Kate Maryon - A Sea of Stars

Anna and I surf until our arms and legs ache so much they almost drop off. Then we play mermaids. We swish around in the waves and clap and sing, “A sailor went to sea, sea, sea, to see what he could see, see, see, but all that he could see, see, see, was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea,” about a thousand times. Then Luca paddles up and starts splashing us like crazy.

“Are you gonna enter the surf competition at the end of the holidays, Luca?” I ask, when the splashing has stopped.

“Dunno,” he says. “Dad won’t say when we’re going back to California. I like it here; it’s totally cool.” He smiles, his eyes bright sapphires in the sun. “Paddle battle?”

So we have this amazing paddle battle and then Anna and I gang up on Luca and we splash and splash until he holds his hands up in surrender. It’s funny to think that Gus from the Surf Shack Café is Luca’s actual uncle, especially when they sound so different. Luca’s Californian accent makes Anna and me laugh so much I’m scared my sides will split or I’ll pee my wetsuit and turn the entire sea yellow. And for a while I forget all about Cat and the adoption and Mum finding out we’re alone because everything fades away.

Then I spot Mum and Dad clambering down the cliff, waving their arms like mad.

“She’s perfect, Maya!” shouts Mum, smiling and racing towards me. “Absolutely perfect! You’re going to love her, I know it!”

“And she’s so excited to meet you, sweetheart,” says Dad, folding me into a big papa-bear hug. “We’ve got great plans for tomorrow!”

“You must be so excited!” squeals Mum, dancing on the sand.

I nod and tug my lips up into a smile, but I don’t truly feel it inside. My head starts clanging with worries, my tummy starts whirring and churning again and the rope twists tight. Mum goes on and on about Cat so much she doesn’t notice Anna and I are alone; she doesn’t even notice I’ve been surfing without a grown-up watching. You’d think I’d be pleased about it, but somehow it feels like she doesn’t care. And deep, deep down at the bottom of my heart, I wish Mum had never found the article on adoption. I wish we could change our minds.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.