Midnight Games(18)

I could hear her getting into Nate’s face. I couldn’t hear her words because she was speaking in a loud whisper. But you didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what she was saying.

And then I heard these words from Nate: “I’m just trying to be nice to her. It’s tough being the new kid.”

Ow. That hurt.

And then I heard Ada’s furious reply: “Don’t be too nice to her. Hear me?”

Whoa.

After that, it got ugly. The two of them started shouting at each other. Ada no longer cared if I heard or not.

I jumped to my feet when I heard her scream, “She’s trying to take my boyfriend and my scholarship!”

I saw the smile fade from Shark’s face. He lurched over to break it up.

But I didn’t care. I’d heard enough. No way I was going to sit there and pretend it wasn’t all about me.

I turned and ran. Ran down the long bar, pushed open the front door, and darted out into the cold, clear night.

Breathing hard. My heart pounding. I watched my breath puff up in front of me. And I cried out loud to the empty street, “What am I going to do about Ada?”





16

Saturday night a fog settled over Fear Lake, giving it an eerie, dreamlike feel. Pale rays of moonlight poked through the billowing fog, making dappled spots over the ice.

It was my turn to keep an eye on Jamie’s little brother Danny for a few hours. So the skating party was underway by the time I arrived.

Some kids had set up tents at the edge of the frozen lake. They were serving hot chocolate from big, silver urns, and I saw cans of soda and beer stacked in another tent. A small bonfire sent up orange and yellow flames into the foggy sky.

A guy I recognized from school stood behind two turntables and a pair of loudspeakers. He must have had a portable generator. His music blasted out over the voices of kids skating, clustered in couples and groups, and huddled near the tents.

It hadn’t snowed yet this fall, but the lake appeared frozen solid, and the ground along the shore was crunchy and hard. Chunks of frost crinkled under my boots.

I wore two sweaters under my parka, a long, striped scarf around my neck, and a wool ski cap pulled down over my ears, but I still shivered from the frigid, damp air.

“Hey, Dana—yo!”

I turned and saw Jamie standing with Lewis at the edge of the ice. I hurried over to them.

I had Jamie’s skates slung over my shoulder. Jamie couldn’t use them because her hip and leg weren’t recovered enough to skate.

“Nate was looking for you,” Lewis said. He pointed with his soda can to a group of kids huddled under a tree, singing along at the top of their voices with the DJ’s cranked-up music.

I recognized Nate. He motioned for me to join him.

Jamie squinted at me. “You’re here with Nate?”

I just waved my hand. I didn’t answer. I turned and half-ran, half-slid over to Nate and his friends. As I drew closer, I recognized Shark and Nikki, and Aaron and Galen. They all waved and called out to me.

I slid right into Nate. Laughing, he caught me around the waist. He held on to me for a little while, which I didn’t mind at all.

“Are we having fun yet?” Shark asked.

The fog swirled around us. Circles of yellow moonlight slid over the frozen lake. It was hard to see where the shore ended and the lake began.

“Dana, want a beer?” Nate reached for a six-pack beside him on the ground.

“No thanks,” I said. I swung Jamie’s skates off my shoulder. “You just going to stand here drinking beer? I thought we were going to skate.”

“Some of us came for the beer,” Shark said.

Nikki gave him a hard shove. “You promised we’d skate. You told me you’re a killer skater. You said you made the state hockey finals last year.”

Aaron and Galen tossed back their heads and laughed.

“I’m totally shocked,” Nate said. “Shark never lied before!”

More laughter.

“Maybe I exaggerated about my skating a little,” Shark confessed.

Nikki glared at him. “Tell the truth. Have you ever been on ice skates?”

Shark hesitated. He grinned at Nikki. “Do they go on your feet, or what?”

Nikki gave him another shove.

“Hey, I can still skate better than Nate,” Shark told her.

“No way,” Nate said. “Want to make a bet on it?”

“Can’t we just skate for fun and party tonight without any bets?” I asked, leaning against Nate.

“What do you want to bet?” Shark asked Nate, ignoring me. “How about the rest of that beer?”

He grabbed the can from Nate’s hand, tilted it to his mouth, and drained it. “See? I won the bet already!”

Nikki shook her head at Shark. “How not funny are you?”