Still, Ashley was glad when Friday was over. This was Labor Day weekend! And on Monday she and her family had the most exciting plans since they’d moved to Bloomington. Plans to go out on Lake Monroe with the Howard family.
Ashley was the first one to the car that morning and Kari was second. “I’ve never been sailing!” Ashley had a bag over one shoulder. Sunscreen, sunglasses, flippers, goggles and a beach towel. Everything she needed.
“Me, either.” Kari slipped her sunglasses on her face.
“Just think… in a few hours we’ll be sailing the high seas.” Ashley put her arms out to the sides and pretended to sail through the air. “I feel like a pirate headed for an adventure.”
Kari lowered her sunglasses and peered at her sister over the top. “First, Lake Monroe is not the high seas.” She giggled. “And second, you are a girl. And girls cannot be pirates.”
“Yes, they can!” Ashley turned to Kari. “Girls make the best pirates.”
Just then Mom and Dad and the other kids walked up with their beach bags. Mom raised her eyebrows at Ashley. “Who’s a pirate?”
“Ashley!” Brooke folded her arms. “Pirates rob and steal things.”
“Hold on.” A terrible feeling came over Ashley. “Not like that. Of course not.” Her family didn’t understand. Enthusiasm leaked out of her like air from a popped balloon. “I’m a pirate who takes adventures on the high seas.”
Mom watched them. “First… Ashley’s right. Girls can be pirates.” She raised her eyebrows. “But like Brooke said, pirates are generally criminals. Not the sort of thing that fits for us Baxters.”
Dad patted Ashley’s head. “Explorer. You’re an explorer.” He smiled. “I think that’s the word you’re looking for.”
“Yes, Daddy.” Pirate sounded more dramatic. But Ashley definitely didn’t want to steal anything. She linked arms with Kari. “The two of us are about to be explorers on the high seas!” She danced around the driveway and Kari did the same. Ashley couldn’t contain her thrill. “I can’t wait to go sailing!”
“We’re a family of explorers!” Dad got behind the wheel and they set out for the high seas.
A winding road took them through thick trees, and after a dozen turns, finally the lake stretched out in front of them. Ashley slid to the edge of her seat and stared at it. The water was the most beautiful blue canvas.
She shifted her attention to the parking lot. The place was busy. A line of cars waited to put their boats in the water. Apparently everyone was an explorer today.
As they unpacked their car and walked toward the lake, Ashley had no words—which didn’t happen very often. The bright sun skipped along the top of the water, where boats raced across leaving a trail of white waves.
“There they are!” Brooke spotted the Howard family. They were in a truck near the front of the lot, and their boat was attached behind them.
Ashley stared at the huge vessel. It was easily a mile long. There were seats in the front and back, and in the middle they even had seats under a canopy. Ashley could feel herself becoming more of an explorer with every breath. Marsha was the first to run up to them.
“Hi!” Her long blond ponytail swished behind her.
Ashley and Kari and Marsha all hugged. “Guess what?” Excitement flashed in Marsha’s eyes. “We brought our inner tube. I can’t wait!”
“Inner tube?” Ashley squinted. “Is that an instrument? Like an indoor tuba?”
“No, silly.” Marsha tipped back her head and laughed. She took Ashley’s hand and ran with her toward the back of the boat. “See?” She pointed to a big yellow square raft. “Daddy pulls that behind once we get out on the water! We get to ride on it!”
“We do?” Ashley felt a slight nervous ripple. “In the middle of the high seas?”
Marsha gave her a funny look. “The what?” She shook her head. “Ashley Baxter, you’re funny.”
Ashley shrugged. She couldn’t expect everyone to understand the way Kari did.
Steven drove the truck pulling his family’s boat and got in line at the ramp. There weren’t as many people waiting as before, and soon Steven, Mr. Howard, and Ashley’s dad pulled the boat up to the dock. It was time to board.
The Howards’ boat sat fifteen people, so the two families had plenty of room. Ashley stepped in. The floor rocked one way and then the other. “Whoa!” She steadied herself. This was going to be some adventure!
When everyone had their life jackets on, and their beach bags somewhere in the boat, the group set out.
“I know a spot on the other side of the lake,” Mr. Howard shouted over the sound of the engine. “It’s not as crowded.”
Then he began speeding the boat across the water. The sudden thrill of it all rushed like the wind across Ashley’s face. She wanted to stand up and stretch her arms wide. But she had a pretty strong sense that might send her toppling into the water.
So she kept her seat.
Around her, the others stayed seated, too, cheering and yelling about how fast and fun this was. Steven was the only one who stood. He walked to the seat next to the two dads and put his hand over his eyes. “I’ll watch for boats.”
Ashley liked that. Since they were on the high seas, Steven seemed like a good lookout guy. Every successful explorer needed a lookout guy.
Mom and Mrs. Howard sat together near the front. And the rest of the kids sat together at the back. Ashley tilted her head to the sun, excitement growing inside her. She could do this adventure every day.
Another boat crossed in front of them, and Mr. Howard yelled, “Everyone hold on!”
Sure enough, as they hit the waves from the other boat, they bounced three quick times. A spray from the lake hit Ashley’s bare arms and her breath caught in her throat.
Finally they reached the other shore and Mr. Howard was right. They were the only boat in the area. He turned off the engine and suddenly everything was quiet. The boat bobbed around on the water as Mr. Howard left the wheel and faced the kids.
“Hey!” Panic ran through Ashley. “Mr. Howard! You still have to drive!” She stood. Her knees knocked together. “Please don’t abandon ship!”
“Ashley!” Her father stared at her from the middle of the boat. “Sit down.” He wasn’t laughing. “That’s not polite. You need to apologize.”
“I’m sorry.” Ashley sat down. She felt her cheeks get hot again. How come her dad wasn’t worried? There was no one actually driving the boat. She swallowed hard. Her whole body shook. “I’m… really sorry, Mr. Howard.” She looked at the empty seat where the steering wheel was. “Would you like me to drive?”
“It’s okay.” Mr. Howard chuckled. “The boat’s engine is off, Ashley. It’s kind of like being on an island.”
An island. Ashley glanced around. The shore was a long ways off. And other boats were crisscrossing the lake in the distance. She peered over the edge at the water, and then she turned to Mr. Howard again. “So… this is safe out here? Bobbing around like this?”
Marsha laughed and patted Ashley’s knee. “Very safe.” She looked at the other Baxter kids. “We do this all the time. It’s part of boating.”
“I wasn’t scared!” Luke stood and puffed out his chest. He gave Ashley a look she might usually get from her father. “Boats always do this.”
Hmm. Ashley was ready to move on to the next topic. She clapped her hands. “Okay, so what’s next?”
“Tubing!” The Howard kids all shouted the word at the same time. Marsha laughed. “It’s the best.”
Ashley watched while the dads put the big yellow raft into the water. Then Brooke and Marsha and Carly climbed on top of it. A rope connected the tube to the boat, and after hardly any directions, Mr. Howard began to drive the boat again. This time he pulled the three girls, who were screaming and laughing, skimming the water on the yellow tube.
“Hey!” Ashley leaned in close to Kari. She had to talk loud over the sound of the boat and the wind. “When did Brooke get so brave?”
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Kari grinned. “I want a turn.” She took Ashley’s hand. “Let’s be next!”
Ashley wasn’t so sure. But she was definitely an explorer. Which meant being brave at times like this. She gathered her courage. Mr. Howard stopped the engine again, and he and Steven helped the first girls back into the boat. At the same time, Kari and Luke and Ashley jumped out onto the tube.
Ashley’s heart thudded hard against her life jacket. When the three of them were situated on the raft, Ashley raised her voice. “Excuse me!” she yelled up to Mr. Howard. “What if the rope falls off?”
Dad walked to the back of the boat and peered out at Ashley. “It won’t.”
A million thoughts raced through Ashley’s mind. “What if the tube pops? And we sink to the bottom of the high seas?”
Kari shook her head and Luke did the same. “It’s Lake Monroe.” Kari patted her arm. “Not the high seas.”
Mom walked to the back of the boat, too. “You won’t sink. You have a life jacket.”
There were handles for each of them to hold, so Ashley grabbed on to hers. “Fine,” she muttered under her breath. “Explorers have to start somewhere.”
At first Mr. Howard drove very slow-like, which was nice. Dad stayed near the back. He yelled out to them, “How’s that?”
Ashley felt herself start to relax. “Great!” she shouted. Then before she could stop herself she called out. “Faster! Let’s go faster!”
Kari and Luke said the same thing.
Mr. Howard sped up the boat and with every little bump all three of them laughed and shouted. The thrill was the best Ashley ever had. What had she been afraid of?
But just then Mr. Howard crossed over another boat’s tracks. Ashley raised her hand to ask that they go a little slower, but as she did the wind picked her up and sent her cartwheeling over the water.
All by herself.
When the cartwheel ended, Ashley dropped into the waves. At first she wasn’t sure she could breathe. Because the water was cold and little splashes kept hitting her face. Plus she was completely stranded, alone on the high seas.
“H-h-help!” Ashley called out. Her teeth were shivering, and she felt very small out here. “G-g-girl overboard!”
Apparently Mr. Howard knew there was a problem, because he whipped the boat around and came back for her. Straight at her. Ashley raised her hand out of the water. “Don’t h-h-hit me!” She held her breath and waited for impact.
But Mr. Howard didn’t hit her. He stopped the engine and the boat floated up to Ashley.
Dad and Mom were both at the side ready to help Ashley back inside. She climbed up a little ladder until she was in their arms.
Next, Mr. Howard helped Kari and Luke off the raft and into the boat.
Mom wrapped a towel around Ashley as she sat down. Dad stooped to her level. “Honey, are you okay?”
Everyone gathered around her. Marsha looked very concerned, and so did the other kids.
For a long minute Ashley shivered, not sure what to say. She wasn’t hurt. She hadn’t sunk to the bottom of the lake. And already she was safe back in the boat. Finally she felt a smile come over her face. “Did you see that?” She grinned. Who else had done such a thing? “I did a cartwheel on the lake!”
“You certainly did.” Mom laughed as she stood straight again. “You’re okay, then?”
Ashley nodded. “Is that an Olympic sport? Lake cartwheeling?”
Dad laughed out loud this time. “No, Ashley. It is not.” He patted her head. “But if anyone could make it one, you could.”
When it was time to eat, they pulled the boat up to a dock on the side of the lake. There were picnic tables and a field of soft green grass. After their picnic, Marsha and Kari and Ashley moved to an open space in the grass.
“Speaking of cartwheels, let’s do some.” Marsha giggled. She took gymnastics classes, so she was always flipping and spinning.
Ashley crossed her arms. They’d been over this. “I can’t do a grass cartwheel.” She smiled. “I do my best cartwheels on the water.”
Marsha and Kari laughed. Then Kari put her hands over her head. “I’ve been practicing.” She ran a few steps and her body went spinning like a graceful Ferris wheel. A perfect cartwheel!
“Wow!” Marsha clapped. “That’s good!” She turned to Ashley. “Come on, Ash. Give it a try.”
The possibility hung like a kite in her heart. Why not? Yes, she could at least try. “Okay.” She raised her hands. Ashley pictured herself wearing a gold glitter leotard and red tights. A star gymnast. “Here I go!”
She ran and threw her body toward the ground. But instead of a graceful Ferris wheel, she felt more like a lumbering bear. Her body slumped to the grass and her legs did a side shuffle. As soon as she was on her feet again, she raised her grassy hands in the air. “Ta-da!” She didn’t quite nail it. Nothing like her lake performance. But she had tried, and that had to count for something.
As the two families packed up for the day, Ashley and the other kids ran to a group of trees where fireflies filled the air. The bug lights captivated Ashley. She loved how even in the dark, they had a light with them.
She chased one in particular and finally grabbed it between her palms. The bug lit up a couple times in the dark of her hands.
“Hi, little guy.” She peered through the cracks between her fingers. “Don’t worry. I’ll let you go!” She opened her hands and the bug flew off.
Fireflies made her think of the light inside her. The light that came when she was kind or happy. When she did the right thing, like telling the truth or helping around the house. Ashley took one last look at the lake. She inhaled a deep breath. Yep. This was her new favorite spot. The place where she had first tried boating and tubing and gymnastics on the grass. She laughed as she ran to catch up with the others. The important thing was trying. Whether exploring, or doing a floppy flip on the grass, or pulling off something she had never even known she was good at. Something she drew in her sketchbook on the way back to their house.
A perfect cartwheel on the high seas of Lake Monroe.
9 The Cheater
KARI
Ten minutes!” Ms. Nan clicked her stopwatch and sat at her desk. Kari’s heart picked up speed. The first pop quiz of the school year was under way. They had to finish twenty multiple-choice questions on the first two chapters of their history book.
And Kari hadn’t read a single page.
She stared at the questions, and suddenly the letters all jumbled together. Why hadn’t she made time to study? She felt sick to her stomach. Never in all her life had she failed a test. Kari Baxter was an A student. But the questions in front of her might as well have been in Spanish.
None of them looked even a little familiar.
Then something caught Kari’s attention. Samuel, the boy in front of her. He seemed to be looking at the paper of the kid beside him. Samuel leaned over, and stared at the other boy’s work. Next, Kari watched Samuel write something on his own page. And after that Samuel did the same thing again. Copying the other boy’s answers.
Samuel was cheating!
Kari couldn’t believe it. Ms. Nan had already said that if she caught them getting answers from someone else, they’d fail. No second chances.
Focus, she told herself. Time was ticking. Come on, Kari. You know your history facts. She stared at the questions, but still nothing looked familiar. She should’ve done her reading homework last night. Instead she’d spent the evening writing in her journal and talking with Ashley.
Kari’s mouth felt dry. She could feel the minutes melting away. She looked up at Samuel again and paused. If he could get a little help, then couldn’t she maybe… just maybe peek at someone’s answers? She would read the chapters tonight and it would all be fine. She’d know the answers eventually.
At this rate she couldn’t possibly get an A. There wasn’t enough time, even if she could guess the right answers. And anything less than an A wasn’t Kari Baxter–like.
As fast as she could, Kari circled the letters Connor had chosen. A. D. C. A. B. Connor was almost finished, and in no time Kari copied every one of his answers. Kari held her breath as she circled the final letters.
Wait. She stared at her paper. She couldn’t have every answer exactly like Connor’s. Quick as she could she erased one of the circles and chose a different random answer. There. Now no one would know where Kari’s answers had come from.
Her heart pounded so loud she could barely hear the buzzer when it went off.
Ms. Nan stood. “Pencils down, boys and girls.” She smiled. “I’ll be by to pick up your papers.”
Kari set her pencil down and sighed. She would live to see another day as an A-student.
Plus, she hadn’t really cheated. She was just getting advance help. Tonight she would read her history book and she’d have the answers, no problem. Then she’d never miss her history reading again.
A loud sigh came from Liza Waters, the girl next to Kari on the other side. “I had seven left. That’s so many!” Liza had the most beautiful curly hair. She wore the prettiest clothes in sixth grade and everyone liked her.
Kari kept hoping Liza would be her friend, but the two had barely talked. Until now. Liza turned in her desk and faced Kari. “My lifelong wish is to be as good at history as I am at everything else.”
“Yeah.” Kari smiled at Liza. She was confident, for sure. “That was a tough one.” Kari exhaled as if she’d been working hard. “Especially the last question.”
“Wait.” Liza blinked. “You mean… you finished?”
“Yes.” Kari needed to change the subject. “I did. True. But it was still hard.” Kari couldn’t stand to let Liza know where she got her answers. A distraction. That’s what she needed. She pointed to Samuel and dropped her voice low. So only Liza could hear. “Samuel cheated. He looked at that other boy’s paper the whole time!”
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