Free Girlfriend Material by Melissa Kantor Page A

first scene, I thought it wasn’t too bad. I wished I had someone to show it to. When I’d told Ms. Baker that I wasn’t going to be in the class anymore, she’d suggested that I find a group of other writers to work with for the rest of the summer. But what was I going to do, ask Sarah if she wanted to critique my prose? I could hear her now. Actually, honey, I’d start with your wardrobe.
    I stretched my arms over my head; my back was really sore from sitting for so long. Plus, I was starving. I wondered what time it was. I decided I’d written enough for one day and headed toward the main house.
    Henry was pulling some tough-looking weeds growing next to the steps. “Morning,” he said, yanking on a huge stalk.
    “Morning,” I said.
    “There’s coffee,” he said.
    “Thanks,” I said. I actually don’t drink coffee, but I wondered if I should start. In The Sun Also Rises , Jake is always meeting someone for coffee before he goes to write up a story for the newspaper he works for. Then again, he often met them for several bottles of wine too.
    Maybe it was a slippery slope.
    “Sarah left for work already,” he said.
    “Oh,” I said. Were our parents never going to realize that Sarah and I were just not going to be friends? “Okay.”
    “And I think your mom and Tina are in Orleans getting supplies for the big dinner tonight.” He mimed a drumroll … . “Uncle Jamie! But I can give you a ride to the club if you’d like.”
    “Thanks,” I said. “I can just bike, though.” “Either way,” he said. Going to Larkspur didn’t sound like such a bad idea.
    I could swim some laps or work out if there was a weight room. For a second I worried about running into Jenna or Lawrence and its being weird, but probably if that happened they’d just say hello and then ditch me. I made myself not think about running into Adam. He’d probably be at work anyway. I grabbed a swig of OJ and a bagel and headed out the door.
    There was a bulletin board on the wall of the Larkspur clubhouse, and tacked to it was an enormous Xerox that read, “Stopping Lyme Disease Starts with You!” A huge drawing of a truly disgusting, engorged tick took up most of the paper, and around it were all of these warnings about not walking in the tall grass that bordered established paths and checking yourself and your pets on a daily basis. I couldn’t believe people chose to vacation in a spot where every time you went for a stroll you were taking your life in your hands.
    Not only was I never going to step off an established path, I didn’t even want to step off the clubhouse porch . I shivered and clutched my bag close to me like there was a blade of grass nearby that it might brush up against and catch a tick from. Crossing the lawn to get to the pool suddenly felt a million times less appealing than it had a minute ago. I looked around at the overstuffed armchairs scattered around the wide porch and decided I’d just sit and read for a while.
    I walked the length of the house, passing at least half a dozen adults reading copies of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal . I had my eye on a sunny patch of porch at the other end of the building, and I’d almost reached it when a voice said my name.
    I looked toward the railing, and there were Adam and Lawrence sitting on two of the overstuffed armchairs. Adam was looking up at me, and I felt my breath catch a little. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been hoping to see him again.
    “Hey,” I said, glad my voice sounded normal even though my heart was beating really fast.
    “Hey,” he said. He pointed at Lawrence. “You remember Lawrence, right?”
    Just how many people did Adam think I’d been introduced to since my arrival? “Right,” I said.
    “Hey,” said Lawrence.
    Then nobody said anything for a minute.
    In The Sun Also Rises , Lady Brett is always running into guys she doesn’t know all that well. When she sees them, she says, Hello, chaps! and they all