The Original Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 0.50)

Mandy giggled. “Tristan can’t stand her family.”

Okay, the girl was being sarcastic.

I saw Amber and Sasha at the other end of the cave. They were talking with two other girls.

r /> “Where’s Jasmine?” I asked, not really believing I had even noticed her absence or that I’d even asked.

“She had detention….Oh! Ah!” Mandy cried out.

“What?”

“We were supposed to go and see Mrs. Maslow, remember? That was today, after school.” She actually sounded worried.

I raised my eyebrows. “Are you kidding me? She can yell at us tomorrow, if she even remembered.”

“Why were you supposed to go see her?” Tristan asked.

“Because we—” Mandy started to say.

I interrupted and said flatly, “We had a shouting match. Our teacher overheard. The end.”

“Taryn.” Seriously, why does Mandy continue to be shocked with how I say things? She should be used to me by now.

“Oh.” Tristan fell silent, eyeing both of us intently.

“What?” I asked, shrugging, finishing my water.

“We could get into a lot of trouble. We should call her.”

“Right.” I reached for another bottle. “You call her—half-drunk. I know I’m not calling. She was probably just going to make us sit in chairs and look at each other. Really. She’s a psych teacher.”

“Yeah, but—” Mandy was chewing on her lip.

I said firmly, “Mandy, leave it alone. If she brings it up tomorrow, we’ll just tell her we forgot. And we did. Tell her it was the excitement of play-offs and we forgot after the pep rally. Who wouldn’t, after watching a game of ultimate Frisbees with donkeys?” I grinned.

Mandy giggled. So did Erin.

Tristan looked perplexed or constipated—I always get the two mixed up.

Suddenly there was a large crash in the water, startling everyone. I even jumped slightly.

The pony-keg must’ve been empty and they guys had dropped it down. One of the guys ran down the trail and pulled it to the side, lifting it onto the ground. Then, one by one, each of the guys jumped off.

The guy, whoever he was, walked over and handed my clothes to me.

I couldn’t stop a grin. Tray had thought about me.

And I couldn’t do any more thinking because Carter and Tray ran over and picked Mandy and myself up. Each tossed us into the water. I just laughed, waiting for the water to envelope me, but Mandy shrieked, pretending she was scared and mad.

I rolled my eyes and pulled myself out of the water.

Tray was helping Erin and Tristan pack everything in the cooler, but he was watching me over his shoulder.

Our eyes met and held.

I walked to his side and grabbed my clothes. I slipped the tank-top and the skirt on. The skirt was loose and flowing, so perfect swimming clothing. The tank-top was quickly soaked and hugged my curves. Tray didn’t mind, I saw his eyes move up and down my body. I rolled my eyes again—like it wasn’t something he hasn’t seen before.

Hearing a small cough, I looked over and saw Tristan watching us, glancing between Tray and me. She gave me a weak smile. “We’re…huh…we’re heading out. You need a ride or anything?”