“Now, this”—Mitch pulls out a small drawstring bag, tugging a bit of rope from its center—“is a throw bag. If you fall out, I will toss this bag to you and…”
Mitch continues his speech, and something in the way his voice drones makes my eyes feel heavy. I didn’t get much sleep last night. Missy and Colton both snore, something I’m sure they would be horrified to find out. Which is why, despite the dark circles around our eyes, Ji and I didn’t say anything to them—although it might be the first thing they have in common. Maybe we should have said something.
Mitch claps his hands, making me jolt upright. He points to the raft. “Okay, the front is for our thrill seekers who don’t mind getting a little wet.”
My eyes instinctively flick to Jordan, knowing he’ll want that seat, but his hand stays down. Instead, Missy and Colton both fling their hands into the air at the same time.
Missy glares at Colton. “He saidthrillseekers. I’m pretty sure the only thing you’re used to seeking is your hair gel.”
Colton leans toward Missy, whispering something in her ear. Missy’s mouth twists in disgust before she turns and pushes Colton in the chest. A tiny smile of victory tilts Colton’s mouth.
Mitch’s eyes widen as if not knowing how to proceed after this schoolyard display.
“Just ignore them,” Ji says. “That’s what we do.”
“Okay,” Mitch says, drawing it out. “So you two, um… can be in the front.” Mitch passes Missy and Colton their oars, and they step forward, staring each other down.
Mitch grabs the next oar. “I’ll be in the back, and...”
“I call the seat by the instructor.” Ji steps toward Mitch and snatches an oar from the pile at his feet.
“Well, I guess that just leaves you two in the middle,” Mitch says to Jordan and me.
We look at each other sheepishly before grabbing our oars and wordlessly settling into the raft across from one another.
The first few minutes downstream are calm and peaceful. The gentle water molds around the raft as we glide into the heart of the forest. Pine trees surround us on both sides, making me feel cradled and secure. I glance at Jordan. He’s got his eyes closed, and the sun dances along his skin as it weaves in and out of the majestic pines above us.
If it didn’t screamfirst-rate stalker, I would take a picture, because this is Jordan—a part of Jordan, at least. The part he puts in a box on a shelf and pretends he doesn’t care that it collects dust. But in this one rare glimpse of him, I see more freedom and joy across his face than I have in a long time.
“Mitch said the deeper you dig your oar into the water, the better,” Colton tells Missy.
“Iamdigging deep.” To emphasize her point, Missy plunges her oar down until most of it is underwater. She repeats this several times before challenging Colton with a smug smile.
A show tune melody fromAnnie Get Your Gunpops into my head as I watch them, and I can’t help but hum “Anything You Can Do” as we float downriver.
When I spot the whitecaps ahead, though, the snarky show tune catches in my throat. My eyes widen as I turn back toward Mitch, hoping he’s about to say something likeOn second thought, those rapids are pretty big. Let’s pull over and try again tomorrow.
But Mitch crows like he’s Peter Pan gathering the Lost Boys for an epic adventure. “Paddle hard. This one’s going to be good.”
Cold water sprays me from every direction, and all I can think isDig deep, dig deep, dig deep,on repeat as I keep thrusting my oar into the river, but the rapids jostle us back and forth so much that half the time my oar doesn’t even connect with the water.
Ayiprends the air, but this time, it’s Jordan. He’s smiling ear to ear as he rides this rapid like he’s on a thoroughbred at the Kentucky Derby. Seems that dusty box of his is coming off the shelf.
Colton joins in his whooping, which is followed by Missy’s even louder whooping.
For a moment, the world is just excited screams and raging rapids. And then I see a big rock jutting out of the river. Mitch calls for all of us to paddle hard to avoid colliding with it, but it’s too late. The rock hits the raft right beneath me, and in one fluid motion, the whole thing tilts. I lose my foothold and slam into Jordan, knocking us both off the raft and into the roiling water.
In the water, I flail about, watching our yellow raft slip away as it rushes downstream. Mitch hollers something and tosses thethrow bag so he can pull us in, but it lands several feet shy of where I’m trying to stay afloat.
Water rushes at my face as I pop in and out of the rapids. I try to think of what Mitch said to do in situations like this, but my brain’s chosen flight over fight, so I exercise my primitive instincts and scream, thrashing my arms and legs spastically beneath the water.
“Paige!” I hear Jordan yelling between bouts of water crashing into my face. “Nose up! Toes up!”
Nose up. Toes up. Right.Triggered into action, I tuck my legs in front of me so I’m facing downstream. My heart is galloping inside my chest.Once more, I try thinking back to Mitch’s pre-rafting lecture to know what to do next, but I can’t remember for the life of me. Maybe literally.
Just then, I feel Jordan’s hand briefly grab onto my wrist. He’s right beside me. My heart and mind begin to calm at his touch, and even though water bubbles around us like a giant out-of-control Jacuzzi, I know we’ll get through this.
“Paige, are you okay?” he shouts.
