Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Sugar floods my senses as I pop another fun-size candy bar in my mouth, courtesy of trick-or-treating.
The steady splash of arms and legs churning pool water echoes off the aquatic center walls, with the occasional sound of Kim calling out corrections.
The chlorine scent and humid air would generally make me feel wrapped in a comfortable, familiar cocoon, but not today.
From my spot leaning against a wall, Analiese flies through her laps with determination.
She currently has a pull buoy between her legs so she can swim without having to kick her legs and aggravate her injured ankle.
Maybe all those flip turns the other day were actually detrimental to her recovery, but I don’t care enough to ask.
Coach Kim made it clear Analiese could take care of herself, and I’d rather stab myself in the foot than start a conversation with her.
As the sugar high hits, I float back to memories of Halloween night with Hunter and Jake.
The three of us had a blast joking around as we toured the neighborhood, then we watched Hocus Pocus while eating way too many sweets.
During the movie, I’d kept checking my phone for texts from Braden (there were none), though I did get a text from my dad confirming that he’d be home for Thanksgiving.
It will be amazing to see him, but there’s definitely potential for tension between Mom and him.
Towards the end of the movie, I dozed with my head on Jake’s shoulder.
Maybe I should have been embarrassed to be using him like a pillow, but he didn’t seem to mind.
In fact, when I startled awake and lifted my head off him, he used one of his hands to push me back down and patted me on the head gently.
He was warm and nice and comforting, and I tried my best not to feel weird about it.
Jake said himself that he wanted to be friends with me and that’s what close friends do, right?
Popping her head out of the water, Analiese whips off her goggles and glances at the clock.
She climbs out of the pool, and I hand over her crutches—not because I want to, but because Kim is standing across the pool finishing drills with the other swimmers.
Passing someone crutches doesn’t require conversation, but I need to do everything possible to appear ready to be swim captain.
If Kim glances over, she needs to see the ultimate team player.
“Your stroke has gotten stronger,” I say. “Even with the ankle.”
Internally, I give myself a pat on the back for sounding genuine. If complimenting Analiese means she’ll tell Kim I’ve done a good job with this class, I can suck up to my nemesis. Within reason, of course.
She looks at me with her brows furrowed, like she’s searching my expression for signs that I’m being sarcastic. My face must not pass the inspection, or maybe Analiese is just in a bad mood.
“I should be off the crutches next week, then I’ll be back to running the week after that.” She pauses to sniff and adjust the crutches. “So this whole ‘supportive teammate’ routine won’t be necessary much longer. Until swim season, anyway.”
I sigh. “Take the compliment, Analiese. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Yeah, sure. You can pretend you meant it, I guess, but I don’t have to.” She swings away on her crutches.
In the locker room, I change into my clothes for school and grab my backpack out of my swim locker. A quick peek at my tablet shows me that I have a Connection Services message from Mr. Pi that I still haven’t looked at since Halloween.
31415: Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Did you have a fun Halloween,
Or should I make it up to you?
I smile and shake my head. What in the world? We’re sending poems now?
80085 [Me]: That’s possibly the worst poem I’ve ever had the misfortune to read.
80085 [Me]: Make it up to me how? We don’t know who each other is, and we didn’t have plans.
31415: Hmm. Good point. Truth be told, I used an AI chatbot to write that poem, so don’t blame it on me.
A laugh bubbles out of me. Ridiculous! Maybe he did write the poem and was embarrassed, so he attributed it to artificial intelligence.
“What’s so funny?” Analiese’s nasally voice interrupts my thoughts. She’s dressed and wearing her backpack, hobbling towards me on her crutches. Ignoring her or lying are possible options here, but I’m too tired to spin another story, so I simply tell her the truth.
“One of my Connections sent me a terrible poem.”
“Like a love poem?”
I huff. “Of course not. Why would he send me a love poem? We don’t even know each other. It was just something silly about Halloween.”
Analiese frowns in thought. Why does she always have to look so sour?
“This whole Connections thing is weird, isn’t it? One of mine was asking me to help her psychoanalyze her MIA long-distance boyfriend and some butt-dialing situation. At least I assume it is a girl because a high school boy would never think so deeply about such a thing.”
My heart immediately drops into the depths of the earth. Like straight into the earth’s molten core. Melted. Gone.
Is—Analiese—?
No. It can’t be. A drop of sweat beads on my forehead and trails down my temple. There’s no way this can be reality. I thought the D in calculus was catastrophic, but this… this feels life-ending.
Is Analiese Price, my sworn enemy since sixth grade, one of my connections?! Of all the hundreds of people in this school, it had to be her? I confided in her?
My mouth must have been gaping like a fish, which Analiese interprets as interest in her story. She continues.
“I know, right? First of all, who does long distance in high school? Teenagers can barely wait to have a snack, let alone wait for months or years until they can be with the person they supposedly love, if they can even be in love. I doubt that's even possible. I don’t buy into the whole ‘Romeo and Juliet’ thing in high school.” She pauses thoughtfully. “Except you and Braden, naturally.”
The wheels in her head are turning, probably realizing that my relationship with Braden makes me a candidate for her lovesick, pathetic connection.
I shake my head, trying to gather my thoughts.
It’s absolutely imperative that Analiese does not connect that conversation with me! Time to go on the offensive.
I casually wave a hand, hoping to keep the emotional riot inside my body under wraps. “People grow apart and change. Braden and I knew that was likely to happen, but we keep in touch here and there.”
Lies, lies, lies. I never wanted Braden and me to change!
“Right,” Analiese says flatly. Her gaze feels like a truth-seeking laser beam.
“Anyway,” I tilt my chin, “I’m surprised you have any connections. Don’t you need social interaction and interests to even be matched up with anyone?”
A deep flush stains Analiese’s neck and cheeks, and I immediately feel a tiny prick of shame. Then I remember all the horrible things she’s done to me over the years and shove that feeling down. Too bad I lit the match. Analiese takes a deep breath and unleashes on me.
“You think you’re so much better than me, but you’re not, Avery James.
Braden may have been your boyfriend all those years, but he’s gone now and he’s a liar.
I know that was you. Who else would it be?
It’s so pathetic that you’re sitting around waiting for crumbs of his attention while he parties with other girls.
At least I have the self-respect to not settle for something like that. ”
My entire body flinches. She keeps going.
“Also, you suck at math and you wouldn’t be able to survive without all your stupid planners. Being organized isn’t a superpower. Get over it and stop being so proud of your ugly stickers.”
A gasp escapes me. She did not just go there!
“Maybe your dad takes jobs halfway around the world because he’s as sick of you as the rest of us.”
With her last parting shot, Analiese shoulder-checks me as she swings away on her crutches.
My breathing feels jagged and uneven; the locker room begins to spin and nausea rises.
What if Analiese uses this information against me somehow?
I certainly wouldn’t put it past her. I urgently open the zipped pocket in the front of my backpack and pull out a small pouch of M&Ms, immediately tearing into it and stress-eating them in seconds.
My shaking hands steady as the sugar hits.
Maybe I needed to talk to the principal about the dangers of this Connection Services business. Surely they would shut it down if students were being bullied?
The warning bell sounds, breaking my spiral.
A few slow breaths calm the zings of anxiety as I head for the stairs.
A plan begins to form. During lunch I’ll pop into the office to talk to Principal Fisher.
I’ll give her a quick, multi-point verbal presentation that will blow her socks off, convincing her to shut down the beta program entirely.
Easy peasy. One more deep breath. This is totally doable.
Spanish, AP lit, physics, and AP calculus fly by.
Admittedly, steering clear of Analiese and Jake takes up 90% of my attention.
The other 10% goes to outlining my pitch in my notebook.
Avoiding Analiese is a must for obvious reasons, though I’m mostly avoiding Jake because he’s nosey and a huge distraction I don’t need when I’m under a tight deadline.
When the lunch bell rings, I’m up and out of my chair before most students have even registered the sound, booking it to the office.
Normally when I visit the office during lunch, the admin ladies greet me by name, and we chat for a few minutes. I ask Sue about her latest foster pets, or Alice about her grandchildren. It’s usually calm and positive and wonderful. That’s not the scene I walk into today.