Page 20 of Jump on Three

“I doubt that will be the outcome.” Her dark-pink lips twisted as she glanced back at the pool. “I have to do it.”

I bowed my head. “You could wait until everyone else is jumping. Perhaps peer pressure will unfreeze you.”

“Peer pressure doesn’t affect me.” She shuddered and slid her jaw from side to side three times. “I don’t want anyone to know how much this scares me.”

“But I know.”

Her shoulder rose. “You’re Delilah’s friend. I don’t think you would use my fear against me.”

Alarmed at the implication, I took a step toward her. “Has someone in this school done that?”

Her huff was impatient. “Have you seen killer whales hunting?”

My mouth fell open. I slammed it closed, brow puckering. “I…don’t know.”

“You would remember. They catch seals”—she slapped her hands together like a big, vicious mouth—“then take them out to sea and toss them around like a basketball before they eat them. Don’t look it up unless you never want to see an orca the same.”

“Ah, okay. I will remember this.”

Evelyn’s eyes were melted chocolate and unfocused. She looked like she was in the middle of a dream while awake. I often saw her this way here, but not really. When I first noticed, I’d wondered where she went, suspecting it was somewhere fluffy and pink, with fairies and tea parties.

Now, I’d wonder if she was thinking about killer whales playing with their prey.

I liked that.

Her shoulders jumped, and her eyes followed, refocusing and sliding over me. “I’ve decided our classmates are like that. They hunt down weakness and play with it before going for the kill.”

Urgency propelled me another step forward. “Has anyone done this to you?”

Her mouth curved slightly, an enigmatic little grin that told nothing. “I should try to jump. It feels like today might be it.”

“I will jump with you.”

Her head tilted, and her arms tightened around her middle. “Why?”

Evelyn’s voice reminded me of my baba stirring her tea. Warm and clear, the tink of her spoon against delicate china, soft and sweet. When Evelyn spoke, it gave me the feeling of sitting in my baba’s kitchen, searching through the bag of treats she kept for when I’d come to visit. Evelyn rarely spoke to me. Then again, she didn’t often speak to anyone but Delilah, so I did not take it personally. I would have liked to hear her pretty voice more, though.

“I want you to jump. It has pained me to watch you struggle.”

“Has it? I’m sorry.”

“No, no.” I took a step toward her, my hand outstretched. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I only meant I want to help you because I’ve seen how hard you are trying.”

She looked at me, blinking a few times, drumming her fingers on her waist.

“If I sink, will you save me?”

A laugh burst out of me before I realized she wasn’t kidding. That sobered me.

“Yes, Evelyn. Of course I will.”

“But you laughed.” The way she’d said it, how she looked at me, was accusatory. I’d been earning her trust, and in one second, I’d fucked it up. Fuck.

“I laughed because you’re a strong swimmer. You won’t sink. But if something goes wrong, I will be there. I won’t allow anything to happen to you.”

Her lips pressed into a tight line, then she spun on her toes and marched to the end of the platform. Once there, she looked back at me.

“Aren’t you coming?” she asked.

---