Ari and Zac

Chapter 27: Head Over Tail Fin

Chapter 27: Head Over Tail Fin

Ari sat across from Lucy in the back corner of the ice cream parlor, ignoring any curious stares from the other patrons. She'd made a beeline for her sister's workplace as soon as Zac had left. Lucy wasn't due to finish her shift for a few more hours, but Ari couldn't wait. She needed to tell her sister everything that just happened.

Lucy must have sensed the urgency when Ari came bursting into the store. She'd finished up with the cone she was scooping and signaled to a co-worker that she needed to take a break. Then she ushered Ari over to a table.

"Sis, are you OK? What happened?"

Ari struggled to control her breathing. She was still panting slightly after running the whole length of the boardwalk. She forced a deep breath in through her nose, as her hands twisted together on the table before her.

"Ari?" Lucy tried again. "What's wrong? Did you see Zac? He was looking for you earlier."

At the sound of his name, Ari's heart started thudding even harder. She nodded, diverting her eyes to the tabletop to avoid her sister's gaze. Try as she might, Ari couldn't still the frantic thoughts whirling through her head. Something huge had just happened. Enormous. Life altering. But the obstacle of communicating that to her sister suddenly seemed insurmountable.

"Ari," Lucy said. "Just calm down and text me what happened. Where's your phone?"

Ari didn't lift her eyes. She silently shook her head, staring at her useless hands... Or maybe not so useless. Ari blinked as the answer struck her. Sign language! That's how she and Lucy always used to communicate when they were little, before they were old enough to have cell phones. They'd never been totally fluent, but they knew enough to get the point across. Ari closed her eyes for a moment, straining to dredge up the vocabulary she needed. What was sign language for, I drowned my phone in the bathtub because I was too upset to realize I was still holding it?

Ari wrinkled her nose. She settled for the closest word she could remember. Her hands shook slightly as she made the sign. She brought all ten of her fingers together in a tight clump, and then scattered them downward and outward.

Lucy's eyes narrowed for a moment, and then comprehension dawned on her face. "Lost? You lost your phone?"

Ari nodded. Close enough.

"Oh! That's easy. Do you want to use my locator app?" Lucy pulled her own phone out and started tapping. Ari grabbed it out of Lucy's hands with a surge of relief. She pulled up her sister's Notes and started entering text there:

I didn't lose it. I broke it.

Lucy leaned closer to read the words as Ari input them. "Oh crap. Did you crack the screen?"

No. Dropped it in the bathtub.

"Did you fish it out right away, though? I bet you can still salvage it." Lucy took off, talking a mile a minute, before Ari could do anything to stop her. "Remember that time I had my phone in my pocket and some dumb-ass thought it would be really funny to throw me in a swimming pool? Oh my God, boys are so annoying! Like, get a clue. This isn't some movie, where people magically don't take their cell phones to pool parties. But anyway, it still totally worked afterward! Did I tell you about—"

Ari shook her head to cut her sister off. She pointed to the words she'd entered on the phone.

It's totally dead. It was underwater for... a while.

Lucy bit her lip. "Dad's going to kill you."

Please don't tell him.

Ari pressed one finger to her mouth for added emphasis.