“Don’t tell Opal,” Nico said sharply. “Don’t tell her anything we’re doing, period.”
Tyler shrugged. Emma frowned, but nodded. The bell rang and they faced forward as Mr. Huang closed the hallway door.
Another day to get through, Nico thought.One hour at a time.
6
OPAL
They ditched me.
Opal stood at the mouth of the cave.
No Nico, Emma, or Tyler. And, when she peered down at the water, no rowboat.
Only a few daylight hours remained, and her parents would miss her soon. Did she have time to get her dad’s canoe? Could she paddle all the way back to Still Cove, or even find the island again if she did?
Why’d they leave me behind?
The day before, they’d tied the rowboat to a sunken post below the cave, promising to keep everything secret. It wasOpalwho’d spotted hidden notches carved into the cliff, which let them climb up to the ledge from the water.
They’d done it all as a group.Together.
And then they ditched her.
She’d looked for the others after school, then pedaled tothe field and found three bikes in a pile. So she’d descended the heart-stopping trail through the fog and discovered exactly what she’d feared. She was alone.
Tears burned behind Opal’s eyelids, but she blinked them back. She walked into the cave and splashed water on her face. When she finished, she kicked at the stone wall, dirtying her sneakers. They werenotgoing to cut her out of this. Suddenly furious, Opal kicked the wall again. Dirt rained down on her head.Stupid. Don’t make the roof fall in on you.
She had to think. How could she get to the island?
We found one boat in this cave. Maybe there’s another?
Opal moved deeper, exploring the narrow fissure where the rowboat had been. Near the back, a draft chilled her skin. With a start, Opal realized there was a hidden corner.A passageway. Her phone light was just bright enough to reach the next turn.
Opal stared into the opening for a dozen heartbeats. Opal took a deep breath.Why not?
She entered a narrow tunnel reeking of seawater and damp earth. The path dove sharply, switching back and forth as it burrowed underground. After dozens of turns, the way leveled. A long, straight tunnel stretched out before her. Water dripped from its ceiling.
Fear squeezed Opal’s throat. A warning ofGo back!coursed through her, shouted down by a second voice that whispered:This might take you where you want to go.Shetried not to think about the thousands of tons of rock and seawater above her head. The tunnel had to cut directly underneath the cove.
Gritting her teeth, Opal ran headlong into the pitch black.
Just keep moving. This has to lead somewhere.
At one point the passage widened into an open space, but Opal raced through it until the walls narrowed again. Shehadto find the others. She was tired of being the odd one out, the afterthought. She was an outsider to her parents’ lives, their jobs at work and their obsession with the new house. And she was an interloper in Logan’s group. He kept inviting her places, but she knew Parker and Carson resented it. Ever since her best friend Melissa moved to Seattle last year, Opal felt that she was hovering at the edge of everyone else’s closed circles. And now this.
The tunnel ended at the bottom of a jagged ramp. Opal jogged up another set of switchbacks to a second, smaller cave. Outside, brambles choked the bottom of a steep-sided gully.
Opal knew where she was. She’d been right.
She was standing on the island in Still Cove.
Opal climbed up the ridge. From the top, she could see the dark wound of the pond and its eerie houseboat.
Opal grinned wickedly.
She had a secret.
