The Mermaid's Mirror - L. K. Madigan [13]
He grabbed her hand and pulled her down next to him. "I remember. It was his bedtime. You sang, 'I Can See Clearly Now.'" His expression softened. "It was so beautiful."
"Oh, yeah, that's one of his favorites." She rolled on her side and looked at Kai.
"So will you help me practice for Grease?"
"I guess. But I'm not trying out, so you might as well give up on that idea."
"Oh, Sandy," he sang. "I sit and wonder why-yi-yi-yi..."
She giggled. Kai trailed off, gazing at her, and she knew what was next.
They kissed for a few minutes, until Lena heard her dad making a lot of noise coming up the stairs. She and Kai sat up hastily, and Kai moved to the chair beside her desk.
Her dad appeared in the doorway, wearing a Raiders bandanna and carrying Cole's plastic sword. "Arrgh!" he cried. "Come downstairs, me hearties."
"Oh," said Kai. "Yo ho."
Lena stood up and walked out of her room. Kai followed, and her dad brandished the sword at him as he passed, saying, "Ye scurvy knave! I'll teach ye to eye me daughter with yer filthy peepers!"
"Right," said Kai. "Um, argh."
After the Raiders lost, Lena walked Kai out to his car.
"Sweet dreams," he said.
She kissed him, then backed away, singing, "My head is saying, 'Fool,forget him'...My heart is saying, 'Don't letgooooo'..."
Grinning, Kai put his hands to his heart in a display of theatrical devotion.
***
When Lena woke up on the beach that night, she sank to her knees.
Oh, God, she thought, her heart leaping with fright. There is something wrong with me.
Shipwreck Rocks were closer this time. She watched the sweep of light from the lighthouse and listened to the call of the foghorn. After a few minutes, the terrified pounding of her heart was calmed by the regular pounding of the waves.
One thing she knew for sure: it was time to tell Kai and Pem.
CHAPTER 7
"Would you stop looking at me like that?" said Lena.
Kai jumped. "Like what?"
"Like I'm dying!"
They were eating lunch in the middle of a noisy bunch of drama people—Kai's friends, mostly—who kept bursting into songs from Grease and doing the hand jive.
"I'm sorry! I can't help it. Are you sure you're okay?" Kai put his arm around Lena, even though they had resolved not to force Pem to witness public displays of affection.
"Of course. Don't I look okay?"
"You look fine," said Pem. "But what if—" There was a tightness to her voice that Lena had never heard before.
She's scared for me, thought Lena. She's scared I'm really sick.
And what if there was something seriously wrong with her? Would Pem be able to handle it? Pem hated sad movies and sad songs and sad news in general. She still talked about the time her parents had let her watch E.T when she was eight years old. "He was dead," she always said. "The bag was zipped up. It was horrible. I had nightmares for weeks."
In the cheerful light of day, Lena's sleepwalking seemed less ominous. But coupled with her fainting episode, she could see why her friends were worried.
"Pem," she said, making her voice as reassuring as she could, "I'm sure it's nothing. But ... well, I wanted to tell you guys. I thought maybe one of you would say, 'Yeah, I sleepwalk all the time.'"
"No, I'm glad you told us," said Pem. "But you really have to tell your parents."
"What? No." Lena shook her head. "No way."
"Lena, I've never heard of anyone doing that before. It doesn't sound like normal sleepwalking. What if you have—?" But she wouldn't finish the sentence.
Lena finished the sentence inside her own mind: a brain tumor.
"Fine," said Pem impatiently. "If you won't tell them, I will."
Outraged, Lena burst out, "NO! Do not tell my parents."
"Lena, we're talking about your life—"
Kai waved his hands between them. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. It's so obvious what's going on. Don't you see it?"
"See what?" asked Pem. Her arms were crossed, and she was glaring.
"The reason she's sleepwalking."
"The reason?" repeated Lena.
"It's so obvious," said Kai again. "I can't believe you didn't figure it out. It's the surfing."
"The ... what?"
"Okay, listen: