by Carly Syms
“You must be Alexa Jurgens. Ralph Picadilly, but you can call me Ralphie.”
I’d barely taken two steps into the park when a short, plump man with thick-rimmed glasses and a bald patch directly on the top of his head emerged from the ticket booth, clipboard in one hand, Styrofoam cup of coffee in the other.
“I’d shake your hand,” he went on. “but I’m a little full here. Come on, we’ve got your uniform ready for you. You’ll be on the kiddie coaster for your first couple of shifts. Don’t feel so bad, nobody wants the kiddie coasters, but, hey, dues are dues, and you’ve got to pay yours!” He chuckled and I continued to stare.
“What, cat got your tongue? Speak!”
“Um,” I said, blinking my eyes a few time. “Yeah, I’m Alexa. Lexie.”
“Lexie!” Ralphie’s eyes lit up. Now that’s a name with spunk, pizzazz! Gee, I wish we’d known that when we had your name badge printed up. Well, Alexa from Spring Dells will just have to do! Come along, we open in thirty minutes! Don’t have all day to get you situated.”
I was pretty sure it wouldn’t take Ralphie very long to think he’d properly prepared me for my first shift.
“This here is the staff building,” he said, leading me into a red building behind the Dragon Coaster that I’d never paid attention to before. “You can leave your bag here during your shift. Sneakers only, hair pulled back, especially if you’re on rides for the evening. Gianna should already be at her station, I’ll take you there now.”
I followed Ralphie back outside and he walked near all of my favorite rides—the Scrambler and the big pirate ship that swung back and forth until one side was practically upside down above the other—and back toward the tamer rides meant for younger kids.
“This’ll be where you’ll work for awhile,” Ralphie said. “Gianna will show you everything you need to know. Gi! Hey!”
A tall, tanned girl with long jet black hair spun around and grinned. I could hear her gum smacking from a few feet away.
“Hey, Lil’ Ralphie!” she called out. “What’s going on?”
“This here is Alexa Jurgens. She’s new and we’ll be putting her on the Gold Miner tonight. Show her what to do. You make me proud now, Gigi.”
“You bet your butt I will. She’s in good hands,” she replied, then looked at me. “Alexa, eh? Let’s get to it.”
Ralphie, apparently pleased with Gianna’s commanding attitude, nodded and walked away.
“Lexie’s good. I, uh, I’ve never…worked a ride before,” I said. “Don’t I need some kind of training for this?”
Gianna looked at me with one long, thin eyebrow raised. “Girl, I’m ‘bout to give you all the trainin’ you’ll ever need. What do you think I’m here for?”
“To work your ride?”
“Where you from with that accent, anyway? I’ve never heard that kind of talk ‘round here.”
“Alabama,” I replied, growing conscious of my accent. Nobody commented on it much in Ship’s Wreck because I usually hung around people who already knew me.
Gianna’s eyes widened. “Alabama!” Smack of the gum. “Wow! And here I’ve never been outside Jersey. This island’s exotic to me!”
I smiled. “Alabama’s not exotic. It pretty much looks like most of New Jersey.”
“Still.” She shook her head. “Alabama. That’s something. What are you doin’ all the way up here?”
I launched into an explanation of why I spent my summers in Ship’s Wreck.
Gianna nodded when I finished. “I gotcha,” she said. “Parents. Can’t live with ‘em, but at least until you’re eighteen, you pretty much can’t live without ‘em either.”
I laughed as Gianna began to show me how to operate the Gold Miner, a small, circular track that had various mining cars serving as carts for the ride. It maxed out at about five miles per hour and the key was to make sure each kid was buckled in, Gianna said. Parents apparently didn’t like it so much when you forgot to safety belt their children. Neither did Ralphie.
Four hours flew by and before I knew it, it was time to shut down the Gold Miner for the night and I was free, not having to work another shift for two days. I hadn’t been able to check my phone while working, but when I glanced down at the screen around 10 p.m. and didn’t have a single missed text or call from Pia and Joey, I started to wonder what was going on with them.
“You let me know if you wanna hang out sometime this week,” Gianna said as we walked out the front gates and I unchained my bike. She shook her head. “I want to know more ‘bout this Alabama place.”
I biked home to a different atmosphere on Fresh Water Island, a side I usually didn’t get to see. Ten p.m. on a Tuesday evening in June didn’t produce much traffic and apart from the occasional passing car, the island was quiet, cool, peaceful. I could hear the faint rushing of the tide down each block I passed.
My grandparents’ house looked dark as I turned down Gull Boulevard and coasted the half mile or so to the end of the street. It looked like there was a small glow coming from the rooftop balcony at Anthony’s but I wasn’t sure.
Whatever. Working had wiped me out. I didn’t feel like going all the way up to investigate and see if Anthony was the source of the light.
I parked the bike in our shed before dragging myself up the few stairs and into the house. Collapsing into bed, I dreamed of nothing but roller coasters, children, and the boy next door.
vi.
My leg throbbed the next morning. I glanced down under the covers, pulled up my shorts, and gasped. Nearly half of my upper thigh was now decorated with a horrific dark purple bruise the size of a cantaloupe.
Damn that Anthony! I would look ridiculous in a bikini now! And if Jeff happened to be the Gull Boulevard lifeguard today, he’d no doubt shoot me a satisfied smirk. He didn’t strike me as the type of guy who could resist hitting me with a good I-told-you-so.
I shot a quick text to Joey and Pia to see if they’d already thought of plans for the day before heading up to the kitchen to grab my coffee and hunt for something to eat.
By the time I’d slathered a bagel with veggie cream cheese, Pia already texted me back, saying that she and Joey wanted to drive to the northern shore to hang out.
I ran downstairs to throw a few things for the day in my bag and scrawled a note for Grandma. As I headed out of the front door, tying my hair into a ponytail, I noticed Anthony a few feet down the street, coming back from his morning jog.
“Hey!” he said, grinning as he caught sight of me staring at him.
I felt my cheeks sting with warmth. “Oh! Hi.”
His smile only grew wider. “Where are you headed bright and early?” He stopped at the base of our steps, hands on hips, breathing a little heavily from his run.
“Going for a drive to a different beach with Pia and Joey.”
“On the island or off the mainland?”
“No, it’s still on Fresh Water. It’s not that far from the lighthouse. Pia’s packing sandwiches for lunch.”
“Sounds sweet.” Anthony arched his back in a stretch, bringing his arms together behind him and my heart began to pick up a pace at the sight of the muscles bulging in his legs.
“You, uh…” I swallowed, my mouth oddly drier than usual. He looked at me with raised eyebrows, a small twitch forming at the corner of his mouth. “You want to come with us?”
“Thought you’d never ask!” he said. “Can you wait a few minutes so I can rinse off and change?”
I nodded and he sprinted into his half of the duplex. I sat on the front porch steps and rattled off a text to Pia, letting her know the change in plans and that she better bring enough turkey sandwiches for four.
Five minutes later, a freshly showered Anthony jogged down his front steps.
“We’re meeting them at the Game Shack,” I said, referring to a small store that rented all sorts of beach equipment. “That way he could get what he needed into the car and we wouldn’t lose any time waiting.”
�
��Sweet.”
We hopped onto our bikes and pedaled down Gull Boulevard. I took in all the familiar scenery on Central Avenue, wrinkling my nose as we passed the Treasure Chest.
Anthony was a little ways ahead of me and I felt sort of bummed that he hadn’t matched my pace so we could talk as we rode along. I mean, was ten minutes of biking next to me
too much to bear for him? Especially after I asked him to come with us and everything.
I sighed. This was just typical for me.
We slowed our bikes to a stop as we approached the Game Shack.
“Whoa!” Anthony cried out as I bent over to chain my bike to the rack. I shot upright like a rocket, immediately thinking the worst about the view I’d accidentally given him. “Is that from yesterday?” He was pointing at the bruise, which I’d put on display when I bent over.
“Oh,” I said. “Yeah. I meant to thank you for that.”
“Seriously, Lexie, I didn’t mean for that to happen! I’m so sorry. It looks awful.”
I rolled my eyes. “Really? First you injure me, then you tell me I look terrible? You’re a real charmer.”
“That’s not what I meant! It just looks like it hurts a lot.”
He took a few steps towards me and bent down to look at it. Anthony placed his hands gently on my skin and I felt a small flicker of...of something. Something I’d never felt before, that was for sure. A faint tingle danced in my stomach as he ran his hands across the bruise.
“Got a nasty sand burn in there, too,” he said before standing.
“Ye--yeah,” I said, trying to take a deep breath and steady my quickening pulse. “It’s not good.”
He looked down at me for a few seconds too long and I couldn’t find it in me to break our gaze.
“Hey! Lexie! You coming?”
The moment--whatever it was--fell victim to Joey’s shouts. He stood a few yards away, hands on hip, staring at Anthony and me.
“Oh!” I said, feeling my cheeks flush as though I’d been caught doing something I knew was wrong. “Yep! We’ll be right there!”
Anthony smiled down at me and it felt different, like it was a secret smile meant to convey more. What more was, I had no idea. But I was pretty sure there was something stirring with Anthony Killeen.
We approached Joey’s car, where he stood tapping his foot against the gravel. Pia already sat waiting in the backseat.
“I guess I’ll get in the back,” Anthony said, and I figured he didn’t want to appear rude calling shotgun.
“You look cute,” I said to Pia, who was dressed in a navy-and-white striped sundress. I was pretty sure I detected a hint of mascara on her lashes and gloss on her lips. I frowned as I slid into the front seat. “What’s the occasion?”
“Can’t I just want to look nice?” Pia said. “I didn’t realize you cared so much.”
I sighed, deciding to drop it. If Pia said that she’d only dressed up for herself, then I had no reason not to believe her. Even if it did seem pretty weird.
“You girls ready to get going?” Joey climbed behind the wheel.
“How far is this place, anyway?” Anthony asked, stretching out his legs and placing a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. He looked gorgeous sitting there, comfortable and relaxed, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Joey opened his mouth to reply as he flicked the left blinker and swung out onto Central Avenue but Pia beat him to it.
“Maybe ten minutes,” she said. “It’s pretty close. You’ll like it, though. And I brought you an extra turkey sandwich.”
Anthony rewarded her with a wide grin. “Thanks, Lexie mentioned you would. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Oh, it was nothing! I love to cook, really.”
I frowned slightly and glanced at Joey, who was looking at Pia in the rearview mirror with a strange expression on his face.
“I don’t know how much cooking goes into turkey sandwiches, but still. It was cool of you.”
Pia beamed at him as he sighed happily, draping his arm out the window in the breeze.
We were headed to a small beach just off the northern coast of Fresh Water Island and it was a favorite place to hang out for Pia, Joey, and me. Whenever we were bored of the beach on Gull Boulevard and couldn’t think of anything else to do, we’d head over here, spread out our blankets and swim, eat, and maybe play a game or two of volleyball if Joey remembered to grab what we needed.
Joey drove to the small parking lot that gave way to sand a few feet in front of us.
“I remembered to grab the volleyball stuff,” he said as we grabbed things out of his car.
Pia turned around and grinned at Joey, her eyes lighting up up. “Yes! I’m so excited! We can finally play a real game.” She dropped her bags onto the sand, removed her dress to reveal a new red bikini, and went to grab the collapsible net from him.
“Need help with that?” Anthony asked, placing his own bag next to hers.
“Oh, I’m sure I do!” Pia said as he rushed over to take the heavy set from her. “Thanks, Ant.”
Ant? Ant? Since when was he Ant? I sighed and began to arrange my beach towel.
With my busywork finished, I glanced over at Pia and Anthony, but they clearly didn’t need any help from me. The net stood ready to go as they looked at one another and laughed.
“You guys coming or what?” Anthony called out. “Let’s get this game started!”
Joey looked at me and shrugged. I followed behind him.
“Anthony’s my partner,” Pia announced, shooting a quick but not unnoticed glance at me.
I tried to hide my frown, but didn’t think I was successful. Wasn’t I the whole reason Anthony was here in the first place? Weren’t we friends? Why didn’t he want to be my partner? I hadn’t even considered that he’d ask Pia first.
And I didn’t exactly like it.
“Come on, Lex,” Joey said. “Get your head in the game.”
Pia held the yellow volleyball crooked beneath her elbow as she walked in close to Anthony to say something to him. When she noticed Joey--and I guess myself--giving her an odd look, she smirked.
“We’re talking strategy here,” she said to us. “Do you mind?”
I raised my eyebrows and glanced at Joey, who shrugged.
“Uh oh. I think we need to come up with our own winning strategy,” he said to me.
I smirked. “I think our winning strategy should be to score more points than they do.”
“And we do that by hitting the ball over the net?”
“See? You’re a natural already. We can’t lose.”
Joey grinned and we dropped back into our positions on the court Pia and Anthony had drawn in the sand. The two of them broke their huddle before he dropped back to serve the ball.
“Play to 21?” Anthony called out. “Best of three?”
I looked over at Joey. We’d never taken volleyball this seriously and I was sure that even Pia wouldn’t want to play three games.
“Sounds good to me, Ant!” she called back.
“Uh...” Joey trailed off. “Lexie?”
I gave him a dirty look for leaving me to be the bad guy. “Best of three it is,” I replied, and I heard him groan under his breath. Served him right.
“Great!” Anthony said, oblivious to the fact that neither of us were too happy about it. He tossed the ball into the air, jumped, and it came flying over the net faster than Joey and I expected.
It landed neatly behind me as we both stared at it.
Pia squealed and ran to high-five him as I retrieved the ball and tossed it back to them.
“One serving zero!” Anthony called out, and it took a lot of restraint not to roll my eyes.
I was ready for the ball this time and managed to keep it up in the air as it came at me. Joey set it up for me and I spiked it, hard. The ball landed just out of Pia’s diving grasp. She shot me a look, one I’d never seen before, and I wasn’t sure what it meant. Was she mad at me for playing the game how it
was meant to be played?
The ball came over to us and Joey rattled off four quick, uneventful points before it was Pia’s turn to serve, her team down, 5-1.
“Ugh,” she said as she stood just outside the court, ready to serve. “I’m not sure I remember how to do it. Can you show me, Anthony?”
My mouth dropped and my cheeks grew warm as Anthony grinned before lining up behind her, his chest pressed against her back, his hand guiding hers to demonstrate an underhand serve.
Pia, as Joey and I both knew all too well, was a great volleyball player. She sure as heck knew how to serve the ball underhand! I refused to make eye contact with anyone as her first attempt at a serve went haywire.
“Oops,” I heard her giggle as I stared out at the ocean. “Let me go get that!”
“You know what?” I said, as she returned and wiggled back into her original position. “I actually don’t feel like playing volleyball today. I’m going to go for a swim.”
The sight of Pia pressed up against Anthony when she knew--she knew!--I was really starting to like him was more than I could handle. What was she doing? Today wasn’t going at all like it was supposed to and it was painfully obvious to me that she hadn’t gotten all dressed up just because she “felt like it.”
She’d gotten dressed up for Anthony.
Because, like the big silly dope I was, I’d given her advance warning that he’d be there with my text.
I stalked off down the beach toward the water by myself and kept walking until I was submerged up to my chest before diving under a breaking wave.
I wiped the water from my eyes as I swam out to my favorite part of the ocean, where you could bob up and down just past the part where waves came crashing down on you, but you weren’t too far out so that you couldn’t touch the bottom. I always needed be able to reach the sand beneath the water with my toes.
As I lay there, floating in the ocean, I glanced at the shore. The volleyball game ended with me walking out. Joey sprawled out on his beach towel, but Pia and Anthony were nowhere in sight.
Good.
Right?
