Brynna pressed herself to her feet, hearing the tear of her skirt as she stepped on the hem. She hunched and squinted, following the line of footprints.
Her head was pounding a painful rhythm now, and her stomach was doubling in on itself. Her limbs ached, and the sweat was dribbling from her forehead, stinging her eyes. But she couldn’t stop. She had to follow every footstep. She had to find Erica.
She rounded the corner and slowed as the enormous double doors that closed off the indoor pool swam in front of her. She reached her hands forward and pressed on until she gripped the handles, feeling a horrifying tremor shoot through her when the doors didn’t move. They were locked.
She could feel her temperature ratchet up, and she knew that something was desperately wrong. She went to the window and cupped her hands, her stomach going to liquid.
The light was on in the Olympic-sized pool, a watery yellow spreading down the length of the gently lapping water. It glistened on the edges of a girl, creating fairylike sparkles on her long, black hair as it fanned around her head while she floated facedown in the water.
“Erica!”
Brynna pounded on the glass and yanked on the doors but nothing happened. The girl still floated effortlessly, her body buoyant, her limbs pale-colored under the water. When Brynna leaned in harder, she noticed that Erica was wearing a dress—a green dress with ruching and pick-ups, and the glinting color underneath her black tresses was a bright, cherry red.
“Lauren!”
“Brynna!” Teddy rounded the corner and stopped short, his eyes wide as she struggled against the door, pounding, desperate.
“Teddy, it’s Lauren! She’s in there! She’s in the pool!” Brynna tried to form the words but it took effort. Her mouth felt numb and her head felt tight. Teddy’s image wobbled, and she spread her feet to try to steady herself. When she blinked, Darcy was there too, and Evan.
“Lauren?”
Lauren walked around the corner then, her face screwed up in confusion as she took Brynna in.
Brynna took a step backward and pressed her palm to her forehead. “I don’t—I don’t—”
She glanced back through the windows toward the indoor pool and gripped the door. It was black beyond the window. There were no lights, no pool, no glistening body floating peacefully. It was just…blackness.
“I think I need to sit down now.”
Teddy rushed to her side just in time for Brynna’s knees to wobble then finally give out. She sat down hard on the cool linoleum and heard someone chuckle in front of her. When she looked up, most of her class was in front of her, gathered just beyond Darcy and Lauren and Evan who were giving her disgusted looks.
“Dude, that girl is trashed!” someone muttered.
“Wasted!” someone agreed.
“No.” Brynna shook her head, pressing her palms against her temples. “I didn’t drink. I don’t drink anymore.”
“You don’t have to lie, Brynna,” Darcy said, her white satin shoes just inches from Brynna.
“No.”
“Excuse me, excuse me.”
Brynna looked up when Mr. Fallbrook pushed through the stream of students. They split, making way for him, and he crouched down in front of Brynna. She stared at his hand splayed on his knee, at the fat class ring that was on his finger. It mesmerized her.
“Are you okay, Brynna?”
Brynna felt Teddy’s arm tighten around her, and though she wanted to answer, the darkness was closing in. Shadows nipped at her periphery, and the sounds of students backing up and disappearing was fading too.
“She’s fine, Mr. F. Please?”
An exchange took place but Brynna couldn’t follow it. Her eyes felt so heavy and everything was taking such effort. Just breathing, blinking—it was exhausting. She rested her head against Teddy’s shoulder and gripped the lapels of his jacket.
“Teddy,” she said, her lips feeling dry and chapped. “Teddy, I want to go home now.”
She felt someone else reach out for her, and when she looked, she was able to make out Mr. Fallbrook’s face. He was looking back and forth with a slightly panicked grimace, and voices buzzed around her, slowed, stretched out, like her iPod on its last battery leg.
Out of nowhere, a wave of terror shot through Brynna and she rolled onto her knees.
“Lauren?”
Lauren knelt in front of her and Brynna tried to focus. “You were in the water,” she said in a heavy whisper. “I saw you in the water.”
“No, Brynna, I wasn’t.” Lauren drew nearer, her lips against Brynna’s ear. “Brynna, what happened to you? What are you on?”
“I think I should call her parents.” Mr. Fallbrook’s stern voice was unusually focused, and Brynna looked toward it.
“Please, Mr. F, she’s okay. She just had a little too much to drink.”
“The punch,” Brynna mumbled. “There was something in the punch.”
Her head continued the drumbeat, and stars shot bright light in front of her eyes. “Booze and something else.”
“She doesn’t look—”
“Olivia Shea is throwing up in the gym.”