Vacations from Hell

Liz nods. “Yeah. You don’t mind, do you? I like her. I think she’ll be fun. I gave her the choice, of course. She said she was up for something new. She doubts her mom will even notice she’s different.”

Laughter wafts from the other end of the deck. We look up. Two college guys are walking over to us. One of the guys is wearing a Yankees hat.

Hailey pushes herself up on her elbows.

“You okay?” I ask.

She nods, and then, her hand no longer shaking, points to the guy in the hat and whispers, “Dibs.”

I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend

CLAUDIA GRAY

Part One

VACATION CHECKLIST

sundress

sandals

black bikini in case I am feeling brave

purple one-piece in case I am being chicken

stovetop autoclave

sunglasses

crushed clamshell

snake venom

moth wings

iPod

SELF-IMPROVEMENT GOALS

This year at the Outer Banks I will:

be nicer to Theo, who Mom swears looks up to me even if he shows it by putting dead starfish in my shoes

review stuff with Mom alone after coven meetings so I don’t forget it all before we get home

ignore Kathleen Pruitt’s bitchery because I am too good to stoop to her level

“I know you’re methodical, but this is ridiculous.”

Cecily Harper looked up from her notepad to see her father standing in the doorway, arms folded across his chest and a smile on his face. She underlined her last words with a theatrical flourish. “You know, making lists is one of the seven habits of highly effective people.”

“Honey, I’m used to your lists,” her father said. “You started making them as soon as you could spell. But your suitcase—you packed all your clothes by color.”

She looked at her open suitcase on the bed. The whites were nestled at one end, the blacks at the other, with the brighter shades in between. Shrugging, Cecily said, “Well, how do you do it?”

Affectionately he tousled her hair. This was slightly annoying, because she’d just fixed her ponytail, but Cecily didn’t worry about it for very long. She was much more worried about the fact that her father had caught sight of something unusual in her suitcase.

He picked up the vial of moth wings and frowned. “What is this?”