Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester

Author:Natalia Sylvester
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-03-26T00:00:00+00:00

Possible: pos·si·ble

(adj.) within someone’s (or something’s) capacity or ability

(adj. VR) spanning both every dream and every nightmare that can ever come true

Chapter 21

I FIND DANI AND LESLIE LYING out on the hood of the car in the parking lot. Tanya headed into the dressing room to prepare for today’s show a while ago, so now it’s just the two of them. Dani’s got her sunglasses on while Leslie’s wearing a scrunched-up T-shirt over her head to block out the sun.

Neither of them hear me coming because I’m still stunned in a foggy silence. I feel like I’m sleepwalking and this moment will soon be a vague memory. My shadow hovers just a few feet ahead of me on the pavement, and it’s only when it creeps up over Dani’s and Leslie’s heads that they stir back to life.

A squeal like a dog toy dying escapes Leslie while Dani just screams “¡Carajo!” in a way that would make even our father blush.

“What the hell, Vero? I thought it was a cougar or something attacking us,” she says.

“A cougar?”

“Didn’t you see the video of that cougar that attacked a baby alligator in some guy’s backyard?”

Dani’s always DMing me videos I never have time to watch. Mostly it’s a bunch of Florida Man memes or Only in Florida jokes that get on my nerves because they’re not the only things that are true about us. I think she secretly hopes to shoot one of her own someday, but so far, our lives aren’t that extraordinary.

“Sooo?” Leslie slides off the car till we’re practically nose to nose.

I tilt my head so I can see Dani behind her. “They . . . they let me in.”

They’re on me so fast I almost fall straight to the ground. Dani’s squeals are at full dolphin level, and even Leslie starts jumping up and down until we’re forming a tiny huddle of hype.

“I knew it! I totally knew it!” Dani says.

“Tell me everything. Including who you beat for the spot and how,” Leslie says.

It’s hard for me to match their glee. In my mind this moment was unreal and magical, and now that it’s here, I feel far away from it. I’m scared its sweetness will fade away, like cotton candy on my tongue, the second I try to enjoy it.

“They did a whole sit-down interview with me,” I say. “After we were done with the swimming part. It was weird. Barb had a stapler with mermaid stickers on it?” I try to focus on the little details. “And anyways, they said they saw something special in me. That I was mermaid material.”

“And anyways?” Dani says.

“Oh yeah, no big deal,” Leslie says, getting into the car. “Seriously, what are you on right now? Did the water pressure get to you? You’re now a mermaid, but it’s just another Friday.”

“I’m not yet, though.” There it is. I’ve said the hard part out loud. After Barb and Lila told me I’d made it and handed me a bunch of paperwork

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.