Departures (14 page)

Sierra gave up on the magazine. Jana would have to come pick out what she wanted. As Sierra reached for her backpack, her bracelet caught on a thread in her skirt, and she had to stand there a minute trying to untangle it. Her mom had helped her make the skirt, but her sister thought it was dreadful, which was probably one of the reasons Sierra liked it so much. Made from a collection of her dad’s old ties, the skirt was distinctive. Each of the wide ties was opened up and sewn together at the sides so that all the pointed ends came to just above her
knee. Sierra liked being unique. But more than once her bracelet had caught on the worn-through part of a blue tie on the right side.

With her bracelet released, Sierra headed for the café. She had just stepped outside the bookstore when she heard her name called from across the open area. Looking up, she saw Gregg waving from the entrance of the waiting area where she had left Jana.

Gregg had dark hair like Jana’s. His eyes and eyebrows were darker than hers were and more striking so the first thing a person noticed about him were his warm eyes. Even if his mouth was serious, his eyes made him look as if he were about to start laughing.

He was four years older than Jana, just like Sierra’s brother, Wesley, was four years older than she was. It was another one of the similarities Sierra and Jana shared. Sierra thought Gregg was good-looking. She liked his quick wit and casual approach to life.

Gregg’s buddy Tim was more serious and, according to Jana, more intelligent than Gregg was. He appeared easygoing because he dressed in loose shorts and old, beat-up sandals. Tim’s strawberry blond hair would be a lot curlier, Sierra decided, if he let it grow longer. But he kept it short and often hidden under a baseball cap, as it was right now.

“What did you find out?” Sierra asked, catching up to the two guys.

“We exchanged all four tickets at no charge,” Gregg said, “but the flight leaves later tonight. We won’t get to Kalispell until a little after midnight.”

“Does Jana know?” Sierra asked.

“No,” Gregg answered. “I happened to notice your skirt as we were going by, and since there probably weren’t two of those in the airport, I figured it was you.”

“There probably aren’t,” Sierra said brightly. She noted Gregg’s sarcasm, but it didn’t bother her.

“We better break the news to Jana,” Tim suggested. “It’s going to be a long day and night.”

“Unless,” Sierra said, grabbing both guys by the arm before they had a chance to walk away, “we make a little detour out of the airport. We could all pitch in for a cab and go to the mall for the day.”

“The Mall of America?” Tim asked.

Gregg’s eyes lit up. “Perfect! I like the way you think, Sierra.”

Sierra smiled. “Good. Now you get to convince Jana.”

ierra crawled into the backseat of the cab next to Gregg. She couldn’t believe the huge argument Jana and Gregg had gotten into when he told her they were going to the mall. At one point, Gregg said they would leave Jana at the airport and the three of them would go. That only made things worse. Then Sierra had told Jana to “lighten up” and “live a little,” but Jana became so mad her face turned red.

Sierra hadn’t realized how inflexible Jana was; this trip was turning out to reveal aspects of her that had remained hidden as long as they were safely tucked away in small-town Pineville.

Tim was the one who finally had convinced Jana to go. He had sat down next to her and had explained that the alternative would be to spend the whole day and half the night at the airport. Tim had suggested they call Jana’s parents. She liked that safety precaution. After Mr. and Mrs. Hill had given their blessing, along with a handful of cautions and instructions, Jana was willing to leave the airport.

Sierra thought Jana’s parents were more lenient than her parents would have been in the same situation. Although, if Sierra had been with her older brother, Wesley, she guessed her parents would have been fine with the arrangements. Wes had always been responsible, and Sierra imagined Gregg to be the same way.

Sierra considered calling her parents from the airport as the group made its plans. Her parents might appreciate knowing that she wouldn’t arrive in Montana as scheduled. However, her parents had left that morning with her younger brothers to drive up to Portland to see Granna Mae. They probably were still on the road. She decided she would rather call them tomorrow, after her parents had arrived at Granna Mae’s house, to let them know she was safely in Montana. Until she could make that claim, she didn’t want to call.

Not until the driver dropped them off at one of the many mall entrances did Sierra realize what a gigantic place they were about to enter. Even though they had a good eight hours before they had to be back at the airport, they wouldn’t be able to take in all this huge complex had to offer.

“We need a plan,” Jana said. “We need a meeting place in case we get lost.”

“Why don’t we just all stay together?” Sierra suggested. “Then we won’t have to worry.”

“I don’t know if the guys want to be with us the whole time,” Jana said.

“Like we have a choice,” Gregg said. “Don’t you remember that was one of the rules Mom laid down? I’m responsible for both of you the entire time. So come on; I don’t want to stand here wasting time. Let’s find those rides the taxi driver told us about.”

This was Sierra’s idea of fun—a spontaneous detour to a mall with an amusement park. Jana looked miserable. She kept glancing to the right and then to the left, as if someone were lurking in the shadows, ready to jump out and steal her backpack.

“What are you so nervous about?” Sierra asked her.

“I’m not nervous.”

“You’re acting nervous. Or scared or something.”

“I am not!” Jana snapped.

Sierra backed off. She fell into step with Gregg and let Jana walk with Tim.

“Don’t let her get to you,” Gregg said to Sierra. “She’s like that whenever she’s out of her comfort zone.”

I guess I haven’t seen Jana out of her comfort zone very often. This may be a more challenging weekend than I thought. What if she ends up being mad at me the whole time?

The four of them headed toward the complex’s center. As they rounded the corner, a wide, open area of the mall stretched out before them. Sierra stood next to Gregg at the railing and looked down one level to survey an entire amusement park with a roller coaster, log ride, Ferris wheel, food stands, trees, and at least half a dozen other rides.

“Look at that!” Sierra exclaimed. “It’s Disneyland in the middle of a mall.”

“It’s not Disneyland,” Tim corrected her, pointing to the right. “See the sign? It’s Nickelodeon Universe.”

Sierra laughed. “Come on. I have my camera. Let’s go take some pictures.”

“I don’t think so,” Jana said.

“Come on,” Gregg said, pulling his sister by the arm. “Lighten up and have some fun, will you?”

Jana glared at Gregg, as if to say, “You too?” She yanked her arm from his grasp and said, “Can’t we get something to drink first?” Jana cast a glance to Sierra. “I never got my lemonade.”

Sierra tried to brush off Jana’s biting words. Sierra’s sister, Tawni,
acted the same way when she was out of her comfort zone. Sierra knew it was best not to react or it would only make the conflict grow.

“Okay, food and drinks first, then the roller coaster,” Sierra suggested.

“Not food,” Jana said. “Who wants to go on a roller coaster with a full stomach?”

“You decide, then,” Gregg challenged his sister. “What’s it going to be? Ride first or food first?”

Jana reluctantly gave into the consensus and headed toward the rides. She found a drinking fountain along the way and stopped for what Sierra thought was a dramatically long drink.

But then they were off. Tim figured out the ticket machine, and they each fed money into the slot at an alarmingly fast rate and then received in return a small ticket with a credited amount encoded on a thin magnetic strip.

“So much money,” Gregg remarked, “and all we get is this!”

“What should we go on first?” Sierra asked.

Tim made the decision; they headed for the Backyardigans Swing-Along. In the center of the ride was a huge tree with individual swings hanging from the ends of the reinforced limbs. Riders sat strapped in the seats, and the tree spun them in a great circle.

The four of them stood in line, watching as the centrifugal force pushed the riders away from the base of the tree and outward in a spin. Some riders made their swings twist and buck as they spun around. Sierra noticed that most of the riders were little kids, but she didn’t care. It looked like fun.

“Come on,” Sierra said to Jana when it was their turn to ride. “This should put you in a better mood.”

Jana turned to Sierra with a hurt look and said, “And what’s wrong with my mood?”

“You’re a little grumpy, that’s all.”

“I am not!” Jana snapped.

“Are you two going to stand there and fight or get on the ride?” Gregg asked.

Sierra and Jana stared at each other as people walked past them and scrambled to grab what could be considered the best seats on the ride.

“I’m not going on this ride,” Jana announced, walking to the exit gate and leaving Sierra to stand there alone.

ierra’s feet dangled freely as the ride took off. She hated the way she felt. Part of her wanted to yell at Jana and tell her to grow up and stop being so stubborn. Another part of Sierra understood and felt a little compassion. She knew Jana was against this detour to the Mall of America, but did she have to ruin it for the rest of them?

As soon as the ride ended and they joined Jana, Gregg suggested, “Why don’t we buy something to eat?”

“Look, they have funnel cakes here,” Tim said, pointing to a small snack window.

“Funnel cakes?” Jana questioned. “They’re loaded with sugar, no doubt.”

“Should we find a restaurant?” Sierra suggested, trying to be diplomatic and not to be irritated with Jana.

They found a directory, and with more discussion than Sierra thought was necessary, finally agreed on where to eat. In Sierra’s opinion, they wasted nearly an hour of their limited time, sitting down to order and eat. As the others munched on a plate of nachos as an appetizer, Sierra consulted a brochure she had picked up at the directory and made suggestions of where they could go next.