Billy kicked the front tire of the golf cart. Stupid thing! He spat out the words.
Fifteen-year-old Billy Bright stood wedged into the bushes at the end of the narrow trail that edged the lake.
Again he leaned his weight on the front of the cart and shoved. Move, he yelled at the machine. The pink and white golf cart remained headed into the hillside where Billy had driven it.
Although there was a chill in the night air, beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. He drew the sleeve of his jacket across his face as he muttered angry words under his breath.
How was I supposed to know the trail didnt go all the way around the lake? He pushed a mop of brown hair out of his face. Im really in trouble now. He knew he wasnt supposed to take the cart off the campground property.
Billy worked his way to the back of the machine. Grasping the edges of the rear seat, he braced himself to pull back on the cart.
Looks like youre stuck.
He swung around to see two girls, about his age, standing in the middle of the pathway. He glared at them.
What are you, some kind of a smart-alec? he sneered.
No. The shorter girl tossed her blonde curls. Im the smart Alix. Alix Clark, that is. And this is Tawny Hughes. We live here.
And we already know who you are, Tawny announced. We know everything that goes on in Lake Pearl. Youre Billy Bright.
Doesnt look too bright to me, Alix commented. The girls giggled.
Billy felt his ears burn, but he didnt reply. He held his eyes in a half-closed squint, and his eyebrows came together in a permanent frown.
Youre the kid whos going to work for Ben and Mavis in the campground during Spring Break. They your Aunt and Uncle?
Billy ignored the question. Well, if youre so smart maybe you know how to get this stupid cart out of this mess.
Maybe we do, Alix said. She stepped into the cart, turned the key to the left, and pushed her foot on the GO pedal.
Out of the way, she yelled, and backed the machine away from the hill. Then she turned the key to the right and eased the cart forward until the front tire touched the water. Working back and forth in the narrow space, she soon had the cart turned completely around.
She looked up at Billy. Turning the key to the left changes the polarity of the motor, she said with a superior air. Makes it go backwards.
I could have figured it out, Billy grumbled. He stepped into one side of the cart as Alix stepped out the other side.
The fringe of pink cotton balls that edged the candy-striped awning of the cart bounced and danced as Billy drove away. Tawny called after him, Thank you, Billy Bright.
He heard their laughter as he headed back to the campground.
Billy parked the cart beside the small trailer that was to be his home for the next week of Spring Break. Frustration seethed within him. Why do things always go wrong for me?
He pulled together the front of the army jacket that hed worn every day since hed found it at the beach last fall. At first it had been too big, but hed had a growing spurt, and now only the sleeves were too long.
His family probably would be going to the beach this week. His brother Fred and the baby. He knew why he was here instead of with them. He didnt blame them for not wanting him around. They had good reason for hating him, after what hed done.
Sitting there, he became aware of the night sounds so different from the city noises he was used to. From the mountain that rose steep and high only feet from the edge of the campground, came the hoot of an owl. A breeze lifted small waves that lapped at the shoreline close by.
Billy shrugged off his uneasiness and went into the trailer. His spirits lifted as he looked around. The space was small, but compact. It was clean and modern, and the windows all around gave a feeling of openness. Everything he needed seemed to be there. Best of all, he didnt have to share it with anyone.
A miniature kitchen with stove, refrigerator, and sink were on one wall, and across the back was a full sized couch. Above it, Billy saw a long, narrow door.
He snapped open the drop-down panel to discover it hid a twin-size bunk bed. Wow. Heres where Ill sleep.
He picked up his sleeping bag where, earlier, hed dropped it onto the fold-out table along with his backpack. Standing on his tiptoes, he smoothed his bedroll out onto the mattress.
In the morning Ill just flip up the door. What could be easier? He felt a glow of satisfaction.
Next he checked out the bathroom at the other end of the trailer. Wow. My own place!
Later Billy lay on his bunk, He cranked open the small skylight set into the roof above him, and the night breeze seeped in.
I sure got off to a good start with those girls. Especially the cute one. What was her name? Smart-alec? Oh, yes, Alix. That was it. Alix.
Hed been too angry then to really check out the girls. But now he pictured them again standing in the pathway. They both wore jeans and jackets. All he could remember was that Alixs jacket was shiny blue with some kind of white, fuzzy trim. Her friend? He couldnt even remember her name.
They probably know Aunt Mavis and Uncle Ben, and maybe even all about me. Billy stirred uneasily in his sleeping bag.
And they will hate me, too. So who cares? Theyre only a couple of girls.
He turned onto his side and slept.
|