by Emily Lowry
Naturally, Hideaway was always busy. Mostly Beachbreak High students. And right now, there was one Beachbreaker in particular I was interested in.
Kevin and his friends were on the far end of the beach, hunched over something I couldn’t see.
What was it? A board game? A cooler of drinks? Food? I wasn’t sure. But now that I was wearing a bathing suit — which was much more flattering than my ratty dance shirt — and deodorant, it was safe to get closer. It was safe to let Kevin see me. I leaned to the side and dipped my hand in the ocean. “Nina. Paddle with me.”
Nina groaned. “Can’t we just float?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
I thought for a moment. “Because we need the exercise?”
“Well now you’re just lying. Where do you want to go, even?”
“To the south side.”
“But our stuff’s on the north side.”
“We can go back and get it after.” Now I was whining.
Nina took off her sunglasses and looked at me “After what?”
“After I see something.”
“See what?” Nina sat up and scanned the south side of the beach. She rolled her eyes so hard the rest of her head moved with them. “Oh. You want to see Mr. Boring.”
My lips twitched. Kevin was not boring. He was smart. Polished. “Just because you don’t understand what he says, doesn’t mean he’s boring. It means he’s an intellectual.”
Nina laughed. “He’s not boring because he’s smart, he’s boring because he’s boring. Did you know—”
“No,” I said quickly. “We’re not playing—”
“Did you know,” Nina repeated, grinning, “that Kevin’s favorite food is white rice because he thinks brown rice has too much flavor?”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
Not getting the reaction she hoped for, Nina continued. “Did you know that Kevin’s favorite part of the movie is the end credits?”
“You’re not funny,” I sang, looking away so she couldn’t see the traitorous smile on my face.
“Did you know that Kevin’s favorite childhood pastime was doing his taxes?”
I snorted and splashed Nina.
She shrieked. “Watch the hair!”
Nina’s head of bouncing black curls was her crowning glory. A crowning glory she did not like to get wet.
I grinned. “We’re going over there.”
Nina cleaned the droplets of water off her sunglasses. “All right. I’ll paddle with you, if for no other reason than to make it less obvious that you’re spying on him.”
“I’m not spying on him,” I said. “I’m pining. From a distance. I’m like Romeo with Rosaline.”
“Because that’s who you want to be compared to: an idiot who fell in lust with a girl, tore his family apart, then offed himself over a different girl a few days later,” Nina said. She shook her head. “Strong romantic role model, that one.”
“You’re so dramatic.”
4
Mason
The sand burned my feet. I sprinted, skipped, and hopped across the beach, trying to keep my feet in the air as much as possible. When I reached the surf, I dove in headfirst.
Warm ocean water surrounded me.
It was sweet, sweet, relief. There was nothing better than diving into the water on a summer day. I came up for air and floated on my back, fiddling with my plastic sunglasses. They were cheap; I picked them up at Beachbreak’s annual music festival for five bucks. Now they were my beach glasses — you never wanted to bring anything expensive to the beach because you were guaranteed to lose it.
Tyler popped out of the water beside me. If I was Mr. All-American, he was the ultimate surf bum. His hair was long now, curling around the nape of his neck, and completely out of control. The boys and I teased him about it. But the girls? They LOVED it.
“There’s nothing better than this, my man,” I said, floating on my back.
Tyler was standing, scanning the beach.
“Any sign of Parker?” Parker Vanderpost was Tyler’s current obsession.
He grinned. “No, but I got something.”
“What’s that?”
He pointed to an inflatable unicorn that was floating towards the south side of the beach. There were two girls lying on it, and it only took one guess to know who they were. Tyler’s little sister, Zoe, and her friend Nina.
Now it was my turn to grin. “Looks like a unicorn got separated from the herd.”
“Dangerous for that to happen,” Ty said.
I felt for the ground with my feet, then ducked so the water was just at my chin. “Let’s have ourselves a unicorn hunt.”
5
Zoe
I crouched on Sparkles. I was trying to be casual, trying to make it look like I was sunning my back. But truthfully, all I was doing was trying to position myself so I could see Kevin — and see what he and his friends were doing.
Kevin stood, the other boys circled around him like students looking up at their teacher. He had one hand behind his back and was gesturing with the other. Explaining something, or maybe giving a lecture. The boys he was talking to looked bored. They probably just didn’t understand what he was saying.
Kevin was too smart for a lot of people. In my darkest nightmares, he was also too smart for me. I imagined going on a date with him — in this fantasy, I could actually talk to him — and listening to him as he explained topics that went way over my head. I hoped that didn’t happen. It definitely wouldn’t happen if I never talked to him, but I did plan to talk to him.
Eventually.
Some day.
When I figured out the perfect thing to say.
“ZOE.” Nina’s voice made me jump.
“What?”
“I asked you a question.”
I shifted uncomfortably, the unicorn squeaking beneath me. “Which was?”
“How did you not hear me? You literally nodded when I asked if you were listening.”
I did?
Nina rested her head on her arms. “Out of everyone I’ve ever met — and I mean everyone — you have the worst one-track mind. If there was a cloud that looked like a cute boy, you would walk off a cliff while trying to follow it.”
“I would not.”
“You absolutely would. Otherwise, you would remember what I just said.” Nina yawned. “But it’s fine. I can be the second most important person in your life. Behind whoever your crush of the day is.”
“Pfft. Like some boy could ever replace you.” The unicorn squeaked again as I adjusted my position to get a better look at Kevin.
“Seriously, when you have a crush, it’s all you can think about.”
“You’re exaggerating.” I dipped my arm in the water and paddled, spinning our unicorn slightly so we — I —could get a better view. “I do not have a one-track mind. In fact, I’ll have you know that I have a perfect awareness of everything going on at all times. As a dancer, you need to be aware of your surroundings— wait what was—”
Sparkles wobbled. Then, while I was mid-sentence, Sparkles lifted onto his side as if he’d been caught in a hurricane-force gale. Or as if someone had snuck up on us.
We shrieked.
Nina rolled into me.
And then we both fell into the water.
6
Mason
The unicorn floated on its side, bobbing with the waves, its horn submerged. Tyler stood behind it, laughing.
It had taken us ten minutes to get to the unicorn. Whenever the girls glanced in our direction, we both dove beneath the water, holding our breath for as long as we could. When we got closer, it sounded like they were arguing over something. Whatever it was, it was the perfect distraction.
Zoe emerged from the water, her soaking wet hair covering her face. She pulled her hair out of her eyes and glared. Water spouted from her mouth, and her glare hardened. “I suppose you thought that was hilarious?”
I grinned. T
here was nothing I enjoyed more than annoying Ty’s little sister. Besides football, it might have been my favorite thing to do. Plus, I liked the way she looked when she was angry. Her eyes narrow, her lips pouty. A sleek jungle cat ready to pounce. “I was just trying to help you out,” I said. “You two looked like you needed to cool off.”
“You’re looking pretty hot yourself,” she snapped.
I tilted my head. “You think I’m hot and you’re only telling me now? You’ve had years to confess your feelings, in fact—”
Zoe cut me off with a noise that sounded vaguely like a growl. Then she smiled maliciously. “I think you need to cool down.”
Still grinning, I took a step towards her. “You think you’re strong enough to dunk me? I’d like to see you try.”
“Who said anything about dunking?” Zoe raised her fist. Inside her clamped palm, there was a giant ball of slimy green seaweed. It looked like a tangle of sludge.
“You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I would.” She hurled the ball of seaweed at me.
7
Zoe
My beautiful ball of slime arched through the air, its green tendrils flying behind it. When we were younger, and Mason wasn’t around, Tyler made me throw the football with him. I liked to believe all those years of training prepared me for this precise moment, when a ball of slime would wipe the smirk off Mason’s perfect face.
Mason dove out of the way.
My ball of slime missed.
I shook my head and charged to where Mason dived. There was no way — NO WAY — I was letting him get away with dunking me. Or him saying I thought he was hot. Mason had been best friends with my brother for years now, and I’d watched them grow up together, play football together, and talk about girls incessantly as they got older. They both seemed to have a lot of girls interested in them, goodness knows why. Maybe nobody else could see through Mason’s tall, muscular frame, blue-green eyes and tousled blonde hair. But I could.
Mason was like a very large child. And therefore, my relationship with him operated strictly on playground rules. If he did something I didn’t like, I didn’t go crying to the teacher. I returned the favor. If he put toothpaste in my Oreos, I put vinegar in his water bottle. If I made a sarcastic jab at his expense, he exposed me with a witty comeback. And if he dunked me, I turned him into a seaweed princess.
Something brushed my leg.
Mason.
I squealed, then stomped wildly at the figure lurking beneath the waves. If I was lucky, I’d get a couple good shots in—
His firm hand clamped around my leg. He yanked, hard, and despite years of dance, I didn’t have the balance to stay on my feet.
I fell into the water.
But just before I went under, he rose beneath me, positioning my body over his shoulders and lifting me up like I weighed nothing. I supposed to someone as ripped as he was, I probably did weigh almost nothing.
I tried to scramble free. “Don’t you dare do it, Mason.”
“Do what?” He tightened his grip on my legs.
All I could do was punch helplessly at the muscles in his back. Not that it did anything — his muscles were harder than my fists. I briefly considered pinching him, but that felt like too much of a bratty little sister move. “I swear, if you—”
“Zoe?” Nina sounded as helpless as I felt. It was easy to see why — my brother had her over his shoulder. He was smiling. She was not.
“Aren’t we too old for this?” I asked.
Mason ignored me. “On three?”
“One,” Tyler said.
I tried to slip free of Mason’s grasp. No luck.
“Two…”
Mason quickly repositioned his hands so he was holding my hips.
I held my breath.
“Three!” Mason effortlessly tossed me into the air. He was so strong, that, for a heartbeat, it felt like I was flying. Like I could spread my arms, flap, and I would take off into the sky.
Then gravity kicked in.
Nina and I crashed into the ocean simultaneously.
I kicked hard to get away from Mason. If my brother and him were super bored, they could spend hours tormenting Nina and I, tossing us in the air and teasing us. We needed to counterattack quickly, and for that, I needed space. So, my breath held, I swam underwater, trying to get as far from Mason as possible. I felt for globs of seaweed, but there was none. Fine. No seaweed? Mud was just as effective.
I dug my hand into the goop, enjoying its weight. How much more would I enjoy it when the mud was pressed into Mason’s face?
I popped out of the water, my arm curled back, ready to throw. “You’re dead—”
Mason and Tyler weren’t there anymore.
And neither was Sparkles.
Because, after throwing us, the pair had commandeered Sparkles and were now laying on top of him, swimming as quickly as they could towards the north shore. We would never, ever catch them.
I looked to the sky. Why, oh why, did I have to have an idiot older brother with a maddening best friend? And why couldn’t I ever get the upper hand on Mason? Just one time? Was that too much to ask? I let the mud dissolve in my hand.
Nina swam up beside me. “I hate your brother,” she said flatly.
“Join the club.”
“They took Sparkles.”
“They did.”
“We can’t let that go.”
I shook my head. “Oh, we won’t.”
8
Mason
I sprawled on the inflatable unicorn, letting the sun dry my body. It only took us a few minutes to make it all the way to the north shore. I suspected it would take Zoe and Nina much longer, which gave us time to drag the unicorn onto the sand and relax on the beach. By the time they emerged from the water, the unicorn and I were dry.
“Incoming,” Tyler said.
I stretched, trying to look as lazy and relaxed as possible, then took off my sunglasses. I was kind of glad Meredith wasn’t at Hideaway today. She probably would’ve found our hilarious antics childish.
Zoe and Nina stomped across the beach. They looked so angry that if there had been a sand castle in their way, they would’ve kicked it over just to have something to destroy. A ball of seaweed dripped from Zoe’s hand. You had to give her credit — she was not afraid to get dirty.
“You think we went too far?” I asked.
“No way, dude,” Tyler said. “Operation bribe?”
“Operation bribe.” I hopped off the unicorn, stretched again, then grabbed the small blue cooler we’d hidden. I cuddled it against my chest.
“Any last words?” Zoe’s voice carried across the beach. “You can’t save yourself this time, Space Face.”
I snickered. At Zoe’s eighth birthday party, I accidentally — and it was an accident — made a joke at her expense. Flustered, she replied by calling me “Space Face.” We think she meant to call me a “Space Case,” but either way, the name stuck. I grinned. “You wouldn’t want to throw that ball of seaweed if you knew what was inside this little treasure chest.”
Zoe hesitated.
I flipped open the cooler lid, revealing four plastic bowls of ice cream.
Zoe’s eyes widened. Her forearm tensed as she gripped the seaweed tighter.
She wasn’t still thinking of throwing it, was she? I set the cooler down, then grabbed the cup of ice cream I’d ordered her. I dramatically fell to one knee and presented the bowl to her with both hands, like I was making an offering to an ancient temple. “Triple chip, double fudge, with peanut butter drizzled on top.”
Zoe’s grip loosened slightly. “So, this is how it is? You think you can dunk me, then make it up with ice cream?”
I poked my head out from behind the bowl and grinned. “Did it work?”
She raised the seaweed.
No. No way—
Then she dropped it and snatched the bowl of ice cream from my hands. “You’re lucky, Space Face.”
I passed Nina and Tyler the
ir bowls of ice cream, then grabbed my own. “Nah, Zoo,” I said. “I’m just that good.”
9
Zoe
I spent most Saturdays alone, so it was a pleasant change to be eating ice cream on the beach with other people — even if two of those people happened to be Ty and Mason.
For once, the guys didn’t seem interested in chatting up the popular girls from school, and we spent the day lounging in the sand. When it got too hot, we went for a swim or stood in the surf and tossed a frisbee. Then, we brought out Sparkles and took turns racing to the buoy and back. Mason won — although Ty complained bitterly that he cheated. I was surprised at how nice it was to spend time with my brother today. But, as much as I enjoyed my time with everyone, by the time the evening came, I was back to my usual Saturday agenda for introverts: hanging out on the couch by myself.
Tyler’s cologne entered the living room before he did. He was wearing khaki shorts and a black t-shirt, and he juggled his keys as he strutted towards the front door. He slipped on his flip-flops, then looked at me. “Got a hot date with Parker tonight,” he said. “Don’t wait up.”
“Remember your curfew, Tyler!” Mom yelled from her office.
“Don’t worry!” Ty yelled back. He looked at me again, grinned, and shook his head. There was no way he was going to be back by curfew, and we both knew it.
I stifled a laugh.
Ty left.
Without his energy, the house felt quiet. In the distance, I heard the clacking sound of mom’s mechanical keyboard. She bought the keyboard after Dad left. She said she liked the noise; it made her feel like there was someone else in the house. I thought that was the saddest thing I’d ever heard, but it made her happy.
