The next morning I woke up with a sour taste in my mouth and sore legs. I swallowed some water and went down to breakfast, trying to look innocent. Mom had made pancakes with strawberries on top for breakfast, and I poured myself a glass of orange juice. I ate some breakfast, then changed and went out to the car to go to school. Mom drove me there. When I was about to get out of the car, she grabbed my wrist.
"Addy. Don't do anything dumb." she said before she released me. I scrambled away and to the school. There was no way she could've known what I did. I walked into school and to my locker. Jake was waiting there. He tossed a pencil up in the air, catching it as it fell down. He never took his eyes off me.
"What?" I said aggressively. He was blocking my locker. I shoved him aside and twisted the code in, pulling out a few books.
"Did you do something dumb?" Jake's voice was flat and cold.
"N-no." I stammered, losing all composure.
"Don't do anything dumb." Jake said, before tossing me the pencil and turning on his heel, storming away. I saw a glamorous girl with reddish brown hair and bright green eyes catch up to him. Her creamy legs shimmered below her tiny purple plaid skirt. He turned and smiled down at her, his face full of warmth and light. I felt a pressure in my chest, but I slammed my locker shut and walked off down the hall to my first class, determined to not have it get to me. In the middle of English, I got a text from Hayley.
Hayley: got the next challenge.
Me: Should we do it?
Hayley: IDK, I'm asking the others
Me: What did they say?
Hayley: Thea and Avae yes, Leilani no.
Me: Well…
Hayley: It's on Saturday. We'll meet at the warehouse
Me: alright
I kept my phone and concentrated on the lesson. After school was out, I went home, trying to act as if I wasn't going to participate in another crazy challenge. Surprisingly, Jake came over at around three. He greeted me with a crooked smile and handed my mum a bag of French bread. Mum shooed us out of the house while she prepared us dinner, so we went to the orchard. Jake messed around with some apples, picking them and eating them quickly, not looking at me. It was only when he started to tear up the leaves and apple blossoms was when I spoke.
"Don't do that." he shot me an icy look but he stopped.
"Addy. Tell me. Are you hanging out with a dangerous crowd?"
"What? No."
"Are you sneaking out at night?"
"Um…"
"Addy! Don't do that! It's super dangerous."
"Um hum." I picked an apple and bit into it, avoiding his gaze. He grabbed my wrist hard.
"Adelaide Larsson. Listen to me. Do not sneak out at night, hang out with the druggies or do any dangerous activities."
"Fine!" I pried his fingers off my arm. We silently walked through the trees until Mom called us back for dinner. As we ate, the table was quieter than usual, although we were having beef stew, one of our favorites. The table was usually bursting with conversation when we had beef stew. After we finished eating, we had warm sugar cookies, then Jake, hastily bidding Mom a good-bye, made for the door. Mom cleared the table. I carried my dish to the sink, carefully avoiding her questioning gaze. I hurried up the stairs before she could ask me a question.
In the middle of the night, I heard my door creak open. Mom's shadow fell across my bed. I held my breath and pretended I was asleep. My door closed soon.
The rest of the week I texted rapidly with The Society for Daring Girls(TSDG), debating about the next challenge. It was confirmed: we were doing it, despite Leilani's many protests.
We met at nine forty-five in the warehouse. Hayley read out the challenge.
"Go to Croc Swamp. More instructions will be there." She looked around at us. "I hope crocodiles aren't nocturnal."
We were gathered outside the small, rough wood cabin. There was a note taped to the front door. Hayley ripped it off and read it in a fervent whisper.
"The next challenge: swim through the tunnel in the middle of the swamp. Watch you for crocs. If you do see any, there is a boat. Good luck.
**"
The girls gulped, but we made our way to the side of the swamp and stared at the murky water. Finally Avae grunted and pulled her t-shirt over her head, dropping her shorts to the river bank. She leapt into the water and swam out to the tunnel. We saw her take a big breath before slipping under the water and disappearing into the tunnel. We waited for a long time. Just as I thought she'd drowned, her head popped up on the other side of the tunnel. We all waited until she had swam back to us, then Leilani pulled off her white collared top and pleated skirt, diving into the water and ducking into the tunnel. We all held our breaths until she appeared on the other side of the tunnel, waved, and swam back to us. She climbed out and slipped twice on the bank, shaking, but she looked happily relieved. Thea stripped down to her tank top and hip-hugger bottoms, then lowered herself into the water. After she swam, she came up gasping and trembling, but she had done it. Shaking, I pulled off my clothes and waded into the water.
"It's okay!" Avae called. "It's not that far if you swim fast!"
"Very encouraging." I muttered under my breath as I faced the tunnel opening. It looked very long and dark. I took a few calming breaths, then ducked under the water. I struck out hard, feeling the slimy sides of the tunnel on my fingers. Shuddering, I swam further, unable to see where I was going. The warm, sludgy water was making me sleepy, but my chest was beginning to ache, and my eyes were starting to dim. Finally I allowed myself to sink to the bottom of the tunnel, feeling worn out. Let me die here. A soft current pushed me forward, and I let my body go with it. Suddenly I rocketed upward. Was that a break in the tunnel? I kicked forward and felt myself floating upward. A few seconds later my head broke the surface of the water and I gasped for air, flailing around in the water. I kicked to the opposite end of the bank and crawled up onto the bank, choking and coughing the muddy water out of my throat.
"Come back!" I heard Hayley call. I took a few moments to breathe, then I started down into the water. Suddenly a ripple of water made me freeze. Out of the mud, a glowing red eye of a crocodile emerged, and blinked.