone took a different trail and followed it from start to end. The rest of the staff searched inside the hotel, checking first all the places they thought a kid might be—the game room, the television room, and of course the gift shop.
    â€œNo, no, I haven’t seen Eliza all day. But she’s always withJulia. Have you asked Julia? I haven’t seen either of them all day. They must be together. Are you sure she went up to the sky tower?”
    Pam didn’t see me standing behind Uncle Bruce. “Oh my, it’s so dark out now.” Her face was so filled with concern it made my stomach twist even more. Then Pam spotted me lingering near the rock-candy sticks. “Julia, thank goodness. Where’s Eliza?” she asked me. She still didn’t get it.
    But a second later she did.
    â€œEliza is lost, isn’t she? How long?”
    She was asking me but the night manager answered. “It’s been several hours already, Pam. You know what to do if she shows up here. Or if you hear anything.”
    â€œOf course, Steve,” Pam said. When she turned to look at the approaching darkness outside I wondered what she was thinking about. Maybe she was remembering that little girl who two years ago wandered away from her family to get a sweater that she had left on a picnic bench and didn’t return. The mother was certain she had been