The Shore by Todd Strasser Read Free Book Online

alone in a big group than a small one.
    As she stared at the group in the kitchen, she thought about just heading out the front door, but she was dying for some coffee and decided to brave the kitchen and her new roomies. After all, it was inevitable that there was going to be some contact.
    “Hi, I’m Polly,” the red-haired girl said as April approached.
    “April.”
    “Yes, we got that much yesterday,” the brown-haired girl said with an easy smile. “I’m Avery. This is my boyfriend, Curt.”
    The good-looking guy nodded, taking April in from head totoe. He might have been Avery’s boyfriend, but his eyes implied that at least part of him was still on the prowl.
    “Want some coffee?” Avery asked.
    “Love some,” April replied. Avery handed her a mug, and she sipped the steaming brew cautiously. “Thanks.”
    April sensed that the red-headed girl, Polly, seemed agitated. She kept staring toward one of the rooms off the living room.
    “Problem?” April asked cautiously.
    Polly nodded vigorously. “Just thought you should know. Don’t go near the downstairs bathroom. Something exploded in there . . . I think.”
    April grimaced. “Thanks for the warning.”
    Curt lit a new cigarette. April stared at the butt smoldering in an ashtray, its dying smoke drifting upward to join with the smoke of its replacement. Have you never heard of lung cancer? she thought. A cloud of smoke hung motionless in the kitchen. April set the mug down abruptly and began to cough. Or the hazards of secondhand smoke?
    “Can we talk about smoking in the house?” Polly asked, also coughing.
    “Do you really have to smoke in here?” April wheezed.
    Curt sighed loudly.
    “I mean, it can’t come as a surprise,” Polly said. “It’s practically banned everywhere.”
    “I agree. No spreading carcinogens in the house,” April said.
    “Big word.” Curt smirked.
    April glanced at Avery, wondering how she felt about her boyfriend being so obnoxious. Caught in the middle, Avery stepped back as if to avoid taking sides. At the same time, April had a sudden vivid memory of watching her grandfather in the hospital, dying of lung cancer, and still begging the nurses for a smoke. “You don’t like big words, how about this: I don’t want to get lung cancer because of you,” she said.
    Curt turned abruptly, heading for the door.
    “Where are you going?” Avery called.
    “To be with friends. Like I should have been all along.” He slammed the door. The sound reverberated through the house. Suddenly feeling terrible, April glanced at Avery, whose shoulders were slumped when her boyfriend stormed out.
    “Sorry,” she muttered to Avery.
    Avery looked distressed but forced a smile, anyway. “It’s not your fault. You have a right not to have smoke in your house. Curt just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. He’s under a lot of stress right now.”
    “Why?” Polly asked.
    “It’s his band,” Avery explained. “He’s trying to get them ready for some gigs.”
    Avery seemed nice, and April couldn’t quite understand why she’d want to be with such a jerk, unless this was indeed out of the norm. Maybe, like her, he had a hard time meeting new people for the first time. And, he certainly was hot-looking, somaybe April could get why Avery was with him. If you don’t mind cigarette breath.
    The swells had been great that morning, and Lucas felt quite pleased as he walked toward his summer abode, damp wet suit peeled down to his waist and his surfboard under his arm. As the house came into sight, the angry-looking guy, Curt—he thought that was his name—came out the front door. Lucas gave him a wide berth. Curt looked none too happy, and Lucas didn’t need anything to spoil his rush.
    Lucas walked in the front door and caught the smell of cigarette smoke. It came as a shock after the crisp, fresh air outside. Three girls were standing in the kitchen. Two he recognized from the day before. The one he didn’t