Page 20 of Absorbed

Eight hands popped out of the water.

Stacey was giddy to finally do something with Jessie.

They all eyed one another, making faces and pretending to be fierce.

“I can already taste that Famous Star with cheese,” Chad taunted.

“No way. Sweet success smells like orange chicken,” Tiffany replied.

As the sun rose above the facility roofline, and birds in nearby trees chirped above the humming of the valves and motor in the equipment room, Coach Bob announced, “Ten minutes down. Eighteen to go.”

Mark and Melissa both groaned. Melissa’s chin skimmed the water, her bun fully submerged. She scowled at Jessie.

“How ‘bout a round of Six Degrees?” Jessie asked.

Stacey smirked. This really was her lucky day. Her arms felt heavy and sore, but she was determined not to stop, and Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon would be a fun distraction.

Tiffany and Chad nodded in agreement, their elbows dripping as they reminded themselves to keep them up.

“Clint Eastwood and River Phoenix,” Jesse said.

Stacey was a huge fan of River Phoenix, and her mom loved romance novels, so they’d watched all the movies made from the books she’d read. “River Phoenix was inSneakerswith that guy with the glasses who was inThe River Wildwith Kevin Bacon AND Meryl Streep. She was inThe Bridges of Madison Countywith Clint Eastwood. Three degrees!” Stacey blurted.

Tiffany’s hands slapped the surface of the water. “How’d you…”

“You lost!” Chad shouted at Tiffany. He let his own hands fall, then maneuvered his way to Desiree.

“Dang!” Tiffany said in mock-annoyance.

But Stacey and Jessie kept their hands up, staring into one another’s eyes. Stacey pursed her lips with one eyebrow cocked.

Mark moved in closer to the group, and let out a belch that smelled like rotten eggs, hovering above the powerful chemical smell of the chlorine Bob had added that morning.

“Gross!” Desiree and Melissa plugged their noses and struggled to stay afloat beside Chad.

“You guys don’t have to keep going,” Chad said. “Tiffany’s buying lunch.”

“Nice job,” Jessie told Stacey, ignoring him. “You gonna quit, Chapman?”

Stacey’s heart raced. “Nope.”He called me Chapman!

“Cool. You got a Six Degrees challenge for me?”

“Robin Williams and Chris O’Donnell.”

“Who’s that?”

“He was in–” Desiree said.

“Don’t tell him the names of movies!” Stacey interrupted. “That’s cheating!”

“You can’t pick someone no one knows.” Jessie argued.

Desiree chimed in. “Everyone knows who Chris O’Donnell is!”

“Chad, Mark…help me out. Is Chris O’Donnell an actual actor you’ve heard of?”

Mark shrugged. “I’ve heard of him. I don’t like any of his shitty movies, but I know who he is.”

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