Time for summer fun!
Ch. 6 Summer's Twilights Had 'Em Fooled
(CLARE)
"Have a good day, Drew will pick you up when you're off," Audra says, dropping Adam and I at The Dot Saturday Morning. It's still fairly early morning but I can already feel the summer heat.
We returned from vacation yesterday afternoon. We had a great time, our cabin was nice, the food was good when we ate at the main lodge, but we did a lot of cooking ourselves. Drew and I spent a lot of time at the pool, I'm pretty sure every girl between the ages of thirteen and twenty-five flirted with him. Adam only hung out at the pool a little bit but did spend a lot of time in the games pavilion. We took kayaks out on the lake as a family, did some hiking, some shopping in town, we really had a great time, and I was happy they had included me.
"Hey guys," Spinner greets us when we come in. "I see you're wearing your shirts already; I'll show you your lockers and how to clock in."
K.C. is working too and he waves at us, the café is pretty busy for nine on a Saturday morning, so I'm sure we'll be put right to work. Spinner takes us to the employee lounge, shows us our lockers and gives us locks, he shows us how to clock in and gives us keys for the backdoor, but says it's usually unlocked during business hours. I lock up my purse, but Adam doesn't have anything to put in the locker.
We follow Spin back out front, he and K.C. kind of teach us as we're working because things are so busy. Adam will be working thirty or thirty-five hours a week through the summer. I will only be working fifteen to twenty because I'm also volunteering at the helpline and my first day is tomorrow.
When things slow down a bit, Spin sends K.C. on lunch and shows Adam and I how to work the cash register, ring in orders, give them to the cooks. Things get busy again before K.C. returns from his lunch, but I ring people up and get their orders. Adam and I work well together and communicate well, so even though we're still learning things run smoothly. When K.C. returns from lunch Spin goes on lunch, and the flow of customers has stopped temporarily.
"When there's no one to ring up or any orders to take to the tables we can clean tables, or clean and organize back here. Spin doesn't mind if we're on our phones when it's slow as long as they get put away when it's busy again," K.C. tells us as he starts wiping the counter.
"That's cool, Drew can't do that at the pool," Adam remarks.
"His first shift is today, isn't it?" K.C. asks.
"Yeah, he was looking forward to it, couldn't wait to see all the hot girls at the pool," Adam replies.
"I think he saw plenty on vacation. Are you settled into the house yet?" I ask K.C. to change the subject. He and his mom moved into the Matlin house a month ago.
"Yeah, everything is unpacked, and I love my new room. Katie's been better, she can still be a pain and kind of a snob. I don't think she's happy about the wedding still, but she hasn't been such a bitch. She really likes working at the pool and she's really excited about the soccer team, any time she does anything with them or talks to one of them she gets really happy and excited," K.C. responds.
That's all the time we have for small talk as Dave, Alli, Wes and Hannah come in. As we start ringing them up more kids flow in. Spinner returns from lunch and when it slows down again Spinner sends me on break. I go outside for some air and see Eli going into the ravine, I have no idea why he would be going to the ravine. So, I follow him, coming through the trees just as I see Eli swallowing something it looks like he got from Bruce.
"Eli, what are you doing? I don't think you should be mixing narcotics with your medication," I remark, walking to where Eli stands with Bruce.
"You worry too much Clare, maybe you should have some. It relaxes me," Eli grins.
"Yeah, party with us Clare," Bruce grins, holding out some more pills. Thankfully, Bruce doesn't seem to remember me.
"No, I'm going back to work," I reply, turning around but Eli jumps up and catches my arm.
"No, stay with me, party with us, you need to stay with me Clare," Eli insists. He's not holding that tightly and he doesn't look crazed like he has in the past, but I'm still sure I need to get out of here.
"I think you need to go home Eli," I respond. I push him hard while twisting my arm and he stumbles back. I run back to The Dot, coming through the front doors and getting everyone's attention. I quickly pull myself together and go behind the counter. We're not that busy and I don't even see Spin behind the counter. "Where's Spinner?" I question.
"Taking stock since it's slow, we can call him if it gets busy," K.C. tells me.
"Where were you?" Adam questions.
"I saw Eli going into the ravine and I followed him. He's getting high," I inform them. Adam looks shocked, but K.C. looks away with a guilty expression. "You knew Eli was getting high, K.C.?"
"I saw him go into the ravine while working too, and I went over after my shift. I told Dave, but we didn't know what to do about it. Drug abuse would explain a lot of his behavior. I didn't want you guys to worry," K.C. says, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.
"We should call his parents, either he's not taking his mood stabilizers and only taking whatever he's getting at the ravine. Or he's mixing prescriptions and narcotics and either way it's a bad thing," I comment.
"I'm going on break, I'll call," Adam says.
He disappears into the back, and I look at K.C., I want to ask why he didn't tell anyone besides Dave. I don't have time though as we get a large group of customers coming in. Adam doesn't take his full break as he's back in the café a few minutes later. Spinner also comes out of the back as we remain busy.
Adam tells us Bullfrog is on his way, and we do see his car pull up as we're serving a group of football players, including Owen. Once all the football players are served it calms down and Spin says he's going home since he's been there since opening. Another employee comes in an hour anyway.
"Hi kids," Bullfrog says, coming into the café just after Spinner leaves. I can't help but notice Eli isn't with him and isn't in Bullfrog's car.
"Hey Bullfrog," Adam says.
"I looked for Eli at the ravine but he's not there. Did he come in here or did you see him leave?"
"No, he didn't come in, and we didn't see him leave but we've been pretty busy," Adam responds.
"Alright, I'll keep looking. I'm going to call the cops because a lot of the kids over there are high or drunk and underage," Bullfrog tells us.
He steps outside and we see him walking back to his car while making a phone call. I'm worried about Eli and since it's quiet Adam and I both get out our phones and text Eli. Neither one of us gets a response. A few minutes later we do see two patrol cars pull up, a couple minutes after that several kids go running. Two get arrested, including Bruce. In a few days I'm sure all the kids will be back at the ravine.
Once that excitement is done K.C. takes his last break. When he comes back, I go on lunch, I'm too worried to eat, so I just make a smoothie and go to the employee lounge. I try calling Eli four times over my lunch and get no answer. Abby comes on shift while I'm on lunch, she just waves and goes out front.
Adam takes lunch when I go back to the front, he tells me he couldn't get a hold of Eli either. When Adam's back from lunch it's time for K.C. to go home. Adam and I work another three hours, Abby takes her lunch and just as Jesse comes on shift it's time for us to go home. We see Drew's car out front, so we clock out and get in the car. Adam gives me the front seat, and I see him on his phone in back.
"Eli's okay, he walked home and he's on lockdown until they leave for vacation in two weeks," Adam says.
"I'm glad he's okay," I sigh looking out the window.
"Do I want to know?" Drew questions.
"Eli was getting high in the ravine, we called Bullfrog, but Eli was gone when he got there. Bullfrog called the cops so all the kids at the ravine were chased off, a couple were arrested," Adam informs him.
"Well, at least I won't have to worry about Eli for a while if he's on lockdown and then leaving for vacation," Drew remarks.
I stay quiet, looking out the window until we get home. We arrive home just in time for dinner, so we wash up and sit down. Omar and Audra ask all three of us about our first day on the job. Drew does most of the talking about the pool, he was working with Katie today and it seems they spent quite a lot of time talking. Adam and I talk about our day too, we just don't mention Eli or what happened at the ravine.
I'm exhausted after dinner, so I take a shower and go to bed. Only to wake up from a nightmare about Eli overdosing. Unable to sleep, I leave my room and turn on the TV in the basement, I fall asleep to the TV a little after dawn. I don't wake until the alarm on my phone goes off telling me it's time to get up. I get some breakfast and then get ready for my first shift at the helpline.
When I dropped off the paperwork, they gave me a volunteer handbook which covered policies and dress code and all of that. The dress code is casual, but as it's summer I still dress in a light blue summer dress with cap sleeves and dark blue ballet flats. Drew drops me at the helpline on the way to the pool. When I come in there's a well-dressed woman waiting with a folder. She's got long brunette hair she's pulled away from her face, wears a knee-length pencil skirt that's black and maroon stripes, and a black short sleeve top.
"Welcome Clare, I'm Keeley," she says, shaking my hand. She then begins walking so I follow her. "We only have you for four hours today so there's going to be a lot of information pretty fast. Things are either slow or non-stop around here usually, you'll get used to it. Let me take you on a tour of the facility first and introduce you to the people that are here. Then I'll show you what you'll be doing, mostly it's grunt work but it's still a vital part of what goes on here and is very much appreciated. There's some lockers in here for personal items, you can take any free locker, did you bring a lock?"
"Yeah," I nod, taking the lock from my purse. Bringing a lock was also in the handbook.
I lock my purse up and then Keely takes me to the kitchen and washrooms on this floor. She also shows me the garage entrance if I drive myself, of course to do that I'd need a car. We then go up to the second level and she shows me the breakroom and washrooms, file room, and quiet room before she takes me out to the calling floor. A few people are on calls and others seem to be typing, a few people are milling around. Keely introduces me to the four people at call stations not currently on calls. They all seem nice and happy to have the help.
"You're a Degrassi student, right?" Keely questions.
"Yes, I'll be going into grade eleven this year."
"One of our junior counselors attended Degrassi," Keeley says and looks around the room. She doesn't seem to see who she's looking for but when someone comes from the men's room she smiles. "Derek this is Clare, she's going to your alma mater and is volunteering here," Keeley introduces us.
"I remember you, Baby Edwards," Derek grins and I roll my eyes.
"I always hated that name, almost as much as I hated St. Clare," I huff.
"Well, you definitely outgrew the geeky glasses kid I remember."
"I remember you now, you were on the football team with Spinner and Jane."
"Yeah, I liked football," Derek smiles.
"I need to show Clare what she'll be doing and get back to work, you two can catch up later," Keely comments.
"I have to get back to work as well, good to see you again Clare," Derek grins. He walks over to a desk and sits down.
"I don't know when the other three will be off the phone, but that's Jeremy, Ryan, and Sydney," Keely says pointing to each of them as she says their names. "Feel free to introduce yourself when you have a chance, they're all very nice. Alright, this way, and I'll show you what needs to get done," Keely says.
I follow her back to the file room, seems like I'll be spending most of my time here. She gives me a rundown of everything that needs to get done and what to do. She then shows me where her office is if I have questions and tells me to take a break after a couple of hours.
There's no clock in the file room, and my cell phone is in my purse in my locker, but I go out to use the washroom and find that it's been over two hours. I didn't think to bring a water bottle, so I get a cup and fill it with cold water from the cooler. As I'm drinking my second cup Derek comes in, he must be on break too as he grabs a granola bar from the basket on the counter. Keely already told me those were for everyone.
"You know, what I remember of you is more of a bully. You posted on Alli's I hate Holly J page, a pretty nasty message if I recall. I'm a little surprised to see you working a crisis hotline," I remark to Derek.
"Yeah, well getting expelled and losing most of my friends was a wakeup call for me. I finished high school, got my diploma, and enrolled at Centennial. I took a psychology course and wrote a paper on being adopted; my professor liked it even though I'm not much of a writer. She's one of the clinicians here that oversees everyone. She brought me in to observe once and I wanted to help. I had to go through a lot of training and courses, but it was worth it. I can't handle all the calls; I mostly handle just upset teens that feel like things are hopeless or substance abuse. A lot of calls where there really is no major problem, but the caller just needs to talk to someone. I love it though; it feels really good to have someone thank you just for letting them rant. I want to get my degree in counseling, maybe be a school counselor or substance abuse counselor."
"That's amazing that you turned things around so much, your parents must be really proud," I reply with a smile. It makes me think of Fitz and even Spinner and how they turned their lives around.
"They are," Derek says with a proud grin. "You know if you have any questions and Keely isn't around you can ask me."
"Thanks."
"Are you bored out of your mind in the file room?"
"It's not very stimulating, but I'm happy to help. I should actually get back to it," I remark.
Derek smiles and walks out with me since the file room is on the way to his desk. I finish my shift, let Keely know that I'm leaving and find Audra waiting for me. I get in the car, and she asks how my first shift was, I tell her about the facility and Keely, and that Derek went to Degrassi and how he turned his life around.
When we get home, I eat lunch and rest for a few hours with Adam in the basement. We both work our first shift at Above the Dot tonight. We all eat dinner together and I tell Drew and Omar about my first day at the helpline and about Derek. Neither Drew nor Adam know who Derek is so it's not as though they heard the rumors or know how much of a bully he was.
After dinner Adam and I get ready for work and Audra lets Adam take the van. We won't get off until 1:30 in the morning and she doesn't want to pick us up. Drew might be awake but also has to be at the pool at nine tomorrow morning.
K.C. isn't working tonight but Spinner is, it's the three of us and Jesse in the club and two people working the café until closing. Spinner shows Adam and I around and what to do before people start coming in. After I take my lunch, I'm behind the counter with Spinner. I tell him about Derek working at the hotline and turning his life around. Spin says it's good that Derek was able to do it. The club is busy, so we don't have time for any further talk. Adam and I are both very tired when we get home, we go straight to bed and tonight I sleep without nightmares.
(K.C.)
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the officiator declares. Mom and Richard smile and share a quick kiss.
They just got married at city hall with Richard's best friend, Roger, as a witness. I'm Richard's best man, Katie and Maya are bridesmaids. We're all dressed nicely, but no one is in tuxedos and ball gowns. Richard, Roger, and I all wear button-up shirts with ties, dress slacks and dress shoes. Mom is wearing a sort of tan colored dress with flowers on it and sandals. Katie and Maya both have pink dresses on, dresses they already had, and nice shoes. Mom didn't get bouquets, but she and Richard do have wedding rings. There's no reception or anything, but Richard did make reservations at a restaurant for the wedding dinner.
"I'm so glad you were all there to share this moment with us," Mom smiles when we're sitting at the restaurant.
"I'm very happy for both of you, Lisa is a wonderful woman," Roger says.
"Thank you, Roger, I don't think I've ever been this happy," Mom grins.
"I still think you should take a longer honeymoon than a weekend on PEI," Roger comments.
It's Thursday, June 17th, Mom and Richard took today and tomorrow off. They leave tomorrow for their honeymoon of a three-day weekend on Prince Edward Island. They're leaving us on our own for those three days.
"Maybe next year, we just don't have the time to take a longer vacation. A long weekend away is all we need, we'll be celebrating our love every day," Richard says smiling at Mom with adoring eyes.
Maya gushes, Roger and I grin, Katie rolls her eyes, but I don't know that anyone aside from me saw it. We eat a good dinner, and order dessert since there was no wedding cake. Roger says goodnight and we go home. Mom and Richard sent out a wedding announcements, but when they get home they still make a bunch of phone calls to tell people how it went. Then they finish packing to leave in the morning.
Friday morning Mom and Richard leave pretty early. They say goodbye to us, remind us of the rules and then they're gone. Katie leaves to go to Riverdale Park Pool since she works the morning shift today. Maya and I spend a lazy morning eating and watching TV.
"Ugh, it's too hot to go out," Maya groans after checking the temperature on her phone.
"Why don't we go to the pool? I can call Clare, see if she and Adam want to come too," I suggest. She's never met them officially but saw them at the championship basketball game. She's also heard me talk about them before.
"Yeah, sounds good," Maya smiles. I grin and get out my phone clicking on Clare's name.
"Hi K.C.," Clare answers and I can hear Adam call "hey" in the background.
"Hey, you and Adam want to join me and Maya at the pool?"
"The pool sounds great," she says into the phone and then I hear her move it from her mouth for a moment. "You want to go to the pool with K.C. and Maya?" She asks Adam.
"Yeah, sounds good. Mom is home we can probably take the van, I'll go ask," Adam replies.
"Yeah, we're coming, and I'll text you if Adam is allowed to take the van," Clare says.
"Cool," I reply and hang up.
Maya and I go to our rooms and get ready for the pool. As I'm getting ready, I get a text from Adam that he can take the van and they'll pick us up. We could have taken the bus, but it's nice to have a ride. Clare sends a text when they're on their way and we wait for them at the front door. It only takes a few minutes because the Torres house is only a block and half away.
"Clare, Adam, my stepsister Maya," I introduce them as Maya, and I climb into the middle seats of the van.
"Hi Maya, good to meet you," Clare smiles looking back.
"Hey guys, nice to meet you Maya," Adam says. He looks back as well, and as soon as we're buckled, he begins driving.
Adam parks at Riverdale Park and we get out grabbing our stuff. We pay to get in and go straight out to the pool, we don't need the locker rooms since we all got ready at home. We find a spot to lay out our towels and our bags. Adam doesn't take off anything, he leaves his shirt on despite having a waterproof compression vest on. The only thing to come off are his sunglasses and flip-flops before he jumps in the pool. I take off everything but my boardshorts. Maya has a one piece blue and white swimsuit; she was wearing a summer dress over that and it comes off alone with her sandals and sunglasses. Clare takes off the summer dress she's wearing to reveal a one-piece swimsuit as well, a sapphire blue shimmery one piece. It goes high on her hips and brings out her eyes, I'm pretty sure I blush just seeing how good she looks in it.
"I'm going to dive in," Maya says and goes to the diving board.
"Let's jump in and find Adam," Clare remarks. She was looking at me and didn't notice Drew coming out of the locker room. She shrieks slightly when he covers her eyes and kisses her cheek. When he uncovers her eyes, and she sees it's him she twists her mouth. "You're lucky I recognized your aftershave and didn't elbow you," she says.
"I could have thrown you into the pool," he smirks.
"Get back to work," she groans, shoving at him playfully.
I chuckle and follow her to the edge of the pool while Drew goes back to his post. Katie is at her post; I wave but she either doesn't see me or doesn't want to wave back. Clare and I jump in close to Adam, when we come up, she's almost instantly set upon by a group of girls.
"How do you know Drew?"
"Is he your boyfriend?"
"He's so cute."
The girl's statements overlap each other, and I start laughing.
"He's my brother," Clare says, rolling her eyes. I'm sure saying he's her brother and not explaining that the Torres parents are her guardians was easier. Clare ducks under the water and pops back up near me taking my arm. "Let's go find Adam and Maya," she says, pulling me away from the girls.
"You know, those girls might think we're dating now," I remark.
"Good, let them," she responds. I admit my heart flutters a little at this thought. A part of me always regretted breaking up with Clare for Jenna.
We find Adam and Maya, spend a couple of hours swimming and splashing in the pool. Marisol is here too; we don't notice until she gets splashed and screams. Seems she only came to lie out in her little bikini. Clare, Adam and I all work Above the Dot tonight and we have to eat and shower before we go to work. So, when Katie and Drew are off, we decide to leave as well. We see Owen on his way in, and wave to him. Marisol offers to take me, Maya and Katie home so we stick around until Katie is ready. Adam and Clare say they'll see me in a couple of hours as they leave, Drew waves as he leaves.
"We should throw a party tomorrow night, you're off right K.C.?" Katie asks when we're in the car on the way home.
"Dad and Lisa said no parties," Maya speaks up.
"Don't be such a baby Maya, the parents will never know. Maya you can be there and invite a friend or two. K.C., you have the numbers of the football team, right?" Katie asks.
"Yeah, I'll invite them, Adam and Clare too. Alli, Dave, Wes, Hannah, L…" I'm saying when Katie cuts me off.
"Yeah, whatever, Mare and I will invite some people, but we won't let it get out of hand," Katie comments.
Katie's already texting people, I text Owen, Dave, Wes, Alli and Connor. I'll see Adam and Clare at work, and they can tell Drew. Marisol comes inside with us, and we all eat lunch. I take a shower and start getting ready for work. I leave a little early, but I don't want to be around Katie and Marisol as they're planning the party.
Maya is in her room with headphones on at her computer. Looks like she's on some music program, I wave to let her know I'm leaving. It's still hot, and I'm sweltering as I wait for the bus, at least the bus is cool. On the bus is a poster for a local skating competition. While I'm waiting to get to my stop I go onto my phone and go to the website, after reading through everything I sign up for the competition.
"Hey guys," I greet Adam and Clare when I get to the club. "We're having a party at our house tomorrow night, you're both invited and so is Drew."
"Cool, we'll tell him when we get home, and tell our parents we're hanging out. It's a good thing we have tomorrow off," Adam comments.
"I work at the café tomorrow, but only until six. Which leaves Katie and Marisol to set up for the party, it was their idea, so I think that's appropriate. Oh, Adam, have you seen the posters for the skating competition?" I ask him.
He shakes his head, so I show him the website and he signs up before we start working. The club is busy and by the time I get home I'm exhausted and fall into bed. I work at ten, so I set an alarm for nine, but it feels like it goes off too soon. I shower and get ready for work, grabbing some breakfast when I get there. The morning is pretty slow, but it picks up around noon. Any time the café is slow I'm thinking about the competition.
When I get home things are set up for the party and a few people are already here. Maya decided not to invite any of her friends from music school. Owen is here already, so are Dave, Alli and the Torres clan. I change out of my work clothes and go out to the living room. Julian and a couple other football players bring liquor. Katie drinks a lot, and too fast, she passes out on Drew and stays there for the remainder of the party. I spend most of the party with Clare.
We kick most everyone out by midnight. Drew carries Katie to bed, Marisol decides to stay. Clare, Adam, Drew and Owen stay and help us clean up. It's almost two in the morning when we're done, and I go right to bed. I have Sunday off and decide to go to the skate park to practice for the competition. There's some other kids here, I can't tell if they're also in the competition and came to practice or just skating. I get on my board and begin skating, I focus on tricks and get some attention.
"That was awesome," says a boy with dark hair, when I come down from a particularly hard flip. He looks like he's a year or two younger than me, tall and slender. "I've been trying to do that trick but can't seem to land right. Are you in the competition next Saturday?"
"Yeah, I'm K.C.," I say, holding my hand out to the boy.
"Zig," he smiles, shaking my hand.
"I'll show you how to do the trick," I offer.
"Thanks, I still don't think I have much of a chance in the competition."
I chuckle and slap his back lightly. I show him how to do the trick and he gets it after a few tries. We skate together for a while before taking a break, we sit down and drink some water.
"Where do you go to school?" I ask Zig.
"I start at Degrassi as a freshman in the fall."
"Cool, I go to Degrassi, I'll be a junior in the fall. One of my good friends will also be in the competition Saturday and he and his sister are going to be juniors too. Their brother will be a senior. One of my stepsisters will be a senior and the other one is going to be a freshman. Maya, the one that's going to be a freshman, she'll be at the competition. Not too sure about Katie."
"Cool, my girlfriend and her best friend will be here to watch me, and they'll be freshman at Degrassi too. Tristan's brother goes to Degrassi already, I think he'll be a senior this year. I don't think he'll be at the competition though."
"Well, you'll still meet some Degrassi students. I'm going to skate some more before I head home," I comment, getting up.
We skate for a while longer and say goodbye before heading home. Katie is suffering from a hangover, but Marisol is still here. Mom and Richard return shortly after I get home, we don't mention the party but do talk about work, and I tell them about the skating competition. Katie at least doesn't look hungover when they get home but does say she's not feeling well. Everyone, even Katie, says they'll be there at the competition next Saturday to watch me skate and compete.
More chapters soon.
Next up will be my new Flare story "Admit We're Friends, but There's More There".