Excerpt of Island Girls and Boys by Rachel Hawthorne

Chapter One

You're going to take an unexpected journey.

My horoscope for the day. Totally inaccurate. I was taking a journey all right, but it was one I'd been planning for months. I was exactly where I expected to be: crammed in the backseat of Amy's tiny car. Boxes were pressed against my side, a heavy sack of groceries rested on my knees, and assorted smaller items had been wedged around my feet, which were now numb.

This summer -- the last before I started college -- was going to be the absolute best of my life. I was embarking on my first summer of total independence, of saying good- bye to high school, good-bye to friends. The last -- saying good-bye to friends -- would be the most difficult, but I planned to spend three months doing it, saying farewell to the best of the best: Chelsea Franklin and Amy Riley. We were going to be together the entire summer -- just the three of us. Working, living, playing. Saving up our memories for the days, weeks, and months ahead when only phone calls and an occasional weekend spent together would strengthen our bonds of friendship.

"How long before we're officially island girls?" Chelsea asked.

She was sitting in the front passenger seat with no more room than me. This was our third -- and final -- trip for the day. When we got to the island, we were staying for the summer.

"I think Jen and I already look like island girls," Amy said.

And we did. We were wearing shorts, tank tops, sneakers, and baseball caps. Amy's dark hair was held in place with a clip, and she'd pulled the long strands through the opening in the back of her cap. I'd done the same with my blond hair. Chelsea was also in shorts and a tank, but --

"Are you saying that I don't look like an island girl?" Chelsea asked.

"You're too put together," Amy said.

Chelsea's black hair was cut short and fluffed out at various angles. She had deep blue eyes that were almost violet. She was tall, slender, and already totally tan, thanks to a gift certificate to a tanning salon that she'd received as a graduation present.

"This is called the ocean breeze look," Chelsea said indignantly. "I spent three hours working on it."

"That's my point," Amy said. "I don't think island girls spend a lot of time primping. They're more relaxed with their looks."

"And they're way more tan than us," I said. My skin was almost too pale to believe, almost as pale as my hair. I had to use X-Men-strength sunscreen, while Amy and Chelsea seldom worried if they forgot to use any at all. Two minutes in the sun and I was like a boiled lobster.

"I still can't believe we're doing this," Amy said.

It had been my scathingly brilliant idea: getting jobs on the island, staying at my grand-parents' beach house over the summer.

A week ago, Grandma and Granddad had left for an extended vacation in Europe. Wouldn't need the house for several months. We could have it. As long as we agreed in writing to pay for the utilities, maintain the house, fix whatever broke, not have any wild parties -- the last was stressed several times -- and never make them regret leaving it in our care.

Not a chance were they going to regret it. We wanted this too much not to play by their rules.

Convincing our parents had been absolute torture: a series of arguments, pleadings, and promises. My mom had caved in first, narrowing her eyes and saying, "Jennifer Taylor, you'd better make darn sure that we don't come to regret our decision."

I didn't see how they could. It wasn't like we planned to do anything more than work and spend time together.

"I already miss Noah so much," Chelsea said with a low moan. All right. So Chelsea also planned to miss Noah. Her boyfriend -- when he was in town. Which wasn't very often.

Noah shared a dorm room with Chelsea's older brother. He'd come to town to visit her brother during Christmas break -- and had ended up visiting with Chelsea more. He'd seen her several times since. I didn't know him well, but he seemed okay -- except for the way that he always leaned on Chelsea like he didn't have the strength in his legs to hold himself up. Although I had to admit that it was cool to have a boyfriend who was already in college. Heck, it would be cool to have a boyfriend. I didn't and neither did Amy. But at least we didn't have to think about anyone except ourselves.

"You wouldn't have seen him that much anyway, Chels. It's not like he lives near you on the mainland," I said.

Not seeing him was the big objection she'd had to my idea. It had irritated me at the time. Still did. It was such a small inconvenience compared to the brilliance of my plan.

"Yeah, but if I'm working, and he comes to visit, when will I see him?"

I'd gotten us jobs at Coastal Campground Resorts where I'd worked last summer.

"There are twenty-four hours in the day," I reminded her. "You'll work six. The rest are yours. How many would Noah need?"

"Every single one!"

"You're crazy."

"We're still defining our relationship, and I just don't know if I should have made this kind of major decision without considering him. Noah and I hadn't really talked much about our summer plans. Since you don't have a boyfriend, I don't expect you to understand."

Nice, Chels.

Chelsea and I were supertight, but since Noah had come into her life, she'd started acting like she thought she was the first girl in the history of the world to have a boyfriend.

"I've had a boyfriend," I pointed out. Over a year ago. But I had had a boyfriend. So I did know what it was like. "Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that."

"I never understood what that meant."