Close Out (11 page)

Then again, maybe it didn't matter.

Teddy had an airbrush, some spray cans of acrylic lacquer, brushes, tape, pencils, and enough acrylic paints for Kai to do what he needed to do. It was basically the same circular design with
T
and
L
in the center. Instead of “Team T-licious” in fancy script forming the perimeter, it would now say “Theodora Lombard Custom Boards.”

Kai wanted it to be perfect, and it took almost the entire day just to get the outline and lettering right. He was about to start coloring when the workshop door opened
and Teddy stepped in. Her eyes focused on the spec board and she scowled. She stepped closer. Kai instinctively moved back, not just to give her room, but in case she decided to grab the power planer and bash him in the skull with it.

“What do you think you're doing?” she asked, still staring at the board.

“I thought maybe if you saw what it would look like …” Kai's words trailed off as he realized how stupid that must have sounded.

“What it would look like?” Teddy repeated. “There is no
it
for it to look like. There's no Theodora Lombard custom surfboard company, except in
your
imagination. All you've done is ruin a perfectly good board. And that means you now owe me for two boards, not just one.”

Kai picked up a sheet of sandpaper. “I can sand it off.”

“No, you can't,” Teddy said. “Not today. I've seen enough of you for one day.”

D
inner on Pete's Hubba Hubba terrace had become a regular event. Not everyone showed up every night—and sometimes Kai and his friends still had pizza at Spazzy's—but if you were going anywhere else, Pete's was the place. Lucas and his brahs had their regular table; Kai and his friends had theirs. Everett was still the only one among them who felt comfortable at both.

The rest of the crowd was mostly vacationers. Pete's specialized in catering to teenage tourist kids who didn't want to be seen eating lunch or dinner with their parents. These kids were easy to spot—their skin was either pale because they'd just started vacation,
or bright red from too much sun too fast. It was only in contrast to them that Kai realized how darkly tan he and his friends had become since May.

Pete's was set up like a school cafeteria. You stood on line and got a tray. Only, instead of picking the food from inside a glass counter, you placed an order, then slid the tray down the rail and picked up drinks. By the time you got to the other end where the cashier was, your chili cheesesteak or slice of pizza or whatever was ready to be picked up.

When Kai got on line he noticed that Shauna was ahead of him. He was about to say hello (and see if he could jump the line to join her) when he realized that she was standing next to Derek, and that they were talking. Not only talking, but smiling as well. Kai decided to keep his place in line and not bother them.

A few moments later he picked up his Hubba juice and chili cheeseburger and headed out to the terrace. He saw Shauna sitting by herself at their regular table. Derek had gone over to Lucas's table to sit with the brahs.

“Hey,” Kai said, joining Shauna.

“Hi, Kai.” Shauna flashed him a smile.

“So'd you finally manage to catch a wave at Screamers today?” he asked.

“Oh, yes!” Shauna lit up excitedly. “I had this one ride. It was incredible! Probably on the biggest wave I ever rode … I know that's not saying much for me, but still it was so awesome! I was sideways and everything! Like I could almost reach out and touch the face. I wish you could have seen it!”

Kai smiled. Hearing her talk about that ride was the definition of pure stoke. But then her expression changed and became more somber. “I heard about Bean's car. Why'd that guy slash his tires?”

“He got involved in something that he should have stayed away from,” was all Kai cared to say.

“Bean did?”

“No, the other guy,” Kai said. “Although, I guess right now Bean feels that way too.”

“Do you think the other guy'll come back again?”

“Don't know,” Kai said. “If he does, we'll just have to deal with him.”

They ate quietly for a few moments. Kai noticed that Shauna glanced over at Lucas's table where Derek was sitting. It was hard
to imagine those two having anything to talk about, and Kai wasn't sure how he felt about it.

“Hey, guys.” Spazzy joined them, placing a slice and a Coke on the table. “How was it this morning?”

“Not bad if you don't mind the occasional mouthful of jellyfish,” Shauna said.

“I thought you would've been out there,” said Kai.

“Believe me, I would've, but big sister put her foot down,” Spazzy said. “As far as she's concerned, her brother and jellyfish do not swim in the same ocean.”

“Even though most of them are harmless?” Shauna asked.

“Most, but not all,” Spazzy said. “Don't forget who you're dealing with. Julian read about them in the newspaper yesterday and it was straight to the Internet to find out what kind they were and which might be harmful. So it turns out that the big ones with reddish centers are called Lion's Manes, and they have tentacles that can cause burning and skin irritations. That was all she had to read and there was no way I was surfing.”

“Sorry, dude,” Kai said.

“Hey,” Spazzy said, “she's come a long way. At least she lets me surf when there are no jellyfish.”

“Maybe it's a good thing you weren't here,” Shauna said. “Would you believe these guys had a jellyfish fight?”

“No way.” Spazzy grinned.

“Not with the Lion's Mane ones,” Kai explained. “Just the round, flat clear ones.”

“Those are called moon jellies,” Spazzy told them, shaking his head wearily. “Ask me anything you want to know about jellyfish. My sister made me learn every single type found in the northern Atlantic, so I could identify the dangerous ones. I mean, she
tested
me.”

“She cares about you,” Shauna said, and checked her watch. “Dinner break's over. Back to work. See you guys later.”

Kai watched her get up. As she left she glanced at the table where Derek was sitting, caught his eye and gave him a little wave.

The sun was setting and a slight breeze swept across the terrace. Unlike the breezes of a summer evening, which often blew warm and moist, this one had a dryness and chill to it. Kai recognized what it meant.

Spazzy twitched and blinked rapidly, licked
the back of his hand and sniffed it, then made some squeaking sounds. Kai knew him well enough by now to know that when he got going like that, it meant something was on his mind.

“Summer's ending,” he said.

Funny how they were both thinking the same thing.

“I'm gonna have to go back to school.” Spazzy didn't sound happy.

“I thought you liked it,” Kai said.

“It's okay. It's just … You know, it's full of kids like me. I mean, they don't all have Tourette's syndrome, but they all have something that makes them look and act different. And no matter how many times they tell us that our handicaps don't really matter, and we're just as good as everyone else, and that it's not really our fault and blah, blah, blah, you never really forget that you're different. You never really believe that there's nothing wrong, or bad. You never stop wondering why this had to happen to you and what did you do to deserve it. Until this past month I never really believed that it would ever be different from that, you know? That's why my whole world used to be my sister and a few friends at
school and maybe a couple of people like Ms. Lantz.”

Kai scowled. He couldn't remember who she was.

“My teacher out in California,” Spazzy said. “The one who taught me to surf.”

“Right.”

“And that's why this last month has been so amazing,” Spazzy went on. “For the first time in my life I really did feel like it was okay to have Tourette's syndrome. Or at least, I was finally with a bunch of friends who honestly didn't care and weren't just pretending it didn't matter if I acted weird. It's hard to leave that, you know?”

Kai nodded, but he was distracted by Lucas, Derek, and Sam, who'd finished eating and were coming toward their table.

“Hey,” Lucas said.

“Hey.” Kai nodded back. His eye caught Derek's. “Thanks again for helping me out this morning.”

“No sweat,” Derek said. “It was kind of fon.”

“That's some arm you've got,” Kai said.

“I used to play center field for my high school team,” Derek said. “My favorite thing was
nailing guys trying to score on sacrifice flies.”

“So my dad wants me to give you a message,” Lucas said. “He says he'll pay the entry fee for you to compete in the Northeast Championship.”

Kai felt his eyebrows dip with puzzlement.

“He thinks I need someone to push me,” Lucas said. “Otherwise I'll be too complacent.”

“What the hell's that mean?” Sam asked.

“Means he'll think he's already good enough to win, so he won't work that hard,” Kai said. “Then he'll get into the competition and find himself losing to guys he didn't know would be there.”

“It's like having a sparring partner,” Derek said.

“How come your dad doesn't want me to do that?” Sam asked Lucas. “And he can pay for my entry fee too.”

Nobody answered.

“So what do you say?” Lucas asked Kai.

“I don't know,” Kai said.

“You never know,” Sam said. “That's what you always say.”

Lucas turned on him angrily. “Will you shut up?”

“What did I say?” Sam looked surprised.

“He's the guy who had the highest single-wave score at Fairport, remember?” Lucas said of Kai. “That's why my father picked him and not you.”

Sam shrank back.

“Tell you what,” Kai said. “I'll be your sparring partner until the competition. Maybe I'll enter; maybe I won't. But you won't know. And anyway, there'll be way better surfers there than me, so it'll be good for you.”

“Deal.” Lucas held out his hand. Kai shook it. “Tomorrow morning. Sunrise?”

“See you then,” Kai said.

Lucas and his brahs headed off, leaving Kai and Spazzy at their table.

“If Buzzy's willing to pay, you should enter,” Spazzy said.

“I wish it was that simple,” Kai said.

“What's the problem?”

“It's a long story. I promise I'll tell you some time, but you know what it's like when everybody keeps asking you the same thing over and over?”

“Are you kidding?” Spazzy replied. “You know how many times I've been asked what's wrong with me? Believe me, I know how it feels.”

“Thanks, dude.”

The breeze blew, and the bolder sparrows hopped around at Kai's feet, pecking at crumbs.

“I'm thinking of entering,” Spazzy suddenly said.

The announcement caught Kai by surprise.

“I figure I might go a couple of heats before getting knocked out,” Spazzy said. “After all, I made it to the finals at Fairport, didn't I?”

Kai nodded. But he knew the reason Spazzy had made it to the finals at Fairport had been partly luck and partly because Kai had gotten himself disqualified on purpose.

“I mean, think about it,” Spazzy went on. “The Northeast Championships are gonna be covered by all the magazines and Web sites. Those media guys are always looking for something new and different to write about. So here's this kid with Tourette's syndrome actually competing in a major surfing event. If that gets covered, it's gonna do a lot for how people look at kids with Tourette's.”

“I agree,” Kai said. “Just don't forget that this is going to be a big-time event. It's gonna
make Fairport look like a kickball game. All of us could get blown out in the first heat.”

“Hey, don't I know it,” Spazzy said. “So that's why I wanted to ask you if maybe tomorrow morning I could come out there too.”

Kai smiled. “You don't have to ask. Remember, as far as I'm concerned, Screamers is open to everyone. Only, what about your sister and the jellyfish?”

Spazzy grinned. “Leave it to me, dude.”

L
ater Kai walked into the office of the Driftwood Motel. Two guys were standing at the counter, ringing the bell. Kai recognized them immediately. One was thin, with tousled blond hair. He had tattoos on both arms and looked like he was in his twenties. The other was stocky, with dark hair shaved close to his head and black tattoos on both shoulders. Kai had spoken to them the first time he set foot in the backyard at the Driftwood.

“You know where Curtis is?” the stocky one asked. “We've been ringing the bell for fifteen minutes.”

The thin blond guy narrowed his eyes. “Hey, haven't I seen you before?”

“Yeah, about three months ago,” Kai said. “In the back.”

The blond guy nodded. “Right. You're the one who said we could probably get tubed down at Screamers.” He nudged his buddy with his elbow. “You remember, don't you?”

“Yeah.” The stocky guy grinned. “So you been tubed at Screamers yet?”

“A couple of times,” Kai said. “The swell out of the southeast has to be just right, you know?”

Both guys frowned. “No, we wouldn't know,” said the stocky one.

“And I think you're full of shit,” said the skinny one. He turned and rang the bell again. “Where the hell is Curtis?”

“I'll see if he's here.” Kai went around the counter and knocked on the door behind it. “Hey, Curtis,” he called. “You got some visitors.”

No answer.

“Guess he's not there,” said the stocky one.

Kai pressed a finger to his lips and moved his ear close to the door. Inside he heard glass clink. He knocked on the door again. “Come on, old man, you've got some paying customers.”