“Where have you guys been?” I asked. “Hey, Ashton. Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Well, Shelly,” Lee announced, “after Rachel and I spent the day at the mall doing some college shopping, we went to meet you for bucket-list item number twenty-three, as previously agreed, which, if you remember, we said we’d invite Ashton along after Noah turned down the invite. We waited for you after work like we’d planned, but May said you’d traded your second shift, and your phone went straight to voice mail when we called.”
Bucket-list item number twenty-three…
The big hair, the leg warmers, the lurid clothes…
I gasped, clapping both hands over my face. “Oh my God. Eighties mini-golf night! No!”
“Yes,” Lee crowed. “And it was spectacular.”
“It really wasn’t,” Rachel said, ever the mediator, giving me an awkward smile. “You didn’t miss out on much.”
“You so totally did,” Ashton said, not getting it. He gave Amanda a salute. “Hey there. I’m Ashton.”
I bit my lip, a lump rising in my throat, interrupting Amanda as she started to say hello back. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Lee. I think I was on the phone to Levi when you called. I’m so sorry. Are you mad at me?”
He shook his head, but I got the feeling I wasn’t totally forgiven. “So long as we’re all set for the water park tomorrow, it’s good.”
“Yes! Yes, definitely. I’m driving Brad back for camp first thing, and then I’m all yours for the most epic item on the bucket list. I promise.”
“Awesome.” Lee smiled at me—not quite the smile I was used to, but enough that I knew he wasn’t really mad at me. I made a snap decision to tell him all my complaints about Linda another time—tonight wasn’t the time for it. “And, hey, Ashton’s gonna come along, too. We need someone for car eight, right?”
Lee clapped Ashton’s shoulder and they shared a laugh—some in-joke I didn’t know.
And I always knew Lee’s in-jokes.
“Right. That’s…that’s great! Glad to have you on board, Ashton.”
The three of them grabbed some drinks and moved outside. Amanda got up, too. “You coming, Elle?”
I guessed I didn’t have a lot of choice. Not if I didn’t want my little brother and my best friend replacing me completely.
Chapter Nineteen
It wasn’t quite a full-fledged Flynn party, but word had definitely gotten out about race day. Jon Fletcher had made it a Facebook event, and now it seemed like the whole school had turned up at the water park. I spotted guys from the football team lounging on the fake beach and cheerleaders grabbing rubber rings and running up a wooden staircase to a waterslide. A few people from the school’s marching band floated down the lazy river. Dixon left the rapids looking half drowned, having lost his sunglasses.
It was a scalding-hot day. The sun shone bright and there wasn’t a cloud in the rich blue sky. Perfect weather for a day at the water park.
Lee and I were meeting up with Jon at one o’clock, near a flip-flop and swimsuit vendor by the biggest waterslide in the park. His older brother was there—a less muscular, shorter, stockier version of Jon. He wore jeans and a white button-down and shook our hands as his little brother introduced us.
I felt like I should be wearing more than shorts and a bikini top.
Lee seemed to be thinking the same thing about his swim shorts.
The only reason we’d managed to pull this off was because we’d sold it as this big PR stunt for charity. Right now I felt like a total fraud. Like I should be wearing…maybe not a business suit, but at least I shouldn’t have my hair in braided pigtails that hung over my shoulders, still dripping wet from the last ride we’d been on.
“So you two are the masterminds behind this whole thing, huh?” Jon’s brother said.
“That’s right,” Lee said with a confidence only I knew he was faking. “We’re really grateful for all your help on this, Mr. Fletcher.”
Both Jon and his brother cracked up.
“Is this the bit where you say, ‘Oh, please, Mr. Fletcher’s my father’?” I joked.
“It is. I’m not that old. Will’s fine.”
“Well, thanks, Will,” Lee corrected himself. “We’re really grateful.”
“The pleasure’s all ours. We’ve been selling spectator tickets. Raised almost fifteen hundred bucks! You guys should be proud.”
Lee and I exchanged a look. Fifteen hundred dollars? That was a lot of money raised—especially when we were just doing this for fun. But spectators? I knew some of our friends and people from school would be hanging around, but I didn’t expect, like, an audience.
I could tell Lee was thinking the same thing, but he took it way better than I did.
While all I could think about was the thousand and one ways this could blow up in our faces, it only fueled Lee’s excitement.
Will added hastily, “And you guys all signed those insurance forms, right? Water park’s not liable for any injuries or accidents, blah, blah, blah…”
We nodded. I said, “I emailed them to you this morning.”
“Awesome. Well, you guys are all set! Strictly no banana peels, though. Sorry, but we’ve gotta draw the line somewhere. We’ve got some GoPros and video equipment all ready, so see you in an hour?”
We nodded, saying our goodbyes, Jon lingering.
“Are you sure you’re related?” Lee asked, squinting after Will.
“I know.” Jon flexed his arms, making a show of kissing his biceps. “I got all the brains.”
The three of us laughed.
“Are you gonna come with us now?” I asked him. “We wanna make sure everything’s set up before we get changed.”
Jon shook his head. “I’m gonna do one last round on this bad boy”—he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the monstrous waterslide—“but I’ll be there in time, don’t worry. I wouldn’t miss this for the world!”
We called goodbye after him and followed the wooden signposts pointing us in the direction of the go-kart track.
We lingered to watch the karts race past for a couple of minutes. They roared, tearing around the track, some skidding and knocking into the piles of tires lining the perimeter. A sign saying must be 14 or older to ride was nailed near the entrance. Bleachers rose up on one side of the track—mostly filled with parents; sour-faced, jealous younger brothers and sisters; and a nervous friend or two.