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spaces.
    "Swim meet," I mumbled.
    "Can I come?"
    Unzipping my duffel, I answered, "You wouldn't want to." I replaced my damp Speedo with a dry one and checked to make sure I had my contact case and goggles. "Ever wonder why we're called the Southglenn Starfish? Because Starfish don't swim." I crossed my eyes at Faith.
    She didn't smile. She never smiled. She droned, "It'd be better than staying here with June and Ward Clever."
    I laughed. Oh, my God. Did Faith have a sense of humour? "I thought you were into torture and sacrifice."
    She pivoted and left. Oops. Not funny, the truth. I peered around the partition to tell her it was a joke, but she already stuck on her earphones and started fiddling with her CD player. The crap she listened to: Flesh eaters. Tapping the Vein.
    I dug around under my bed for m portable CD player. I hadn't used it in a while. It was dusty. I checked the batteries. At the bottom of the stairs, I heard the strike of a match. Damn her.

    ***

    My best event was the fifty freestyle and I still came in dead last, Oh, well. It wasn't like I was bringing down the team – we were all lousy. Our goal, according to Coach Chiang, was to finish out of the toilet, just once.
    It was a pipe dream.
    Unfortunately, the med relay was scheduled right after my sprint events, and I was so exhausted I barely got off the block before the race was over. As I hauled my dead carcass out of the water, gasping for air and feeling lightheaded, my eyes deglazed on the audience.
    Cece was there, standing to the side of the bleachers with a group of girls. No one i recognised. She had on these khaki flight pants and a T-shirt with a check mark. The shirt said, JUST DO IT, and underneath in parentheses, WITH GIRLS. She saw me and hitched her chin up a little in acknowledgment.
    If my facial muscle were functional, I might've smiled. What is she doing here? I wondered. Well, duh. She came to see someone swim. Who? Brandi wasn't on the team. Another girl?
    I tore off my swim cap and shook out my hair. Soggy and self-conscious, that's how I felt. Coach handed me a towel. "Nice job," he lied.
    "The didn't record my time, did they?"
    He smiled sheepishly. "'Fraid so. Thanks for filling in, Holland. It's nice to have someone I can count on."
    "To swim their personal worst," I muttered, draping the towel over my head. His sneakers squished on the tile as he heeded off to BS with the other coach.
    "I was getting ready to call out the Coast Guard."
    I yanked the towel off my face.
    Cece grinned.
    "Shut up," I said, and snapped her with the towel.
    She caught the end and held it. "We're going to a dance at Rainbow Alley, if you want to come."
    "What's Rainbow Alley?" I peered over her shoulder at the girls.
    "It's a gay teen centre," she said.
    A spike of fear lodged in my spine. Why? I wanted to spend time with her, get to know her. But at a gay teen centre? What if she thought … ? What if it meant … ? The static in my head crackled. "Um, thanks, I can't. I have to ride back on the bus with the team." My eyes were drawn to the wet tile under Cece's feet. Unlaced high-tops. How cool.
    "I could follow the bus and take you from school." she said.
    "I have to get home."
    She looked at me. Saw through me. She knew I was lying and wheeled around.
    "Cece." I caught her arm. Then dropped it when my hand caught fire. "Thanks for the CD. I played it all the way here. It's awesome."
    She smiled again, a slow, suggestive smile. Then she winked and jogged to catch up with her friends.
    She was such a flirt. It always made me hurl when girls acted that way. Kirsten, for example. The way she came onto guys. So obvious. With Cece, though, it was different. With her, it was … sexy.

Chapter 7

    Echo Lake was crowded by the time Seth and I got there. Thank God Faith didn't come. She said she had plans; I imagine they included burning me in effigy. She'd walked in on the rather heated exchange Mom and I were having about me inviting Faith. Sorry, I