South beach (3 page)

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Meghan frowned sympathetically, resting her elbows on her textbook and blinking her brown eyes at Holly. "Come on, H. Just ask them one more time. I bet they'd give in eventually, and you could still find last-minute tickets -- "

Holly shook her head, her short ponytail snapping from side to side. "You know my parents never budge, Meggie."

It was true; Holly had long since learned to give up once her parents said no. But also, Holly realized with the slightest twinge of guilt, she wasn't sure if this
particular
trip was worth the fight. Holly fiddled with her chunky silver ring. She'd never admit it to Meghan or Jess, but going to Disneyland seemed sort of babyish to her. Disneyland was someplace you went with your parents when you were eight not where you were supposed to go for junior year spring break. Holly would have loved to travel with her friends -- and anyplace beat Oakridge -- but did she want to incur the wrath of her mother just so she could go whirl around in a giant teacup?

Not really.

"It won't be the same without you," Meghan said. "You'd better call us every day."

"Believe me, I will," Holly groaned. "I'll need to vent to
someone
about Josh and the 'rents." Holly's

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mom was the assistant principal at Oakridge High, and her dad taught biology at the middle school, so they'd be on spring break, too. They always used their time off to catch up on errands around the house. And Josh would be busy prepping for his bar mitzvah next month. The whole Jacobson family, homebound together, for an endless week.

Holly glanced forlornly out the window at her slushy driveway. She wished she could be outside running, even in the snow. Her sneakers pounding the pavement, her breath coming in fast, smoky puffs. Holly loved the clarity and liberty running afforded her; she felt so free when she was in motion.

The sharp barks of her yellow Lab, Mia, punctured Holly's thoughts and she turned in her chair to see Mia bound into the kitchen. The dog had as much energy as her namesake, soccer star Mia Hamm -- one of Holly's idols. Holly's mother was on Mia's trail. "She's giving me a migraine," Holly's mom said crisply as Mia dove under the table and nipped at Holly's feet. Holly bent and scratched Mia behind the ears.

"She probably wants to go out," Holly said. "Can I take her?" she added hopefully, eager for a chance to break out for a little while.

Holly's mom peered worriedly out the window at the gathering gloom. "Your father will take her. It's

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getting dark." Then she glanced at Meghan. "You should be heading home, Meghan. I'm sure your parents won't want you walking alone in the pitch-black. Or Mr. Jacobson and I can give you a ride--"

"Oh, that's okay, Mrs. Jacobson," Meghan said quickly, standing and pulling her fleece off the back of her chair. Holly watched thoughtfully as Meghan jammed her math books into her knapsack. Holly's friends always got flustered and fiber-polite around her mom -- to them she was Mrs. Jacobson, big bad Assistant Principal. Both Holly's parents gave off that intense teacher vibe. Regardless of whether they were wearing pajamas or raking the leaves, they still behaved as if they were standing in front of a blackboard, about to scold someone.

Meghan hugged Holly good-bye, thanked her again for the tankini, and dashed off. After Holly's mom returned to the den to watch the news, and Holly's dad shepherded Mia outside, Holly turned her attention to her math homework. But she couldn't concentrate. The house was warm and stuffy, and Holly peeled off her gray wool sweater, leaving only her ribbed Adidas tank over her flared cords. She undid her ponytail and ran her fingers through her straight, light-brown hair, which fell to just below her chin. Tossing down her pencil, Holly reached into

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her bookbag and pulled out her iPod. Holly was an eighties-music junkie; as she clicked over to the old Go-Gos song, "Vacation," she smiled wryly.

Vacation, all I ever wanted. Vacation, had to get away...

With the music blaring in her ears, Holly doodled a beach umbrella in the margin of her notebook, and then closed her eyes. She imagined herself someplace else -- not Oakridge, not Disneyland. She was playing volleyball on a beach, the ocean breeze on her back, and her bare feet in the sand....

There was a tap on her shoulder. Holly turned, and felt a knot of irritation rise up in her belly when she saw her mom standing there, holding Holly's red T-Mobile.
What now?
Holly wondered. Were they supposed to start dinner already? When Holly removed the tiny white earphones from her ears, she heard her phone ringing shrilly.

"You left it in the den," her mother said in an accusatory tone, handing Holly the cell.

As her mom walked out of the kitchen, Holly glanced down at the unknown number flashing on the screen. Bizarre. Usually, she only received calls from the people programmed into her cell. This number did seem vaguely familiar, but Holly couldn't place it. She bit her lip, a little nervous, then flipped open the phone.

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"Hello?" she asked cautiously.

"Holly!" A girl's voice bubbled over the line, warm and fizzy. "It's me. Alexa!"

Holly's stomach tightened. Alexa St. Laurent? How random was
that?
She and Alexa hadn't spoken in years. Holly had deleted Alexa's number from her phone in the ninth grade, marking the final break from her former best friend.

"Holly? Are you there?" Alexa asked, after Holly had been silent for several long seconds.

Holly chewed on a thumbnail, now officially nervous. "Yeah. I'm here. Hi." What could she say? Why was Alexa even calling her?

"It's kind of weird to hear your voice." Alexa paused. "It's been forever, huh?"

"Tell me about it," Holly managed. Her tongue felt clumsy in her mouth. Was Alexa delusional or something? Did she think they were still friends?

"What have you been up to?" Alexa went on. "Still running track?"

"Yup." Holly thought about telling Alexa that she'd just been named co-captain, but she resisted. Would Alexa even care about something that didn't involve male models or designer labels?

"I always admired that about you," Alexa said. "I'm so lazy. Trying on Mavi jeans is my only form of aerobic workout."

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Holly gave a hesitant chuckle. She was thrown by Alexa's sudden friendliness, but she also couldn't help feeling flattered by her words. Alexa had always been disarmingly charming.

"Well, you don't need to worry," Holly replied bashfully. "You're skinny, anyway."

Whenever Holly thought of Alexa, she first pictured the Alexa she'd known best -- the short, slender, flaxen-haired girl in plaid skirts and knee socks, who spoke with a hint of a French accent and could make Holly burst into hysterical laughter just by crossing her enormous blue eyes. Then, Holly had to remind herself to replace the picture with the way Alexa looked now -- tall and gorgeous, decked out in fur-trimmed tweed blazers and spike-heeled Jimmy Choos, striding through the Oakridge halls with her ever-present Starbucks latte and a boy at her side. Holly couldn't imagine the present-day Alexa ever crossing her eyes. Or trying to make Holly laugh at all.

"Thanks," Alexa said. "But lying around the house and stuffing my face with chips every day next week isn't going to help much."

Next week?
Holly thought, confused. "Don't you have plans for spring break?" she blurted, regretting her words an instant later. Of course Alexa had plans

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for spring break. She was probably flying to Aruba or something. What a dumb thing to even ask.

"I did, but they fell through," Alexa replied with a sigh. "What about you?" she volleyed back casually.

"Um, not really," Holly said. A deep blush warmed her cheeks. Couldn't she have lied or something? Leave it to Alexa to make her feel like the biggest dork alive.

"I wasn't sure if you'd be busy or not," Alexa said. "But I had the craziest idea...."

Wait a minute,
Holly thought, suddenly wary. Where was Alexa steering their little chat?

"I was sitting in my room, thinking about how I used to go to the Catskills with you and your family. Those long car rides ..." There was a note of wistful-ness to Alexa's voice that Holly hardly recognized.

"I remember," Holly replied. She thought back to sharing a bunk bed with Alexa in the cabin upstate trading ghost stories while the tree branches tapped against their window, frightening them in a delicious way. Back then, Alexa had practically been like Holly's sister. "That was a long time ago," Holly added quietly. She wasn't sure what purpose this trip down memory lane was serving.

"I know," Alexa said. "That's why I was wondering ... wouldn't it be cool to go somewhere together this year? You and me. Like old times. But without

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parents, of course. Just this total whirlwind getaway." Alexa paused. "What do you think?"

Holly was speechless, but her mind was racing.
So I'm your sloppy seconds,
she longed to retort.
Do I seem like that much of a sucker?
Holly twisted the ring around her middle finger, silently stewing. It was so obvious. Alexa had called Holly, dripping kindness, only because all her other plans hadn't worked out. Did Alexa honestly think that after what had happened between them -- and all their years of not being friends -- Holly was going to get all giddy at the thought of their spending spring break together? Holly took a deep breath, searching for a way to articulate her bubbling emotions. She'd never been very good at confrontations.

"I -- I don't think I'm up for that," Holly spoke at last, her face burning. "I mean ... we haven't talked in so long. What made you even think to ask me?" God, this was awkward.

Alexa sighed dramatically. "Oh, there was this boy drama, and then all my stupid friends left me adrift, and to be honest..." Alexa gave her small, tinkly laugh. "I'm kind of sick of them, anyway. At this point I would
completely
prefer to go away with you. If you'd want to." Suddenly, Alexa sounded just the slightest bit vulnerable, and Holly could feel herself starting to

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soften. "Don't you remember how much fun we used to have?" Alexa went on. "Like the time we played Truth or Dare, and I dared you to crank-call my cousin Pierre in Paris and pretend to be me?" Alexa asked with another laugh.

Holly smiled, despite herself. "How could I forget?" she asked. "My parents saw the phone bill afterward and grounded me for a
month."
Holly remembered how she'd mimicked Alexa's voice into the phone, dropping in random French words that Alexa whispered to her, thoroughly fooling Pierre. Afterward, she and Alexa had fallen into a heap of laughter on Holly's bedroom floor. Alexa had often gotten Holly into scrapes that were wildly fun in the moment, but ultimately ended in some sort of parental disapproval.

"But it was worth it," Alexa mused aloud. "We had a good time."

"That we did," Holly had to admit. She'd always had trouble staying mad at Alexa -- her boldness and energy could be irresistible. Holly glanced down at the beach umbrella she'd drawn in her notebook. She AW been dreaming of an escape, hadn't she? But there was still the teensy problem of her parents. Maybe Alexa would at least have some ideas for how Holly could get away.

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"So your parents probably haven't changed much, huh?" Alexa asked, as if she'd read Holly's mind. Her voice was full of understanding.

Holly bit her lip. Alexa knew about Holly's issues with her parents better than almost anyone, because she'd been there at the start. In the fourth grade, Holly's parents decided that Holly shouldn't go to sleepover parties. Alexa got to attend them all, and would always have some life-changing experience, like getting her ears pierced or seeing an R-rated movie. She'd fill Holly in on all the details the next day. It had been painful, but also sort of pleasant, to live life vicariously through Alexa.

"Yeah. Mom and Dad are pretty much the same," Holly replied with a sigh of resignation.

"So that's why you're home for the break?" Alexa pressed on gently.

"Basically," Holly confessed. "I can't even think of a place they'd let me go." She dropped her voice, glancing over her shoulder in case her mom walked in again.

"So let's brainstorm," Alexa suggested. "There's got to be somewhere!"

"The Galleria?" Holly asked with a snort.

"Stop it, Holly." Alexa laughed. "You can't spend spring break shopping in Oakridge like some old lady."

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Old lady.
Holly's heart leaped. How had it not occurred to her before? She'd totally forgotten about her grandmother, who lived near the ocean in Miami Beach. Holly's parents wouldn't hesitate to let her stay at Grandma Ida's over break. And Miami was gorgeous and sunny, and ... Holly's pulse quickened as she remembered her last visit to Miami Beach, three years ago. It had been magical. That night on the beach, under the full moon ...

Suddenly restless, Holly stood up. "There is one place," she said, as she began to pace the length of the kitchen. "My grandmother. She has an apartment in Florida. Josh and I visited her the summer I was thirteen." Alexa hadn't known about that trip, Holly realized, because by then, they'd stopped being friends.

"Your grandmother?" Alexa asked incredulously. Holly could practically read Alexa's thoughts:
That's the lamest plan in the history of spring break.

"No, but listen," Holly went on, trying to maintain some dignity. "She's really cool. I mean, for a grandmother. And her neighborhood's nice. There are all these beaches, and you can take the bus down to South Beach...."
What am I doing?
Holly asked herself. Was she trying to convince Alexa that they
should
go away together?