Borderline by Allan Stratton Read Free Book Online

home, Dad always asks Mr. J if I’ve followed the rules, and Mr. J always says yes.Dad never believes him. He grills me, especially about our meals. “Are you calling Mr. Johnson a liar?” I say. That shuts him up.
    But why go nuts about that now? Dad isn’t here to wreck things. I can relax.
    We collect sleeping bags and air mattresses from the blanket boxes in the bedrooms and stash them in the Catalina’s stern. Then we get the fishing rods from the umbrella stand by the side door and secure them in the fiberglass rod boxes. Andy checks the locked tackle box next to the console where Mr. J stores the flashlights. We have four, plus extra batteries.
    Andy shifts from one foot to the other. “Hey, can the two of you finish up? There’s something I gotta do.” He runs inside.
    Marty leads me to the woodbox near the compost heap, where we get the beer that he and Andy hid this summer, under a pile of kindling. Mr. J’s let Andy drink since he turned fourteen, but Andy didn’t want him to know they were boozing in the boat.
    I fill the burlap sack with firewood.
    Marty rolls his eyes. “We’ll find loads of driftwood on the beach.”
    â€œWhat if it’s too dark to see by the time we get there?”
    â€œThat’s why we have flashlights.”
    â€œBut what if it’s wet? Like, what if it got rained on this week?”
    â€œFine,” Marty grumps, “if you’re gonna be a girl about it.”
    â€œThis way’s easy is all,” I explain. “We can get our fire pit going right away without wearing down our batteries.”
    â€œI got it, Mom.”
    Our final trip is to the garage, where we rummage around for Andy’s old tent. It’s on a shelf, folded up inside a thick plastic sheet draped with cement dust, spider webs, and bits of dead leaves. It stinks of mildew.
    â€œWhew!” I stick my nose to the side, as we carry it to the boat. “Marty, between this stench and your farts, we’ll be dead by morning.”
    â€œDon’t worry.” He laughs proudly, “I brought matches.”
    â€œGreat. We won’t suffocate. We’ll explode!”
    We throw a tarp over everything in open storage and wait for Andy to finish whatever he’s doing. I go sit at the end of the dock and dangle my legs over the side, watching the sun sink behind the cluster of islands to the southwest. Marty plunks himself down in back ofthe Catalina’s engine. He bounces his chubby calves off the rubber tires along the side and starts to work out a splinter in his thumb, chewing at it with his teeth.
    â€œSo…,” he says, after what feels like forever.
    â€œSo.”
    He spits out the sliver. “Sammy…”
    â€œYeah?”
    â€œIs there something I should know about?”
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œAre you pissed with me or something?”
    â€œNo,” I lie. “Why?”
    â€œDunno. It’s just, I’ve been getting this vibe.” ( He’s been getting a vibe?) “So anyway, we’re okay?”
    â€œYeah,” I say. “Sure.”
    â€œGood.” Pause. “Cuz you’d tell me if there was a problem, right?”
    â€œMarty, quit it, will you?”
    â€œBut you would, right? Sometimes I do things, say things—I can piss people off. I don’t mean to.”
    â€œI know.”
    Silence.
    We listen to the boats in the water. Laughter from up the beach. A dog barking.
    I look to the cottage. “I wonder what’s keeping Andy?”
    â€œGuess.” Marty whispers it like I should know, but I don’t. “He’s been this way since he found out. Clowning around like nothing’s the matter. Then bam. It hits him. He leaves class, holes up in the can till he’s normal again.”
    What does Marty mean, since he found out ? What does he mean, normal again ?
    Marty sighs. “He hides stuff pretty well.”
    Hides what?