Other Echoes
Page 5
*****
By late morning, Emi and Charlotte had too many shopping bags to carry. They rented a locker to store their new purchases until Emi’s dad could pick them up.
“I can’t wait ‘til I get my actual drivers license. Life is so much easier with a car,” Emi sighed. She was cramming a Diesel bag into the locker. “Five more months.” She twisted the key in the lock and stood up. “You have yours?”
“My what?”
“Your driver’s license.”
Charlotte nodded.
“May I see?”
She rummaged through her patent purse and procured her ID.
“Out of state licenses are valid, right?” Emi asked, scrutinizing the card. “You can drive legally here?”
“I think so.”
Emi was beginning to realize that Charlotte might be useful to have around. The girl didn’t say much, but she was tolerable enough. It would be nice not to ask mom and dad for a ride all the time.
They walked in silence past several storefronts before deciding to get smoothies at the food court.
Standing in front of them in line were three upperclassmen boys Emi recognized from school. One boy kept turning to stare. She knew him immediately. It was Asher Lee-Anderson, the son of an actress on that TV show Effigy, which was filmed in the islands.
“Hey,” he finally said. “You go to Staley, right?”
“That’s right.”
“But not you,” the boy said to Charlotte. “I would’ve remembered you.”
“She’s my cousin from Philadelphia.”
“Does your cousin from Philadelphia have a name?” the boy asked, his eyes still on Charlotte. Emi disliked the way his eyes traveled over her cousin’s body, like Charlotte was a cut of meat in a butcher-shop window.
“You’re next in line,” Charlotte said quietly. She pointed to the cashier.
The boy flashed them a smile and joined his friends at the register.
After ordering, Emi went to get straws and napkins. She returned to find Charlotte speaking with the waterpolo guys again.
“Shoots brah. Laters,” the boy was saying, throwing up a shaka. He winked at Charlotte before disappearing into the crowded thoroughfare of the mall.
“‘Shoots brah?’” Charlotte repeated, confused.
“It means sort of like ‘goodbye.’” She handed her cousin a straw. “So….what was that all about?”
“He wanted us to join them tomorrow night. At the Spitting Caves,” Charlotte said. “Do you know what that is?”
“Yeah it’s like this super dangero– wait, he seriously just invited you?”
Charlotte nodded. “His name’s Asher.”
Their smoothies were ready. Emi grabbed both and steered Charlotte to one of the food court tables.
“I know. He’s a junior. His parents are kind of famous. Have you ever watched Effigy?
“I’ve heard of it.”
“His mom’s the main detective on the show.”
“Oh.”
“I can’t believe he invited you to Spitting Caves. Do you know who else is going?” Emi asked, gnawing on her straw.
“I don’t know. Lots of people. I think it’s some kind of party.”
“Imagine Kainoa’s face if he saw me hanging out with Asher,” Emi laughed, relishing the thought. But her smile quickly faded. “Oh wait, you said it was tomorrow? Rats. My mom’s hosting a big faculty potluck thing. She’ll want us to be there.”
“I didn’t know your mom was a teacher,” Charlotte said. “At your school? Staley?”
“She’s not, really. She’s the Director of Instruction.” Emi rolled her eyes. “She’s always around campus, breathing down my neck, talking to my teachers.” Emi shuddered. “Total helicopter mom.”
Charlotte had stopped drinking her smoothie. She looked uncomfortable. “Is that how I got in?”
Emi was surprised by the sudden intensity in Charlotte’s voice.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been thinking,” Charlotte said slowly. “About how I got into Staley School.” She hesitated, as if uneasy about what she was about to say. “Did your mom pull some strings?”
It was Emi’s turn to look uncomfortable. “I don’t think the admissions process works that way,” she said vaguely. “They try to stay neutral.”
“I almost dropped out last year.” Charlotte’s voice was flat and matter-of-fact. “I don’t understand how I got into a private school.”
“Maybe it was your test scores,” Emi suggested. Or the fact that dad is a major financial contributor to the school, she added silently to herself.
Charlotte looked down into her melting smoothie like she was imagining herself drowning in it.
“Hey, don’t worry,” Emi said. “Look, you’re already making cool upperclassmen friends, and school hasn’t even started yet. You’ll fit right in.”
But Charlotte seemed agitated. Emi wasn’t sure what more to say.
All her parents had told her about Charlotte was that she had been through a “tough time” last year. She was pretty sure her parents didn’t know much more than that themselves.
Now Emi was seized by a sense of foreboding. Her cousin seemed so detached and odd, like she was hiding something. Like she was holding something very dark inside of her.