The Convenience of Lies by K.A. Castillo Read Free Book Online

Shane last school year in our video production class, and this is my first time hearing from him this summer. Curious to know why he is calling, I answer the phone.
    “Hello.” My voice sounds grumbly and muffled.
    “Hey Mackenzie, did I wake you up?” Shane asks incredulously.
    “Yeah,” I manage to grunt out as I try to clear my throat.
    “If you want, I can call back later.”
    “No, it's ok, I'm awake now.”
    “Seriously Mackenzie, I can call you later.”
Why is he insisting on calling me later?
I don't play games. I say what I mean. And I've said it's okay and I'm awake. I would prefer to not have to insist.
    “No really, I should be getting up anyway. What's up?” I try to conceal my annoyance.
    “I wanted to know if you would like to come over and go swimming,” Shane tells me sheepishly.
    Now I am fully awake. My house doesn't have air conditioning, and we don't have a pool, so I'll take any opportunity I can get to cool off during the blistering summer. I can feel already that my face is clammy with sweat, and I've been sweating so much my pajama shirt is soaked. Swimming sounds just like the refresher I need. “Sure, I'd like to. What time?”
    “How about at 1:00?”
    Perfect. It is the best time to start anything.
    An hour later, I am knocking on Shane's door, looking forward to hitting the pool. As Shane opens the door, I see that there's another person at his house too. I recognize him as Towering-Guy who had given me directions on my first day at Verdad High.
    “This is Cody,” says Shane. We wave at each other from across the room.
    Now I get the opportunity to give Cody a closer look. I think he's wearing the same pair of small, black, glasses as the last time I saw him. Like Shane, Cody is also Hispanic. But unlike Shane, Cody looks like he could put on a few pounds. Cody probably can't keep on weight because he never seems to stop moving and fidgeting, like there's something inside him, vibrating, fighting to come out. He can't seem to be able to sit still. As it turns out, Cody has ADHD. His hair is black and is shaved short in the back, but is a couple of inches long by his face, giving him the look of almost having bangs that he is constantly brushing out of his eyes. I am having trouble deciding if his hair is greasy or if it always kind of clings together.
    “Would you like something to drink, Mackenzie?” Shane asks me. Wow! Shane is actually acting like a gentleman.
    “Sure, what have you got?”
    “We have coke, orange juice, milk, water…” Shane's voice trails off as he is finishing his list of possibilities.
    “I'll have some coke.”
    “Alrighty.” Shane takes out one of those liter bottles and a cup, adds ice, and fills it up. I was expecting just a can; this is a nice surprise. I take a sip. I didn't realize how parched my tongue was until it meets the wet freshness of the coke. Then, I can feel it going all of the way down into my tummy, cooling everything off from the inside out.
    “You guys want to head out to the pool?” Cody asks. He is already jumping off his chair and looking outside at the pool.
    “Do you want to?” Shane asks, looking right at me. I realize I'm getting the biggest vote, probably because I'm a girl. I certainly won't complain about this new status.
    “Yes, let's!” I can't conceal my excitement to get into that pool. That's why I'm here. Shane is out the door the second I'm done talking. He rips off his shirt, throws it to the side, and jumps into the pool with a huge splash! I feel a few drops of water land on me.
    I try to shield my drink from the chlorinated water flying through the air and decide to place it on a table as far away from the pool as possible. As I take off my shirt and shorts, I place them on top of my drink to keep the wasps out of it. I can feel the boys checking me out as I strip down. It's like I'm giving them a show they're supposed to pretend not to watch, which I frankly wish they wouldn't. I feel like they are