Page 42 of Valley Girls
Dropping the cam, Rilla turned and rushed for the door without looking at anything but her feet. Her burger was clutched, smashed, and cold in her hand. She’d forgotten about it. This had been a silly mistake. She should have known better. She threw it in the trash and walked as fast as she could.Away.
Trying to get to the woods before she burst into tears in front of someone, she reeled off the path toward the river. It was impossible not to notice Walker, in a fluorescent shirt, and a beautiful girl with long blond hair tucked under his arm. Like they were there just to drive the point home—there was an uncharted valley between her and the things she wanted. It wasn’t really about climbing. Or about something as stupid as a boy she barely knew. It was that she’d, for one second, let go of what she’d left and reached for something ahead—and had her hand slapped in consequence.
With tears streaming down her face, she crossed into the dark shelter of the pines, feeling stupider the more she cried, and crying harder the stupider she felt.
Fourteen
Rilla found Jonah drinking water in the shade outside the service entrance to the big cafeteria. His gaze swept over her—a bemused smile flickering across his face as he leaned against the brown slats of the building and looked at her. “You’re looking more like Yosemite today.”
“Lobsters are so California, I know.” She tugged at her shorts, pretending to curtsey.
He smirked.
“You working right now?” she asked.
“I need to finish putting the trash in the dumpster.” He gestured with his middle finger to the pile of slick black trash bags. Flies circled overhead.
The sound of clinking metal echoed in her head and she blurted out, “Give me five bucks and I’ll do it for you.”
He laughed. “Five dollars? That’s a little steep.”
“A dollar a bag? That’s five.”
He took another drink of his water and seemed to think. “You’re just going to give it back to me for weed.”
“I mean ... I keep trying to stop.” She crossed her arms. “Can I go running with you sometime? Is there, like, a secret formula for being good at sports? I just want to get like ... not as much as a lazy toad. I don’t want to run ultramarathons or even a marathon. Or even a half. Or quarter. Or—”
“All right. Fine. Take my money. Just stop talking.” He rolled his eyes. “You have a deal.”
Rilla grinned. “Deal.” Trying to avoid stepping in the puddles leaking from the garbage, she grabbed one off the top and lugged it over to the Dumpster. A trail oozed behind.
“What do you need five dollars for?” Jonah asked.
Rilla hauled a bag over her head, sore muscles screaming and her stomach rolling from the curdled smell. It fell over the edge of the Dumpster and dropped inside. She made a face at her sticky hands. “I don’t know. I don’t have a job.”
“You could get a job here.”
“Don’t you have to be eighteen?” she asked, grabbing two bags this time.
“Oh. Right. Yeah. You’re right.”
“Are you here just to run?” she asked, before realizing it sounded sort of harsh. “I mean, what made you want to work in Yosemite?”
He shrugged, smoking. “I wanted to travel, but didn’t have money just to travel. So, I’ll work here. See what I can do next. I can run anywhere, but not everywhere is this beautiful.”
The last bag didn’t quite make it over and Rilla squealed and jumped out of the way. It plopped on the asphalt. Thankfully, intact.
“I think I made out on this deal,” Jonah said.
She heaved the bag over in a second effort. This time it made it in. “I need to go wash my hands,” she said.
“I’m going to go clock out. I’ll meet you outside the bathroom.” He kicked up and went inside.
Holding her hands far from her body, she trudged up the hill to the bathrooms and washed her hands, face, and arms until she couldn’t smell trash on herself anymore.
Jonah waited outside with a fountain soda in his hand. “My treat.” He handed it over and then dug in his pocket. “And your five dollars.”
She smiled and stuffed it into the top of her sock. “Thanks.”
