Nina Chapman - Micah McKinney and the Boys of Summer

This is how its going to happen. Im going to walk into seventh grade with my new friends from my new neighborhood and be a completely different girl. Ill have traded in my old ratty soccer shorts for skinny jeans, and Ill finally have boobsthe round kind.

I opened my eyes and sighed, inhaling the sweet lemonlike scent that wafted over me from the magnolia tree I was hiding under. I felt my body melt further into the grass of my new front yard and closed my eyes again, thinking of all the possibilities. Anything could happen in a new neighborhood. I could be anyone.

It was the second day of summer vacation. That meant I had eighty-one days left. Eighty-one days until the start of seventh grade. Eighty-one days until my thirteenth birthday. Eighty-one days to re-create myself.

Who knew? Maybe eighty-one days would be enough time to forget about what had happened. To forget about the disaster Id become in sixth grade. Maybe it would be enough time for Libby to forget too. Maybe it would be like nothing had ever happened.

* * *

Dude is she dead?

I jerked my eyes open at the sound of a boys voice, but the Texas sun was brighttoo bright. I must have fallen asleep because the shadow of the magnolia tree Id been hiding under had shifted, leaving me exposed in the grass while three silhouettes hovered above me.

I scrambled to sit up, trying to shield my eyes, and the boy in the middle stepped closer to block the glaring sun. Better? he asked.

I froze. He had light-green eyes, smooth, dark skin, and jet-black hair that stood out in tufts but in a cool way, like hed done it on purpose. Two other boys stood behind himone was short and scrawny, and the other one was bigger and had a smirk on his face.

The bigger kid peered at me from around the green-eyed boy. Dude, youve got grass stuck to your cheek. Were you drooling?

I looked at the first boy again. I couldnt get over his eyes. They were sea green, like the crayon. It suddenly got quiet, and I realized that they were all staring at me staring at him. The mouthy kid snorted, and I blushed, realizing he had said something about drool and grass. I scrambled to my feet and turned my back to them so I could swipe the grass off my cheek in private.

Was I seriously drooling?

Im Luke, the green-eyed boy said, interrupting my thoughts. And this is Ryan. He pointed at the shy kid to his left. Thats Josh. He gestured to the obnoxious one.

Micah! my dad shouted, standing next to the moving truck. He was holding a box and struggling to wipe the sweat out of his eye with his sleeve. Come help me with these last two boxes!

I gotta go, I said to the green-eyed boy.

OK. He smiled a lazy half grin that made my stomach turn a flip. It was like he knew something I didnt. See ya later, Micah.

Man, shes lame, the mouthy kid said before turning to walk away. Lets go to my house.

The other two followed him across the street, both sneaking a second glance as they walked away. They caught me watching them, so I jerked around and headed for the moving truck, where my dad stood waiting for me.

Well , Dad said, smiling his teasing grin. I guess six miles just wasnt far enough.

What do you mean?

We should have moved farther if I wanted to keep the boys away. Probably should have left Wichita Falls. Maybe Texas even.

Yeah, right, I muttered, snagging the box from his hands.

I dont know with all these boys flocking over here, I think Im gonna have to break out the water hose. Dad ruffled my already messed-up hair, making the blond bun on my head bob from side to side.

I ignored him and turned toward our new house. Im pretty sure I can just scare them all away with my drool, I mumbled.

What?

Nothing, I said over my shoulder, readjusting my grip on the box. Where do you want this?

Just put it in the living room with the rest. Well sort them out later.

I paused on the front porch and studied the house in front of me. It was smaller than our old house and nowhere near as pretty. Everything about it was plain and empty, including the porch where I stood. It made me miss our old porch swing and the flowers Mom used to plant under our big oak tree.

My eyes fell back to the massive magnolia tree near the side of the house. I could smell it from where I was standing, and the scent made the knot in my stomach ease up a bit.

As soon as I walked through the front door I felt the cool air gushing from the vents. The power must have finally come on. It smelled weird, like old ladies.

I dropped the box in the middle of the living room floor, and the lid flopped open, revealing our old Halloween decorations. I went to close it, but a small piece of paper poking out beneath a scarecrow arm stopped me. It was an old receipt, just the thing Mom used to draw on. I turned it over, disappointed to find that it was blank.

When Mom was alive, shed drawn on anything she could get her hands on: receipts, napkins, disposable coffee cups. She always drew the types of things wed see outside on lazy walks. Things that most people wouldnt notice, like a dandelion squeezing through the cracks in the sidewalk or a feathery seed floating in the summer air.

Later she would leave scraps of her art, little tokens of love, in random places for Dad and me to find throughout the day. Id discover a drawing tucked inside my lunch box at school or under my pillow at night.

It hadnt stopped in the two years since shed been gone. I kept finding her drawings all over our old house, hidden in the weirdest places. Id unearth one tucked inside a shoe or sitting in the pantry on top of the peanut butter.

I had been looking for one of those drawings all day. I needed a sign. I needed to know that she was OK with our move.

I heard Dad walk into the house and felt him slow before he set the box he was holding down next to me. What are you thinking about, kiddo?

He had that sad look he would get on his face sometimes. The one he got when Mom came up in discussions. I could tell that he knew I was thinking about her. The same way I knew he was thinking about her too.

Oh I stalled. My eyes fell on the box full of costumes sitting in front of me. I was just thinking that I wanted to be a scarecrow this year. For Halloween, I mean.

It sounded like a lie. Probably because it was.

I quickly started unpacking boxes, hoping he hadnt noticed. It must not have worked because I could still feel him staring at the back of my head.

I couldnt shake the gross feeling I got waking up in this weird place. The sunlight was streaming in from the wrong side of the room and into my face. This definitely wasnt home.

I rolled out of bed and trudged past my dads room, where he lay snoring with his mouth gaping open. The floors creaked as I walked through the empty house toward the living room. I turned on the TV, but found myself staring at a blank blue screen. No service yet. I opened my laptop. No Wi-Fi either.