October Story Month #23
Title: Walking the Edge
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,449
Story Arc: Unusual Florida
Summary: A day in the life of a liar.
Note: Crossposted to Dreamwidth.
When Cassie got back to her room later that day, she found that a flier had been pushed underneath her door. Puzzled, she picked it up and turned it over, running her fingers over the rough grain. "Saturday, July second," she read aloud, quietly. "Fireworks Extravaganza on the lake. Holwood guests come to the docks for the best seats in the house. Sponsored by the city of Peach Tree." She wrinkled her nose, crumpled up the flier, and threw it away. She didn't like fireworks.
Trudging to her bed, she pulled off her shoes and sandy socks--that was the last time she would be wearing anything but sandals to the lake shore--and flopped down backwards on the bed, blinking at the ceiling a few times before she glanced over at the clock.
"Crap," she said, sitting up. "4:13" stared at her in big, red numbers. She was almost a quarter of an hour late checking in with Amy. Slipping on her sandals and grabbing her swim bag so that it would at least look convincing that she might have been at the pool the whole time, she left her room, closing and locking the door behind her.
When she turned around, Sherri was standing a little ways down the hall, watching her with a cocked head. "I thought you were staying on the other side of the building."
"Well." Cassie coughed. "I didn't really like those rooms. So I moved here."
Sherri furrowed her brow. "My mom said those were the nice rooms, though. For the rich people."
"Yeah," said Cassie, seizing upon the opportunity to expand on her lie. "The management put us there by mistake. They were way too expensive for us. So we moved down here."
"If it was their mistake, they shouldn't punish you," said Sherri like she was reciting out of a rulebook. "They should have let you stay in the nice room."
"Well, maybe my dad can talk to them when he gets here," said Cassie.
"He should," said Sherri. "Wanna go swimming?"
"I can't," said Cassie. "I'm late. We can hang out some other time, okay?"
Sherri pointed to her swim bag. "I just thought that's where you were going. What are you late for?"
Cassie opened her mouth, realizing her mistake. "Um." No good story immediately came to mind, and Sherri was waiting, her eyebrows raised in a way that reminded Cassie unnervingly of her strict fifth grade history teacher back in Millinocket. Angry that a girl who wasn't any older than she was making her feel so intimidated, she snapped, "That's none of your business. I'm seeing some friends. No, you can't come."
Sherri sniffed derisively. "My mom wouldn't want me hanging out with people she's never met, anyway."
"They're good people," said Cassie, wincing at the ridiculousness of defending an imaginary group of friends. But she couldn't stop herself. There was just something so irritating about the way Sherri talked and held herself. Not all the time; she had really had fun with the girl the day they had met. But sometimes she tried to act way too grown-up, and she talked about her mom all the time, too, like her mom's opinions were the most important thing in the world.
Sherri shrugged. "Whatever."
"But I really have to go now." Amy was going to kill her. "Don't follow me."
"Why would I do that?" Sherri snorted. Cassie ignored the snipe and banged through the door leading to the stairwell, deliberately heading downstairs toward the lounge area just in case Sherri could tell by the sound of her footsteps where she was headed. Instead of going all the way down, she exited on the next floor of rooms and quickly walked to the other end of the hallway and into the stairwell there.
Where she ran into Sherri again.
Cassie could have slapped herself. She knew Sherri's family was staying on the second floor in this wing. She had seen the room herself just a couple days ago. Why hadn't she gone down to the first floor? Why hadn't she headed for the elevators instead?
Sherri stopped, narrowing her eyes. "What are you doing here? Didn't you just go down the other staircase?"
"I got lost," said Cassie, shoving past her. She didn't want to be drawn into another conversation.
"I thought you came here all the time!" Sherri yelled after her as Cassie descended to the first floor and pushed through the stairwell door.
Cassie gritted her teeth. She liked Sherri, as much as anyone who was lonely and looking for someone their own age could like her. When she had met the girl she thought it meant the summer wasn't going to be a dull one after all. But if she kept telling her stupid lies, Sherri wasn't going to want to hang around her anymore, either.
It was all bad timing. Cassie resolved to be more careful when going in and out of her room. And she had to make sure that no one ever saw her going into the east wing.
Exiting the lounge area, she stepped outside on to the back patio and headed down the steps toward the path that led toward the docks. Before she reached it, she swung to the left and walked along the edge of the building, her sandaled feet crunching in the gravel, until she came to a side entrance. Swiping her card, she went back inside, found the nearest bank of elevators, and pushed the button for the fifth floor. Once there, she trekked across the length of the building until she reached the east wing, then walked up the last two flights of stairs to her floor. There. No one could have possibly followed her.
She swiped her card again to get inside the room, panicked a little when the little door light refused to turn green, then realized she had used the key for the other room. Shoving the secret key all the way to the bottom of her swim bag, she dug out her other key and used it to enter.
Amy was laying on her bed, reading a book. She looked over and frowned. "Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to check in at four."
"Sorry," Cassie muttered. She threw the swim bag on her bed. "I was down at the swimming pool with that girl I met the other day. I lost track of time."
Amy narrowed her eyes at her, but said nothing. Instead, she pointed to the little cork bulletin board nailed to the far wall. There was a very familiar-looking flier pinned to it. "James and I are probably going to that. Do you want to come?"
Cassie shrugged. "I don't know."
"If you don't, you're going to have to stay in the room," said Amy.
"Why?" Cassie said, stretching the word out in a whine. "I don't want to stay in the room by myself."
"Then you can come with us." Amy turned a page in her book, as if arguing with Cassie was the least important thing she could be doing right then.
"I hate fireworks."
"Then you can stay in."
"What if I go with someone else?" asked Cassie. "I can go with Sherri and her family." She had no idea if Sherri and her family were planning to see the fireworks, but it wasn't like she was actually going to go with them even if they were. She couldn't think of anything better than wandering the resort when almost everyone would surely be down at the lake. She could sit anywhere in the lounge she wanted to, maybe take a swim in the pool without a thousand little kids kicking and splashing her. She could walk up and down the hallways, counting doors, and really explore the little garden in the back without anyone seeing her and thinking she was strange. She could even spend the evening in her own room, pretending that she really was just a regular girl on a trip with her father.
She just needed a good excuse not to be locked up in this room all night.
"Sherri's the girl you met?" asked Amy.
"Yeah."
"If her parents say it's okay, then I guess." Amy looked up from her book. "I just don't want you unsupervised the entire time."
"I'm almost twelve," Cassie snapped. "I'm not a little kid and I can take care of myself."
"We're not in Millinocket anymore," said Amy, as if that was the end of it.
"I know," Cassie muttered, determined to have the last word. "Believe me, I know."
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,449
Story Arc: Unusual Florida
Summary: A day in the life of a liar.
Note: Crossposted to Dreamwidth.
When Cassie got back to her room later that day, she found that a flier had been pushed underneath her door. Puzzled, she picked it up and turned it over, running her fingers over the rough grain. "Saturday, July second," she read aloud, quietly. "Fireworks Extravaganza on the lake. Holwood guests come to the docks for the best seats in the house. Sponsored by the city of Peach Tree." She wrinkled her nose, crumpled up the flier, and threw it away. She didn't like fireworks.
Trudging to her bed, she pulled off her shoes and sandy socks--that was the last time she would be wearing anything but sandals to the lake shore--and flopped down backwards on the bed, blinking at the ceiling a few times before she glanced over at the clock.
"Crap," she said, sitting up. "4:13" stared at her in big, red numbers. She was almost a quarter of an hour late checking in with Amy. Slipping on her sandals and grabbing her swim bag so that it would at least look convincing that she might have been at the pool the whole time, she left her room, closing and locking the door behind her.
When she turned around, Sherri was standing a little ways down the hall, watching her with a cocked head. "I thought you were staying on the other side of the building."
"Well." Cassie coughed. "I didn't really like those rooms. So I moved here."
Sherri furrowed her brow. "My mom said those were the nice rooms, though. For the rich people."
"Yeah," said Cassie, seizing upon the opportunity to expand on her lie. "The management put us there by mistake. They were way too expensive for us. So we moved down here."
"If it was their mistake, they shouldn't punish you," said Sherri like she was reciting out of a rulebook. "They should have let you stay in the nice room."
"Well, maybe my dad can talk to them when he gets here," said Cassie.
"He should," said Sherri. "Wanna go swimming?"
"I can't," said Cassie. "I'm late. We can hang out some other time, okay?"
Sherri pointed to her swim bag. "I just thought that's where you were going. What are you late for?"
Cassie opened her mouth, realizing her mistake. "Um." No good story immediately came to mind, and Sherri was waiting, her eyebrows raised in a way that reminded Cassie unnervingly of her strict fifth grade history teacher back in Millinocket. Angry that a girl who wasn't any older than she was making her feel so intimidated, she snapped, "That's none of your business. I'm seeing some friends. No, you can't come."
Sherri sniffed derisively. "My mom wouldn't want me hanging out with people she's never met, anyway."
"They're good people," said Cassie, wincing at the ridiculousness of defending an imaginary group of friends. But she couldn't stop herself. There was just something so irritating about the way Sherri talked and held herself. Not all the time; she had really had fun with the girl the day they had met. But sometimes she tried to act way too grown-up, and she talked about her mom all the time, too, like her mom's opinions were the most important thing in the world.
Sherri shrugged. "Whatever."
"But I really have to go now." Amy was going to kill her. "Don't follow me."
"Why would I do that?" Sherri snorted. Cassie ignored the snipe and banged through the door leading to the stairwell, deliberately heading downstairs toward the lounge area just in case Sherri could tell by the sound of her footsteps where she was headed. Instead of going all the way down, she exited on the next floor of rooms and quickly walked to the other end of the hallway and into the stairwell there.
Where she ran into Sherri again.
Cassie could have slapped herself. She knew Sherri's family was staying on the second floor in this wing. She had seen the room herself just a couple days ago. Why hadn't she gone down to the first floor? Why hadn't she headed for the elevators instead?
Sherri stopped, narrowing her eyes. "What are you doing here? Didn't you just go down the other staircase?"
"I got lost," said Cassie, shoving past her. She didn't want to be drawn into another conversation.
"I thought you came here all the time!" Sherri yelled after her as Cassie descended to the first floor and pushed through the stairwell door.
Cassie gritted her teeth. She liked Sherri, as much as anyone who was lonely and looking for someone their own age could like her. When she had met the girl she thought it meant the summer wasn't going to be a dull one after all. But if she kept telling her stupid lies, Sherri wasn't going to want to hang around her anymore, either.
It was all bad timing. Cassie resolved to be more careful when going in and out of her room. And she had to make sure that no one ever saw her going into the east wing.
Exiting the lounge area, she stepped outside on to the back patio and headed down the steps toward the path that led toward the docks. Before she reached it, she swung to the left and walked along the edge of the building, her sandaled feet crunching in the gravel, until she came to a side entrance. Swiping her card, she went back inside, found the nearest bank of elevators, and pushed the button for the fifth floor. Once there, she trekked across the length of the building until she reached the east wing, then walked up the last two flights of stairs to her floor. There. No one could have possibly followed her.
She swiped her card again to get inside the room, panicked a little when the little door light refused to turn green, then realized she had used the key for the other room. Shoving the secret key all the way to the bottom of her swim bag, she dug out her other key and used it to enter.
Amy was laying on her bed, reading a book. She looked over and frowned. "Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to check in at four."
"Sorry," Cassie muttered. She threw the swim bag on her bed. "I was down at the swimming pool with that girl I met the other day. I lost track of time."
Amy narrowed her eyes at her, but said nothing. Instead, she pointed to the little cork bulletin board nailed to the far wall. There was a very familiar-looking flier pinned to it. "James and I are probably going to that. Do you want to come?"
Cassie shrugged. "I don't know."
"If you don't, you're going to have to stay in the room," said Amy.
"Why?" Cassie said, stretching the word out in a whine. "I don't want to stay in the room by myself."
"Then you can come with us." Amy turned a page in her book, as if arguing with Cassie was the least important thing she could be doing right then.
"I hate fireworks."
"Then you can stay in."
"What if I go with someone else?" asked Cassie. "I can go with Sherri and her family." She had no idea if Sherri and her family were planning to see the fireworks, but it wasn't like she was actually going to go with them even if they were. She couldn't think of anything better than wandering the resort when almost everyone would surely be down at the lake. She could sit anywhere in the lounge she wanted to, maybe take a swim in the pool without a thousand little kids kicking and splashing her. She could walk up and down the hallways, counting doors, and really explore the little garden in the back without anyone seeing her and thinking she was strange. She could even spend the evening in her own room, pretending that she really was just a regular girl on a trip with her father.
She just needed a good excuse not to be locked up in this room all night.
"Sherri's the girl you met?" asked Amy.
"Yeah."
"If her parents say it's okay, then I guess." Amy looked up from her book. "I just don't want you unsupervised the entire time."
"I'm almost twelve," Cassie snapped. "I'm not a little kid and I can take care of myself."
"We're not in Millinocket anymore," said Amy, as if that was the end of it.
"I know," Cassie muttered, determined to have the last word. "Believe me, I know."