Oscawana

by Frank Martin

  It was all for Mark, she told herself. All for Mark.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The ride into town was surprisingly less painful than April thought it would be. She never once looked her uncle in the eye and he never once made an attempt to. Mark called shotgun to joyfully sit in the front seat. Little did he know that he was actually doing April a favor.

  Henry and Mark carried on a conversation the whole way there. April purposefully had no idea what they were talking about. She stared silently out the window and was pleasantly surprised when they pulled into the parking lot without her needing to speak a single word.

  Her and Mark hopped out of the car while Henry mentioned something about running an errand down the street. April was only vaguely paying attention. She would’ve preferred not to but thought it wasn’t a good idea to one hundred percent ignore her ride home.

  April had never been to Mr. O’s before, but the place was pretty much how she expected it. The building, which sat in the middle of a parking lot with only four spaces, basically looked like someone attached a kitchen to a long hot dog stand and built four walls and a roof around it.

  She followed Mark inside and was quite surprised by the space. There was no place to sit. Just a long counter where several servers took orders from a surprisingly large crowd of people. Scattered around the area were several hints of the fine treats Mr. O’s had to offer. A soft pretzel heater, cotton candy machine, and an ice cream freezer built right into the counter. For a more complete list, April looked up at the menu hanging from the ceiling that spanned the width of the building. It was broken up into sections and had just about every kind of food April could think of.

  There were so many options that they actually drove her to inaction. She just couldn’t choose what to eat and stared blankly at the board like a perplexed zombie until her little brother pulled her attention back to reality. “What are you gonna get?”

  April continued browsing the items on the menu but her eyes could no longer make out the words. “I don't know.”

  “Well, I’m getting wings,” Mark proclaimed, proudly. “But they have everything. Gyros. Tacos. Burgers.”

  He seemed like he was going to go on, but April spoke quickly to cut him off. “I see the menu, Mark.”

  April’s interruption was a bit stronger than she intended, and Mark frowned, taken aback by his sister’s abrasiveness. The car ride must’ve shortened her fuse more than she thought.

  “But thanks for the suggestions,” April said, softening her tone with a smile.

  Analyzing her face, Mark waited a moment before smiling back at her. It was a subtle gesture but enough to let her know that he wasn’t hurt by her sharpness.

  “Hurry up,” he nagged, quickly erasing the tender moment between them. “I gotta get in line.”

  April looked back up at the menu but didn’t read any of it. “Just get me a salad.”

  Mark’s shoulders slumped, annoyed that he had to ask a follow up. “What kind?”

  April’s eyes scanned the menu until she found the salad section, but again, there were too many options to narrow it down. “I don’t know. Surprise me.”

  Mark scoffed as he turned to walk away. “How could you be so boring?”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” April said, smiling to his back.

  Once Mark disappeared into the crowd, April backed up against the wall. Her eyes surveyed the crowd shuffling around the…deli? Café? Restaurant? She didn’t quite know how to categorize the place and its clientele wasn’t helping her. There were bikers eyeing spinning racks of hotdogs and yuppies ordering iced coffees. She spotted a grungy fisherman in a holey shirt four decades past its expiration date right next to a clean cut family of four that walked straight off the pages of a catalogue.

  “You live on Oscawana, right?” asked a voice beside April, ending her people watching.

  She turned to find a cute boy about her age. Maybe even a little older. He had a milkshake in his hand and wore a mesh basketball jersey that hung loose around his broad shoulders, exposing a pair of sweaty, muscular arms.

  “I've seen you out on the lake,” he said with a smirk way more confident than it needed to be. “Swimming. Paddleboarding. You look good out there.”

  The boy’s predacious stare told April all she needed to know about him, and it took only a split second for her to pass judgment. She’d dealt with his kind all her life. Children that felt entitled to everything they’ve ever had, including girls. As good looking as he was, April had no interest in dealing with him right now.

  “Thanks,” she sighed, looking back over the crowd.

  “The name’s Brad,” the boy declared proudly, as if his name was some kind of title.

  April crossed her arms firmly over her chest. “I’m April.”

  “Like the month?” Brad asked with boyish enthusiasm.

  April turned her head slightly so he wouldn’t see her eyes roll. “Yeah. Exactly, like the month.”

  Her gaze drifted around the restaurant. From a fly on the far window to a fat cook flipping burgers in the back. Anywhere and everywhere other than the determined boy staring intently at her profile.

  “You new in town?” Brad asked. “I would’ve noticed you out on the water before.”

  Again, April turned her head slightly, this time in the opposite direction, just enough for him to come into her periphery. “My brother and I are staying with my uncle for the summer.”

  Brad giggled out of nowhere. “It wouldn’t happen to be that dorky dude with the guesthouse, would it? He lives a couple houses down from us.”

  April bobbed her head as a nod. “As a matter of fact it is.”

  “Oh, man,” Brad exclaimed, his light giggles turning into all out laughter. “That sucks. When he moved in a couple of months ago I could’ve sworn he was a serial killer.”

  “I hope not,” April replied, trying not to react one way or another.

  For all his faults, Brad had a decent judge of character. Uncle Henry wasn’t a serial killer. At least, not that April was aware of. But he definitely gave off enough bad vibes for a teenage meathead to pick up on

  “So where you live normally?” Brad asked, changing the subject.

  Short of leaving the building, April realized there was no way out of the conversation. She knew from experience that some boys only tried harder the more you pushed them away. So she took a deep breath and turned to finally give Brad her full attention. “We’re from the city.”

  His face lit up with excitement. “City slickers, huh? Noice! What you think about our little corner of heaven?”

  “It’s...” April let the word trail off as she thought of an answer, but only images of Oscar rolling around on her paddleboard came to mind. “Friendly.”

  “More than you know,” Brad said with a wink before sucking hard on his milkshake’s straw.

  April strained her cheek muscles, forcing them to smile. Silence was probably her best response, but she also knew that wouldn’t stop Brad from keeping the conversation going. “I'm from Jersey, but my family has had a place on Oscawana since like…forever! My friends and I come up here a couple of times a week to tear it up wakeboarding.”

  “That was you guys?” April asked, recalling the few times she saw boarders out on the water.

  Overly dramatic, Brad shot out his arms and tensed his body as he faked being alarmed. “Wait. Were you stalking us?”

  Like before, April knew that keeping her mouth shut was the only logical choice. She remained silent, allowing Brad the chance to laugh at his own joke and continue loving the sound of his own voice. “We were actually gonna grab some grub for lunch and head on out for the day. You should join us.”

  “Oh, that’s very nice of you but—”

  Brad cut April off by playfully slapping her shoulder. “You’d love watching me out there. I learned this sick new trick. It’ll make your jaw drop.”

  April smiled, politely. “Thanks. I think I’ll pass for t
oday.”

  “You sure? We have beer and...”

  After discreetly looking around, Brad leaned in and brought his thumb and pointing finger up to his lips. He then sucked in a huge whiff of air as he smoked an invisible joint. April shook her head with the same polite smile.

  “All right,” Brad acquiesced, shrugging his shoulders. “Stay home with the axe murderer if you want. But you don’t know what you’re missing.”

  He broadened his shoulders as he turned to walk away. Oddly enough, the gesture reminded April of Oscar swimming around her, desperately trying to impress her. The image only lasted a split second but was enough for April to sense an opportunity from it.

  “Actually…” She called out to Brad and waited for him to turn back around before continuing. “Now that I think about it, there is something you can do for me.”

  Brad’s pretentious smirk returned. “Name it, baby.”

  “You have a jet ski, right? I’ve seen one hanging around the wakeboard boat.”

  His curiosity strangely piqued by the question, Brad furrowed his brow. “It’s Randy’s. Why? Wanna take that puppy for a ride?”

  April softened her face as she smiled. It was the first one she flashed at Brad that was born from manipulation rather than disdain. “Think he’ll let me use it this afternoon?”

  Brad lifted his chin, greedily sizing up the situation. “What’s in it for me?”

  “The next time you want to take me out on your boat,” April said, batting her eyes, “maybe I’ll be more inclined to say yes.”

  Brad nodded with a victorious grin. “Sounds like a plan.”

  So blinded by his conquest, Brad failed to realize that April purposefully threw the word “maybe” into her offer. It was a loophole she planned on utilizing later. Although she was already done with him, April continued exchanging smiles with Brad for a bit longer, figuring it was the least she could do for eventually blowing him off in the future. However, the moment ended abruptly when Mark’s voice carried over to them from the other side of the crowd.

  “No way!” he shouted. “I was here first, dude.”

  April had never been so glad to hear her brother yell.

  “I am NOT your dude,” a man’s voice responded.

  The crowd parted just enough for April to see her brother at the front of the counter. He was turned around, though, staring straight up at a greying old man in a colorful Hawaiian shirt and strappy sandals.

  “Great,” April bemoaned, sarcastically. “Barely been here five minutes and my brother is already arguing with someone.”

  Brad watched the confrontation alongside her. “Then you better get him. Dutchman can be a real pain in the ass.”

  The name sounded familiar to April and it took her a moment to figure out why. “Paul Dutchman? The guy with the seaplane?”

  “Yup,” Brad confirmed with a single nod.

  “Wonderful,” April sighed.

  She stepped forward and wiggled her way through the crowd to approach her brother.

  “Just leave me alone,” Mark groaned.

  Dutchman rocked forward on his toes to lean over the top of April’s brother. “Not until you learn some manners, young man.”

  “I’m sorry, sir,” April said, stepping between them just enough so that Mark was considered behind her. “This is my brother and—”

  “You better be sorry,” Dutchman interrupted, his eyes fixated on Mark the whole time. “He’s rude, crass, and cut me in line.”

  April didn’t look away from Dutchman either, yet she saw Mark’s finger, pointed firmly in Dutchman’s face, enter her field of vision as he chimed in. “First off, I did not cut anyone. And secondly, this jerk didn’t say anything until I started ordering.”

  “Because you were going to take the last donut,” Dutchman bellowed. “A donut that should’ve belonged to me.”

  April opened her shoulder in order to place a hand on her brother’s. “Mark, let it go.”

  Mark didn’t even look at her as he forcefully shook his head. “No way. Screw this guy.”

  “It’s just a donut,” April reasoned.

  Mark shot her a look that April had seen many times before. The stubborn glare of a thickheaded teenage boy. “It’s not just a donut. It’s the principle.”

  “Principle?!” Dutchman howled, as if he were offended by the word. “Listen here, you little punk. I have a lot of friends in this town and I’m going to be damn sure that you never—”

  The crowd beside Dutchman abruptly broke apart as Brad fell threw it. Held out in front of him, the cup in his hands collided hard against Dutchman’s colorful shirt, spraying milkshake across his chest like a thick geyser. Dutchman instantly lifted his arms up, his face frozen in a mixture of sudden shock and appalled panic. He became completely still like a defaced statue, unable, or perhaps unsure, how to react to the milkshake tableau strewn across his body.

  Brad backed away from him slowly, surveying the damage he caused in a rather convincing display of remorse. “Oh, man. I’m so sorry.”

  “You degenerate!” Dutchman erupted, still unwilling to move. “You did that on purpose.”

  Brad rapidly shook his head, his perplexed face like a deer in headlights. “Uh-uh. It was an accident, bro.”

  Dutchman angrily flicked his wrists downward, splashing the milkshake on his arms to the floor. “You can be damn sure your parents will hear about this, son.”

  He then stormed out of Mr. O’s as the faint rumbling of laughter started building behind him. Once the door was shut, the audience around April turned back into a crowd of patrons ready to either place or pickup their orders.

  “You want another milkshake?” a girl behind the counter asked.

  “Nah. I’m good,” Brad said, turning his focus to April with a wink. “Real good.”

  He then walked backwards towards the door while holding his pinky and thumb up to the side of his face like an imaginary phone. ‘Call me’ he mouthed to her before disappearing outside.

  April would’ve laughed at the sight if it weren’t so pathetic. The truly sad part was that Brad probably thought he was the coolest person on the planet. He stepped in and saved April from a situation that she didn’t need saving from and then made his exit in the slickest way possible.

  Now Brad probably thought April owed him one. That she was in his debt, all but ensuring that he’d receive a call from her. Only problem was he never actually gave her his phone number.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Even without his phone number, it wasn’t that difficult for April to find Brad. She knew he had a place on the lake a couple of houses down from her uncle’s. She also knew what kind of boat he drove. It had one of those tall metal towers arched over the driver’s seat that they used to tie the wakeboard rope to. Luckily, Brad hadn’t gone out on the water yet, and she found his boat still docked right in front of his house.

  He and another boy had the place all to themselves and were already several beers in to whatever party they thought the two of them were having together. Rock music blasted so loud that April was sure the houses on the other side of the lake could hear it travelling off the water.

  She quickly learned that Brad’s partner in crime was Randy, the owner of the jet ski parked next to the boat. Both boys instantly started passive aggressively vying for April’s attention, which she never offered to give them in the first place. Brad began by replaying the hilariousness of spilling his milkshake all over Dutchman’s shirt while Randy unabashedly used his jet ski as a conversation starter.

  Even though April would’ve preferred to ignore them both, she had to admit that each attempt at her affection had merit. After the way he treated Mark, watching Dutchman squirm while covered in milkshake was priceless, and it was only fair that April be nice to someone who was kind enough to let her borrow his jet ski. Even if she was ninety percent sure it was just a means to get her to go skinny-dipping with him.

  Miraculously, April managed to get on the jet sk
i and escape without too much trouble. Her only hope was that the boys would get their act together and start wakeboarding so that they would both be gone when she eventually brought the jet ski back. But that was a problem for another time. Now, April was just concerned with getting out on the water and finding Oscar.

  It was already midday. Way later than she had ever gone out looking for Oscar before. It wasn’t the weekend or a holiday, but there were still a couple of boats cruising around. Way more people than Oscar had ever come out around before. April wasn’t even sure if she would see Oscar. Maybe he was hiding and wouldn’t recognize her on the jet ski. She told him earlier, though, that she would come out to see him, and that meant regardless of the time.

  April knew it was a risk hanging out with Oscar in the middle of the day, but this morning, finding him covered in blood, devouring a helpless animal like some kind of savage beast, left April with a knot in her stomach. She wished things could stay the same. That Oscar could remain a cute little plump critter forever. Or, at the very least, for the rest of the summer. Until her time on the lake had ended and she went back to her life in the city. Far from this town. And far from her uncle.

  But it was becoming increasingly clear to April that wouldn’t be happening. Oscar was changing. Growing. Becoming something she didn’t understand at best…and feared at worst. She needed to put her mind at ease. That meant seeing him, regardless of how many boats were in her way.

  It took April only a few moments to become comfortable enough with the jet ski’s controls to navigate the waters. Once she figured it out, April made a beeline for Goose Rock, only having to move out of the way twice for boats crossing her path.

  Not surprisingly, she didn’t find Oscar upon reaching the rock. She circled the formation a few times and still saw nothing. It was always kind of a long shot that he would be out in the middle of the day. Especially considering April approached the rocks on something with an engine when she never had before.