Shifting (Swans Landing) by Shana Norris Read Free Book Online Page B

the juniors this year, giving us various brochures from colleges across the country. Mine had been tossed in the trash three months ago.
    “No,” I answered.
    Mr. Richter sat up, placing his hands on his desk. “Dylan, this is your future we’re talking about. You’re a good student. You’d do well in furthering your education—”
    “Mr. Richter?” I shifted in my seat, glancing up at one of those inspiring posters of the night sky with the words REACH FOR THE STARS under it. “You...you know what I am?”
    Mr. Richter was quiet for a moment before answering. “Yes, I know.”
    “So why are we having this conversation?” I asked.
    Mr. Richter leaned over his desk. “Dylan, you can’t sell yourself short because you think you’re tied to this island. Finfolk or not, you still have the chance to do whatever you want in your life.”
    I laughed. “I’m sorry, Mr. Richter, but you have no idea what it’s like to be me. I can’t survive away from the ocean. I physically ache and get sick. I’m stuck here.”
    “There are schools near the coast. You could—”
    I shook my head as I stood. “Thanks, Mr. Richter. But my future is here, making a life on the water. It’s what people like me do.”
    “And what will you do when that life dries up?” Mr. Richter asked.
    I paused at the door, my hand on the knob.
    “The fish are disappearing, Dylan,” Mr. Richter said. “You know that much better than I do.”
    “Lake and I pulled in a good catch this morning,” I said. “Maybe that means things are getting better.”
    “It’s May and the tourists haven’t started coming.”
    I shrugged. “It’s a cycle, right?”
    But Mr. Richter looked grim when I glanced back at him. He stood from his desk and walked toward me.
    “Did you know the ferry missed its scheduled stop this morning?” He slipped his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “It just didn’t come. When someone at the dock here called the mainland dock, the person spoke as if they’d never heard of Swans Landing before. Like they didn’t remember the island.” He paused. “Like it didn’t exist.”
    A chill prickled its way up my spine. “That’s ridiculous.”
    Mr. Richter stared back at me. “Is it? A lot of things on this island are ridiculous, and yet...” He reached past me and pulled the door open. “Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe you’re right and things are getting better. But don’t throw your future away because you think you’re stuck here, Dylan. There’s a whole world out there, and a lot more water than what touches these shores. I don’t know what’s happening here, but don’t let yourself be forgotten along with the island.”
    Mr. Richter’s words left me feeling slightly rattled. When I stepped outside into the thick gray afternoon, I felt chilled all the way through.
    I had lived my entire life on the island. The sound of the ferry’s horn as it approached and disembarked from the island was a constant part of the background noise. The ferry traveled the three hour path between Swans Landing and the mainland three times a day.
    Why had I not noticed that the horn didn’t break the silence while we were on the water? My thoughts had been absorbed in Elizabeth Connors, that was why. She had been the last thing I’d thought about as I’d fallen asleep the night before and the first thing in my mind that morning when I opened my eyes.
    Instead of turning toward the road that would take me to Pirate’s Cove, I followed the sandy street to my own neighborhood. Two old women drove by in a golf cart, giving me suspicious stares as they passed. A group of kids played soccer in the middle of the road. A woman bounced a baby in her lap as they rocked on a wooden swing on the front porch of a house at the corner. Everything looked the same as it always had.
    Except there were no tourists.
    And apparently, no ferry either.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Nine
     
     
    “Let’s take a