May 19, 2018

Sometimes, I think that I might be an old lady at heart. I drive at least five miles under the speed limit at all times, I can't stay up past nine o'clock at night even as a sixteen year old, I wake up with the rising sun, and at least half of my friends are retirees. I suppose it's not a surprise that I had to be out the door at the crack of dawn to say goodbye to the Ogdens when their children visited Clearwater Lake to help them move into a retirement home, but what did surprise me was how much my life changed after the Ogdens moved away and Véro Arkoun moved into the neighborhood.

I couldn't sleep that Saturday morning with the sounds of trucks driving down the narrow, winding road going past our home and leading to Beatrice and Bernard Ogden's house. I tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but nothing could make me fall back asleep now that I was awake. After failing to count sheep, I climbed out of bed, took a quick shower, and threw on a blue and gold Clearwater Lake Yacht Club T-shirt and a pair of denim shorts. Then, I walked out to the kitchen, where my younger brother Everett was on his phone.

"Why are you up already?" Everett asked. "It's only seven o'clock!"

"Why are you awake then?" I asked him as I made myself a bagel.

"I've been up all night texting Louis," Everett explained.

"That's a terrible idea," I told him while spreading cream cheese on my bagel. "You need to get your sleep."

"Sleep is overrated," Everett said as he continued to play with his phone.

"What have you and Louis been talking about anyways?" I asked.

"We've just been exchanging memes," Everett said. "Louis is kind of lame anyways. His meme collection is way too small. Oh, and we're still in the midst of an argument over whether a taco would beat a grilled cheese sandwich in a fight."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Those are both food items. Neither of them could fight."

"That's not true at all!" Everett exclaimed. "A taco would totally beat up a grilled cheese sandwich because it has a hard shell. Louis says that the grilled cheese sandwich would win because it has more calories, but that's an awful argument."

"You're stupid for even caring about this," I said as I took a bite of my bagel.

"You're stupid for not caring, Sylvie!" Everett shouted. He snapped a picture of me with his phone, and he started to type something, but I was able to snatch the phone away before he could send the picture to Louis.

"My sister is the worst," I read as I deleted the photo and its caption. I shrugged, gave Everett his phone back, and finished off my bagel before Mom entered the kitchen.

"Can you two please stop arguing?" Mom asked. "It's Saturday morning, and your father and I would like to catch up on our sleep."

"Okay, Mom," I said. "We'll quiet down."

"Thank you, Sylvie," Mom said. She returned to her bedroom, while Everett grumbled something to himself and stared at his phone.

"I'm going to head next door to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Ogden," I told Everett. "Would you like to come along?"

"No thanks," Everett said. "I might go skateboarding later if it doesn't rain though."

"Make sure you tell Mom and Dad this time," I said. "You don't want them to go into a panic again." Everett rolled his eyes, while I put my dishes into the sink and then headed out the door. "See you later, Everett."

"Bye Sylvie," Everett said.

I took the long route to the Ogdens' so that I could go past the lake. As I walked along the Clearwater Lake shore, I watched a family of ducks swim through the muddy water, while my sailboat, Dory, and my parents', Seaclusion III, waited next to the pier. My grandparents' house was on the opposite side of Clearwater Lake, and I could spot it from the shore, along with the Culver's nearby. I wanted nothing more than to go sailing and enjoy some time on the water, but I had to visit the Ogdens first. I continued down the path away from the lake and towards their home.

It was a shock to all of us when Mr. and Mrs. Ogden announced that they were moving. Both of them had lived in Clearwater Lake since long before my parents were even born, and although both of them were suffering from various health problems, nobody ever thought that they would leave Clearwater Lake. The Ogdens had been a huge part of the yacht club - who would replace Mrs. Ogden on the judging committee? Who would bake a cake for the younger sailors' birthdays like Mr. Ogden? The Clearwater Lake Yacht Club just wouldn't be the same without them.

I approached the Ogdens' house, where their eldest son, who had driven into Clearwater Lake from Green Bay, was helping Mrs. Ogden into a car. It was strange to think about, but the Ogdens had great-grandchildren who were nearly my age, although I had never met any of them. All of the Ogdens' children had long since moved out of Clearwater Lake. "Sylvie!" Mrs. Ogden exclaimed when she saw me. "How are you doing, dear?"

"I'm fine," I said. "How are you?"

"Is that Edward's daughter?" Mr. Ogden said as he stumbled towards me. "I thought that you moved to Oregon."

"No, Bernard, this is Edward's granddaughter, Sylvie," Mrs. Ogden said. "She lives next door, don't you remember?"

"I'm sorry, Sylvie," Mr. Ogden said. "My memory has been failing me these days. You look just like Holly did when she was in high school."

It wasn't the first time that someone had compared me to my Aunt Holly, even though we had little in common other than our light brown skin and large, hazel eyes. I didn't see her all that often, but I had heard rumors about her visiting Clearwater Lake this summer, along with Uncle Chad and my cousins. "It's okay, Mr. Ogden," I said with a smile.

"Where's your brother?" Mrs. Ogden asked.

"He's inside," I answered. "I asked him if he wanted to come say goodbye to you two, but he wanted to text Louis instead."

"It's a shame," Mrs. Ogden said. "I would have liked to see him before we go."

"I wish he could have come. I'm going to miss you both," I said.

"We'll miss you too," Mrs. Ogden said as she hugged me weakly. "You'll like your new neighbors though. I haven't met them, but they seemed nice when I emailed them about the house."

"What are they like?" I asked.

"They're British, I think," Mr. Ogden said.

"No, they're French," Mrs. Ogden corrected. "It's a family of three - Farid, Gazala, and Véronique Arkoun. I think that Véronique is around your age, Sylvie. They said that they were from Paris, but the family originally came from Algeria."

"Interesting," I said, curious as to what my new neighbors would be like. In a close-knit community like Clearwater Lake, it was bizarre to think that within a week, the people living next door to me would be complete strangers. I could only hope that the Arkouns would be kind, decent people like most people in town. I knew that I would have to come over and see for myself as soon as I could.

"They'll like Clearwater Lake," Mrs. Ogden said. "Most people who come here do. It helps that they've cleaned up the lake a little bit."

"It's still worse than it was when I moved here," Mr. Ogden complained. "You kids need to step up. It's up to your generation to finish what we started."

"Okay, Mr. Ogden," I said.

"Bernard, don't lecture the poor girl," Mrs. Ogden said.

"I wasn't lecturing her!" Mr. Ogden argued.

"Yes, you were," Mrs. Ogden said.

"Fine," Mr. Ogden said. "Have you figured out where you're going to college, Sylvie?"

I laughed and said, "I'm only a junior in high school, Mr. Ogden. I have no idea where I'm going to college." Mom and Dad had taken me on a handful of college visits, but they hadn't helped much.

"Well, I remember Phil knew exactly where he was going to college when he was a junior!" Mr. Ogden exclaimed.

"No, he didn't," Mrs. Ogden said, and she was right. My father had said many times that he had waited until the last second to make his college decision.

"Mom, Dad, can we wrap up with the socializing?" the Ogdens' son asked from the front seat of the car. "We need to get going now."

"Oh, fine," Mrs. Ogden said as she gave me another hug. "It's been a pleasure living next to you and your family for so long. We'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too," I said as I gave Mr. Ogden a hug.

"Goodbye, Sylvie," Mr. Ogden said. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ogden waved to me as Mr. Ogden shut the car door and their son drove them away. I waved back and then headed back to my house. The sun was higher in the sky now, coating Clearwater Lake in a layer of morning light. The family of ducks was waddling on the shore, and the boats were floating in the same place that they always were. I wandered back to my house and opened the door. My parents were in the kitchen, eating their breakfast.

"Hi Sylvie," Dad said. "How were the Ogdens doing?"

"They seemed like they were doing okay," I said. "I wish that they didn't have to leave."

"Me too," Dad said. "It's going to weird having a new family in Clearwater Lake."

All of a sudden, Everett entered the room. "Mom, Dad, can I please go skateboarding?" he asked.

"Yes, as long as you don't go too far and keep your phone on you," Mom asked.

"Audrey, are you sure about that?" Dad said.

"It's better than him sitting around the house and playing video games, isn't it?" Mom said.

Dad considered this and then said, "Yes, you may go, Everett."

"Sweet!" Everett said. "I'm going to skateboard over by the Reinharts' house. Maybe Eden will finally notice me!"

"Eden will never notice you, Everett," I said. "She's out of your league."

Everett clearly wasn't listening to me. He rushed out the door with his skateboard, leaving me alone with my parents. "Can I go sailing?" I asked, wanting to clear my head.

"Yes, that's fine, Sylvie," Dad said, while Mom nodded.

"Thank you," I said. "I'll be back by lunchtime."

I went outside again, and thankfully, the wind was strong enough that I could sail, but light enough that I wouldn't need anyone else with me. I climbed into my boat and raised the sail, ready to spend some time on the lake. Once everything was set up, I steered the boat away from shore, careful to avoid crashing into the pier or running over the ducks that had re-entered the water. Sailing season wouldn't officially start until Memorial Day, so there weren't very many other people on the water, but I did spot one of the other yacht club members attempting to water ski. I sailed around him, and carefully moved back and forth across the lake until I reached a spot where I could stop and rest.

I dipped my toes into the cool, murky water, enjoying the feeling of being out on the water. A few waves rushed towards me, and I returned to the rudder and sheet line in order to keep the boat afloat. After a few more circles around the lake, with the wind making my wavy, dark brown hair frizzy, I turned back towards my house, but in the end, the lake was my home, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.