Now we were here.
Unfortunately.
Trust but verify wasn’t the scientist’s motto because there was no reason to trust unsubstantiated claims. Even substantiated claims warranted more testing sometimes. Facts don’t change, yet our better understanding of the world we live in reveals old truths as fiction.
If you take away the trust part, you get ‘but verify,’ which would be a weird motto. Butt verify? Maybe, if the butt was Luke’s.
Verify. That’s what scientists liked. Why trust when you could test?
However, I would really,reallybe happy to just take someone’s word for this. I didn’t need to see 4 and 5 A.M. for myself. I now had definitive proof the early hours of the morning existed, but the cost to get this data was too great.
Curse you, cruel world!
All this? My overly dramatic way of saying getting up early sucked.
We were at a lake. Me, my pop, Luke and Joanne. Pretty sure the point of this was getting to know her, and ideally, liking her more, even if any activity involving being awake before the sun was a weird way of achieving that.
If you drive in the right direction when leaving our town, you go to Fairview. A bigger city full of wonders like Chipotle and shopping malls and more than a handful of out gay people. There were other directions you could drive, just, why?
Like the way we went, to an even smaller town, with even less attractions, but it had a lake. Joanne liked to come here because she was apparently really into this rustic gal thing she was doing. I tried not to judge her for that because cool people could like dumb things. Luke liked baseball. Dad liked all the stupid stuff Joanne liked, so that was probably a good sign, even if it meant…
Fishing.
Yes, I put catch a fish on my list. That felt like a rite of passage for some. And in theory, yeah, it might be okay. But the reality? Waking up early and spending all day watching a tiny string and worst of all, being silent? Too much. This wasn’t about my list anyway; it was about spending time with dad’s new girlfriend.
Dad and Luke were already out on the water. In a boat. Good thing they liked each other now. They were… I don’t know, they were doing whatever you did to start the fishing. Me and Joanne were gonna get a key from one of her friends, so we could use their cabin when we took a break.
Every sip of coffee I took was sooooo good. It hurt tearing my lips away from the not sweet at all happy juice, but I told Joanne, “Probably should have made this clear earlier, but Ryan is the opposite of sitting on a boat and being quiet for hours on end in the off chance a fish will get hungry. Are you trying to torture me?” Not sure how that would make me like her, but I had to admit, “That’s an interesting strategy.”
“Not a huge fishing fan either,” she admitted.
Hmm. “This seems like a bad plan then, but it’s getting more interesting.” Or it would be once I woke up. “By the way,fishingisn’t interesting. Unless there’s alcohol, that noodling thing I saw on the internet that was terrifying and strangely captivating, or dynamite.”
All of those seem like terrible ideas for a variety of reasons.
She considered saying something and then just told me, “Noted.”
Weak orange light lit up the grounds, shining on the water. I could see the little boat Dad and Luke were in way out in the distance. The forest surrounded us on all sides but the front, where there was lake instead, duh. It was majestic and nature and stuff. Man, I should be an author; I’m so great at describing things.
I tried to be impressed by the grandeur of nature, but the part of me that possessed that skill didn’t wake up until at least nine.
“Let me ask you something,” Joanne said. “Are you and I on the boat right now?”
Is this a trick question? “Uh, no. We aren’t.” Unless the Matrix or something.
“Maybe there’s a reason for that.” She had the hint of a smile on her face. “A different reason than the one I gave.”
“Are you going to murder me?” Now this was the second worst thing to happen all day, right after having to wake up so early.
“That’s where your mind goes first?” She seemed a little alarmed but mostly curious. Good. That was healthy around me.
“Yes,” I said. “My goes right to murder every time. Even with my boyfriend, who is contractually obligated to love me.” Not murdering your significant other was the true test of love.
“Contractually?” Her eyes widened. “I wanna do you a solid, but I’m not sure I can hide it if you crazy kids got hitched.”
Ah! I could barely even think about college yet.
“No, no,” I told her quickly. Wow, that got my heart racing just as fast as coffee. “Luke said he loves me.” Sucker! No, brain, don’t go to the dirty place. “Verbal contract,” I elaborated. “That counts, he’s locked in.”
