The Sphere Chronicles: A Holding Kate Series Book (15 page)

ANKLE BUSTERS:
Small waves

BARREL:
Where the wave is hollow when it is breaking. For some surfers, it’s the be-all and end-all of surfing. Is sometimes called a “tube.”

BARNEY:
An inexperienced surfer, or someone who’s no good at surfing.

BENNY:
A non-local

CARVE:
The classic surfing maneuver. Carving is basically what turning on a wave is called.

CHARGE:
A surfer really going for it on a wave, surfing aggressively. 

CHOKA:
Awesome, bitchin’

KOOK:
Term used to describe new surfers, but better suited to experienced surfers that still do kooky things such as drop in on people, snake, act as if they are better than they really are.

FEAR TRICKLED DOWN
my spine and my heart thumped an angry staccato as the enormous beast crashed through the thicket behind me. Run! I commanded my feet, but they seemed to be growing roots into the mossy forest floor.

“RUN!” Mel screamed and yanked on my arm so hard I thought she had wrenched it right out of my shoulder, but it worked. I was running. We were both running for our lives.

“Is it yours?” She yelled to me.

“I don’t…I don’t…” Looking back over my shoulder, I saw the beast pause and throw his nose into the air, sniffing. He reared up on his hind legs and I saw it. He was wearing a long yellow leash of sorts around his neck, but the ends were frayed, as though he had gnawed himself free.

I stumbled and went crashing into the thicket, thorns snagging my clothes and hair. Mel was next to me in an instant. “Get up!”

She paused at the look of panic on my face. “It
is
yours.” She said and ancient sadness crossed her features. “What is it?” She slashed at the vine tangled around my feet and stole quick glances over her shoulder.

“It…It…it’s my….” I croaked out in despair.

ROOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRR!

The beast bellowed when he caught our scent.

“Get up! Go!” Mel urged.

I scrambled to my feet just as the beast crashed through the wall of branches and vines. We froze staring at the hideous creature as long talons scraped the ground at his sides and black gunk oozed from his mouth and eyes. Yellow fangs pressed into the matted fur of his face. His eyes held deadly intent and seething malice. His breath rose in green fumes around him.

“What is it?” Mel’s voice whimpered.

“It’s my,” I shuddered. “It’s my daddy!”

“IN ONE TENTH
of a mile, your destination is on the left…recalculating…recalculating.” Mom glared down at the GPS. It was blinking off and on and the circular arrow was clocking. She thumped it.

“What is wrong with this thing? We must be out of range.”

“Mom, I think we’re here.” I pointed to the maroon covered bridge and the sign plastered above it that said Welcome to Heartwork Village, a place and time set apart.

“Oh, yeah, this must be it.” She turned the car into the drive and we bumped across the wooden slats.

As we neared the center of the old bridge, I glanced to my right to look at the creek bed. The hair on my arms bolted straight and I felt a strange popping sensation in my chest.

“Weird,” I muttered rubbing my arms.

“Oh, I think it is quaint,” Mom purred in disagreement, scanning the narrow lane ahead of us.

We pulled into a blacktop parking lot where several vehicles were already lined in rows and mom’s keys rattled as she turned off the car. Listening to the engine ticking, we sat for a moment, then mom turned to me, eyes welling with tears.

“It shouldn’t be long, Katie Lynn. I am sure they will see what a good girl you are and you will be released early.”

I just nodded and turned my eyes away when her lip quivered. I didn’t want to take the chance that I would start crying too, not the best impression to make in a center full of delinquents. I needed to be tough to make it through the summer.

Besides, mom was sad enough for the both of us. She had been for several months.

“They say after five weeks we can visit during family week.” Mom plunged into her large purse and emerged with a crinkled tissue. She dabbed her cheeks and blew her nose. “Maybe Grammy and Pops will come too, wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Yeah, sure, Mom.” I swallowed back the panic that rose to choke me and ground my teeth together, fighting the urge to beg her to take me home.

“Please be good, darling.” She pulled me into an awkward embrace and kissed the top of my head. Enveloped in her signature perfume, the scent of fresh air and sunshine, I threw my arms around her neck and deeply breathed in the familiar fragrance, committing it to memory.

“I will be an angel, Mom.” I whispered my wavering promise and kissed her wet cheek.

We stepped out of the car into the sweltering heat and heaved my suitcases out of the trunk. I stole glances around the parking lot at the collection of misfits emerging from various vehicles.

“Hi! You must be Katie Lynn.” A perky co-ed with curly red hair approached as she checked something on her clipboard. “My name is Kim Stevens. I’ll be your escort to orientation.”

Kim beamed, her willowy frame swayed slightly as she introduced herself. I lifted a corner of my lips in a half grimace, half smile. It was all I could muster up. She didn’t seem to mind.

“Let me get some help with your luggage.” She turned and called, “Dirk, over here!” She swirled her finger in a circle above my luggage and a huge black man grabbed one of the boys, and they jogged toward us.

“This is Katie Lynn and her mom, Ms. Wilson.”

Dirk held out his fist and I bumped it. He beamed a sparkling, toothy grin. “Cool. We’ll have plenty of time to get acquainted, Katie Lynn.”

My eyes kept darting over to the boy he was with. He was cute, shocking turquoise eyes were lit by the sun and framed with blond fringe. He had an innocent look in his features. I couldn’t imagine he would ever do anything wrong to end up here.

“Hey.” He flashed me a gorgeous smile and my heart galloped away with any words I might have uttered. I felt the tender skin under my right eye tick and I sort of huffed at him.

Smooth, Kate
. I swallowed and slammed my eye lids together. Why was my throat suddenly parched?

Dirk laughed at the awkward pause between us, and then rallied. “Come on, Corey, let’s get Miss Wilson’s stuff into the wagons.” They collected luggage and trotted away to a covered pavilion where everyone gathered.

“Hope and pray you get on his Jump Team, the dude’s got skills.” Kim winked and pointed her head toward Dirk’s back.

“Jump Team?” My voice cracked. I had no clue what she was talking about. Were there jump rope races or trampoline stunts? I really hoped she wasn’t talking about anything that needed a parachute.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me to the pavilion. Mom followed along in our wake. I hadn’t expected this kind of reception, this felt like summer camp, not a program for juvenile delinquents. I don’t know what I thought would happen—maybe shackles or a lice check?

Passing into the shaded cover of the open air pavilion, Kim called out. “Caitlyn, Eunavae, this is Katie Lynn.”

“Hiya!” The one called Caitlyn said in a deep raspy voice. It was a shock to hear such a big voice come out of such a tiny body. Her lips were glossy pink and her long black hair curled around her olive toned shoulders.

“Call me Pinky,” the other one demanded. She cast a derisive glance to Kim for the failed attempt at an introduction. She had chin length, jet black hair, with a swath of electric pink down one side and shaved around the bottom on the other side. A stud in her bottom lip and a spike in her brow completed her emo appearance.

“Sorry, I forgot, you go by the name Pinky.” Kim apologized, eye brows aloft and jaw tense.

I lifted a corner of my lip and tried not to stare at the spike hovering above Pinky’s angled eyes. Difficult.

Clip clop sounds reached us and we all turned to see two horse drawn carriages, an old fashion stage coach and what appeared to be a hayride, roll to a cascaded stop beside the pavilion.

“Wicked,” Pinky whispered.

I turned to match pleased grins with her and Caitlyn as we wove and jostled toward the first carriage. Mom closed in behind us.

A frantic scream tore through the trees and my heart jumped into my throat. All the teens froze in their tracks and looked around at each other with big eyes. I glanced at mom who didn’t seem fazed at all. Several of the other parents seemed clueless, too. I frowned and looked at Pinky and Caitlyn’s startled faces.

“Did you hear that?” I whispered.

They nodded and we stepped closer together.

Dirk cleared his throat and boomed out in deep bassoon. “Sorry, parents. This is where you say goodbye. No families are allowed on campus until family week.” Then he turned and began handing luggage up to an elderly man who had been driving the stage coach. “There ya go, Pops.”

Pops was what I called my grandpa so I glanced up at the old man. He caught my eye and dipped his chin in greeting. He looked nothing like my Pops, but his eyes perked up as though he recognized me.

Wait! Goodbye? The meaning of Dirk’s words filtered through my distractions and I turned a startled face to Mom and reached out a hand to her.

“We’ll save you a seat, Kate.” Pinky wrenched Caitlyn away to the carriages, glancing in the direction of the scream.

Mom enfolded me in her warm arms and kissed my cheek. I hadn’t realized I was almost as tall as she was. She touched my face and whispered. “I love you, Katie Lynn.”

“I love you, too, Momma.” I felt my brow crumple and quickly ironed it out in an attempt to be brave. There was so much I wanted to say to her. Be brave for Jimmy. Get on with her life and stop pining for Daddy. He didn’t deserve her anyway. I was sorry for making everything worse, but there was no time, no privacy and that mysterious scream left me shaken.

“I…I…I’m so sorry,” I stuttered.

“I know, darling.” She kissed my cheek and pushed me away. “Now, go on, my brave Katie.”