kun kup”, thanking him in Thai. I stood up and bowed. He chuckled, pleased.
“Oh, um, Ethan,” I added, “Abby was looking for you earlier.”
“She found me before I took my break,” he said, adding, “She hired me to teach you to swim.”
Now it was my turn to look surprised. Ethan just smiled.
“Ah, very good match,” said Lue, shrewdly looking between me and Ethan, “Earth and water.” I turned and hurried away quickly.
I met up with Abby and grumbled, “I ran into Ethan– you could have told me!” She smiled placidly, “You would have just tried to talk me out of it.”
“I know I agreed to lessons, but why did you have to go to him?” I asked, “It’s so embarrassing after what happened.”
“Who better?” said Abby, “He knows his way around the ocean, and at least I already know he won’t let you drown!”
When we got home I went to my room and called Evie, catching up on all her latest adventures. I told her a little about Aptos and how much I liked staying with my aunt and cousin.
I avoided all the bad things that had happened; Evie tended to blow every little thing completely out of proportion. The last think I wanted to do was give her something real to over-dramatize.
She kept asking me about boys and I kept changing the subject.
I told her how Cruz was a talented designer, and about Megan and her wonderful voice. She said she would love to meet them someday. I thanked her for all the great summer clothes and went into detail about how well they fit and how much I liked each one.
“Marina,” she said suspiciously, “I feel like you’re keeping something from me...”
“Evie! I haven’t even started school yet!”
“I know,” she said, “but you’re hiding something. I can tell.”
“OK,” I sighed, throwing her a bone, “There might be a boy.” Triumphant, she cried, “I knew it! Spill the beans. Is he cute?”
“Very,” I said.
I ended up telling her about Ethan, and how I was going to take swimming lessons from him. I mentioned that he was a surfer, and that it might be fun to learn how to surf when I improved my swimming skills.
“Ooh, what swimsuit will you wear?” she asked enthusiastically.
“None, Evie, I have to get a wetsuit. The water in Aptos is around fifty degrees.” Goosebumps rose on my arms as I thought about my bitterly cold trip out to the buoy.
“Well, be sure to wear a pretty one!” she said.
I laughed, “Abby’s taking me to look for an old one at the flea market– at least until I know if I can swim.”
“Don’t say ‘flea’, dear,” Evie said with disgust. I laughed at her prissiness. We said our goodbyes and I promised to call her back and tell her how my lessons went.
I had a hard time getting to sleep that night, and spent a long time tossing and turning. I couldn’t stop fidgeting, anxious about school the next morning. Charlie didn’t appreciate my restlessness and left the room, disgruntled. It was a rare fogless night, and I could see the glowing full moon clearly through my bedroom window.
I lost all track of time, lying there sleepless, studying the moon. I looked at the dark areas that early astronomers mistook for bodies of water. Mare, they called them, after the Latin word for sea. That was the root of my name, I thought. Could that have anything to do with my mother? I had to find a way to talk with Lorelei again. I finally fell into a fitful sleep.
I dreamed I was crouching on a surfboard, gliding along with the surge of the sea. I felt at one with the ocean; I was where I belonged. The powerful force of the water moved through me as I clung to the side of a tremendous wave. I skimmed my fingers along a solid wall of water and laughed.
CHAPTER EIGHT
HIGH SCHOOL
I was too nervous to eat breakfast on Monday morning, but Abby had gone to the effort to cook so I picked at the tofu scramble to please her.
“You’ll probably love high school,” she chirped, her tone overly cheerful.
“Did you?” I asked, trying not to sound too cynical.
“We-ell, not so much,” she admitted with a grin. “But I did make some really good friends there,” she added. Abby always managed to put a positive spin on everything.
Cruz made his way into the kitchen, grumbling. He had taken pains with his hair, lined his eyes, and painted