The Uneventful Life of Harvey Mackler

c h a p t e r | e i g h t e e n

"That kid..." I mutter. "And in a heatwave too."

"He'll come out on his own soon enough," Gia tells me. "If not, we can drag him out together."

"True..." I agree. "I'm too stressed out to bother forcing him to get more sunlight right now."

"What's stressing you out?"

A memory flashes through my mind before I can help it.

Is 'complicated' really such a bad thing?

Shaking my head clear, I rest my back on my beach towel and pull out my book.

"It's nothing. I'd rather not talk about it," I reply, brushing the topic aside. "By the way, I've got the first two books of the series here. I'm on book three now so you can borrow them."

"Sweet," Gia replies, picking up the two books beside me. "Have I mentioned how much I love you?"

"I charge five dollars per book per day of lending."

"How heartless," Gia murmurs as she flicks through the pages of the first book. "I take back what I said."

A smile tugs at my lips. It's great to have Gia back home. I missed having another girl my age to talk to and just hang around with.

After deciding she remembers book one well enough to bother rereading it, Gia settles down on the beach mat beside me, turning to the first page of the second book. Once she begins to read, we both fall silent, getting lost in the pages of our respective novels.

It's nice. The combination of the warm sun, a book in my hand and a friendly companion by my side. The boys continue to wreak havoc on the beach and in the sea, but I barely notice time pass by until they start making their way up the beach towards us.

"Hi, Gia," Hunter greets in a cheery manner. "Didn't realise when you came over. Harvey said something about you bringing ice cream with you, and since I mentioned it to these two they wouldn't keep still."

"Hey, Hunter." Gia smiles as she sets down her book, waving at Harry and Eva by his side. "They're just ice pops I bought from Mrs Crossbury's store on the way here. It's not much," she shrugs, "but I put them in the freezer before coming out."

Hunter flashes her his award winning grin. "You're a star."

To Harry and Eva, he says, "You guys stay out here with Harvey. I'll be back soon."

"With ice cream?!" Harry asks excitedly.

"Yes, with ice cream," Hunter replies back with a chuckle.

While Harry and Eva rejoice at the news, Hunter takes this as an opportunity to slip back into the house to get the ice lollies Gia bought.

He returns minutes later with a bag of popsicles in his hand and Hollis at his tail, lulled outside by the prospect of ice cream. Noticing the gathering, Hayden and the rest of the guys also return to shore, flocking around us like seagulls to stray scraps of food.

"You brought food, Benedetti," Lancer comments. "Wise choice. I'm impressed."

"And what did you bring, Lancer?" I ask, shaking my head in disappointment. "Nothing."