The Year of the Beasts Read Online Free Page B

wasn’t trying to be cool or grown up about the whole thing at all. Maybe Lulu had been scared.

 
     
    chapter
    four
     

 
     
    chapter
    five
     
    The river cut through town neatly, running east to west, flowing out to sea. Most houses sat on the hills overlooking the water, but some had backyards that stretched down to touch the riverbanks.
    In the winters, the river whitened with snow and ice. In the spring, it broke and ran and rushed quickly by. In the summer, it slowed and rambled, and in the fall it clogged with leaves.
    No matter where you lived, everyone in town had a boat docked somewhere on the river.
    Celina’s backyard sloped gently toward a stretch of the river shaded by trees. When they were little, Tessa and Lulu believed fairies lived in all the woods around the county where they lived. Local legend told of a man who got lost in the woods, took a nap, and wandered out one hundred years later. Tessa and Lulu would take naps by the trees hoping that they would wake up older and in the future. They never did.
    School had been out for a week, and the carnival been gone for two, leaving a muddy mess of papers, garbage, and sawdust in its wake.
    Few would look at the field where it had stood and believe that any kind of magic occurred there. But that field had been full of kisses. And rides. And blushes. There had been hearts that caught in throats, eyes that glanced discreetly, and hands that reached for parts forbidden.
    Tessa hadn’t experienced any of those things, and so when she passed the field on the way to Celina’s house on her bicycle, she only saw the garbage that was left behind. The empty filthy field matched exactly the wreckage of her feelings for Charlie. Charlie who had taken Lulu out exactly three times so far. Lulu came back from each of those dates blooming.
    It was the first barbecue of the summer; the one that celebrated Independence Day. At Celina’s insistence, Tessa had reluctantly started to bring Lulu around more, and the girls, now a firm threesome, had conspired together to invite the boys to the Fourth of July celebration. There was going to be a big fireworks display set off by the firemen from a barge on the river. The whole valley would be able to watch from anywhere in the three towns. Celina’s parents had even invited the mayor to watch from their lawn.
    The party started early, and while Celina’s parents made mixed drinks and had adult conversations on the patio, the girls were nervous because Charlie, Lionel, Tony, and Dylan were late.
    “Do you think they’ll come?” Celina asked. “Did Charlie say they would?”
    Lulu nodded. She was now the one among them who had the inside information. She showed her authority by texting Charlie and then showing his response, which he’d signed with x ’s and o ’s.
    Celina clapped in approval.
    “Lulu, go help Celina’s mom,” Tessa said.
    “She already said she didn’t need any help,” Lulu said.
    No matter how hard Tessa tried to shoo Lulu elsewhere and get Celina alone, Lulu remained. She was always there, never getting the hint, acting like a shiny new thing.
    Eventually, the boys showed up with brushed hair, dress shirts, and bags of candy.
    The adults remembered what it was like to be young, and so they watched the teens closely for the first hour, making sure that no beer was stolen and that all the boys and girls hands were in proper places at all times. But as the day dragged on, and the liquor poured more freely, the adults became more concerned with their own drama and loud laughter. By the time the sun set, they had full confidence that no girls would get knocked up and no lines would get crossed.
    Tessa, Celina, Lulu, and the boys disappeared through the trees to spread blankets on the patch of grass near the dock to get a better view of the sky. As the sun sank behind the hills, making the river go from silvery to muted brown, they chattered nervously. Charlie sat next to Lulu, holding her hand and