Chapter 1

I pointed at the old, rusted metal sign by the river.

It read:

[No Swimming — Deep Sand-Mining Pits]

"See that? It's an official warning. The water here isn't safe."

Graham Spencer shoved his hands into his pockets and scoffed. "Daelyn Hart, Principal Dawson praised you for staying calm under pressure at graduation. So why are you suddenly chickening out now that we're by the river?

"That sign is just there to scare kids. We're all adults now. We just graduated. We're supposed to do something crazy!"

I took a deep breath and tried to keep my voice calm and professional. "The surface looks flat, but the riverbed drops off without warning. You could take two steps and go from waist-deep water to more than thirty feet.

"My dad used to serve on a water rescue unit. He responded to accidents here before. Every person who drowned knew how to swim."

A few of the boys who had been eager to get into the water began to hesitate.

Just then, Zara Valentine shoved her phone in my face, already livestreaming. She laughed theatrically into the camera.

"Everyone, you're watching our city swimming champion's biggest coward moment live! A swimming champion who's afraid of a river? This has to be the funniest joke of 2026!"

The comments exploded.

"Did she buy that title from some swim school?"

"I'm dying. I thought being a champion was supposed to mean something, but she's too scared to even step into the water."

Zara's cheeks flushed with excitement as she read the comments. She deliberately pushed the phone even closer to my face.

"Say something, Daelyn. Or do you have a guilty conscience?"

I clenched my fists and looked past her at my deskmate, Kaleb Lawrence.

I had thought Kaleb would stand up for me. Out of everyone in our class, he knew best how many years my family had spent working around the water.

When Kaleb was little, he had nearly drowned in the deep end of a swimming pool. My dad had dived in and pulled him up from the bottom.

Kaleb knew how dangerous swimming in open water could be. More importantly, he knew I wasn't a coward.

Sure enough, Kaleb stepped forward. He met my eyes and spoke, "Daelyn, quit killing the mood. You're only a pool champion. What, does a real river scare you so badly you're about to pee your pants?"

The entire class burst into laughter.

My chest tightened.

Seeing their reaction, Graham raised his hand high. "How about this? Let's do a Graduation Courage Challenge! Anyone who gets in the water today is one of us!

"Anyone who refuses is out. They'll also have to Venmo two hundred bucks to the class chat so the rest of us can celebrate!"

I stared at him coldly. "I'm not participating."

Graham immediately turned his attack on me. "Oh, you weren't afraid of the water when you accepted thousands of dollars in championship prize money. But now that it's a class activity, you're playing dead?

"Unbelievable, Daelyn. You take all the benefits for yourself, but the second the group asks anything of you, you refuse to do your part?"

Several girls I usually got along with gathered around me, all talking at once as they tried to persuade me.

"Daelyn, don't make things so awkward."

"Exactly. We're only going to wade near the shore, take a few pictures, and come right back out. Nothing's going to happen."

"We've been classmates all this time, and this is our last activity together. Don't end things on a bad note."

I looked at their faces, each one wearing an expression that claimed they were only thinking of me. The irony was almost unbearable.

I pulled out my phone instead of arguing any further. I found the number for the local water authority and prepared to report a group of people attempting to swim illegally.

The call had barely connected when Graham lunged forward and snatched the phone from my hand. In front of everyone, he ended the call.

"Daelyn, I'm warning you. Don't push your luck." His expression darkened as he enunciated every word. "No one is going to ruin the most important memory of our graduation today."

At that moment, the last glimmer of hope in my heart went out completely.

You can't talk sense into people determined to die.