Friends ForNever (10 page)

“I'm worried. I'm having trouble sleeping,” I whispered.

“What is it?”

“My dad. His letter about the road trip. Nic, I can't stop thinking about it. You know how he does risky things sometimes? I'm really afraid he's going to get into an accident.” Daddy had e-mailed me that day to say he was taking his new Harley on a road trip for a week or so. For some reason, the second I read that, I totally panicked.

He didn't wear a helmet, for one thing. He said he loved the feeling of the wind on his face and in his hair. And he said he wanted to get the new motorcycle on the open road to see how it handled, which I took to mean he was going to see how fast it would go.

“I'm sure he'll be okay,” Nic whispered. “You have to trust that he'll be responsible.” She reached across the space between our cots and patted my arm.

“That's what I'm worried about. You know that problem he has sometimes.” It was a problem my dad used to have, after the divorce. Nicole knew all about it.

“How's that been lately? I thought you said it was getting better.”

“It has been. It's been a lot better lately. But I always have this fear it'll come back. You know?”

I heard Nicole sigh. “I know. But if it's been better lately, you have to remind yourself of that. You have to forgive him for past mistakes.”

“But why do I feel so scared? When he first told me he'd gotten a motorcycle, I was fine. It surprised me, but I didn't think that much about it. But when I read his e-mail today, it was almost like . . .” I paused, trying to think of how to explain it. “I suddenly imagined him smashed against the asphalt. With his bike all mangled, and . . .” I stopped because my throat felt all constricted and I wasn't sure I could keep talking without sounding like I was going to cry.

Nic waited. When I didn't go on, she said, “You can't think thoughts like that. Whenever you feel that way, just push them out of your head.”

“You know what I'm afraid of? I read his letter and I felt scared. What if he's destined to die in a motorcycle accident and I'm getting some psychic message about it? That stuff happens, you know.”

“Have you ever known stuff was going to happen before it did?” whispered Nic.

“No. But there's always a first.”

“Think positive thoughts. Visualize him being safe. Imagine him having a good time and getting home without even a scratch.”

I had to smile over that. I thought it was so sweet that Nic would try to cheer me up with the “positive thoughts” philosophy.

“I know, but . . . I'm obsessing about him having an accident.”

“Darcy, I'm not saying an accident couldn't happen—it's just not that likely. Millions of people drive motorcycles every day and don't get into accidents. And even if they do, they're sometimes just minor accidents. My teacher told us he drove a motorcycle from Maine to California when he was in college, and he crashed twice, but he was fine.”

“Yeah, but was he wearing a helmet?” I whispered.

“Why don't you write him and tell him you really want him to wear a helmet, that you're worried about him, and that he should do it for you even if he won't do it for himself? Dads love that kind of stuff from daughters.”

I thought about that for a second. “Well, I can. But there's no guarantee he'll do it.”

I could see Nic sit up in her bed. “What about laws? Some states make you wear a helmet. You could remind him that he might be breaking the law if he goes through certain states.”

“That's a great idea!” Immediately I felt a lot better. I'd write my dad first thing in the morning so the letter could go out in tomorrow's snail mail. “Thanks,” I whispered.

“Feel better now?”

“Yeah, tons. You always know how to cheer me up.” Ever since our first summer, I'd talked to Nic about all my problems, and it never failed: She'd come up with an idea or say the right thing, and then I'd feel so much better.

A soft breeze came in through the window screens. I could hear crickets and frogs, and somewhere in the trees, a bird was making cooing sounds. I loved so many things about camp, but sleeping with the windows open was high up on the list. At home during the summer we always slept with the air conditioning on.

“What should we do tomorrow?” asked Nic softly. The cabin was so quiet, it sounded like everyone else was asleep.

“I don't care. You pick, since I picked for today.”

“You sure we don't need a break from each other?” she whispered.

“I'm positive.” Had she really thought I meant that comment seriously? I couldn't believe it when she said she was afraid I was going to dump her. She should know I'd never do that.

“Then let's go to free swim and lie in the inner tubes. And maybe crafts. I know the stuff we make there is lame, but it's fun to just sit on the porch and talk.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. I imagined what a great day we would have tomorrow, and then I was eager to go to sleep so I could wake up and enjoy it. I was so glad that we'd put that stupid argument behind us.

But there was something that still bothered me, just a tiny bit. Even though Nic had apologized for calling me competitive, she'd never congratulated me about getting to the top of the climbing tower. I was really proud of myself for that. And I couldn't stop thinking about how happy I would've been for her if she'd done something like that.

Oh, well. It didn't matter. We'd both apologized. I knew we couldn't stay mad at each other forever. Even if Sarah hadn't been there, we would've made up on our own eventually. Now all we had to do was make sure Sarah and Whitney worked things out. The one thing a person can't live without is her best friend.

“What would you be doing if you were in school right now?”

Nicole opened her eyes and squinted at me in the sunlight. We were both lounging in inner tubes, our arms and legs draped over the sides, our backs soaking in the cold lake water.

“Hmm, I'm not sure. What time is it?”

“A little after twelve, I think. Would you be at lunch?”

“No, last year we ate lunch at eleven twenty, so we'd be back in class by now. I'd be in social studies. Miss Johnson would be writing notes on the board about Mesopotamia or something. Maybe the Greek myths. We spent a long time on those.”

I smiled while I listened to Nic talk. My tube floated gently sideways. The sun made the black rubber so warm that I had to keep splashing cold water on it to cool it off. “I'd be in science right now, probably doing a worksheet. Isn't this better than worksheets and Mesopotamia?”

Nicole closed her eyes and sighed. “You know it.”

All of a sudden there was a huge splash that completely soaked us and sent both our inner tubes spinning in crazy circles. When I wiped the water out of my eyes, a wet head came bursting up from under the water and grinned at me. A head with gigantic front teeth.

“Bossy Middlers! Take that!” Alyssa was laughing her head off at the way she'd jumped in and caught us off guard. Squinting, I could see the silhouette of Mary Claire standing by the edge of the lake.

I closed my eyes and rested my head against the edge of the inner tube, like I didn't care. “Oh hi, Alyssa.” I waited a few seconds. Then I leaned forward out of the inner tube and tapped her so that her head bobbed underwater.

As soon as Alyssa went under, she popped up again like a cork. “Hey. Cut that out!”

A short toot on a whistle made me look up. Claudia and her friend Shelby stood on the edge of the lake, keeping an eye on the swimmers. “Hey, Darcy. No dunking. I'm not going to make a big deal out of it, but . . . if I don't say something to you, I get yelled at.” Claudia shrugged with the same bored expression she always had. She was taking some kind of lifeguarding class, and they had to hang out during free swim and help the swim staff watch over us. Libby stood a few feet away and nodded approvingly.

I smiled back at her. “Okay. Sorry.”

Alyssa smacked the water with both hands so a spray of water splashed all over us.

This time Claudia blew her whistle with full force. “No splashing!” she yelled. “Or you'll spend ten minutes sitting out!” Then she gave Nic and me a little wink.

“She's not the boss of us,” scoffed Alyssa.

“Oh, yes she is,” said Nicole. “They're both training to be lifeguards.”

“Huh,” said Alyssa.

I looked up to watch Mary Claire still standing on the edge of the lake, delicately sticking her big toe in the water. Then she squatted down and examined the tadpoles swimming around in the shallows. She was wearing a flowered two-piece with a white ruffle across the top and bottom, and her belly was bright pink. I hoped she remembered her sunscreen.

“Aren't you getting in?” I called.

She looked at me and shook her head. “Too cold.”

“Come sit in an inner tube. It's nice and warm in the sun,” I told her.

“Huh. Spud in an inner tube? That girl will sink it for sure.”

I decided my new strategy would be to ignore this little hamster as much as possible. I was glad to see Mary Claire walk over to the pile of inner tubes and grab one. She launched it into the water, hooking her arms around it as she left the lake edge. Her teeth clenched when she hit the cold water, but she kept kicking till she'd joined us in the middle of the shallow end of the lake.

“What's your problem, Spud? Go back and get me one.”

Nicole sat up in her inner tube, propping her elbows on the side. “Don't do it, Mary Claire. Make her get her own.”

Alyssa pushed wet strands of hair out of her eyes and curled her lip at us. “I'm not getting my own. I'm already in.”

“Then I guess you won't have one, will you?” I said. I was so glad that Nic had finally said something to Alyssa. Maybe she was warming up to Mary Claire.

Mary Claire held on to her tube with one hand and looked at Alyssa. I could tell she just wanted to give it to Alyssa and go get another one for herself.

“Sit it in like this,” I told her. “It's more fun this way.”

Mary Claire flopped around as she tried to get into her tube. She kept trying to lean back and sit on top of it, but every time she jumped up, she would force the tube away from her. Alyssa laughed hysterically through it all. Finally I held her tube still so she could sit down without it moving.

Alyssa ignored us and practiced handstands under the water. Her skinny little legs swayed back and forth as she tried to keep her balance. I was just glad her head was under water. I liked her much better that way.

“There's a wide-open lake here,” Nicole pointed out to Mary Claire. “Feel free to float around wherever you want.”

“Okay.” Mary Claire continued to float beside us, apparently missing Nicole's hint. Nicole sighed impatiently, but she didn't say anything else. The three of us floated lazily around. Now Alyssa was busy trying to catch tadpoles in her cupped hands. When she didn't have any luck, she went back to practicing handstands.

“You should really put on sunscreen. You're starting to burn,” Nic observed.

“Okay.”

“Really—you need to remember to do that. It's bad for your skin. Plus it must be pretty painful,” she said. “I have some in my cabin if you need to borrow it.”

“Okay. Thanks, Nicole.” Mary Claire grinned widely, looking absolutely thrilled about Nicole's offer. She kicked her legs playfully and splashed around. It was pretty major for Nicole to even acknowledge that she was alive, much less to be nice to her.

Alyssa's legs fell sideways under water and then she stood up, blowing water and sputtering. “I'm ready to get out. Get my towel for me, Spud.”

Mary Claire started to extract herself from her inner tube.

“Don't do it, Mary Claire!” Nicole warned. “She can get her own towel.”

Alyssa stood in the shallow water up to her waist, hugging herself. “I'm getting cold. You're almost all dry. Go get my towel!”

Mary Claire bit her lip and looked first at Nicole, then at me. “I think I might stay in for a while. Okay, Alyssa?” she said softly.

“Fine. Stay in here with these bossy Middlers. I don't care if you all freeze.” Alyssa splashed Mary Claire just lightly enough that she wouldn't get the whistle blown at her again. Then she paddled to the edge of the lake and got out.

“Good for you. You can't let her boss you around like that,” I said.

Mary Claire watched as Alyssa picked up her towel. “Maybe I'd better go. She'll be mad at me.”

Nicole grabbed Mary Claire's inner tube and pulled her close. “You can go, but only if you really want to hang out with her. Don't do it just because you think she'll get mad.”

“Yeah. If you guys have a good time together and you like being friends, that's great. But from what I've seen, she doesn't treat you very well,” I added.