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Chapter One

Of all the people I liked the least, Jared Gart was at the bottom of my list. He was the one that went out of his way to make life miserable for me. He tripped me in the halls, he bumped me so I fell on the sidewalk, and when I used to cry, he would always laugh. It had been like that ever since I'd met him back in the third grade. I don't know why he doesn't like me; maybe I looked at him funny. But for some reason, whenever he's around my life suddenly gets worse. Of course, I can't accuse him of anything. I don't have any proof. Not to mention he's a teacher's pet. He makes me want to scream, or else sink through a hole to middle of the Earth. And I can't do either, the latter because there aren't any holes that deep, and the former because of my pride. Me and my stupid pride.

...It is short so I can't really think much of it.

Okay so far ... keep going? (You've gotten me interested.)

I'm interested as well smile I like how your writing style is simple and concise, but balanced well with the rate at which you reveal plot.

Dun dun dun... I want to see what they say whee Big, scary, dramatic endings are always fun :3

((Crud, I've been off way too long. And I do need to go back and fix my last post. Stupid mistakes everywhere, now that I re-read it. Back to the story.))

In the room Principal Emily Jords and Mrs. Heln shared, I was stared down. Mrs. Heln was tapping her purple, four-inch heeled foot impatiently, and Principal Jord had crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at me. Jared Gart was looking angrily out the window. His black hair, cut longer than most boys at my school, flopped in his face so I could barely see his eyes in the window's reflection. I swallowed to clear the lump in my throat, and looked back at the two women. Principal Jords spoke first.

"Katherine, there is a nasty rumor going around, invovling both you and Mr. Gart," she said. I winced inwardly as she used my full name. "The tale that reached my ears was that when you went out into the water yesterday, Mr. Gart here viciously swam out to attack you. Students are saying that Mr. Gart is the same as a monster, the way he continuously torments you. Now, Katherine, I would like to know, who started this rumor?"

My heart was beating hard, and my brain was working very quickly. Lying would get me into trouble, I knew that. But telling the truth would be just as bad. Because Emma and Lilian were the ones who actually started telling the lies (and because they were already on bad terms with just about everyone), they would get in trouble as well. Three weeks' detention, maybe more since it was Jared. After all, she called him 'Mr. Gart.'

They were staring at me, openly angry now. Even Jared had shifted his eyes to see my reflection on the window, wanting to hear what I had to say. I opened my mouth to speak, not knowing what I would say. Suddenly, I knew what to do. It was obviously not the best idea in the world, but I knew I had to do it.

"I did."

Mrs. Heln stopped tapping her foot, Principal Jords' arms uncrossed, and Jared turned to stare, bewilderment pasted to each of their faces. I kept my face completely devoid of any emotion. I focused my eyes on the wall behind my two teachers. They looked at each other, then at me.

"Katy, why?" Mrs. Heln asked. "What has Jared done to you to make you say such things about him? For crying out loud, he saved your life yesterday!"

She stopped short there, and everyone looked at her in shock. It was true but no one had said it out loud. I was completely dumbfounded. What was I supposed to say? Because he's always picking on me, for no reason at all? Because Sarah would've turned the whole thing into a romance if I hadn't? Because all the teachers love him like some sort of god? Because I'm never good enough for him? Because if I had the choice of dying at sea or having him save me, I don't know what I would choose? Because all I think of is him...?

"I only said he swam out to get me and pulled me back without my permission," I said. "I have a reputation as captain of the swim team to uphold. People just started to add to it, I don't know who."

They stared at me. I could tell Jared wasn't convinced, but it didn't matter. All I had to do was get the teachers on my side. Then I'd be safe.

"Very well, Katherine," Principal Jords said. "You should know by now that spreading rumors is a terrible business. It'll get you in trouble. Even if you only spread a little rumor, it grows. So, despite your intentions, you will be given detention. You will help the school custodians every day from four to six, until I tell you you may stop. Whether your punishment will continue into the summer is my decision. You and Mr. Gart are dismissed."

((This probably won't be very good, since the original post I was going to put up got lost...a.k.a. the computer died. I'm sorry about not knowing much about the tides and everything.))

The next morning, I woke up hot and sticky. I looked over at the room's thermostat. Ugh. Sarah had been messing with it; it now read 80 degrees. Sarah is a heat freak; she can't be anywhere under 75 degrees without making a fuss. Winter is a real problem for her. I threw off my comforter, turned the thermostat down to 70, and dressed in shorts, sandals, and a tank top before going down for breakfast. I saw a lot of my classmates glance at me as I walked by. When they noticed me watching, they immediately looked anywhere else. I got my breakfast and ate quickly, returning to my room as Sarah was coming down. I passed by without seeming to see her, though she was trying to get my attention.

Up in my room, I thought of everything I could do to be alone. There was no place that wasn't supervised by at least one teacher, and kids were everywhere. No, that wasn't entirely true. There was one place, one that I was pretty sure no one knew about: the cave I'd found. Yeah, that would be a good hideout. I'd decided. I grabbed whatever I thought I'd need (flashlight, batteries, candles and matches in case the flashlight went out, bright chalk and flourescant paint, a bag of chips and a sandwich for lunch, rope, and a pair of hiking boots) and shoved it in my backpack. I thought about telling Emma and Lilian about where I was headed, so they wouldn't worry, but decided against it. They would just think I wanted to be alone in my room. They'd be right, too, although I wouldn't be in my room. Cautiously, I headed out to the cave.

Let me tell you, a cave is a wonderful thing. It was about 65 degrees in there, and the temperature never changed all year. I knew that much about caves. There was a smooth little path for me to take, always on a gradual incline. Despite the fact that I was walking leisurely along a single path, I marked my way by drawing little arrows with the paint and chalk I'd brought. Shining my flashlight along the walls, I saw several bats. I doubted that they liked my flashlight, so I took care not to shine it directly on them for a while. When I started to get hungry, I guaged it was around lunchtime and people would have started to wonder where I was. I turned back, going faster than I had on my way in.

The bad thing about caves is that you get so caught up in the beauty and wonder of it that you forget to watch where you're going. I had my flashlight's beam pointed on the gound, but it cast light up into the ceiling of rock above me. I'm a curious girl by nature, so my eyes were practically glued to that. Needless to say, it was a huge surprise when my feet slid out from under me, my bottom landing on slippery, wet rocks. The shock and pain made me go numb for a moment, and in that moment I let go of the flashlight. I scambled to grab for it as it slid into the water in font of me, but I was too slow. As the light flickered and then went out, I fumbled in my backpack for candles and matches. I lit a match and shakily held the flame to the candle wick. Before the match burned too low, I threw it into the water, feeling a grim cold settle over me as it hissed and smoked.

The tide had come in, and I was trapped. I mentioned that the trail I was on was going up, didn't I? Well, the problem with that was that my trail was now completely closed up with water. I didn't even know how far the trail was covered, so I wasn't about to risk trying to swim out. I didn't know if I could hold my breath for as long as I might have to. So I sat, ate half my sandwich, and waited. The tide would have to go out sooner or later. But everyone would start to worry before that happened. They'd have people searching the whole beach, the hotel, anywhere. But they wouldn't find me. Of course they wouldn't. The cave's entrance was blocked off by water. I was stuck.

As Jared lifted himself out of the water, I can honestly (though not proudly) say that I was happier to see him there than anyone else on the planet. He looked at me carefully, though I could tell he was more than a little angry and...relieved? I didn't think of all this until later. Right then, I had been afraid. I felt tears running down my cheeks as I flung myself into his arms and clung to him. he resisted me for a moment, then held me tightly, murmuring softly in my ears. I don't remember exactly what he said (something to reassure me), but he didn't push me away or yell at me, and that was all that mattered. After a little bit, I stopped crying, but I didn't let go, as embarrassed as I was. Finally, though, he spoke.

"No one could find you," he said. "So they sent everyone out as a search party. I figured you'd be out here, but you should have realized the tide would come in."

"I know," I said, and sniffed loudly. "I wasn't thinking straight."

"I was scared," he whispered. "We looked everywhere, but you'd disappeared."

Then he said it, those three words that I will never forget. And I said them back, and I meant them. Then he was kissing me, and I was kissing him back. Those words, I love you, changed our lives. I won't forget what they did. But I think I can forgive them. Someday.

"Come on," he said breathlessly. "We'll have to get back out soon, otherwise they'll report me missing, too. You only have to swim a few yards under water."

I nodded, and he helped me with my things. It would get wet, but there was no helping that. He went into the water first, but I wasn't far behind. We swam close together, and my head broke over the surface of the water only a few feet from his. Then we were walking back along the beach, my face red from shame and puffy from crying.

They all made a huge fuss over me, yelling at me, crying over me, patting me on the back, chewing me out. No one mentioned the fact that Jared had found me. No one seemed to care that he hadn't left my side. But I did. It meant more to me than the world. And that night, after everyone was in bed, I thought about him. If he loved me, why had he always made me cry? Why did it give him pleasure to see me in pain? Or had I imagined that part?