And then she heard the doorbell ring. “Lauren,” her mother called, practically singing. “Chrissy’s here!”
She sat up. She had to act normal, natural. She had to feel out Chrissy, figure out how she might react. Should Lauren even mention Charlie? Should she just avoid the subject entirely? Maybe Chrissy wouldn’t remember anything about Charlie. Maybe once they got to the beach, she could separate herself from Chrissy somehow and launch a revised version of the Plan. Lauren sighed. This is why she hated surprises. All her carefully laid plans . . .
Lauren tried to put on a cheerful face as she went downstairs. Chrissy was standing in the front hall next to her mom, a large rolling suitcase and a smaller duffel at her feet. Chrissy squealed with delight and threw her arms around Lauren, hopping up and down with excitement. Chrissy was like that. Enthusiastic and bubbly. Lauren had to admit, it was hard not to feel happy around her.
“My mom accidentally spilled it and told me last week!” she said, her long auburn hair bouncing, her big brown eyes sparkling. Chrissy had a backpack slung on one shoulder and was leaning sideways a little under its weight.
Lauren wondered what was in there. Books? Makeup? The summer math packet? She wasn’t really sure what Chrissy was into. Lauren knew Chrissy was smart and that she got good grades. She was also a good gymnast. But what else? What if Chrissy was really into clog dancing or antique quilt collecting or something else Lauren didn’t know a thing about?
She realized Chrissy was talking to her.
“I’ve been bursting to text you to talk about what to pack and everything, but our moms wanted it to be a surprise so I couldn’t. Were you so, totally, surprised?”
“Totally,” said Lauren, hoping her voice sounded sincere. Of course, she had been surprised, that was for sure.
“Why don’t you bring Chrissy up to your room to help you bring down your stuff?” suggested Lauren’s mom. “Your dad wants to be on the road in an hour or so to get ahead of rush hour traffic. And you know how he gets with his plans.” Yes, Lauren thought. She certainly did.
Chrissy followed Lauren upstairs. Lauren realized with a start that Chrissy had never seen her room. It was weird—they knew each other from school, but this was a totally different situation. Having someone see your room for the first time was always a little stressful. You could tell a lot about a person by looking at her stuff. What if Chrissy didn’t like what she saw? Worse yet, what if she said something rude about Lauren’s room and her decorating taste? This could be a long three weeks.
They walked in and Lauren darted a look around, trying to see her room with new eyes. One wall was covered in torn-out magazine pages, inspirational sayings, and a few posters of boy bands and her favorite actor from a show about teen vampires. She’d recently talked her mom into repainting her room from the little-girly pink to her favorite shade of purple. Her bedspread had a black and purple pattern on it that Lauren loved. The bookshelf was crammed with books, and there were more stacks of books lined up on the floor in front of the bed. Lauren loved to read, and it wasn’t unusual for her to read up to three books in a week, especially during the summer. Her favorite books were mysteries. Would Chrissy think she was too much of a bookworm?
Chrissy threw herself backward on the bed, bouncing up and down a little. “You have an awesome room!” she said. “I love all the purple!”
Lauren smiled with relief and relaxed a little.
“I’m pretty much ready to go,” said Lauren, moving to her dresser and collecting the plastic zipper bag full of shampoo, lotion, and hair accessories. She looked at her packing list and checked all of them off. “Okay, that’s the last of it.”
Chrissy sat up and drew her knees under her chin, hugging her legs and giving Lauren a sly look. “So . . . are you totally psyched to see Charlie again? Do you guys have a plan to meet the second we get there?” Then she lowered her voice and asked in a dramatic stage whisper, “Do your mom and dad know all about him, or do we have to keep it a secret?”
So much for Chrissy not remembering about Charlie. “Um, not—no. Not exactly,” Lauren stammered. She could feel her heart beating fast in her chest. And from the warm feeling on her cheeks, she realized that her face had probably turned beet-red, which had the charming effect of making the freckles sprinkled over the bridge of her nose stand out all the more.
The sly smile fell from Chrissy’s face as she watched Lauren’s transformation, and she immediately looked concerned. “Should I not have brought him up? I’m sorry! Is everything all right between you two? You didn’t, like, break up, did you?”
“No! No, of course not,” said Lauren hastily. Then she thought again. Maybe she should tell Chrissy they had broken up, and that she never wanted to talk about Charlie again. They’d have to avoid him for the entire vacation. But then she’d have to abandon the Love Plan. And wait a whole year before she saw him again. She felt her eyes grow hot. She was not going to cry! That was absolutely positively not going to happen.
“Sorry, Lauren. I didn’t mean to upset you!” Chrissy looked even more concerned and a dark cloud of worry passed over her pretty face. “I’m really sorry if I said something wrong . . . ”
Lauren turned her back on Chrissy, clutching the edge of her desk. What should she do? Her mom always said that she couldn’t go wrong telling the truth. But what if she told Chrissy and Chrissy thought she was an awful liar? And they still had to spend another three weeks together. Lauren gulped.
“Okay, I have to tell you something,” she said in a low voice. She walked over to her door and closed it quietly to make sure her parents couldn’t overhear them.
“What?” asked Chrissy breathlessly.
“It’s a huge secret I haven’t told anyone. Not even my mirror. Do you swear to keep a secret?”
“Swear,” said Chrissy with a solemn expression as she used her finger to draw an imaginary X over her heart. Chrissy slid her knees down and sat on the edge of Lauren’s bed, regarding her with a serious, you-can-trust-me expression.
“I . . . I . . . I am a little embarrassed about this,” said Lauren.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed about anything!” said Chrissy. “After all, we’re going to be living together for the next three weeks.”
I know, Lauren thought miserably to herself.
“Well, I, um, I kind of exaggerated a little about Charlie.”
“You mean he’s not as cute as the lead singer of the Flaming Hearts?” laughed Chrissy. “That’s okay. I never would have held you to that!”
“No, it’s not that. He actually is that cute. Cuter, in fact,” said Lauren with a shaky smile. “The thing is, I exaggerated about us. Well, about our relationship.”
“Oh, that’s okay!” said Chrissy. “My sister always tells me that girls always think it’s more serious than boys do. It happens to her all the time!”
Lauren was flustered but she went on. “No, it’s . . . well . . . Okay we’re not exactly going out.”
“Oh, so you’re just like friends but it might be more?” asked Chrissy. “That happens to my sister too. All of her boy friends are in love with her actually. They always think their friendships are more than they are. But one of them totally turned into her boyfriend. So it can happen!”
Chrissy was not making this easy.
“We aren’t, um, actually, never were . . . We aren’t friends. I just kind of know him to say hi to.” She paused. “But I have a major crush on him and . . . well, I really want to go out with him!”
That was that. The words were out there. They hung in the air between the two girls. Lauren flinched, waiting for Chrissy to laugh at her. Or to look at her like she was crazy. Or to whip out her phone and text everyone from school with the news.
But she didn’t. She smiled. “Okay. Well. So you like him. You have a major crush on him. And you just need to get to know him a little better,” she said, a merry gleam in her bright eyes. “Sounds like we have a little project for this vacation!”
Lauren felt the relief wash over her. Could it really be this easy? “Thanks for not being mad,” she said, feeling a rush of gratitude toward Chrissy.
“Mad? Why would I be mad?”
Lauren shrugged shyly. “Because of how much I talked about him all year,” she said. “I mean, I lied about it.”
Lauren felt uncomfortable for a second. What if Chrissy had suspected all along that Lauren was making it up?
“Whatever,” Chrissy said, waving her hand. “And you didn’t really lie! You just, well, embellished a little, right?”
“I guess,” said Lauren. “I mean I really embellished, though. But I have a plan!”
“What kind of plan?”
Lauren felt encouraged. Chrissy was responding better than she thought she would. Maybe Chrissy could even help her with the Plan. She was going to tell her everything.
“A big plan,” Lauren said in a dramatic voice. She sat down next to Chrissy on the bed. “A foolproof way to get him to realize that he and I are made for each other. It’s called . . . ” Lauren stopped. It seemed silly saying it out loud. “Um . . . I’ve been calling it the Love Plan. But the main part of it is Operation Cell Phone. And, if executed properly, it will not only result in us talking, but it will also give him my number so he can call me and ask me out after he realizes we’re meant to be. I have it planned out step by step. I know we’ll hit it off and that he’ll instantly realize we’re soul mates. At the end of the summer, he will have my number and we can call and text all year until we see each other again next summer.”
“Wow, that sounds awesome,” said Chrissy, nodding enthusiastically.
The girls sat there for a moment, not knowing what to say next.
“So, what do you know about him, besides the fact that he’s gorgeous and that you guys are soul mates?” asked Chrissy.
“Well, he’s very athletic, for sure. But I know he’s really smart too. I’ve seen him reading some seriously heavy-duty novels at the beach. And he’s really into nature and the environment. I saw him walking around in the dunes one day last summer. I’m pretty sure he was looking for garbage to pick up. And I think he might be part of the Youth Conservation Core, because those are the only people allowed to walk in the protected areas of the dunes.”
“Awesome!” said Chrissy. “He sounds amazing. He must—”
“Oh and also?” gushed Lauren. “He loves little kids, just like I do! I mean, how often does that happen, that a boy our age also loves little kids? I know it sounds too good to be true, but I totally saw him playing at the beach last summer with three little kids. The kids were climbing all over him. He was like, totally sweet with them.”
Chrissy giggled. “He does sound awesome.”
“I know,” agreed Lauren.
“Is he our age?”
“I’m pretty sure he’s a year older, going into eighth. But I’m not positive. Last summer he was already a lot taller than me. I think he’s taller than most of the boys at school.” Lauren’s face clouded. “You won’t tell anyone at school, will you? About how I—um, embellished?”
Chrissy stood up and patted her shoulder. “Your secret is totally safe with me. And I’ll help with the plan! So by the time we get to school we won’t have a secret because you’ll really be Charlie’s girlfriend!”
Charlie’s girlfriend. Lauren couldn’t believe how perfect that sounded.
“So how about you?” asked Lauren eagerly. “Do you have a crush?”
Chrissy nodded and sat back down. “I didn’t talk about him much at school, but yeah, I do. His name is Justin. He’s back in Santa Monica, at my old school. We used to take piano from the same teacher and we’d see each other before and after lessons, and at recitals. I had the hugest crush on him forever, and then a few months ago I got up the nerve to text him on his birthday. And he texted me back, and we’ve been e-mailing and texting ever since. So I think we’re actually boyfriend and girlfriend now!”
“That’s awesome,” breathed Lauren. Chrissy had with Justin exactly what Lauren planned to have with Charlie!
“It’s not like we’re going out exactly. I was really hoping I’d be able to see him this summer, that I could go back there with my parents, but they said it was too expensive to fly.” She sighed. “It’s not like I could tell them that I needed to see Justin, so I just had to accept it. I was so upset! Coming to your beach house was like the only good news I’ve had in ages.”
Lauren wondered for a bit why Chrissy had kept Justin a secret from everyone at school. But then she realized that there were some things you just didn’t want to share with everyone.
“Girls!” called Mrs. Silver. “We’re leaving! Chrissy has to say good-bye to her mom, and you guys have to get all your last-minute packing into the car!”
The girls jumped up. Chrissy helped Lauren by grabbing one of her two small bags, and both raced down the stairs. Plans or no plans, the long anticipated vacation was about to be under way.
chapter 3
THE TRIP WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE TWO HOURS, but traffic was bad getting out of the city and it was closer to three by the time they finally pulled into the shaded, gravel driveway alongside the brown clapboard house. Chrissy’s eyes widened as she peered out at it from the back seat.
“Wow,” she breathed. “It’s so pretty here.”
Again, Lauren felt relieved. She thought the house was pretty, but it wasn’t a very large house. And it wasn’t right on the beach. Still, Lauren loved it, and she had been a little nervous wondering what Chrissy would think of it. She felt the same amazing feeling she always felt, ever since her family had bought it as a major fixer-upper from an elderly lady when Lauren was only five. In the front yard stood a huge old tree with a knotted rope for climbing. On the side of the house, facing south, orangey-pink climbing roses grew up a trellis all the way to the roof. As they got out of the car, Lauren could smell the rose-scented, salty sea air.
“Why don’t you two bring your things up to Lauren’s room? Mom and I will unpack the rest while you give Chrissy a tour, all right?” suggested Mr. Silver.
The girls pulled their suitcases from the mass of stuff in the back of the minivan, and Lauren led the way around to the back of the house, leaning to one side with the weight of her bag, her opposite arm high in the air for balance.
“Here’s where we always keep the key,” she said, showing Chrissy a loose shingle that swiveled to the side, revealing a key on a hook. She fiddled with the key in the lock and then banged the door open with her hip.
They stepped into the kitchen. It smelled faintly of polish, of the bacon that had been cooked for countless breakfasts over so many years, and ever so slightly musty and damp. Lauren loved this kitchen. The afternoon sunbeams, dancing with dust motes, played across the battered old table in the middle of the floor. They glinted off the gleaming old appliances. There was the old-fashioned mixer on the counter, with which she and her dad had created countless cakes and cookies. She led the way through the kitchen and into the hallway, then up the central staircase to the room at the top of the stairs and on the right.
Lauren’s room was bright and sunny, with two twin beds separated by a battered table stacked with Lauren’s old books, and gauzy white curtains that billowed in the afternoon breeze. Faded, flowered wallpaper gave it an antique feel that Lauren loved. It had been the same way ever since Lauren could remember, but she always liked it. Lauren realized that no one had ever slept on the spare bed in her room, besides Grampy when he came to stay with them.
“This. Is. Totally. Awesome.” said Chrissy, putting down her bags. “It’s so great that you don’t have to share it with anyone. Well, I mean except for me this summer!” she said, laughing.
Lauren agreed. “Being an only child does have some advantages. We have our own bathroom, too,” she said, gesturing to a door off the far end of the room. “Go ahead and unpack if you want, and then we can walk around and I’ll show you the town and the beach. It’s probably
too late for swimming, but my dad says tomorrow is supposed to be a perfect beach day.”
Chrissy moved over to the window. “The roses have grown all the way up and around the windows. It’s like Rapunzel’s tower or something!” she said excitedly, glancing over her shoulder to grin at Lauren. “I’m totally expecting a bluebird to land on the windowsill, or to see Prince Charming down there on a white horse. And look! You can see the ocean from here!” she squealed as she pointed out the window.
“Yep. It’s just a two-block walk to our beach. But the one all the kids our age like to go to is a block from town, on the other side. It’s called Crane’s Beach, and it’s literally a five-minute walk from here.” Lauren was delighted that Chrissy liked the house, and her room. And she hadn’t even seen the beaches yet! Lauren’s dad had travelled all over the world for work, but he’d said many times that the beaches around East Harbor were among the most beautiful he’d ever seen.
They both changed into clean shorts and tees. Chrissy scrutinized Lauren’s bright pink striped tee and white shorts, and suddenly snapped her fingers. “Oooh, what size shoes do you wear?” she asked Lauren as she knelt and began digging around in her suitcase. Lauren told her and Chrissy grinned. “I knew it—same size as me!” She pulled her hands from her suitcase and Lauren could see she was holding three different pairs of neon rubber flip-flops—green, pink, and yellow. “These were on sale buy-two-get-one-free and so my mom let me get all of them! I’m going to wear the yellow, but do you want to borrow the pink? They would look totally cute with your T-shirt.”
Lauren happily kicked off her blue flip-flops and tried on Chrissy’s pair. They did look perfect with her outfit. “Are you sure?” she asked tentatively.
“Of course! My flip-flops are your flip-flops!” Chrissy said happily. “This vacation you have doubled your wardrobe!” She giggled. “I take my sister’s stuff all the time and she yells at me, but you’re welcome to borrow anything.”
Lauren's Beach Crush Page 2