At the Speed of Lies by Cindy L. Otis

Author:Cindy L. Otis [L. Otis, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2023-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

Ximena balances on the edge of the public dock with her arms out at her sides, humming circus music, like she’s walking on a tightrope. We’re the only people at the lake. That’s why as much as I hate the cold, this is my favorite time of year. When it’s just the two of us and the water is steel gray and a little choppy. It’s the first time we’ve been here together since school started, but it’s definitely the last time until winter is over because we’re supposed to get our first snow this weekend.

We haven’t even made it past the first week in November, but just the idea of snow fills me with dread. In the winter, my world suddenly shrinks down to the few places I absolutely have to go. My chair doesn’t do great in snow, and since the cold makes my joints hurt more than normal, I spend most of each winter feeling trapped and in pain, craving the fleeting heat that is months away.

“Every Friday should be a teacher work day,” Ximena calls, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. “That way, every weekend could be a three-day weekend. It’s Saturday and I’m already totally rested. Don’t you feel better with some fresh air? I feel like we haven’t been here in forever.”

“You know I go into a deep hibernation after Halloween,” I call back. But the fact is, the frigid air has cleared my head a little from the sick haze that’s coated my brain since my fight with Ava last weekend.

“It sucks you had to work and missed that ice carving competition in Dundee yesterday. We dared Adrian to lick one of the sculptures and he got his tongue stuck. He freaked out.” Ximena sticks out her tongue and mimics what must be her interpretation of Adrian’s panicked face, flailing her arms at her sides. “It was hilarious.”

“Wish I’d seen it.” But it was actually a relief that we had enough customers at the store that I had to keep my Friday shift. Maybe the shop is going to be okay.

A dull ache has settled into my joints and I’m moving stiffly already, but being here is still a nice distraction from the conspiracy spiral I’ve been on. Things were starting to feel a little dark. After our fight, Ava stopped speaking to me entirely. My punishment for believing the truth, I guess. It also hasn’t helped that I’ve spent so much time in a bottomless pit of D3 research. It’s like I can’t look away until I figure out what it all means.

I tilt my head back and watch fluffy clouds like cotton balls slide fast across the sky. Ximena and I take a selfie at the end of the dock with our hats pulled down over our eyes so only our mouths show and another one where we let the wind whip our hair up around us until we both look like we’ve sustained serious electric shocks. She posts them on Instagram, and my phone beeps in my pocket when she tags me in them.

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