Summer Girl

Summer Girl - Chapter 5

Chapter FIVE 

I didn't have a plan, but I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to learn how to be a normal seventeen year old girl.

  My next day off was a couple days later, but Cay was working the afternoon shift. It was mid-week and a hot, humid morning when I stepped out on the back deck. Cora had painted it dark brown; it had been a beige color before that. My favourite deck chair was calling my name, so I sat down, taking in the smell of the lake, the sand, the neighbour's barbecue, which was already cooking something.

  The last few days had been normal. Breakfast with Cora, shower, head to work. Work was normal, and busy. No sign of Max or Harley or their Dad. Cay was her bubbly, outgoing self. I hadn't told her about meeting Max and Harley on the beach. Most of the customers were families on vacation, eating their lunch or dinner, asking where the best spot on the beach was, where to rent a surfboard, or how to get to the waterfalls. I could answer these questions in my sleep, of course. We had our regulars, too. Older couples who lived in town, who came almost daily for lunch. Businessmen who worked out of Siesta for the summer. We chatted like friends. But, of course, we weren't.

  But now, on the back deck, alone, I was making a plan. I was going to put myself in situations, even if I felt uncomfortable. I pulled my phone out of my shorts and started to type.

  HEY. IT'S IZZIE.

  A few minutes later, a reply came, and my heart started pounding. WOW, HEY. I WAS NOT SURE YOU'D TEXT AGAIN.

  I DON'T WANT TO BE THE AWKWARD ANTI SOCIAL KID ANYMORE.

  GOOD. IM HAPPY TO HEAR THAT.

  This made me smile. Max was so sweet; he really seemed like he would make a great friend.

  SO. WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN AROUND HERE?  he asked, before I could figure out what to reply with.

  OH, THERE'S MINI GOLF. AND THERES AN AMUSEMENT PARK NOT TOO FAR.

  THAT SOUNDS FUN. BUT YOU'VE PROBABLY DONE THAT A HUNDRED TIMES.

  WELL, YEAH. BUT NOT WITH FRIENDS.

  WITH WHO, THEN?

  MY BROTHER, AND MY COUSINS. WHEN WE WERE YOUNGER.

  OOOH. OKAY. SO, ARE YOU BUSY TODAY?

  I waited a few minutes before answering. ITS ACTUALLY MY DAY OFF.

  WELL, PERFECT. HARLEY IS STILL ASLEEP BUT ILL GET HIS ASS UP AND WE CAN PICK YOU UP?

  THE AMUSEMENT PARK OPENS AT NOON.  It was not even 10 a.m.

  WE WILL PICK YOU UP AT 1130AM?

  I took a deep breath in. Was I even ready for this?

  OKAY,  I finally replied.

  Back inside the house, Cora was in the sitting room, a book in her hand. Her favourite coffee mug was on the table in front of her. The room smelled like fresh flowers. I had to walk through the room to go up to my bedroom, so I slowed my pace when I saw her.

  "Plans for your day off?" she asked me, smiling. She always asked me this, and the answer was always the same. Until today.

  "Actually, yeah. I'm heading to the amusements with some... friends," I said, the ending coming out all wrong.

  She closed her book right away. "You are?"

  "Uh, yeah. In a little bit." My voice was shaky.

  "Okay, well, great. Have a great time!" She was too excited about this, for sure. She was clearly waiting for a time when I would go out with friends. Maybe she thought it would never happen. "Do you need the Jetta?"

  "No. I'm getting picked up," I replied. This sounded very strange to me.

  "Okay, then. Oh, and Sam confirmed for your birthday. He's bringing Sarah, so we'll all get to meet her," Cora went on. Of course Sam bringing home his new girlfriend for the first time would be the same visit as my birthday dinner. He wasn't exactly a self-less person. He cared less about me than Clara did.

  "Great," I forced a smile.

  "I can't believe you'll be eighteen in one week. Sometimes I think you're still a little girl, Izzie." She smiled her true smile, then nodded. "But you're so grown up."

  "I bet you can't wait to get to Spain," I said, too quickly.

  "Oh, well, yes, we are looking forward to our trip. But, you know, I've always just been 'Mom'. I'm so used to you four needing me, and now..."

  "You deserve a vacation from being Mom," I told her.

  She nodded again. "You'll take care of this old beach house?"

  "Of course."

  I changed into my favourite jean shorts and a gray spaghetti strap tank top, brushed my hair into a high pony tail and added my mascara. Then I thought of Cay, suddenly. I knew I should tell her, even though she was working. Leaving her in the dark wouldn't be right. She was my only actual friend. But, still, I decided to wait to tell her. When she was off work I'd call her and tell her everything. If there was even anything to tell.

  I waited out the front door, near the driveway. I knew Max knew which house was mine, but still I got a bit worried when eleven-thirty came and went. Ten minutes late, the white sports car pulled in beside where I was standing. I went around to the passenger side, my heart ready to break out of my chest. The window was down.

  "Sorry! This guy was so hard to wake up and get moving," Max was already saying, as I opened the door.

  The passenger seat was empty, so I got in and closed the door behind me. Harley was in the back seat, just between Max and I. My hands were shaking, so I squeezed them together.

  "I was up so late last night, dude. I didn't know you made plans for us so early," Harley said, his voice defensive.

  "Early," Max repeated, then laughed. "It's almost noon."

  "Whatever."

  "Anyway, sorry we are late. Ready?" Max said to me, as he put the car into reverse.

  I nodded, then clicked my seat belt. "Yeah."

  "Hold on tight, Max is a shit driver," Harley said, serious at first, then unable to hold back laughter.

  "I'm not," Max said to me, shaking his head. I said nothing.

  When we were back on the main road, I directed him which way to turn and how far down the main road to go before turning again. It was about a ten minute drive before the amusement park came into view. I was quiet the whole drive.

  I hadn't gone to the amusement park in a few years, not since I was fourteen, but all the same feelings flooded over me, too quickly. The last time we went, Tom had dropped Clara and I off together, and told us he'd pick us up in a few hours. Clara was meeting up with some friends and pretty much ditched me, only making sure she found me fifteen minutes before Tom was back to get us. I walked around alone, rode the ferris wheel and tea cups, wishing Clara would let me be her friend. That was when we really started growing apart. She didn't want to include me anymore. She and her friends were meeting boys, drinking at parties and I was just a kid.

  But now I was going to change how I felt about this place - the Siesta Amusement park. I could take charge. This was my time.