C I N: "Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin. You never come out the way you went in." (The C I N Series) by Christina Leigh Pritchard Page B

been painted with magic marker to anyone.”
    “I certainly won’t be telling anyone.”
    Michael chuckled.
    I rolled my eyes at him. “You wouldn’t be laughing if this stuff was on your face.”
    “No, probably not; it’s a good thing it was you she did this to. I would have a hard time explaining to my mother why I was putting make-up on.”
    I laughed. That would’ve been funny.
    “I think maybe you should meet Donna this Saturday at the Bonfire by the ocean. All that ink should be gone from your face by then. Don’t worry; I’ll keep this a secret.”
    “You are just too kind. Want to stay for breakfast?”
    He shook his head. “It’s noon. You’ve slept the morning away. I have to go meet Donna and let her know you can’t join us. We were going to take you into town, to the mall.”
    “Are you trying to make me jealous? The mall? If I didn’t look like a clown I’d so be there.”
    “Sorry about your face, Lisa.” Michael smiled and I beamed. It was a good thing I didn’t run him off the first day I met him. He wasn’t so bad after all.
    I sat down in one of the recliners and turned on the television. Michael waved before disappearing through the front door. I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels. On the news there were reports of three hurricanes forming near Florida. I leaned up and squinted to read the small print. California suffered a slight earthquake and a tropical storm had devastated Puerto Rico’s coastline.

Eight The Big Wake

    Millie sat down in the opposite recliner. She sighed loudly. What did she want? Was she going to lecture me about being honest about her horrible students?
    “Yes, Aunt Millie? Is there something we need to discuss?” She nodded her head and twisted her chair to face me. She wore a blue dress shirt buttoned all the way up today and her hair was in a tight bun.
    “I spoke with Ally and she said she would like to make amends.”
    I didn’t believe it for a second. Ally, sorry? That would be a first. She’d just said that to stay on Aunt Millie’s good side.
    “I really don’t wanna speak to her right now. She’s not a nice person.”
    Millie tapped her fingers on the armrest. She looked irritated. Was I disrupting her life?   “I would appreciate it very much if you let her mend the mess she has caused. I think that if you gave her a chance, you’d find her to be a very darling girl. ( Let her do YOUR make-up then… ) Most girls at the school are jealous of her because of her grades ( I don’t think it is jealously… ) but you never have to worry about competing with her academically. As friends, you and Ally would be a perfect match.”  
    I hated Aunt Millie. She was just like Alex and Ally. They thought I was stupid. My ignorance amused them. I’d show them dumb, all right.
    “Okay, Aunt Millie, I’ll be a naive idiot and go next door. A smart person would take last night’s incident and realize great caution was needed when around Ally, but since I’m intellectually stunted, I’ll do the unwise thing of allowing myself to be exposed to her tyranny again, for a second time.” I got up from the chair and slammed the front door.
    Ally sat on one of the sofas with her feet propped up. She did not look up when I entered the room. She kept her face buried inside a thick book.
    “Writers aren’t as original as they used to be. Why do you think that is, Lisa?”
    “I apparently do not think, so why bother asking me?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Millie says you want to apologize for what you did.”
    Ally turned a page of her book. She read quietly for a moment. “I don’t think you’re dumb,” she whispered. “Just too hopeful.”
    What in the world did that mean? Was she trying to make me miserable and negative just like her?
    “Everything you say ends with a slap in the face.”
    She looked up from her book. Ally placed the novel in her lap and stretched. “I’m going to take you kayaking. You can borrow