Eleven Things I Promised by Catherine Clark Read Free Book Online

there?” he asked.
    â€œI spent some quality time on the pavement. Hit a pothole. No big deal.”
    â€œYeah?” Cameron examined my elbow. “You want to go to the medical tent and make sure?”
    â€œIt’s just scraped up. I’ll put some ointment and a Band-Aid on it if it bugs me,” I said.
    â€œYou know what this means,” said Cameron.
    â€œI’m clumsy?” I asked.
    â€œNo! It means you’re officially a cyclist now. You have road burn.”
    â€œOh joy,” I said. “When do I get my member card or badge or whatever?”
    Cameron pointed to my scraped forearm and elbow. “You’re looking at it.”
    â€œThanks,” I said. “No, really.”
    The field was covered in a sea of blue tents. I found ours and located my duffel bag. Taking out my cosmetics bag anda change of clothes, I headed into the high school to find the locker room. I waited in line for a bit and then got to take a quick, hot shower. I didn’t realize how much sweat and dirt there was on me until I washed it off. I felt like a new person when I was done.
    After I got dressed and walked out of the little shower stall, I saw Autumn at one mirror, doing her hair, and Margo at another, putting on mascara. It was really weird to be hanging out with people I’d never spent time with at school. Not that we were “hanging out,” exactly. We were just in the same real estate.
    It was bizarre to see my blond hair in the mirror. I tried to run a comb through it, but didn’t have much luck. The two-in-one shampoo my mom had bought because it would take up less room in my bag didn’t have much conditioner, and I thought I was probably breaking my hair more than I was making it look nice. How would she know, though? My hair is nothing like my mom’s. Mine has tight curls and looping waves because of my mixed-race background, while hers is stick-straight; she’s half Japanese and half Caucasian. My dad is half African-American and half French. Which means I am officially four things at once, and my hair has a mind of its own.
    I worked on it for a while, trying to make it presentable.I was pretty sure that the fact I’d bleached it wasn’t helping. I didn’t even know how to react to seeing myself as a blonde. Without Stella to bounce the concept off, it was like I had no way to judge if I looked better or worse.
    â€œSo. You finished?” Margo asked.
    â€œNot yet,” I said. “I have some moisturizer—”
    â€œNo, I meant . . . you finished the ride?”
    â€œOf course,” I said with a laugh.
    â€œDon’t be so surprised I asked. You told us you were worried about it,” Margo said. “I didn’t know if you’d make it on your own or need the sag wag.”
    Margo really knew how to deliver an underhanded dig. “I did okay,” I said, leaning forward to put lotion under my eyes. “I wish I were faster, but I’m still pretty new at this.”
    â€œIt takes months of training,” said Autumn, brushing her hair out after a blow-dry. “Months.”
    Outside, the smell of barbecue wafted through the air, and I made my way over to the row of grills, a large dinner spread of burgers, hot dogs, and various other food. I glanced at my phone. Thirty minutes until dinner started. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to wait that long.
    I wandered over to the support area: there was a small first-aid tent next to a tent offering free fifteen-minute leg massages. I peeked inside, but both massage tables were takenby others. I’d come back for that.
    I climbed up on the bleachers by the football field, looking at over a hundred tents, all the same blue. The tents looked like a temporary camping convention, like base camp at Everest, but with more oxygen.
    I fiddled with my phone. I really wanted to call Stella and tell her about this scene, but of course she already knew about it.