Jisoo POV.

Here's the thing about life-shattering days.

They start like any other. You don't realize your world is about to explode into a million smoking pieces of awfulness until it's too late.

The last Friday of my freshman year, I wake up in my dorm room at 5 a.m. as usual. I get up quietly, as to not disturb my roommates, change into my bikini, and head for the ocean. 

I love the campus in the early morning. The white concrete facades of the buildings are turning pink and turquoise in the sunrise. The quad's grassy lawn is empty except for seagulls and squirrels waging their eternal war for the snack crumbs we students have left behind. The air smells of sea salt, eucalyptus, and fresh cinnamon rolls baking in the cafeteria. The cool Southern California breeze raises goosebumps on my arm and legs. It's times like these I can't believe I'm lucky enough to go to school at Harding-Pencroft Academy.

Assuming I survive this weekend's trials, of course. I might wash out in disgrace, or die tangled in a net at the bottom of some underwater obstacle course... but hey, it's still better than ending the term doing five jillion multiple-choice problems in some state standardized test.

I follow the gravel footpath that leads to the ocean. A hundred yards past the naval-warfare building, the cliffs drop into the pacific. Fae below, white surf ribs the steel-blue sea. Waves rumble and reverberate around the curve of the bay like the snores of a giant.

My brother, Taehyung, is waiting for me at the edge of the cliff. Lisa is nowhere to be found. "You're late, Jichu."

He knows I hate it when he calls me that.

"I will push you off," I warn.

'Well, you could try.' When Tae grins, he does this lopsided squint, like he can't equalize the pressure in one ear. The other girls tell me it's adorable. I'm not convinced. His dark hair stands up in the front, like a sea urchin. He claims it's his 'style'. I think it's just because he sleeps with a pillow over his face. As usual, he's wearing his standard black HP wetsuit with the silver Shark logo on the front, indicating his house. Tae thinks me and Lisa are crazy to make the dive in a bikini. In most ways, he's a tough guy. When it comes to cold temperatures, though, he's kind of a baby. 

I roll my eyes. "At least I'm not as late as Lisa."

Taehyung squints to something behind me. "I spy something that'll prove you wrong."

I turn around to see a colorful fish running towards us.

Oh wait, that's Lisa.

My sister reaches us panting like she had run a marathon, even though the beach is only a 10-minute walk.

"Sorry guys, I overslept." Lisa brushes her bangs on her forehead.

"Yeah, well they call you Lazisa for a reason, right?" Taehyung said, continuing looking over the sea with a straight face. Lisa threw a warning glance at me. I shrugged and turned my back.

We do our pre-dive stretches. This spot is one of the few places along the California coast where you can free dive without getting smashed to pieces against the rocks below. The cliffs are sheer, plunging straight into the depths of the bay. It's quiet and peaceful this time of the morning. Despite Tae's responsibilities as a house captain, he is never too busy for our morning ritual. I love him for that. Sometimes I forget he's older because of the fights he has with Lisa. This morning, however, I decide not to stop them. They need the exercise.

'What did you bring for Socrates today?' I ask.

Lisa and Tae glance at me. Lisa quickly withdraws her hand from Taehyung's face.

 Tae gestures nearby. Three dead squid lie glistening in the grass. As a senior, Taehyung has access to the aquarium's feeding supplies. This means he can sneak little treats for our friend under the bay. The squid are about a foot long from tail to tentacles – slimy, silver, and brown like oxidized aluminum. Loligo opalescens. California market squid. Lifespan six to nine months.

I can't turn off the data stream. Our marine biology professor, Dr. Farez, has trained us too well. You learn to remember the details because everything, literally everything, will be on her quizzes. Socrates has another name for Loligo opalescens. He calls them breakfast. 

'Nice.' Lisa picks up a squid and quickly runs and dives into the ocean, determined not to lose to Tae. I pick up the squid too, still cold from the freezer, and hand one to Tae.

 'You ready?' 

'Hey, before we dive ...' His expression turns serious. 'I have something I want to give you ...'I don't know if he's telling the truth or not, but I always fall for his distractions. As soon as he has my attention, he turns and jumps off the cliff. 

I curse. 'Oh, you asshole'

 Whoever jumps in first has a better chance of finding Socrates first. I take a deep breath and leap after him.

 Cliff-diving is the ultimate rush. I free-fall ten stories, wind and adrenaline screaming in my ears, then punch through the icy water. I relish the shock to my system: the sudden cold, the sting of the brine on my cuts and scrapes. (If you don't have cuts and scrapes as a student at HP, you haven't been doing your combat exercises right.)I plunge straight through a school of copper rockfish – dozens of frilly orange-and-white bruisers who look like punk-rock koi. But their tough looks are just for show since they scatter with a massive burst of YIKES! Ten meters below me, I spot the shimmering whirlwind of Lisa's bubble trail. I follow it down.

My static apnoea record is five minutes. Obviously, I can't hold my breath that long when I'm exerting myself, but still, this is my environment. On the surface, Lisa has the advantage of strength and speed. Underwater, I've got the endurance and agility. At least, that's what I tell myself. My brother floats above the sandy seabed, his legs crossed like he's been meditating there for hours. Lisa is on his shoulders, nuzzling the dolphin's head. Taehyung's keeping the squid behind his back because Socrates has arrived and is nuzzling Tae's chest as if to say, C'mon, I know what you've got for me. 

Socrates is a gorgeous animal. And I don't say that just because he's basically our pet. He's a young male bottlenose, nine feet long, with bluish-grey skin and a prominent dark streak across his dorsal fin. I know he isn't actually smiling. His long-beaked mouth is just shaped that way. Still, I find it unbelievably cute. 

Taehyung produces his squid. Socrates snaps it up and swallows it whole. Tae grins at Lisa and me cockily, a bubble escaping from his lips. His expression says Ha-ha, the dolphin likes me best. Lisa, not to be outdone, throws her squid at the mammal and sticks her tongue out at us.

I offer Socrates my squid. He's only too happy to have seconds. I smirk. He lets me scratch his head, which is as smooth and taut as a water balloon, then rub his pectoral fins. (Dolphins are suckers for pectoral-fin rubs.)

Then he does something I'm not expecting. He bucks, pushing my hand up with his rostrum in a gesture. He veers and swims off, the wake from his tail buffeting my face. I watch until he disappears into the gloom. I wait for him to circle back. He doesn't. I turn to look at my siblings to find that Taehyung has disappeared. Lisa frowns and swims towards me.

I don't understand.

Usually, he doesn't eat and run. He likes to hang out. Dolphins are naturally social. Most days, he'll follow us to the surface and leap over our heads, or play hide-and-seek, or pepper us with squeaks and clicks that sound like questions. That's why we call him Socrates. He never gives answers – just asks questions. But today he seemed agitated ... almost worried. Lisa turns to follow him, but I stop her. She can be an idiot sometimes. So can I, but that's not the point.

At the edge of my vision, the blue lights of the security grid stretch across the mouth of the bay – a glowing diamond pattern I've grown used to over the last two years. As I watch, the lights wink out, then flicker back on. I've never seen them do that before.

I glance at Taehyung, who has seemingly reappeared. He doesn't appear to have noticed the change in the grid. He points up. Race you. 

Lisa still looks uneasy but she kicks for the surface, leaving me in a cloud of sand. I want to stay under longer. I'm curious to see if the lights go out again, or if Socrates comes back. But my lungs are burning. Reluctantly, I follow Lisa.

 After I join her on the surface and catch my breath, I ask if Taehyung saw the grid flicker off. He squints at me. 'Are you sure you weren't just blacking out?'

 Lisa splashes his face. 'I'm serious. We should tell somebody.' 

Taehyung wipes the water from his eyes.  He still looks skeptical.

To be honest, I've never understood why we have a state-of-the-art electronic underwater barrier across the mouth of the bay. I know it's supposed to keep the sea life safe by keeping out everything else, like poachers, recreational divers, and pranksters from our rival high school, Land Institute. But it seems like overkill, even for a school that produces the world's best marine scientists and naval cadets. I don't know exactly how the grid works, even though I'm in the mechanical house. I do know it isn't supposed to flicker, though.

Tae must see that I'm genuinely worried. 'Fine,' he says. 'I'll report it.'

 'Also, Socrates was acting weird.' Lisa added.

 'A dolphin acting weird. Okay, I'll report that, too.'

'I could do it, but, like you always say, I'm just a lowly freshman. You're the big, powerful house captain of the Sharks, so –' I smirk.

 He splashes me back. 'If you're done being paranoid, I really do have something for you two.' He pulls a glittering chain from the pouch of his dive belt. 'Happy early birthday, twins.' 

He hands me the necklace: a single black pearl set in gold. It takes me a second to understand what he's given me. 

My chest tightens.'Mom's?' I can barely say the word. The pearl was the centerpiece of Mom's mangalsutra, her wedding necklace. Dad always wanted mom to wear it during special occassions. It's also the only thing we have left of her.

Taehyung smiles, though his eyes get that familiar melancholy drift. 'I got the pearl reset and cut into two. You two will be 17 next week. She'd want you to wear it.'  This is the sweetest thing he's ever done for me. 

Lisa flushes as if she doesn't know what to do with all this love and affection "But ... why not wait until next week?'

'You're leaving for your freshman trials today. I wanted you to have the pearl for luck – just in case, you know, you fail spectacularly or something.' 

He really knows how to ruin a moment. 

'Oh, shut up,' I roll my eyes. 

He laughs. 'I'm kidding, of course. You're going to do great. You two always do great. Just be careful, okay?'

'Well ... the necklace is beautiful. Thank you.' I say.

''Course.' He stares at the horizon, a flicker of worry in his dark brown eyes. Maybe he's thinking about the security grid, or he really is nervous about my weekend trials. Or maybe he's thinking about what happened two years ago, when our parents flew over that horizon for the last time.

Lisa puts her necklace on quickly. "Well, as much as I love this emotional talk we're having, breakfast is starting soon so...adios." She swims to the shore as if she's been dying to escape.

'Come on.' He musters another reassuring smile, as he has done so often for my sake. " One last swim before breakfast? I'm starving."

Always hungry, my brother, and always moving – the perfect Sharkcaptain.He swims for the reef again. 

I look at my mother's black pearl – her talisman that was supposed to bring long life and protection from evil. Unfortunately for her and my father, it did neither. I scan the horizon, wondering where Socrates has gone, and what the flickering grid meant. My chest felt like a bowling ball.

Then I swim after my brother, because suddenly I don't want to be alone in the water.

~~~~