Page 56 of That Last Summer

“Well, I don’t.”

“That’s a shame.” Because I’ll keep using it, was what Alex thought.

They started off again, and when Alex overtook her to take the lead, he said, “So you noticed my muscles.”

“I was joking,” she replied.

“Yeah, sure.”

“You, silly!”

“Catch me up, Queen of the Desert!”

And she followed him, chatting nonstop and teasing him for using that nickname she hated. For a long time she’d thought her mother had outdone herself when she named her and her brother, River. Being Priscila hadn’t had too many consequences until 1994, when she was five years old and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was released. From then on, it was non-stop torture.

Alex loved to see her talk without rest even though she was short of breath from physical exertion. The girl could talk the hind legs off a donkey, spinning from one topic to another effortlessly even if the subjects had nothing to do with each other. One instant she was giving him shit for calling her Queen of the Desert and the next she was pointing out the shapes of the very few clouds hovering over them, or the flocks of birds in the sky. Fascinating spectacles, she called them, but for Alex, the fascinating spectacle was her.

He watched her, completely captivated by her personality, until they reached the edge of the forest and got off their bikes. They walked the rest of the way; it was difficult to ride on such uneven ground. Rays of sunlight filtered through the branches of the trees as they dragged their bicycles—hands on the handlebars—and talked about a little bit of everything.

When Alex left his bike against a tree trunk, Priscila did the same. They were deep in the woods now, so she couldn’t see anything much. Her neighbor didn’t help in that regard when he covered her eyes with his hands, depriving her of any visibility at all, and helped her walk.

Priscila felt the clarity of the blue sky before the warmth of the sun caressed her body.

“Ready?” Alex asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

Alex withdrew his hands from her face and in the same instant, Priscila opened her eyes and discovered where they were. She knew this place.

“Jellyfish Cove.”

“What did you call it?” Alex asked, amused.

“My parents won’t let us come here. Well, what they say is that we can’t swim here. It’s full of jellyfish, hence the name. It was Marcos’ idea.” She shuddered at the memory of last summer, not sure if it was because of the jellyfish sting itself or because of how Alex took care of her that day.

“That’s true, that’s why it’s always deserted. Wait, Marcos is the muscly one?” Alex asked as they walked across the sand and neared the shore.

“Oh my gosh! You can’t be calling anyone muscly!” she replied, amused. “But okay yes, he is. He’s been preparing for the National Police Corps tests for years, like River.”

“But isn’t River the computer geek? I get lost with so many brothers.”

“Yes, River’s degree is in Computer Engineering, but you know there are computer scientists in the National Police too.”

“Yeah, I guess, but let’s put the Cabana brothers aside for now. Do you want me to tell you my first secret?”

“Yes, I do,” she said flirtatiously, stopping a few inches from the water.

“Well then, here goes: I come here so I can swim freely. This is my favorite place to train.”

“What, here?”

“Yup.”

“But... what about the jellyfish?”

“I have them under control. Do you want me to teach you how?”