Page 14 of Alice & Meg: Summer Vacation
Typical morning with this crazy crew.
And it was only Wednesday.
Meg
I was just about to swing my leg over the back of Lo’s bike when something caught my eye.
Right on the seat.
Tiny.
Blue.
A turtle.
I froze mid-mount, leaned in, and plucked the little thing up between my fingers.It was no bigger than a dime and painted the brightest shade of sky blue I’d ever seen.Its little eyes were two black dots, and it had the cutest smirk painted on its face.
I wrinkled my brow.“Where in the world did you come from?”
As if answering me, the sun glinted off something yellow sitting on top of the saddlebag.I reached for it and found another turtle.This one was lemon yellow with tiny green flowers painted on its shell.
“And you brought a friend,” I muttered.
“You good?”Lo called over the rumble of the engine.
I nodded and stuffed the two turtles in my pocket.“Yeah.Just found something weird.”
He didn’t even ask.Probably wise.
I climbed on behind him, wrapped my arms around his middle, and rested my cheek against the back of his cut as we rolled out of the parking lot with the rest of the crew.
The ride to the strip was short but sweet.The sun was warm on my arms, and the scent of sunscreen and street food was in the air.Kids darted between shops with ice cream cones melting in their hands.A guy in a full Batman costume posed for pictures near a hot dog stand.Music blasted from a store advertising fudge and taffy, and people meandered down the sidewalks with giant souvenir cups.
We lucked out with parking.Lo snagged a spot right on the street across from the first cluster of shops, and somehow, Bear managed to slide into the space behind him.
Adley climbed out of the backseat, shaking her head.“Told you I wasn’t driving the van again until Sunday.Could you imagine me driving that tank with all of these people?And to top it off, it’s only Wednesday.The weekend is going to be insane down here.”
Greta tossed her a bag of cookies with a smirk.“Have a cookie.”
Adley looked at the bag of cookies like it was a two-headed baby.“I am confused.”
Greta slapped her on the back.“Mission accomplished.”
Adley looked at me as if I could help her.I shrugged.“Not a clue, but at least you have cookies to eat while you’re confused.”
We regrouped on the sidewalk and immediately headed for the nearest shop.
The place was calledDriftwood Dreams, and it was a total tourist trap—a glorious maze of knick-knacks, kitsch, and unnecessary treasures.
Within two minutes, the girls were trying on hats.
“This looks so bad on me,” Raven laughed and balanced a foam cheese wedge on her head.
“You take that back,” Alice said and stuffed her hair under a cow-spotted cowboy hat with horns sticking out of the sides.“We all look beautiful.”
I plopped a flamingo sunhat on my head, which drooped over one eye.“How do I look?”
“Like the Flamingo Inn threw up on you,” Raven replied.
