Page 31 of Jump on Three

I trudged forward like I was traversing through quicksand. I had no doubt Layla would toss me over if I didn’t do it myself. And with glee.

“Okay. I’m going.”

My toes curled over the edge.

Jump. Just jump.

“Go Evelyn!”

Ivan’s thunderstorm voice boomed off the walls, and I found him in the crowd by the side of the pool. He raised his arm over his head, pointing one finger to the ceiling.

Why?

I looked up, then back at him, and it dawned on me he wasn’t pointing. He was counting with me.

One.

He was here, watching. If something went wrong, Ivan would save me. He wouldn’t allow me to sink to my watery grave. He couldn’t. What would he tell Delilah?

Two.

My mouth twitched with a smile, and I made up my mind to do it. Just a step, then gravity would do—

My thoughts were cut off by a hard shove to my shoulder, sending me flying.

That was what it felt like. Layla had put so much force into her shove my body flew away from the platform before the fall began.

One second was all it took for me to collide with the surface, and in that time, I had a thousand and one thoughts.

I’m not going to land right.

This is going to hurt.

Panic.

Layla’s a cunt.

Do I remember how to swim? I’m not sure.

Protect my face.

…now we got bad blood…

I can’t move my arms.

Oh dear, this is going to hurt.

My face slapped the water two beats before the rest of me did. My breath was knocked from me as my lungs compressed on impact. Then I was sinking, disoriented, falling, falling, deep beneath the surface.

This wasn’t my worst fear, but it was up there.

As I sank, I wondered why this wasn’t my worst fear. Being buried by miles of water while my classmates watched was horrific. Then again, at least I’d never have to repeat this jump.

Suddenly, I wasn’t sinking anymore. A band wrapped around my middle, and an outside force propelled me up, up, up, out of the depths. Not a band. Ivan’s arm. Though I’d been sinking forever, it only took moments to breach the surface.

I tried to gasp a breath, but my mouth was filled with water. Ivan’s arm shifted so he could pat my back while I sputtered and coughed.

“I’ve got you, Evelyn.”