view.
I saw a tiny figure far away down the beach moving closer. I saw the gray hoodie and the regular movement of Cody’s thin, dark legs, and I could feel my heart beat faster, pumping in my collarbone.
Could I get him to stop and talk to me? I decided to practice some of my tumbling on the flat area of the beach right by the water.
I put my hands over my head and did a round off. Slow and easy to start off. Then another. Then a couple of back handsprings. One direction. Then another.
One of the things we had to do for our cheerleading routine this year was a standing back tuck, so I stoodvery still, arms to my sides, took a few breaths, and pulled one. Perfect.
I planned it so that just as Cody ran by, I linked together a round off, a back-handspring-back-tuck, and a lay out. A long, unbroken stream of me flying through the air, twisting, landing, and taking off again. I landed clean and solid on both feet. Slightly out of breath.
He stopped.
“Wow!” He wiped sweat from his face with the tail of his T-shirt, then leaned over, his hands on his knees, to catch his breath. “That was amazing!”
“Thanks!” I felt myself blush, so I looked away.
He walked in a slow circle, still catching his breath, hugging a towel around his neck.
His dark hair was amazingly shiny, and he had a fun kind of energy that I liked in a way I couldn’t explain. “How far did you run today?” I wiggled my toes in the tide pool, then noticed he was staring at them. For some reason I felt kind of self-conscious, so I stopped.
“Three miles. My normal distance. Are you on the cheerleading squad at your school?”
“Yeah.”
“That looks pretty hard.”
“It does take a lot of practice.”
“You’re good!” His teeth flashed with the compliment, and I could feel my face getting hot again.
“I don’t know.” I looked away. “Just average on my cheer squad. I used to take gymnastics, which helps.” We were quiet for a minute. Then I asked, “So what’s your mom studying?”
“She’s studying the trees in the maritime forest, the way they grow and adapt to the weather. She’s classifying a bunch of them.”
“What do you mean?”
“They twist and grow close together, and entwine, so they protect each other from the wind and the salt. The maritime forest is really important for the island. The roots of the trees keep the sand from eroding.”
“So do you know the names of a bunch of trees?”
“Let’s see. Yaupon. Live oak. Palmetto. Red cedar. Loblolly pine.”
“Cool! I’d love to spend more time here. It’s great you get to come here when your mom is doing research.”
“Yeah. Where’s your sister? Isn’t her name Diana?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Stepsister. I don’t know. Our parents went to play golf, and she was supposed to come out on the beach with me, but she hasn’t shown up.”
“Where do you think she is?”
“I think she might have gone to look for the wild horses back behind the dunes. You know, where the sand paths wind through the forest and marshland. I feel like I should go look for her. ”
“We could take the ATV and go look for her.”
“Um …” I stared at him. I’d never ridden an ATV. Daddy and Lynn probably wouldn’t like it. But it would be a good way to look for her. Much faster than walking.
“I’m a fantastic driver.”
Wow! Maybe Diana was right about him being arrogant.
“Really?” I ignored the thought that Daddy and Lynn would probably say no to riding the ATV if I asked them. I could just do it, and if they got mad, I’d tell them I was looking for Diana. Hopefully I’d find Diana before they got back, and they’d never know. And I was tired of being scared of everything. I wanted to hang out with Cody. “Well, if you don’t go too fast …” I stood up, wiping sand off my hands.
“Great!” He rose to his feet and started up the beach. I went to follow him, but he waved me back. “No, wait here, and I’ll bring the ATV down.”
I saw a tiny figure far away down the beach moving closer. I saw the gray hoodie and the regular movement of Cody’s thin, dark legs, and I could feel my heart beat faster, pumping in my collarbone.
Could I get him to stop and talk to me? I decided to practice some of my tumbling on the flat area of the beach right by the water.
I put my hands over my head and did a round off. Slow and easy to start off. Then another. Then a couple of back handsprings. One direction. Then another.
One of the things we had to do for our cheerleading routine this year was a standing back tuck, so I stoodvery still, arms to my sides, took a few breaths, and pulled one. Perfect.
I planned it so that just as Cody ran by, I linked together a round off, a back-handspring-back-tuck, and a lay out. A long, unbroken stream of me flying through the air, twisting, landing, and taking off again. I landed clean and solid on both feet. Slightly out of breath.
He stopped.
“Wow!” He wiped sweat from his face with the tail of his T-shirt, then leaned over, his hands on his knees, to catch his breath. “That was amazing!”
“Thanks!” I felt myself blush, so I looked away.
He walked in a slow circle, still catching his breath, hugging a towel around his neck.
His dark hair was amazingly shiny, and he had a fun kind of energy that I liked in a way I couldn’t explain. “How far did you run today?” I wiggled my toes in the tide pool, then noticed he was staring at them. For some reason I felt kind of self-conscious, so I stopped.
“Three miles. My normal distance. Are you on the cheerleading squad at your school?”
“Yeah.”
“That looks pretty hard.”
“It does take a lot of practice.”
“You’re good!” His teeth flashed with the compliment, and I could feel my face getting hot again.
“I don’t know.” I looked away. “Just average on my cheer squad. I used to take gymnastics, which helps.” We were quiet for a minute. Then I asked, “So what’s your mom studying?”
“She’s studying the trees in the maritime forest, the way they grow and adapt to the weather. She’s classifying a bunch of them.”
“What do you mean?”
“They twist and grow close together, and entwine, so they protect each other from the wind and the salt. The maritime forest is really important for the island. The roots of the trees keep the sand from eroding.”
“So do you know the names of a bunch of trees?”
“Let’s see. Yaupon. Live oak. Palmetto. Red cedar. Loblolly pine.”
“Cool! I’d love to spend more time here. It’s great you get to come here when your mom is doing research.”
“Yeah. Where’s your sister? Isn’t her name Diana?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Stepsister. I don’t know. Our parents went to play golf, and she was supposed to come out on the beach with me, but she hasn’t shown up.”
“Where do you think she is?”
“I think she might have gone to look for the wild horses back behind the dunes. You know, where the sand paths wind through the forest and marshland. I feel like I should go look for her. ”
“We could take the ATV and go look for her.”
“Um …” I stared at him. I’d never ridden an ATV. Daddy and Lynn probably wouldn’t like it. But it would be a good way to look for her. Much faster than walking.
“I’m a fantastic driver.”
Wow! Maybe Diana was right about him being arrogant.
“Really?” I ignored the thought that Daddy and Lynn would probably say no to riding the ATV if I asked them. I could just do it, and if they got mad, I’d tell them I was looking for Diana. Hopefully I’d find Diana before they got back, and they’d never know. And I was tired of being scared of everything. I wanted to hang out with Cody. “Well, if you don’t go too fast …” I stood up, wiping sand off my hands.
“Great!” He rose to his feet and started up the beach. I went to follow him, but he waved me back. “No, wait here, and I’ll bring the ATV down.”
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