More distance between us. Or I can become a girl who gets high test scores and sneaks out at midnight. Who reads philosophy books and does drugs.The kind of girl every musician boy wants. An interesting girl.
I sit up straighter. âNo, itâs fine. Maybe. The drinking, I mean. Possibly. We could try.â
âYes!â Joy punches the air. âMom and Dad are gonna be so pissed that Iâm leading you into a life of sin.â
Is this just a way for her to get back at Mom and Dad?
âAnd youâll have stories to tell Adam on your first date with himââ
I stare at her. So much for secrets.
âWhatâs the look?â she adds, then gasps. Mimes zipping her lips. âSorry. Sorry.â
âYou like Adam Gordon?â November hardens.
A beat. Then I shake my head.
Pathetic.
But November doesnât soften. Thereâs an awkward silence. Then she stands up. âActually, I was only swinging by for a minute. Gotta pick up a prescription.â
âThatâs fine! Iâll text you!â My sisterâs a puppy, bouncing all over her.
The bell above the door rings as November leaves. Then the airâs less intense.
âIâll make up for that.â Joy grabs my arm. âIâm gonna personally make sure you and Adam hang out this summer. This is your first crush. Itâs important.â
She hooks her ankle behind mine and tugs my foot. Sheâs always touching people without thinking. Trying to drag them into her world.
Maybe this summer Iâll let her.
A week later, itâs the three of us again. Iâve only been to the quarry once before, during the day. It belongs to the town, even though itâs close to Mr. Gordonâs property, but everyone knows he doesnât mind. Mom and Dad took us for a picnic once when we were nine. They talked about the first time they kissed here, under the moon. That was before everyone started saying how someone might fall.
Now, at night, itâs so dark that you canât see the bottom. The quarry is an inverted sky without stars. People took what they wanted from the earth, and this scar is still here, even though theyâre gone.
âGrace, come here!â Joyâs sitting with November on a blanket scavenged from the back of her car. Close to the tall dark pines.
âAre you scared?â She laughs at me. âRemember how you used to be afraid of the dark?â
âShhh!â I hiss.
She pokes my cheek as I sit on the scratchy wool. âIâll protect you, baby sister. The dark doesnât scare me.â
âThis was all I could steal from my dadâs cabinet. Fair warning, itâs gross.â November pours a tiny glassof liquid. I canât see what color it is in the dark. She holds it out to me. âYoungest first. Iâm not drinking, I drove here. And I want to be very sober in case one of you pukes.â
âSheâs not gonna puke.â Joy wraps her arm around my shoulders. The breeze tangles her hair with mine. âTry it, Grace. Itâs not that bad.â
âHave you ever had it?â
âWell. No.â
How many calories are in this? I drink it. It sears my throat and I cough. Joy laughs and the quarry swallows the echo. The aftertaste stings hard.
âYou like it?â She jostles my shoulders. Throws her legs over mine. Sheâs touching me so much tonight.
A normal girl would like it. âSure.â
She shrieks in delight.
âDonât scream, you maniac.â November glances at the pines.
âWhatever. The Gordons canât hear us.â Joy grabs the bottle and swigs. It looks badass until she gags and sprays liquid all over the rock.
âThatâs what you get.â November stretches out on the blanket and pops one earbud in.
A normal girl wouldnât have to like it. Everything Joy does is what a normal girl would do.
I stop drinking before she does. She keeps it up until