I step back from Xavier and glance at the forest out of the corner of my eye. I could have sworn that I saw something moveā¦"So how was your summer?" Xavier asks, interrupting my thoughts. I turn and smile at him before grabbing his hand and towing him into the house. "It was fantastic, but I bet that yours was way better; Mr. World Traveler." He laughs and lets me tow him into the kitchen. "Please, half the time I wanted to be here instead of staring at dusty painting and sculptures," he says.
I laugh and let his hand go. Turning to face him again I notice that he got a pretty good tan over the summer. "But you know that I'd want you to be there. You only went to the museums part of the time remember-" I turn and open the fridge, searching for something for us to drink. Like usual, nothing. "-and then the other half you got to go look at awesome sights and memorials and beaches and stuff." As I turn I catch him in the middle of rolling his eyes.
I throw my arms up in the air. "You're hopeless!" I leave the kitchen with him following me. "Paris, Hawaii, New York, Sydney, Cairo, and London, Rome, Athens, and Madrid," I list. He chuckles and grabs my hand before pulling me into a hug.
"Yeah, but like I said, half the time I wanted to be back here." I sigh, giving up trying to convince him that he had a fantastic summer. "Let's go to the beach," I say, pulling away. I run up stairs to my room and grab my backpack off my bed. Xavier's standing at the bottom of the stairs when I come out. He looks and my bag and smiles, his pure white teeth contrasting with his tan-ness. "I can see you were prepared in advance," he says. I smile and run down the stairs and grab my keys off the door-side table.
When I step outside I immediately catch the smell of something unusual. I look towards to the forest but there's nothing there. I don't realize I'm standing stock still in the middle of the walkway until Xavier lightly bumps into my shoulder. "Whoa, Carmen, you alright?" I shake my head and then nod. "Yeah...fine. Just excited." I smile and run towards the shed across the walk where I store my bike. My fingers expertly run through the lock combination and I drag my old red bike out.
"Where's Judy and Carol?" Xavier asks, shutting the shed door. He's referring to my foster mom and sister. He snaps the lock into place while I try to figure out a way not to answer the question. I bend down and check the tires and chain until Xavier taps me on the head. "Carmen? Where are they?" I give a nonchalant shrug, like it doesn't matter. "Carol's at work and Judy's probably at a friends," I say. Xavier scrutinizes me as I stand up and swing my leg over my bike. I stare at him with wide, innocent eyes. "Are we going?" I ask. He shakes his head, like he's not impressed, and gets on his own bike.
