Free Ever by Darrin Shade Page A

the surf shop down the street. Dara had her hair flat-ironed, Naomi sported a French manicure, and all three of them were wearing loads of makeup and designer jeans.
    I looked down at my faded skinnies and oversized sweatshirt and wondered if I had somehow messed up. Hopkins had handed out a packing list and I had everything on it packed neatly into my duffel—which was old, charcoal gray, and about half the size of Val’s. I shrugged and joined Dara and Naomi in the back. They had left the middle seat for me—because I was smaller, they said. I climbed over Naomi and she giggled.
    “Hi, Ever! I’m so excited.”
    She was. Dara, too. But Val…Val sat stick straight in the passenger seat. She didn’t say a word until we were out of the car. We lugged our stuff over to the Chipotle parking lot where a group of kids waited with Hopkins. The sun was just starting to set for the overnight bus ride that would get us to the park in the early morning.
    “Welcome, girls!” he greeted.
    “Hi, Mr. H.,” I responded. He was wearing lime-green Converse today and a matching windbreaker. I had to admit I liked Hopkins’s style.
    “I’ll take those permission slips. And your behavior contracts.”
    We handed over our paperwork. Every student had signed a form saying that they would adhere to school policy regarding smoking, drinking, fighting and sexual activity, while on the school-sponsored field trip. But looking around me, I could tell that a lot of the kids on this trip were going on it just so they could have the opportunity to let loose.
    The bus showed up and, as we went up the stairs, the bus number seemed to illuminate and catch my attention—4700. Another forty-seven. What was it with that number? Dara and Naomi slid into some seats on the right side, and Val and I took the ones directly behind them. I wondered if this would be wise, since Naomi’s loud giggling was going to prevent anyone near her from sleeping. Who was I kidding? I could almost feel the buzz of excitement emanating from the students around me. Even though we were leaving at night so that people could sleep on the bus, it was going to take hours for anyone to doze off.
    I heard Val suck in an excited breath next to me. I looked up in time to see Jaren board the bus, an army-style messenger bag slung over his shoulder. I averted my gaze quickly, avoiding his piercing stare. I noticed that Val was not the only one having an obvious reaction to the guy. Several girls whispered, giggled and stole obsessive peeks at him. Briefly, I wondered if Jaren felt the way celebrities did…constantly monitored yet never totally understood by a throng of admirers.
    “Damn, he is so fine.” Val sighed and began rummaging around in her bag.
    I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder. Several hours later, the bus jolted to a stop somewhere near Bakersfield. I wrinkled my nose at the smell. Bakersfield was apparently home to a multitude of cattle. This was fitting since everyone stampeded out of the bus like a deranged herd. Val, Dara and Naomi headed to the little food mart while a bunch of other kids snuck around back to do God knew what—hook up, smoke a joint… I had no idea and I didn’t care to find out. I hung back and went to sit on a bench near the bus. Before everything that had happened to me, I would have been the first person behind the mini mart with my smokes. Instead, I pulled out The Archive .
    I cleared my head and began to read the section in the journal about animal totems. According to the author, animals could act as messengers or something. I found this idea totally interesting. I mean, cats always seemed to find me somehow. When my first cat, a large Maine Coon named Snickers, passed away, Bear, a six-toed tortoise shell showed up meowing incessantly outside my bedroom window two days later. I always felt like I understood animals more than people. They were so…real.
    I fiddled with my pendant. The muggy night air carried the voices