Beware the Mermaids by Carrie Talick

Author:Carrie Talick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CROOKED LANE BOOKS

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

AHOY, TEEN MATEY!

It was noon on Friday, and a low marine layer of clouds was threatening rain. Nancy frowned. She didn’t want bad weather to cast a pall on the first day her granddaughter was visiting the boat. Stella was on her way to drop off Charlotte for the weekend. Nancy had taken great measures to make sure Charlotte would not only be comfortable but would actually like it on the boat. She’d stocked the galley with her granddaughter’s favorites: cheese sticks, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and KitKats. She’d made her bed and put a small stuffed orange fish pillow in her berth. And she’d double-checked that the Wi-Fi was working. She was nervous but excited.

Nancy, however, had been warned that the charming, sweet granddaughter she knew and loved had recently been replaced by a new teen doppelgänger. She looked a lot like Charlotte, but instead of having an easy smile, a cheerful attitude, and a wardrobe that included koala bear sweatshirts, she now wore black T-shirts, a pair of black-and-white-checkered Vans, and a perpetual expression of disapproval under her dark-purple-dyed hair. Her vocabulary had been reduced to one-word answers that Stella classified as glorified grunts. “She’s difficult right now, Mom,” Stella told her before she left the house.

“I have some experience with teenagers. You were one once.”

“It’s different now. Smartphones are ruining our kids.”

“We used to say that about TV with your generation.”

“Yes, but I grew up addicted to Friends and Seinfeld. These kids watch vlogs about suicide and school shootings. It’s dark.”

“I’m up to the challenge. See you soon,” Nancy said. She silently wondered how surly her granddaughter could really be.

Stella pulled up in the marina parking lot just as Nancy walked up from the dock to greet them. Charlotte got out of the back seat armed with a stainless-steel water bottle, a backpack, and a scowl. She was dressed in ripped jeans, a blue Tillys sweat shirt, and, true to Stella’s word, a pair of black-and-white-checkered Vans. Her naturally golden hair was now an unnatural shade of dark purple, and she was wearing black eyeliner that only made her pale skin look more ghostly by contrast. Nancy was alarmed for a split second but hid her shock.

“There’s my girl!” Nancy opened her arms to hug Charlotte, who remained stiff and barely managed to lift one hand to receive the hug. “Just me and you this weekend, kiddo. You ready?”

“Mmmm,” Charlotte grunted, as if resigned to her fate. Nancy looked over at Stella, who gave her a thumbs-up and a look of exasperation.

“Okay, I’m off. Be good to Gran, and I’ll be back on Monday,” Stella said. She gave her daughter a quick, dismissive kiss on the forehead. Charlotte made no move to return the affection.

“I’ll text you with updates. Have a good trip!” Nancy waved as Stella pulled away.

“This way, kiddo.” Nancy ushered Charlotte and her sullen attitude, which was big enough to make it seem like a whole other person had joined them, down the dock toward Gypsea.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.