When Colette finished, Kayla said, “You should come over tonight if you’re free. It’s TV and taco night, and Jer’s been moping around complaining how bored he is with Samir and them gone. You’d cheer him up.”

But Annabelle couldn’t imagine cheering anybody up when she felt this miserable. “Thanks, but I think I have family stuff,” she said, and then she rushed over to Mom and Mitch. She didn’t even check to see if Jeremy and Mia were still around waiting for her.

“Can we go?” she asked Mom.

Mom was in the middle of a conversation with some other parents, but she didn’t object the way she usually would have, and she didn’t remind Annabelle to say goodbye to all of the adults, calling them Mr. or Mrs. whatever, even though all the other island kids called one another’s parents by first names.

On the way home, Mia sent Annabelle a text with a whole bunch of hearts, and Jeremy sent a video with giraffes head-butting each other. Annabelle managed to send hearts and a thanks back to Mia and an LOL to Jeremy, and then she put away her phone.

Mitch tried to talk about how Annabelle had lost some power on her kick in the 100-meter fly and she should make sure to extend her arms all the way forward, but she didn’t really listen. She looked out the window as they passed those huge gray houses near the pool—the ones that had stood empty and dark in the off-season but were all lit up now, with fancy cars with out-of-state license plates in the driveways, and big grills uncovered on the side decks, and little kids running around in their bathing suits in the emerald-green yards. Those summer kids were always so happy when they were here on the island. So completely carefree.

Mom tried the old “You tried your hardest and that’s what counts” line she usually only had to pull out for schoolwork, and Annabelle let out a short laugh. It didn’t make her feel any better when Mom said it about swimming, either.

Chapter 10

On Monday, Mitch took an early lunch break and drove Annabelle and Jeremy to the pool before practice so he could help Annabelle do some extra work on her starts.

Annabelle meant to ask Mia to come, too. She told herself she was going to text Sunday afternoon, and then Sunday night, and then first thing when she woke up . . . but she just couldn’t.

She sometimes got the feeling that Mia was . . . Not that she was happy when Annabelle didn’t do well at something, exactly. But sort of always keeping track of which of them was ahead. And right now Annabelle was dragging way too far behind.

“Hey, so I know this is kind of weird to ask,” Annabelle said when she and Jeremy walked up to the pool a few feet ahead of Mitch, who was on a work call. “But could you maybe not say anything to Mia about me asking you to come today?”