Chapter One: Hills and Houses
My eyes blurred in and out of focus as the old van lurched up and up and up the hill. I didn’t understand how a ‘nice house’ could be this far up. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine what those bone-headed movers were doing to my stuff back in Colorado.
I almost started to cry just thinking about it. Our beautiful, just-too-small house right by the capital, right by all the sports you could ever wish for. It had been heaven. But of course, Dad had to go and get himself promoted, so that Mom could buy the house she’d always wanted in the hills of California.
This way, we could all have our own rooms, even the twins in they wanted. And Quinn would have his own room if he ever realized that he wasn’t too good for his family after all. No one would look me in the eye when I told them how badly this would mess up my sports training. Either no one cared, or there was nothing they could do about it. I was opting for the second choice.
A little whine escaped the car seat next to me: Nick. He was only thirteen months old, but he was the one that I had to take charge of. Mom figured that, him being my fifth youngest sibling, I could take care of him pretty much by myself.
I didn’t mind as long as Jaclyn or Quinn, when he was around, could take over while I trained. I would never trust Kim, Isaac, or Alyssa with Nick, that would be nothing but trouble. But Quinn and Jaclyn, I guess so. And maybe Les.
I rocked Nick’s seat gently, trying to lull him back to sleep. I didn’t need his whining to add to the mood just now. I’d already said my final goodbyes to everyone in Colorado. My training coach, my friends… my training coach. I still couldn’t believe that they were ripping me away from everything I’d ever known.
I mean, Quinn had moved before, and he technically still lived in Colorado anyway, so this was no huge deal for him. But for me, who’d never left Colorado for more than a week a time? This was a huge deal. And who was to say when I would be able to go back again? Soon enough I would be accustomed to the easy breathing in California, and I wouldn’t be able to run as fast there.
I pushed that thought out of my mind. The idea of me not being able to run very fast was… unthinkable. I couldn’t stand it. I wasn’t perfect at school. That was twelve year old Jaclyn’s domain. I wasn’t great at working, I left that for twenty-one year old Quinn. I was great at sports. That was my thing. It was what I did.
And now I couldn’t do it anymore. Well I could, but Angela, my coach, was all the way across the world, or so it seemed.
The car chugged even farther up the hill before it finally started it’s decent. The things in the car all slid towards the front, leaving the places they had settled in when we had started going up, a half hour ago.
“Are we there yet?” whined six year old Alyssa. I rolled my eyes. That was about the bazillionth time she’d asked that question.
“Almost, Honey.” Mom called to the back of the van. “Do you see that little city up there?” she removed one hand from the steering wheel to point up the hill at some tiny dots in the distance.
“No!” Came a chorus of voices from the back. I strained my neck to see if they were even looking. Alyssa had her neck stretched as far as it would go to see our new home. Isaac was bent over a book, but Kim was looking to see it too. Jaclyn was looking out the window, taking percentages of the people that, like us, had Colorado license plates.
“I have a headache!” Whined Isaac from the back.
“You don’t know what a headache is!” said Jaclyn.
“Do too!” Yelled Isaac.
“Oh yeah? What is it?” she asked, acting uncharacteristically childish.
“It’s like when your brain hurts and your head aches.”
“Sort of, but it’s really when your brain hurts. Your brain can’t hurt, it doesn’t have pain receptors. It’s usually when your intracranial pressure rises.” Jac rolled her eyes. Kim’s mouth dropped practically to the floor.
Quinn, sitting next to Mom in the front, was totally oblivious to all that went on around him. He was on the phone. Again. Les, sitting next to me, was staring out the window with a vacant expression, toying with his shark tooth necklace. Nick started to cry.
I rocked his seat a little faster, but that ended up having the opposite affect of what I’d wanted. I bent down to reach the big bag beneath my seat, pulling out a pacifier. I handed it to Nick, and he put it in his mouth with one last sob.
I looked at Nick, envying him. He could cry all he wanted, and no one would care. If I broke down and sobbed for home, I would be made fun of. I wished with all my heart that I was on the road to Colorado.
I looked out the windshield in front of me. We were going up another hill. Then we went down again. Then up, then to the right. Then down and to the left. We went over so many hills and made so many turns I was almost convinced that we were going in circles.
But, as promised, that blotch of dark in the distance soon came to resemble tiny houses, then they got steadily bigger, until we passed a sign that read ‘Carfington Estate, Dead End’.
“More like ‘Barfington’,” Isaac murmured, just loud enough for us to hear.
“None of that young man.” My mother snapped. I tried not to laugh, but did sneak a high five.
“Are we there now?” Asked Alyssa.
“Yes!” Mom almost yelled.
I looked up from my lap, and my eyes widened.
There were only two houses. The first one, the lowest one on the hill, was huge. It was made of stone and brick, and was most likely the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. It had four cars in the front, each one nicer than the last. There were toys strew all around the front yard (which there wasn’t much of, but I guessed that there was a back yard).
As we drove around, a pool came into view. It was a good, size, even though I’d seen bigger, and had a diving board. Then, if we looked just a tiny bit farther ahead, we saw the second house.
It was even bigger, prettier, and well… more than the other house had even come close to. It was so big that at a glance you might have thought it was an office building. There were no cars parked out front, and it didn’ t look like there was much inside or around it.
“Mom, it’s a dead end this way. You saw the sign. We must have made a wrong turn.” Les put in dismally.
“No, Les,” Mom said shortly, she seemed to be loosing her patients. “This is our new house.”
My jaw dropped to the floor. The whole car went silent; even Nicky stopped crying. Then all of a sudden, Alyssa and Kim let out a strangled yell that clearly said ‘I’m so ditching this car’.
For a minute I forgot all about my sports drama as I unbuckled myself and Nick and got out of the car. All eight of us filed out. You see, Dad was still in Colorado (lucky him) trying to make sure that the movers didn’t break anything.
So, that just left Mom, Quinn, me, Les, Jaclyn, Isaak and Kim (the twins), Alyssa, and last of all, Nick. Of course we couldn’t forget Rocket, the pet dog, but he was still with Dad.
We all filed out and ran inside. The heat was stifling. I wiped my brow and looked around. Quinn had already decided to be the ‘bigger person’ (his words, not mine) and not choose a room, since he wouldn’t officially be living with us. I took that into consideration as I looked around myself.
I saw Les run to the pool, his surfer instincts drawing him to the water. Isaac and Kim dragged Alyssa to the back of the house, were there was a path leading down through the woods to an enormous lake. Jaclyn tagged along with Mom, who went to go look into the windows of the house. Quinn stayed by the car, talking into his cell.
I caught snitches of what he was saying, but it was all work related. I walked over to him, Nick in one arm. I reached up (Quinn is way taller than me) and closed his phone.
He made an angry spluttering sound.
“What was that for?!” He asked me.
“That was for ignoring us the whole ride.” It was true. Quinn had been either on his phone or sleeping the whole way here. I shoved Nicky into Quinn’s arms, and ran around to look behind the house.
There was a huge yard there, enough to build a house on. That was an ironic thing, because the house was so big itself that I didn’t see why we didn’t just bring Colorado with us when we moved.
When I came back, Mom was trying to herd everyone inside to pick out rooms. She lined the six of us up (Quinn wasn’t going room hunting and and Nick was too little) in order of age, so I was first.
“Okay, here’s how we’re going to do this. All of the rooms that aren’t your possible bedrooms are furnished. You each get five cards. If you find a room that you like, put a card on the doorknob. Then we’ll talk.”
I had to give chops to Mom. She was being unusually organized for a woman with seven kids today. I mean, color coded room markers? That was pretty smart.
Then she started walking down the line. Yellow and turquoise (turquoise was my first choice) for me, brown for Les, green for Jac, blue for Isaac, orange for Kim, and pink for Alyssa. I counted through my cards. One. Two. Three. Four… I counted again. Nope, just four.
But then Mom shoed us all inside. Too late. I just sighed and followed everyone else inside (second to last: Les wandered in slowly after me) to scope out possible rooms. Whose idea was it to not let us see the house before anyway? I mean, how hard would it have been to cart us all up here to know what to expect?
I answered that question for myself. Really hard. I thought back to the ride up here. It had been long. Very long. Alyssa had constantly asked if we were there yet. Isaac was perpetually getting Flarp in Kim’s hair. Quinn always had to stop for phone service. It had been a tough ride.
I opened the door to the house and stopped short. Woah. It was even bigger on the inside. I chided myself. It couldn’t be bigger on the inside, but it sure did seem like it. There was one huge staircase that rounded the corner and disappeared upstairs.
Since everyone else had decided to start on the downstairs, and I didn’t like to be normal, I followed the pristine wooden staircase to the upstairs. I looked around. I had all the time in the world really. I had four rooms to choose. Only four.
So I took in the entrance hall. There was a gorgeous crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was so big if it dropped it would kill a person. I decided on not pointing that out to the twins.
I continued up the stairs, for some reason almost afraid to make noise. When I reached the top of the stair case, I found two halls. One continued down perpendicular to the staircase, the other parallel.
I followed the perpendicular hall first. There were three rooms on it. The first was a bathroom, and the second was a master bedroom, already furnished with Mom and Dad’s things. The next bedroom over was obviously a nursery for Nicky. Okay, so that hall is out of the question.
I backtracked and went down the next hall. There were five rooms on each side. I tried the first one. It was a nice, sizable room but it didn’t have a good wall for a book case or a trophy shelf unit, so I passed it by. The next one was nice and roomy with enough room more lots of shelves and things; it also had a bathroom adjoining in. I marked it with a yellow marker.
I went down the rooms, but only seven others were bedrooms, and they just weren’t… me. I don’t know how an empty room can fit you, but the first one did, and the others just didn’t.
After having thoroughly searched the upstairs for more rooms (which there were, just no more bedrooms), I started downstairs. I nearly tripped over the twins, who were racing up to see who could get the best room.
I ventured through downstairs and… got lost. I turned another corner and found myself at the huge kitchen. I backtracked and found the bathroom, and then the livingroom, but I couldn’t find the staircase again.
I tried not to panic. It’s okay, Kaitlyn, it’s okay. You can’t be lost in your own house, even thought you’ve never been here before. I looked around, and saw a door marked with a green marker, still swinging. That meant Jaclyn had to have just left.
“Jac?!” I called, my voice echoing through the house that seemed so unlike a home. No one answered. I tried calling again.
“What?” A voice asked, standing right behind me. I jumped.
“Oh. Nothing. I… got lost.” I admitted sheepishly.” I turned around to face her. “Which way’s the staircase?”
Jaclyn rolled her eyes and pointed out my way. I thanked her, committed the route to memory, and then walked in to the room that Jac had marked.
I liked it a lot, but I could more easily see Jaclyn’s kid-genius stuff in there a lot easier than I could see anything else. In the end I made the decision to mark in anyway. I walked around the house some more exploring the rooms. There were so many bathrooms that sometimes I got turned around. Then I went on to look at the kitchen.
Mom and Dad had bought some new furniture for some parts of the house, since Dad’s new income was so much higher. I tried not to think about it. Dad worked at an electrical plant that gave of so much pollution that the environmental channel did a show on it once.
I blocked it out of my mind and thought of the rooms I had to choose from. I’d only really wanted the first room I’d seen and the one that Jaclyn liked, so those were the only two that I’d marked. I went back outside to try and find Mom.
It wasn’t that hard. Quinn had left Nick with her and found his cell phone again, so she hadn’t really moved much. Les was back outside again, looking longingly at the pool that stood between our house and the other one.
I wondered who lived in the other house. Probably some stuck up snotty rich kids. I didn’t have doubts about that at all. Why did we have to leave Colorado? Why?
I took Nicky from Mom and grabbed a blanket and Nick’s bag from the car, laying it out on the lawn. I sat down, laying the sleeping year old on the blanket, and lying down next to him.
Soon Lyssa showed up, tired from a run down the path in the woods. She sat down next to me and stayed with us.
“Where does the path go?” I asked her, shielding my eyes from the sun.
“It—“ She started, but was quickly cut off by the twins.
“It goes down to a GINORMOUS lake!” They finished for her. Alyssa nodded excitedly.
“And there’s this trampoline thing on it!” She added in quickly. I thought about it.
“Oh cool!” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic and excited. The only thing I was even remotely excited about was the fact that having a trampoline meant that I could keep up my gymnastics. That was a definite plus. I sighed.
Les wandered over slowly and zombie-like from the pool, almost as low and dejected looking as I felt. I sat down gloomily, laying his head on his hands and closing his eyes. Then came Jaclyn, and finally Quinn got off the phone and came over as well.
We lay there in the sun for a while. Some of you might ask me why on earth we weren’t excited about moving to a mansion or having more money or getting to live by a private pool and lake.
The answer would be because we had to leave behind everything we cared about to do so. Quinn didn’t loose much, cause like I said, he wasn’t staying long. I lost all of my training. All of it. Les lost his skater-dude friends, and Jac lost all her AP and skipped grades. She’d have to start all over in a lower grade.
Mom and Dad didn’t let the twins bring most of their devious stunt toys with them, so they would have to figure out new ways to entertain themselves. Alyssa lost her dance classes, at which she excelled. She would have to find a new school closer to here. Nick was too little to lose anything, but give me a minute, I’m sure I’ll think of something.
Chapter two
After a while, Mom came over.
“Did you all find some good rooms?” She asked, trying to be peppy, but the extra long drive even took some out of her.
We all nodded, and Alyssa and the twins jumped around a little. Nick started to cry. I picked him and rocked him back and forth in my arms, picking up the pacifier out of the bag. I handed it to him, and he started to suck on it again. I laid myself back down, putting Nick beside me.
“Well why don’t we all go back inside together and see what we’ve got,” Mom suggested, picking up Nick and starting into the house. We all followed her, but I went a little more slowly. The more I looked at the inside of the house, the more I dreaded living there.
How was I supposed to find my way around? At least I didn’t have to worry about school until the end of summer. I sighed and herded Alyssa and Isaac into the house.
We started with the downstairs first, and we walked along. I only vaguely noticed anything except that they were taking off all of the markers except for the kid that got the room. It made enough sense to me.
Since there were so many of us, we’d always had our signature colors to know whose was whose. My water bottle had always been yellow, Les’s had always been brown. Our school folders, our suitcases, everything. And now our rooms.
When we finally got to the room that Jaclyn and I were fighting for, I had lost all hope of making it back outside on my own. I would get so totally lost that there was no way I would ever be able to see the daylights again. I decided to stick with Mom or Isaac, who could find a way through any crack or hole.
It ended up that Jaclyn got the room, because I couldn’t bring myself to care any way or the other. That did it for the downstairs. The guest room, the livingroom, the kitchen, the dining room, three bathrooms, Jac’s room, and Isaac’s room (the twins had decided not to share) were all down there.
We moved on to the upstairs. Mom put Nick in his new crib (that had been brought up before we came) and let him rest there. We went on and she showed us where her and Dad’s room was. Then she showed us the three bathrooms and the playroom, which was… big. There was also a reading room.
There wasn’t a working room. It was like the whole world was laughing at me, jeering at me and showing me what I can’t have. I didn’t even have to have a place to sleep as long as there was a treadmill and a paddle machine. For the umpteenth time that day, I wanted to cry. I never cry.
Finally we got to the only other room that I had marked. No one else had marked it. It was easy enough, I left my marker there and we moved on. I was really pretty happy, but I didn’t want to show it. I had gotten sort of attached to the room, and I could already picture a wall of books and trophies, a small tv, a large bed and a desk, and best of all, a treadmill that I had asked for for my birthday (which was in two weeks).
And so it turned out that it was, in order from the top of the hall to the window looking out over the yard and the lake in the back, me, Kim, Les, Alyssa. Mom and Dad and Nick were all on the other hall.
The next thing we did was go back out to the car and grab our bags. I took my huge turquoise suitcases full of my clothes up to my new room first, and then took my yellow duffles of my stuff. Most of it was still back in Colorado, but I took what I had.
Next I went around offering help to whoever needed it. First I helped Alyssa with her pink bags, and then Kim with her orange ones. I tried to help Isaac, but he wouldn’t let me. Then I helped Mom and Nick, and finally I stopped getting lost.
That had sort of been the plan in the first place, not getting lost, but it had gotten pushed aside when I started helping people to take my mind of the fact that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Well, it wasn’t working; Kansas was as far away in real life as it was close to my heart.
Finally I went back to my room, which was totally bare; waiting for all my old (and some new) furniture to get here. So, there was nothing to unpack until next week besides my sleeping bag and pillow. Yep, we didn’t even get a hotel. It was ‘too expensive’ as Mom had said when Isaac had asked.
Les had pointed out that we could afford a ginormous house, and not a hotel. Mom glared at him.
I found my way out side and wandered out to where Mom was sitting on the blanket with Nick. I took Nick from her, and Mom gave him up thankfully. Mom was a great mother, but she sort of gave Nicky up to me. I followed Les around the back of the house.
Looking around, I took in the huge back yard, automatically hoping that we could put in a spot of asphalt to jog on. I knew I wouldn’t be allowed, but dreaming was allowed, right?
I looked out a little farther, and … Oh. My. Gosh. There, in the back of the house, down a steep hill was the biggest lake I had ever seen that wasn’t off the coast of Michigan. I gaped, struggling to hold on to Nick, who was reaching for the water.
I turned around and ran through the gate that surrounded the yard. I found the path that Isaac and Kim and Alyssa had told me about, and ran down it. It seemed like it was well used, reinforcing my thought that a bunch of kids lived in the other house.
The trees above the path reminded me of home, and also sheltered it, making it easy to take Nick down. The hill was sort of steep, but in the end it was worth it. There was a pier that led out into the midst of the giant lake.
Some boats, canoes, and kayaks were sitting on the water. The shore was bordered with beautiful, white sand, with gorgeous rocks everywhere. But best of all, there was the trampoline. It was blow up, and sat, floating on the water.
There were people on it, wearing life jackets. The were jumping up and down, the girls’ wet hair flinging everywhere. The boys’ hair was plastered to their heads with water. It looked like so much fun.
I bit my lip and counted the kids. One… two… three… four… five… Only five. Great, that meant that Quinny, Les, Jac, Ike, Kimmy, and Lyssa were all down there already. Gosh they were fast… but… hadn’t Alyssa just been in her room? And Les??? And Quinn had been with mom… And that girl was too tall to be Jaclyn…
I turn around and ran the other way, holding Nicky close. That wasn’t my family, it was the other one. Mom had mentioned that there was another huge family that lived here. I guess that was them. Hmm, The family had seemed like they were about the same ages as we were.
I tried not to think of possibilities. I didn’t want friends here. I wanted my only friends to be in Kansas… Colorado. I wanted to be sure that there was no place like home.
When I got back to the blanket on the lawn, Les had already gotten into his bathing suit. He was headed to the pool. Alyssa ran behind him, dragging Kim, who was wearing the pink bathing suit that she hated.
I smiled. A pool. At least I could do laps, even if they were in circles. I could make small whorl pools and walk against them; that had to make you stronger.
Maybe I could find my own ways to work out, even if the only gym I could go to was an exclusive work out session for rich snobs. Then came the tears. I blinked them back, unwilling to acknowledge them.
I laid down on the blanket next to Nick and listened to him gurgle. I talked to him for a little while, like we do sometimes. I told him about Colorado, just to make sure that he never forgot. I didn’t want him to forget.
Soon enough, Mom came and got Nicky and took him for his nap. I wandered inside and found my way to my room. It was getting easier, even though this was so different from our small house at home. I unpacked my bathing suit and changed.
I took off my Converse and slipped on my flipflops. Then I went to the nearest bathroom and stared at my own ice blue eyes as I yanked a brush through blonde hair, which was ratty from the drive. I put it up into a messy ponytail, and sighed in satisfaction.
I grabbed a sundress and slipped it on over me. I walked down the stairs slowly, still afraid that I would trip on their wide and shallow steps. I walked out to the pool, where Kim, Alyssa, Les, and Jaclyn were all playing in the water.
With Nick down for his nap, I was free to do what I wished. I went up the brick steps to the in-ground pool, and opened the gate. I slipped out of my sundress and set it on a pool chair. I went to the deep end, slipping my hair band out of my hair and onto my wrist as I went. I stepped onto the diving board.
I held my breath and dived gracefully, letting the water slide naturally over me. I relished in the simple blue of the water, letting it remind me of a particularly warm day in the waterhole of Colorado. I closed my eyes and fought the urge to sigh.
When I finally rose to the surface, I took a huge breath. Quinn was there; I must have been underwater longer than I thought. I smiled. I’m getting stronger, even though I don’t realize it. I could do this, maybe.
“…So I’m in charge.” I heard Quinn say. I snapped my head to attention. He was in charge? Why? As if answering my thoughts, Quinn walked over to me. “Mom went to go get some stuff.”
When Quinn didn’t keep talking, I asked my question. “Stuff???”
“You know, food, for one. We also need more diapers for Nicky, Alyssa wants pink bandaids, and Jac wants some more school supplies.”
“School supplies? It’s in the middle of the summer!” I said incredulously, bobbing in the water. Quinn shrugged.
“I know that, but try telling her. But whatevs. Mom also said she was going to get some stuff for the lake, and we’re not allowed to go in it without her, and without life jackets.”
“But we can swim in the pool?”
“Her rules not mine.”
I shrugged, and dove back underwater, taking a deep breath. I swam over to the shallow end where Alyssa and Kim were having a splash fight. I smiled at them, working my way to the end of the pool.
That’s when I started my laps. When I got to twenty-five, I took a small break. Quinn was sitting on a lawn chair by the pool relaxing. Honestly, he was more worried about his appearance than I was, and I’m a sixteen year old girl.
Jaclyn and Ike had joined Kim and Alyssa and they were playing Marco-Polo. Les was down at the other side of the pool, swimming in circles like a restless shark.
Maybe you’re wondering about Les. Maybe you don’t understand why he’s so quirky, but don’t worry: not many people do. He’s just… that way. He’s really smart, and he’s great in the water, just not on land. Sometimes I think that he’s really a fish from outer space in disguise.
I put my sundress back on and went upstairs to check on Nick. He was still asleep, but restless. I sat in the hard rocking chair right next to his crib, waiting for him to wake up, as I knew he soon would.
Soon I heard him stir, whimper, then full on start to cry. I picked him up swiftly and changed him into a water pull-up. I put him in a bathing suit and a tiny rash guard that Les had grown out of years and years ago.
I brought him back out to the pool. Isaac and Kim were gone, to do God only knows what. Alyssa, Les, and Quinn were still there, and Quinn had even gotten on a bathing suit and gotten in the water. I went to the shallowest of the shallow with Nick.
The pool started out as a gentle slope, so I sat Nick down in the warm inches of sloshing water. He smiled, and slapped his hands together. I talked to him about the water, explaining everything to him.
“Nick,” I said slowly and solemnly. “This is not like the water back home. This water is ‘warm’.” I tried to stretch the word to let him know what I meant. Warm was a new concept for him: something we barely had back home.
I guess I didn’t mean to be so condescending… I just naturally was. Quinn bent down and scooped Nick up before I could stop him.
“My turn.” Said Quinny playfully, taking him down to the deeper water.
“Just be careful,” I told him, then swam out to the middle to resume my laps again.
Chapter 3: The Luketons
I suppose I was relieved when Mom’s big grey van pulled up. Naturally, the seven of us went to see what we would have to carry into the living room, which was so far the only other furnished room other than Nick’s room, the bathrooms, and the kitchen. (Mom assured us that the movers would start getting here tomorrow, with our new furniture for our rooms and the kitchen.)
There was some food, some floaties for the lake and pool, and there were also some… canoe paddles? I looked at Mom with a questioning look.
“Didn’t you know?” Mom asked. “Three of the canoes down by the lake are ours, and five of the kayaks. I almost yelled in exhilaration. This way I could make sure that at least my arms were strong.
I frowned. I was almost starting to like it here. It still wasn’t home, but I could see staying here for a week or two. I looked around, taking in the life jackets that I hadn’t seen before. There were some diapers and things for Nicky too.
Speaking of Nick, I went and took him from Quinn, who had that look like he was ‘done being Mother Goose’ for a while. We took the bags of food into the kitchen, and the bags of fun stuff into the living room. I took Nick’s stuff to his room, and then sat down on the suede green-brown couch.
Les broke the long silence. “Can I go down to the lake?”
The question was answered by cheers and whoops from the other kids (Nick just started to cry.) Mom smiled and nodded, telling us to pick out our life jackets.
It wasn’t too hard, mine was yellow. Alyssa’s was pink, Les’s was brown, Jaclyn’s was green. Our colors: it’s just how things went.
Before long the eight of us (Mom had Nick) were trudging down to the lake with our life jackets either on or in our hands, and boat paddles slung over our shoulders. As soon as Les saw the water he dropped his paddle and started buckling his jacket as he ran to the pier, jumping of the edge.
Kim and Alyssa grabbed hands and ran to the big trampoline, where the stranger kids were still jumping. Isaac followed them. Jaclyn went over to the shallow waters and started to study the wildlife. I followed Quinny over to the boats.
“Look at this!” Quinn shouted, gesturing towards a huge full out jet boat that looked like it could outrun a cheetah. “This can’t be ours, Dad wouldn’t know how to run it!” it was true, Dad was terrible with anything mechanical that wasn’t a cell phone. Honestly, I didn’t know if he would be able to survive driving himself here.
I laughed, and strayed to the closer and smaller kayaks. There were five of them, laid out, shiny and new. I took the dark turquoise one and grabbed my paddle, leaving my jacket unzipped.
I dragged the boat expertly out into the shallows; I had done this thousands of times in Colorado. I set my paddle in the boat and climbed lightly in. I pushed off the ground with it, and set myself in motion. I could feel the cold spray of the lake on my face, reminding me of home.
I brought myself out into the middle of the lake, far away from the trampoline and the swimming Les. I closed my eyes and kept going. Sliding everywhere. The water was smooth enough to walk on, or at least that’s how it seemed. I took off my dress and strapped my jacket on tight.
I jumped off the boat, going straight down, barely making a splash. Finally the lightness of the floating jacket pulled me back to the surface. I swam away from the boat and laid there on my back, thinking of home.
I thought about the small two story house that we’d had in the mountains, and how I used to take three mile walks every day. I sighed. How could they tear me away from that place? The stream in the back had been so beautiful.
“Kaitlyn!!!!” Mom yelled. I sighed. And hence the peace was destroyed.
I climbed back into the boat and paddled swiftly back. I docked it, and brought the paddle with me.
“Can you take Nick for a minute? I’m exhausted.”
“Sure, Mom.” I took Nick from her and wandered over to the huge trampoline on the water. It was basically like a blown up pillow, only part of it was made from trampoline material, and there was a trampoline bridge that led from the main part on the water to the land. There was also a rope ladder that led there from the water. How cool was that???
I counted the kids on it. Seven…eight…nine. Nine kids on the trampoline. I managed to find Isaac, Kimmy, Alyssa, and Quinn. Wait… Quinn? As I got closer, I realized that this was all his scheme. I saw a girl about his age, maybe a year or two younger. She was gorgeous, and she was jumping as well. Her long brown hair was wavy and light in the wind of her falls. I could see why he was jumping now.
There were four other kids that I didn’t recognize, all younger than her. Kimmy and Alyssa were playing with a girl who seemed to be about Lyssa’s age, and it seemed that Ike had spotted a friend too.
I wandered closer, till I was standing by the trampoline bridge entrance. Alyssa, Kim, and the girl that they were playing with came down to see me.
“Kay!!! Kaitlyn look!” Alyssa called, bouncing down the lane. “This is Maria! Say ‘hi’, Maria,” Lyssa added.
Maria was a pretty girl, with darker hair than what I had assumed to be her sister. Her complexion looked almost Italian. She was just as pretty as the other one had seemed from far away. She was prettier than I was.
“Hi Maria!” the girl joked slyly but sweetly. Then she bounded away, leaping expertly into the air. I almost wanted to smile, but I hadn’t been in too much of a smiling mood today.
Kim and Alyssa followed, a little more clumsily. Quinn came bounding over to me, a wild look on his face. That did make me smile. He really liked her.
“Give me Nicky. Quick!” He grabbed Nick roughly from me.
“Be careful with him!” I said, a little to loudly. Quinn all of a sudden looked calmly and sweetly at Nick, way overdoing it. I stared at him like he was from outer space.
“Awww, what a cute little baby!” A female voice cooed. Oh. It was her. “It’s so great that you take care of him all the time like that.”
I turned around and… whoa. She was prettier than most models you see. She had light brown, wavy hair, and blue eyes. Her skin wasn’t as Italian looking, but it was darker than mine with a tan. I self-consciously smoothed down my hair.
“Oh hi!” she said sweetly, noticing me.
“Hi.” I said shortly; uncertainly.
“I’m Wendy Luketon, I live right across the pool from you!”
“Oh. Great. I’m Kaitlyn Long.” Even her name was more important-sounding than mine.
“Nice to meet you.”
The pleasure’s all yours… “You too.”
I turned around and hopped onto the trampoline lane. I walked-bounced down it until I got to the big round part. I saw one stranger-child turn and do a front flip into the water. He was about Jac’s age.
After slipping a good many times, I finally made it to the actual jumping part. Someone put their hand on my shoulder. I gasped in surprise as Les unexpectedly moved from behind me. I frowned at him, showing him how much I hated it here. He returned the scowl slightly, but shrugged at the water.
I sighed. Les had been the only one to sympathize with me about not wanting to leave. He hated the idea of moving just as much as I did. Then he realized that there would be water. Pools and lakes right in our back yard. That was when I realized that I was losing my only ally.
I mean, some people would wonder what I could see that was wrong with living in an elephantine house with a pool and a lake and boats and trampolines and a bunch of kids about our age. What’s wrong? The fact that this wasn’t home. This wasn’t Colorado. It just… wasn’t.
I stepped back onto the trampoline walk way. I tied my hair back into a ponytail, trying to let it live up to the glamorous hair of the Luketons. Then I stepped tentatively onto the trampoline float.
I hopped around awkwardly, trying to stay close to my family. Suddenly I wished I had stayed with Mom and Nicky. I didn’t want to be here. As soon as I said that, I got my wish.
All of a sudden I was bumped from behind. I turned as I fell, expecting to see Isaac or something, but instead I saw… a model? I had been shoved off the float and into the water by a male model that was my age?
As I fell in slow motion, I managed to glare at the boy.
As soon as I was able to swim to the pier and climb, sopping wet, out of the water, I stormed up to where Mom sat on a picnic blanket with Nick. I twisted the skirt of my dress, watching the water drip down my leg. I pulled on my sneakers, feeling Mom’s stare on my back.
“What’s wrong?” She asked in an answer to my scowl.
“Life.” I said shortly. I turned to look at her. “I want to go home.”
“Kaitlyn, don’t start this again. You know that Dad has to live up here for his job.”
“Oh he does? Because I was under the impression that we moved here because you wanted to live in California.”
“Listen Kaitlyn. You’re a big girl now. You don’t need to make fusses about things because you don’t like them. Some things are blocks in the road that you can’t pass. This isn’t one of those. You can climb over this one as easily as you can get pushed off a float.” I glared at her. “So don’t freak out, and make the best of things.”
She stood up, setting Nick in my wet lap and walking stormily up to the house. I smiled to myself. Mom had just violated one of her own rules.
I walked back over to the trampoline pathway, knowing that my job would be an unpleasant one, but in a way it would get back at my mother. You see, when she learned that I had taken everyone off of the trampoline, she wouldn’t be happy with me. Well, until I pointed out that she was the one who had told us to stay away from the lake while she wasn’t here.
“Quinn!” I yelled. “Quinny, come here!” I waved him over. He glared at me and beckoned for Windy Puketon to come with him.
“Mom went up to the house. We have to get off this… thing. I’ve got Nick, so I need you to go and get everyone.”
Quinn whined like Alyssa would. “But I was just talking to Wendy about my striped Ferrari!”
“You don’t have a Ferrari, genius,” I said without missing a beat. “Go get the kids.”
I turned on my heel and walked back up to the picnic blanket and grabbed it with one hand, balancing Nick in the other. He gabbled to me, and I smiled at him. He was the only sibling that didn’t hate me. I sighed. Well, give him another year or so.
Just as everyone else was filing off the trampoline, Mom came back. I sighed. And there went that plan. I mean, I’d never been a schemer. But taking me from home and then scolding me when I whined about it? Was that even legal?
“I forgot something from the car you guys.” She said, slowing herself down at the bottom of the hill. “I was afraid that I was going to have to tow you all up to the house, but luckily it looks like you were heading up there already.”
I looked around. Everyone plus Maria, Wendy, and one other kid that I didn’t know were gathered around Mom.
I took a step back, shaking myself to try and dry off. Whoever had done that was going to pay. Big time. I thought back to my fall to try and figure out who had done it. All I remembered was piercing blue eyes staring at me like there was nothing he could do. Well, there had been something to do: not push me off in the first place.
“You all have to paint your rooms. I got bunches of colors, I’ll show them to you when we get upstairs. Why don’t you all go and get some tshirts and shorts and you can start once you’ve decided on colors.”
We all turned to leave when I noticed Maria, Wendy, and the boy following us. I made my way to the front.
“Mom?” I said quietly. “We’ve got three extra.”
“Um… excuse me?” Make that four. I turned around. The boy that had pushed me off the float had tapped me on the shoulder.
I held Nick a little closer.
“What?” I asked shortly.
“I just wanted to apologize for bumping into you earlier.” He said, extending a hand.
I wanted nothing more than to roll my eyes and walk away, but Mom was watching me curiously. I sighed inwardly, taking his hand.
“Thank you. It’s all good.”
“Well, if there’s anything I can do to help…” He trailed off. I could tell that he was talking to my mom, but he kept staring at me. Those piercing blue eyes… His dark hair… he was… wow.
Hey! I told myself. Snap out of it! You hate it here, remember? And no boy is going to change that. I blinked rapidly to change my point on things. My mom, seeing that I wasn’t going to answer the offer, took the lead.
“Well, we were just going to go and paint the bedrooms. You all would be a great help. I was going to put in a movie for the little ones if they don’t want to help .” She smiled. I glared at her. What was she doing?
“That would be great! Let me tell Wen and everyone else. We’ll go up and change into some painting clothes, tell our parents, and meet you all at your house, ready to work.” He smiled at me and waved, running to his siblings to tell them the plan.
My mom smiled self-satisfactorily.
“What was that?!” I asked her.
“You can use some new friends here.” Mom shrugged. I turned around and walked with Nicky up to the house.
Chapter 4: Painting the House
“So,” Mom said officially. “I got tons of colors. No two rooms should look alike,” She smiled, “and keep in mind what sort of furniture you decided on. After that you can pick out some brushes and paint pallets. Go ahead and choose some colors.”
I thought about it. I had ordered a white bed that was a bunk bed, except for the fact that there was a desk underneath it. There would also be white book cases and shelves. I really wanted a turquoise bed spread, and with the way my room was going to turn out, I might just get one.
I looked around the room. The Luketons were here, as well as all of us and Mom. I still had Nick, even though I would give him to Mom soon.
I stared at the huge pile of paint cans. There were at least three cans of turquoise, and I grabbed these. I took some white too.
“Mom, what about teams?” Jaclyn asked, flashing her eyes to the Luketon dude who was about her age. She toyed with her casual tshirt and shorts that looked almost identical to mine.
I sighed. I had hoped that no one would ask that question.
“Um… Mom said slowly. she looked at the five Luketons, and Quinn, who didn’t have a room to paint. There were seven helpers, including Mom and Maria, and six kids. That meant Mom probably wouldn’t work too much, she would stay with Nick.
“Why doesn’t Maria go with Alyssa, and Quinn… you should go with them. Jacob, you can go with Isaac, but you guys have to get work done. Jac, why don’t you show Jace your room,” Jaclyn blushed. “Wendy, would you go with Kimmy, and that leaves… Connor and Kaitlyn.”
Connor nodded. I groaned silently.
“What about me?” Les asked indignantly.
“I’ll go with you.” Mom said. Huh, I guess I was wrong.
I grabbed my paint and headed up to my room, hoping Connor wouldn’t follow. He did. I quickened my pace, tripping on the stairs. Connor stifled a laugh.
“You really don’t have to do this,” I told him shortly.
“I know, but I feel bad about earlier.” He told me sweetly.
Yeah I’m sure he did. I sighed out loud this time.
“Okay look. Let’s try this. We’re gonna start all over. Hi, I’m Kaitlyn. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Connor Luketon. Pleasure.”
“There. We’re even.” I said, kicking open the door to my room.
