Playing for Keeps Read Online Free PDF Page B

good music.”
    The elevator doors began to close. The girl took a step forward, then paused, brushing back her hair. She let the door close again. “Never mind. I’ll ride down to five with you,” she said. “My name is Julieta Vargas.”
    “I’m Rosie Marstead,” I answered.
    “Sixteen? Seventeen?”
    “Sixteen.”
    “Me too.” Julieta leaned back against the elevator wall and sighed with relief. “I’m glad you’re aboard. I’ve been wandering around looking, but I’ve only met thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds so far.”
    The elevator stopped at deck five, and I said, “Here’s where I get out.”
    “Are you going shopping? Mind if I go with you?”
    “Sure.” I smiled, feeling much better. Here was someone my own age who wanted to be friends. I didn’t need Neil, and—no matter what Becca had predicted—I wasn’t looking for romance.
    At the desk I asked for a postcard of the ship, bought a stamp for it, then tried to think of a quick message that would fit. I needed to write something that would tell Mom exactly how I felt and how much I really loved her.
    Julieta watched, impatiently shifting from one foot to the other, but I tried not to let it bother me. I thought hard, but what could I really say on a postcard, open for anyone to read? I finally wrote,
Dear
Mom, This is a beautiful ship. I wish you were
here. I love you. Rose Ann.
    It wasn’t what I’d hoped to write, but it would do. I’d write another postcard later, when I had time to really think about what to say. I dropped it into the ship’s mailbox and walked with Julieta into the mall.
    “When the ship sails at five, there’ll be a calypso band on deck eleven, by the outside swimming pool,” Julieta said. “They’re having a
bon
voyage
party.”
    “How do you know all this?” I asked. We stepped into a shop that had racks of jackets, sweat-shirts, and T-shirts—all with the ship’s name and logo on them.
    “How do I know all this?” Julieta shrugged. “My parents and I live in Miami, so we go cruising every year. By now I’ve learned the drill.” She bent over a jewelry counter. “Pretty,” she said, pointing to some twisted gold costume-jewelry rings.
    But what caught my eye were pendants—silver replicas of sunken treasure edged in gold. “How much?” I asked the woman behind the counter. I knew Mom would love one of those.
    “The small ones are thirty-five dollars,” the woman answered. “They go up in price according to size. Each comes with a certificate.”
    “Thanks,” I said, and turned away. Thirtyfive dollars? That would be nearly all my spending money.
    I spotted Mr. Diago at the far end of the shop buying a navy blue T-shirt. Ricky still wasn’t with him. “Julieta,” I said, “if you know a lot about cruising, then you’ll know the answer to this. Could anyone get lost on board this ship?”
    “Lost like you don’t show up for dinner on time, because you’re still in the pool?”
    “No. I mean lost period. Like no one would know if you were on the ship or not.”
    “A stowaway? I don’t think so. No one gets on board without an identification card, and there are security people all over the place.”
    “I didn’t mean like a stowaway,” I said.
    Julieta tilted her head and studied me with a puzzled look on her face. “Well, what
did
you mean?”
    “I don’t know,” I said. “I’ve never been on a cruise ship before, and I suppose I was just thinking about how big this ship is.” I didn’t want to tell Julieta about Mr. Diago. I didn’t know her well enough. I wasn’t even sure what I was suspicious of yet. I wished Becca were on board to talk to.
    Julieta and I visited all the shops on the promenade, stopping to refuel at the serve-yourself ice cream bar.
    We were just finishing our cones when we heard an announcement that everyone aboard ship was required to be at their proper station for the compulsory lifeboat muster.
    “As soon as it’s over, meet me on deck eleven