caught on here. You heard about that boy who lost his head, didn’t you?”
“No,” Charlie said, raising one eyebrow.
“What happened?” Tony moved in closer.
They stared at her, waiting. She tossed her hair, threw back her shoulders, and put on her performance stance, the one she used at meets. “Well, halfway down—CRACK!—his head hit the shelf . . . and stayed there.”
“Ewww!” Someone laughed.
“No effing way!”
“The rest of him kept going, but not his head. It was on the shelf, eyes open, like he was looking around for the rest of him.” Her own eyes opened wide, as if in shock.
“Gross.” Sean laughed. “No way did that happen.”
“Uh-uh,” said Charlie.
“We all would have heard about it.”
Ria peered over the edge again, searching for proof, of something. It’s not like she wanted it to be true. She’d been haunted by Coach Benny’s story. His point had been that there was nothing to fear from diving off the platform, which was free from rocky hazards. But she’d gotten lost in the idea of that particular fall. The exhilaration of the leap, stopped suddenly by the hard rock shelf. It still made her heart race to think of it.
Especially now that Charlie and Tony were wrestling too close to the edge.
“Can we go down to the water?” She pointed at the narrow trail carved into the rock, leading down to the water’s surface.
“It’s too late,” said Sean. “It’ll be dark soon.”
As if to prove his point, the sun dropped behind the wall of rock. Although the sky still glowed, the rocks were disappearing into the shadows. The view was fading, turning fuzzy.
“Why did they stop quarrying?” she asked.
“Quarrying?” Charlie sputtered his drink. “You mean mining?”
“Whatever it’s called. Why didn’t they keep going? There’s still more rock. It’s all the same along the walls. They could have gotten more.”
“Does it matter?”
It felt like it should.
“I heard”—she eyed Sean, ready to read his expression—“that there’s all kinds of machinery under the water. When they shut it down, they left everything behind.”
“Well, yeah. Look at this place. How would they get it out? Drive? They had to leave it all inside.”
So that was true. The dark, smooth surface did hide dangers. “Where did the water come from? It must have been something natural, right? Is there water below the rock?”
“I guess so.” Sean leaned in close. “You’re obsessing again.”
He nuzzled her neck, sending shivers along her skin. Now that it was darker, she couldn’t clearly see the edge of the giant hole.
Suddenly impatient, she said, “Do you want to dance?”
“It’s not that kind of party. That would be weird.”
“Maggie wouldn’t care. She’d dance anyway.”
“You’re probably right.” He laughed, then frowned. “Aren’t you having fun? This is awesome, Ria. The quarry is legendary.”
“Right. Of course.”
He sipped from his cup and smiled. His arm stayed around her waist, but his eyes were on his friends who had wandered into the sea of bodies. None of them had girlfriends. Ria wished again that Maggie was here. She’d be able to convince Ria this party was as fun as Sean said it was. She knew how to laugh at nothing, to take something awful and make it bearable. If Maggie had been at that meet in LA, then maybe . . . but “maybe” was regret dressed up as make-believe. Otherwise known as useless.
She slipped her hand into Sean’s. She was so lucky he’d asked her out. Maggie was the one who’d spotted the cute lifeguard first. Ria wouldn’t have noticed him. Lifeguards were irrelevant during their practices. Benny had his eye on his team, wound tight and ready to spring if something went wrong. She hadn’t known she’d need a boyfriend when everything fell apart.
But now she was ruining his fun.
“I’m going to go home,” she said.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t feel well.” It was the truth, but not anything sudden or new. It was the same general blah she couldn’t shake. So far, none of the parties, the hanging out, the fast-food sampler marathon—where they’d ordered something off every drive-through menu in town—or even the hours in the back seat of her car had turned out like she expected. Nothing seemed quite as good as Sean promised. But it wasn’t his fault. She was the one who didn’t know how to be normal.
“You stay.” She handed him her full cup. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
She could see him wrestling with his options. Fun party with beer and friends vs. being a good boyfriend.