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declared huffily. ―I‘ve been fighting bulimia for years. And anorexia.
    It‘s nothing to laugh at. You have no idea!‖

    Yvette sighed loudly. ―We‘re not laughing. It‘s just that you wear it like a badge of honor.‖

    ―I do not.‖

    ―Yeah,‖ Yvette argued back. ―You kinda do.‖

    Dana‘s mouth dropped open but before she could take it further, Genevieve broke in, ―It‘s just that you haven‘t exactly kept your eating disorder a secret. We‘ve all caught you puking at least once.‖

    ―Well, excuse me for having a real problem!‖ Dana plopped down on her butt and stared fixedly at the burning sticks of wood, fighting tears.

    ―They‘re all real problems,‖ Coby said, trying to placate, still feeling guilty about her lie and feeling the weight of Ellen‘s revelation as if it had blanketed their whole group. And though she felt sorry for Dana, being put on the spot and all, Yvette and Genevieve weren‘t wrong: Dana liked having something that made her special, in this case her anorexia and bulimia.

    ―Go ahead,‖ Genevieve urged Rhiannon, who was still standing with the candle, tendrils of her dark hair being teased by the growing wind. Rhiannon‘s large eyes seemed to swallow up her face.

    ―My mom‘s an alcoholic,‖ she said. ―I mean hard-core. If there‘s nothing else, she goes for the vanilla extract. Anything. One time I called nine-one-one when she wouldn‘t wake up. Scared me to death. I even kinda wonder what she‘s doing right now, but my brothers are with her, so maybe she‘s okay. My dad doesn‘t talk to her anymore at all. He‘s seeing somebody else. I‘ve met her. She‘s nice.‖

    ―Aren‘t your parents still married?‖ Ellen ventured cautiously.

    ―Some marriage.‖ Rhiannon shrugged. ―They don‘t even like each other anymore.‖ She gazed toward the ocean, and to Coby the crashing waves suddenly sounded loud and angry. ―Hard to believe they were ever in love.‖ Rhiannon looked wistful for a moment, then a small smile played on her lips.

    ―Like you and Lucas?‖ Wynona guessed, sounding faintly jealous.

    ―Well, yeah,‖ she said, glancing around as if daring anyone else to argue the point.

    Lucas doesn’t love her , Coby thought, a bit envious herself that the blondish surfer-dude was currently spending more time with Rhiannon than any of the rest of them.

    Rhiannon gestured for Wynona to stand up, and she did so reluctantly. Rhiannon handed her the candle, then retook her seat while Wynona stared at the jumping flame for a moment, lost in thought. Then she lifted her chin. ―I‘ve never told anybody this. No one. My parents, I think have guessed, but I‘ve never said a word.‖ She plucked at her pageboy with her free hand. ―You know I was on the swim team? Last year? But I‘m not this year. I used to belong to this private swim club and we used the pool over by Tualatin. The swim coach there was known for coaching winners. He and I had private sessions.‖ She started breathing faster and Coby felt the hairs on her arms lift.
    ―And when we were in the pool he helped me out a time or two, and there were a few times his hands kinda grazed me. Down there. And at first I thought it was just random-like, but then one time I was heading for the locker room and we were alone and he was following after me and I turned around . . .‖ Her voice trailed off for a moment. ―And then he was right there and I didn‘t know what to do. He pressed me against the lockers and kissed me, and then his hand was inside my swimsuit and—‖

    ― Holy shit, Greer!‖ a male voice yelled from deep in the darkness outside their circle.
    ―Coach Renfro felt you up ?‖

    Half the girls gave an aborted scream as guys from their class suddenly burst into the light of their campfire. Wynona‘s knees gave out and she sank down. The candle slipped from her grasp, rolling into the campfire. Genevieve scrambled for the candle as Coby shot Wynona a worried