“I can’t wait to try it,” she trills excitedly.
“How about tonight?” Gavin suggests.
“I can’t,” Callie says. Now it’s Gavin who seems disappointed. “Today is the first active day of the Perseid meteor shower. Are you two going?”
“Going?” To a meteor shower? How would that work? A second later I’m wondering if I even know what a meteor shower is.
“It’s a tradition for people here to get together after the sun sets to watch the first sighting of the meteor shower. It’s fun,” she says. It shouldn’t be a surprise that this is what the town does for fun, considering the majority of the people work at the observatory.
“Yeah, we’re in,” Gavin answers for us. He’s back to being all smiles.
“Okay, bring a blanket, and we’ll meet here before going to the abandoned field between the convenience store and the observatory.”
“Come again?” I say. I’m not sure what watching a meteor shower entails, but what I’m hearing so far is not promising.
“The abandoned field is the most remote part of Blaire and the best place to watch the meteor shower.” She points in the direction behind the convenience store. “And in order to get the best view, a chair isn’t going to do it. So you’ll have to bring a blanket to lie down on to get the full experience.”
“On the ground. Onthatground?” I point to the grassy field Callie mentioned, imagining ants and ticks and a variety of other creepy crawlers—my worst nightmares. I shudder. “Is there a placewhere we can see the meteors but don’t have to be on the ground?” A glass cabin, perhaps?
Callie looks up thoughtfully. “There is another place we could go,” she says. “Why don’t we meet at my place?”
Gavin and I agree. “I’ll meet you anywhere as long as it’s not on the ground,” I say.
Chapter 27
Later that night Mom and Dad take their blankets and a picnic basket to meet Mayor Beecham, Dr.Blaire, and Callie’s parents, as well as most of the others in the town, on the abandoned field, while Gavin and I walk the extra block and a half to Callie’s house.
I’m about to knock on the door when Callie appears from the side gate. “You made it.” Her smile stretches extra wide, like she’s surprised we came. As if we had other plans or something. “Come on back. Brennan’s already here.” She motions for us to follow her. When we come around to her backyard, Gavin and I startle at the sight.
“You have a trampoline?” I gawk. Brennan is jumping up and down, getting some serious air.
“You’ve never been on a trampoline before?” Callie glances sideways at me.
“Of course I have,” I somehow say with conviction, even though I can’t recall when or where. “It’s just been a long time.”
“What about you, Gavin?” Brennan asks when he notices Gavin’s hesitation. “You game?”
I’m pretty sure I know what Gavin’s response is. Mr.Play-It-Safe doesn’t like roller coasters, and he definitely doesn’t do trampolines.
“Sure,” he says before kicking off his shoes and joining Brennan on the trampoline.
Gavin’s up for it? This will be interesting.
“What about you?” Callie eyes me.
“Why not?” I say.
Callie and I join the boys, and at first it’s chaotic. There’s no rhythm or pattern to our movements, just wild, frenetic energy that sends us crashing into one another. But after a while, we get into a groove. And with more confidence, my jumps get higher and higher.
“This is seriously so cool!” I say breathlessly. The exhilaration of my stomach dropping and my hair whipping around wildly reminds me of that time I was in a convertible zipping through the Hollywood Hills. I couldn’t tell then if the unsettling feeling in my gut was from the adrenaline or the reckless driving, but now I know it was the lifestyle I was leading that made me nervous. Always living on the edge, pushing the envelope, trying to portray an image of a person leading an extraordinarily exciting life. Except it wasn’t always exciting. It was exhausting and, at times, frightening. Here, jumping around on Callie’s trampoline, I’m having all the fun without any of the fear. It’s the most carefree I’ve felt in a while. I can tell Gavin feels the same way, too, seeing his smile reach his eyes, something I didn’t know was even possible.
“Have you ever double-bounced before?” Brennan asks breathlessly.
“What’s that?” I say. I can’t help but notice that I don’t say it in my usual signature way.
Brennan doesn’t answer me. Instead his eyes dance around mischievously, and he gears himself to time his next jump with mine. The precise timing of his landing with mine catapults me higher than I expected, and I flail in midair. It causes me to miss my footingwhen I land, and my body flops onto the trampoline with a bounce. In an attempt to avoid landing on me, Gavin, Callie, and Brennan fall too. Now we’re all lying on the trampoline in a fit of giggles.
“I haven’t had this much fun in…” I try to think back to the last time I had this much fun, but I can’t. My memory doesn’t reach that far.
