17. Lara
”Lara… Lara! Lara, wake up!”
I roll and shield my eyes from the bright sunshine streaming into the tent. Amanda is leaning over me with her long hair tickling my nose.
”Get off,” I tell her, batting her hair away. ”I”m sleeping.”
”I know,” she says with a huff. ”That”s why I”m trying to wake you up. They”ve started making breakfast.”
”Where”s Papa?” I ask, rubbing my eyes.
”I don”t know… he hasn”t come by yet,” Amanda says. ”I don”t know if anyone”s up yet. I haven”t heard anyone outside.”
”Then why are you waking me up?” I ask with a touch of annoyance in my tone.
”Because Dylan said we had to be up bright and early.”
I roll over and put my head face down on my pillow. ”He didn”t mean it.”
”Yes, he did. Now come on and get up… I”m gonna go and brush my teeth, and if you”re not up by the time I get back, I”m pouring water on your head.”
”Try that, and I”ll throw all of your clothes in the river.”
Amanda lets out a laugh. ”See you in a bit.”
The tent unzips, and Amanda steps out. I roll over again and sit up. She didn”t even have the decency to zip the tent back, and the flap is hanging wide open, baring me to the whole campsite. Letting out a groan, I zip the tent, grab my bag, and pull it close.
I take out a pair of green shorts and a yellow halter top and get dressed. The halter top has a built-in bra, so I don”t bother putting one on, and after I pull my shorts on, I grab my cute little loafers. My hair probably looks crazy, but I don”t have a mirror.
Stepping outside, I stretch my arms and legs and rub the back of my neck. I love camping but don”t like how sore I feel after sleeping on the ground.
”Good morning, sunshine,” Tiffany says behind me.
”Hey.” I turn. ”Good morning… Where”s your tent?”
Tiffany points to the far left. ”It”s that purple one over there. I shared it with Sloan.”
At the mention of Sloan”s name, I repress an eye roll. ”Oh. Okay… Well, I”m gonna splash some water on my face and brush my teeth. See you at breakfast?”
Tiffany nods. ”Yeah, and then I think a few of us are going swimming again if you want to join.”
”Maybe. I know Amanda will want to. She thinks she”s a mermaid.”
A mermaid who can”t swim well.
Tiffany laughs. ”All right. I”ll come find you.”
After she leaves, I walk to where everyone is brushing their teeth by a tree. Amanda comes skipping over with her toothpaste and toothbrush. She squeals excitedly when she sees me.
”You”re awake,” she says.
”I am. But you have to wait for me before we go to breakfast.” I pull her hair back. ”Why don”t you do something about this mane in the meantime?”
”Can you braid it for me again?” she asks eagerly.
”Not right now. But I can put it in a bun.”
She thinks about it for a second, then nods. ”Okay, that works. Hurry up and brush your teeth.”
”Yes, ma”am.” I salute her and start to brush.
After I return to the tent and fix Amanda”s hair, we head to the picnic area. A few people are eating, with more people coming out of their tents and wandering over by the minute.
The long table has large trays of bacon, sausage, Canadian bacon, and heaping fruit baskets. One of the ranch hands has a big skillet on top of one of the grills, making made-to-order pancakes. My stomach rumbles.
”Can I get a pancake?” Amanda asks.
”Sure. What do you want to drink? I”ll grab it from the cooler.”
”Orange juice,” Amanda calls, running to the pancake line.
As I walk to the cooler at the end of the buffet table, Dylan steps beside me.
”Mornin”. I went to your tent to escort you ladies to breakfast but was surprised to find it empty. I thought you usually slept in,” he says with a grin.
”I usually do, but my little sister was eager for her pancakes.”
”Hey, Dylan! Hey!”
I turn at hearing Dylan”s name, and Sloan is waving at him from a nearby picnic table.
”Come sit with me,” she calls, wearing a bikini and nothing over top.
”I think your girlfriend is calling you,” I tell him coolly.
Dylan waves at her, then turns to me. ”Don”t tell me you”re jealous. Sloan and I are just friends. And she knows that.”
”I”m not jealous, but isn”t it a little strange that she”s half-naked at breakfast? There”s kids here.”
Dylan looks back at Sloan. ”She”s going swimming, I guess.”
”Did you stop by her tent last night, too?” I have no idea why I just asked that.
”You are jealous, aren”t you?”
”Of course not.” I try to save myself by acting calm. ”Now, if you”ll excuse me, I”ve got to get some sausage.” I pick up a plate and move down the buffet.
”Try the links. They”re big and meaty.” Dylan comes up behind me again. ”Or you can try some of my sausage later.”
”Dylan? You”re a pig. Go away. I”m going to tell your uncle.” I shoo him off and continue down the buffet line, trying my best not to look back to see if he”s sitting with Sloan.
”I got a whole stack of them!” Amanda shows up carrying a plate with a mountain of pancakes.
”We”ll share those,” I tell her. ”Find a place to sit.”
After getting some breakfast meat, biscuits, eggs, and fruit, I walk to the picnic table.
To my dismay, Dylan is at Sloan”s table. And for some insane reason, Amanda is right beside him.
”Lara!” She waves at me to come over.
”You sure you want to sit here?” I ask Amanda. ”We”re in the full sun.”
”It”s fine,” Amanda says, taking a bite of pancake. ”Dylan says we”re going to go swimming after breakfast. We can cool off then.”
”I”m already dressed for it.” Sloan giggles, sticking her chest out to show off her bikini top.
”We can all see that,” I mutter and take a bite of sausage.
Tiffany sits beside me, and then Carter and Juliet join. The table is filling up, but I have yet to spot Parker.
”Anyone seen Parker this morning?” I ask the table.
No one answers.
”You”re not worried about where Parker is,” Dylan whispers.
I ignore Dylan, grab some pancakes from Amanda”s plate, and pour syrup.
”Hey, Dylan? Can I get you another juice?” Sloan slides her arm across his shoulders. ”I”m going back to the buffet.”
”No thanks.” He holds up a bottle of apple juice. ”This is good.”
”You sure? I can be your waitress.” Sloan lets out a girlish giggle that makes me want to throw up the piece of pancake I just ate.
”I”m set, Sloan. Thank you, though.”
She sticks out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout. ”Fine.”
As she walks away, she swings her hips, making sure her ass is in full view of anyone watching. I glance at Dylan, and thankfully, he isn”t looking. He”s just shoveling food into his mouth.
”Don”t they say you”re supposed to wait an hour to go swimming after you eat?” I ask just to have something to say.
He gazes at me with syrup dripping from the corner of his mouth. ”Just an old wives” tale.”
I hand him a napkin and point to his lip. ”You”ve got something just there. And you”re disgusting, by the way.”
He shovels another forkful of pancakes into his mouth on purpose. ”Ffanks.”
As I return to my plate, Amanda taps me on the arm. ”Okay, I”m done. Can I go swimming now?”
”You only ate like five bites.” I scoop a piece of bacon with my fork and dump it onto her plate, along with half a banana. ”Eat that and drink your juice. We can”t go yet because not everyone is finished. And you”re not going in the water alone.”
”I”m not a baby.” She lets out a huff. ”I can swim.”
”A little,” I tell her. ”But the current is strong and can carry away even the strongest swimmers. So you”re not going in by yourself. Just wait until everybody”s done.”
”Hey, Amanda.” Dylan leans over to her. ”I”ll trade you a sausage link for the piece of bacon.”
Amanda picks up the piece of bacon with her fingers. He picks up the sausage link, and they swap food.
”Very sanitary,” I tell them and sip my orange juice.
”My hands are clean.” He shrugs. ”At least for the most part.”
Amanda makes quick work of the sausage and takes a bite of the banana. ”Okay, how about now?”
”You need to stop asking me,” I tell her. ”If you”re finished with breakfast, find something else to occupy your time. You don”t even have your swimsuit on… go put it on, and then we”ll probably be ready by the time you return.”
Amanda”s face lights up. ”Good idea.” She gets up from the table and runs away.
”Clean up after yourself first,” I shout at her, shaking my head.
Amanda doubles back and grabs her empty juice bottle and plate. ”Sorry, Lara.”
”Remember, if we want the Caldwells to invite us back next year, we have to be respectful and not leave a mess for them to clean up.”
While Amanda takes her plate to the trash, Sloan returns and sits beside Dylan.
”I know you said you didn”t want anything, but I got you a muffin,” she says, holding it out to him. ”It”s raspberry.”
”I”m allergic to raspberries,” Dylan says.
Sloan looks alarmed and puts the muffin down. ”Oh! I”m sorry! That was thoughtless of me. Can I get you a blueberry one?” She starts to caress his arm.
Dylan pats her hand. ”It”s okay. I”m full. Isn”t it time to go swimming?” He stands, forcing Sloan to move her hand.
”I”ll go change,” I tell him. ”Can you keep an eye on my sister when she comes out?”
”I”ll keep an eye out,” Dylan tells me. ”Go change.” He glances down the length of my body and smiles slyly.
I turn away quickly, feeling the heat flare in my cheeks.
Amanda isn”t at the tent, so she must”ve gone around the other way to the picnic area since I didn”t pass her.
I step into the tent, pull on my suit from yesterday, and then slide my green shorts on over the suit.
Sloan might be comfortable walking around baring herself to the world, but I”m not. Not at a place where there are so many people. Especially in front of Mr. Caldwell or my dad.
After I”m finished, I head back to the picnic area where Amanda is playing thumb war with Dylan.
She turns, letting go of Dylan”s hand. ”Let”s go!”
She takes off running through the picnic area.
I look at Dylan, and we start running after her.
She”s going to run straight into the river and slip and fall. I just know it.
”Amanda, slow down!”
”You can”t catch me,” she yells, laughing.
This girl is driving me crazy.
”Hey,” Dylan calls. ”Wait for us!”
”It”s no use,” I shout at him. ”She”s too stubborn to listen.”
She”s almost to the river, and I increase my speed. The last thing I need is for Amanda to go into the river without me. If she gets hurt, I won”t hear the end of it from my parents. It”s my responsibility to watch her.
”Amanda,” I yell sternly. ”Don”t you dare get in that water!”
She stops and looks back at me with a huge grin.
She”s a few feet from the edge of the water.
”I won”t!” With a giggle, she takes off downstream, along the river.
”Where”s she going?” I look up ahead. ”Dylan, what”s down there?”
”Nothing,” he calls back. ”Just the river and the woods.”
I have no idea how deep the water is down there. I can”t let her go any further.
”Amanda, come back,” I shout. ”We need to stay close!”
”It”s fine,” she calls. ”I want to show you something!”
”Come on… let”s go back,” Dylan calls to her.
I stop to catch my breath for a second, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in my side from running right after breakfast.
I need to find where that girl gets her energy.
She”s about forty feet away now, and she stops. I breathe out a sigh of relief. Good, she”s finally tired.
”Amanda! What the hell are you doing?” I shout as she climbs onto a tree branch next to the river.
Is she insane?
”Dylan!” I yell. ”She”s in the tree… get her down!”
”I”ll get her.”
Amanda waves at us. ”Look how high I am!”
She”s climbing fast, and she”s about halfway up the damn tree.
”Amanda, get down,” Dylan calls. ”It”s dangerous going that high. You”ll fall and hurt yourself.”
”I”m not going to fall!” she yells. ”I can see everything from up here!”
Dylan starts climbing.
I stay on the ground and watch their every move. ”Stay where you are. Dylan is coming to get you.”
”I don”t need someone to get me,” she calls. ”I can climb a tree all by myself!”
She likes to climb trees like any other kid, but I”ve never seen her climb one so high. What can she possibly be thinking?
”Don”t go any higher,” Dylan yells. ”I”ll catch up to you?—”
To my horror, Amanda loses her footing on the branch.
She tries to grab onto a nearby limb to catch herself but can”t reach it, and she falls!
Everything goes in slow motion.
I”m frozen as my baby sister drops through the air.
I run forward.
I don”t know if I”ll reach her in time, but I have to try.
”I”m coming!” I scream.
But I”m too late.
She hits the rocky riverbank below…