Back at the car, Ria stood on the side of the road, breathing deeply. Wind whipped around her, stinging her arms and legs. Then, suddenly, it subsided. She turned full circle, arms out. She waited, but the winds were gone. An ache of missing hit her hard, in her gut.
Two
Home from the party, Ria took out her contacts, letting the world slip into its usual lack of clarity. Lying on her trampoline, she breathed in the rich smells of Maggie’s shampoo mixed with the dust of the trampoline and the sharp clean of chlorine soaked into her friend’s skin. Ria refused to ask about practice. She was used to denying cravings.
“How was the quarry?” Maggie asked.
“There’s nothing there.”
“No one showed up?”
“There were lots of people. It was a party. But the quarry, it’s a big hole. It only exists because it’s empty. Well, except for the cloud. There was a cloud in it.”
“You’re so random, Ria.” Maggie laughed.
“Do you remember that story Benny told about the quarry? The one about the boy who jumped in?”
“And lost his head? How could I forget?”
“Sean said it wasn’t true.”
“Huh,” said Maggie. “It must have been partly true. Or it happened somewhere. Benny doesn’t lie. But sometimes the details aren’t all there. He leaves things out.”
Ria shifted to her side, leaving her arm under her heavy head. The light from her house illuminated Maggie’s face and frizzy red hair against the dark beyond her yard.
“How was practice?” She’d waited as long as she could.
“Everyone misses you.”
“Not everyone,” said Ria. Then, before Maggie could contradict her, she said, “I know Chrissy doesn’t.”
“I think she actually does, even if she’d never admit it. The worst part is we’re not allowed to talk about you. Temo said your name the other day and had to climb the ladder for twenty minutes.”
Ria didn’t trust her voice to answer. She couldn’t talk about them, either.
Maggie rolled over, then clambered up. She stood on the springy surface, hovering over Ria. She bounced gently. Then more definitely. By the time she started circling, she was rising several inches into the night sky. Ria relaxed into the bounce of the old favorite game. She stayed limp, letting herself be lifted and lowered, following the rhythm of the jumps. Lost in the soothe of motion, then the rush of the drop, until she was elevated at least a foot off the bed of the trampoline. That’s when the thrill of the fall kicked in, setting them both to breathless giggling. Maggie rolled into a flip and landed on her butt.
“I made my gainer two-and-a-half tonight.”
“Maximum Mags! Why didn’t you tell me right away? Did you rip it?”
“Duh. No way. But I didn’t bruise anything, either.”
“You’re such a big-girl diver.”
“I thought Benny was going to cry, he was so happy.”
“Of course. Now the colleges are going to be knocking down your door. That’s a real money dive.”
“Should I call the coach at Uden College? Or wait until I get it on video?”
“Don’t settle, Mags.”
“It’s not settling. Uden is a really good school.”
“Why be good when you could be great?” Bennyisms had a way of slipping out of her mouth before she thought them.
“There’s no point. Not after I blew my chance at Nationals.” She had to make Benny’s words her own by saying them over and over again.
“You fell. You got hurt. Stop me if I’m missing something.”
“Stop.” Her voice held a warning that Maggie would recognize. After she’d scratched the meet, Benny had banished her. He’d quit her. “It’s over and done. And now I might as well enjoy my senior year.” Maggie would help make these words mean something. She knew Ria had never cared about school. It was something to endure rather than enjoy, but she’d promised her parents—and herself—she’d at least graduate from high school. “I’m not going to college like you, Mags.”
“If I get a scholarship,” Maggie said. “I hope I have a coach long enough to sign somewhere.”
“What do you mean? What’s going on?”
“It’s basic math, Ria. If your parents aren’t paying him anymore . . .”
She didn’t have to know numbers to know Maggie was right. Between paying for her extra workouts, private lessons, and miscellaneous other ways of supporting his gym, her parents had made sure Benny stayed in business. They had to—there was no better coach in town. Or the