Alone With Them

"My mother is going to kill me when she finds out about these little excursions, Joan," Cathryn complained as Joan tugged on her arm.

    "Then hurry up! If my dad figures out where we are, I'm dead, too!"

    "I thought you left him a note. Won't he see it when he gets back from work?"

    "Cat, you will never understand my father. He may be a fun uncle, but he's the most protective parent alive! Whenever Mom is around and not at work, she doesn't care what I'm doing, but he is obsessed with my safety. The note said that we went on a walk, but that means that my father will drive up and down the back roads looking for us. When he doesn't find us there, we're dead."

    "First things first, don't call me Cat. It's Miss Cathryn to you right now because we are not friends. Friends don't get other friends in trouble because they're obsessed with boys–"

    "You're right, Cat," Joan laughed. "We aren't friends, we're best friends." Cathryn groaned and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Eww, she was so sweaty thanks to the sun and the long walk. She hated humid summers.

    "Second, why the back roads?"

    "That's where I usually take walks. Less traffic," Joan shrugged as she fiddled with her plaited, ivory hair. "Do I look alright?" She held out her arms so Cathryn could get a good look at her outfit.

    "Sure? Whatever, I don't care."

    "You're no help at all, Cat."

    "You're welcome." In all honesty, Cathryn thought her cousin was trying a little too hard. She was wearing a teal, one-piece swimsuit that made her blue eyes pop, which was fine of course, but when paired with her enormous beach hat and excess touches of makeup here and there on her face, she looked a little eccentric. Especially since they were only going to a rundown public pool.

    Joan flaunted her new sunglasses as they walked while Cathryn adjusted the strap of her beach bag. She planned on changing when they got to the pool because Joan had booted her out of the house in an effort to hurry.

    "How long do you plan on being at the pool anyways?" Cathryn asked as she checked to make sure she had packed sunscreen. She didn't need to burn this close to the beginning of summer.

"Maybe an hour or two, Trevor won't be on shift for very long. Cat, I forgot to bring money. Did you?"

Cathryn tried not to growl as she mumbled, "Yes, but this is the last time I pay for one of your dates."

    "It's not a date," insisted an excited Joan. "Well, not officially anyways."

    "Well, if you told your dad you had a boyfriend, then maybe you could actually go on a date."

    "Are you insane?" Joan asked, turning to stare into Cathryn's eyes. "My dad would kill me if I told him I had a boyfriend! We're only 16 and a half."

    "Oh please, you've had a boyfriend since you were five years old," Cathryn retorted.

    "Six actually, but that's not the point!" They both laughed while they jogged across the road. As they turned left, Cathryn caught sight of Windenburg's Public Pool and her nose filled with the scent of chlorine.

    "Can you feel it?" asked Joan dramatically. "The love in the air?"

    "Yeah," Cathryn coughed thanks to the chemicals. "It's making me sick." The girls were waiting in line to pay when a quiet ding went off in Cathryn's bag.

    "Who is it?" Joan asked, nosy as ever.

    "Just Markus," Cathryn shrugged, clicking into Battle Earth: World War, one of her favorite mobile games. Instead of texting her like everyone else, Markus had his own ways of contacting her: using the game's chat. Joan laughed as she read over Cathryn's shoulder.