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Chapter One
No one had ever accused Mandy Hale of being a wimp. At least, not to my face. At Rock Valley High, I was known for my ability to go the distance. So when the senior class planned a polar plunge at the Cascades, there was no way I was going to refuse.
Especially not when there was a dare involved.
“Is this really necessary?” My best friend, Audrey Black, shivered next to me in her sweatpants and hoodie as we arrived at the Cascades. Her dark brown mass of hair had been pulled back into a bun that could barely contain the curls. Her teeth chattered as a blast of cool air hit us. “Can’t we reschedule for summer? Why do we have to go swimming in the middle of February? I think I’d rather go back to helping your sister with her math homework.”
“It wouldn’t be a polar plunge if the water was warm,” I said calmly, stripping off my athletic-wear down to my maroon Patagonia bikini. “And let’s not talk about Charlotte. She’s probably still fuming that I wouldn’t let her come today.”
The bare skin on my belly tingled with the sudden appearance of goosebumps in the cold air, but I didn’t give it a second thought. My gaze was already zeroed in on the small series of waterfalls in the riverbed ahead and I was busy calculating how fast I could make it to the other side.
The Cascades was a popular hangout for high school kids during the hot summer months. When the water was low, like today, each waterfall created a serene pool that lazily spilled over the next waterfall and then onto the next. In all, there were five waterfalls, with the biggest at the top. At least thirty or so of the senior guys had already leap-frogged across the moss-covered stones at the top waterfall and made it to the opposite bank, where the polar plunge was supposed to begin.
It was a Rock Valley tradition for the senior guys to jump into the freezing water. Only this time, there would be a girl among the group.
I couldn’t let them have all the glory.
“You know, I’d have to agree. Catching pneumonia was not on my vision board for our last year.” Trina Frye, the third and final piece to our awesome friend trio, stood on my other side rubbing her hands up and down her arms. She towered above me with her supermodel height, her brown curls spilling over her shoulders. “Care if we sit this one out by the fire, M?”
“Fine,” I said, shooting them each a quick smile. It wasn’t a battle I’d expected to win, anyway. Their boyfriends, Collin and Mason, were around here somewhere. There was no way I could keep them apart. “Just save me a s’more, okay? I’m not going to let Jayden Paul get in the water before me. If he wins the dare, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
They both groaned and rolled their eyes, as if they’d heard it all before. Jayden and I had been rivals pretty much since we were babies in elementary school. Nothing was going to change that. Not even the kiss we’d shared on a silly dare in sixth grade. He was the most irritating, cocky guy I’d ever met and the reason I was here today instead of doing my usual Saturday morning practice laps on the high school track. He didn’t think I had the nerve. I was going to prove him wrong.
I pranced in place, reaching down to pull my leg up in a stretch like I did before any race. The comforting woodsy scent of a campfire nearby tickled my nose, as if trying to convince me to change my mind. Trina and Audrey had already rushed over to warm themselves with a couple dozen other senior girls from school. I brushed it off, narrowing my eyes as Jayden came into view on the other side of the bank, holding a red solo cup.
He’d abandoned his shirt and just wore a pair of blue board shorts, showing off an impressive set of muscles along his abdomen and his upper arms. His brown hair that had been cut short on the sides and longer on top was already wet, as if he’d run his hands through it on purpose. I wouldn’t have put it past him. He was the star catcher for the varsity baseball team and vain as a peacock. And when he caught me watching him, his eyes lit up with an ornery glint and he flashed me a smile that made me grit my teeth.
“Amanda!” He held his cup up high, sloshing some of the liquid onto the ground. “I’m surprised you made it.”
“I’m not sure why you’re surprised,” I called out, lowering my leg to the ground. “You know that I could kick your butt any day of the week.”
He grinned as if my reply was as threatening as a puppy growling. “Better hurry up, Amanda. We’re about ready to jump. Wouldn’t want you to miss out on the fun.”
I grumbled to myself and hurried over to the rocks. No one in their right mind called me by my whole name. Not even my own family. I’d been firmly established as Mandy since I was old enough to speak my own mind. Jayden had heard it once during third grade roll call and he’d been calling me Amanda ever since.
The nerve of him.
Slipping out of my shoes, I gasped slightly as the bottom of my feet touched the first rock. Cold didn’t even begin to describe it. Standing on a block of ice was probably more accurate. I grasped the slick surface with my pink-painted toes, steadying myself.
There was no way I was falling into the water with everyone looking. There was a time and place for a polar plunge and this wasn’t it. So I hopped to each stone, using my arms as counterbalances. And when I finally hit the other bank, the boys cheered.
“Way to play, Hale,” Jayden said, appearing at my side. The right side of his mouth curved in a slight grin as he leaned in closer. “This is your last chance to chicken out. It’s okay if you don’t want to get your hair wet. The boys will understand.”
The heat in my glare was enough to make him snort. “I’m here. Let’s get this over with.”
He gave me an approving grin and turned to the rest of the guys. “All right! Get ready to plunge!”
We all began to line up across the shoreline at the deepest part of the river. I dug my feet into the cold dirt, no longer bothered by the lack of shoes. The girls on the other side paused their s’more making for the time being to cheer us on. Trina and Audrey were among them, calling out my name. And when a whistle pierced the air, I busted out of my makeshift starting block and sprinted toward the water, feeling the delicious stretch of the muscles along the back of my legs.
I was one of the first to hit the freezing river. A shock went through me, pushing the air right out of my chest. I gasped for breath, temporarily unable to inflate my lungs against the vice-like grip the cold water had on my body. My limbs flailed, keeping me bobbing on the surface as the water around me sloshed and splashed from the impact of thirty-plus bodies hitting it all at once.
Shrieks of joy and gasps of horror filled the air. Despite the numbness spreading throughout my body, I couldn’t help but burst out in laughter. Some of the biggest, baddest guys from school were darting back to shore, their shivering and pathetic forms desperate for heat. It was too funny for words.
Jayden’s grinning face appeared before me, water droplets falling from his shaggy hair as he tread water. “Be careful, Amanda. Someone might see you smiling and take it for a weakness. You can’t ruin your reputation now.”
I rolled my eyes. He always had to make a comment. He couldn’t just let me have my fun. “I’m not worried about it. Anyone who makes that mistake will regret it, trust me.”
He chuckled and arched an eyebrow. “Right. Because everyone knows you take no prisoners.”
“Exactly.” I pursed my lips and then smirked at him. “So if you value your life, swim aside as I beat you to the shore, just like I beat you on our way in. You know, you’ve really gotten slow in your old age. I’m surprised they haven’t cut you from the baseball team yet—”
Right then, I got a face-full of water that made me choke and lose my train of thought. Jayden’s deep laughter cut through the confusion and instantly made me burn with the desire for revenge. Two could play at that game. I dove for his shoulders, shoving him under the water and earning a sputtering gasp as he came back up for air.
Served him right. No one messed with Mandy Hale.
By then, I’d turned toward the shore for my stunning exit, but a pair of hands closed around my hips and yanked me backwards. I squealed and squirmed, trying to find anything to kick off of and escape. Jayden simply laughed and threw me over his shoulder, like I was nothing more than a rag doll. He strolled toward the shore, ignoring my fists hitting his muscular back, and then turned to set me in the edge of the water.
“There. I win,” he said, taking a giant step backward onto dry land. “It’s official. Amanda Hale has lost a race for the first time in her life.”
I pushed my sopping wet blonde hair out of my face and glared at him, feeling all sorts of mixed up emotions about what had just happened. Losing was not a sensation I was used to. And neither was having Jayden Paul’s firm body pressed up against mine. It left me kind of dizzy and unable to form proper words.
“You. I. Can’t.” I pointed my finger at him, as if willing the words to magically materialize. “You. Cheat.”
He threw his head back to laugh and a strange sensation fluttered in my gut. Pinning me with a cocky gaze, he tilted his head to one side and his lips twitched in a smile. “Not a chance, gorgeous. I won, fair and square. You’re just going to have to live with it.”
At that, he walked away, leaving me feeling as confused as ever. Water droplets trailed down my body, tickling my skin and reminding me that I was now a human popsicle standing on a side of the river that was quickly being abandoned for drinks, food, and warmth on the other side.
My gaze flicked to the campfire, expecting to find my friends waiting, when I saw something that made my stomach drop. My little sister, Charlotte, stood near the water with a red solo cup in hand. Her long dark wavy hair was flung over her shoulders, her petite figure wrapped in a snug pink American Eagle sweater she’d stolen from my closet. She was gazing up at one of the senior guys notorious for breaking hearts, and had one hand on his arm in a flirtatious move I recognized from her repertoire.
“Seniors only,” I grumbled to myself, making my way back to the rocks. “What’s so hard to understand about that?”
Charlotte had a serious case of fear of missing out for a sophomore in high school. She had to be in the middle of every event, every party, even if it had nothing to do with her. And when she’d begged me today to let her come with, I’d told her no way. Not a chance.
Her grades had been slipping lately. The manager my parents had hired at their restaurant had recently quit, so they were too busy keeping things running to notice. Luckily, I had their login info for all the school stuff and had taken up the slack. She should’ve been at home working on those last three math assignments she hadn’t turned in, not flirting with some guy who was never in a million years going to call her back.
“Charlotte!” I yelled. I couldn’t help myself. Being a big sister was exhausting sometimes and I had had my fill. “That doesn’t look like math homework to me.”
She looked over at me and her face fell as I began hopping the stones across the river. Without a word, she quickly turned to disappear in the crowd of seniors.
I quickened my pace. Charlotte was no sprinter. She wouldn’t get far. But during the rush, I’d stopped concentrating on my footwork and when I was almost to the end of the rocks, my foot slipped on a particularly slick spot of moss. It happened so fast, I couldn’t stop it. My body landed in the water with a giant splash and pain shot up my leg with a fury that I’d never felt before.
“No, no, no, no.” I didn’t care that I was sitting waist deep in freezing cold water. The only thing that mattered was the ankle that I held tight between my hands as it throbbed.
“Mandy, what happened?” Audrey appeared at my side, holding my arm. Her dark brown eyes took in the sight of me holding my ankle and horror passed over her face. “Did you hurt yourself?”
