door, I duck to the side and lean against the outer wall, wanting to be out of sight, but not out of earshot.
âShe can be quite a handful,â The Beast explains with fake sympathy.
âI guess that would depend on what else youâre holding onto,â Aunt Guin replies. âIt was good seeing you again, Gerald, and meeting you, Fanny. Billy, I am eternally charmed.â
âWhatâs that mean?â
âThat I think youâre cool and next time youâre coming with us.â
âPromise?â
âNever trust anyone who makes a promise. Life has too many curves to guarantee a destination. But Iâll do what I can and thatâs quite a bit. You okay with that?â
âYeah,â Billy replies, sounding confused.
âIâll see you on Labor Day.â
âSee you then, Aunt Dibilybop,â Billy says.
And before Dad or Fanny can say anything, Aunt Guin closes the door and walks past me.
âWell, come on,â she says without looking at me. Her stride is strong and purposeful, and I have to jog to catch up and speed-walk to keep up. This goes on for a few blocks before I finally ask, âWhereâs your car?â
âWhat car?â
âThe one weâre taking to your cabin?â
âOh, itâs not a cabin, itâs a house, and itâs on a beach.â
âI donât careâ¦itâs on a beach?â
âWhite sand.â
âIâm too pale and skinny for a beach.â I hate my body or lack of it.
âTall and thin is in.â
âOh yeah, all teenage guys want to be with someone whoâs taller than they are.â
âYou donât strike me as the guy-chasing type.â
âIâm notâat all.â
âOkay.â
âIâm not!â
âAll right.â
This is just infuriating. You say one thingâagghhh.
âSo, whereâs your car?â
âWhat makes you think I have a car?â
Sheâs joking. She has to be joking.
âHow are we going to get to your house?â
âHitch a ride,â she says.
I stop. I think about the black veil camp. I think about spending my summer with an insane aunt. I think about my sore legs and about getting murdered by a psycho who drives around all day looking for hitchhikers. I think there must be another choice.
âIâm not hitchhiking.â
âWhy not?â
âBecause we could get killed, raped, end up in the slave trade or get cut up into little pieces and sold as gourmet cat food.â
âItâs perfectly safe to hitch a ride as long as you know whoâs picking you up. Itâs a calculated risk that way, espeâcially if youâve arranged a time for said pickup.â She looks at her watch and then up the road. âRight on time.â
Chapter Eleven
I follow Aunt Guinâs gaze to a vw van turning onto the street weâre on. The vanâs seen better days. Itâs mostly silver but only because most of the paint is gone and the steel has been polished, except above the wheels where itâs flesh tonedâI think itâs called body filler. The roof is cream colored, and I can only guess thatâs what the rest of it used to be. The sun reflects in waves off the vanâs side as it moves toward us like a steel caterpillar. Aunt Guin sticks her thumb out and the van pulls to a stop.
The driver, who looks about the same age as Aunt Guin, has long white hair tied back in a ponytail. His hairline points to blue sunglasses sitting on a little white nose. He leans out his window and removes what turn out to be sunglass clips, revealing violet eyes behind clear lenses in round wire frames. I quickly look down at the ground so that he wonât catch me staring at him. Iâve never seen an albino before, and I donât want to be an insensitive jerk and stare at him like heâs some kind of freak, because heâs notâheâs just difâferent