Landlocked (A water witch novel) by C.S. Moore Read Free Book Online Page A

bother with stuff I didn’t care about. Not learning. I loved learning. The rest of high school I could go without. Almost eve ryone treated me great, but they didn’t treat each other very well and it was hard to see every day. Sitting on the ledge of our pool kicking my legs in the water, I wondered why even now with my uncle, aunt, and only true friend, Clarissa, here there was an emptiness in me I hadn’t felt before. I looked forward to Monday, not because of the new things that I would be learning, but because I really wanted to see Jaron again.
    “Ah!” I screamed as a spray of water hit my face. I cleared the moisture out of my eyes and glared at Clarissa. She was on a floating chair in the middle of the pool, grinning from ear to ear.
    She tipped her neon visor up and sipped her lemonade. “I never could have ambushed you like that last weekend. What’s different, I wonder?” she said, winking at me.
    Sylvia brought over a plate of fruit and sat down next to me. “She has been acting funny.” She raised her eyebrows speculatively. “Dylan and I have both noticed. If you know something, spill the beans,” she said, pointing to Clarissa.
    “I know nothing,” she said and paddled away with a chuckle.
    Sylvia picked up a strawberry and inspected it. Having approved it, she handed it to me. “What's going on with you, Mari? You know you can tell me anything, right?” She brushed my hair over my shoulder tenderly.
    I sighed. I didn’t really know what to tell her. “Um… there’s a new boy in school.”
    Her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh.”
    I could tell that this was the last thing she expected. My stomach tightened in the awkward silence that fell between us. “I don’t know… it’s nothing. Clarissa is just teasing me because I thought he was cute.” I looked at her across the pool and wished I had a dart to throw at her chair.
    “Really? You met him at your school?” she said, crinkling her nose.
    I didn’t understand why she seemed so mystified. Maybe she didn’t realize I was old enough to like boys. I shook my head. “Yes, that's where most high school girls meet boys they want to date.”
    A piece of pineapple fell from her hand, landing in her lap. “You want to date him?”
    Oh jeez, that had been a bad choice of words. “No, I don’t even know him, really. I’m just saying that it isn’t anything you need to get worked up about. Girls see boys they think are cute every day.”
    “Oh yeah!” Clarissa shouted from her chair, making me laugh.
    Sylvia looked across the patio and watched Dylan at the grill. “You never have,” she said, furrowing her brow.
    “I guess I’m growing up.”
    She searched my face as if it was the first time she’d seen it. “I guess you are,” she said, emotion breaking her voice. A tear escaped her almond-shaped eye and slid down her perfect cheek.
    I smiled and hugged her. I never knew my real mother, but I couldn’t imagine anyone giving me more love than Sylvia did. I always felt loss for my mom and dad, loss for people I never knew and never would get to know, but it never felt like I had no parents. “Are you going to be okay?” I asked.
    She brought her slim hand to her face and wiped away the tears. “Yes, I’m fine. You just grew up too fast.”
    Dylan set the plate of perfectly cooked steaks on the table behind us. “We need to meet him before you go on any dates. So if you two get the mind—you bring him here first.” He looked at me sternly, something he had never done in my life.
    “Yes, sir.” I saluted him. “I really think you guys are worrying over nothing. I don’t even know if we’ll go out. I just met him yesterday.” Clarissa started paddling S.S. pain in my ass to the side of the pool so we could eat dinner. “Hold on a second, I have to pay her back for making me spill the beans myself.”
    I ran to the ledge and leapt onto her chair, rocketing her awkwardly into the water. She surfaced with her visor