Read Turtle Bay for Free Online Page B

when she and Butch exchanged an apprehensive glance. Obviously they were worried about whether I would get into trouble like I had back in Huntsville. I couldn't deny that their concerns were justified, even though they were the reason I started my pranks in the first place. That was the part my parents still didn't understand. All I wanted to do was shift the attention off the town's favorite freak show spectacle, to do something to get the kids at school to stop laughing and talking about us behind my back. Now all the distrust between my parents and me had caused a chasm in our relationship that was never there before.
    "Look, you can relax. I have to go back to Tasty Freeze to fill out my paperwork and do some training," I finally admitted, throwing them a bone.
    I could almost see the tension leave their shoulders. "Look at our Rainbow, all grown up," Butch said, pretending to wipe away a tear. Unlike the reluctance Buttercup had shown, Butch was all for me getting a job. He appreciated the fact I wanted to work for what I wanted.
    "Aw, don't cry, Creston," I said, patting him on the back.
    "Butch," he corrected.
    "Rain," I countered.
    "I'll never understand why you'd want to change the name we felt suited you so well," Butch grumbled, churning up the ground with the hoe.
    "I'm sure your parents felt the same way," I pointed out, heading for the main house so I could grab some grub before I headed to Tasty Freeze.
    "Creston is not a name. It's the gooey stuff in the corner of your eye in the morning," he griped, stabbing at the ground.
    "That's gross, dear, and you need to turn the earth, not pulverize it," Buttercup said, humming to herself as she sorted through her seeds. She already seemed to have moved on from her mistrust from moments before. Buttercup embraced harmony and refused to rise to conflict. It was nice most of the time, but a pain when you were itching for a fight.
    ***
     
    "How did it go at Tasty Freeze?" Buttercup asked when I returned home a couple hours later. I could tell she was waving the white flag.
    I returned the smile, ready to accept her olive branch. I hated being at odds with my mom. I missed her. This move was supposed to make things better. "Great," I replied, sinking down on the stool next to her.
    "If you're hungry there's hummus and a vegetable pasta salad in the refrigerator," she said, looking up from the necklace she was crafting out of delicate purple wire.
    "I'll eat something later. I met a couple guys yesterday who seemed cool. They invited me to hang out today," I answered. "They're having a party tonight."
    "Guys?"
    "Huh? Oh, girls too. You know what I mean," I added, bracing myself for a barrage of questions.
    "Sounds fun," she answered, stringing an iridescent bead.
    It was hard to tell by her tone of indifference whether she truly objected, but her interest at least seemed genuine.
    "Yeah. I'm sure there'll be drinking, drugs, and probably some sexual shenanigans too," I teased, slipping back into my old persona, the one that wasn't constantly on edge.
    "If you're lucky," she answered, returning my grin as she bent and contorted her piece of wire with a tool that looked like mini pliers.
    I laughed. At least our exchange hadn't turned into a fight. That much I was grateful for. "I'm going to go change into my swimsuit," I said, leaving her lost in her beading.
    Twenty minutes later I headed across the street with my chair and towel in hand, scanning the beach for the group I had befriended the day before. Figuring they would be somewhere near Evan's house, I walked into that general area and swept my eyes over a countless sea of sunbathers before coming to the conclusion that my new friends weren't among them. I was about ready to give up in disappointment when I squinted into the sunlight behind me at the sound of my name. Placing a hand over my eyes to block the sun's blinding rays, I spotted Evan leaning against the wooden rail of the lowest of his house's three decks.