Island Girls (and Boys) Read Free

flat. �What do you think, Amy?�
    Amy had been quiet during the whole exchange. She dropped a Ping-Pong ball on thePing-Pong table on the far side of the room. It bounced, she caught it. Dropped it again, watched it bounce, caught it. She appeared to be more interested in the ball than in the argument.
    ï¿½Maybe we should all sleep upstairs. There are three bedrooms up there. That way it would, like, be fair.�
    Chelsea looked at her as though she�d suggested driving her Gremlin up the stairs and parking it inside.
    ï¿½But this bedroom is the largest, with the biggest bed, and its own bathroom! It�s crazy not to use it.�
    ï¿½So I�ll use it,� I said.
    ï¿½Not fair!�
    ï¿½Chelsea, it�s where my grandparents sleep.�
    ï¿½But they aren�t here,� she said again.
    We�d barely gotten the car unloaded and the groceries put away when this discussion had started. All our boxes, all our things were scattered around the living room�which was also the TV room, the game room, the library. It was the center of the house, where everyone gathered during family get-togethers. I had alot of memories of this room, but this was the first time that I could remember having an argument in here. I�d never realized how the room echoed.
    ï¿½I�m not going to sleep upstairs,� I said firmly. Wasn�t that what you were supposed to do when you were living on your own? Take your stand and stick to it?
    ï¿½Well, neither am I,� Chelsea said. She plopped down on the couch, her arms still crossed, her nose in the air.
    ï¿½Fine,� I said sweetly. �You can sleep right there.�
    I picked up one of my boxes and started for the bedroom.
    ï¿½Jennifer!� Chelsea jumped to her feet like someone had set a lit firecracker beneath her. �You can�t just take the room.�
    ï¿½Maybe we could share the room,� Amy suggested.
    ï¿½Right!� Chelsea said. �Three empty bedrooms upstairs, and one crowded one down here. I don�t think so.�
    ï¿½That�s not what I meant,� Amy said, still bouncing the ball.
    I had this terrible urge to snatch it away from her. The constant clicking as it hit the table was really setting my nerves on edge.
    ï¿½I meant,� Amy continued, �that we could take turns.�
    ï¿½I don�t want to get my room arranged and then have to switch rooms. I�ll never feel moved in,� Chelsea said.
    ï¿½Then stop arguing and take a room upstairs,� I told her.
    ï¿½No.�
    ï¿½It won�t be that bad to move our stuff around at the end of each month,� Amy said. �Besides, it would be fun. We�d have different views all summer, and something to look forward to.�
    ï¿½The views aren�t that different,� Chelsea said. �Water. Water. Water.�
    ï¿½The views are very different,� Amy said. �The bay, the far side of the island, and the Gulf. I wouldn�t be able to choose my favorite, because each is special.�
    ï¿½When did you turn into Pollyanna?� Chelsea asked.
    We were off to such a bad start. I couldn�t believe it.
    ï¿½No,� I said with a sigh. �Amy is right. We can each have the large bedroom for a month.�
    ï¿½I get it first,� Chelsea announced.
    ï¿½Could you be any more self-centered?� I asked.
    ï¿½I�m not self-centered, I just want it first.�
    ï¿½We could play Ping-Pong for it,� Amy suggested. Her brown eyes were watching us intensely, and I knew this continual arguing was making her uncomfortable. You�d think she�d be used to it, growing up with four brothers.
    ï¿½Not Ping-Pong,� I said. I walked to the bookshelves. I knelt, opened the doors in the lower portion, and pulled out the Monopoly game.
    ï¿½Not Monopoly,� Chelsea whined.
    ï¿½Not Monopoly,� I agreed. �Just the