Some Kind of Wonderful by J. Minter Read Free Book Online Page B

across the aisle. "Got any more of those eye masks?"
    "Shhh," she returned from under her mask, "beauty rest in progress."
    Just then, the flight attendant reappeared with a wooden box, which she opened in front of us. "Did someone say eye mask?"
     she asked.
    Inside the box was an assortment of jewel-colored satin eye masks that made Meredith's look like it was a blue light special
     from Kmart. Judith and I each thanked the flight attendant and took one.
    Just then Mer tossed off her eye mask and turned to us. "I changed my mind. I'm way too excited to sleep," she said. "I can't
     believe a week ago I thought I'd be making green bean casserole with Grandma on Thanksgiving, and now here we are, en route
     to Paradise. What do you guys want to do first? I was reading a book about Nevis, and it said there are some really good cave
     explorations you can go on."
    "Are you going to be in Vacation Dictator Mode all week?" Judith asked Meredith. She was wearing an eye mask on her head like
     Rambo and had pulled out the trig flash cards I'd forgotten to tell her to leave at home. By now she was arranging them by
     their color-coded tabs.
    Meredith stuck her tongue out and said, "Are you going to study all week?"
    "I think there might be some sort of bonfire on the beach tonight," I said, trying to lighten the mood.
    "Cool," Meredith said.
    "So, what kinds of people are going to be there?" Judith asked me.
    As if on cue, a line of girls who looked our age boarded the plane and sauntered down the aisle right past us. Each of them
     wore a differently colored, wool woven poncho with a white tank top underneath. They all carried some variation of a Louis
     Vuitton travel bag. As they walked down the aisle, they looked painfully intimidating, like a skinny and perfectly blown out
     poncho force field.
    "Who are they}" Judith asked me, as if I was expected to know everyone on the plane.
    I shrugged my shoulders and tried to look disinterested. The truth was, the girls did look familiar. But there's a certain Manhattan private school girl look, so maybe I knew them, or maybe I just knew their
     type. There was something about the way they had walked onto the plane that unsettled me. If I had gone to Thoney, I probably
     would have known them, and the fact that I didn't made me feel on the outside of a social scene I used to be totally plugged
     in to.
    "Are they part of our group, Flan?" Meredith asked.
    "I don't know," I said, a tad more forcefully than I meant to. "I mean," I softened my voice, "there's a whole big group coming.
     I'm sure we'll meet everyone tonight at the party."
    Meredith and Judith were both looking at me wide-eyed, like lost puppies at the pound. I didn't want them to stress about
     tonight, even though seeing those other girls made me a little nervous, too. It would be in my best interest to play happy
     hostess to my friends and make them feel totally comfortable.
    "Don't worry, you guys, the trip is going to be amazing, I promise. We have a sweet bungalow all to ourselves, and once we
     get there, our biggest concerns will be which flip-flops match our bathing suits best."
    Both of them nodded and looked so relieved that I wondered how much stock they put into what I said. Judith refocused on her
     cards, and Meredith even flipped through her in-flight magazine to find an empty crossword puzzle for Judith. The captain
     came on and announced that we were almost ready to taxi out and that they'd be closing the boarding gate in a minute.
    Just then, I looked up to see a tall figure saunter onto the plane with a canvas bag slung over his shoulder.
    "Sheesh," Judith said, glancing up. "You'd think if you were this late for a flight, you'd be in a little bit more of a rush. That guy looks like he has all the time in the world. Wait—isn't
     that—"
    "Patch," I said, laughing. Of course my brother would be fashionably late to the flight and not even get the least bit riled
     up about it.
    "Hey, kiddo," he said,