When the alarm went off at six the next days, I was dismayed to learn that February’s routine was almost identical to January’s where the vocal exercises were replaced by a round of ballet pliés at the bar installed in her room. Oh, and breakfast was a green protein smoothie. Yuk!
I checked my planner while I waited for the bus and realized that January and February had the exact same schedule with different teachers. When the lunch bell rang, I hopped on the bus that took us to our gymnastics club. Again, it was a thirty-minute ride and I ate on the bus. Lunch was bland but nutritious.
I chatted with the same friends from the weekend, Trish and Noemie. When we arrived, we split into levels and began the warm-up. Preparation, jump rope, head and wrist rolls, high toe walks, stretching, and splits. Then we spent some time working on each of the four skills.
When I got back to school, Mom was there to pick me up. Sweet! She handed me a sports drink and asked about my day. We chatted on the ten-minute ride home and she told me my dinner was in the oven. She had to work tonight and would be home by nine.
I headed straight for the hot tub. We have a hot tub! The warm water and bubbles took the kinks out of the day. When my fifteen minutes were up, I hopped into the shower and put on my pajamas.
I had a solitary dinner in the kitchen while reading a short story for English Language Arts class. After dinner, I got my homework done, brushed my teeth and I was in bed by nine. I was wiped.
The next morning, Mom asked if I minded walking to ballet class after school since she had to work. I told her it was fine. It’s only a ten-minute walk from home and the fresh air would do me good.
At lunchtime, I was happy to report that February did not do her homework. Instead, she was registered in a half-hour yoga class that started right after the lunch bell. Trish and Noemie took it too. We had lunch on a bench outside after the class. We were very relaxed and didn’t have much to say.
Ballet class was interesting. It’s a multi-age group and it’s not a competitive class. It’s my understanding that the point was to work on flexibility and grace to improve the floor events. The Zumba class on Thursdays, after school, was to improve rhythm and coordination.
The week zipped by. On Friday night, Mom and I watched a movie together but by nine we were both in bed, exhausted. I think Mom worked a lot more in this reality. I assumed it’s because gymnastics was an expensive sport. She never complained, and I was grateful for everything she did for me.
I spent Saturday morning at the club. We had a one-hour class called Mental Toughness Training. We worked on visualization, staying in the present, using a mantra, letting go of past failures, and the art of focusing. It’s not bad.
Then came the tough part. We each had a strength training routine to follow. A few personal trainers were on hand to ensure we performed the exercises correctly so as not to cause injury. They were also very firm in their motivational speeches. Now I knew why we had a hot tub.
After a well-deserved soak and a huge lunch, I had a power nap. Now I was ready for homework, which I did straight until Mom called me for dinner.
To my surprise, Nana was here and she had brought dinner! I often ate with her on Saturdays because it was my high-carb day. Tonight, we were having spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread, and apple pie a la mode. Shelley was also here to pick Mom up for date night.
This Nana was also planning a trip to Morocco. We spent the evening looking at pictures from her trip to Amsterdam and painting our toenails. She stayed over since Mom was staying at Shelley’s.
On Sunday morning, we slept in, well until eight, and it felt like a splurge. Nana and I had breakfast and then she left to go to church. She made me a Mom-approved lunch in the fridge and told me Mom would be back for dinner.
I spent all day on homework, stopping only for lunch and a walk at midday. Mom and Shelley got back around four, soaked in the hot tub, and made dinner. We had dinner together and Shelley left after the dishes were done.
The next two and a half weeks were more of the same. On the twenty-sixth of March, six juniors and six seniors from the gym club piled into a bus with Shelley and two volunteer moms and headed for the first technical Elite competition in Ottawa. We would be there for two days, staying in hotel rooms, four girls to a room. I was staying with Trish, Noemie, and Sarah, Noemie’s younger sister.
The vibe was a lot more intense than it had been at the competition in Montreal. This was a much bigger event and the stakes were higher. I would be a basket case, but February was calm, cool, and collected. Perhaps I should look into those Mental Toughness classes. They seemed to be paying off.
Thirty-two athletes got to compete at the Canadian Championships. Eight for each apparatus. There were two Technical trials. They retained the athlete’s best score for each apparatus. If they were in the top eight in at least one event, and their total score was at least 18.6 out of 24, they were in. So, it was important to do well in all four events.
My performance on the bars was stellar and not only was I in the eight, but I was also in the top three. I couldn’t believe I grabbed the last spot on the beam. Those ballet classes were a good idea. My total score was 18.8 and I was happy. I’ve got a month to keep working at it before the second trial.
The bus ride home was very quiet. We had been running on adrenaline and the team was wiped out. If January’s life had made me feel like a slacker, February made me feel downright lazy, I thought before I fell asleep.
Chapter 14
When I opened my eyes, April was sitting beside me. I stretched, expecting to be sore from the last two days of competition, but I felt like I had just woken from a luxurious nap. I turned around, hoping to say a few words to February, but she was gone. So was the Teacher and all the other girls.
It was just January, April, and me on the sofa. I looked to January. Did she do this every night? Didn’t she have better things to dream about than overseeing me swim through time and space?
“What exactly does being a team leader entail?” I asked her. She seemed to understand I needed this little palate cleanser before jumping into April’s life.
“A team leader is, of course, responsible for the group and acts as their representative in larger gatherings,” she said. Seeing the confusion on my face, she continued, “there are monthly meetings for each age group with one of the Managers. They keep tabs on what’s going on in our lives and replace girls as needed.”
“You mean like if a girl’s timeline changes drastically, she moves to another group, right?”
“Yes. And with every birthday, the groups are reassessed based on reality similarities. Under the age of sixteen, there is a lot of movement due to the parents’ decisions. The older we get, the more stable our groups tend to be. Girls also need to be replaced when they die,” she replied.
I made an ‘o’ with my mouth and nodded. Right, we all died. But the moment we died was different based on the reality we were in. Before I started wondering how I might die, I pushed the thought away and asked, “is that it? Any special privileges?”
January smiled. “As Team Leader, I get to be January. This means I have access to all the memories of the last year instead of only the last month. It saves us from having to interact with too many girls when we want to change something. The position is also a pre-requisite to becoming a Teacher, which is my goal,” said January.
“Oh, cool,” I said, and I could feel April getting antsy beside me. Accessing the timeline was all that stood between her and what she wanted to do. Though I’d still have May through December to visit, she’d be good to go. Well, she still needed our agreement. Which I assume we’d provide in some kind of group meeting.
I smiled at her and held out my hands. Though I was not all that keen on visiting her life, I couldn’t wait to see Dad again.
* * *
I braced myself for some kind of debate club camp, but when I opened my eyes I saw I was drooling on Penny’s shoulder. She’s asleep too, her head restin
g on the plane’s window. A peek outside revealed turquoise blue ocean for miles. A rush of excitement came over me. I turned to tell Mom to look, but I came face to face with Dad. He was looking at me in amusement.
“Can’t beat the view, right?” he said, then turned to nudge Mom. She was asleep in the seat across the aisle. When she didn’t wake up, he gave up and turned back to me. “Bob told me they have free snorkeling trips every day. Can you imagine looking at tropical fish in that water?” he asked.
“I can’t wait! When do we land?” I asked.
Dad checked the wall monitor and told me we would land in about thirty minutes. As though on cue, the captain came on the air and told us we’d be landing shortly and that the flight attendant would be going down the aisles to pick up the trash.
Dad kissed my forehead and got up to go back to his seat next to Mom. Penny woke up and whooped when she looked out the window. I’d want to pretend it was no big deal, but April was a good sister and they squealed together. Cozumel, here we come!
Once we had landed, gone through customs, and picked up our luggage, we headed for the row of buses taking guests to the all-inclusive resorts. I kept an eye out for the Royal Cozumel Resort and spotted it, four buses from the last.
Penny and I could no longer contain ourselves, and ran all the way to the bus. It was too nice out to get on the bus, so we waited for Mom and Dad to catch up. Besides, Mom had our travel papers.
It was a short bus ride to the hotel and the view was amazing all the way. We were greeted with mocktails and loud fiesta music. This was going to be so much fun. I was literally as excited as April was. It’s the first family vacation we’ve had to take a plane for.
We usually spent March break at home since my parents had to work. Our annual trip happened in July. Nana’s friend had a cottage in Prince Edward Island that she rented to us for two weeks every year. It was amazing, but this was is going to epic.
For one thing, the water would be clear and warm. Even in late July, the water in PEI never went above twenty degrees Celsius. In Cozumel, the daily average was twenty-six degrees. Also, the sand here was fine and white, whereas it was blown and grainy over there. Oh, and did I mention they had six pools, a club just for teens, and a seaside mini-waterpark?
On the ride up the elevator, we checked out our bracelets. They’re purple and let us eat and drink anything, anywhere, anytime on the resort. Non-alcoholic, of course. Mom and Dad’s bracelets were blue.
On the eleventh floor, the bellboy led the way and opened the door to our suite. A suite! While Dad was tipping him, I had already my phone out, taking a thousand pictures, and Penny and I scrambled to the deck just off the living room.
Beach and ocean. For miles. I took a deep breath and inhaled the salty air. I was grinning ear to ear when I felt Dad’s hand on my shoulders. In a rush of love, I turned and hugged him really tight. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I said, my voice muffled in his shirt.
“You’re welcome, starfish. I hope you girls have fun. Have you checked out your room?” he asked, pointing to the right. I realized just then that there were, in fact, three balconies. The one on the right had a divider.
Penny and I looked at each other and rushed back into the living room. The door to our bedroom was open and Dad had placed our luggage on the luggage stands at the end of the beds. He knew us well. Penny had the one near the wall. I had the bed nearest the window.
I was torn between throwing the patio doors open, jumping on the bed like Penny was doing, or snapping pics before she messed up the whole room.
I opted for taking photos. We had our own outer door and bathroom. We even had a fridge, a coffeemaker, and some snacks. The bed was comfy, and the view on the deck was the same as on the other deck.
I posted the pics to my account and shoot off a quick message to Sam and Julie. Heading back to the living room, I followed Mom’s and Dad’s voices to their room. It’s similar to ours in decor but it’s a lot bigger. They had an ensuite bathroom, but no door leading out of the room. They had a small seating area in front of patio doors, and their patio had lounge chairs in addition to the regular chairs and table.
“Put your suits on and let’s meet in the kitchen in ten minutes,” he said, and we made off like fiends.
Back in the kitchen, Dad laid out the map of the resort. He told us there was also an interactive app we could download. He pointed out the area where was the cabana he and Mom had rented for the week. He wanted us to meet there twice a day to make sure everyone was alright. He expected us to have dinner together every night at eight in the evening. Otherwise, Penny and I were free.
Mom said I could only leave Penny if she was at the kids’ club under adult supervision and I should keep my phone on me at all times, with the location tracker on. Dad had given us these waterproof cases to keep our phones in and there was a chip in our bracelets so we didn’t need door keys.
“Should we go down for lunch?” I asked tentatively.
“Your mom and I want to unpack and have a drink here on the deck first. You know, to settle in. But you guys can go on ahead. We should be at the cabana by two in the evening. And we’ll have our phones too,” he replied. Penny was pulling my arm towards the door.
“Go on, get the lay of the land,” said Mom and I gave in to Penny.
I suggested we grab lunch and do a quick recon mission, then come back for our stuff for the beach. Penny was nodding, but I could tell she was not listening. I laughed and we waved goodbye to Mom and Dad.
On the way down, I installed the app on my phone. I checked the time and told Penny we had three options for lunch. Her eyes bugged out when I mentioned the all-day-burgers-and-fries restaurant. Ok, off to The Grill.
It proved to be a great choice. The Grill was on the oceanfront, didn’t require a shirt—only shoes—and also had tacos, chips, and a DIY ice cream swirl machine with loads of topping choices. Penny’s in Heaven, and I admit this was the sweet life. We grabbed a table overlooking the ocean and the waiter brought us a couple of iced teas.
After lunch, we headed to the beach to check out the water temperature. It was heavenly, and I had to peel Penny back to keep her from heading in. I told her we needed to let lunch sink in a bit before we went swimming.
First up on our tour was the kids’ club. There were actually three clubs. The baby club, which was basically daycare. Then, the kids’ club that was for kids six to twelve. It was a lot like day camp. Some kids were registered for the week. They reported every morning after breakfast and parents picked them up again at four. Penny could come and go as she pleased. It was a family vacation, and our parents wanted to spend time with us.
Next was the teen club, for kids thirteen to eighteen. The legal drinking age in Cozumel was the same as in Canada, eighteen. The club was actually the teen bar. Most of the activities were up on the board. They didn’t start until noon and ran until ten at night.
We went to check out the pools and grabbed our complimentary beach towels while we were there. Mom and Dad would have to get their own because it was one towel per bracelet per day.
When we got to the room, my parents were just about ready to head out. They waited for Penny and me to gather our stuff and we all went down together.
The week was amazing. It had been a while since April had so much fun with her family. I, on the other hand, had never felt this innate sense of belonging. I was tan, happy, and couldn’t wait to see Sam by the time we were on the plane trip back.
Chapter 15
Our perfect family vacation was completely ruined minutes before we reached the elevator to the parking garage. When Dad handed in our declaration and passports at the last checkpoint, he was swiftly escorted through a door simply labelled “Authorized Personnel Only.” It happened so fast that he was gone before we even knew what happened.
Meanwhile, Mom, Penny, and I were ushered into a nearby room. Mom tried to get information out of the female customs officer, but all she told us was to st
ay put and await for further instructions.
I had seen enough movies to recognize it as an interrogation room. I tried the door and when I found it locked, I started to panic. “Mom, they’ve locked us in!” I shrieked.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” replied Mom, as she tried the handle. Color drained from her face and she knocked on the door. “Excuse me? Can someone open the door? We’ve been locked in,” she said in a strained voice. There was no response from the other side.
I did the same, but on what I assume was a double-sided mirror on the wall. Nothing.
Penny looked up from her tablet and asked, “where’s Dad? Did he go and get the car?”
I looked to Mom. She looked at me, then at Penny. “Yes, dear. He’ll be back in a little while.” Penny put her headphones back on and resumed her game. She moved closer to me and said in a low voice, “I don’t know what’s going on, but we should avoid talking in here until we know what’s going on.”
I took Penny to sit on some chairs. I grabbed my phone and checked my messages.
Mom made a call. “Riley, it’s me. I need your help. I know this isn’t your area of expertise, but we’re being detained by the authorities at the Montreal airport. I’m alone in a room with the kids, and they’ve taken Parker somewhere else,” she said.
Mom answered a few of Uncle Riley’s questions. I guessed he was a lawyer in this reality, too. After a minute or two, she thanked him and hanged up. She checked her watch and frowned. She seemed to be debating with herself.
She made another call. “Hi Mom. I don’t want you to worry. We’re still at the airport waiting on some misplaced luggage. We’ll probably grab dinner on the way home and get in later than planned. Is it okay if I call you tomorrow?” she asked. Nana had apparently agreed as Mom ended the call with a happy, “thanks, love you!”
Now I knew Mom was worried. She never lied to Nana. She came over to where we were and asked, “are you kids hungry? I’ve got some protein bars in my purse.” I shook my head and kept scrolling. Mom waved a peanut butter bar in front of Penny. She grabbed it and started eating.
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