This was where Emma had trouble hiding her smile.
“No. It washim?” Alicia’s expression darted across the rec room and landed on Sully, who was playing Ping-Pong with two little girls.
There was no denying it.
Alicia narrowed her eyes. “Spill.”
It was still so hard to believe. As soon as she’d climbed into the boat, Emma had felt a rush. Like she’d gotten away with something. But that feeling had quickly faded, replaced by dread. Almost immediately the bottle of Wild Turkey was opened and passed around. Amanda Hastings was driving the boat, and going so fast that it lurched against the water, jostling them about and against one another. At first it seemed funny, but after slamming her knee against the side so that she still had a bruise two days later, it was less so. When the bottle was handed to her, Emma was so busy trying to hold on that she didn’t even have time to think. She took a deep swallow, and instantly regretted it. The spicy bourbon slid down her throat like liquid heat, making her choke.
Sully leaned over. “You okay?”
She’d wiped her mouth on her sleeve and nodded. He clapped her on the back, and laughed. “You’re funny.”
The next time someone passed the bottle, she took a deeper sip. After that, an easy warmth spread through her limbs. It took the edge off, made the rocking boat less worrisome. She was able to sit back and listen to the others.
There was Dewey, Chris Dews, who was a junior like Amanda. He was on the lacrosse team with Sully, and known to be a smart-ass. And Kyle Tiller, another junior, who was dating the third girl in the boat, Courtney Jacobs. Courtney sat next to Amanda atthe wheel, the two talking and laughing between themselves, as Amanda steered them around the lake. “What do you guys think? Chicken Rock?”
Emma knew Chicken Rock. She’d jumped off it the summer before with Alicia, something her father did not and could not ever find out about. It was a well-known rock on Candlewood. Boaters pulled in as close as they could and swam the rest of the way in to the base. There was a rope swing about midway up, off a ledge that jutted out into the water. That was child’s play, frequented by plenty of kids and their parents. The highest point above it was Chicken Rock.
“Yeah,” Kyle shouted over the roar of the boat. “Let’s do it.”
“In the dark?” Emma asked. But no one answered.
They drew up to the base of the rocks, and Amanda cut the engine. “Are we putting down anchor?”
“I’m staying,” Amanda said. “You guys go ahead.”
Dewey tugged his shirt off and pounded his chest. Emma could see the pale flash of skin in the darkness. If Amanda was staying put, that meant Courtney probably was, too. Emma glanced around, unsure of what to do. The thrill she’d felt coursing through her moments earlier had chilled, and suddenly she wondered what she was doing here.
“Aren’t you jumping?” Kyle asked the other two girls.
“Too cold,” Courtney said. She lifted a can of beer to her lips, and Emma wondered where it had come from. Nobody had offered her one.
“Well, I am.” Beside her, Sully stood up and took his shirt off, too. There was a general bustle as flip-flops were kicked off and the guys crowded around the bow.
Emma remained frozen in place, feeling more invisible than she had before. The initial buzz from the liquor was now makingher feel a little dizzy. Nobody seemed to care if she was going or staying.
The boys took turns leaping into the water, whooping and hollering. The boat rocked violently in the wake of their sudden exodus. And then it was quiet again.
Emma hugged her knees to her chest.
“Did you hear what happened to Jacklyn?” Courtney asked, suddenly.
Amanda was staring off in the distance, watching the boys. She lit a cigarette and inhaled sharply. “No.” She didn’t seem interested, but Courtney went on anyway.
Emma feigned interest in the dark shoreline, her eyes fixed on imaginary objects. The boys must’ve reached the rocks by now. She pictured them scrambling up the ledge.
“Her parents found out she went to Glen Robinson’s kegger, and they grounded her for two weeks. Can you believe that? Now she’s going to miss my birthday party.”
Amanda exhaled. “That sucks.”
Emma wondered at Amanda’s coolness. Was Amanda annoyed that she’d tagged along?
“Glen had a kegger?” she asked. The two turned sharply as if noticing her for the first time, and Emma bit her lip in the darkness, instantly regretting it.
“Last week,” Courtney said. Then, turning her attention back to Amanda, “Are we still going to the mall tomorrow? My mom took away my credit card.”
Emma sank back against the side of the boat, wondering how long the boys would be. And if they were sober enough to jump off and safely swim back. This whole thing was stupid. Suddenly she wanted to get off the boat and away from Courtney and Amanda’s trivial conversation.
