Surfacing - Book One in the Swans Landing Series

Chapter 31

My feet led me down the hall, footsteps echoing in my ears, past the lockers and closed doors of classrooms, toward the front doors, toward him—

“Mara.” The voice was stern enough to invade my thoughts and stop me in my tracks just before I ran into Mr. Richter. He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled sternly at me, his lips pressed into a thin straight line.

“We did not finish our session on Wednesday when you decided to leave,” he said. “I’ve been trying to track you down for the last two days, but you seem to be a hard person to find.”

I had the urge to push Mr. Richter out of the way, but I knew that would only land me in even more trouble than I already had. “I’m sorry,” I said. “We’ll reschedule the appointment, but right now I really have to go.”

“I’ve already rescheduled the appointment,” he told me, reaching to place his hand on my back and steer me toward his open door. “For right now. You and I have a lot we need to discuss.”

I twisted out of his reach, backing away. “Now doesn’t work for me. I really have to do something before class.”

“Mara, I am very concerned for you,” Mr. Richter told me. “You’re endangering your future if you don’t learn to control your impulsive actions and keep sight of what is really important.”

Why couldn’t this man find some other poor sap to focus all his energy on? Why did I get to be the lucky recipient of his guidance at all the wrong times? My head spun and my body cried out, wanting salt, wanting the water, wanting Josh.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Richter,” I said, my impatience taking over, “but I don’t have time for this right now.”

I pushed past him and ran out the front door of Swans Landing School, the door cracking against the side of the building with the force of my exit. Josh wasn’t outside so I kept running, desperate to satisfy the hungry cravings inside me.

Tree limbs reached out to scratch my face as I ran, tripping and stumbling, through the path that led to Pirate’s Cove. I burst through the edge of the forest into the hazy noon sunlight, peeling off my shoes, socks, and jeans as I drew closer to the water.

The ocean welcomed me with a frigid hug that invigorated my body, tingling deep into my skin and making me gasp, filling my lungs with the saltwater. My back arched when the change began, my teeth grinding together against the pain that seized my body.

And then Josh was there. His arms slipped around me, his voice whispered in my ear as he sung the song for me. My fingers dug into his shoulders and I clung tight to him.

He kissed me as the worst of the pain passed, as my joints popped apart and reshaped themselves into fins. He wrapped his gleaming silver tail around my legs as they fused into gold scales. We floated, caught in the embrace of the ocean’s current, drifting slowly downward among fish and jellyfish and crabs.

We surfaced after some time, treading water. My left hand entwined with his right, fingers locked to make sure he couldn’t leave me.

“I’m sorry about my mom,” he told me.

I shook my head. “It’s fine. Forget about it.”

“She’s not always like that,” he said. “She doesn’t want to take her medicine anymore, doesn’t think she needs it. I can’t convince her that she does.”

I pressed my fingers to his lips. “It’s okay.”

He kissed my fingertips. “I thought she had scared you off.”

“I’m not an ordinary girl,” I said, trying to sound confident even though his mom had frightened me. “It takes a lot more than that to scare me.”