Ford glanced over at me for a second, and I realized just how dark it was getting, because it was getting harder to see his expression. “Well . . .” he started.
“Does she go to your school?” I interrupted, feeling like I needed to have context before hearing details about her. I wasn’t sure if it would be worse if she was a tech genius with a million-dollar app idea or a championship surfer.
“No,” Ford said, after a small pause. “She doesn’t.”
I nodded, realizing that the surfer was maybe a little bit less intimidating. Not that I even cared about this, really. I should be happy that Ford had found someone he really liked. “So—” I started, just as Ford pointed across the street.
“There it is.” I looked over and felt relief flood through me. There was a four-pump gas station with attached mini-mart, and I’d never been so happy in my life to see bright fluorescent lights and inflated fuel prices.
“Great,” I said, and now that we were here and about to get some help, it was like I could let myself really feel just how freaked out I’d been. It was really scary to suddenly have no way to communicate with people. It’s how everyone must have felt back in the olden times before cell phones. My mom and dad had told me stories about what it was like, of course, but I’d never quite been able to get my head around it before.
“I know,” Ford said, as he gave me a quick smile. “Close one, right?”
“You know I’m never going to stop making fun of you for this, right?” I asked, as Ford walked closer to the edge of the road and looked both ways. There were no stoplights or crosswalks anywhere in sight—it seemed like we were going to take our chances. Luckily, it was just a two-lane road, one going each way, and not crazy-busy. The cars that were on it, however, all seemed to be in some unofficial speeding competition. “I didn’t want to until we were in the clear, but—” Whatever I’d been about to say left my head as Ford suddenly reached down, grabbed my hand, and started to cross the highway.
I followed him, dashing across the empty highway safely to the other side, just as a car’s headlights appeared in the distance. We dropped hands once we were on the other side, and Ford led the way into the mini-mart, the automatic door sliding open as we stepped inside.
The mini-mart was empty, save for a bored-looking employee leaning over the counter, scrolling through his phone. I nudged Ford and he nodded, and made a beeline for the guy.
“Hey,” Ford said, and I noticed that some of his surfer-dude cadence was creeping back into his voice. I wondered if he even realized he was doing it. “So we got locked out of our car. Could we borrow your phone to make a call?”
The guy—his printed employee name tag read Seth—looked up in alarm. “My phone?”
“Yeah,” I said, stepping forward, and shooting him a big smile. I figured it couldn’t hurt. “Just so we can call for help.”
He looked from me to Ford, frowning, like this was all some elaborate ruse to steal his smartphone. “You can use this,” he finally said as he hauled up a gray phone from underneath the counter. “But you have to buy something first.”
“Seriously?” Ford asked, sounding exasperated, and I was feeling the same way. I had a feeling Seth was making this up on the spot.
“Yeah,” Seth said, crossing his arms over his chest and standing his ground. “That’s the rule.”
YOU ARE READING
Waves, Stars, and Other Things to Catch
Teen FictionA fun summer day in Malibu filled with surfing comes to an abrupt halt when Gemma and her childhood friend (and first kiss) Ford realize that his car keys have been locked in the trunk of his car. Equipped with nothing but the six dollars in Gemma’s...
