Jane Unwrapped

Skutz Falls

Skutz Falls

Jane

Adventure is overrated.

The cold water bites my legs, and I tremble against the current. I just have to pretend I'm Charles Darwin, sailing off to the Galápagos. Creating a new theory for evolution seems easier than plopping down on the black inner tube, which spins on the waters of Skutz Falls.

"Come on, Jane, this isn't hard," my older brother, Duncan, snaps. "Just sit down."

"But it's moving!" I say.

"Yes," he says. "That's what rivers do."

"Technically, they flow. A combination of gravity, wind, and geographic land folds causes the water to continuously run downward, unless disrupted by a dam or—"

Duncan grabs me around the waist and pushes me into the tube. I've stalled getting into the water so long the tube has heated up to thigh-blistering levels. "No science stuff, remember? Mom said to have fun, not ramble on about gravity and land folds. Okay?"

"Wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of all your distinguished comrades." I roll my eyes and wiggle deeper into the hole of my tube.

"You haven't been outside at all this summer. See that, Dr. Jane?" He points to the sky. "That's called the sun. It's there for us to enjoy!"

I would tell him the sun is actually there due to the nebular cloud and condensation theory, but he gives me a stubborn stare.

"And seriously," he says, "take that T-shirt off. You'll cook to death."

I wrap my pink T-shirt tighter around myself. Squeaky laughter breaks over the rush of the river. Duncan's four friends splash each other and crack beers as they wait for me to get ready. No way will I take it off. Not with them here. One girl stands up from her tube, flaunting a flat abdomen in a floral bikini. Yeah, definitely not taking my shirt off.

Duncan drags my tube over to the rest of the group. The girl tilts her head and gives me a once-over. "So we finally get to meet Duncan's little sister. I'm Laurel!"

"Uh, hi."

Laurel puts her hands on her hips. "You're thirteen, right?"

"Uh, I'm seventeen."

"Oh, awkward!" She laughs. "You gonna join us at VIU?"

"No, I'm going somewhere else." Like the University of Cambridge...if I get in. My acceptance letter still hasn't arrived. I want to learn in the same place as the great ones who changed the world: the scientific revolutionist, Newton; the father of nuclear physics, Rutherford; and, of course, Darwin. I should be double-checking what classes I want to take instead of doing some stupid summer ritual with drunk college kids.

"What are we waiting for?" one of the other girls says. "Let's go!" They jump onto their tubes and paddle into the current.

"Just relax." Duncan leans toward me, his long, dirty blond hair falling in my face. "Try having fun for once."

With that, Duncan shoves me into the current of Skutz Falls.

"Don't let go!" I squeal as the cold water splashes onto my lap.

Duncan belly flops on his tube. "I'm right here," he sighs. "You're safe."

I clutch the sides of the tube with white knuckles. Typical Duncan. Five summers ago, he forced me to learn how to ride a bike and promised not to let go of the seat until I was ready. Of course, he did let go, and I smacked against the cement and scraped my knees. With its corrosive chemicals, scorching Bunsen burners, and scalpels as sharp as green warbler-finches' beaks, the lab is still safer than the outdoors.