"Did I do something to you? Because I really don't think I did," I said. "I'm not trying to be your friend, Lindsay. I'm just here to figure out the deal with this coin." I wasn't trying to be his friend either, but why would either one of us want to spend time with someone who hated the other even with a goal that was clear as mud? He wasn't going to ruin the experience for me, and unless he found something to offer besides a bad attitude, he would no longer be with us very soon. On the team. I wasn't going to kill him. Most likely. *** Lindsay Hughes, a sophomore studying cultural anthropology at Tillamook College in Oregon, has been good at discovering patterns, lies, hidden details, and just about everything else for as long as she can remember. To her, it's no secret that she's an underachieving disappointment to her parents, she'll probably never find a job if she even graduates, and her spending habits will haunt her eventually, but she also couldn't care less about those minor issues. With a professor who hates her job, a rock enthusiast best friend, a nosy roommate, and a bitter classmate who can't seem to listen, she digs up something, and for once in her life, she can't figure out what it means.

"For a place called Paradise City, this island sucks. I don't think a single day has gone by that I haven't thought about stabbing the shit out of myself," he said. "Especially since I'm forced to live with you every second of every day." "Sh. I'm trying to science," I said, not looking up from my binoculars. "See anything interesting?" "Not really. My vision's a little clouded from the fog and rain clouds you constantly emit." He laughed. "You never fail to amuse me, Rea." "But you just said-" "I just said you make me want to stab myself. Interpret that however you'd like." With a love for whales and all life (besides maybe humans), Reagan Winebrenner had never even seen an ocean until her senior year in high school. But the moment she saw her first humpback, she knew she had found her passion and future career. A few years later and an invitation to Paradise City in hand, Reagan has her entire summer laid out for her, working on the project of a lifetime. But with five other students completing their projects as well, will they discover something worthwhile, or will they end up a psychology lesson for future generations? A New Adult Watty Winner 2019