The Shore by Todd Strasser Read Free Book Online

Curt’s cigarette.
    â€œSomething wrong?” Avery asked.
    Polly nodded, coughing some more. “The downstairs bathroom.”
    Curt gave Polly a wicked grin. “Well, ma’am, not much can be done about that. You know the plumbing round here’s no darn good.”
    Polly blushed. Avery stared at the two of them, feeling bewildered. Clearly there was some inside joke she was not aware of.
    â€œIs it the sink?” Avery asked.
    â€œNo, the toilet.”
    â€œThere’s a plunger upstairs. I can go get it,” Avery offered.
    Polly winced. “I think this goes beyond anything that we can fix, or would want to.”
    â€œI don’t know, I’m usually pretty good at fixing stuff,” Avery said.
    â€œNot like this. Someone did . . . something . . . to the toilet. I wouldn’t go in there, if I were you.”
    â€œBetter call Fred, then, and confirm his worst nightmares,” Curt advised. “Tell him we burned down his house. When he figures out it’s not true, he’ll be so grateful, he won’t care what we do the rest of the summer.”
    â€œI can’t do that,” Polly said, looking horrified.
    â€œThen give me the number and I’ll do it,” Curt said,reaching for his cell phone while putting out the cigarette.
    â€œNo! I’ve got it,” Polly said. She looked at the piece of paper tacked to the refrigerator that had Fred’s phone number on it before picking up the phone and dialing. “Um, hi, Fred. This is Polly, one of your renters. Oh, I’m glad you remember me. Listen, there seems to be a problem with the downstairs bathroom. Yeah. No, I think it’s going to take a plumber, or maybe a team of them. Thanks. Bye.” She hung up and turned to Avery and Curt. “So, we really should try to get everyone together this morning to talk about the rules.”
    â€œLet me guess,” Curt said. “Rules on how to go to the bathroom?”
    Avery shot him a look that said, “Behave yourself.”
    â€œRules on being considerate and not making a mess,” Polly said.
    â€œThat mess could have been made by someone who doesn’t even live here,” Curt said.
    â€œThen we need rules about that, too,” Polly said in an exasperated voice.
    Another second-floor door opened, and they looked up to see April emerging from her room. This morning she had traded the tight, black skirt and shirt for black jeans and a black tank top.
    â€œLook who came out of her coffin,” Curt mumbled.
    April walked down the stairs slowly. The house stank of cigarette smoke. Totally gross first thing in the morning.Several of her new roommates were standing in the kitchen staring at her. Their eyes were probing. She recognized the pretty, brown-haired girl and the preppy redhead from the day before. The good-looking, hungover guy with the messy black hair was new to her.
    Being shy, she wasn’t looking forward to meeting them. Some people thought she was antisocial. But for her it was easier to let people stare than to have to talk to them. She knew she sometimes came off as remote, but her privacy was worth it. The only reason she was in this rental house was because she didn’t want to be with her mom, helping to take care of her grandmother and living three generations in a tiny vacation condo barely larger than her bedroom. She’d figured in a big house with lots of strangers she could slip unnoticed through the cracks. It might have sounded strange, but it was easier to be 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.
    â€œHi, I’m Polly,” the red-haired girl said as April approached.
    â€œApril.”
    â€œYes, we got that much