Moonfin (5 page)

“Maybe, just a little,” chuckled Sugar, sitting down next to her. It was hard to stay mad at Lizzy with yellow pudding splattered across her face. Truth be told, she loved Lizzy's crazy experiments.

“Or it could have been that the positive ions spread the charge more rapidly than I originally calculated …” her thoughts drifted off with the possibilities.

Sheesh! What's wrong with me
? She looked over at Sugar with wide, serious eyes and asked, “Was there some deeply traumatic event in my past that left me mentally impaired or otherwise
different
in some way?”

Sugar wiped a goopy glop from her ear and tried to keep from laughing. “Well, let's see … once you fell into the gorilla pit at the zoo. Sumptin' about a mama ape carrying you off to play for a bit,” she said jokingly.

“That explains it.
Brain damage
.”

“I can see it is beginning to affect you, why do you ask?” she said, continuing the charade.

Lizzy sat quietly for a few moments, unsure about letting Sugar in on her octopus conversation. Maybe it was better to keep it under wraps for now. She didn't want to add to her “space-cadet” status, especially after blowing up pudding
.

“No reason. It's just that sometimes I think about when I was little, and I can't remember things I ought to—like birthday parties or what my room looked like—and the day Brandon's boat went missing. It's all a blur …” She did remember feeling a strange sadness the day before, though. Maybe she knew, deep down, something bad was going to happen.

Gentle concern flooded Sugar's dark blue eyes.

“I don't know much about the day your brother disappeared, sweetie, I only wanted to help y'all. Your mom and dad were so busy lookin' for Brandon, and you girls needed looking after—”

“He could still be alive, you know,” Lizzy rasped, feeling the pain in her heart rise to her throat.

Sugar put an arm around her and brushed a loose, sticky curl from her shoulder, and looking wise, as only Sugar could, said, “Life can be like, well … like your lab experiments.”

“Slimy and half-brained, you mean?”

“No, more like surprising and beautiful. Listen, I could give you all kinds of reasons why bad things happen, but the truth is, I don't always know. Sometimes life seems like a battle, and when good people decide to fight, they can take a fall. And the things they fight for … it's all about the people they love. Understand?”

“Yeah, life's not a magic carpet ride.”

“That'd sure be nice! Save my tired feet from walking into town every day,” she said cheerfully, wiggling her toes around in pointed silk flats.

“Besides, Brandon went out looking for smelly ol' lobsters that day, not a battle or anything,” Lizzy grumbled.

They sat silently. Sugar eyed the yellow splotches on the solarium window, wondering if they'd bake to a crust in the hot sunlight. She thought about Brandon and his warm smile. He always loved sitting with Lizzy and reading to her when she was a little girl, and going on fishing trips in the summertime with his dad, and their patrols with the Guard. She was sure there was a good reason he was out near the island that day, and it sure wasn't for lobsters.

“He sure loved an adventure, that one! I know he would be so proud of who you are too, Lizzy. You're like him in many ways.”

Lizzy didn't feel brave, nor did she want to be in any battles. She'd rather crawl up in her old green chair with her books and read about life, instead of living it at times.

“We'd better clean up this mess before your mom gets home, or you'll be late for the bonfire tonight.”

“Oh, the bonfire!”

She almost forgot that she was meeting Jeff and Kai at the beach to set up for the eighth-grade graduation party. She ran into the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboards.

“I'm supposed to help with the s'mores. Do you know where the marshmallows are? I know I didn't use them for anything
combustive
.”

Sugar pulled out a bag from one of the drawers.

“They're a little stale, but I don't think the eighth-graders will notice.”

“Thanks, Sugar, don't know what I'd do without you.”

 

After scrubbing down the walls and floors of the solarium, Lizzy piled the grocery bag of sweets into the wire basket of her cruiser and rode straight over to Blowing Prawn Beach. She pulled into the parking lot, pausing to admire the brightly colored lanterns festooned across the sand for the annual Monarch Middle School bonfire.

Everyone always looked forward to this event each summer. Tonight, the sixth- and seventh-graders celebrated the eighth-grade graduates—a time to say goodbye to everyone as they moved on to high school, and to welcome the younger students into the upper classes. Lizzy arrived just in time to set up the dessert table and join in on the celebration. The boiling sun was beginning to dip into the cool ocean, and all along the beach fire-pits were smoking with lobster, corn, and potatoes. She looked around at the cheery sight, breathing in all the yummy smells wafting on the breeze.

“Did you bring the marshmallows? Because if you didn't, you will feel the wrath of Krista,” greeted Kai, twisting her face into a googly-eyed madwoman.

“
Arrrgh
, does that girl ever get tired of bossing everyone around?”

Lizzy tossed the grocery bag to Kai.

“I guess that's what we get for voting her class president.”

“You mean the brainwashed kids in school did. I didn't vote for her.”

“Me neither. Oh, and Jeff said to meet him at lifeguard station number eleven and he would dig up some clams for us to smoke on the fire,” said Kai, puckering her lips.

Lizzy stifled an urge to gag. “Not for me. I don't eat anything that comes out of a shell.”

Partway down the beach a giant bonfire roared. Lizzy could see many of her classmates milling around, eating dinner and singing songs. The sounds of guitars and harmonicas played off the waves up and down the shoreline, putting everyone in good spirits. They found Jeff's pit where he was busy heaping up piles of juicy clams.

“Hey, guys, watch this.”

He took his clamming fork, and digging deep into the damp sand, pulled out a baby clam. And tilting his head back popped the whole thing, shell and all, into his waiting mouth. After a minute or two, with the innards stripped, he spat the shell out onto the sand.

“Eeewww, that's gross,” said Lizzy, disgusted.

“Wow, you
are
talented,” said Kai.

“Yeah, great party trick.”

Kai thought he faked it.

“No, seriously, how'd you do that?”

“Um, he ate it, Kai,” said Lizzy, pursing her lips. “It's a talent the Pinkertons are known for around here.”

“Sucking the life out of things?”

Kai's double meaning wasn't lost on Jeff—everyone knew his family owned everything in town. He popped another clam in his mouth and slurped away just to annoy her.

“Hey, I know a way we can make some money this summer,” said Jeff. “Wanna go abalone hunting tomorrow at sunset? The lady from the shell shop will buy them for five dollars each.”

“Sure,” Kai and Lizzy chimed together.

“If the tide is low enough, I know a good place behind the Tiki Lodge,” said Lizzy.

Kai jabbed a marshmallow onto a fork and twirled it around in the fire; it crackled and puffed, turning golden-brown, then ignited into a glowing flambeau. She quickly blew it out, admiring its burnt, crispy shell.

“You mean that big coconut building with a palm tree shooting out of it?”

“That's the one. I think Jeff's grandpa owns that one.”

“I bet the waitress will give us free milkshakes—HEY!”

Jeff shot to his feet as a clump of sand came whizzing by and spattered all over Kai's nicely roasted marshmallow.

They all looked up to find Krista Bliss, a tall, slender, and very tan girl, standing over them. Next to her stood Chad, Tina, and Bart (who torpedoed them with a second ball of sand for good measure), her student council goons, all with snarky grimaces stretched across their faces.

“If it isn't little Miss Nerdbomb and her band-of-geeks.”

“
Krista
, you need to teach your slaves better manners!” Kai spat, staring her down.

Krista ignored Kai and went straight for her target.

“What is that
smell
… is it butterscotch? I see you've been playing with food again, Lizzy,” she sneered.

It wasn't a secret. Everyone knew about her wacky lab experiments. Her classmates were so used to it, they never bothered to tell her anymore if something clung to her clothes or fell out of her book bag. And it wasn't only food; it could be one of her pets hitching a ride out of its cage.

“Uhh … well …” Lizzy stammered stupidly. She was intimidated by Krista, with her long bleach-blond hair and gleaming white teeth.

Krista looked as if she had a very important secret that she was dying to tell. Her eyes twinkled, and her smile twisted into a candy-coated pucker, like those fat wax lips you get at the carnival.

“What do you want, Krista, spit it out!” said Jeff, stepping in between them.

Bart nudged his beefy torso in front of Jeff and flared his bull-like nostrils. He was easily the biggest and hairiest kid in school, if not the whole planet, and, as far as Jeff was concerned, a complete chowder-head.

Krista gushed, “I heard you dweebs are going to volunteer at the aquarium this summer. So sorry you'll be stuck there with all the other strange and smelly fish…. I'll be thinking of you while touring Italy on my Vespa—
ahem
, and see what I got from my daddy for winning the elections as
your
new class president?” She lifted a diamond heart necklace up for everyone to see and pranced around like she was the queen of the beach.

Kai was nauseated. Jeff was mesmerized. Lizzy was sure her tongue had transmuted into lead. And after a few moments of gloating, Krista pretended to feel sorry for them.

“Awww, poor Lizzy. I can see you are speechless. Don't you wish you could be exactly like
me
?” she said, flashing rows of gleaming white teeth. Her goons snickered loudly like three brainless rats.

For a moment Lizzy sort of did, but realized what a snake Krista was. Her friend Ben ran against Krista for class president, and he was supremely more qualified than she could ever be. Then when he was close to winning, Krista bribed everyone with free pizza and bowling coupons from her parents' business, and that swung the vote. But try as she may, she couldn't resist envying prissy, blond Krista and feeling like a milk-dud in her presence. Lizzy stood there, awkward and tongue-tied, and she wasn't proud of it.

Kai lost it. She shoved her sandy, burnt marshmallow in Krista's face and started to let her have it with, “What is your problem, you fake plastic doll—!” when something very glorious and unexpected happened. A rogue wave came ashore and crashed right down on Krista and her zombies-in-waiting. The force of it knocked them off their feet and pulled them several feet into the surf.

“AH! ERF! HELP! HUMPGH! BLAARRRGH!” was heard for several minutes as flailing arms and legs rolled down the shore. Coughs and gurgles rose up from somewhere in the shallow tide as Krista and company struggled to get back to their feet, but every time they tried, they were knocked down over and over again.

In the faint light, four lumps finally rolled out of the gray surf and trudged back up the sand, looking like shocked cats drenched in bath water. Krista's once pristine hairdo was now a ratty mess, and Lizzy could hardly envy her at that moment, but she couldn't quite feel sorry for her either. The four clods scurried up the beach to the bonfire, spewing and coughing accusations back at them as they went.

Jeff laughed at the whole spectacle.

“That—was—AWESOME!”

Lizzy looked curiously at the water, which had died down as fast as it had risen. “That
was
amazing, considering how low the tide is right now.”

“Yeah, but this is even weirder,” said Kai, bending over something in the sand near their feet.

Lizzy and Jeff went to their knees, straining to see.

“Bizarre,” breathed Jeff.

Etched in the damp sand, very clearly and very deeply, were the words:

 

 

“How did that get there?” said Lizzy.

Jeff shook his head, examining the shallow surf. “There's
no way
a wave that big could've come this far up at this time of day.”

“Oh, but I'm sure glad it came when it did!” said Kai, smiling.

They all had a jolly laugh about it for the rest of the night. Lizzy couldn't get the words etched in the sand out of her head, for she was sure she knew them, like a name she had heard long ago which had slipped from her memory.

The bonfire went until midnight, and everyone agreed it was a huge success. The Kooky Bobblehead awards were given out for various categories voted on by each student class. Some were deserved honors and others were purely for fun. The Einstein award went to Dibley Drake for best science fair project. Lizzy was very happy for him. Cool Brains went to Cory Bickle for winning first place at the chess tournament. Drama Queen went to Krista, naturally, for her worst acting part in the play, but she thought it was an honor and gloated over all the attention.