Surviving High School

for a boyfriend, so do you.”
    But if Samantha hadn’t been talking about Cameron, who could it be?
    For a second, Emily paused. Maybe it was better if she didn’t know. She’d always loved her sister, looked up to her. Knowing the truth could change everything.
    “I’m just tired,” Emily said.
    “Well, get some sleep,” said Samantha. “Quals for Junior Nationals are a week away. I’m not sure if it’s your biggest priority anymore, but I’m pretty sure you don’t want to lose to blondie.”
    Emily took a deep breath. She couldn’t run away from thetruth. Even if what she found out about Sara wasn’t pleasant, she had to know.
    “Yeah,” said Emily. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask.… You mentioned something about Sara—and a boyfriend?”
    A shadow passed over Samantha’s face.
    “Look, I’ve tried to be nice to you about the whole thing,” she said. “Out of respect, you know. She’s gone now. Who cares what happened?”
    She stripped off her sweater and tossed it violently into her locker.
    “I do,” said Emily.
    Samantha started unlacing a big black combat boot. Her hands were tense and white against the laces.
    “Nick and I—we were in love,” said Samantha. “At least I thought we were. Then she came along and it was like he couldn’t get rid of me fast enough.”
    “Nick?” asked Emily. “Nick Brown?” She felt her pulse pounding through her body, and her breathing quickened. Was it really possible?
    “I know how much it hurt him to lose her,” said Samantha. “But that doesn’t make it any easier for me.”
    “I’ve—I’ve got to go,” said Emily. She walked out of the locker room and out to the pool, where the shouts of the other swimmers echoed from every wall. Nick Brown—the same Nick Brown who had killed Sara—had been her boyfriend ?
    She leaned against the wall, trying not to pass out from the one-two punch of sleep deprivation and sheer emotional exhaustion.
    “Kessler!” shouted her dad as he came up from behind her. “What’s the holdup? Get into the pool!”
    “Just a second.”
    “What’s with the bags under your eyes?” he asked. “You having trouble sleeping? If you can’t get to sleep, you’re not training hard enough.”
    How much more could she take? Maybe this was the moment when she would break, when the weight of the sky became too much for her shoulders, and it crushed her beneath its weight.
    She looked her dad—her coach—in the eyes. No, not yet. She wouldn’t break. Not here, not now.
    “I’m fine,” Emily said, gritting her teeth.
    Nick Brown , she thought, as if repeating the name inside her brain would force it to make sense. Nick Brown. Nick Brown. Nick Brown.
    Then she walked to the side of the pool and jumped in.
    “Kessler!” shouted Mr. McBride the next day in class.
    “Huh?” asked Emily. “What?” She’d just been dreaming about sleeping on a very nice, very fluffy cloud next to Ben. Oh, no. She’d gotten to the point where she was literally dreaming about sleeping.
    “I’m sorry,” said Mr. McBride. “Did I wake you?”
    “No. I was—concentrating.”
    Mr. McBride massaged his forehead, his fingers brushing against his bushy eyebrows.
    “Well then,” he said, “I’m sure you won’t mind telling ushow the Hittites had such a profound combat advantage over their contemporaries.”
    “They, uh, developed bronze weapons?”
    “Almost!” shouted Mr. McBride. “So very, very close! But in fact, the correct answer is that they were one of the first cultures to develop—wait for it— iron weapons, which cut through their enemies’ bronze swords like a hot knife through butter.” He put his hands on Emily’s desk and looked down at her. “Minus one. And see me after class.”
    After class, Emily waited as the other students filtered out of the room, then calmly walked over to Mr. McBride’s desk.
    “About earlier,” she said. “I’m sorry. I—”
    “Not yet,” he said, marking a large D-minus atop another student’s essay. “We’re expecting one more guest.”
    Confused, Emily turned to see Alicia Prez walk into the room.
    “Ah, there she is,” said Mr. McBride. “Please take a seat.”
    Alicia and Emily both sat down at desks near the front of the room.
    “Just because I fell asleep once?” asked Emily. “How did you even have time to call her?”
    “We were planning to meet with you already,” he said, still not looking up from the paper. “Your little nap merely