OCTAVIAN COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL SYNCHRONIZED SWIM CLASS

1:55 PM
November 18th

The humid air clung to Alicia’s skin like a cashmere sweater. Every time she stepped out of the chilly locker room and into OCD’s indoor pool area, she’d close her eyes and pretend she was walking along one of the beaches in Spain. Unfortunately the Ajax-y smell of chlorine was a cruel reminder that she was about to spend the next forty-five minutes in an Olympic-sized toilet learning how to swim in a circle and wave.

Normally Alicia cursed this class because Massie, Kristen, and Dylan scored pottery as their elective and she got stuck learning synchronized swimming with Claire Lyons. But nothing was normal about this day.

A greasy film of leave-in conditioner trailed behind Alicia as she swam closer to Claire.

“Stay in formation, Alicia,” Miss Kuznick said, her pinched voice echoing off the white tile walls.

Alicia swung her legs back into the center of the circle, trying her hardest to avoid touching the water-wrinkled toes of her classmates.

“Look to the right,” Miss Kuznick barked.

This put Alicia in direct contact with Faux-livia’s left ear.

“Did you find anyone?” she whispered.

Miss Kuznick clapped. “And to the left.”

“Coral McAdams kind of reminds me of Dylan,” Faux-livia whispered into Alicia’s right ear. “She could work.”

Alicia strained her eyes so she could sneak a peak at the big-boned girl without moving her head. “You mean Strawberry?”

Faux-livia blinked once instead of nodding to avoid falling out of sync.

“Hmmm.” Alicia tried to imagine hanging out with Coral after she had made fun of her all semester for having over-hennaed hair. It was a bright, syrupy shade of red.

“Only problem is I hear she has a temper,” Faux-livia said out of the corner of her mouth. “Her face turns pink when she gets mad and that’s why they call her—”

Miss Kuznick glared at Faux-livia and clapped twice.

Once she looked away, Alicia swam right up to Faux’s ear. “I always called her that because I thought she shopped at Strawberry,” she said. “Where else would she get those belly chains and magnetic nose rings?”

“Duck dives,” Miss Kuznick instructed.

“True,” Olivia said before she went underwater.

The more Alicia thought about it, the more she liked the idea. Coral was actually kind of pretty if you could get past the neon hair. She never needed braces, because her perfect teeth looked like rows of white Chiclets, and her eyes were mint green. She had a decent amount of friends and was always talking back to teachers, which gave her major hall cred. If Alicia recruited her, she would win the respect of the fashion rebels. And there were more of them in the seventh grade than Alicia cared to count.

“Good call,” Alicia said to Faux-livia when they popped back up for air.

Miss Kuznick shouted, “Switch,” and everyone swam toward the ladder. They climbed out of the water and padded toward the metal bench on the side of the pool. The girls who had been sitting stood up and made stride jump entries into the water. Alicia noticed that Claire and Layne were sitting on the other side of Faux.

“I want to see good strong strokes,” Miss Kuznick called out to her new group, and Alicia immediately thought of Harris Fisher and his Strokes tickets. Her father promised he would have them tonight.

The idea of placing the yellow windowed envelope in Harris’s rugged hands made Alicia’s stomach tingle with nervous anticipation. She couldn’t wait to tell her new recruits that she’d be going to a concert with a junior; it was so alpha.

Alicia reached under the bench and pulled a Ziploc out from behind one of the metal legs that had been bolted into the ground. She held the bag behind her back and ran her thumb along the seal to open it. Miss Kuznick had caught her using a cell phone one other time while she was on the bench and threatened to throw it in the pool if she used it again. But Alicia decided to chance it. She would die if she missed a call from Harris. And she could always get another phone.

She wiped her wet hands on her burgundy-and-blue OCD towel before checking for messages.

“Did he call?” Faux-livia asked. She kept her eyes focused on the swimmers so as not to attract attention.

Alicia shook her head.

“Call him,” Faux said.

“I don’t have his number,” Alicia said.

“Call Cam,” Faux demanded.

Alicia was loving Faux today. She was turning out to be the perfect beta.

“Done,” Alicia said as she hit 11 on her speed dial.

Alicia lowered her head behind the bench, pretending to search for a lost contact lens while she waited for Cam to pick up. Faux-livia lowered her head too so she could listen, but Alicia pushed it away.

“Hello, is Alicia there, please?” Cam said when he answered.

“Very funny,” Alicia whispered. Her heart was pounding. “Can you talk?”

“I’m kinda in the middle of dissecting a mouse,” he said. “But I guess he’s not going anywhere, so yeah. Is this about Claire? Did you talk to her for me?”

“Uh, kind of,” Alicia said. “I’m still working on it.”

“Oh.”

Alicia could hear the disappointment in his voice but didn’t have time to reassure him. She pressed her mouth right up against the phone. “I need your brother’s number.”

“Sure, it’s 914-555-04 …”

Alicia was punching the number into her phone, trying not to let it slip out of her hands and into the puddle under the bench. “Yeah, what’s the rest?”

“You wish,” Cam said. “You’ll get the last two numbers when you get Claire to hang out with me.”

“That’s so not f—” Alicia started to say before she was cut off.

“Gotta go,” he said. And the line went dead.

“Well?” Faux-livia asked. She was sitting on her hands and bouncing up and down. There were deep purple rings around her eyes because her goggles had been on too tight.

Alicia busted out laughing. She aimed her phone at Faux-livia’s face and snapped her picture. Her next instinct was to click over to her address book and e-mail the funny shot to all of her friends. But she stopped herself. Who would she send it to?

“Switch seats with me,” Alicia said. “I have to talk to Claire for a minute.” “’Kay,” Faux said as they quickly traded places.

“Keep looking for a ‘Kristen,’” Alicia whispered.

When Alicia sat down, Claire turned and faced Layne.

“Claire, I need to talk to you,” Alicia said. Her voice was quiet and soothing. So quiet, in fact, Claire didn’t hear her. “Claire, listen—”

“Loser,” Layne sneezed.

Claire giggled.

“You’re calling me a loser?” Alicia hissed. “Funny, Layne, since you’re the one wearing a see-through bathing suit and goggles with monster-eye holograms on them!” Alicia leaned past Claire and looked straight at Layne. “FYI, the see-through suit is scary enough; you don’t need the goggles.”

Layne stood up and walked toward the locker room, her arms folded across her chest. “Nice split ends,” she growled when she passed Alicia.

“Banana boobs,” Alicia said back.

Claire looked at Alicia. Her eyes were so red from the chlorine, it looked like she had been crying. “Why are you so mean?”

“I was gonna ask you the same question, Kuh-laire,” Alicia said.

Claire lifted her thumbnail to her mouth and started biting.

“Don’t worry, I forgive you,” Alicia said. “I know how hard it is to say no to Massie Block. You were forced to be mean to me, just like I had to be mean to you when you moved here.”

Claire looked down at her pruned fingers. She sat on her hands. “I was mean because you cheated me, Alicia. Not ’cause Massie made me.”

“I know and I’m sorry for that.” Alicia rested her hand on Claire’s wet back. “FYI, I’m considering therapy.”

Alicia paused to read Claire’s face. Was she buying it?

“Claire, look at me,” Alicia insisted. “There’s no way that mural was your idea.”

Claire didn’t respond. She just kicked her legs and started at the blue and white tiles on the floor.

Alicia sighed. “Sometimes I felt like I had no choice too.”

Claire lowered her head and Alicia knew she finally said something right.

“I’m sorry,” Claire mouthed. She raised her shoulder and wiped a tear away from her eye. “I felt so bad doing that to you, but you really hurt us. We worked so hard on that uniform design and—”

“I know,” Alicia said. “And I’m so sorry.” She lifted a wet strand of hair to her eye and squeezed a drop of water off the end when Claire wasn’t looking. “Please, please forgive me.”

Claire looked up just as a “tear” slid down Alicia’s cheek.

“Here, take this,” Claire said, handing Alicia the white hoodie she had stuffed behind the bench.

“Thanks.” Alicia dabbed her eyes. “I can see why Cam likes you so much.”

“Does he really?” Claire said, shifting slightly to face Alicia. “He e-mails you every day; why do you sound so surprised?” Claire shrugged. “I dunno—I guess I keep expecting him to change his mind and go for someone prettier.”

Alicia watched Claire lower her eyes and turn bright red.

“The only one prettier than you is me and I’m into older guys,” Alicia said with a naughty wink. “His brother, Harris, and I have kinda been hanging out lately.”

Claire raised her eyebrows.

“It’s true,” Alicia said. “Hey, how cool would it be if we went over there one day after school? It could be like a double date.”

“Incredibly cool,” Claire said, clapping the soles of her feet together. “But I dunno.” Her legs suddenly stopped moving and her voice trailed off. “I’m kinda having second thoughts about him lately.”

“It’s just nerves. Don’t worry, I’ll go with you,” Alicia said. “What are you doing after dinner Friday night?”

Now that Friday night sleepovers were no longer on Alicia’s calendar, she wanted to fill the time.

“Uh,” Claire said. “This Friday?”

“Yes, this Friday.” Alicia paused. “Oh, you’re probably going to Massie’s, right?”

“No, I was just there last night because—”

“I know, I know,” Alicia cut her off, not wanting to be reminded. “You know you’re not officially IN if you haven’t been invited to be a regular at the sleepover. And if you’re not officially IN, Massie has no right to tell you who you can hang out with.”

Claire’s eyes shifted back and forth while she considered Alicia’s point.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul.” Alicia held out her pinky and Claire grabbed it with hers. They shook.

“Friday night is our secret,” Alicia said. “I promise.”

“’Kay,” Claire said with a guilty smile.

Alicia jumped up and switched back to her old seat on the other side of Faux-livia. She was so pleased with herself, she could hardly sit still. “Did you find us a Kristen?” she whispered.

Faux-livia stuffed some loose strands of blond hair into her bathing cap. “What about Kori Gedman?” she said into Alicia’s ear. “If you can look past the bad posture, she’s actually kinda cool.”

Alicia leaned forward and took a peek.

She thought Kori looked like a parenthesis because she was arched over all the time. “Explain,” Alicia whispered.

“Well, she’s like the second-best athlete in our grade, for starters,” Faux said, “Kristen being the first. …”

“Yeah, yeah, no need to mention her name,” Alicia said, waving Kristen’s name out of the air.

“Sorry,” Faux said. “But you have to admit she even kinda looks like her. You know, the thin blonde hair, the braids; she even has a psycho laugh. It would almost be like getting another Kris … another one.”

“Yeah, without the annoying parents,” Alicia said, warming up to the idea. “I like it. Good work.”

“Switch,” Miss Kuznick announced.

“Thanks,” Faux said, feeling the top of her head for her goggles.

Alicia leaned back on the bench and touched the outside of the Ziploc. It was important that the bag was sealed and tucked safely out of harm’s way before she jumped back in the pool. Now that she could deliver Claire to Cam, Alicia could get the last two digits of Harris’s phone number. And she wasn’t about to let the dripping wet girls in group two soak her battery.

When the bell rang, Alicia raced out of the pool and speed-walked to the locker room. She had twenty minutes to change and call Cam before French. As she was towel-drying her hair and checking for split ends, Faux burst through the locker room doors with the sealed cell phone.

“Thanks.” Alicia grabbed the bag out of her hand. “If I wasn’t in such a hurry, I would have grabbed it myself.”

“No problem.” Faux shrugged it off like it had been nothing. She seemed happy to be of service, much like Alicia had been with Massie all those years.

Alicia flipped open her phone, hit 11, and tapped her nails against a metal locker while she waited for Cam to answer.

“Hey,” he said when he picked up. “Did you talk to her?”

“Yeah, we’ll be over Friday night,” Alicia said.

“Nice.”

Alicia could tell he was trying not to sound excited. “Now give me the rest of Harris’s phone number. I have exactly eight minutes.”

Within seconds Alicia was dressed and dialing Harris Fisher’s cell phone number. She walked over to the mirror and quickly put on a bit of mascara.

“It’s ringing,” she said to Faux. But spoke loud enough for Strawberry and Kori to hear too. “Shoot, I got HARRIS FISHER’S ANSWERING MACHINE. I guess I’ll LEAVE HIM A MESSAGE.”

Kori and Strawberry peered around their open lockers. Alicia pretended not to notice anything except an imaginary piece of hair on the sleeve of her blazer. She pulled it off casually, knowing full well that she was playing to a captive audience.

“Yo, this is Harris and if you don’t know what to do by now, hang up,” his voice message said.

After the beep Alicia started pacing. She loved his smooth confident voice and was determined to sound just as alluring.

“Uh, h-hey there, Harris, it’s me. Alicia. You know, uh, Rivera.” Alicia looked up and noticed that at least five more girls had gathered round to listen. Alicia knew she finally had something Massie Block didn’t have—experience with boys.

She casually placed her foot on the changing bench and rested her arm against the top of her leg before continuing. She wanted her pose to scream confidence.

“Anyway, just wanted you to know I’ll be over Friday night around dinnertime …” Then she changed her tone to a soft purr. “To drop off a little something I know you want.” She threw in a naughty giggle for effect and then ended with a “ciao.”

Alicia snapped her phone shut and nonchalantly twisted her damp, tangled hair into a ponytail as though phone calls like this were part of her daily routine.

Six girls stood motionless and stared at Alicia with their mouths open. It looked like she had hit pause on a scene in a movie. It was perfect.

“That was incredible,” Faux-livia said to Alicia as they pushed past the dumbfounded girls.

“Which part?” Alicia said with a Massie-esque half smile.

“All of it. I love how you started it with ‘hey’ instead of ‘hi.’ That was so cool.”

“Thanks,” Alicia said, bursting out of the locker room and into the busy halls. She walked with perfect jazz posture.

“Uh, maybe we should go the other way,” Faux-livia said when she saw Kristen and Dylan at the Starbucks kiosk drinking Dr. Juices.

“No, it’s okay,” Alicia said, heading straight for them. “I knew they’d be here.”

“Huh?” Faux-livia said.

“We won’t have to find a knockoff Kristen and Dylan if we can have the real ones, right?” Alicia said, never taking her brown eyes off her targets.

“Brilliant,” Faux said.

Alicia took a deep breath. “Wait here—I’ll be right back.”

“Good luck,” Faux whispered as Alicia marched on.

“Hey,” Alicia said when she stopped in front of Kristen and Dylan. She spoke as if nothing had happened. “Why aren’t you drinking chai lattes?”

Dylan popped a yogurt-covered soy nut in her mouth and stared off into the distance.

“Well?” Alicia said with a playful smile.

Kristen lowered her head and searched her LeSportsac.

“I’m sorry for cheating, okay?” Alicia said. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just so over Massie bossing me around—”

“We get it,” Kristen whispered, looking around to see if Massie was coming. “Massie made us do the mural thing. We actually felt pretty bad about it. But you shouldn’t have cheated us.”

“I know,” Alicia said. “Believe me, I wish I could take it all back. I miss you guys.”

“Yeah, it sucks,” Dylan said, dropping a handful of soy nuts into her open mouth. “But we can’t be friends now.”

“Why? You don’t have to stay friends with Massie.” Alicia spoke quickly. “I’m doing so much better on my own. I have plans with Harris Fisher Friday after school, and a few of the girls from synchro want to start hanging out.” She paused for dramatic effect. “I feel free.”

“Pause. Rewind,” Kristen said, punching imaginary buttons in the air. “You’re hanging out with Harris?”

“Yup.” Alicia raised her palm in the air.

“Think you could introduce me to some of his friends?” Dylan asked.

“Given,” Alicia said with pride. “I am also setting up weekly shopping trips into the city. Massie still only does those once a month, right?” Alicia didn’t give them time to answer. “Oh, and my loco cousin Nina is visiting soon from Spain. She’s the one who taught me how to make out.”

“Really?” Kristen whispered.

“Yup.”

“Back away from the EW; move quickly or risk contamination,” a familiar voice said.

Alicia felt a chill run down her spine. She turned and came face-to-face with Massie, who was sipping from a big plastic cup that said Sugar-Free Strength on the side.

“Let’s go,” Massie said.

Alicia looked at Kristen and Dylan, urging them with her eyes to tell Massie off. “Coming,” Kristen and Dylan said at the exact same time.

Alicia waited for them to whisper something to her like, “We’ll call you later,” but they simply walked away without saying another word.