Army Brats

by Daphne Benedis-Grab

  But Tom bit his lip. He seemed about to say something when the sound of a bugle rang out of the post loudspeaker. The cars driving down Patrick Boulevard came to a halt, and the drivers stepped out of their vehicles. Everyone on the street paused and turned toward the flag that waved in the distance at the central plaza of the post.

  “It’s ‘Retreat,’” Charlotte whispered to Rosie. Her sister nodded, her eyes wide. Though they had heard faint bugle sounds before, this was their first time being near enough to the central square to see it firsthand. The three of them stood still as the song played and then placed their hands on their hearts as “To the Colors” came next, the flag lowering slowly into the hands of a waiting soldier as the last notes shimmered in the air. Then the soldiers on the field went back to training, the drivers got back in their cars, and the normal events of the day resumed.

  “That’s so cool,” Rosie said, her eyes still wide.

  “I know,” Charlotte agreed. The whole thing had given her shivers. Mom said that even after all her years of “Retreat” in the evening, “Reveille” in the morning, and “Taps” late at night, she still got chills every time she stopped and took a few minutes to honor the flag.

  Tom looked relieved. “That means it’s five,” he said. “We’d better head home.”

  He tossed his empty bottle in the recycle bin on the corner, and his sisters did the same.

  Charlotte hadn’t realized it was so late, but Dad had said to be back before five thirty. “Yeah, I guess this means we’ll live to see another day,” she said with a grin.

  Rosie laughed, but as they climbed back on their bikes and headed for home, Charlotte realized that Tom had not even cracked a smile.

  “It’s my turn,” Rosie said fiercely to the girl from her class who was trying to cut the line. Rosie had been waiting for a million hours to go down the water slide at the Fort Patrick pool, and she wasn’t going to wait a second longer than necessary.

  When she’d woken up that morning, the sun was bright, the sky was clear, and Dad had said he’d take them to the pool. Rosie, who had been waiting since that first day to dip her toes into the waters of the best pool she’d ever seen, had been overjoyed, and the pool had not disappointed. It was huge, with a special soaker area with showers that sprayed swimmers, four different diving boards, and two slides—one for little kids, and this one: the big twisty slide that whooshed you out with a huge splash into the deep section of the pool. Rosie had already done it once and she couldn’t wait to go again, this time face-first. Which was why she was angry at Aisha for trying to cut.

  “Oh, sorry,” Aisha said, shrinking back a little at Rosie’s tone. It was only then that Rosie realized it was just a mistake and Aisha hadn’t meant to cut. But then Aisha turned to her friend Oscar who was standing behind them. “That girl is mean,” she whispered.

  “No one wants to be friends with her,” Oscar agreed.

  Rosie whirled around to tell them that she didn’t want to be friends with them or anyone else in her class anyway, but then a big kid in line behind them spoke up. “Are you going down the slide or did you chicken out?” he asked Rosie.

  “I never chicken out,” Rosie cried, stung by the accusation. She grabbed her mat and practically threw herself down the slide. The wind whipped in her hair as she picked up speed, flying around one turn and then getting to the twisty part where water sprayed in her face. She shrieked with delight when she finally went barreling into the pool, the water deliciously cool.

  But as she wiped the water from her eyes and gathered up her mat, there was a muddy feeling in her belly from the things Aisha and Oscar had said. Rosie hadn’t tried to be rude—she just didn’t want anyone cutting in front of her. But now Aisha thought she was mean, and Oscar did too. Plus they probably remembered how on Friday at school Rosie had yelled at Benny for taking too long on the swings and at Debbi for hogging all the markers during art.

  Rosie’s shoulders slumped. She really didn’t think it was her fault, though—they shouldn’t have been so pushy in the first place. And Aisha should be more careful if she didn’t want people getting upset at her for cutting.

  Rosie pulled herself out of the pool, set her mat on the pile next to the slide, and started toward the diving board. The chlorine smell and sounds of little kids squealing with happiness, older kids talking and laughing, and the general festive feel of the pool started to lift her spirits a bit. Maybe she’d do a cannonball from the highest diving board, even though it was almost as tall as a skyscraper. That would be amazing. She started to smile again, just thinking about it.

  “Hey, Rosie Posie, you looked great on the slide,” Dad said, walking up to her. He’d been sitting in the family area, a big grassy section where everyone spread out towels. Lots of grown-ups sat there and chatted or read while kids swam, which Rosie did not understand. It was burning hot, so the place to be was in the pool, not next to it.

  “Yeah, it was really Bravo Zippy,” Rosie said, happy to see Dad, even though he was wearing a big straw hat that looked kind of silly.

  Dad smiled. “I think it’s Bravo Zulu, for good job,” he said. “Which it definitely was. And I saw you talking to some kids up there,” he went on, moving over slightly so a woman and a toddler could go by. “Are they friends from your class?”

  Now Rosie wasn’t happy to see him at all. “No, they aren’t nice,” she said.

  Dad’s expression was very serious as he looked down at her. “Remember about how you need to be nice if you want other kids to be nice?” he asked. “Did you do something that might have hurt feelings?”

  It sounded like Dad was the super-spy, not just Mom. “Not on purpose,” Rosie said. She poked her toe in a little puddle of pool water and used it to draw a line on the concrete.

  “It’s important to remember that other kids have feelings too,” Dad said. “And to be respectful of those feelings.”

  “Okay,” she said. “I’m going to do a big cannonball now. You can watch me.”

  Dad’s shoulders slumped slightly but he nodded, then headed back to where the Baileys had set up camp with their towels, water bottles, and lots of sunscreen.

  Rosie marched toward the diving section, but when she noticed Charlotte sitting on the steps of the shallow end with two girls, she hurried over. “Hi,” Rosie called. Charlotte would be way more fun than Dad.

  “Oh, hi,” Charlotte said in a voice that did not really sound like Charlotte.

  “Who’s this darling little girl?” one of Charlotte’s friends asked. She was wearing a two-piece bathing suit that showed her stomach and only had her feet in the water. The other girl had on heart-shaped sunglasses and she was sitting next to Charlotte on the first step.

  Rosie smiled.

  “My sister, Rosie,” Charlotte said. “Rosie, this is Sophia and Mari, my friends from school.”

  “Does your sister paint your nails for you?” Sophia asked. She began swishing her feet gently in the water.

  “No, that’s too boring,” Rosie said. “But we do play d—”

  Charlotte stood up so fast Rosie nearly let out her own screech of doom. “Rosie, did you do the slide yet?” Charlotte asked.

  “Yeah, twice,” Rosie said, not sure why Charlotte needed to interrupt, especially since Rosie had been planning to invite Charlotte’s new friends over to play dolls with them.

  “Oh, you guys aren’t going to believe this!” Mari said with a gasp. She had lowered her sunglasses and was looking over toward the front entrance of the pool. “Cecilia Baxter is here, and check out that bathing suit.”

  Rosie looked over and saw a girl walking with a younger boy. She was wearing a pink bathing suit. Rosie squinted, but didn’t notice anything special about it.

  “It looks like the kind of suit I wore when I was five.” Sophia laughed. “I mean really, who still wears pink in sixth grade?”

  Mari and Charlotte giggled, but Rosie didn’t think it was very funny. Or very nice. “I like pink,” she inform
ed Sophia, who smiled at her in a way Rosie didn’t care for, like she knew a secret Rosie didn’t.

  “Of course you do, sweetie,” she said. “Pink is fine when you’re a little girl.”

  Rosie opened her mouth to tell Sophia her thoughts about that, but then she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder. A very heavy hand. “Rosie, were you going to go to the slide? Or the diving board? I’ll watch you if you want.” Charlotte was giving Rosie a very serious look.

  Rosie considered protesting, but Charlotte’s friends were kind of boring—the diving board would be more fun after all, especially with an audience.

  “Promise?” she asked.

  Charlotte nodded. “Yes, definitely,” she said.

  So Rosie continued on toward the diving board, excited to impress the girls with her jump.

  The line wasn’t that long, though there were three big boys standing in front of her shoving one another and laughing.

  “Watch it,” Rosie said when one of them bumped into her.

  The boy didn’t even seem to hear her.

  “Hey, isn’t that Sergeant Wimpy?” the tallest one asked, pointing toward the soaker section of the pool. “Maybe we can get him to reenact that picture.”

  The other boys looked over and Rosie did too, but she didn’t see anyone who looked like a sergeant at all. As she scanned the pool area, she did see her brother sitting next to one of the soakers. It was so big, he was almost hidden behind it. In fact, if he was playing hide-and-seek it would be a great spot for hiding.

  “It’s your turn, Chase,” a girl called to the tall boy. He stopped laughing with his friends and headed up the ladder.

  “Tom!” Rosie called, turning back to her brother. “I’m going to do a cannonball. Watch me!”

  Tom didn’t see her at first so she waved both hands over her head. He bit his lip and took a step back when he saw her. Clearly he was worried the diving board was too high.

  “Don’t worry, I can do it!” Rosie shouted.

  It was finally her turn, so she grabbed the sides of the ladder and began climbing up. It really was high. Rosie paused, squinting down at the people swimming. The water was awfully far away. But Rosie was no chicken, so she took a deep breath, ran to the end of the board, and jumped.

  Her heart was nearly thumping out of her chest, and she might have let out a tiny little scream, but she hit the water with a terrific splash, then sank nearly to the bottom. Rosie was utterly exhilarated as she swam up to the surface, laughing when she broke through. That had been amazing! She paddled quickly to the side and looked around. Dad was clapping from where he was sitting with a few of their neighbors, clearly impressed with her. Charlotte gave her a thumbs-up and Tom waved briefly before disappearing into the locker area.

  Rosie beamed, proud of how brave she was and excited to do it again.

  But as she pulled herself out of the pool she caught sight of Aisha sitting on a big shark towel with Oscar. Debbi was with them, along with Ainyr and Khai, who were also in Rosie’s class. They were sharing a pack of gummy bears and laughing. Looking at them together, all cozy on the towel, gave Rosie a hollow feeling right at the center of her chest.

  Just then some water hit Rosie on the back, as though someone had splashed her on purpose. Rosie turned to give this person a very indignant look, but the woman, who was not being careful as she got out of the pool, was too busy talking to her friend to take any notice of Rosie.

  “She was gone all night, and she’s never been gone more than an hour before,” she said, sniffing a little, her soft Southern accent making the words sound even more tragic. Water ran down her braids, hung on the colored beads at the ends, and fell onto her striped blue bathing suit.

  “Pepper’s just having a little adventure,” the other woman said, squeezing water out of her long brown hair. “Dogs like to explore, but I’m sure once she gets hungry, she’ll be back.”

  The first woman shook her head, making the beads clink together. “No, she already missed dinner last night and breakfast this morning,” she said, now sounding tearful. “I think it’s safe to say that Pepper’s gone missing.”

  Missing. The word echoed in Rosie’s head as the two women headed toward the locker room. This dog, Pepper, had disappeared, just like Buddy. An iciness crept over Rosie despite the hot sun, because now what had just seemed strange was what Mom would call a pattern. Two dogs missing could be a coincidence … or it could mean something was going on.

  And Rosie, who had promised Cupcake a reunion with Buddy, was going to get to the bottom of it.

  Charlotte was at the register in the cafeteria playing with her salad fork as the cashier swiped her card. Sophia and Mari were already at their table, and she was eager to join them.

  “Hey, Charlotte,” Tash said, coming to stand in line behind her.

  “Hi,” Charlotte said, smiling at her neighbor and then taking her card back from the cashier.

  As she had mentioned when they first met, Tash was really busy with band practice. She left for school before the Baileys, and Charlotte rarely saw her in the cafeteria. Though now that she thought about it, Charlotte realized it was also possible Tash was there and she hadn’t noticed because she was so busy with Sophia and Mari.

  She gathered up her tray, eager to get over to their table now. “See you later,” she said, making her way toward the sunny table.

  People greeted her as she passed, something she was still getting used to but in a good way, like getting used to candy for dinner every night or unlimited allowance. She was so distracted by all the new faces that she nearly crashed into three boys who were sneaking looks at a phone.

  “Hey,” she said, finally setting her tray down on their table. Sophia and Mari were talking, but they both looked up and smiled at her.

  “I’ve been getting so many compliments on my nails, thanks to you,” Sophia said, striking a pose with her hand held next to her face.

  “They look awesome,” Charlotte said, settling in at her seat. Sophia had used the tape to make different-sized stripes in three colors on gold nails, and Charlotte wasn’t surprised that people noticed. Of course, they noticed and complimented most things about Sophia, but still, her nails looked great.

  “Using tape is such a good trick,” Sophia said. “I never would have thought of it. You really are brilliant, Charlotte.”

  “Actually I didn’t think of it either,” Charlotte admitted. “I read it online.”

  “You still get to take credit for it,” Sophia said firmly as she mixed up her salad so that her dressing was evenly distributed. Charlotte emptied her whole packet of dressing onto her salad—she’d discovered that was the best (and possibly the only) way to make the salads taste good.

  “Okay, you guys, the question for today is, do we think Melanie Whitman was out last week because she had lice?” Sophia asked with a wicked smile.

  “Ew!” Mari screeched.

  “That would be so gross,” Charlotte added, fizziness bubbling in her belly. These moments when Sophia smiled her wicked smile and Mari’s eyes shone, the three of them sharing a delicious secret together, gave Charlotte the frothy, sweet sensation of a newly opened can of root beer.

  Of course she always made sure these things did stay a secret. Like now she looked around to make sure Melanie was far away so she wouldn’t hear them. Charlotte was sure that as long as no one ever knew, these little scraps of gossip were harmless—fun for her and her friends but never actually hurting anyone.

  “She was absent on the second day of school, which is weird,” Sophia said, tipping her head slightly to sneak a look at Melanie, who was sitting at a table in the middle of the cafeteria. When Charlotte looked over a second time she noticed that Tash was now at the table too, along with two other girls including Cecilia of the pink bathing suit.

  “Yeah, and she got that short haircut over the weekend,” Mari added as she speared a grape tomato from her salad. “Charlotte, last year she was always playing with her hair, tryi
ng to get everyone to notice it, so the fact that she’d just cut it all off is definitely fishy.”

  “Totally,” Sophia agreed.

  Charlotte knew firsthand that lice could be treated with special shampoo and a major house cleaning because she’d actually gotten lice in first grade. But she had no plans to mention that or the fact that the haircut might not mean anything. And anyway, it wasn’t like she was an expert—the haircut could have been lice related.

  “I’m staying away from her,” Mari said, curling her lip disdainfully.

  “We all should,” Sophia declared. Charlotte nodded. It wasn’t like any of them hung out with Melanie anyway. She’d never know the difference.

  “Who should we avoid?” It was Jen Sebastian. She had a habit of stopping by their table at least once per lunch period. Not that she was the only one—a lot of girls found reasons to stand and talk to the most popular girls in the grade, and it was one of the many things that made their table so fun.

  “Melanie,” Mari said, tilting her head toward where Melanie was eating a sandwich, unaware of what was being said about her. “She had lice the first week of school.”

  Charlotte shifted slightly in her seat as Jen gasped in horror. Part of her worried that this went just a little too far, because it wasn’t like they knew for sure Melanie had had lice. But on the other hand, she certainly could have, and it was fun to watch Jen react so dramatically. Jen would probably forget about it in five minutes anyway.

  “Yuck, I am not getting near her,” Jen said. She glanced at Melanie and shuddered slightly.

  “Charlotte, I forgot to tell you how cute your sister is,” Sophia said, turning slightly away from Jen, who took the hint and headed toward her own table. “What’s her name again?”

  “Rosie,” Charlotte said, pleased to hear her sister complimented. Though when she remembered Rosie’s near slip about the dolls, she shuddered—it would have been awful to have Sophia and Mari find out Charlotte still played like a little kid sometimes.

  “She’s sweet,” Sophia said, uncapping her seltzer and taking a sip.