Into the Velvet

Forty-Five Days Until

Henry was excellent at letting his hair down. That fact shouldn't have surprised me.

"Fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four..."

Chants and shouting almost drowned out the sound of Henry's voice, trying to keep time on his water-proof watch. We waited with bated excitement as Ivy's feet flapped around in the air. Pulling off an underwater handstand. The rest of her was submerged, and had been for nearly an entire minute.

"Go, Ivy!" I shouted. Calvin was watching with his arms crossed, the water lapping at his bare chest.

Finally, Ivy emerged from the water's depths, spluttering and covered in wet ribbons of hair. "Fifty-seven seconds!" Mr. Cain called. There was a unanimous celebration — even I couldn't help but jump from the pool steps, joining in the cries of jubilation.

The interschool debating world hadn't been enough. We'd somehow turned holding our breath underwater into a competitive sport.

Calvin threw his hands in the air. "How is this fair?"

Ivy punched him with one hand, wrangling water out of her ears with the other. Her smile shimmered like the electric blue depths around her. "Beat that."

Calvin swallowed a big breath and wasted no time. He dived deep and let the water devour him.

Mrs. Tucci joined the other motel guests in their deep slumber. The splashing of six teenagers against a backdrop of fluorescent water was the solitary sign of life around us. Henry perched on one of the lounge chairs, which he'd brought closer to the edge of the pool. He and I were a few feet apart.

I turned my head slight to Henry from the corner of my eye, wanting to marvel at the change in him. To take in the sight of him as this youthful, unguarded boy.

His head moved. He'd moved to glance at me at the same moment, hoping to catch a glimpse undetected. Our eyes connected, sparking like an overheated fuse. The water lapped at my legs, soothing the burn.

The fine hair along my skin stood to attention.

I tried to make conversation to hide my response. "I can't believe you agreed to this pool party," I said, shaking my head with amusement. "You realise that your popularity points have now sky-rocketed, right? They'll tell stories of your valour from far and wide."

He smiled. "Ah, popularity points. 'Tis the sole reason I teach."

Then there was quiet. I should've felt self-consciousness in my bathing suit. My body was all brown freckles, bony elbows and slight curves. Not entirely shapeless, but suggesting a womanly flair that hurried on its way. I should've balked at the thought of him seeing so much of my flesh at once — if he saw me at all.

It was Henry who broke the silence. "You guys worked very hard today," he murmured, glancing my way, "but I indulged you all tonight for different reasons. To thank you for what you did."

His voice carried over the sounds of rushing water, of the students bickering and splashing. The students, I thought with a start. Like I hadn't been one of them to start.

I turned to him in surprise. His candour was unexpected. To be perfectly truthful, I didn't know what to do about this man — this hybrid Henry who was sometimes Mr. Cain, who had to be Mr. Cain because it was his job, whom I felt I knew too intimately and then not at all.

"What for?" I asked.

"You helped Sami come back from her meltdown. Something I couldn't do." He rolled his head slightly, cracking his neck. The soft underwater light reflected rippling lines against his face — changing, twisting together. I couldn't stop staring. "Emotional turbulence isn't my thing. It's one of my biggest fears. It switches off my brain, and then I act all cold—"