Unexpected

| ix | try me once more

In this chapter, we finally get to find out what went down between Grayson and Erin. It may seem like a small thing, but when they're so young and tensions are high already because of their home situations and race differences, it has a big impact (evidently) on their friendship.

ix~ i dare them to try, i dare them to hurt me one more time

ix-ix-ix-ix-ix

It has been happening for a while. Grayson can feel it like a shift in the air; like how the smell of autumn can invade one's senses even while summer is still simmering in their blood and the sun is burning their skin. Suddenly the summer of their friendship is ending. Grayson knows this, but he is helpless to stop it.

Erin's young face seems old suddenly. Her eyes are tired. Her shadow can be confused with that of an old woman, bent over from the weight of the world. She is battered and bruised as most children are, but she rarely leaves her house, not even to speak with Grayson. She has forbidden him from climbing to her window. He is too young to grasp a deep understanding of why.

Their bond is splitting, and Grayson is falling in the growing chasm. She is safely on the other end, watching with sad eyes as he struggles. Erin seems to know that there is no point.

But Grayson sees the point. It is in those (now) rare moments of clarity when her eyes light up and she seems like she is nine again instead of ninety. It is when they fight over a soccer ball in his front yard and their small limbs get tangled together, his thin fingers entwining with her chubbier ones. It is there, like a lantern shining in the dark. It is simply a matter of not giving up the pursuit of them.

It is summer outside as it is summer in their hearts, but both seasons are slowly coming to a close. After trying Erin's phone several times only to receive their family's voicemail, Grayson decides to enjoy the community pool on his own. Having been postponed an hour, he knows that the meaner lifeguard is on duty, in which case maybe it is better that Erin is not with him.

The walk to the pool is long, but as his parents are otherwise occupied, he just sucks it up and endures the heat. The walk is long, especially for Grayson's stunted, eleven year old legs. However, the daunting temptation of cool water and the high diving board is enough to push him along.

The street angles down, thrusting Grayson into welcome, cool shadows. The gate appears in front of him. Grayson cannot help himself from cheering up at the sight of it, as well as the glimmer of the setting sun off of blue water.

There is a short queue in front of the acceptance desk. The grumpy man who sits there is the mean lifeguard, and it is the pretty one who is sitting in the tall chair. Grayson likes how pretty she is, and sometimes he has dreams of an older Erin wearing the outfit and sitting there in the blond girl's place. He cannot decide which image he appreciates the most.

The line shortens to allow Grayson to reach the desk. Scowling, the man takes Grayson's money and slaps a plastic wristlet on him. Grayson moves through the iron gates and passes into the pool area, which is crowded with families who have screaming children. There is a group of teenagers playing in the shallow end, the girls flirting and the boys splashing. The pretty lifeguard is awkwardly avoiding the advances of a middle-aged man.

Ah, suburban summer.

Behind him, Grayson hears a sudden stir and raised voices. Curious, he looks back.

Erin is standing there awkwardly, a big shirt thrown over her bathing suit. She is flinching; it seems as if the mean lifeguard is yelling at her. Grayson focuses and tries to block out the background noises.