Free The Death of Us by Alice Kuipers Page B

Xander.”
    “No! How come?”
    “They asked me. Okay, that’s not true. Kurt asked Ivy.” I glance at Rebecca to see if Ivy’s name is an okay topic of conversation.
    “Ivy?” she says, and pulls a face.
    “Rebecca, we’re not kids anymore.”
    “What does that mean?” Her cheeks grow red.
    “Becs, this isn’t about Ivy. This is about me. Isn’t it cool? I’m actually doing something cool with my summer.”
    “Is hanging out with me not considered cool, then?”
    “I don’t mean that.”
    “So when are you going on this boat?”
    “Um, like, now.”
    “Now?”
    “Yeah. But I’m going to pretend to Mom thatI’m hanging out with you and then that I’m going to work.”
    “Oh, okay.” I can tell she’s trying to stop herself from crying. Tough as a daylily, tender as a daisy.
    “I didn’t
know
you were coming over,” I say.
    We’ve walked a little way from my house and we’re standing outside Ivy’s. Ivy comes out.
    Rebecca lifts a hand in a fake wave and grimaces. “Hi, Ivy.”
    Ivy squeals and rushes to hug Rebecca. “Amazing! So good to see you. Love the hair.”
    Rebecca disentangles herself. She says, “Course you do. Right, Callie, I’m just going to go.”
    “Becs, don’t. Come with us.”
    Ivy pitches in. Trying to cover the tension. “Yes, come too. Kurt won’t mind.”
    I wish Rebecca would just relent, relax into it, but she glares at me. “I’d love to, but I’ve got stuff to do. See you later.”
    Ivy grabs my hand. “See you, Becs. We should go, Callie.”
    Rebecca glances at Ivy’s hand holding mine.
    “I’ll call you later,” I say.
    Kurt pulls up in his dad’s car. There’s no timefor guilt about Rebecca because Ivy is tugging me away.

    Xander and I chat together at the bow of the boat. He’s easy to talk to and he asks me questions about my life, about my family. I answer, stunned that I’m even here, on this boat, free on the water, the sky open above me. The sun warms my face. I finish eating some chips and tidy the empty bag away.
    “Come on,” says Xander, “I’ll show you how to drive this thing.” He talks me through steering, which is easy, and soon I’m holding the wheel, guiding the boat in a long straight line. I can see the attraction of the water, how the boat feels like it’s mine as it glides forward. I’m reminded of my dad reading to me when I was a child, the first time I heard the epic poem about Odysseus’ extraordinary sea adventures.
    I used to relate to Penelope, the one who stayed at home and waited for the return, but now I’m Odysseus himself. I’m thinking about how he was strapped to the mast of his ship so he could survive the Sirens,women who live in the ocean and lure sailors to their death with their songs, when Xander speaks. “Nice to be on the boat, hey?”
    “It sounds weird, but I was just imagining being a great sea explorer, there being gods and monsters on the next island. I’ve always been really into
The Odyssey.
My dad used to read it to me as a kid. Not really kid-appropriate. I never understood everything he was saying, but I loved it all the same.”
    Kurt sticks his head round from the side of the boat. He says, “Beautiful water today. Might swim later.”
    “The Sirens calling you?” I pause, not sure he’ll know what I’m talking about. God, I’m such a nerd.
    “Yep,” he says, “strap me to the mast.” So he gets the reference. He says, “What? You think editors don’t read?”
    “No, I just …”
    He laughs. “I always wanted to go to Greece. My birth-dad was Greek. If he hadn’t died, I dunno. Greece seems like a cool place. Who knows, if we’d moved there when I was born, stuff like that. Kidfantasy stuff.” He loops his thumbs in his jeans. “All that to say, I read Homer. It stuck in my head. So,you look like you’ve got a good handle on the boat. Xander’s teaching you to steer?”
    “It’s not as hard as driving a car. Do you know I drove the instructor’s car