The Retake by Jen Calonita

Author:Jen Calonita [Calonita, Jen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2021-02-23T00:00:00+00:00

“Zoe! Wake up! We’re almost there!”

When I opened my eyes, I was sitting on a crowded school bus wearing my bathing suit cover-up. Laura was seated next to me. Yesssssss.

I sighed contently. “Killer bees, it worked.”

Laura stared at me. “Killer what?”

“Killer bees,” I explained. “It’s something you say now.” Oh wait. She didn’t say that yet, and maybe she never would because as of this moment, we hadn’t had that awful sleepover at her house yet. She wasn’t hanging out with the drama queens. Laura was on the field trip with me, and we were still best friends. I couldn’t help but smile. So far so good.

“Nothing. I’m just excited.”

Someone threw a ball over the seat we were sitting in, and a boy a few rows in front of us caught it. One of the chaperones started yelling at him from the front of the bus.

“Sixth graders, I expect more from you!” said Mr. Bowen, our assistant principal. “We’ve only got fifteen minutes left of this bus ride. Let’s try not to break a window.” I had to strain to hear him over all the laughing and talking.

“Dude! Fifteen minutes till we finally get to experience the awesomeness of Paradise Plunge!” Dougie crowed. He had on a Sharks lacrosse pinnie and was wearing goggles that matted his long black hair, which was pulled into a ponytail.

“Technically, it will be longer than fifteen minutes, but whatever,” said Jake. He raised a fist in solidarity. “Paradise Plunge!” A group of boys cheered.

“That ride is going to be epic!” Ava said from a seat a few rows behind me. Hyacinth let out a “Whoop-whoop.” The two of them were wearing teal headbands. Behind them, Steph and Sarah were buried in their phones. One had on a teal scrunchie, the other a teal T-shirt. Marisol was directly behind them. She had on teal earrings.

Dougie lifted the goggles, which left rings around his brown eyes, and stared at us.

“Hey,” I said, since things were kind of awkward with the staring and all.

He burped loudly and turned back in his seat.

Laura shuddered. “Ugh, he is such a Neanderthal.” She turned to me. I could just make out the faded outline of the henna tattoo on her arm that she had gotten at the sixth-grade play wrap party. Sarah had gotten one too. It was the first time I remembered feeling like Laura was drifting away, even if she wasn’t hanging out with the drama queens outside play practice yet. “Do you think we should go on Paradise Plunge with the boys?” she whispered.

“No way,” I said, thinking fast. “Not after what happened to Peter Plover.”

“What happened to him wasn’t that bad.” Laura shifted uncomfortably.

“He livestreamed his ride down Paradise Plunge. Puke in the tube and all.” Once Peter was inside the tube, a door closed around him, and the three-second countdown completely freaked him out. Halfway down the tube, still streaming with his phone in a waterproof pouch, he puked all over the slide. They had to clear the slide area for two hours to clean it up.

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