See you next weekend at five between the two twisty trees.
Forever and ever and ever,
-Maggie May Riley
I hated Maggie May.
I wished there were a bigger word to describe my feelings for the annoying, loud-mouthed girl who had been following me around lately, but hate seemed to be the only thing that came to mind whenever she stood near me. I should’ve never given her that nightlight all those years ago. I should’ve just pretended she didn’t exist.
“Why is she coming?” I groaned, packing fishing line, floats, sinkers, and hooks into my tackle box. For the past two years I’d been on fishing trips with my dad, my older brother, Jamie, Calvin, and his new dad, Eric—or Mr. Riley as I called him. We’d go up to Harper Creek, ’bout a fifteen-minute walk away, and sit on Mr. Riley’s boat, laughing and joking with one another. The lake was so huge that if you looked across it, you could hardly see the other side where the town’s shops were located. Calvin and I often tried to point out the buildings, like the library, the grocery store, and the mall. Then, we’d try our best to catch some fish. It was a dudes’ day where we ate too much junk food and didn’t care if our guts were close to bursting. It was our tradition, and it was currently being ruined by a stupid ten-year-old who always sang and never stopped dancing in circles. Maggie May was the definition of annoying. That was the truth, too. I looked up her name in the dictionary once and the meaning was: ‘Calvin’s annoying stepsister.’
I might’ve added the definition myself and gotten yelled at by my mom for writing in a book, but still, it was true.
“My parents said she had to come,” Calvin explained, lifting his rod. “Mom is taking Cheryl to the doctor, so there ain’t nobody to watch her for the next few hours.”
“Can’t she just be locked in the house? Your parents could leave her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a juice box or something.”
Calvin smirked. “I wish. It’s so stupid.”
“She’s so stupid!” I exclaimed. “She has this idea that she’s gonna marry me in the woods. She’s crazy.”
Jamie snickered. “You’re just sayin’ that because you secretly love her.”
“I do not!” I shouted. “That’s disgusting. Maggie May makes me sick. The thought of her gives me nightmares.”
“You say that because you love her,” Jamie mocked.
“You better shut your mouth before I shut it for you, jerk. She said you were the one who spread the rumor about me liking her! You’re the reason she thinks we’re getting married.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I know.”
“Why would you do that?”
Jamie slugged me in the shoulder. “’Cause I’m your big brother, and big brothers are supposed to make their younger brothers’ lives terrible. It’s in the sibling contract.”
“I never signed a contract.”
“You were underage, so Mom signed it for you, duh.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. All I know is Maggie is going to ruin today. She has a way of ruining everything. Besides, she doesn’t even know how to fish!”
“I do, too!” Maggie yapped, barging out of their house wearing a dress, yellow sandals, and holding a Barbie fishing rod.
Ugh! Who goes fishing in a dress, and with a Barbie fishing rod?
She combed her fingers through her stringy blond hair and flared her gigantic nose. “I bet I catch more fish than both Calvin and Brooks could ever catch! Not you, Jamie. I bet you’re good at fishing.” She gave him a smile that made me gag. She had the ugliest smile.
Jamie grinned back. “I bet you ain’t so bad, either, Maggie.”
Insert eye roll here. Jamie always did that—made super nice with Maggie because he knew it annoyed me. I knew there was no way he liked her at all, because she was so unlikeable.
“Are you boys gonna sit here all day, or are we going to get walking down to the creek?” Mr. Riley asked, coming out of the house carrying his tackle box and fishing rod. “Let’s get a move on.”
We all started walking down the road—well, the guys walked. Maggie skipped, and twirled, and sang more pop songs than anyone should’ve had to hear. I swear, if I had to watch her do the Macarena one more time, I’d go crazy. Once we reached the woods, I imagined us dudes climbing onto Mr. Riley’s boat, and Maggie somehow getting left behind.
What a perfect daydream.
“We’re gonna need some bait,” Mr. Riley said, pulling out a small digging shovel and his metal pail. “Whose turn is it?”