Violet straightened the living room.
Violet messied the living room.
Violet re-straightened the living room.
Violet's mom stopped her with a hand on her shoulder as she headed out the back door.
"Violet, are you all right?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to straighten all the grass in the backyard."
Violet's mother put her other hand on her other shoulder. There was a long pause as she stared into her daughter's eyes.
"Honey… I'm worried about you."
"Why?"
The elder Heaslip didn't answer.
"I'm bored, Mom. I've been waiting for high school to start since the beginning of ninth grade, and even though there are only a few more weeks…" Violet finished her sentence with a sigh.
Violet's mother returned the sigh.
"Oh, Vi, I understand how it can be when you're waiting for something big to happen. I was just as antsy the summer before I started high school. Have you tried a collage?"
Antsy? Something big? Oh, Mom, you don't know the half of it.
"Um…" began Violet, "I dunno about collage. That and origami were always your things. I'm really not sure what to do…"
As if on cue, the family phone rang. Since Violet was closer, she picked it up.
"Hello, Violet speaking."
"Vi!" Becky's voice rang through the tinny speaker. Violet winced slightly. It always felt weird when Becky used Todd's pet name for her.
Still, Violet was pleased to talk to Becky. Yesterday's meeting had been too brief, as both girls had needed to eat dinner.
"Hey, Becky."
"You doing anything today?"
Violet had been about to say "yes," but then she remembered it probably wouldn't be the best of ideas to tell people about Seraph. Or magic. Or probably even the paints and brushes. Violet frowned, forgetting for a moment that her mother could see her. Keeping secrets was weird.
"No, not really." She hoped her mom would assume she'd merely been thinking.
"Great! You wanna come play tennis?"
"Oh, I don't know, Becky, you're a lot better than me. I mean, you're so athletic…"
"Oh, no, this would be doubles. It was The— uh, Tobey's idea."
That was right, Becky had started going out with Tobey. Though Violet couldn't deny she'd seen it coming since… well, fifth grade, really, it was still somewhat jarring to see their belligerent flirting transition so quickly through playful friendship to synergic courtship.
"That sounds fair. Who're we playing with, Bob?" The suggestion was a joke. Violet hoped Becky had a double date in mind.
"Actually, would you mind calling Scoops up?" Becky was the only one Violet knew who still used the old nickname.
"Sure, that sounds cool! Where should we meet?"
"You know the tennis courts by the park?"
"I know the park, and I can probably find the courts."
"Great! Is ten too early?"
Violet glanced at the wall clock. 8:46.
"Nah, that sounds about good. See you then!"
"Bye, Violet!"
Violet hung up, and as she dialed Todd's number, she said, "Mom, Becky wants to play tennis at ten. That OK with you?"
"Fine with me, sweetie. Want me to take you to the courts?"
Violet held up a finger. She could hear the line ringing.
"Hello?" It was Mrs. Ming.
"Hey, this is Violet. Can I talk to Todd?"
"Sure thing, darling." Violet heard Todd's mother yell something in Chinese. The sounds of commotion followed, and soon enough, Todd's familiar voice came on.
"Hey, Vi. Mom said you wanted to talk to me?"
"Yeah, Becky just called me. Wanna go on a double date? It's tennis."
"Sounds like a great idea! What time?"
"Ten. You need a ride? My mom says she can give us one."
"That sounds good."
Violet covered the mouthpiece. "Mom, when will we pick up Todd?"
"At ten 'till, Violet." Mrs. Heaslip seemed amused that Violet hadn't actually asked before offering her services.
"Great!" She uncovered the phone. "Mom says to be ready at 9:50."
"Super, see you then!"
"Awesome!"
"And Vi?" His voice was tender.
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"You too, Todd."
With a wide smile the teenage girl hung up the phone.
"We've got tennis rackets, right?"
There were indeed tennis rackets in the garage, though it took a bit of hunting to find them. Violet had only a half hour left to eat and change into her new outfit from her grubby pajamas.
At 9:50, the Heaslip car pulled into the Ming driveway, and as Violet opened the door to get out and fetch Todd, the teenage boy stepped out of his front door. She noticed that he was wearing his junior high clothes: a lime-green shirt and jeans. Violet glanced at her high school clothes and wondered if she should have done the same. She decided it couldn't hurt. The skirt had plenty of mobility.
"Hey, Todd," she said as the Asian boy climbed into the backseat and fastened his seatbelt.
"Right on time as always, Vi." He set his racket on the two seats next to him, and there was chatter in the small car all the way to the park.
Both Becky and Tobey were wearing summer clothes when Violet and Todd met up with them. Shorts, T-shirts, and sneakers. A matching pair. Did they plan this? thought Violet, and she felt a small twinge of envy toward the other couple. It soon vanished, and Violet was left with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. I'm not usually so jealous… She hoped this wasn't a magical side effect.
The negativity passed as the four friends united and made their way to the vacant courts, and soon Violet was able to put it out of her mind.
"All right, how should we pair up?" asked Becky. "Girls vs. guys? Couples on the same team?"
"Why not rotate?" suggested Scoops.
"Sounds like a good idea," Tobey said. "But whoever's against Becky at the time should get a head start." The blond teen grinned as his girlfriend playfully punched him in the shoulder and smooched his cheek.
"That seems fair, actually," said Violet, and the other three laughed, especially the boys. When Violet realized they weren't making fun of her, she joined in.
The hours passed quickly as the four teens played. Violet enjoyed each of her partners, though predictably, Becky's team won nearly every match, and Violet suspected she and Todd had thrown the one they hadn't.
Tobey was easily the least athletic, so whenever he was with Violet, she let him stand in the front of the court so she could catch the serves he missed. It was kind of funny watching him frantically dash from side to side, and Violet giggled to herself whenever Becky gave him tips. She seemed to like using the standard flirty method of coaching: reaching her arms around his body to position his hands. Violet could tell from his expression — and blushing — that he enjoyed Becky's advice.
Though Todd wasn't nearly as good as Becky, he was Violet's favorite partner. She felt they worked together better than she did with either of the others, even though that meant they lost even more handily to Becky and Tobey's teamwork. It seemed Becky was able to use Tobey's… unique abilities (well, lack thereof) to her advantage, and it was clear the two worked well together.
Becky was a great partner, but Violet really enjoyed, from an artistic perspective, watching her move. There was a grace, an ease, a flair even to her every action, and Violet struggled to figure out the best way to describe it. Eventually, after staring at Becky's perfect form, the way everything seemed to come so naturally to her, Violet concluded the best word was "lightness." Becky carried herself as though her body weighed nothing at all, like the racket was made of styrofoam. She's like an angel… thought Violet.
She almost didn't notice the constant looks Tobey and Becky shared, the smirks, the way it seemed like they were sharing an inside joke. But she did notice, and she felt her stomach sink. Is she keeping a secret from me? Maybe it's just something that happened between the two of them only… but I think I feel a little less guilty about not telling her about magic. She just wouldn't understand.
As the foursome played, the late morning turned into early afternoon, and a few hours after they started, the water cooler was empty.
"Aw, I guess it's time to go home now," said Becky. "Great games, everyone!"
Todd rubbed his chin. "Hey, I think I have an idea for one last match."
"You can't be serious," protested Becky for the last time. But the other three stood on the opposite side of the court relentlessly. Tobey even tapped his foot, though he had a massive grin.
"Pfft, fine," conceded the brunette.
"Don't go easy on us!" teased Violet.
"No, really," said Todd. "If you can beat us, feel free."
Becky crossed her arms.
"OK, OK, let's just start then!"
As Becky walked over to the ball bucket, the three opposing teenagers took their positions. Tobey was in the front center, while Violet and Scoops stood symmetrically in the back. Violet stepped back when Becky got ready to serve.
The serve was a lot faster than Violet had expected, and she barely managed to catch the ball with her racket. The surprising force reverberated through her bones, and Violet saw it land just inside the lines. Becky was quick — almost too quick — to return the tennis ball, which bounced past Violet.
The game flew by quickly at first, but gradually the three humans acclimatized to the stiff competition Becky brought, and her points came slower and slower. They could all tell she gave several points away to increase the drama, but it never felt like she was really going easy on them — just saving her best performance for last. Finally, when everyone except Becky was panting and practically begging for mercy, she ended it with a quick, forceful stroke.
Tobey flopped to the ground, and Todd and Violet hunched over, panting and perspiring more than they had in weeks.
"I don't know how you do it, Becky," huffed Violet between turns at the park's singular drinking fountain. Though anyone could taste the traces of chlorine, they all drank copiously, even Becky.
"Uh… lots of practice?"
Everyone laughed. Todd choked on his water, and Violet had to slap him on the back.
The four walked home together, chatting all the while. What started out as a group conversation eventually splintered into a pair of parallel conversations between the couples.
Todd's house was the closest to the park, and he and Violet shared a brief kiss before he retreated into his house. As the glass door closed and he turned around, Violet could have sworn she saw splotches of yellow-blonde hair on the back of Todd's head… but those could easily be reflections on the door.
Tobey's house, though it was next, was more than two blocks away. He and Becky chatted as Violet quietly walked behind.
"See, I told you you were better than the three of us put together! Although I think by the end you were just showing off…"
Becky playfully shushed her boyfriend, whispering something Violet was barely unable to catch.
What's going on? she wondered.
It was a relief when the threesome arrived at the MacAllister residence and Claire opened the door to let her son in.
Finally, alone time with Becky, thought Violet. I won't push her about it, but if she mentions what she and Tobey are joking about, I'll tell her everything.
Unfortunately, Becky began yammering about how excited she was for high school. Violet managed to get in a couple of thoughts, but, as usual, the Botsford girl dominated the conversation.
As Becky unlocked her front door, Violet waved.
"See ya later… best friend…"
"You too! BFF!"
Violet began the solo walk home, remembering a conversation from years ago.
"Becky? Are we still… BFFs?"
Becky had proven herself, and Violet knew she was probably being unfair to her best friend, but… she'd never been able to shake the sense that Becky was hiding something big from her.
"Guess I can join the club," she muttered miserably.
Violet could never stay sad for long, and by the time she got home, she was all smiles again. She gushed to her mother about every detail, and announced her desire to do this every Tuesday. She even added a handful of tiles to the Good Things Mosaic. (Usually, each Good Thing only warranted one tile.)
One thing above all others kept Violet on the absolute top of the world through dinner and the dishes, and when it was finally time, she dashed to her room, locked the door, and flicked on the light.
"It's about time," said Seraph with a grin. "Ready to get started?"