Meret had arrived at the garden, though Ace was nowhere in sight. She glanced around, the gentle rustle of leaves filling the quiet. She folded her arms across her chest, pacing slowly from one end of the stone path to the other.

Her nerves prickled. Every step she took echoed her own uncertainty.

The school bell rang, and she froze, her lips pressed tight. The swimming class had begun. If she left now, she could still make it on time, slip into the pool unnoticed, pretend like none of this ...