Treasure Beach: Chapter Four, Part Four

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Chapter Four debuts this week.  Do you prefer to read  in one big gulp instead of having the story doled out in parts?   Look for a complete chapter pdf on the last Tuesday of each month through July.  In the meantime, i f you're new and you've missed the first three chapters?  Here are links to those pdfs:  Chapter One.  Chapter Two.  Chapter Three.

Treaure Beach: Chapter Four, Part Four

Jessie Patterson had moved to Palmetto Grove at about the same time Lizzie had. She was thin but solid, like somebody who liked to play sports, although Olivia didn't know if she actually did or not. She had short spiky dark hair and pierced ears, more than one hole in each, which was something Lizzie had noticed and envied. Jessie was one of those girls who would probably get a tattoo the moment her mother said she could. In the meantime she wore ripped jeans and rock group T-shirts and hung out with a couple of boys who were older than their classmates because they had been held back. None of the girls that Olivia had hung out with liked Jessie. She was just too different.

"Hey, Livvy. Is Brandon going to pitch?"

Olivia wished she could just slide off the seat and go back inside to find Tracy, but it was too late now. She didn't look at the other girl. "I don't know."

"He's pretty good, but I like the other pitcher better. Fernando? He's Raoul's brother. You know Raoul, right?"

Raoul was one of the boys Jessie spent all her time with. Olivia guessed he had a good excuse for not keeping up in class. English was kind of new to him. Whenever the class studied Spanish, Raoul and a couple of others had gone to a different classroom for tutoring. Jessie, who had lived in Mexico before coming to Palmetto Grove, usually went off to the library since her Spanish was already perfect.

"I know Raoul," Olivia said.

"Fernando's teaching him to pitch, too. Fernando's not as flashy as Brandon is, but he's the one to watch. By the time he's a senior, the scouts will be here trying to sign him up."

Olivia wished Jessie would go away. "Uh huh."

"You're a pretty good softball player. We were on the same team at the end of the year, remember?"

"I guess."

"Where's Lizzie? I like her. She's always friendly to me."

"Gone." Olivia glanced at the other girl. Today Jessie had on normal clothes, shorts and a paisley smocked top that showed off a golden tan. "She moved away."

"Wow, the Lizzie half of the Lizzie-Livvy team, huh? That sucks."

"We were friends, not a team."

"Yeah, well, I bet you miss her."

Olivia turned back to watch what little action there was on the field and didn't reply.

"Here's the thing about Lizzie," Jessie said after a while. "When I talked to her, she actually answered me."

"I don't feel like talking."

"To me. You don't feel like talking to me. I get that. You've figured out who'll be good to know in middle school and who won't, and I don't make the cut. That's okay. You're right, I won't be good to know. I hang out with people who interest me, not the suck ups and the fakes. And not the ones who think they're better than anybody else."

Jessie got to her feet. "So nice having a chat with you, Livvy. Won't bother you again."

Olivia watched Jessie edge down the aisle, then take the steps down to the front. In a minute, she had disappeared behind the bleachers. Olivia reminded herself she was just avoiding disappointment. So why, if that was true, did she feel disappointed anyway?