Page 82 of Ten Beach Road

The three of them stared at each other, contemplating Avery’s revelation on top of the others. Their expressions were grim.

“Shit!” Nicole said. “Look at us! We arepathetic!”

“I know!” Maddie said. “And we’re out of daiquiris, too.”

“Oh, my God,” Avery said. “That’s terrible. Wait here a minute while I go inside and get my violin!”

They erupted into laughter then. Maddie had no idea who laughed first; she only knew that they were doing a first-rate impression of ROTFLOL while Avery mimed playing a tiny violin and Nicole peered into the empty pitcher looking for one last drop. They were still giggling when a car pulled into the drive and a car door opened and slammed shut.

Light footsteps raced through the kitchen and out onto the loggia. Kyra practically skidded to a stop in front of them. She was breathing heavily. “Quick, we have to go inside. Some of them might be following me.” She looked back over her shoulder as if she expected a horde to come around the side of the house at any moment.

Nicole stood, the empty pitcher still clutched in one hand. Avery grabbed the Cheez Doodles and hugged them to her chest. It was a good thing she hadn’t already retrieved her violin, Maddie thought, then laughed at the ridiculous image.

Kyra shushed them impatiently. “What’s wrong with you all?”

The three of them looked at each other and broke up again. Kyra didn’t crack a smile but began herding them, much like goats, toward the kitchen door. Every time they erupted in hoots of laughter, Kyra rolled her eyes and herded a little harder. It seemed that Kyra had left her sense of humor wherever she’d been. “What happened?” Maddie asked. “And why are we whispering?”

More cars arrived. Several doors opened and slammed shut on the street. Kyra pushed them faster. When they were inside the kitchen with the door locked behind them Kyra flicked off the kitchen light so that they were standing in the dark.

This made them giggle harder.

“Shush,” Kyra said like some irate kindergarten teacher. Any minute she was going to tell them to use their “inside voices.”

“What is it, Kyra?” Maddie was swaying slightly on her feet. Sitting down seemed safer so she inched her way toward the outline of the kitchen table and chairs. “Who are we hiding from?”

She could make out Nicole moving toward the table, too. Avery looked kind of happy where she was.

“The photographers,” Kyra whispered. “They started shouting my name and taking pictures of me when I came out of the theater.” She threw another look over her shoulder and out the kitchen window. “They wanted to know where Daniel was.”

“The paparazzi?” Nicole laughed out loud despite Kyra’s insistent shushing. “The paparazzi are here in Pass-a-Grille?”

They laughed even harder. Great, big belly laughs that required even greater gulps of air. Right up until the first flashbulb went off just beyond the driveway and the Jet Ski zoomed in and began to idle just off the seawall.

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