The Aqua Net Diaries by Jennifer Niven Read Free Book Online Page B

period, Joey wrote me a note. He said, I
am bored out of my mind. I’m close to dying. I mean it. Let’s do something different for lunch today.
    I wrote back and said:
Where do you want to go?
    He said:
Anywhere but here.
    Rax?
    No.
    Burger King?
    No.
    Wendy’s?
    Yes. In Dayton!
    You are crazy. And doesn’t Todd Irwin look good today?
Todd was lean and tall and had brown hair that used to be straight but now was curly. He was going out with Leigh Torbeck, who was a cheerleader. They were one of
those
couples who you knew would be together forever and would never ever break up no matter how much you wanted them to, which meant I would never have a chance with Todd myself. But I still thought he was cute.
    Joey wrote:
Hether can drive. We’ll be back in time for 5th period. I just have to get out of this town.
    We met Hether after fourth hour in the Orchestra Hall and the three of us walked down the ramp and past the choir room, the art rooms, the orchestra and band room, and out the back door. Hether’s car was parked illegally in the side parking lot where she always parked it.
    We got in—Joey in the backseat, me in the front, Hether behind the wheel—and peeled out, music blasting, something loud and rebellious. It was a white-hot sunny day, warm for April. We rolled the windows down, and for once I thought to hell with my hair.
    Hether slammed her foot down on the gas and aimed the Cougar toward Dayton. We flew past the Courthouse, past the Promenade, past Glen Miller Park, past the Arboretum, past Target, past the Richmond Square Mall, past Fred First Ford, past the Spirit of 76 Motel, and then out onto I-70 and east under the giant light blue Ohio arch.
    â€œLet’s see how fast we can go, big girl!” Joey shouted over the music.
    We had just under an hour to get there and back before fifth period. It was forty miles to Dayton from Richmond one-way. Hether accelerated and we screamed. She said, “Hold on!!!” The speedometer climbed past 70 to 80, 85, 90, 95, and finally hovered just over 100. Joey and I started dancing wildly.
    There was a Wendy’s near the airport exit, and that was the one we were aiming for. We knew we wouldn’t have time to go inside and eat, so we would just zip on through the drive-through. In about twenty-five minutes, we saw the sign.
    â€œThere!” I hollered.
    Hether careened across three lanes (there wasn’t much traffic) and raced off the exit. We pulled up to the drive-throughwhere there wasn’t any line. We ordered three Frosties, three cheeseburgers, and three orders of fries. And then we pulled around to the window and waited. We sat there looking at one another. We looked like we’d been caught in a tornado, our hair sticking up and out in every direction. Hether’s face was red like it always was when she laughed too hard or got too excited. Joey was grinning wickedly. I realized I was out of breath from dancing and screaming. I stretched my legs up and put them on the dash. Suddenly I didn’t care if we went back or if Mr. Wysong marked us absent. I wanted to keep driving just as fast as we could.
    Hether handed us the Frosties and the cheeseburgers and the fries and we divvied everything up. Then she hit the gas and peeled out of the parking lot, pointed toward home. “Hold on!!!” she shouted. We were like a bright red rocket taking off across a backdrop of cornfields and silos and barns and farmhouses. We passed tractors and semitrailers and a car or two, but never a cop. Where were they all?
    We made it back to school in under twenty-five minutes, with the whole trip clocking in at exactly one hour, which we were sure was a world’s record. Hether and I slid into Humanities class, hair wild, faces red, clothes askew, just as the bell was ringing. Everyone stared. Mr. Wysong quirked an eyebrow at us and one corner of his mouth shot up. He said, “Ladies. Nice of you to join