The Retake

by Jen Calonita

  So why aren’t you? I wanted to say. I curled my toes into my flip-flops. If I answered wrong, it could get Laura upset. But if I said yes, we’d be spending all day with the drama queens. Laura looked so hopeful, I felt bad. “I guess, if you really want to be with them.”

  “Them and you!” Laura linked her arm through my free one. “This is great! I’ll text Sarah. Reagan and Jada are nice, but you’re going to really like Sarah and Ava! And Marisol is a whiz at memorizing lines. She taught me this method with flash cards, and it totally works. And Sarah does the best impressions. You should hear her mimic Tina Fey. We’re going to have so much fun in their group.”

  But I wanted us to have fun without them. That was the whole point of coming back to this day and doing it over—to show Laura she didn’t need their group when she already had me, and that I could help her get Jake too.

  “Laura!” Steph walked into the gift shop with some of the others, and I froze. “Did you decide yet?”

  Laura let go of my arm. “I’ll be right back. Let me tell them.”

  I hovered around a stuffed-animal collection while Laura did the dirty work. I felt bad enough about ditching Jada and Reagan as it was. I turned the corner and spotted someone sitting on top of their backpack, reading The Sea Stars next to a stack of stuffed monkeys. “Clare?”

  She looked up from her book, surprised. “Hey. Don’t tell anyone you spotted me back here, okay? I’m trying to avoid the water park as long as I can.”

  I bet I knew why: Ava. “Why? Today is going to be fun! You should hang out with us.”

  Clare looked wistful. “I would, but I’m in Ava Sinclair’s chaperone group, so…” She gulped hard and looked away. “I think I’m better off in here with my book.”

  I hated to think Clare spent the whole field trip hiding out in the gift shop. Suddenly, I felt torn. I wanted to help Clare, but I had to fix things with Laura first. I wasn’t sure I could manage both in one retake. “Okay, but if you change your mind, I’m sure the groups will wind up on some rides together. Maybe we’ll meet up on the lazy river.”

  She nodded, but still didn’t look convinced. “Maybe.”

  “I love The Sea Stars, too, by the way,” I added. It was a sci-fi adventure, which wasn’t normally my thing, but the school librarian had recommended it, and I couldn’t put it down.

  “This is my third read,” Clare said, perking up. “Are you Team Aaron or Team Amber?”

  “Aaron, naturally,” I said. “He’s part mermaid. Hello.”

  “But Amber is a siren. Can’t beat that either,” Clare said. “Every time I read it, I find something else I love about the story. Did you know they’re making it into a movie?”

  “No, but now I want to read the book again,” I said. “I keep trying to get it at the library, but it’s always checked out.”

  Clare smiled. “When I finish this again—which will probably be today—you can borrow mine.”

  I grinned. “Okay.”

  “Zo-Zo!” Laura was waving me over to the candy counter.

  “I have to go, but your hiding spot is safe with me,” I told Clare.

  “See you later. Maybe,” Clare said, and went back to reading.

  I weaved through the store around the candy counter and found Laura near the entrance.

  “Guess what?” Laura asked.

  “What?”

  “We couldn’t officially switch groups, but Ava had the best idea to get around that—she told me to sign us in with our chaperone, so I did. And then we can sneak into the water park with Ava’s group instead.” She laughed nervously.

  I paled. “Aren’t we going to get in trouble?”

  “Ava said it’s not a big deal. No one will even notice we’re gone. Ava said Jake and some of the boys are sneaking into the water park early after they’ve checked in with their chaperone so they can get on the rides first. We’re going to follow them. But we have to hurry.” Laura pulled me out of the gift shop and through the packed lobby.

  Noooo. No matter what I did, the drama queens showed up and boys became an issue. How were we going to avoid Paradise Plunge now? When would we get our chance to reconnect? And how bad would Jada and Reagan feel when they learned we’d ditched them? This whole thing felt wrong. I stopped short. “I don’t know about this.”

  Laura exhaled loudly. “Zoeeee.” She sounded like Taryn. “Fine. If you don’t want to go with us, don’t. I’m going. I’ll just catch up with you later.”

  Now Laura was ditching me too? I hesitated. If I didn’t go with Laura, she’d think I wasn’t cool, but if I went, we’d wind up in trouble. I couldn’t let this whole retake be for nothing. Laura stared at me hopefully and I felt my resolve waffle. “No, I’ll come,” I said quickly. “You’re right. No one will even notice we’re gone, and this is the perfect chance for you to hang with Jake.”

  Laura cheered. “Yes! Ava didn’t think you’d agree, but I knew she was wrong. Come on!” She grabbed my arm again. “This is going to be the best day. I can feel it!”

  As I followed her through the lobby, I crossed my fingers and hoped Laura was right.

  My heart was pumping wildly as Laura, the drama queens, and I slipped past the chaperones, who were going over rules, and snuck into the women’s changing area to get into the water park unnoticed.

  “Quick!” Hyacinth said as she burst through the exit into the half-empty park. “There are no lines!” Everyone started running.

  I struggled to keep up. The park reminded me of being in a fishbowl—glass walls surrounding winding multicolored tubes and staircases. The place reeked of chlorine. In the middle was a huge wave pool and splash zone, and a giant three-story climber that had a huge bucket hanging above it. Every half hour a bell rang, and the bucket would dump all its water on the people waiting below.

  Ava stopped short when we finally reached a ride called Mountain Mayhem. For a moment I was actually excited. I never got to go on this ride the first time we were here.

  “The boys are already on their way up,” she said. “Let’s catch them before they go on.” She pulled off her cover-up, kicked off her flip-flops, tossed them onto a lounge chair, and ran up the stairs. The other girls followed.

  “Come on, Zoe!” Laura told me, racing ahead of me.

  I rushed to pull off my cover-up and follow the girls, taking the wet steps two at a time. By the last stair turn, my legs were burning.

  “Great! We missed them!” Ava said as I reached the last step. I watched a redhead and a boy with black hair disappear on a tube into a tunnel. “Everyone back down. We need to see where they’re going next.”

  “Can’t we just go on the ride first?” I asked.

  The lifeguard had a two-person tube just waiting for us.

  “No way,” Hyacinth said. “We don’t want to ruin our hair before we see them. And besides, we haven’t done a live video from the water park yet. I want my hair to look good for that.”

  “Or you could just put your hair up in a ponytail so it doesn’t matter,” suggested Marisol.

  “Why didn’t I think of that?” Steph sighed. “Then it wouldn’t matter when we posted a video.”

  “Ooh, let’s do a video of us screaming on a ride we’re scared of,” Sarah suggested.

  “I’m not going on any of those rides with big drops,” said Hyacinth. “Have you guys forgotten about Pukey Pete?”

  Steph put her arm around her. “Stop worrying! We’d never make you go on anything alone. You’re my ride or die!” Hyacinth put her head on Steph’s shoulder, and I looked at them in surprise. The drama queens were much nicer to one another than I’d realized.

  I looked from the waiting tube to Laura. “How about you? Want to ride down and meet them at the bottom? I could care less what my hair looks like.”

  I could already picture the two of us scream
ing with laughter as the tube took the first bumpy turn. We needed a bonding moment!

  Laura bit her lip and looked from me to the others already heading down the stairs. “I don’t know. If Ava is going to post a video of all of us…”

  “Beach hair, don’t care.” That had always been our motto. “Or in this case, water park hair.”

  “Yeah, but I haven’t seen Jake yet. I think I’ll just walk back down,” Laura said. “Are you mad?”

  “No,” I said, even though I was disappointed. But I wasn’t going to tell her that.

  “You go!” Laura suggested. “And I’ll meet you at the bottom.”

  I thought again about Taryn’s text—I needed to learn to do what I wanted sometimes too. I turned to the lifeguard. “Can I ride this one alone?”

  He shook his head. “Sorry. I only have two-person tubes left right now.”

  Well, that answered that question. Laura was gone by the time I turned around. I reached the bottom and followed them up the stairs to the Storm Chaser, but by the time we got up there, the boys were already riding.

  “Forget it, let’s just go on the ride. I’m tired of waiting,” Steph suggested, and I was relieved. I wanted to get on a ride already. “Wait! First, everyone squeeze in for a selfie.” She held up a phone in a waterproof case. “Say ‘Aquatopia’!”

  I got sandwiched in the middle as the others crowded around, and I looked wildly for Laura. She was in this shot at least. The lifeguard and everyone on the growing line didn’t look thrilled we were holding up the queue.

  “Aquatopia!” everyone yelled, and Steph took the picture.

  We inched up in line and finally reached the front.

  “Where are your tubes?” the lifeguard asked. “Didn’t you carry them up?”

  We all looked at one another and then at the people on line behind us, who were now pushing past us. They all had two-person tubes. I couldn’t believe we had to get off again!

  Sarah groaned. “I can’t believe we have to walk down.”

  “This time we wait at the bottom of the ride for the guys,” Marisol suggested, sounding annoyed. “When we run into them, we’ll suggest we all go on a ride together.”

  The others nodded in agreement and headed down the stairs again. This was exhausting. I touched Laura’s arm. “I say we wave the white flag and find Jake later. Let’s go on something already! I feel like we’ve spent the last hour going up and down stairs and getting nowhere. I’m hot, tired, and my thighs are literally sticking together it’s so steamy,” I joked.

  Laura looked torn. “I know, but we’re so close to getting on a ride with Jake! The others don’t know I like him yet, so I need you there with me. Please? Can we keep trying? Don’t you want to hang out with the guys?”

  I just want to go on a ride with my best friend. But that’s not the answer Laura wanted to hear. She was so into Jake she couldn’t concentrate on anything else. It didn’t help that the drama queens were obsessed with Jake’s friends. Even on line, when we weren’t with them, they were watching the boys’ live videos from the park. Didn’t they want to enjoy Aquatopia?

  I know I did. I was hoping this retake would give me a chance to spend the day with my best friend, but it was clear that wasn’t going to happen till she got Jake face time first.

  “Of course,” I lied.

  Laura smiled and headed down the stairs while I tried not to look as defeated as I felt. At least Ava had been right about waiting for the boys in the splash zone of the Constrictor. When Shardul, Dougie, Jake, and a few other boys emerged from the tubes into the splash zone, we were already waiting.

  “Who came in first?” Dougie asked as he waded out of the splashdown pool, his black hair dripping. “I didn’t see—Shardul or Jake?” Sarah was busy staring at Shardul’s taut, tan stomach.

  “Shardul,” Ava said at the same time Laura called out “Jake.” They both sort of laughed.

  Shardul shook his head. “I totally won. They’re just covering for you, Jakey boy. Someone here must like you!” The other boys whistled, and Laura’s face grew red-hot. Ava didn’t even flinch.

  “What are you going on next, Shardul?” Sarah asked as she played with a hair tie wrapped around her wrist.

  “Not sure. What haven’t we gone on, Dougie?” Shardul asked him as he shook out his dark hair.

  Dougie was busy jumping in and out of a tube on the floor. “The Venus Slydetrap!” He looked up and grinned. “Seats up to six, ladies. Any takers?”

  “Maybe,” Ava said as I heard Marisol audibly inhale. “You going on now?”

  “Now,” Jake insisted. “Let’s go.” He headed to the ride’s line, and the other girls followed. Laura grinned and rushed to the front of the group to walk near him.

  I heard my phone buzz, and I took it out of the waterproof pouch I was carrying it in to read the text.

  Mom: Where are u????? Reagan’s mom said you ditched your group. I tracked you so I know you’re in the water park, but text me you’re okay! Make sure Laura checks in too. Dianne said Laura isn’t answering texts. This isn’t like you.

  Even in this new reality, I was letting my mom down. What was I doing here? Clare was sitting on the floor of the gift shop alone. Laura and I weren’t getting any time together, and I still wasn’t getting on rides. I quickly texted Mom to apologize as I climbed the next set of stairs. When I reached the top, the boys were talking to one another, and the girls were standing around watching them. I went over to Laura.

  “My mom texted,” I told her. “Your mom and my mom are mad we ditched our group.”

  “Ignore the text,” Ava butted in. “That’s what I did when my mom asked where Clare Stelton was.” She rolled her eyes. “Like I would ever hang out with her.” Hyacinth giggled.

  I felt my skin prickle. She used to be your best friend, I wanted to shout. “Why? Clare is so nice.” Everyone looked at me, including Ava.

  “Yeah, but she’s into robotics,” Ava said, as if that were a bad thing. And I guess it was to Laura, too, who started twirling her hair around her finger, like she did when she was nervous. I could tell she was thinking about Future City. Maybe she thought I was going to tell Ava we were in the club. But all I cared about was sticking up for Clare.

  “I feel like every school has a robotics club now because it’s so popular. Weren’t you in a robotics club with her in elementary school? I thought I heard your group won a robotics contest,” I said casually, and the other girls looked at her.

  Ava pushed a strand of hair behind her right ear. “Let’s just go on the ride already. We’re coming with you guys!” she shouted to Jake as he, Dougie, and Shardul climbed into a tube.

  The next moment happened so fast I didn’t have time to react. Ava took Laura’s arm and Laura grabbed my arm and we headed toward the boys’ tube, grabbing the last three spots.

  “Hey!” Hyacinth shouted, but the raft was full. I crammed my legs between the tangle of feet just in time for the raft to push off. I looked back at the other girls as we drifted into the tunnel and disappeared.

  “Don’t anyone puke!” Dougie said, laughing hysterically as he twisted his hands to fit inside the rope holds, giving me no room to hold on. Laura was still gripping my right arm since she was sandwiched between me and Jake.

  “Yeah, there’s no Pukey Petes in this raft, is there?” Shardul asked as he stretched out his brown legs, banging into ours as we hit the first bend in the tube. Everyone screamed.

  I glanced at Laura. She tended to get carsick. Her mom always drove with the air-conditioning blasted on long rides and had Laura sip something with bubbles to calm her stomach. This ride might not have been the best move for her.

  “What’s this big drop like again?” Jake asked as we bumped along.

  “Dude, it’s the toilet-bowl one!” Dougie said as water splashed into the side of the t
ube, soaking Ava’s hair. “Spins us, then drops us like we’ve been flushed.”

  “Flushed! Epic!” Shardul said.

  Laura shut her eyes tight as we rounded another bend and then fell into nothingness. We all screamed as the giant raft shot down a ravine into a vortex of water. The raft went down one side and shot back up the other side.

  “How are we not flipping?” Ava yelled as the boys roared with laughter.

  “We’re going to flip! We’re going to flip!” Laura cried.

  But we didn’t. I held on tight as the raft drifted into the next tube and we shot along till we landed in a giant wave pool, water washing over the entire raft.

  “That. Was. Awesome!” Jake pointed to Laura. “You totally freaked out.”

  Laura no longer looked terrified. Now she was smiling. “Me? You should have heard you scream!”

  “I did not scream,” Jake said, and the two of them spent the next few minutes debating who screamed louder.

  Seeing them, I felt relieved. Laura was talking to Jake and was happy. Mission accomplished. Now we could move on to the Laura-and-Zoe portion of the day.

  What did I suggest we do next? A slide with mats? A two-person tube ride? We needed bonding time, and there was so much I wanted us to go on together. My thoughts were interrupted by the screams of the other drama queens as their tube shot out of the tunnel and landed in the pool next to us.

  “That was so much fun!” Hyacinth shouted as she waded out to join us. “I was scared but not scared, and then—”

  “The tube dropped and Marisol got all this water in her mouth,” Steph finished as she pulled her hair into a ponytail with one of her teal hair ties.

  I watched Laura pull a hair tie off her wrist and do the same thing. The band was teal, just like the other girls’. When I looked around, I realized all of them had teal hair ties. Even back then, she was becoming part of their group. How had I not noticed it before?