Monteverde Academy

Chapter-22

Everyone stared at him. 

"I'm in," I said, feeling reckless. Aria and Airell nodded and began stripping down. 

"What?" said Yves. "Verina please think about this. It's a really bad idea. All of you are pretty drunk and the sun's really bright over the other side of the lake." 

I ignored him and started stripping down. 

"Please don't do this." he pleaded. "Someone could get hurt." 

"Oh, don't be a spoilsport." snapped Eryx. "If you don't want to come, then don't. No one's forcing you." 

Bianca shook her head at me. I ignored her too. I was enjoying myself after such a long time and I didn't want to stop. A small voice at the back of my head warned me but I didn't listen to it either. I went ahead and dived in. Some more people joined in but most stayed on the edge. 

The water was cool and felt like silk on my skin. I swam ahead, enjoying the exercise. I swam for about five minutes when I heard screams. I hurried to the edge as fast as I could to see what all the commotion was about. 

It turned out Eryx had been so drunk that he had lost his sense of direction and was drifting towards the other side of the lake. I dived in again and started swimming towards him quickly, my heart hammering in my chest.  Why did I always like the dumbest of ideas? I ought to be more responsible. Airell joined me, and we raced towards Eryx. We reached him quickly. He had drifted over dangerously close to the sunlight. Here, the sun's heat was sweltering. It felt unbearable. 

I nodded to Airell and dived underwater. He did the same and helped me pull Eryx away from the sun. Together we managed to lug him to the edge. He had nearly passed out. His shoulder had been burnt but other than that he seemed fine. 

The party resumed after that, once everyone was convinced he was going to be alright, though it had lost its previous momentum. Some people stood around Eryx looking concerned until he brushed them off and told them to enjoy the party. Everyone else got increasingly drunk. I went to get another drink from Yves who was manning the drinks counter since Eryx had been hurt. 

"I told you not to go for a swim. Things could have ended badly, you know," he said, shaking his head. 

"I need a drink," I said. 

"Haven't you had enough? You should start acting more responsible. You weren't like this last year, letting people hurt themselves. You have changed Verina. I heard about that fight with your father." he said. 

"I am not in the mood for a lecture, Yves." I snapped and snatched a whole bottle off the counter. "And it's none of your business." 

 I stalked off in the direction of the boathouse and began drinking. I finished the drink and walked further into the trees. I froze. There was a huge boulder in the middle of the forest and two people were making out on the top. It was Airell and Oaklyn. I took a step back to get away when I spotted Aria standing some way off, a look of pure heartbreak on her face. I took a step towards her but she had turned and fled back to the party.