Seashells

July 4th, 2007

"Let's do something interesting this year," Sim said. She called me as soon as she woke up, which happened to be at about eight in the morning and way too early. "Something different. July fourth is always the same thing every time."

"There's not much to do on a small island, Sim," I said sleepily. I got up out of my bed then, since I knew she wouldn't let me go back to sleep any time soon.

"We don't have to stay on the island, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"There's a ferry coming at noon. You know how it always brings tourists for the fourth."

"You want to go to the mainland?" It felt kind of weird to say that. "That sounds fun and all... But what would we do there? All we could really do is walk around."

"I never told you?"

"Told me what?" I asked, as I was getting confused.

"The reason why I come to this island of all places."

"No..."

"Oh. Well, my Nana lives near here, on the mainland. That's why my parents aren't home a lot. They go to visit her."

"I never see you go, though." Her parents just left her alone on the island. I didn't know where they went, but it did make for some great parties (that I have already written about).

"I like to spend time here while everyone else is still here. I usually visit her at the end of summer or before."

"Oh. So what does this have to do with anything?"

"We can take a ferry, go to her house. I have a car there," she said. "We'll be able to go where ever we want. We'll stay one night on the mainland."

"I'm pretty sure my parents won't let me do that."

"That's the thing," she said. I could almost hear her smiling. "We won't tell them."

I was hesitant. It sounded like a lot of fun, but also dangerous. And there was no telling what my mom would do to me after she found out (which she obviously would). Sim told me to meet her at the ice cream parlor at eleven if I was in and she hung up.

I must have sat there on my bed for half an hour, just weighing my options. Then I snapped out of it and told myself I had to make a choice. And I found myself walking over to my closet and packing my bags.

I went to eat breakfast with my family. It was nothing special. The only significant thing that happened was that my mother said, "Is there something wrong, Cassidy?"

"What?" I said, because I honestly had no idea why she asked me that. Did she overhear me talking to Sim about our plans?

"You're just a bit jumpy," she said.

Okay, so maybe I was. I was never good at hiding things like this from my parents, and I guess I just felt a little guilty. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just tired."

That excuse didn't really make any sense, but my parents accepted it anyway. My dad asked, "Are you two joining us on the beach today?"

"I'm gonna go do something with Jared," Austin said as he shoved a piece of buttered toast in his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be with Sim today," I answered. At least I was honest about that part.

"Oh, okay," my dad said. It didn't really matter to him because we'd end up leaving with our friends anyway.

After breakfast, I went back to my room to make sure I had everything I needed. But what did I need? I had my money, an extra set of clothes, some gum and a bit of makeup. I debated on whether to bring my phone or not. On one hand, it would be great to have in an emergency. But if I brought it, my parents would probably try calling and that would kind of ruin everything. I plugged the charger into the wall and left my phone on my desk. No, I wouldn't need it.

I walked to the ice cream parlor and found Sim waiting at the picnic table. "I knew you would come," she said.

"I didn't really have a choice," I said, and I realized that was right.

"Okay, well we're just going to hang out here until the ferry leaves. And we have to wait for some people too."

"Who else is going?" I asked, as I thought it was just going to be me and her.

"Matt and Aden. The usual," she said.

"Oh, cool," I said, when I was secretly wishing that I had spent more time making sure I looked good. At the same time, I was getting more comfortable around you (and Matt).

You two showed up together... late. We almost missed the ferry. Good thing you were both ready to go, or Sim would have flipped a shit on you. When I stepped on the ferry, my heart was beating so fast that it should have been extremely painful. I was shaking a bit, but you steadied me.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"No problem," you said as you sat down next to me.

The ride wasn't too long and we set foot on the mainland. From there, Sim had to show us where to go and we had to walk there. Too bad she forgot the way and we ended up wandering around for a few hours.

"I'm going to kill you Sim," I said.

"It's just over here," she said, but she didn't sound very sure of herself. Luckily, she was right and her grandmother's huge house was right around the corner. And when I say huge, I mean huge.

We walked up to the door and we were let in by a short woman who introduced herself as the housekeeper. Sim ran up the giant winding staircase while the rest of us stood there awkwardly. I remember staring up at the crystal chandelier and wondering what would happen if it fell on me.

"I wish I lived here," you said at one point, but no one answered.

Soon Sim came running back down the stairs and told us, "My Nana says it's alright, we can do what we want. I think we should go to the fair."

"Doesn't it only open at night?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, it opens at like seven or something like that," she said, throwing her bag in a corner. "But we're going to wait until midnight. That's when all the fun begins."