“Evelyn!” she heard from the motorboat. It was Camilla’s voice, and Evelyn wasn’t surprised to hear it.
Slam, swing, hands, glide. Shorter strokes now, pick up the pace, she heard the imaginary cox in her head shouting. That’s it, you’ve got this, show them what you’re made of. Slamswinghandsglide, slamswinghandsglide.
“Evelyn!” Louder now. About to explode.
One and exhale on the stroke, two and inhale on the recovery.
“What are you doing here?” Clipped, short. (“What is she doing here?” from the boat; Camilla had brought backup.)
Evelyn saw three heads bob at her from within the motorboat.
“Evelyn, what are you doing in the Fruit Stripe?” Camilla maneuvered the motorboat closer. Camilla didn’t know yet that Evelyn was going to win this race. Didn’t know that in about twenty minutes, Evelyn would get out of her scull, sweating and victorious, and be surrounded by well-wishers, Scot and Mrs. Hacking and Souse and everyone she had met along the way.
“Isn’t that—” she heard Phoebe say loudly, and Camilla said what sounded like “The clematis is here,” which made no sense. Then a third voice said, “We should get her disqualified.” Evelyn twisted her head to see who it was, and it was Brooke. Back in. Which meant Camilla had replaced Evelyn, just as she had replaced Brooke after Brooke’s engagement, and Evelyn’s attempt to get Brooke on her side had failed. Camilla would always hold the power, and Evelyn was the new girl with the goggles.
Evelyn looked at the tip of the motorboat, which was darting closer to her, and tried to press her legs down harder. Stand up against the footboards, the invisible cox yelled. Move this boat on out of here.
“Evelyn! Who invited you?” Camilla said.
Slamswinghandsglide. Camilla, looming over the steering wheel and demanding to see an invitation as though this were a private party that she was hosting. Slamswinghandsglide, slamswinghandsglide, but now Evelyn’s back was hurting and she couldn’t swing quite as far. She pulled in her stomach muscles and tried to shore up her back with those. Slamswinghandsglide. Her legs were burning. She needed to move away from this.
“Did you know she was racing in this?” Phoebe was saying.
“Obviously she wasn’t. I mean, she was going to, with Mom’s boats, but that didn’t happen, clearly. This is some kind of insane scheme,” Camilla said.
“Where is she even staying?” said Brooke.
“Maybe she’s staying with the Hackings,” Camilla said. “Anyone who’ll take her in, right?”
Slamswinghandsglide. Evelyn had forgotten how good it felt to get a boat moving, once you got over the initial inertia. With a few heaves, she got it bulging out of the water and then half a boat length away, but Camilla followed.
“Maybe she’s having kind of a breakdown. With her father and everything,” Camilla shouted.
“Her father?” asked Phoebe.
“That trial lawyer who bribed people. It’s all over the news.”
Evelyn started to cough, then lustily hawked up a loogie and spewed it at the motorboat.
“Ew!” Phoebe cried. Camilla was saying something to the group, and Evelyn could hear that it was about her father’s guilty plea.
“I can hear you!” Evelyn yodeled, and Brooke looked up, startled; Camilla, though, seemed to be expecting this and stayed erect at the wheel.
“Evelyn, what are you doing? I thought I made it clear that you were not welcome here,” Camilla said, followed by a righteous “Hmmph!” from Phoebe.
“This is your lake?” Evelyn gulped in a breath of air, and realized this was a dumb tactical move, as it was certainly Camilla’s lake more than it was Evelyn’s.
Camilla didn’t see the opening. “This is bizarre,” she muttered to the ladies-in-waiting in the boat. “Nobody wants her here,” Camilla added, loudly enough that it skipped across the water, and Brooke bleated, “It’s crazy.”
“With Jaime—” Camilla began, but Evelyn, for what felt like the first time in her life, interrupted Camilla.
“What, Camilla’s mad about a boy? Camilla, who can sleep with anyone she wants, anytime she wants, is upset?” shouted Evelyn. “Did I disobey you? Do you get to make all the calls?”
“What are you trying to prove?” Camilla said.
“Maybe Evelyn should stop sleeping with people’s boyfriends,” Phoebe suggested.
“Maybe Jaime should stop sleeping with people’s girlfriends, too, but we don’t see him out here in the middle of ring-around-the-rosy, do we? Why do you have your little sister along for this ride, Camilla? What is this, a training session for her?” Evelyn shouted. “Maybe you should keep grown-up problems between grown-ups.”
“I’m eighteen,” Phoebe protested.
“Look, your lies about your father—” Camilla began.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I thought no one cared if people were indicted! Does that just apply to your New York circle, Camilla?”