into the lagoon. The pirate show is nothing more than sound clips and some pyrotechnics between the ship cannons and the cannon-lined building on the hill above the mini-golf entrance. I've always thought it was corny, but Dad loved it. Along with every other kid.
At the end of the dock, Boaz heaves his golf bag high on his shoulder and jumps into the knee-deep water. Roman rolls up his jeans and jumps into the lagoon after Boaz. "Want to ride on my shoulders? The water's pretty gross."
"We're not actually going over there, are we?" I hiss, eyeing the pirate ship. "Anyone could see us from the road! If a cop passes or anyone reports us..."
He sneezes.
I narrow my eyes at him. "Excuse me?"
He sneezes again, but it sounds suspiciously like "Chickenshit."
"Fine." I snap my fingers where I want him to stand and sit down on the edge of the dock, trying to un-see the candy-wrappers and gobs of bird poo floating near my feet. "I'll piggy-back—"
Suddenly, he scoops me up into his arms, bridal-style, and follows Boaz across the lagoon to the pirate ship. I clamp onto his neck. I would've been cool with a piggyback. I would've been better with a piggyback. I'm not too heavy for him, am I? I soon forget to ask when a suspicious floating thing catches my eye. I hope it's an unwrapped Snickers.
"Do you think they even clean the water?" I venture to ask.
He shakes his head. "Why do you think I left my Vans on?"
"Oh, your poor Vans..."
"They'll survive."
At the ship, Boaz is already on deck. He reaches down and pulls me up beside him. Roman climbs up after us. I stare back at the mini-golf course, darkened without the floodlights. It looks...almost mystical, the way the lights from the stores across the street reflect on the shimmering water, casting glowing strings of lights over the odd-shaped greens. You can't see the trash from here, just the shimmers of aqua and the deep shades of blue.
"So this is what it looks like from the other side," I murmur.
Roman comes up beside me with the golf club Boaz handed him. "This was Hol's favorite spot."
To pay our respects to the dead, he had said. Oh. Like how I always eat frozen fish sticks on Thursdays because Dad loved fish sticks and Thursdays, and how no matter how sick of the song I am, I always stop for "Born to Run" on the radio. The air begins to taste bittersweet. If Roman killed Holly, then I killed my dad in the same way.
The rock star drops a ball onto the deck and with an expert swing, he knocks it across the lagoon and onto the course. His orange hair picks up shades of blue from the reflective water. "FORE!"
The ball disappears somewhere into the darkness.
"That sucked, bro-ha." Boaz shakes his head and drops a white ball on the other side of me. He points to a distant blue-green splotch. "Hole Ten. Watch and learn." With a swift swipe, the ball arcs into the air like a comet without a tail, and lands on the Hole Ten green.
Roman claps. "Impressive...for a small child. Hole Eleven." His ball finds the green with ease, and he bites his thumb at Boaz. "I bite my thumb at you, sir!"
"Punk-ass sonuva..." Mohawk drops another golf ball and the second he raises his club, Roman knocks him in the back of the knee. The ball arcs over the lagoon and falls somewhere in the bushes between Holes Five and Two. "Damnit, man!" Boaz spins around to Roman and pulls his club up with a "Bzzzz" light saber sound. "You dare try to cheat at my game."
Roman pulls up his own golf-club-light-saber. He strikes first. Their golf clubs connect.
"Bzzzz!"
Boaz retaliates with a high swipe, but the rock star ducks and twirls behind me. Boaz throws back his head and laughs. "You dare use a woman as a shield!"
"No, just a distraction! Her cuteness with thwart you!"
"Like hell!" I reply and duck out from in front of him.
"Foiled!" Roman hops up onto the bridge of the ship, twirling his golf club in his hands like a saber. He clearly watched way too much Star Wars as a child. "You will never defeat me!"
Boaz jumps onto the bridge as well, and they exchange a quick spar—left, right, spar!—before he pins Roman back against the railing, crossing their golf sabers into Xs between them. "Come to the Dark Side!" Boaz beckons, and for a