Surviving High School

water flying throughthe air, as if Kimi had tossed a bucketful of it at Emily. But the dress that landed in her arms was indeed real and dry. Seeing it, she felt as she had when she first saw Ben Kale: that it was made for her.
    Even before she tried it on, even before she walked out and saw Kimi’s eyes go wide, Emily knew: She had found her dress.
    At ten twenty-five that night, Emily stood in front of her closet mirror, holding the dress up to her body and examining it in the light. She imagined Ben looking at her, a big, surprised smile on his face. “ You look so beautiful ,” said the fantasy Ben. “I’d give anything to kiss a girl as pretty as you.”
    She pursed her lips and half contemplated wearing it tonight, before she opened the window and felt the harsh autumn cold blow across her skin. She laid the dress out across her bed and put on her thickest coat. Better to surprise Ben at the dance anyway. A text appeared on her phone: Rdy when u r.
    A few minutes later, Emily walked toward Ben’s car. Her head felt like it was full of helium, and as she floated across the sidewalk, she stumbled from time to time. Had she ever been this tired in her life? She had passed the point of mere exhaustion and entered a state of blissful sleep deprivation where everything seemed hilarious. She hoped she wasn’t going crazy.
    As she approached Ben, he took her in his arms and spun her around, and a warm spark of happiness filled her chest.In these moments, when she was wrapped up in his arms, she knew that the lack of sleep and constant fear of getting caught were worth it. Because nothing else in her life made her feel like this, not swimming, not even winning races.
    “What’s gotten into you?” asked Ben. “You’re, uh, holding me kind of tight.”
    “Just don’t let go of me,” she said. “I’m worried I’ll float away.”
    And he held her tight until she felt gravity return to normal.
    After their usual coffee, he took her to the beach that night. The tide was low and, flashlight in hand, he led her down to look at starfish and sea urchins clinging to rocks in tide pools.
    “Here,” he said. “Run your fingers along that one’s back. It feels like sandpaper. Oh, don’t touch that one, though. That one’s poisonous.”
    She drew back her hand and looked at him suspiciously.
    “How many girlfriends have you gotten killed on dates like this?”
    Ben started counting on his fingers, as if trying to add them all up.
    “Come on,” she said, drying her hand off on his T-shirt. “What else have you got to show me?”
    “Believe me,” he said. “I’m just getting started.”
    They followed the rocky coastline down toward a barren cliff face, and Ben shone his flashlight’s beam into a cave’s black mouth.
    “There it is,” he said. “No one outside of my family seems to know about this place.”
    “Is it safe?” asked Emily.
    Ben shrugged.
    “Seriously,” she said. “I’m not kidding.”
    “I won’t let anything happen to you. You trust me?”
    “I trust you.” She took his hand and followed him into the dark. After they’d walked a few steps in, Ben turned off his flashlight.
    “What are you doing?” she asked.
    “Just walk where I walk. You’ll understand in a minute.”
    As they went deeper into the cave, Emily’s pulse quickened. How well did she even know Ben? What if he was just leading her toward some bottomless pit that he’d push her into? She imagined falling forever, knowing the boy she’d loved had betrayed her. Or what if he’d decided he couldn’t wait for that kiss any longer and was planning to do it here in the dark. Or what if—
    “Okay,” he said. “We’re here. Count to three.”
    “Three?” she asked.
    “Two,” he said. “One.”
    He flicked on his flashlight, and the beam shot straight up, illuminating a glittering ceiling of pure amethyst. The purple crystals shot refracted light around the chamber, revealing still more of their glittering cousins.
    “It’s—amazing,” said Emily.
    Ben held her hands in his. Then he leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek.
    “I’ve never brought a girl here.”
    “Ben—I don’t know what to say.”
    “You like it?”
    She leaned in, kissed him back on the cheek, and smiled.
    “I love it.”
    She had no idea how long they stood there, under the purple light of the amethysts. She knew only that after a while her knees felt stiff and her face grew cold. By the time they got back out, and