Free Drinking Life (Keeper of the Water Book 1) by Kevin George

We still have a long weekend.”
    His friends are confused and there are still a few chuckles but they quiet down and leave me alone.
    “What have we got here?” Celeste asks, her voice as cheery as ever. She points to the green-covered trunk of a nearby tree. “We hit the survivor jackpot here. In extreme cases of starvation, people lost in the woods for weeks have been known to survive by eating moss. Do I have any volunteers to give it a try?”
    Not surprisingly, nobody raises his hand. Finally Celeste points to the groom.
    “Come enjoy your last days of freedom by eating a hunk of this,” she says, peeling a slab of moss off the tree. Dirt trickles off the bottom of it. The groom is rightfully hesitant but Celeste stares at him. He hasn’t looked the same since she whispered to him and still appears unnerved by her. He finally steps forward and puts the moss in his mouth, coughing the moment dirt touches his lips. Celeste smiles.
    My father shows up at this moment. “Okay, fellas. The vans are packed. It’s time to head upriver.”
    The bachelor party is glad to end the survival class, the groom most of all. As the men rush away, the groom continues to cough and spit out dirt. Celeste and I walk out of the woods toward the trailer.
    “I always wanted to convince someone to eat the edible moss,” she chuckles.
    “What did you whisper to him?” I ask.
    Celeste shrugs her shoulders sheepishly and winks at me. We walk into the trailer, where my mother is still busy with paperwork—at least she looks busy, though maybe she’s just trying to avoid Cassie. Celeste’s daughter stands near an open filing cabinet but isn’t taking anything out or putting anything in. Instead she plays with her phone, no doubt sending one of her hundreds of daily text messages. She doesn’t even look up when we walk in.
    “Okay, Katina, the van is packed so we’re leaving now,” Celeste tells my mom.
    “Everything’s going okay?” she asks.
    “A feisty group but it’s fine. We’ll have to avoid the faster rapids; I don’t think these guys will need much help falling overboard,” she says. “They’re going to follow the van in their bus. Perry is already waiting in the van. Cassie, it’s your turn to drop us off upriver and bring the van back.”
    Cassie gives no indication that she heard her mother. She continues to type away on her phone’s tiny buttons.
    “Cassie?” Celeste asks.
    “I heard you,” the girl snaps. “Can I finish what I’m doing first? God! I don’t wanna drive that ugly van anywhere. Do you know what my new friends would think if they saw me in that? It’s already embarrassing that we live in these little shacks in the middle of west bumblef – ”
    “Cassie!” Celeste interrupts. “There’s no time for arguing. Everyone is waiting so let’s go.”
    “I’m not doing it!” Cassie yells, slamming the cabinet. “It’s bad enough I have to waste my time in this smelly trailer. I’m sick of this.”
    Cassie storms out. Celeste tries to grab her daughter’s arm but Cassie snatches it away. With a tour full of people waiting outside, we can’t afford another one of Cassie’s meltdowns. Before Celeste chases after her, I suddenly hear the distant growl of a motorcycle engine again. My heart skips a beat.
    “I’ll do it,” I say. “I’ll drive the van.”
    The odds of me running into John are small—I don’t know where he lives and the Poconos are spread out over many miles. But my chances of staying here and seeing him are zero so I’ll take some chance over no chance.
    “That’s Cassie’s responsibility,” Celeste says, defeat in her voice. “You’ve already taught your class and helped with mine. You don’t have to do this.”
    The motorcycle sounds quickly fade into the distance. I grab the van’s keys and rush out the door.
    “I don’t mind, really. Everyone’s waiting. Let’s go,” I say.
    Celeste doesn’t follow right behind me.
    “She’s starting to