stare down at the water as I walk. Frothy whitecaps dot the sea.
The voices of the group sound distant, carried off by the wind. When I reach the end of the dock, I hoist myself up on the railing and crawl over so that I’m standing on the opposite side.
The drop is farther than I expected.
I look back. The whites of Brynn’s eyes stand out against the night.
I’m an excellent swimmer. I have been since I was five, and teenagers have done things far more stupid than jumping off a pier at night. A list of all the things I’ve never done
scrolls at rapid speed through my head.
Not anymore.
The swelling throb of my heart pounds inside me like dramatic background music that nobody else can hear.
Without another thought, I release my grip on the railing. The air rushes up to meet me. My stomach leaps into my throat. A shriek escapes just before I plunge into the ocean.
The cold water clenches around my chest. I open my eyes and stare up. The blackness is complete. My legs beat and my arms churn. I struggle upward.
My mouth breaks the surface in a loud, ugly gasp. I tilt my head back. Everyone is cheering and shaking their fists in the air. My teeth chatter uncontrollably as I tread water. Exhausted, I let
my head fall below again and then bob back up.
Salt stings my eyes. I toss my head and then, underneath the pier, next to our campfire, I spot the outline of a person. In the smoke and shadows, he feels familiar and, although all I can make
out is the silhouette, I have the unmistakable feeling that he’s watching.
After the lab incident—not to mention my leap from the pier—whispers follow me around school. They snake around me, cling to my clothes, and get tangled up in my
hair. Stepping through them is like passing through a cloud of buzzing gnats; all I can do is keep my mouth shut and hope that none fly up my nostrils.
I’m making my way down the covered archway with Brynn. The morning fog has turned to drizzle, and the smell of wet grass and mud fills the air.
“Do you think she just snapped?” I hear someone murmur behind me. I fight the urge to look back.
“Were you there?” another voice responds.
I chew the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. I know this isn’t what one would call good publicity. But people
noticed
me.
Brynn must misread my worried cheek-chewing, because she wraps her arm protectively over my backpack. “Jackasses,” she says loud enough for the culprits to hear.
“It’s fine,” I mutter, not wanting her to cause a scene. Scratch that. Not wanting her to
stop
the scene. It’s as if I’ve turned a key and unlocked the
secret chamber.
Click
. I’ve become visible again.
My hands tingle like they’ve been zapped with electricity. I’m buzzing with the same energy I used to feel poised on top of the dive stand. Goggles locked over my eyes, swim cap
pointed toward the water.
Brynn unfurls her arm. Her blue-polished nails disappear into the pocket of her sweatshirt. “You have one public freak-out and all of a sudden you can’t catch a break, am I
right?”
I let out a soft snort. “I know. If I was on reality TV, that wouldn’t even make the filler reel.”
“My thoughts exactly. I mean, I think people should at least wait until you’re running around naked before making a big deal out of it.”
Brynn drops me off at Calc, where two girls are already sitting a row back. One of them is Tess, and with her elbow propped up on a desk and not a drop of makeup on her face, she must be nursing
a wicked hangover. Can’t say she doesn’t deserve it.
I slide into my desk and begin copying down our teacher’s notes from the whiteboard. From behind, clipped, tittering whispers reach me. I think they’re talking about me. My shoulders
tense. Being noticed is one thing, but if Tess Collars forgot I lived on this planet, I’d be totally okay with that.
I sit back in my chair to listen.
“Where do you think he’s from?” I hear Caroline ask.
“How
The voices of the group sound distant, carried off by the wind. When I reach the end of the dock, I hoist myself up on the railing and crawl over so that I’m standing on the opposite side.
The drop is farther than I expected.
I look back. The whites of Brynn’s eyes stand out against the night.
I’m an excellent swimmer. I have been since I was five, and teenagers have done things far more stupid than jumping off a pier at night. A list of all the things I’ve never done
scrolls at rapid speed through my head.
Not anymore.
The swelling throb of my heart pounds inside me like dramatic background music that nobody else can hear.
Without another thought, I release my grip on the railing. The air rushes up to meet me. My stomach leaps into my throat. A shriek escapes just before I plunge into the ocean.
The cold water clenches around my chest. I open my eyes and stare up. The blackness is complete. My legs beat and my arms churn. I struggle upward.
My mouth breaks the surface in a loud, ugly gasp. I tilt my head back. Everyone is cheering and shaking their fists in the air. My teeth chatter uncontrollably as I tread water. Exhausted, I let
my head fall below again and then bob back up.
Salt stings my eyes. I toss my head and then, underneath the pier, next to our campfire, I spot the outline of a person. In the smoke and shadows, he feels familiar and, although all I can make
out is the silhouette, I have the unmistakable feeling that he’s watching.
After the lab incident—not to mention my leap from the pier—whispers follow me around school. They snake around me, cling to my clothes, and get tangled up in my
hair. Stepping through them is like passing through a cloud of buzzing gnats; all I can do is keep my mouth shut and hope that none fly up my nostrils.
I’m making my way down the covered archway with Brynn. The morning fog has turned to drizzle, and the smell of wet grass and mud fills the air.
“Do you think she just snapped?” I hear someone murmur behind me. I fight the urge to look back.
“Were you there?” another voice responds.
I chew the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. I know this isn’t what one would call good publicity. But people
noticed
me.
Brynn must misread my worried cheek-chewing, because she wraps her arm protectively over my backpack. “Jackasses,” she says loud enough for the culprits to hear.
“It’s fine,” I mutter, not wanting her to cause a scene. Scratch that. Not wanting her to
stop
the scene. It’s as if I’ve turned a key and unlocked the
secret chamber.
Click
. I’ve become visible again.
My hands tingle like they’ve been zapped with electricity. I’m buzzing with the same energy I used to feel poised on top of the dive stand. Goggles locked over my eyes, swim cap
pointed toward the water.
Brynn unfurls her arm. Her blue-polished nails disappear into the pocket of her sweatshirt. “You have one public freak-out and all of a sudden you can’t catch a break, am I
right?”
I let out a soft snort. “I know. If I was on reality TV, that wouldn’t even make the filler reel.”
“My thoughts exactly. I mean, I think people should at least wait until you’re running around naked before making a big deal out of it.”
Brynn drops me off at Calc, where two girls are already sitting a row back. One of them is Tess, and with her elbow propped up on a desk and not a drop of makeup on her face, she must be nursing
a wicked hangover. Can’t say she doesn’t deserve it.
I slide into my desk and begin copying down our teacher’s notes from the whiteboard. From behind, clipped, tittering whispers reach me. I think they’re talking about me. My shoulders
tense. Being noticed is one thing, but if Tess Collars forgot I lived on this planet, I’d be totally okay with that.
I sit back in my chair to listen.
“Where do you think he’s from?” I hear Caroline ask.
“How
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