Free The Equinox by K.K. Allen Page B

Ava. Well, almost everyone.
    This
time, it’s almost as if I’m blending in with the crowd. Once that happens, is
Alec still going to be interested in me? Is being the new girl just a passing
trend? Or are his feelings for me something deeper than that?
    Ava is
grinning at something Brent is saying and I can see that she really is
beautiful. She should smile more often.
    Alec
floats next to me, his gaze distracted as he faces the sky. His skin has
already darkened from just a few hours of sun. I reach over and press my
pointer finger onto his shoulder and pull away. A white spot remains and slowly
fades back to its regular color.
    Alec
laughs. “What are you doing?”
    “Checking
to see if you burned,” I grin.
    He
swipes my hand away with his left and catches it. For someone who says he
doesn’t date often, he certainly is smooth. He squeezes my hand and then lets
it go. I blush and face front.
    “So,
was that your first time protecting someone from a snake?” Alec’s question
sounds nonchalant, casual, as if he’s just asked me if I like peanut butter. I
love peanut butter.
    I groan
but roll with it. “Nope, but it was my first time rescuing a mermaid from a snake. Usually it’s the sharks that go
after them and they can be feisty.”
    Alec
throws his head back and laughs. “That was good.”
    I
laugh too, happy that he’s able to find humor under such awkward circumstances.
    “Good,
but you shouldn’t make a habit of that, you know? Many heroes have died by the
venom of a snake. I hear their poison is unforgiving.”
    I’m
still laughing. “Okay, okay, no more snakes.”

    * *
*

    Once
we’ve reached the first bend in the river, the guys compete to see who can get
down the river the fastest. They use their strong arms to push the water away
as they move far from us. Brent is in the lead first but then Alec pulls
forward. Poor Matt doesn’t quite keep up but he’s laughing.
    The
girls and I stretch out as far as we can, letting the sun pour down on us. Ava even
starts to lighten up a bit—kind of. “This beats a day in Apollo Beach,
that’s for sure. Don’t you two get sick of our small town?”
    I
shrug. “Not really, but I haven’t been in town long.”
    “I
like Apollo Beach. I think we have a fun town. Summer Island has tons to do so
I’m never bored, but this is definitely nice too.” Trisha wriggles her body to
adjust herself in her tube.
    Ava grunts.
“Well, I’ve been in Apollo Beach way too long.”
    Images
of my first encounter with Ava and Iris come to mind. Ava seems to always have
something to complain about. I assumed it was something her and Iris did
together, but now that Iris isn’t around, I find it strange that Ava still acts
this way. Everyone else seems positive and happy. You’d think she’d catch a
dose of that and smile more.
    But
then again, there are sixteen of Ava’s years that I don’t know about. Surely
something in her life has made her this way—ungrateful, negative,
critical.
    I’m
reminded of a conversation that I had with Rose upon moving here and meeting
Ava. The whole political struggle with Ava and Iris’s parents against Rose is
one that certainly affects Ava negatively. If her parents only care about how
they can overthrow Rose as community leader and take her place, then that is
sad. According to Rose, Ava and Iris’s parents’ want to turn Apollo Beach into
a tourist attraction. Does everything have to be about money?
    A
splash and a squeal get my attention just as Trisha’s tube overturns and she’s
submerged by Matt. Matt is laughing as Trisha comes up for air and swats him
before giggling hysterically. Ava sends her tube faster downriver to get out of
their way.
    I
rest my eyes, silently noting that the black rubber tube makes for a plush
pillow. I’ve never been a sun worshiper but it feels good right about now.
    A
jerk of my tube alerts me to open my eyes and I lift my head. Alec is pulling
my tube close to his using the rope that