Melinda’s Journal

Friday, December 1

I have always loved the snow. Every snow day, my father would take me and my brother to the big hill at our school. I would sit on my sled, with my friends nearby, and we would race down the hill, laughing the entire way. Then, we would drag our sleds back up the hill, ready to go again.

When I was nine, my friends brought me to the local ski mountain to go tubing. They showed me how to bring my tube to the top of the mountain and how to ride it down, much like riding my sled. The tubing mountain was fantastic. Even though I was going downhill the entire time, there were little hills along the trail that would slow me down and speed me up.

The next snow day, I realized that sledding was no longer fun. It could not compare to the thrill of tubing. That winter, my friends and I made a pact to go tubing the first Saturday of each month as long as the mountain was open.

This will be the first year I’m tubing without them. I wonder if they will keep up the tradition without me.

Melinda’s Story

Pat and I climbed out of my mother’s car as she idled in front of the ski mountain Friday morning.

“I’ll be back around one. Call me if you’re done earlier, but keep in mind, it takes me nearly an hour to get here.”

I nodded as I shut the door. “Will do.”

I waited for my mother to drive away before reaching for Pat’s hand, which was difficult with our bulky gloves. “So, do you want to eat first or go tubing?”

“It’s been at least two hours since I last ate. Food first.” Pat flashed me his famous smile.

I led him into the lodge, which was nearly abandoned. Wandering through the cafeteria, we decided to order a soda to share and some freshly made cookies.

Normally, I preferred for us to each pay for own meals. But, when I told Pat that my mother had given me some cash to pay for both our tubing tickets, he insisted on buying our snacks.

We took the food upstairs, sitting at a table in the back corner of the room. Pat sat beside me so we could both watch skiers going up the lifts and coming back down the mountain. No one was using the tubing section on the far left of the mountain.

I bit into my cookie before waving it toward Pat.

“Random question. And it’s purely because I’m curious. Do you get an allowance?”

Pat smiled. “What do you think?” He turned his attention back toward the window.

“See, I never had an allowance. My parents just kinda give me money when I need to buy something. Like, my mom gave me money for tubing today. But I think your parents are different. I bet you get an allowance. And I know you get paid for your movies. I bet that goes into some sort of college fund and you get paid from your parents’ money.”

“Meghan’s right. You are insightful.” Pat’s gaze never left the window.

I watched him for a few moments. He was obviously distracted. And looked uncomfortable. I put a hand on his. 

“What’s wrong? You look anxious.” It hit me as soon as the words were out of my mouth. “Oh! Are you worried about being recognized? I just realized. I’m sorry. I totally forgot.” 

I looked around the room. We were the only ones there. Pat smiled, running his fingers through my hair. “You’re adorable.” He leaned close for a kiss.

My heart stopped for a minute or two until he sat back to answer my question. 

“No. I thought about it briefly but figured I would be so bundled up that no one would recognize me. And it’s pretty derelict here.”

“Derelict?”

Pat smiled, brushing back my hair. “Um . . . abandoned. Deserted. Almost neglectfully.”

I looked around. Pat’s description was perfect. All the other times I had been here had been after school or on the weekend. It was always so full of people that it gave a homey feeling. But in the middle of the school day, the lodge felt very old and unused. The wooden benches where we were sitting were slightly splintered. Some of the tables had initials carved into them. The fireplace in the corner was unlit. With no other people around to give the room life, it did feel somewhat neglected.

I shook my head, turning back to Pat. Something was obviously still bothering him. “Okay. You’re not worried about being recognized. Is it the whole Poppy thing?”

Pat sent me a weak smile that did not reach his eyes. “I was wondering when she was going to ruin our time together. I had nearly forgotten about her. I tend not to think about her when I’m with you.”

“What’s happening with all that?” I tried to keep my voice casual, but I was dying to hear his answer.

Pat shrugged, again staring out the window as he answered. “Tuesday, after we all calmed down about the incident with Poppy, Meghan and I spent most of lunch having a long talk with Mom about Cynthia. We explained how she’s not looking out for our best interests anymore.”

As he spoke, I found myself absently tracing circles on the back of the hand he was resting on the table. “By the end of the meal, I had started to worry about finding a new agent. When we got to the studio to pick up Walter, Mom called Cynthia to fire her.”

“So, now what?” 

Pat pick at the cookie in front of him. “I started doing some research, found an agent I like. Mom’s gonna contact him today. We’re gonna try to figure out if Walter and I should have different agents. Meghan is pretty sure she wants Mom’s agent. This is gonna sound pompous, but we’re so famous, most agents would love to represent us.”

Pat sent me a weak smile that didn’t reach his eyes. I tried to send him a reassuring one in return. But he had still not answered my question.

“But, what about the Poppy rumor?”

Pat made a face and shook his head. “We fired Cynthia, so Mom’s agent is gonna try to sort things out for us. But it’s possible it won’t go away. There’s some legal things we might look into, but, honestly, I’m letting Uncle Brennan figure it all out.”

“The lawyer, right?” 

Pat nodded, looking back out the window. I took a sip of the soda. “If you’re not worried about being recognized, and you’re not upset about Poppy, then why do you look so anxious?”

I was surprised to see Pat turning red. “I’ve just never gone tubing before.”

Although I couldn’t prevent the giggling fit, I rubbed my hand gently along his spine to calm him. 

“Tubing is a lot of fun. It’s like sledding. Only faster.”

“It’s dangerous. They make your parent sign one of those waiver things.”

I rolled my eyes, but that seemed to make Pat even more anxious. I shook my head. “Yes, but you also sign a waiver when you visit the town pool. It’s no more dangerous.”

“Are you kidding? The town pool? That’s got kids peeing in the water and people jumping on top of you. That’s got to be more dangerous than this!”

“Fine. Then, laser tag. You have to sign a waiver for that.”

“People running around in the dark? You can trip over something and break your neck. Or, you can trip over the person that tripped over something, and you both break your necks. Or–”

I needed to get Pat to stop rambling, so I did the first thing that came to mind. When I kissed him, he pulled me closer.

“This is nice. Why don’t we just stay here and do this until your mom comes?” 

I giggled as I got to my feet, taking Pat’s hand to help him up. “Come on. You clean this mess, and I’ll go get the tickets.”

It took nearly half an hour for us to put on all our cold weather gear, collect our tubes and helmets from the rentals building, and trudge to the tubing park. This area of the mountain had ten lanes carved into the snow with walls about the height of the tube to separate each lane.

I showed Pat how to attach his tube to his wrist using the strap, then hold on to his tube while he stepped onto the magic carpet. 

Pat was amazed by the lift. “It’s like the moving walkways the have at the airport!”

When we reached the top, we set our tubes in neighboring lanes. After showing Pat how to climb into his tube, I removed the strap from my wrist and tossed it to Pat.

 “Here. Hang on to this and we can go down together.” Pat did as instructed and we pushed off.

We swerved up and down our lanes, squealing in delight as we flew down the mountain, occasionally going over slight bumps in the hill, until we skidded to a stop at the end.

Pat jumped to his feet. “Wow! That was sick. Let’s go again!”

Our passes were good for two hours. I lost track of how many times we went down the mountain before our time expired. On the second run, I accidentally ended up turning around after the third bump. The following run, Pat was backwards after the first few feet. He enjoyed it so much, that by the fifth run, he had figured out how to make himself turn backwards for most of the way down the mountain.

---

When we returned to the lodge, we brought our lunch to the same table in the back corner. There were only a handful more people around. Most of the skiers were still on the mountain. I texted my mother that we were finished and about to eat. She was at the mall and would need at least an hour.

I unpacked the jars of peanut butter and jelly and a loaf of bread, making sandwiches for both of us. Pat gobbled his down in a few bites before making us each a second one. When that was gone, I could see him eyeing the bag of bread.

I giggled. “Go ahead. I don’t mind.”

“But I don’t want to turn into my brother.”

“I’ve seen you eat, Pat. Have another sandwich. I promise not to tell Walter.”

Pat kissed the top of my head before making another sandwich. “So, you’ve been here before?”

I nodded. “My friends and I used to come all the time. I’m shorter than them, so they had been once or twice before I was tall enough to join them. It became an annual thing: go tubing one weekend a month all season.”

“You still do it? Go tubing with them?”

I looked down with a sigh. When Pat’s hands danced along my back, I leaned into him.

“Did you have any friends who changed when they started high school? Like, not in a good way?”

Pat frowned. “Not really. But I didn’t have a lot of good friends before Hartfield. Some Hollywood friends, some homeschooling friends locally, but no one close. I didn’t mind. I had Meghan and Walter.”

“I had two really good friends growing up. We did everything together. Looking back, I can see a little how I was different from them. Like, they were always calling me Bookworm. Affectionately, but still. Anyway, when they started high school, they became all boy crazy and just totally different. The first time I came home, I went to a football game with them. As soon as we got there, they stripped into really skimpy clothes, put on a thick layer of makeup, and went outside to smoke cigarettes with their boyfriends. Then, they left me alone with some stranger who assumed I was going to make out with him.”

“I’m sorry.” Pat pulled me closer, playing with my hair. “I’ve seen that happen too many times. I’d do a movie with people I liked and respected, and they become like family to me. Then the movie’s over and we all go our separate ways. The next time I see them, they’ve completely changed and I no longer can like and respect them. I can’t say it’s ever happened to a good friend, though.”

“I don’t mind too much. I have Sarah and Walter now.”

“That reminds me.” Pat sat back a little and snapped his fingers. “Zach finally plugged in his phone and has joined the land of the living. He’s looking forward to meeting you next week.”

“Your other roommate? He’s home from Spain?”

“Not yet. His term isn’t over until the end of this week. He’s flying into New York early Sunday and heading straight to campus. He’s not even bothering to see his parents. Then again, I think they went there to visit him this week.”

---

As people began coming inside for lunch, we noticed them pointing in our direction. Pat had wanted to go outside to wrap himself in his scarf and hat to be less recognizable. I convinced him no one would notice if we snuggled in one of the Adirondack chairs by the fire pit. We kissed for a long time until my mother texted me that she was in the drop off area.

 My mother glanced at us in the rearview mirror as she pulled away. “How was tubing?”

Pat smiled. “It was a lot of fun. I’ve never gone tubing before. Thanks for driving me, Mrs. Luzzelli.”

“I’m glad you had fun. Are you going straight home, or were you planning on staying for a while? Either is fine with me.”

Pat turned to me. “Did you finish that puzzle without me?” When I shook my head, he shrugged. “I guess that means I’m staying for a little while.”

---

I let Pat place the last piece into the puzzle while I went over to the closet. He stared at the three kittens sitting in a large basket of brightly colored yarn balls. 

He shrugged. “It’s cute. It’s a shame we worked so hard and now we have to put it back in the box.”

“Why?”

“Because we worked so hard on it.” 

“No, I mean, why take it apart?” I returned to the table with a bottle of glue.

“What’s that for?”

“You’ve never glued a puzzle?” When Pat raised his eyebrows, I shrugged. “We always do this. Look around. All the pictures on the walls are puzzles.”

I unscrewed the top from the bottle and poured a copious amount over the puzzle before spreading it around with my fingers. 

“Aren’t you gonna help me?” 

Pat raised his eyebrows. “And get that all over my fingers?’

I tried to attack him with my gluey hands, but he was able to dodge away. I decided against chasing him, and after a moment, he was beside me, helping to get glue into each crack. We ended up using almost the entire bottle, but eventually it was covered with a thin white film. I smiled at him.

“See? Now it’ll dry clear.”

“That’s pretty cool. I may have to start doing this at home. Now what?”

“Well, first we have to wash our hands.” I led the way to the bathroom. “We have a little time, but you have to leave by five.”

“Why? Is your other boyfriend coming over?”

“Yes. His name is Eric and my parents like him better than you.”

When Pat didn’t reply, I looked around. He had stopped in the doorway on the other side of my room. He gestured toward the bed.

“Is this your bedroom?” 

“Yeah. My bathroom’s right here.” I pointed to the door on the opposite side of the room.

“I can’t go in there.”

“Huh? Oh. Right. I forgot. Hang on.” I washed my hands before returning to the hallway. “There. I think you can go wash your hands, if I stand here. So, what do you want to do now?” 

Pat called through the room. “I have no idea. WTTE?”

“How about cards?”

Pat crossed the room back to me. “I can play solitaire.” 

I led him back to the study, grabbing two decks from the closet. “How about double solitaire?” 

“That’s a game?”

We sat on the floor to avoid getting glue all over the cards. He eyed me suspiciously as I shuffled each deck with a practiced ease.

 “Mom and Dad had a casino party once. They hired actual dealers from real casinos. They shuffled the cards like that, at the corners. Are you a card shark?”

I giggled. “My grandfather loves playing cards. He taught me when I was seven. I could shuffle better than him by the time I started middle school.”

Pat raised his eyebrows. “You are a card shark! I don’t wanna play with you.”

“It’s only solitaire. Watch.” I handed him the deck of red cards. “Do what I do. First, count out thirteen cards and put them on the left. Turn the last one face up.”

When Pat followed my instructions, I nodded. “Now, place four cards face up on the right of the stack. These will be your playing slots later. Now, this is your personal area.”

Pat pointed to my pile. “That’s my personal area? It looks like yours.”

I made a face at him and continued to explain the rules.

“Got it. Alright. I’m ready.” Pat leaned in closer to his cards, picking up his deck in one hand and getting his other hand ready to flip his first card.

I giggled. “Okay. Go!”

It took three rounds before Pat reached 100 points, beating me by two. After separating the decks, I decided to teach Pat how to play War. I started explaining the rules but he interrupted me.

“Wait, I know this game. I play it with Frank.” 

I hadn’t realized his roommate had taught him cards. “I thought you said you only play solitaire.”

“Well, I didn’t know the name of this game. He calls it something else. Jung-Jang, I think. One of his grandfathers taught him.”

I just shook my head as we positioned ourselves for a lively battle. We had each won a game when my mother called that my ride had arrived. 

Pat’s Story

As Melinda led me toward the ski lodge, I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. From where we were standing, I could only see the ski slopes, not the tube park. It was pretty cold outside. Maybe Melinda would change her mind and we could just stay in the lodge.

Exploring the cafeteria options, I was glad Melinda had brought us lunch. Nothing sounded very appealing. However, as we debated between getting two sodas or one to share, we saw someone behind the counter putting warm cookies into a display case.

We sat beside each other near the window, where we could watch the mountain while we ate. Melinda was trying to make conversation, but I was only giving her part of my attention as I looked out the window.

I didn’t see anyone tubing. I only saw skiers. The people on the mountain seemed to be enjoying themselves. Didn’t they know how dangerous winter mountain sports could be? There was a stretch of the mountain to my left no one seemed to be using. Did they close off that part because of some horrible accident?

“You look anxious.” I could hear the concern in Melinda’s voice. “What’s wrong? Oh! Are you worried about being recognized?”

I turned away from the window. My adorable girlfriend was looking all around as she continued to babble. “I just realized. I’m sorry. I totally forgot.”

“You’re adorable.” I played with her hair before pulling her in for a kiss. Somehow, that calmed me slightly. I explained how the place was so empty I wasn’t too concerned about crazy fans.

“Okay. You’re not worried about being recognized. Is it the whole Poppy thing?”

I smiled at her weakly. “I was wondering when she was going to ruin our time together. I had nearly forgotten about her. I tend not to think about her when I’m with you.”

“What’s happening with all that?”

There was a small red speck barreling downhill. I watched it grow larger as I explained to Melinda how Meghan and I convinced our mother to fire our agent. The red speck eventually turned into a full-sized person who skied straight back onto the empty lift. I turned to Melinda. She began to play with my hand on the table.

“So, now what?”

I picked up my cookie and put it back down a few times without actually eating it.

“I started doing some research, found an agent I like. Mom’s gonna contact him today. We’re have to figure out if Walter and I should have different agents. Meghan is pretty sure she wants Mom’s agent. This is gonna sound pompous, but we’re so famous, most agents would love to represent us.”

“But, what about the Poppy rumor?”

“We fired Cynthia, so Mom’s agent is gonna try to sort things out for us. But it’s possible it won’t go away. There’s some legal things we might look into, but, honestly, I’m letting Uncle Brennan figure it all out.”

“The lawyer, right?”

Nodding, I watched another speck speed down the hill. Melinda slurped the soda we were sharing before trying to resume the conversation.

“If you’re not worried about being recognized, and you’re not upset about Poppy, then why do you look so anxious?”

I wanted to lie but figured that probably wouldn’t be a great idea. I felt my face grow warm as I turned to her. “I’ve just never gone tubing before.”

Melinda giggled, but she reached around to trace her hand along my spine. That was supposed to be my job. I held her close, playing with her hair as she tried to assuage my fears.

“Tubing is a lot of fun. It’s like sledding. Only faster.”

“It’s dangerous. They make your parent sign one of those waiver things.”

“Yes. But you also sign a waiver when you visit the town pool. It’s no more dangerous.”

“Are you kidding? The town pool? That’s got kids peeing in the water and people jumping on top of you. That’s got to be more dangerous than this!”

Melinda huffed out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. Then, laser tag. You have to sign a waiver for that.”

“People running around in the dark? You can trip over something and break your neck. Or, you can trip over the person that tripped over something, and you both break your necks. Or–”

Melinda stopped my babbling with a kiss. That calmed my anxiety a lot. But I wasn’t going to drop the subject completely. I pulled her close.

“This is nice. Why don’t we just stay here and do this until your mom comes?”

Melinda stood, giggling as she reached for my hand. “Come on. You clean this mess, and I’ll go get the tickets.”

She tugged me to my feet, then went to the desk near the front entrance while I threw the garbage into the nearest can. A few moments later, she returned with two stickers and two strange-looking metal things. They looked like witches’ hats, or possibly noses.

Melinda showed me how to attach the wire wicket to my zipper, then put the adhesive ticket on either side to create a tag. We bundled ourselves and went back to the cold.

Melinda led me to the rental building, where an attendant gave us helmets and tubes to drag to the tubing park.

As we approached, I realized we were heading right for the part I had assumed had been closed. There were about ten lanes, divided by mounds of snow, and they had small bumps as they went down the mountain.

Melinda stopped as we got near the base. “Put down your tube and gimme your hand.”

Gladly. That thing was getting heavy. I held out my arm. “Everything okay?”

Melinda bent down to my tube, picking up a leash I had not noticed earlier. She fastened the strap around my wrist.

“We’re gonna get on the lift now. You can just kinda drag your tube behind you on the way up, okay?”

“How do I get on the lift?”

She pointed to a black belt slowly moving up the mountain. “It’s kinda like an escalator with no stairs. Just step on. Follow me.”

Melinda boarded the lift and I stayed right behind her. At the top of the mountain, I followed her to a center lane and she showed me how to sit in my tube before settling herself in the lane beside mine.

Before we left, she took her strap from her wrist and tossed it to me. “Here. Hang on to this and we can go down together.”

I held it tight as we pushed off.

Tubing was more exhilarating than I could have imagined. We didn’t go straight downhill. There were bumps. There were dips. The tube slid from side to side within the lane. Before I knew it, we were slowing down at the bottom.

I jumped out of my tube, feeling more alive than I had in a while. “Wow! That was sick. Let’s go again!” I was nearly bouncing with excitement.

Our passes were only good for two hours, and I wanted to get every second’s worth. I raced back to the lift.

I didn’t need to hold Melinda’s leash anymore. I wasn’t scared. As a result, she ended up turning backwards on our next run. I was a little in front of her, so I didn’t notice until we had reached the bottom.

The third time down, I ended up backwards before the first bump. It was even more exhilarating because I had no idea what was coming next. I spent the fourth run figuring out how to do it on purpose, finally succeeding about a third of the way down my fifth run. I spent the rest of the two hours tubing backwards.

The lodge was a little more crowded when we returned. The ski mountain was starting to have a little more life as well.

We went back to where we had sat before, where Melinda had left her soft cooler. Apparently, it was normal for people to leave their belongings lying around a ski lodge. I had worried someone would move it or put it in lost and found, but it was exactly where we had left it.

Melinda sat beside me and texted her mother while I emptied the contents of the cooler. She explained her mother was at a nearby mall and would get us in about an hour.

We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. After two, I was still hungry. I didn’t say anything, but there must have been something in my expression because Melinda started giggling as she leaned against me slightly.

“Go ahead. I don’t mind.”

“But I don’t want to turn into my brother.”

“I’ve seen you eat, Pat. Have another sandwich. I promise not to tell Walter.”

As I ate the third sandwich, Melinda told me about how she used to come here with her friends. Then, we talked about how her friends had changed once they started high school.

I felt bad that I couldn’t relate. I had never let anyone get close to me until Hartfield. But Melinda just seemed to be looking for someone to share her story, not her emotions.

We talked a little about one of my best friends at school, Zach. Then we talked a little about going back to school.

Skiers started coming off the mountain and the lodge was getting a little more crowded. People were starting to stare in our direction.

“Can we go somewhere less conspicuous?” I asked as I started packing the picnic back into the cooler.

Melinda looked around. “Yeah, sure. I have an idea.”

We took the cooler and went out a glass door toward the slopes. Melinda backtracked slightly until we were in a small area away from both the lodge and the slopes. A fire pit had been constructed with Adirondack chairs surrounding it.

I sat in one of the chairs, pulling Melinda into my lap. We kissed for a long time, unfazed by the cold, until her mother texted that she was waiting for us in the parking lot.

---

I placed the last piece into the jigsaw puzzle and stood back to examine my work. The picture displayed three kittens sitting on yarn balls of various colors in a large woven basket. 

“It’s cute. It’s a shame we worked so hard and now we have to put it back in the box.”

Melinda went to the closet. “Why?”

“Because we worked so hard on it.” Wasn’t she listening?

“No, I mean, why take it apart?” She returned to the table with a bottle of glue.

“What’s that for?”

“You’ve never glued a puzzle?”

No, because I hadn’t done puzzles since I was little. I had no idea what she meant. I just stared at her. 

“We always do this. Look around. All the pictures on the walls are puzzles.”

I did as she said, noticing for the first time that all the artwork on the walls were indeed puzzles of various shapes and sizes. While I was admiring all the framed puzzles, Melinda dumped the glue on top of the one we had just completed, then massaged it between the pieces.

“Aren’t you gonna help me?”

No. It looked squishy and gross. I didn’t want to touch it. I tried to respond as nonchalantly as possible. “And get that all over my fingers?”

Melinda smiled mischievously, then reached for me with her glue-covered hands. I leapt out of her way. I expected her to follow me, but she went back to working on the puzzle.

I stood beside her, watching over her shoulder before deciding to help. It didn’t take too long and, despite our hands being covered in glue, wasn’t quite as icky as I thought it would be.

When we could no longer see the cats and yarn through the white film, Melinda stood back to admire our handiwork.

“See? Now it’ll dry clear.”

“That’s pretty cool. I may have to start doing this at home.” I meant it, too. Doing the puzzle had been a lot more fun and way more relaxing than I had anticipated. “Now what?”

Melinda led me down the hall. “Well, first we have to wash our hands. We have a little time, but you have to leave by five.”

I couldn’t help but tease her as she entered a bedroom. Since it had a lot of pink and purple, I was pretty sure it was hers.

“Why? Is your other boyfriend coming over?”

“Yes. His name is Eric and my parents like him better than you.”

Melinda turned around. I could tell she was waiting for my response to her joke. At least, I was pretty sure it had been a joke.

Instead, I pointed to the bed. “Is this your bedroom?”

“Yeah. My bathroom’s right here.” Melinda pointed toward a door on the opposite side of the room.

“I can’t go in there.”

“Huh?” Her bafflement was adorable. “Oh. Right. I forgot. Hang on.” Melinda left the bathroom door open as she washed her hands. Then, she came to stand beside me in the doorway.

“There. I think you can go wash your hands, if I stand here.” As I crossed the room, she called after me, “So, what do you want to do now?”

I wasn’t sure if soap would make it harder to get the glue off, but since there were still bubbles in the sink from Melinda, I decided to try it as I answered her. “I have no idea. WTTE?”

“How about cards?”

I made a face into the mirror, but I was pretty sure she couldn’t see me. I waited until I was beside her before responding. “I can play solitaire.”

I followed her back to the study, where Melinda took two decks of cards from a box in the closet and sat on the floor. “How about double solitaire?” Melinda suggested as she sat on the floor.

“That’s a game?” I sat across from her and watched her shuffle. It was different than the normal way. There was something about it that was familiar.

“Mom and Dad had a casino party once.” My eyes were fixed on her hands. “They hired actual dealers from real casinos. They shuffled the cards like that, at the corners. Are you a card shark?”

Melinda giggled. “My grandfather loves playing cards. He taught me when I was seven. I could shuffle better than him by the time I started middle school.”

“You are a card shark! I don’t wanna play with you.”

“It’s only solitaire. Watch.” She handed me the deck of red cards.

I copied Melinda as we laid out cards in front of ourselves and created playing slots. She explained how to play our personal space and the shared space. After she explained the scoring, we played the first round.

I picked up my pile in my left hand and prepared my right to flip the first cards when Melinda gave the signal. 

She beat me, forty to twenty in the first round, but I was a fast learner and I reached a hundred points in the third round, while she still had eighty-nine.

We separated the decks and she said she would teach me to play War. She then described the game I played with my roommate.

“Wait. I know this game. This is the game I play with Frank.”

“I thought you said you only play solitaire.”

“Well, I didn’t know the name of this game. He calls it something else. Jung-Jang, I think. One of his grandfathers taught him.”

Melinda smiled as she picked up her stack and we began flipping the cards. I won the first game and she won the second. We had just separated the stacks for a tiebreaker round when her other boyfriend arrived.

“Melinda!” Her mother called up the stairs a few moments after we heard the doorbell sound. “Your ride is here.”

Oh man! I had lost all track of time. I kept my voice low as Melinda packed the cards away.

“I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

She turned and put her arms around my neck. “I’ll see you Sunday. I’ll try to get back to campus early.” Our kiss was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Melinda’s roommate was standing just over the threshold with a knowing smile. “Sorry.”

Her miniature clone peered around her into the room. I had met her once before, so I knew she wasn’t about to turn into a screaming fan. She started waving at Melinda, but when she saw me, she started signing frantically.

Although I had learned American Sign Language for my last film, I was not able to follow Crystal when she got excited. I missed a lot of what she was asking, but I got the impression she wanted to know why I was there and if Melinda was my girlfriend.

I laughed, speaking aloud as I signed. “Slow down! Melinda will tell you all about it later. I better get home. Hi, Sarah. Bye, Sarah!”

I smiled at Melinda’s roommate, kissed the top of Melinda’s head quickly, and waved to Crystal before heading downstairs, the three girls in tow. As I got in my car, I saw Melinda wave one last time before shutting the door.

---

“How was New York?” I asked Walter as he climbed into my car. I had arrived as his train was pulling into the station.

He smiled brightly. “Awesome. Meghan ditched me!”

Oh man. My little brother got to be alone in New York and I didn’t? Totally not fair. I should tell Mom. “What’d you do on your own?”

Walter shrugged as I followed the line of cars trying to leave the parking lot. “Went over to Maccheroni.”

“What’s that?” I glanced at him while the person in front of me stopped to pick up a passenger. The lot was wide enough for two lanes of cars, neither of which was moving at the moment.

“Maccheroni? It’s this awesome little Italian Restaurant. All you can eat pasta buffet. There were tons of pastas, tons of sauces. And meatballs.”

“I hate you. When Mom said I should pick you up, I stopped for a fast-food burger.” I pointed to the crumpled bag by his feet and the soda in my console.

“Melinda didn’t feed you again?”

I shook my head as I finally got onto the main road. “Nah. Sarah picked her up for a sleepover.”

“So how was tubing?”

“It was a lot of fun. Kinda like riding roller coasters.”

“You spend the whole day there?”

I shook my head. “No, we went back to her place for a couple of hours.”

Walter smirked. “You take a nap again?” 

I punched his shoulder hard enough to hurt my hand. Man, the guy was made of brick. “I should never have told you about that.”

“So, what did you do? I’m assuming you didn’t make out all afternoon.”

I told him about gluing the puzzle and playing cards. Inspired, I pulled into a pharmacy on the corner.

Walter sent me a curious look as I got out of the car. “You okay?” 

“Yeah. I just wanna grab something.”

Walter shrugged and pulled out his phone. I ran in and asked the cashier where to find playing cards. Even with directions, it took me a few minutes. I bought a two-pack.

I waited until we were home before asking Walter if he wanted to learn a new game. His eyes lit up.

We went to the game room, using Dad’s felt table. Mom and Dad had gone out for dinner, so it was just us brother bonding time.

I taught Walter double solitaire, then we decided to look up other card games we could play. We had a lot of fun.

Attention Hammerheads

Melinda is always trying to build her vocabulary. What were some words in this episode that were new to you? She will add them to her vocabulary journal.