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“We’ll meet out here before class from now on. Once we enter the classroom, you have two jobs. To become the part you’re playing, and to support one another. At times, you’ll feel foolish—I guarantee it. You’ll also feel triumphant, and some other stuff in between. Trusting your classmates will go a long way when it comes to getting the most out of this experience.”
“But we just met, and summer session only lasts a few weeks,” someone pointed out.
“Precisely. We have a small amount of time to earn each other’s trust, so let’s begin with an exercise. Turn to face the person next to you.”
Still deep in conversation, my dad didn’t seem to notice I wasn’t there. Since I was at the end of the row, I could only go one way. I sat cross-legged facing a dark-haired girl. “Hi,” she said softly. “I’m Les.”
“I’m not actually in this—”
“Now,” Sal said, “close your eyes and touch your partner’s face.”
Les looked as surprised as I felt. I’d met her two seconds ago, and now I had to put my hands on her? It felt like an intrusion. Neither of us moved. She stifled a laugh.
“Where?” someone asked. “How?”
“You already have all the instructions I intend to give,” the professor answered.
Les and I exchanged a sheepish look before I closed my eyes.
A cold finger landed on my cheek. Les giggled. “Sorry.”
“Don’t speak,” Sal said.
It was even more uncomfortable not being able to laugh about it. I placed my palm on Les’s face, and it warmed to her cheek. I had to stop myself from also apologizing.
“Good,” the professor said. “Try to read your partner this way. Tune into their emotions.”
“Lake?” I heard from somewhere behind me.
“You’re nervous,” Les said.
“What?”
“You just jumped.”
“I-I have to go.” We both opened our eyes. I stood, brushing grass off my legs, and announced, “My ride is here.”
Sal nodded. “See you around, then.”
I waved to get my dad’s attention as I jogged toward him. The blonde was nowhere to be seen. “What were you doing?” he asked, picking a twig from my hair.
“They invited me to join a class.” Maybe acting was something I could add to the list for Manning. I’d only been interested in it five minutes, but considering I had no clue what else to put on there, it was worth a try. “Maybe I’ll sign up for it as a freshman.”
“Which class?”
“Drama.”
He snorted and turned for the parking area. I hurried to keep up. “I never understood why that department was so important here. It’s silly, but I suppose not everyone can be gifted enough to do the things that really matter.”
That was as good of an opening as I was going to get. I scratched my head. “Um, Dad, you know . . . if drama’s a big deal here, they might like to see it on my application.”
“Possibly.”
“Maybe I could start looking into it now. Either at school or as, like, an extracurricular.”
“Hmm.” He put his hands in his pockets. “You do need to choose some electives next year. It could round out your schedule a bit.”
I didn’t know what to say other than “thanks.” It was rare to get what I wanted if it wasn’t his idea. Tiffany and my mom, on the other hand, got what they wanted frequently. Maybe he was finally starting to see me as an adult.
It was a win in my book.
8
Lake
Now this was what summer was all about.
At ten-thirty on the Thursday morning following our night at the fair, I lay on a beach towel on the south side of Huntington Pier with my friends. It was early, but beach real estate in August was valuable.
Normally, I applied a lot of sunscreen since I burned easily. Tanning was an art I had yet to perfect. Tiffany had my same complexion and she’d gotten it down to a science. She wanted to be tan three-hundred-and-sixty-five days a year. Tonight, though, Manning was coming over for dinner. He’d be at the house in about nine hours.
I applied sunscreen to my face and chest only. Vickie, on the towel next to mine, only used tanning oil. “Can I borrow some?” I asked when she’d finished with it.
She handed it over. “You missed a crazy party Saturday night.”
“I was there,” I said.
Mona, on the other side of Vickie, sat up on her elbows. She looked at me over her sunglasses. “You were not.”
“I was outside for a minute.” I squirted oil onto my legs, wedging my fingers under the elastic leg of my one-piece to even it out. “It didn’t look like much fun.”
“Are you kidding?” Vickie asked. “Everyone was there. We tried rum and played drinking games.”
Not everyone, I wanted to say. Corbin Swenson popped into my mind. I scanned the surfers bobbing on their boards in the water, but they were too far for me to recognize faces. “I went to Balboa Park,” I said. Since they looked up to my sister for some reason, I added, “With Tiffany. She says high school parties are lame.”
