Footprints In The Sand - Michelle Horst Page 0,1

and then his attention is back to his phone as he answers it. He is always on his phone. I don’t think he knows of my existence, even though we live on the same street, take the same bus, and go to the same school. We even have some of the same classes. But to Seth Brody, I’m invisible, and I’d do anything to make him see me.

I listen unashamedly to every word that passes his lips. Every now and then I sneak a peek at him. He has grown a lot in the last year. We used to be the same height but now I hardly reach his shoulder.

Sadly, he stays on the phone until the bus comes. I follow him on and take my usual seat on the opposite side, so I can watch him from the corner of my eye.

Sigh … I wish he would notice me.

Soon we leave the RV park behind and enter the residential areas. When Marcus gets on at the next stop, Seth puts his phone away. I watch the boys do some weird fist bump greeting. They laugh a lot. I love Seth’s smile and wish he was laughing with me.

When the ride to school is over, I follow the boys off the bus. I stay a few steps behind them so it’s not too obvious. Paige comes tripling across the lawn and throws her arms around Seth’s neck. I roll my eyes and look away as she kisses him on the cheek.

Everyone loves Paige. She’s pretty, clever and sweet - just all round perfect. She reminds me of cotton candy, she’s always wearing pink.

It just sucks. I feel like a stalker when she’s around. The little hope I have of Seth seeing me fades to nothing.

~*~

School’s been out for a week already and I have not seen Seth once. I must be the only one who hates summer break, well, me and my best friend Natalie. She has to go visit her father every summer. I’m so bored when she’s not around. There’s not much to do in a RV so I spend most of my time at the beach.

I don’t bother with shoes, as they will only fill with sand. I love to feel the sand beneath my feet. I grab a book and weave my way through the RVs, in the direction of the beach. I love listening to the sound of the waves rolling in and lapping against the shore, while getting lost in a good book. Maybe that can take my mind of Seth for a short while. All these emotions for him can be overwhelming at times.

My chest expands with excitement as I get closer to Seth’s RV. As I’m about to walk by, I slow in the hopes of getting a glimpse of him. I’m almost past his RV when the door opens. Hope spikes in my chest only to be deflated when Mr. Brody steps out onto the small patch of green grass between the street and the RV.

“Morning, Lacey,” he calls out to me. “You’re up early. No sleeping in during break?”

I giggle nervously, “Just like going to the beach, Mr. Brody.”

“You take care out there. You’ve heard about the girls going missing? We wouldn’t want you to be one of them.”

I nod and quickly continue down the street. A few girls have gone missing. I don’t know any of them, just seen posters up everywhere and seen it on the news.

I find a spot close to the dock, where I have some shade to sit in. I dig my butt deep into the sand and rest my book on my knees. Soon I’m lost in the pages. Every time the sun starts to climb up my legs, I scoot along the dock, after the shade. I’m so caught up in my book that I don’t even notice other people arriving, until a ball slams hard into the book, causing it to slam into my face. I drop my book and grab the ball so I can throw it back.

“Aww … shit! You’re so white I didn’t even see you over there,” a boy calls out. I scowl up, catching the glare of the sun and have to squint to see who the jerk is. I recognize Hayden. He completes the trio with Seth and Marcus. I quickly glance around the strip of beach and feel elated when I spot Seth walking towards us. He’s wearing shorts and is shirtless, and it’s showing