Crushing Summer

by C. M. Stunich

  “Julie, save your breath,” Casper said, but his voice was soft, even softer than mine.

  “It's just a cough, Casper,” she choked out as I finally emerged out the end of the tunnel and spun to help her, grabbing her hands and pulling her into the bubble of open space beneath the earth. There wasn't much of an entrance into this particular cave. The mouth was narrow and wide, filled with water that bubbled and licked at our flesh as it rose and fell, reminding us that we were only temporary fixtures here, that we couldn't stay long.

  Julie's hands were flecked with little spots of blood that she quickly washed away in the surf, hiding the evidence before her brother emerged behind her, covered in sweat and panting. He slicked his hair back as he collapsed to his side and looked up at the low ceiling with a grimace. Surf kissed his dark hair and brushed across his skin, drawing goose bumps along his bare flesh.

  “It's not just a cough, Julie,” he said, as he glanced up, presumably looking for blood. She didn't show him anything but a smile and continued talking.

  “I've always thought it would be fun to trade places with someone legendary, someone whose name won't be erased in time.” She sat back against the wall and closed her eyes. “First name that comes to mind … Casper?”

  “I'm not playing this game, Julie,” he said, sounding tired. I imagined that it couldn't be easy on him, looking out for her all the time, worrying, afraid that around the corner, something bad might be waiting to take her away.

  “Chloe?”

  I thought for a moment, trying to word my answer carefully. I felt like honesty was vastly important, even in this hypothetical situation. I still felt guilty for the almost lie I'd told Casper earlier. I should've just told him the truth – that my friend and her boyfriend had called the cavalry and they were out for blood.

  “Odysseus.”

  Julie grinned.

  “From The Odyssey?”

  I shrugged, reaching up to pick bits of kelp from my hair.

  “I mean, just for a day or two. I don't know if I could handle the weight of Olympus on my shoulders for a lifetime.” Julie grinned at me, and I smiled back.

  “I'd like to be the Oracle at Delphi, breathing in noxious gasses and uttering mad prophesies. Or, barring that, maybe Athena. I suppose it wouldn't be so terrible to be a goddess. Well, except for the whole immortality thing. That would blow.”

  “Hello?” It was Heidi's voice, echoing through the tunnel and bouncing around the rock. Even though I knew she was quite a ways away from us, it sounded like she was just outside the rock. “Chloe, are you in here?” I knew Heidi knew about the tunnel though she'd never climbed through it. All it would take though would be a brave soul or two, someone trying to show off, and we'd be trapped. I held a finger to my lips and turned around, ducking into the next portion of the tunnel and sliding along my belly in the shallow water. This was by far the worst part. If we could get through here, we'd be home free.

  Well, sort of. I still had to go into the bank, shoeless and wet, covered in sand, and explain to my dad why I needed a ride home. Not exactly my idea of fun, but there it was. He'd understand. He'd been the Heartthrob back in his day. It was rough. Having a whole town full of admirers is not as fun as it sounds. Dad had even been kidnapped once and tied to a chair by a crazy chick from his class.

  And then a year later, he'd married her. Yes, my mother had kidnapped my dad during the Assignment. Explains a lot, huh?

  “This is the hardest part. Once we're past this, it'll get easier,” I whispered as I rose to my knees and snuck a glance over my shoulder. As tiny as she was, Julie had no problem getting through the low point. But Casper …

  “Shit,” he growled as his arms appeared first, and then his head. It was his chest and shoulders that were having a hard time squeezing through the rock, keeping him trapped in a very awkward position. I could only imagine what the others would think if they came in and found his feet sticking out into the cave. “You weren't kidding, were you?” he asked as he pushed the goopy sand aside and dug his fingers into the sticky clay beneath looking for a handhold. “This is ridiculous. I should've just stayed back there and beat those jerks up.” Julie and I waited while Casper grumbled and clawed his way through. He made it just barely and ended up red faced and pissed behind his sister. When his eyes met mine, I had to look away. I was really screwing up this whole first impression bit. Casper Alice and I were off to a very rough start.

  I turned back around and kept going, passing through a series of medium sized caves, just tall enough to stand in. We took a break in each one, and Julie and I continued our conversation about fictional characters while Casper sat quiet and pale.

  When we finally emerged into sunshine an hour later, we were all blinking at the brightness like we'd never seen anything like it before.

  “What an adventure that must have been,” said a voice behind us. When I turned, I found Cage Lawrence on the rock behind us. He was dressed in a pair of purple board shorts and dark sunglasses. He smiled at us with tight lips and glanced over his shoulder like he was worried about someone stumbling upon us. At first, I was afraid he was with the group from the other beach, but when I glanced up at the parking lot, it was just his car that adorned the blue of the skyline.

  “How did you get here?” I asked him, watching as Casper brushed sand from his pants and glared, not bothering to hide the distrust in his eyes. If he had to, he'd defend his sister, but I could tell he wasn't one to seek out conflict. It wasn't really his style.

  Cage lifted his glasses and turned his smile up a notch as he took in Julie and her brother with an amused glance.

  “What happened to that thing you had with your dad?” I asked, drawing his attention back to me. At least he looked guilty about being caught hanging out at the beach after he'd turned me down. I wasn't mad, not really, but it was kind of off-putting. I looked back over at Casper. If Cage was really going to play by the rules, and, as King, he should've been, it would be his duty to make sure that Julie felt unwelcome, maybe even to call in the other Students from across the rocks.

  Instead, he just sighed and pulled his glasses off his head, running a hand through his hair.

  “You want to know the truth?” he asked as I glanced around, running my fingers down my arm and letting the sun penetrate deep into my flesh, my bones, fill me up with the warmth and replace the shadows of the caves. “Things didn't exactly go as planned. My dad has some … issues with me and the way I like to do things.” Cage smiled and slid down the rock, nodding his chin at Julie. “We don't exactly see eye to eye on some critical issues.”

  “Like what hair gel to use?” Casper interrupted, moving between Cage and his sister. No doubt my fear had seeped into him, and he was taking this seriously now.

  “Not exactly,” Cage replied, letting his slanted eyes move up and down Casper's body, taking stock of him. Apparently, he didn't consider the guy much of a threat because he moved his gaze back to mine. “We had a fight, and I ran off. Wish I could say it was an unusual occurrence.” Cage sighed and glanced over his shoulder. Even with the crash of the waves and the shouts of the gulls overheard, we could hear the raucous from across the Mohawk cliffs, echoing around us and tainting the quiet peacefulness of the air. “But I'm still looking forward to tonight, if you'll have me.” Cage grinned and winked, and I smiled back before I realized that Casper was staring at me. No, studying me, watching to see my reaction to Cage's flirting. Apparently, whatever test he was running, I failed. “Can I offer you a ride?” he asked us, reaching behind himself and grabbing his shirt. He slipped it over the bronze smoothness of his chest and looked straight at Casper.

  “That would be nice,” Julie quipped, sliding out from behind her brother and giving him a look. “Otherwise we're stuck walking to the bank and begging a ride off Chloe's dad.” Julie shrugged and didn't seem all that worried about accepting the offer. I wanted to trust Cage, but I didn't know if I could. He was King, after all.

  “
We're fine. We don't need a ride. We're not that far from the bus anyway.”

  “Oh, come on, Casper,” Julie said with a roll of her eyes. “The bus?”

  He cast a look at me which I returned, full force. I wasn't ashamed. He and I, we weren't anything yet. If I wanted to go on a date with Cage, who was stopping me? But inside my heart, it felt wrong, and I didn't know why.

  “See you around,” he said, and then he started off across the sand, just like that. Julie gave me a look and mouthed the words I'm sorry before spinning around and following after him, pulling her skirts out as she went and letting them drift around her sand soaked legs.

  “See you around,” I whispered back because I didn't know what else to say. What was I supposed to do? Call out after him? It was an awkward moment, made even more so by the fact that I had no idea why Casper was so angry. Was it the cave thing? Was it Cage? I had no clue.

  “So,” Cage began, drawing my attention from Casper's back to his sun kissed face. “You want to hit the boardwalk early? Get in some of the good stuff before the crowds show up.” He smiled and the look was genuine. I wondered if I should be mad at him, but I couldn't seem to find the emotion. The sad thing was, I couldn't tell if it was simply because I believed his story, or if I just didn't care enough to be angry.

  “Sounds good,” I told him, sweeping some salty, wet hair over my shoulder. I could still hear the others' voices echoing over the rocks. It didn't matter if they found us now, since Casper and Julie were gone, but at the same time, I knew that if we did run into them, we'd end up with an entourage. And that, that was something I could live without. “Mind if I go home and get changed first?” Cage nodded and then glanced over his shoulder. Somewhere nearby, I heard a rock tumbling down into the sand, but when I moved forward to take a look, Cage took my hand in his. His skin was warm and dry, comforting.

  “I'm glad I ran into you, Chloe,” he said and then he pressed the softest of kisses against my cheek.

  The drive back to my house was quiet. It seemed that both Cage and I had other things on our minds. As we pulled to a stop at a light a few blocks from my street, I caught a familiar car in the rearview mirror. It was Heidi. As I leaned up in my seat to peep at her, I could see her waving her arms around frantically and shaking her cell phone. Unfortunately, my phone was back in Casper's car, along with my purse. Hopefully, Cage was as much a gentleman as he pretended to be. If we went to the boardwalk and had to split the tab, well, then I'd be screwed.

  “Is that your friend?” he asked me when he noticed what I was staring at. I slumped back in the seat and tried to smile. I didn't really want to talk to Heidi, but it was pretty obvious that she was following me. Or rather, her and Justin were following me.

  “Yep, that's her,” I said, catching myself before I could launch into a rant about the beach. She and Justin obviously tipped everyone else off. How else would they have all ended up at the same spot as us? It was too eerie to be a coincidence. I trusted her and she betrayed me. I'd forgive her, eventually, but first I had to find out why. Even if she hadn't actually made the call, she knew better than to tell Justin. He had a poor track record for keeping secrets. “I imagine she'll want to come to the boardwalk with us.” I tried not to sound disappointed about it, but Cage caught the note of irritation in my voice.

  “Shall I order her away?” he asked, and even though he was smiling, joking about it, he meant it. As King, he could simply tell Heidi and Justin to get lost and they'd go. That was it. I nibbled on my lip, but as the light turned green, I couldn't come up with an answer. I didn't want to use the Assignment to get my way, not when I was so against it. How hypocritical was that?

  Cage didn't press the matter and pulled into my driveway without another word.

  “Would you like to come in?” I asked him as I unbuckled my seat belt and listened to the sounds of Heidi and Justin climbing out of the car. I watched in the side mirror, pursing my lips at the sight of her boyfriend emerging from the driver's side door. Something about him just struck me the wrong way. I could never quite put my finger on what it was about him that I disliked, but the feeling was there, simmering with distrust and suspicion, even though he'd never been anything but nice to me. Fake nice, maybe, but nice.

  “Actually,” Cage said, licking his full lower lip and swinging out the door in his board shorts and flip flops. “There's something I'd like to talk to Justin about, if you don't mind.” He slipped some sunglasses on his face and slammed the door, letting a self-assured smile slide over his mouth.

  Justin paled a little at the sight and paused about halfway down the driveway.

  “Bloody hell,” Heidi cursed, coming up to me panting, like she'd run all the way here instead of been chauffeured. “Why didn't you answer your phone?” I gave her a tight smile and shrugged.

  “Left it in Casper's car,” I said simply, waiting for her to come clean. I knew my friend too well. I could see the guilt glimmering behind her bright turquoise eyes. “Why? Something you want to talk to me about?”

  She stood up and huffed, tossing her blonde ponytail over her shoulder. Her tongue was stuck to her teeth, a sign that she contemplating what to say next. I stood there with bated breath, praying that she'd do more than just stand there, that she'd look me in the eye and say it, that she'd tell me she was sorry.

  Instead all I got was this: “Everyone knows you and Cage are heading to the boardwalk tonight. The line's already around the block with Shayla at its head, and she's not happy.”

  I stared into Heidi's turquoise eyes and let a frown darken my lips. She turned her gaze to the upstairs window where my sister was no doubt spying on us. On the other side of the car, Justin and Cage were speaking to one another in hushed voices.

  “What?” Heidi snapped at me after awhile, turning her face back to mine. “What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry I slipped up? That I told Justin who we went to the beach with.” She pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her skimpy tank top. Sometime since she'd left, she'd managed to find the time to change. Her shirt was white, and the bra underneath, purple. Not my favorite combination, but very much a Heidi sort of thing to wear. “Look, what do you want me to do? I already broke the rules of the Assignment by even going there with them. I had to save face.”

  I scrunched up my face. I knew I was looking at her pityingly, but I couldn't help myself. I seriously just felt sorry for her, for all of them. And this is why I didn't want to play. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my bowing out of the Assignment wasn't just because of the drowning, or my boring life, or even Casper. It was about this. This disconnect with human empathy. Maybe I was more emotionally mature than the rest of my peers? I don't know, but I just felt ashamed at being a participant.

  “I'm sorry, Heidi,” I told her when what I really meant was I'm sorry for you, sorry that you felt that way, that you betrayed me. I turned around and tried not to look at the mailbox, stuffed to the gills with chocolates and flowers and cards. The porch was covered, too, just drenched in the stuff. At least nobody was here. I guess they were all at the boardwalk, waiting to jump me. I shivered.

  “That's okay,” Heidi said, oblivious to my feelings. She trailed after me as I tested the front door and found it locked. With my keys also in Casper's car, I had no choice but to knock and wait for my little sister to come down and let me in. “So, what are you going to wear tonight? All eyes are going to be on you and Cage, you know.” Without skipping a beat, my friend jumped right into another subject. My heart felt tight and my emotions topsy-turvy, but I didn't want to fight with her. Like I said, to me, friends are forever. Besides, if I was honest with myself, I knew it was probably Justin and not Heidi that had spilled the word. She'd told him, and he'd told everybody. It was like a glorified game of telephone, and I couldn't stay mad at her for that. I wanted to, but I couldn't. Neither Casper or Julie had gotten hurt today anyway.

  “Where are your keys?” Kaitlyn asked, letting me and Heidi in and pe
eping out the front door for a desperate glimpse of Cage and Justin. I couldn't believe how boy crazy my sister was, and she was only twelve. It kind of scared me a little.

  “Eff off, brat,” Heidi said, poking my sister between the eyes. Only she didn't just say eff. Kaitlyn ignored her and rolled her eyes, moving past us and standing on the porch, gaze focused on the two boys. I think she was living vicariously through me. Scary thought.

  “So?” Heidi asked, following me down the stairs to my room. I swallowed and tried to clear my dry throat. If I didn't speak to her soon, she'd know I was still mad and then she'd get even more pissed off, and … The whole scenario just made me feel tired. I wonder if Casper and Julie will show up tonight? God, I hope not. It seemed like Casper was taking my warnings seriously, but if he changed his mind … or Julie snuck out by herself. I shivered.

  “Um, a sundress?” I supplied uselessly while my friend tore open the doors to my armoire and started shoving things aside with her pink fingernails.

  “Nope.” She glanced back at me and wrinkled her blonde brows before turning back to the clothes. “Nope. Nope. Nope.” She sighed and shook her head. “Don't you have anything from this season?” I shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed. I was excited to go the boardwalk before, when I thought I might be able to get at least a few minutes of peace before the crowd showed up, but now that I knew they were already waiting? It sounded like hell.

  The Crush.

  How on earth did I get picked to be Crush? It just didn't make any sense. There were plenty of other girls that would've died for this spot. I cringed when I thought of Tatiana again.

  “Just hand me the purple one. I'll cut off some of the skirt and add some lace.” I held out my hand for the lavender dress with the blue flowers.