Riley stared absently out the window, the bus jostling him as it hit multiple potholes. He fiddled with his headphone cord, as he listened to his Walkman. Suddenly, someone sat down in the empty seat beside him. Riley glanced over in surprise, realizing that it was Donny Watson.

Riley pulled off his headphones. "Donny, hey."

"Hey," Donny said. "How are you doing? I wanted to ask you something."

"Uh, doing okay." Riley squinted at him. "What's up?"

"What's your first class today?"

"Gym."

"Yeah? You wanna skip it?" Donny asked. He raised his eyebrows, and grinned at him. "I was talking to Ben last night, and he said we should all three get together."

"I hate gym." Riley didn't know what to make of the conversation. He smiled uneasily at Donny. "What, some kind of extra rehearsal time?"

"Something like that." Donny gave him a broad grin. "Can you swim?"

"Negative, chief," Riley said, shaking his head. He'd had lessons when he was in grade school, but he could barely swim. "Why? What's up?"

"Oh, you'll see," Donny said, mysteriously. "It's a surprise."

Riley tried to ask him more questions, but Donny refused to answer. He simply grinned at him, throwing his arm on the back of the bus seat, giving Riley an easy smile.

About ten minutes later, the bus turned into the school parking lot, and Riley quickly packed away his Walkman. He followed Donny off the bus, stepping onto the leaf-strewn pavement. Ben was waiting for them, hands in his pockets. He grinned at him.

"Hey," Ben said to Riley. He looked up at Donny. "You tell him yet?"

"I told him to skip first class for extra rehearsal. But I haven't told him what we're doing yet." Donny smiled. "It's a surprise."

Ben nodded. "Alright, let's head over. The bell's going to ring soon enough."

Donny put his arm around Riley's shoulders, and they walked through the school.

"Where are we going?" Riley asked. He felt dwarfed between the two Hamlets. "Ben?"

"Just keep walking," Ben said. "We'll explain everything when we get there."

They walked through the school's busy corridors, then down into the basement. Through the double doors leading to the gym full of treadmills, and exercise bikes. Riley paused, wondering if this was their destination, but Donny urged him on.

"This isn't some kind of secret society thing, is it?" Riley asked. "I'm not about to get hazed, or something, right?"

"Nope, nothing like that," Ben said. "C'mon."

"What's with all the secrecy?" Riley asked. He stopped dead in his tracks, crossing his arms stubbornly across his chest. "I'm not taking another step, until you tell me what's going on."

"You'll see," Ben said, smiling at him. "Just keep walking."

Riley sighed, running a hand over his face. He reluctantly followed Ben, and Donny. They went through another hallway, and another set of doors. As much as Riley was curious about where they were headed, he didn't much like being hustled to an unknown location. The basement was poorly lit, and maze-like. He put his trust in Ben, figuring that wherever his friend was leading him, Ben wouldn't put him in harm's way.

Finally, they stopped at the end of the hall. There was a heavy wooden door, painted pale blue, with frosted glass on the top half. Donny took the key out of his pocket, and unlocked it. He pulled the door open, and ushered them inside, glancing over his shoulder in a hurried fashion.

Riley stared, open-mouthed, at the sight in front of him. "Wait, Chancellor Prep has a swimming pool?" he said, staring at the large square pool in front of him. "Why didn't I know about this earlier? Nobody showed me this when I got a tour of the school."

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Donny said, grinning. "The school used to have swimming classes here regularly. They cancelled the classes a few years ago, though. Budget cuts. Luckily, it's still in use. Students can rent it out for a period, to swim laps, and stuff. It's really nice and quiet, 'cause there's no lifeguard or anything."

"That hardly seems safe," Riley said, squinting up at him. "Why no lifeguards?"

"Oh, it's fine," Donny told him. "In order to get the key, you have to pass a swim test. Anyone who wants to book the pool, needs to do so with a buddy. Ben and I rent it out about once a week. I also train at the pool downtown. It's much bigger. The school keeps this place running, 'cause they rent it out to local groups. Kids swimming lessons, and old people exercise classes, and stuff. They make some money from the rentals, that go towards the school."

"And you want to do laps first period?" Riley asked, bemused. "Not my idea of fun."

"No. We're going to practise Ophelia's drowning scene." Donny grinned at him.

"Is this some weird prank?" Riley glanced from Donny, to Ben. "You've lost me."

"Ophelia drowns in the play. You've been doing a pretty good job of it, but I was talking to Donny, and we thought it'd help you to practise in the pool. Y'know, for authenticity's sake."

"Hold up," Riley said, waving his hands in front of him. "You had me skip class, and go down here to the school's creepy basement, so you could both try and drown me? Did I get that right?"

"Don't be dramatic." Ben smiled at him. "Riley, you'll be in no actual danger. I've taken first aid courses, and diving lessons for years. And Donny here, he used to be on the school's swim team."

Riley looked over at the swimming pool. It was brightly lit, the water clear and inviting. Riley hesitated. He trusted Donny, and Ben. But he'd never been one for swimming pools.

"Uh, I don't feel good about this . . ." Riley frowned.

"We'll be beside you the whole time," Ben said, giving him a reassuring look. "You'll be perfectly safe."

"Ugh, fine," Riley sighed. "For the sake of the play."

Unenthused, he grabbed his backpack, and followed them into the change room. Riley took his gym shorts out of his bag, and changed into them, keeping his eyes averted from his friends.

"Here, this is for you," Ben said. He pulled out a long dress out of his bag, and tossed it to him. "It's not the same one as your costume, but it's similar. I borrowed it off my mom."

"You want me to wear this in the pool?" Riley asked, confused.

"Yeah." Ben smiled. "Ophelia's dress made her buoyant for a while after she jumps in. It slowly starts to drag her under the water. You ought to experience that, to be able to do the scene correctly."

"Couldn't I just like, imagine what it'd feel like?" Riley grumbled. He took the dress from Ben, and slipped it over his head. It was a bit loose, but not too bad. Riley tightened the sash around his waist.

"We want the play to be as authentic as possible, right?" Ben said. He smiled. "Just like when we practised kissing as Ophelia, and Hamlet."

Donny raised his eyebrows in surprise, then smirked. "You guys did what?"

Riley turned bright red. "I wanted to know what kissing would be like. And uh . . . maybe Ophelia will kiss Hamlet during the play?"

"Are you gay?" Donny asked. "No judgement, I'm just curious. I know there's a couple of gay dudes at Chancellor."

Riley hesitated. "Yeah."

"Okay." He glanced up at Ben for a second. "Are you two dating, or what?"

Ben shrugged. "I don't know."

Riley shrugged. He didn't really know, either. He and Ben were good friends. But as far as dating? He had no idea. He liked Ben, of course. But they'd never discussed it, or anything.

"Wait, you never asked me . . . y'know, about kissing onstage," Donny said, giving Riley a funny look. "I'm Hamlet, too."

"I didn't know how to ask you." Riley frowned. "Donny, are you okay with Hamlet and Ophelia kissing during the play?"

Donny nodded. "Yeah. I'm cool with that. You're a kid, though. We could do a stage kiss, like on the cheek, or whatever."

Riley nodded. "Sure. That sounds fine."

When he was ready, Riley went to the shallow end, dipping his legs in the cool water. He watched as Donny jumped into the water, splashing a little as he walked towards him. Ben jumped off the diving board, slipping effortlessly under the water. He watched as Ben swam towards them, a flash of beige, and red swimming trunks.

"Is it chlorinated?" Riley asked, sniffing the air. It smelled different than the pool he used to go to. "It smells funny."

"Salt water." Donny smiled, extending a hand to him. "It's cleaner, easier on the skin."

Riley grabbed his hand, and hopped into the pool. It was quite shallow, only going up to his waist. The water was cool, but not overtly so. He shivered a little, and smiled awkwardly up at his two older friends.

"Okay, so what's the plan here?" Riley asked. "Keep in mind that I don't swim very well."

"Right, so – we're going to try and recreate Ophelia's drowning, so that you can use this experience for the play," Donny said. "We won't let you really drown, don't worry."

In the play, Gertrude talked about Ophelia's death, but the character didn't die on-stage. It was just Gertrude's version of events, a tragic story of the young woman's drowning. The breaking of the willow tree branch, Ophelia clutching the handful of flowers as she lies in the brook. Her dress keeping her temporarily buoyant, as she slowly sunk to her watery grave.

Mr. Foster had talked to Riley about a week ago, and suggested that they add Ophelia's death as one of the scenes. It wasn't part of the original play, but that was okay. They could go off-script sometimes. Foster said that he liked the idea of having Ophelia re-enact the death scene on one side of the stage, while Gertrude said her lines on the other side. He had said that it'd be more dramatic that way, and that he knew that Riley could make the death scene work, because he was a good actor.

Riley was okay with the death scene. Especially since it didn't involve actual water, or drowning. He would be falling from the wooden 'willow tree', onto a large blue inflatable mat. This would represent the stream. It wasn't too bad of a scene. Most of it, he was lying on his back, hands facing upwards, eyes closed as he listened to Gertrude tell the audience of Ophelia's death.

"Okay, so Ophelia dies lying on her back," Ben said. He squinted at Riley, sizing him up for a second. "You can float, right?"

Riley raised his shoulders, then dropped them. "I guess so."

"Okay, go for it."

Riley took a deep breath, then started to float on his back. The dress bulged out around him. He only lasted a few seconds, before his legs fell downwards, and he was standing on the tiled floor again. "Yeah, that's all I can do."

Donny glanced over at Ben, and raised his eyebrows. "We've got our work cut out for us, then."

For the next half an hour, Donny and Ben gave him lessons on how to float on his back. Donny went and grabbed one of those big square pool mats, and got Riley to climb on top of it. He figured it'd be easier to help simulate Ophelia's drowning with the pool mat. Ben clung to the side of the mat, kicking his feet. He was pushing the mat into deeper waters, to the middle of the pool.

"I'm not super comfortable with this," Riley said, sitting in the center of the mat. He peered over the edge. The water was about six or seven feet deep at this point. If he went in, the water would be right over his head. "It's too deep."

"Riley, it's okay," Ben said. He grinned at him, gripping the edge of the mat. "I told you, we're both really good swimmers. Do you trust me?"

"Yeah." Riley smiled. "Of course."

"Good."

When they got to the center of the pool, Riley laid down on his back in the middle of the mat, his hands folded on his chest. He stared up at the row of overhead lights, before reluctantly closing his eyes. Ben pushed off the mat, letting it glide slowly across the water.

Riley kept his eyes closed. He imagined himself as Ophelia. Father murdered, boyfriend gone mad, relationship in tatters. He clutched imaginary bouquet of flowers to his chest, lying in the river, the water rushing up to meet him. His watery grave.

For a minute, it felt all too real. The cold water seeped onto the side of the pool mat, collecting around him. The dress was heavy, especially when it was soaking wet. He shivered a little.

The weight shifted on the mat, as someone leaned on the edge. Riley's eyes snapped open, and he saw Donny grinning at him, his hair plastered to his forehead.

"Hey," Donny said. "Our hour's almost up."

Riley looked over, and realized that he had drifted nearly to the end of the pool. They were in the deep end, now.

"Before we get out of the pool, do you want to try floating, and sinking in the water?" Donny asked.

Riley hesitated. He shuffled over to the edge of the mat, and Donny helped him slide into the water. Ben pulled the mat away, and Riley found himself lying on his back, unassisted. He stared up at the ceiling, terrified. He focused entirely on staying afloat.

"Riley, relax. Let yourself sink under the water," Donny said, treading water beside him. "Hold your breath, let yourself sink. You're Ophelia, remember."

Riley closed his eyes tight, took a deep breath, and forced himself to relinquish control. He lay on the surface for a good ten or fifteen seconds, the dress billowing out around him. Then, he started to slowly sink under the cold water. He sunk slowly downwards. A sense of peace fell over him.

Riley opened his eyes, as someone grabbed his arm, and pulled him back up to the surface. He sucked in a deep breath, as he came up out of the water. Ben hauled him up by the armpits, and set him on the pool mat.

"That was great!" Donny said, grinning at him. "Riley, you did great!"

"T-Thanks," Riley said, shivering.

"That was perfect," Ben said. He reached out, squeezed Riley's knee. "Are you good? How was that?"

Riley smiled. "Not as scary as I thought it'd be. But only because I knew you guys were there."

"Will this help your performance as Ophelia?" Donny asked, grinning at him. He folded his arms, resting on the edge of the mat.

Riley returned the smile. "Yeah, I think so. It felt like I was really Ophelia for a bit."

Donny smiled at him. "Good. Now, remember that feeling when we're on stage. The cold water, the fear, the feeling of drifting down the river to her death."

"Yeah," Riley said. "I'll remember it for sure."

"You want to try jumping off the diving board with your dress on?" Ben asked. "We'll pull you back up."

Riley hesitated, then shook his head. "No. That sounds too scary. I think I'm good."

Ben nodded. "Alright. Let's put the mat away, and get changed for class."

"Thanks guys," Riley said. "This was kind of scary, but I hope it helps me."

"Oh, not a problem." Ben smiled at him.

They made sure to put everything away, and change back into their dry clothes. Riley had to wring out the dress. It soaked up water like a sponge, so that took forever. When he was done, he hung it up to dry on the change room hook, and Ben said he'd pick it up at the end of the day.

Riley was extremely relieved to leave the swimming pool. The lesson would probably help his performance, and for that he was glad. But he didn't think he'd be booking the pool anytime soon.

He went to his second-period class, with damp hair. Riley didn't mind skipping gym class. It was one of his least favourites. Thye usually played dodgeball, and basketball – both of which could be dangerous. He'd nearly broken his glasses last week, when one of the guys hit him in the face with the ball. There was no way he could afford a new pair.

Riley did his best to focus on his classes, as he counted down the minutes until the lunch bell. Just minutes before it went off, Riley hurriedly packed his things into his backpack, and waited by the door.

Ben and Donny were waiting for him in the cafeteria. They'd saved him a seat. Riley smiled, glad that he had people to sit with. It was a good feeling, to feel wanted. He slid in between them, and pulled out his brown bag lunch. PB&J, apple, granola bar. Riley dug in, listening to his friends talk about their classes.

Rehearsals started right after the three o'clock bell. Riley eagerly hurried through the hallways, heading towards the auditorium. The rehearsals were easily becoming his favourite part of the school day. He got to be on stage, with his friends. Their dress rehearsal was on Thursday, and then they had three nightly performances, and the Sunday matinee.

Riley slipped into the dressing room, crowded with boxes and clothing racks of costumes, as well as props. He grabbed his outfit off the rack, and started to change. Riley put on his long, curly red wig. It was nearly to his waist, mostly loose hair, with a few small braids. He pinned his flower crown in place. Riley stole a look in the full-length mirror, and smiled. He looked like Ophelia. He grabbed his small make-up bag out of his backpack, and quickly applied a small amount of lipstick, blush, and foundation.

"Looking good, Ophelia!" one of the boys called out, as Riley passed them.

Riley nodded, clutching his flowers to his chest. "Thanks."

About half an hour later, Riley was standing on the stage, holding up the hem of his dress with one hand. He held his plastic bouquet of flowers, tossing a handful of imaginary petals onto the stage. Donny was standing off to one side, wearing a pair of brown short pants with leggings, and a white button-down shirt.

Rehearsal was going well. He grinned at Donny. He could tell that Donny had been practising his iambic pentameter. He was definitely getting the hang of it. Riley stole a glance backstage, where Ben was sitting. Ben smiled at him.

"Can we take a minute?" Riley asked. "I'm parched."

"Sure. Take five, everyone," Mr. Foster called out.

Riley went backstage, and sat down beside Ben. He grabbed his water bottle, and took a swig. He leaned against him, his legs stretched out in front of him.

"You did great," Ben told him.

"Thanks." Riley grinned at him. He took a few small sips, careful to not mess up his lipstick. The theatre was hot with all the lights on.

From where he sat, Riley could see a great deal of the auditorium. Mr. Foster had called one of the guys over, and was animatedly talking to him. Kids were meandering about. Some were stretching, others were sitting cross-legged on the floor, practising their lines.

Suddenly, the auditorium door was pulled open, throwing a large yellow square of light into the dimly lit room. A man strode angrily into the room. He looked around at the theater kids clustered together, searching for someone.

"Sorry – can I help you?" Mr. Foster called out, sizing the man up.

"Where is my son?" the man barked at him.

"Uh – whose father are you?" he asked, bemused. "I don't recognize you."

Riley watched the man argue with Mr. Foster. He bit his lip. He hated it when people shouted like that. It always reminded him of when his parents used to fight. People shouting like that, it always made him feel anxious.

"Where the hell is my son? I've been looking all over this goddamned school. I know he didn't get on the bus. One of the teachers said he'd be here, practising for some stupid Shakespeare play."

Mr. Foster gave the man a disapproving look. "Sir, we're in the middle of rehearsal. I've got plenty of boys working on this production. What is your son's name?"

"My son's name is Riley Poole." Then man turned around, scanning the room again. "Now, where the hell is he?"

Riley froze up, realizing that the man who was shouting was his father. He broke out into a cold sweat. He set his water bottle down beside him with trembling hands. Slowly, he got to his feet, a dull roar in his ears. He distantly heard Ben talking to him, but he couldn't hear what he was saying. He walked across the stage.

"Dad?" Riley said. "What are you doing here?"