Free The Carrier (The Carrier Series Book 1) by Diana Ryan

Mexican
restaurant that wasn’t very tasty, a few shops with tourist junk (as Jack liked
to call it), and an ice cream shop connected to the Last Chance. All of these
were housed in two very long and awkwardly shaped buildings with siding painted
in alternating barn red and sunflower yellow. If the intention was to attract
visitors, they certainly did, but maybe not for the right reasons. In between
those two oblong-shaped buildings was a courtyard of sorts with a seating area
and planters. Tourists waiting for their boat to be loaded would lounge around
here. It certainly did have a spectacular view of the Lower Dells docks and the Kilbourn hydroelectric power dam. Jack and I took a
seat on a red bench and looked dejectedly out over the dock.
    We sat in silence as I wondered where Nolan
was. I knew he wasn’t at Lower One. I took a quick glance to the left of the
waiting area over towards Lower Two. It was another triangle booth, much
smaller than Lower One, located at the end of the Mexican restaurant. It
normally opened later in the day than Lower One, and no one was in there yet. I
let out a sharp sigh—I wanted to see his handsome face. I knew that was the
only thing that could cheer me up.
    I screamed as I felt a quick and intense pain
behind my left ear.
    “You okay?” Jack asked, startled by my
outburst.
    I rubbed the area with my palm, and the pain
slowly subsided. “Yeah, I guess.” The pain diminished even more. “I’ve been
getting these weird pains behind my eyes lately. I have no idea why.”
    “Huh,” was all he could say. He stared off into
the scene before us, breathing deeply. Neither of us had anything to say. I
couldn’t imagine my day going any worse. I was glad it was almost over. Then I
had an idea.
    “You know what?” I asked as I pulled out my
phone. “Now’s as good a time as any.” I opened up
UWSP’s grade book and logged in.
    “Good grief, you still
haven’t done that?”
    “Nope.” I
clicked on the last semester and read the grades aloud. “Just
as I suspected—two D’s, two F’s, and an A.”
    “An A? Congrats!”
    “In choir,” I explained.
    “Holly hell. What
a semester.”
    “I’m screwed.”
    We both took a deep breath and released it loudly.
The silence continued a bit longer until a familiar system of alarms rang out
in the distance, indicating one of the dam’s gates was being opened. We watched
gallons upon gallons of water pour through the concrete opening. Sometimes,
when many of the gates were opened, the force of the water would churn up the
minerals in the river and mix them with air. Fluffy, brown foam would build up
and collect around the docks to create a topping that looked not unlike the top
of a glass of freshly poured root beer. 
    Perhaps the sight reminded him of the head on a
beer. “You really oughta hit the bar with me tonight,
kid.” He looked over at me with pleading eyes. I knew he was just looking for a
friend.
    Although I could see him from the corner of my
eye, I didn’t shift my focus from the dam. “I’m nineteen years old, Jack.”
    He looked back over the water. “Yeah, yeah,
kid. I know.”

Chapter
Eight
    When I got home that day I tried to put my bad grades
out of my head and went straight up to my room to call Ted. I took a seat on my
bed and then lay back on the pillow.
    Ted answered the phone exclaiming, “Well, if it
isn’t good ol ’ Ava! Long time no talk there, sweetie!
How’s life treating ya ?”
    Ted was an adorably short, dark-haired,
hilarious guy who rarely had a bad day and could make anyone laugh with a lift
of one eyebrow. Although we tried to keep in touch when we went off to college,
I hadn’t talked to Ted for a few months. We had been good friends since we
played blocks together in preschool, and although he and Aaron were best
friends in high school, I still remained friends with Ted even after Aaron and
I broke up.
    “Hey, you wanna go
get some ice cream and catch up? I’m sure you’ve got