Moonglass

be our last breakfast down here, because the only thing I like to order is the macadamia pancakes, and they’re totally fatty.”
    I had to say something. Anything. “Huh. I don’t think I could swear off pancakes.” Lame, but what did she want me to say? tell her that she clearly didn’t need to diet? That lugging that bag around with her dog in it was probably workout enough for her skinny arms?
    She looked me over, then smiled sweetly. “Well, could you imagine what you would look like if you ran and watched what you ate? My mom is, like, the queen of working out and dieting, and she hasn’t even had to have lipo yet or anything. well, besides Botox, but she’s almost forty-five . Can you imagine?” She smiled, clearly proud, and a little breathless. I pursed my lips together, hard, trying not to smile. She was actually serious. She went on. “So are you here on vacation or something?”
    “Actually, I just moved here. Last night.”
    She stuck out her tiny French-manicured hand. “I’m Ashley Whitmore. I would have been the sixth if I was a boy.” I shook her hand and was surprised that she had a good, firm handshake. I half-expected her to curtsy or something.
    “I’m Anna. Ryan.” We stood for a moment, looking out toward the water, and I felt totally justified in my earlier assumptions about the people I’d be going to school with. I wished Shelby and Laura could meet this girl, just to see that people like her really existed. Maybe I’d call them later.
    I turned south to hide my smile, and something caught my eye. It was a man, and he was … crawling ? I shaded my eyes and squinted down the beach at him, trying to make sense of it or see if I was wrong. I wasn’t. He was an old man, bear-crawling on the tips of his fingers and toes toward us. I watched, waiting for him to stand up or sit down or something, but he just kept … crawling. Ashley sidled up to me with an easy friendliness that made me feel a little guilty.
    “So. Where are you going to school?” Only half-listening, I squinted at something that swung back and forth from the man’s neck.
    “Oh, um, I’m going to Coast High.” As he crawled closer, I could make out several things hanging from his neck. I could also see that he had his ankles wrapped in white tape that stood out against his taught, thin legs. Ashley put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
    “ Serious? That’s where I’m going! I’m transferring from private school because my parents say I need a bigger taste of the ‘real world.’” She chewed her gum thoughtfully, and I wondered how “Real” Coast High, in the richest part of Orange County, could actually be. “I don’t really mind, because I hated our uniforms. And the girls there could be kind of catty.” I caught a whiff of watermelon as she turned to me, cracking her gum. “We should maybe stick together—so we’re not, like, alone at first. I don’t know anybody who goes there.” She took a breath, and I could see that a new thought had come into her head. “Hey! Why don’t you run on the cross-country team with me? It could help us both out.” I looked at her. “What do you mean?”
    “Well, you know, you’re all athletic and pretty in a strong sort of way. You kind of have a surfer-girl thing going for you, with your brown skin and the wavy blond hair and all. If you join with me, you could help me run fast, and I could help you diet and totally perfect how pretty you already are!” I’d been watching the crawling man approaching the sand in front of us, but now three of the four things she’d said processed, and simultaneously I wondered if I needed to diet and whether or not she had ever been punched. Then I wondered if she was this friendly with everyone. She was smiling, like she’d thought up the greatest idea ever.
    I cleared my throat, stalling for an answer she wouldn’t be able to argue with. “Um … I usually just like to run by myself. And I think I’ll be fine without a diet.
    Besides, don’t you think junior year is a little late to start a new sport?” The crawling man was directly in front of us, and I could now see that the things hanging from his neck were crosses of different sizes. They swung heavily, making his unnaturall crawl look even more painful. What in the world? People here were turning out to be all kinds of crazy.
    Ashley breezed on. “Oh, I don’t care about doing good in the races or anything. Besides, you looked fast. And if