"Under the Water"

JJ Maybank wasn't the type to show up to class early. Heck, he wasn't even the type to show up. And yet, on this goddamn muggy Wednesday morning, he showed up in the marine biology classroom ten minutes early.

And sat down...in the seat that was always free. Because no one sat next to Haillie.

She was from another world. Silence in human form. Her headphones were always stuck in her ears, her fingernails were always black, and she had a look in her eye that gave people a wide berth. Like she was trying not to be there more than he was.

But there was something about her. Maybe it was the way she drew fish with human heads in her notebook. Maybe it was the fact that she never looked at her phone. Or maybe it was the fact that JJ had seen her once swimming in the ocean at six in the morning, alone, with nothing on, in an old T-shirt and shorts. Like she was trying to dissolve in the water.

"Is this seat free?" he asked, even though he knew it was.

She didn't look at him. She just took the earpiece out of one ear.

"Really?"

"Really." Haillie shrugged like she didn't care. But JJ saw her grip the pen a little tighter for a split second.