AFTER AN HOUR AND THEN SOME OF WANDERING the quiet streets of Cambria, the six of them headed to an all-night diner in the middle of town. An unlikely group, all from different scenes, but connected by the leftover energy of dancing.
The unwind, Mikey called it. The part that came after the clubbing-for-hours. They were tired, but no one was ready for the party to end. Not even Ling, who looked like she might actually be asleep, slumped against the red leather of the booth. Kelsie could feel Ling's connection to the group, the sizzle of the coffee she'd drunk before nodding off.
Kelsie sat with her back against the window, letting the rising sun warm her. Her shadow across the table hardened as the dawn drew on. She'd start every day this way if she could. If only the Cambria clubs always stayed open late like they did in summer.
Mikey gave her a smile. "Did you have a good night, little sister?"
Kelsie nodded. "Yeah. You?"
"Sure. When I see you coming, I know it's going to be a good night. You always know how to pick the right club."
"Or maybe I make it the right club."
Mikey laughed. "Is that why they always let you in?"
Kelsie felt herself blush. She doubted anyone else could spot it under her makeup. She always wore makeup to go clubbing. Without it, she looked too young. Of course, by now the bouncers all had standing orders to let her in. Most nights she even got a few free drinks.
They might not understand how, but the owners and managers knew she brought a good time.
As the sun rose, though, the faces around her grew sleepier. Coming-down, coming-out-of-it faces. Remmy was playing with a saltshaker and staring at the girls across the table. Kelsie had thought they were sisters when she'd met them, but in the dawn light they just looked like two girls who dressed the same. And who were, right now, ignoring Remmy while he tried to find a way into their conversation.
One of the girls said, "The DJ was awesome tonight."
"Totally," Remmy said.
Both girls pretended not to hear. One turned to Kelsie. "The guy on the door told me Driver's playing tonight. You like Driver?"
Kelsie nodded. She liked any music that got the crowd psyched, got them bonded, ready to dance and dance.
Remmy said, "I like them."
Flat, blank stares from the girls.
Kelsie realized it was coming on fast, the moment when the group would begin to fracture and fall apart. No longer united by a common goal-to dance, to move-their thoughts were beginning to turn in other directions. To real-life jobs and how can I get that girl to talk to me and, ultimately, getting home.
It felt as though her heart were shrinking.
A waitress approached, both arms loaded with plates that steamed in the sunlight. "Slim super stack?"
Food got them energized again. The flash of anticipation, the buzz of hunger around the table, made Kelsie smile.
Mikey pointed at the empty space in front of him. "Right here."
He had to push the dozing Ling off his arm to eat his pancakes. Ling sat up and rubbed her eyes, making black tears of her mascara. Her long hair was a messy tangle, strands of it still clinging to Mikey's sleeve. Ling couldn't help but be beautiful.
The waitress put another steaming plate in front of Kelsie, who claimed the syrup bottle and let it run until square pools formed in the crisscrosses of her waffles. After a long night of dancing, she needed sugar and carbs. She poured syrup until she had to eat her waffles with a spoon.
One of the two new girls sniggered. At Kelsie or her waffles or both. Kelsie didn't care. Remmy always went for the wrong kind of girls. Which was a shame, because he was a decent guy when you got to know him. Right now he was pushing his fork sideways through his stack of pancakes and dropping butter into the holes. He seemed to have forgotten about everything else.
Kelsie let her gaze slide over his shoulder, hoping there was some other group of leftovers from the clubs. Maybe someone she knew, a table she could hop to when this one fell apart.
Half a dozen tables were occupied in the diner, but most of the customers were office workers getting breakfast, or truckers in the middle of a long haul. The only clubbers were couples. Couples were no fun.
There was one guy at the back who looked like he'd been awake all night. He had a buzz cut and was dressed in a nice pin-striped shirt, like he'd been on a date. The shirt was crumpled now, though, and he was alone.
He sat with a hand clamped around his coffee cup, his eyes fixed on the window. As Kelsie watched, he downed the contents of his cup in a convulsive swallow, then tried to get the waitress's attention. The waitress was ignoring him, like he was an ex-boyfriend or something. He half stood, holding up his coffee cup like a white flag. He must really need a caffeine kick. Most people didn't go for seconds of the coffee in this place.
The waitress finally relented and brought the coffeepot over. The kid slid back into his booth. There was a green duffel bag in the booth beside him, which probably meant he was a hitchhiker.
Kelsie wondered who would pick up a guy who managed to look hunted, edgy, and exhausted all at the same time. The buzz cut didn't help. He was too young to be any kind of off-duty soldier, so maybe he was some kind of military wannabe.
She shuddered, feeling how alone he was.
"What is it?" Mikey asked.
Kelsie slid her gaze over to meet his. "Nothing."
As soon as their pancakes were done, the two girls Remmy had brought along went home. They left barely enough money to cover their food, with no tip or tax. Everyone gave their pile of crumpled bills dirty looks, but no one said anything to Remmy. They all felt sorry for him.
"Great night, huh?" Remmy said.
Kelsie nodded. An ache began to settle into her body. Not the sweet muscle ache of having danced all night, but the dull pain of isolation.
She glanced over at Mikey. He was chewing on a bent-up straw and staring at nothing, lost in his own thoughts. Ling had started in on Mikey's pancakes, leaning against him, her long black hair rolling down his shoulder like a scarf. Remmy was restless, changing seats every few minutes.
The two girls might have been annoying, but with them gone, the group was over.
No point delaying the inevitable, Kelsie figured. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her last twenty-dollar bill. She dropped it on the table and flattened it out with the palm of her hand. Mikey leaned over and slid it back toward her.
"I got this," he told her.
Kelsie grinned. She'd learned a long time ago that there was no arguing with Mikey. "Thanks."
"Weird." Ling gestured at the window behind Kelsie with a forkful of stolen pancake.
Kelsie craned her neck. All she saw was the empty street, the dawn light beginning to paint the pavement in a soft glow. Cambria Central Bank squatted on the opposite corner, the park beside it in shadow from the wide trees. There wasn't a shred of traffic anywhere. For a moment it looked like the whole town had been abandoned.
Then a blue car went past, driving slow.
"There it is again," Ling said.
"There's what again?" Mikey asked.
"I swear that same car's gone past three times."
The car turned in front of the bank, heading away down Central.
"Meth heads," Mikey said. "Driving in circles till they crash."
"Which kind of crash?" Remmy asked. "Drug or automotive?"
Mikey laughed, but Kelsie watched the car disappear in the distance. "Wouldn't tweakers get bored driving in circles?"
"What would you know about tweakers?" Mikey asked with an older-brother frown.
Kelsie smiled up at him, trying to look innocent. Mikey didn't know her family history. Her father had never done meth, but a couple of his girlfriends had, back when Kelsie was a kid. One had lost a tooth in the kitchen sink one day. It had fallen like a ripe fruit from a tree. Tink. Kelsie had asked if the tooth fairy would come that night, and how much she'd leave.
The girlfriend had just shrugged and washed her tooth down the sink.
"They're probably lost," Ling said. She was pulling paper napkins from the metal dispenser on the table, wiping the syrup from her fingers.
They all watched the street, a silent vigil to see if the strange blue car returned.
It didn't.
"Anyone going to the Jones tonight?" Remmy asked.
"Sure." Kelsie turned back to the table. She had no idea who was playing, but she knew she'd be on Ivy Street again until the clubs closed.
Sometimes she wished summer would last forever so she never had to go to bed before dawn again. It was late June already, only a week till Cambria's big Fourth of July bash, which meant summer was a third gone. But at least there were two months left. The thought of dancing filled the empty space left by the end of the night.
"Okay, there it is again," Ling said quietly.
Kelsie turned to the windows. The sun was warm on her face, bright in her eyes. But she could see the blue car gliding down the street, this time from the direction of the highway.
"You think we should call the police?" Ling asked.
Mikey laughed. "And tell them what? That we've been out clubbing all night, completely free of the effects of alcohol, drugs, and sleep deprivation, and would like to report some suspicious personages?"
No one answered. The car rolled past the diner. Its windows were up, but Kelsie could make out three people inside. She squinted, trying to see their faces. Just then the guy in the backseat turned to glance at the diner, and Kelsie drew back with a start.
"Oh my God," she muttered.
Dad?