Page 110 of Kingmakers, Year Three

“Almost there . . .” Anna mutters, and finally the chains fall away.

She passes Leo the pick.

The water is up to his neck now, and the next wave hits him right in the face. He holds tight to the pick, jamming it into the lock.

Meanwhile, the shorter Claire Turgenev is already almost entirely underwater. She has to tilt her head all the way back to catch a breath between the waves.

Stubbornly, she refuses to submit.

“Don’t you fucking stop, Jasper,” she says to the second-last Senior, spitting out a mouthful of seawater.

Jasper Webb pops the last lock and presses the pick into her hand.

Claire takes one final gulp of air, then lets the waves wash over her as she blindly tries to pick her locks underwater.

I watch the place where she disappeared, wondering if she’s really going to drown herself rather than give in.

“Got it!” Leo says, popping up like Harry Houdini with the chains dropping away.

Claire still hasn’t emerged. I glance at Professor Howell, wondering what he’s waiting for.

He watches the spot where Claire submerged, silently counting the seconds she’s been under. A full minute passes.

Professor Howell frowns, unable to even see air bubbles rising in the rough surf. He uncrosses his arms, ready to intervene.

Right as he takes a step forward, his sneaker sinking into the wet sand, Claire jumps up, drenched and shaking.

“Done!” she coughs.

The waves tumble over Kade Petrov and the three remaining Freshmen, dragging them out with the chains still wrapped tight around them. Professor Penmark and Professor Howell rush forward to haul them out of the water. One of the Freshman boys retches up seawater and one of the girls looks close to tears.

“No!” Kade sputters. “We weren’t done!”

“You’re out of time,” Professor Howell says. “The other teams are done.”

Kade stands on the beach, shaking with cold and acridly disappointed. He can’t meet the eyes of his teammates.

I clap him on the shoulder, making him jump.

“You did well,” I say. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“We lost,” Kade says. “We’re out of the challenge.”

“Not everything is in your control.”

“Then how come Adrik always manages to win?” Kade says bitterly.

“I don’t know.” I shake the seawater out of my eyes. “I’m not Adrik, either.”

Kade looks up at me, remembering who he’s talking to—not a perpetual champion like Adrik or Leo. Just another person who sometimes takes it in the teeth, despite all he can do.

“Hey, I meant to tell you,” Kade says awkwardly, “I’m sorry about your dad.”

“He made his choice,” I say, shrugging it off.

I hate that my father had to embarrass me one last time in such a public way. I’ve squashed the attempts of any of my friends to talk about it. The only person I’ve discussed it with is Cat. And Snow, the day I found out what happened.

We all have to make the long walk back up to school, shivering beneath the towels that Professor Howell handed out.

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