Deep End

by Ali Hazelwood

On the upside, I get a whole-ass seven out of ten on my next German assignment—Ich bin so stolz auf dich, Scharlach! Herr Karl-Heinz writes. It requires some googling to figure out that he’s proud of me, but once I do I’m a bit teary-eyed. I do my conditioning. I call Barb and ask her to put Pipsqueak on the phone. I bring Pen a batch of homemade soup, watch comfort rom-coms with her, and hug her when she comes back on Friday, looking pale but whole. I restart my med school essays. I fight with Maryam, eat plenty of lean proteins, and by the following weekend, when it looks like the bruises Lukas left behind might fade, I press hard into them, biting my tongue, hoping the trick will make them last.