Shatterproof (6 page)

I didn’t stop to check the bus number. I just jumped on fast to get away. And now there’s a good chance I won’t make the five o’clock ferry.

My phone vibrates with a text from Lug.
Bring it back dickhead!

I reply,
Check TransLink L & F

Then I block his number. I used to know this guy, but I don’t anymore.
And I don’t think we’ll ever be friends again. Not after today.

I take his iPad up to the driver. When we’re stopped at a light, I tell her, “I found this back there.”

She does a double take. “And you’re turning it in?”

“Somebody’s going to be looking for it. Can you make sure it gets to lost and found?”

She nods and tucks the iPad under her seat.

“You go all the way to the ferry along Seaview Drive?” I ask.

“Yup, it’s the scenic route. Takes forever!”

“Great. Will we get there by five?”

“Not likely,” she says. “But you never know.”

People take their time boarding at every stop. Some load bikes onto the front of the bus. Some struggle with
small children and huge strollers, some with shopping carts or luggage.

As the minutes tick by, my hopes fade. No way will we get there in time.

Unless the ferry is late. Which it often is. I check on my phone. But, wouldn’t you know it, for once it’s on time.

I make my way to the back doors. When we finally reach the terminal, I’m first off the bus. I race to the ticket window. It’s still open, but sales stop ten minutes before sailing. No exceptions.

And just as I get there, the Closed sign flashes.

No! No, please, no!

Next sailing isn’t until seven o’clock. So now I won’t make it home before ten.

I’ll have to think of something to tell Mom.

I slump on the steps outside the terminal and text her.
Will b really late. Sorry. Traffic on hwy. U ok?

She texts back right away, like she’s been waiting to hear from me.
Fine. Finished another scarf & started a sweater! How was meet? Did u have a good run?

I don’t want to lie to her anymore, so I just reply,
Personal best!

She’ll think I’m talking about my race. But what I really mean is, I finally stood up to Lug. And I met a girl I really like.

It makes me feel even more guilty when she replies,
Yr the best!!!

I have to confess to her. I just don’t know how.

I’ve got two hours to kill, and I’m starving. There’s a fish-and-chips place near the terminal, but I spent most of my food money on the ice-cream sundaes. And no way am I using the money I got from the scam. So I just sit in the park and watch the five o’clock ferry sail away without me.

When the ticket window opens again, I pay my fare and go sit in the waiting room. I try playing games on my phone, but I can’t concentrate. I keep thinking about Spring.

How can I make her forgive me?

And then there’s the Dakota problem. She might keep our scam to herself so she can threaten Lug whenever she wants. But I have to assume she’ll tell their parents.

And when she does, Lug will try to pin it on me. Just like he did with the grad photos. He’ll say it was all my idea. And then his parents will call Mom.

It’s bad enough that I lied about where I was today. She’ll go ballistic when she finds out I pretended to be Bo Blaketon to get money from girls.

I have to tell her before she hears it from them.

I’d phone her, but this needs to be face-to-face.

I send Mom another text.
Have to tell u something. Talk when home.

There. Now I can’t change my mind.

I’ll get there just as her evening
CHW
leaves. Mom will be in bed, but she’ll still be awake. I hate to keep her up, but I have to tell her tonight.

She’ll be heartbroken. But eventually she’ll understand. Especially when I admit she was right about Lug. He’s not a good influence. But, more important, he’s not a good friend.

Once I’ve decided to tell Mom, I feel better. So much better that I have the nerve to call Spring.

But she won’t talk to me. “Please don’t call me anymore,” she says and hangs up.

I call back right away, but I just get her voice mail. After three more tries I leave a long, rambling message. “Hey, it’s Nate, and I just wanted to say again that I’m so sorry about today. But I
want you to know that I’ve deleted all the contact info from all those girls, and if you give me your address I’ll send you all the money I made and you can donate it to charity or whatever. And I’m not friends with Lug anymore, and I’m going to tell my mom the truth as soon as I get home. And I’m really, really sorry for everything, and I really, really want to see you again. Oh, and please, please, please, call me back.”

I can only hope she’ll listen before she deletes it.

It’s time for the ferry, and I’ve almost given up hope when my phone rings. “Okay,” she says. “Here’s the deal. Do what you said with the money, and then we’ll talk.”

“Thanks so much for calling back,” I say. “I appreciate you giving me another chance.”

She makes a sputtering sound. “Don’t blow it.”

“I won’t.”

“I want to make a big donation to
UNICEF
.”

“You will.” A loading announcement sounds in the waiting room. Other walk-on passengers swarm past me. “Seriously. I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Good to know,” she says. “Because my grandparents live on the Island, and I’ll be coming over to visit them at Thanksgiving.”

Whoa! “So can we get together?”

“Maybe.”

“Just maybe?”

“Just maybe,” she says. “Don’t push it.”

“Okay,” I say. “Just maybe. I’ll take that.”

I join the crowd and board the ferry.

I find a seat near the walk-off exit. I’ll need to run when we dock to make my bus.

The ship’s whistle sounds, and the ferry sails.

I stare out the window into the rainy darkness.

It feels like forever since I came over this morning. All I wanted was to get away and have some fun. Who knew I’d do something stupid and just want to go home?

Who knew I’d stop being friends with Lug?

Who knew I’d meet a girl like Spring?

With thanks to my family and everyone at Orca.

Jocelyn Shipley’s
YA
books include
How to Tend a Grave
,
Getting a Life
and
Seraphina’s Circle,
and she is co-editor of
Cleavage: Breakaway Fiction for Real Girls. Shatterproof
is Jocelyn’s first book with Orca Book Publishers. Jocelyn divides her time between Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver Island. For more information, visit
www.jocelynshipley.com
.