Read Anything but Ordinary for Free Online

her chair.
    “Um. Hi.” Why did her voice suddenly sound so high and squeaky?
    “Hi,” he said. She could tell he was smiling. She caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of the window. She was, too.
    A few days before her accident, she and Gabby and Greg had gone to Percy Lake, like they always did in the summer. They started at the back of the dock and then sprinted toward the lake, shoving off the edge in long jumps over the water, sailing, seeing how far they could get.
    It was only a few days before trials, but for some reason Bryce wasn’t worried about getting hurt. She had done a good one, a really long jump with a big splash, and she came up to the surface farther away from the dock than she expected. She swam back toward the shore, and Greg slid into the lake to meet her. They treaded water, facing each other, their long limbs scissoring in and out of cold patches in the cloudy water.
    “I love you,” he had said, smiling.
    “I love you, too.”
    I love you, she heard again, as clear as if it was yesterday.
    “I can’t believe it’s you. How are you?” he asked. He spoke slowly and earnestly, just like he always did. She had fallen for that drawl right away.
    “Good question. It’s been crazy—” Before she could finish, she heard another voice at the end of the line. “Who’s that?” Bryce said.
    The voice came closer to the receiver. “It’s Gabby! Are you seriously on the phone right now? Is this seriously Bryce Graham?”
    Bryce let out a scream.
    Her parents rushed into the kitchen. She held out her hand. “Everything’s fine, it’s just Greg and Gabby.”
    Bryce’s mother looked like she had seen a ghost. “But why are you out of your chair?” she whispered.
    “Oh, Beth. She’s fine. Let her talk to her friends.” Her father turned back toward the dining room.
    “Bryce!” Bryce heard Gabby yell even though the phone was pressed against her chest. She held up one finger to her mother and returned the phone to her ear.
    She felt like laughing and crying. The last time they had talked on the phone, Gabby was contemplating cutting her hair because she had gotten her heart broken by Bryan Godard. She was going to start being tough, like Bryce. Bryce had pointed out that her own hair was long, and Gabby had forgotten all about the haircut idea by the next day.
    “It’s so good to hear your voice,” she said now. Something missing for the past few weeks began to fill up inside her.
    “God, Bryce, tell me about it!” Gabby squealed.
    “Whe—where are you guys?” She stumbled over her words. She had started to say, Where have you been? But that could wait.
    “We just got back into town. From Europe! We went after graduation.”
    Bryce felt her forehead tense. “Wow, um, congratulations! So, are you—”
    “Listen, Bry, Greg’s phone is running out of battery, and we know you need to chill with your family and stuff, so we’re going to make this quick.”
    “Make it quick, then, Gab, jeez,” Greg said in the background.
    “Point is, we’re coming to see you! Tomorrow. Can you meet us at Los Pollitos for happy hour? I mean, can you, you know, go places?”
    “I think so.” She was twenty-two. She could do whatever she wanted. Right? “No, definitely. I can definitely go tomorrow.”
    “Awesome.”
    “I want to say bye,” Greg said before coughing into the receiver. “See you, Bryce. It’s so great you’re awake. I can’t wait to see—”
    “We love you, Bry!” Gabby had taken back the phone.
    “Wait,” Bryce said.
    “Ye-es?” Gabby cooed.
    “What time—when is happy hour?”
    “Officially, five. But we’re gonna make it four.” Gabby laughed and the connection ended, by hang-up or dead battery, Bryce couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter.
    She looked out the kitchen window above the sink to her dark backyard, seeing the faint outline of the barn in the distance. She smiled and ran her hands under the faucet. With a splash, she brought the lukewarm