another long look down the steep cliff. "You go first," he suggested.
"I've got a better idea," Jade said. "Let's drive back in my car. We can stop downtown and get something to eat. You may still be on mainland time, but around here it's lunchtime - and I'm starving."
***
Jade took them to a sidewalk lunch stand in downtown Honolulu. Joe thought it looked a lot like any other American city, except almost everybody wore Hawaiian shirts - and instead of hamburgers, fast food meant noodles in a Styrofoam cup with a plastic thing that wasn't quite a fork but wasn't exactly a spoon either.
They sat at a table near the curb and watched the cars buzz by while they ate. Finally Joe asked the question that had been following them around ever since they'd left the beach. "Do you really think that close call with the surfboard was an accident?"
"What do you mean?" Jade asked. "What else could it have been?"
"Maybe somebody doesn't want you to surf anymore," Frank suggested.
"Yeah." Jade nodded. "My father. But I don't think he'd throw a surfboard at me. What are you guys getting at?"
"Well, there is the prize money," Joe reminded her.
Jade shook her head. "I told you already. It's not a big deal. A few thousand dollars, that's all. Besides, the surfers around here are a pretty tight-knit group. We're like family. None of them would ever do anything to hurt me."
"Okay," Frank said. "So maybe it isn't anybody you know. But it could be - "
Frank didn't finish his sentence because that was when he heard a screech of tires. He watched mesmerized as a car swerved off the road, jumped the curb, and smashed into an empty table twenty feet from them.
It didn't stop there, though. It kept plowing ahead. And Joe and Jade were right in its path!
Chapter 3
"Look out!" Frank shouted, leaping from his chair at the same time. He would be in the clear, but what about his brother and the girl? Their backs were to the car. Joe, seated on the other side of the table, couldn't see the vehicle bulldozing a lane toward him.
Frank grabbed the table with both hands and pushed it as hard as he could - right into his brother.
Joe caught sight of the onrushing car when the edge of the table slammed into his stomach. He let out a startled "Oof!" as he toppled over backward. Instinctively, he grabbed Jade, yanking her out of her seat. She landed on top of him, knocking the wind out of him, but he managed to wrap his arms around her and roll away from the path of destruction.
The next moment the wooden table was reduced to kindling and splinters, and a streak of blue metal and black rubber flashed by, inches from Joe's face.
The blue sedan didn't even slow down as it swerved back onto the road. Frank's heart was pounding, and the blood was rushing through his body at a furious rate. Without even thinking, he picked up a toppled chair and flung it at the car.
The flying chair smashed into the sedan's rear window and then rebounded, bouncing off the trunk and clattering to the pavement. The car kept moving - but Frank could see a spiderweb of cracks spreading across the shatterproof glass from the point of impact.
Frank watched as the blue sedan weaved frantically through the traffic and disappeared around a corner.
The people at the other tables were buzzing with excitement and concern. Frank heard someone behind him say, "What happened?" as another voice added, "Are you all right?"
It took a moment for Frank to realize they weren't talking to him. It was Joe and Jade they were asking about.
Joe was already on his feet, pulling Jade off the ground. "You know," she said, "my life was pretty normal until you guys showed up. Maybe you're bad luck or something."
"It's beginning to look that way," Joe agreed, brushing dust and splinters from his clothes.
"I don't think luck has much to do with it," Frank replied grimly.
"What do you mean?" Jade asked.
"I mean I might buy two accidents in one day," Frank said. "But this wasn't an accident. That
"I've got a better idea," Jade said. "Let's drive back in my car. We can stop downtown and get something to eat. You may still be on mainland time, but around here it's lunchtime - and I'm starving."
***
Jade took them to a sidewalk lunch stand in downtown Honolulu. Joe thought it looked a lot like any other American city, except almost everybody wore Hawaiian shirts - and instead of hamburgers, fast food meant noodles in a Styrofoam cup with a plastic thing that wasn't quite a fork but wasn't exactly a spoon either.
They sat at a table near the curb and watched the cars buzz by while they ate. Finally Joe asked the question that had been following them around ever since they'd left the beach. "Do you really think that close call with the surfboard was an accident?"
"What do you mean?" Jade asked. "What else could it have been?"
"Maybe somebody doesn't want you to surf anymore," Frank suggested.
"Yeah." Jade nodded. "My father. But I don't think he'd throw a surfboard at me. What are you guys getting at?"
"Well, there is the prize money," Joe reminded her.
Jade shook her head. "I told you already. It's not a big deal. A few thousand dollars, that's all. Besides, the surfers around here are a pretty tight-knit group. We're like family. None of them would ever do anything to hurt me."
"Okay," Frank said. "So maybe it isn't anybody you know. But it could be - "
Frank didn't finish his sentence because that was when he heard a screech of tires. He watched mesmerized as a car swerved off the road, jumped the curb, and smashed into an empty table twenty feet from them.
It didn't stop there, though. It kept plowing ahead. And Joe and Jade were right in its path!
Chapter 3
"Look out!" Frank shouted, leaping from his chair at the same time. He would be in the clear, but what about his brother and the girl? Their backs were to the car. Joe, seated on the other side of the table, couldn't see the vehicle bulldozing a lane toward him.
Frank grabbed the table with both hands and pushed it as hard as he could - right into his brother.
Joe caught sight of the onrushing car when the edge of the table slammed into his stomach. He let out a startled "Oof!" as he toppled over backward. Instinctively, he grabbed Jade, yanking her out of her seat. She landed on top of him, knocking the wind out of him, but he managed to wrap his arms around her and roll away from the path of destruction.
The next moment the wooden table was reduced to kindling and splinters, and a streak of blue metal and black rubber flashed by, inches from Joe's face.
The blue sedan didn't even slow down as it swerved back onto the road. Frank's heart was pounding, and the blood was rushing through his body at a furious rate. Without even thinking, he picked up a toppled chair and flung it at the car.
The flying chair smashed into the sedan's rear window and then rebounded, bouncing off the trunk and clattering to the pavement. The car kept moving - but Frank could see a spiderweb of cracks spreading across the shatterproof glass from the point of impact.
Frank watched as the blue sedan weaved frantically through the traffic and disappeared around a corner.
The people at the other tables were buzzing with excitement and concern. Frank heard someone behind him say, "What happened?" as another voice added, "Are you all right?"
It took a moment for Frank to realize they weren't talking to him. It was Joe and Jade they were asking about.
Joe was already on his feet, pulling Jade off the ground. "You know," she said, "my life was pretty normal until you guys showed up. Maybe you're bad luck or something."
"It's beginning to look that way," Joe agreed, brushing dust and splinters from his clothes.
"I don't think luck has much to do with it," Frank replied grimly.
"What do you mean?" Jade asked.
"I mean I might buy two accidents in one day," Frank said. "But this wasn't an accident. That
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