close to doing.
“I’m fine,” Ashlyn wheezed. “I get a little short-winded when I surf. Or do most anything, it seems.” She took a step, then bent over, hands on her knees, and took a few more deep breaths. “Just give me a minute.”
For the first time, Ashlyn looked weak. Summer hadn’t known her long, but already she considered her a friend. One she couldn’t bear to lose.
Terrified of what she’d see, Summer reached out a shaky hand and placed it on Ashlyn’s shoulder. If this was the end, she needed to say or do something, and fast.
Nothing. She and Ashlyn were still standing on the beach, no flash-forward movie images forcing their way into Summer’s mind. She breathed a sigh of relief and glanced around the empty beach. “Maybe I should go get a lifeguard.”
“No, I’m fine.” Ashlyn took in another breath and slowly let it out. “We better get going, or we’ll be late for school. Mother will write me a note because it’s exercise, but that doesn’t help you.” She picked up her board and nudged Summer. “Admit it. You loved being out in that water chasing waves.”
Summer grinned. Because Ashlyn looked much better now, and somehow, even with being coerced into the biting cold water and the frustration of trying to catch a wave, she did love it.
With approximately ten minutes to change and get ready for school, Ashlyn showed Summer a bathroom she could use, then headed to her bedroom to get ready. Summer took the quickest shower known to man and threw on her clothes. In Chicago, she never wore heels and a skirt to school—the weather and icy sidewalks didn’t permit it. She stared at the lacy skater skirt and wedges combo now, wishing she’d brought jeans and flip flops instead. She didn’t have anything else, though, so it’d have to do.
A quick swipe of mascara. Lip gloss. Summer dug deeper into her bag, her hand not finding what it was looking for. “Oh, holy crap. I forgot my hair serum.” Right now her curls were damp. As they air dried, they’d get bigger and frizzier. But like her outfit, it was too late to do anything about it now.
When Ashlyn wasn’t in her room, Summer continued down the hall to the kitchen.
“If you lost some weight, you could wear the new clothes I bought you,” Pamela said. “All you have to do is watch what you eat and up your cardio.”
“I’m doing the best I can, Mother.” Ashlyn’s voice cracked, the pain in it clear. “I just got back from surfing, and I’ve been eating tons of fruits and veggies.”
“Ashlyn?” Summer said, nice and loud, and then took the remaining steps into the kitchen. “There you are.”
Pamela brought her hands together as she looked from Summer to Ashlyn. “You two should start jogging together—it’s always more fun with someone else. Or you could even come into the gym.” She raised her eyebrows at Summer. “I could get you in on a free pass.”
Summer had no idea what to say. The only person who wasn’t uncomfortable was Pamela, who seemed clueless that every word she said insulted her daughter in some way. She racked her brain, trying to find a good solution and coming up empty. Yelling at Pamela to leave Ashlyn alone hardly seemed like the thing to do to make peace between them. “Ashlyn taught me to surf this morning. It was amazing exercise.”
“That’s a good start.” Pamela took a sip from her water bottle—she looked like she was on her way to the gym now. “Did you know that if you feel full at the end of a meal, you already ate too much?”
“Thanks for the tips, Mother. We’ve got to get to school so we’re not late.” Ashlyn walked past her mom, and Summer followed.
Ashlyn shook her head. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure she just cares about you.”
“She just cares about how much I weigh. I’m so sick of her bringing it up every few seconds. Like I can’t see myself in the mirror.” They stepped outside, and Ashlyn slammed the door behind them.
Summer followed her to the car, feeling useless, desperately wishing she could think of something to say that wouldn’t make Ashlyn feel worse about herself.
Summer had come in to first period too late to talk to Troy before it started, so she made sure to catch him after class as they headed out of the room. “Hey, Mister Bond. Guess what I did this morning.”
“Came to school,” Troy said, a big smile on his face that made it clear he thought he was hilarious.
“Yes.” Summer drenched her words in sarcasm. “
His grin widened. “You’re feisty this morning. So, what did you do?”
“Ashlyn forced me into the ocean at the butt crack of dawn and taught me how to surf.”
“Without me? I’m jealous.” Troy had offered to teach her to surf before, but something—or someone, technically—always got in the way. “You better call me next time. I’d like to see you on a surfboard.”
“Hi, Troy,” a female voice purred, lots of breathiness behind it. Lexi. She shot him a big grin, complete with eye batting. Kendall was with her, but her attention was on her phone.
“Lexi. Hey.” He tucked his books under his arm. “I better get to my next class.” He took a few steps, then spun around, and gave Summer the nod. “Later, Sunshine.”
“Wait, Troy.” Lexi hurried after him. “I want to ask you a quick question.” Yesterday at practice, Summer had told Lexi that Troy liked someone else, but apparently she wasn’t going to let that minor detail get in her way.
“Did you run out of product?” Kendall poked at Summer’s curls. “Your hair is huge.”
“I forgot it.” Summer patted the top of her head, assessing the frizzage. “It’s not that bad, is it?”
“As your friend, I feel I’m obligated to tell you the truth, even if it hurts. So yeah, it’s bad.”
Summer gave her a tight smile. “Well, thanks.”
“You should pull it back.”
Summer shrugged. “Whatever.” Her leftover high from surfing this morning made her crazy hair not seem like that big of a deal. Besides, she’d decided to run with the crazy today.
Kendall shook her head. “Just make sure you look presentable on Friday.”
“Yeah, about your party. You’ll be busy, and you’ll have Jack—”
“You are
“Of course not.” Summer bit her lip. “I was just thinking of bring reinforcements. I need someone to get me through the night.”
Kendall leaned in conspiratorially. “Who’s the new guy?”
“No, not a guy. I’m going to bring Ashlyn. For moral support,” she added when Kendall continued to stare.
“That girl you keep hanging around?” Kendall asked, as if she didn’t know.
Summer nodded, deciding the fewer words Kendall could turn on her, the better.
“Whatever,” she huffed. “Just don’t bring the whole Reject Gang. That would be a huge party killer.”
Good enough for Summer, even if she didn’t agree. She broke away from Kendall before she changed her mind and headed to the cafeteria. She caught Ashlyn just before she reached the table. “Okay, so you’re going to come with me to Kendall’s birthday party on Friday.”
Ashlyn’s eyebrows shot up so high they got lost in her bangs. “No way. I’m not goin’ to that.”
“But…?” Summer thought she’d be happy. Kendall went all out, and most people tried to get invites. “It’ll be fun.”
Ashlyn pressed her lips together, almost like she was afraid of how she might respond.
“Come on, you dragged me out into the freezing water first thing in the morning,” Summer said. “I doubted you at first, but now I’m happy that I let you talk me into it.”
“I don’t want to be around those people.” Ashlyn’s eyes met Summer’s. “And I’m afraid of who you’ll be around them.”
Frustration bubbled up, along with a twinge of offense. “I’ll be me. But I’ll have you to make the night more interesting.”
Ashlyn started toward the table, then spun around so fast Summer nearly plowed into her. “I heard you and your friends making fun of some people a couple months back, okay? You didn’t really say anything, but you laughed along with the rest of them. That’s why I didn’t like you at first. That’s why I felt so protective of our
