Brookside Academy

6 - Priceless

Ryan's expression is the one she always wears when a bad idea is brewing in her mind. She glances once more at the gigantic pool only a few dozen feet away, eyebrows raised in a silent question. Will is the first to answer, grabbing Ryan's arm and dragging her across the courtyard to the pool.

He pushes her in, and Ben and I just stare blankly at each other. We're both clearly thinking, "Did that just happen?"

Once Ry resurfaces, I call over to the other half of our group. "Is this really what you had in mind, Ryan?"

"Yeah, why not?" she yells back, gesturing for Ben and I to come over while lifting herself out of the water. He raises his eyebrows at me, and after a split second of hesitation, he takes off his watch and walks over to the pool. Not wanting to be the last one left by the fire, I unclasp the bracelet I'm wearing and leave it on the table, jogging over to meet Ryan by the door, so we can change into swimsuits.

The living room clock says that it's 12:16 in the morning right now, a new day. I run upstairs to the guest room, and quickly change into one of the countless bikinis I brought with me, and throwing on a loose dress, before running back downstairs, Ryan right behind me, having come from the basement. The guys aren't back out yet, but we both jump into the freezing cold pool, the LED lights at the bottom turning the water into a bright spot in the darkness.

After resurfacing, we both lean against the wall of the pool, waiting for Will and Ben to come back out. I splash her relentlessly, which she returns with the same energy. This is why we're best friends.

As we're dunking each other under the water with no warning, I feel a splash on either side of me, and I see the guys jumping into the water, Ryan and I both letting out surprised yells.

"A little warning next time!" I exclaim.

"It's so much more fun this way," Ben says from behind me, trying and failing to discreetly push me under the water.

"You would be an awful secret agent, Sterling."

He scoffs and gives me the finger, which I happily return.

Will is holding Ryan on his shoulders above the pool, which gives me an idea. "Hey, what about a chicken fight? Girls versus guys."

Ryan, of course, instantly agrees, followed by Will, and much more hesitantly, Ben. We break off to opposite ends of the pool, and Ryan hoists me onto her shoulders as Will does the same with Ben. We make our way to the middle of the pool, and Ben and I start to push our arms against each other, determined to make the other fall.

After a few minutes of this, the game divulges into a form of anarchy. Ben and I have left civility at the door, and even the happy couple below is getting ultra competitive. We go through ten minutes, which is incredibly long for this game, of the pushing and shoving, until Ben grabs ahold of me, and I fall from Ryan's shoulders into the pool. I hear a snap as I tumble, only to realize the necklace I was wearing is now at the bottom of the pool. The necklace I received from my mother. I swim down to grab it, yet the chain is snapped. It's essentially useless now.

"What the fuck, Bennett?" I say as I get out of the pool, holding the broken necklace. "You know how much this means to me!" I'm holding back tears, and Ryan gets out of the pool as well, walking me back to the house as I mutter curses under my breath. I'm pissed, entirely unfazed that I look pathetic, dripping wet and holding back tears. This necklace is the one thing I own that I actually care about, and Ben had to ruin it for me. I know, I shouldn't have been wearing it in the pool, but the material is real. It's not going to tarnish from one spontaneous cannonball.

Ryan is holding onto what's left of the necklace in one hand, and dragging me up the stairs with her other arm.

Thank god for best friends.