Nate called out, splashing me from the edge of his round, stone-lined pool. “You look like you’re burning, and I have to head out soon for DC, anyway. I’m meeting the rest of the debate team at the high school in an hour.” The cool water dripped down my hot, sticky arms, pulling me out of the hazy almost sleep I’d been slipping into. I peered up at him from behind my dark sunglasses. My eyelids felt so heavy, though, too heavy to hold up as the blazing August sun beat down on me. “Can’t I just lie here a little longer?” I asked, my eyes already closed again as I let my tube drift farther away from him. “You can go finish getting ready and come to get me when you have to leave.” “Are you okay, Mina? Seriously, it seems like you’re tired all the time lately. Maybe you should see a doctor or something.” The massive, cloying knot that had been building in my stomach for the past few weeks tightened.
