Free Swift by Heather London

her of the due date, hoping she would think I was somewhat capable of doing my job. She forced a smile as she took the books and walked out. After that embarrassing display of awkwardness, it took me a few minutes to gather myself, allowing my face to return from the crimson color I knew it was back to normal.
    What is happening to me? I asked myself as I held up my trembling hands and stared at them like they were some foreign objects needing to be sent back to wherever they’d come from. Where was my cool, confident, laid-back self? Things were definitely weird with me; there was no denying that something was going on. All those years that I had kept my feelings bottled up inside must have been compounding. It felt like I was coming apart at the seams, slowly but surely. After a few deep breaths, I found the courage to search the library for Blake, but he was gone. He probably had snuck out when he saw my perfect display of gracefulness. How embarrassing, I thought, feeling the crimson color returning to my face.
    The dreadful day finally ended, and when I got home, I was relieved to see a note that Aunt Rose had left me:
    Roger called. He lost his cell phone at the party and couldn’t remember your cell number. He gave up and called the house. He’s at his dad’s and will call you on Sunday. See you tonight. BTW, Jack is coming over later and he’s bringing dinner.
         AR
    In Rockport already? I hadn’t thought Roger would be leaving so soon. I probably wouldn’t have bailed early on the party. It did make me feel better, knowing that he was not mad at me and that he would call in just a few days. Maybe then I could unload all the weird stuff that was happening to me.
    That evening Jack, Aunt Rose, and I inhaled the large pizza that he brought over. I sat and talked with him, catching him up on the newest events in my life, which only took a couple minutes.
    “So, kid … where do you think you will travel to when summer ends? I know you don’t have any definite plans, but you have to have an idea, right?” He looked at me anxiously.
    It was weird that he had asked this question, because Jack was never that inquisitive. I was skeptical that Aunt Rose had put him up to it.
    “Well, um, I have an idea . I mean, I have a starting point, since I will eventually have to buy a plane ticket.” I paused, taking in a deep breath before continuing. Only Roger knew my tentative plan, and I was not sure how Aunt Rose would react to it. “I was thinking about going to London first. My mom’s side of the family was from that area, and even though I’ve never met any of them, I think it would be kinda cool to see where I come from,” I said, shrugging.
    I was hoping that it didn’t hurt Aunt Rose’s feelings. She loved my mother, but I knew she took a certain amount of pride in being my guardian, and I didn’t want to take that away from her.
    “Oh, well, that’s something.” He shot a quick glance at Aunt Rose, and she turned and gave me a nervous smile. My suspicions had been correct: He definitely had been put up to it.
    Before he could ask any more questions, I stretched out and began a fake yawn, but then a real yawn took over, making it that much easier to make my exit. “‘Night, guys,” I yelled as I got up from the table and trudged up the stairs and into my room. I changed into my pajamas, took out a CD, and popped it in my CD player. It was not long before I started to feel relaxed. I stretched out on my bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to drown out everything but the music.
    As I lay there, I could feel myself drifting off to sleep, knowing in a way that I was beginning to dream. But this was no nightmare like I had had the other night. This was a good dream. The place I saw was familiar to me: My family and I were in our favorite spot on the beach with a clear view of the lighthouse in the distance. My mother and father were laughing and talking as they cooked over the portable grill that