Sisse’s lungs burned with each gasping breath she took, but it was better than the feeling of them filling with water because she couldn’t keep her head above the water. All she had to do now was trying to catch her breath and not cry (how mortifying it would be to cry in front of a boy). Ned sitting beside her helped calm some of her frayed nerves, he wasn’t going to just run off. How very sweet of him. She nodded as best she could, trying to appear as if she hadn’t just almost died. “Thanks to you.”

Sisse found that she couldn’t quite keep a frightened tear from escaping, so quickly turned to look back out at Henry’s boat instead, discreetly brushing it aside as if she had hair in her face. She’d have to find Matthew and have him help their brother. But Henry could wait until she was more composed.

A moment more of silence passed between the schoolmates before Sisse turned to Ned again. “I don’t know how to swim.” She explained, although at this point it was likely obvious. It wasn’t like it was a secret, it just wasn’t something she often shared with others. As far as she was aware, Calla was the only of her friends who knew and that had more to do with being stranded in a pumpkin boat than anything else.