Dancing with the Devil

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

By the time Mac was dressed and in the car, she’d had enough coffee to motor down the Amazon and collect her own beans. She touched Barb’s arm as she took a turn. “Please, Mackenzie whispered, “just a little slower around the curves.”

As they pulled into the school parking lot, they could see they were the last to arrive. Mac heaved herself out of the car and stood, holding onto the door for support. “Barb?”

“Hmmm?”

“How long is everything going to stay all spinny?”

“Still? Oh, honey, how much did you drink?” Barb took the pack out of the trunk, and handed it to Mac, who started toward the bus. Lily bounced along next to her big sister, elbows sticking out at right angles as she held both hands in an airtight grip over her mouth. Mackenzie had promised her an extra special surprise present when she got back from the trip if she stopped talking, since Lily’s inside voice volume exceeded everyone else’s outside-at-a-football-game.

Lily started making muffled squealing noises and ran off, and Mac turned to see their father walking toward Barb.

Most of the parents were there hovering, and giving last minute advice while kids loaded their packs under the bus, and bikes onto the trailer behind the van.

Mackenzie slipped her pack off and bent over to set it on the pile under the bus, making sure not to move too quickly. Then a sound pierced her eardrums and giving her the distinct impression that her head had exploded.

“Oh, oops, sorry, Mac. Didn’t mean to whistle that loud, but when you bend over like that, it’s hard to resist,” Charlie said. “Guess you had a rough night, huh?

Mackenzie lifted her hands to her head and was surprised to find it still in one piece. “You were there?” she croaked.

Charlie raided his eyebrows and whistled again, sending another piercing pain straight through Mac’s brain from one ear to the other.

“Where’s your bike?”

“Trailered,” Mackenzie said. “In a hard pack.”

“Oh, I wondered if you’d put that fine piece of machinery in the rack.” Charlie said. “Remember, if you get sick of riding that baby, I’m at your service…”

Mackenzie grunted and waved him off. Her head thrummed, and felt like there were little needles sticking into it from all angles. Even though she wore sunglasses, she squinted, and concentrated hard on getting from point A to point B without having to turn her head too fast. She had no idea how she was going to survive a noisy bus full of excited Bike Geeks. 

Barb was talking to MaToya. Mackenzie hobbled over and waited as they finished up. 

Ma turned to Mac and smiled. “Don’t worry. It won’t last forever,” she said as she walked toward Frankie and her folks.

Mac frowned and turned to Barb and whispered, “You told Ma?”

Barb walked her a few steps away, toward the car and said, “Mackenzie, have you looked in the mirror today? I think she figured it out on her own.” She glanced back at her husband, who seemed oblivious to everything except Lily. She reached out and cupped Mac’s chin in her hand. “You take care of yourself on this trip, okay? No more worries about this boy. We’ll see you in six weeks, and I bet you’ll have forgotten all about him by then, though I certainly hope it’s a lot sooner than that!” 

Mac peeked around Barb and caught snatches of the conversation between her dad and Lily. Over by the grassy median, Mac’s father looked up from Lily, and gave a wave. Lily looked unhappy and Mac knew she was upset about being separated for so long. They’d never been apart for more than a night or so, and Lily had been acting up ever since Mac explained about her trip.