If I Were You by Leslie Margolis

Author:Leslie Margolis
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780374300692
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

MELODY

Another Day at the Beach

Katie is avoiding me. I know she is. I saw her and Kevin this morning when I was at the bus stop. The two of them fled as soon as they spotted us. I’m glad I was able to distract Ryan and Reese before they noticed her. They’d be crushed if they thought Melody didn’t want to hang out with them and I don’t want to put them through that kind of disappointment.

Sure, I’m a little upset that my best friend and my boyfriend won’t speak to me, but I know things are pretty complicated. I need to focus on the positive. The sun is shining and the sky couldn’t be a prettier shade of blue. Ryan and Reese look adorable in their coordinating, Hawaiian-print swimsuits. Reese is in blue. Ryan is in red. I’m having so much fun with Katie’s brothers. It’s like having life-size dolls to play with. Except with supersweet and adorable personalities.

They’re so excited to get to the beach. The two of them practically leap up the steps when the nine o’clock bus arrives. We are first on and they agree that we should sit in the front row, luckily. But then they fight over who gets the window seat.

“It’s no fair. You got to sleep in the top bunk last night, so I should get the best seat on the bus,” says Ryan.

“And you get the top bunk tonight,” says Reese. “So I should get the window.”

“Guys, why don’t you take turns?” I say. “You can switch when we’re halfway there.”

“How will we even know that?” asks Ryan.

“The wishing tunnel marks the halfway point to the beach,” I tell them.

“The what?” asks Reese.

“I mean the tunnel. You guys can switch when we get to the tunnel and then it’ll be perfectly fair and square.” I don’t want them to know about the magic. They’re too young. Who knows what they’d wish for: a lifetime supply of cookie-dough ice cream, the freedom to watch television 24-7, or real live race cars? It’s dangerous.

“Okay, fine,” Reese grumbles. “But let me sit here first.”

I agree, because he’s already in the seat, and miraculously, Ryan does not complain.

We are on the bus and moving and the boys switch when we get to the tunnel and all is well.

When we get to the beach, we collect our things and scramble off the bus. We pick a spot by the lifeguard, because it seems like a smart thing to do.

“Last one in is a rotten egg,” says Reese, racing to the water.

“No fair!” Ryan yells, following after him.

I slip out of my shorts and take off my shirt and join the boys.

Soon we’re splashing in the surf, ankle-deep. The sand is cold and squishy and the water even colder. I am loving this. We race out and when the wave comes crashing down we run away screaming.

Later on we run into Amira and Jessie, two of my friends from school. They help us collect seaweed so we can decorate the castle we’re building.

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