Throwing My Life Away by Liz Czukas

Author:Liz Czukas [Czukas, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Liz Czukas

I don't find the yearbooks he left on the couch until long after he's gone.

For the record, Blake doesn't text.

13

Thankfully the sun is still up when Sun parks her car on Lincoln Memorial Drive. The master plan has a lot more potential to get us arrested after dark. According to the plan, we should be the first to arrive, so we quickly get the rest of our supplies out of the trunk and head into Veteran's Park. There's not a lot of trees in the park, except around the lagoon, so we hurry in that direction, hoping to be under cover before the next group of black-clad teenagers arrive.

I've got butterflies again, and they're still the good kind.

When we're safely in the stand of trees, Sun grins at me. "This is going to be awesome."

"I hope so."

We hunker down to assemble the rest of our stuff while we wait.

"I can't believe we've only got a couple more of these before we're done," she says.

"I know. Of course, everything will pale in comparison to this magnificent feat from now on, but..." I shrug.

"I prefer to think that we just have a new personal best that we can endeavor to surpass."

"Endeavor to surpass?" I repeat with a grin.

"Words aren't just for nerds anymore, baby." She lowers her Elvis sunglasses and winks at me.

"Who are you calling a nerd?" I grin.

"Hey!" someone hisses. We both turn to see Deanne, Mick, and Ruthie scooting into the protection of the trees a few yards away. We wave to them.

Over the next ten minutes, another five people arrive, Caine among them. I'm thrilled to see everyone took us seriously on the costuming. We are a sea of black in the shadows made by the copse of trees.

Sun takes over preparations. I might be the cause of this event, but this one has become Sun's baby. It appeals to all of her favorite things: theatricality, fun, and ridiculousness. She checks everyone's equipment, doles out accessories from her duffel bag for final costume prep, and reviews the entrance plan.

"All right, everybody. Let's ninja it up."

Following Sun's instructions, we all pull black t-shirts over our heads, with the neck holes exposing our faces. We tie the sleeves of the shirts behind our heads and do a little arranging to make the fronts show only our eyes. People spot-check each other, looking for stray hairs and making sure the t-shirt tags aren't showing. If it wasn't for the steady wind coming in across Lake Michigan, we'd be wilting under all this black clothing in August. Even with the wind, it's pretty hot.

I survey the group when we're all done. Do we actually look like ninjas? No, but I think it's going to be a very convincing display when we hit the open field.

Even with her mouth covered, I can tell Sun is grinning. Her eye makeup is spectacular today, a magenta color on her lids and thick black liner winging out to peaks. Since that's all I can see under her ninja mask, it looks even more striking.

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