“Maybe,” Mariel said, but she sounded as though she didn’t really believe it. “One more question,” she added, looking back at Eris.
Eris tilted her head, weighing her thoughts. She didn’t know anything about Mariel’s romantic history; she didn’t even know whether she dated guys as well as girls. “Have you ever been in love?” she decided.
“No,” Mariel said quickly—too quickly, Eris thought. She wondered who Mariel had loved, and was surprised to feel a pang of disappointment, or maybe jealousy. “Have you?” Mariel pressed.
“No, I mean, me neither.”
The song switched to a fast, upbeat country track: a girl’s voice crooning about how she was going to get revenge on someone who’d cheated on her. Mariel turned quietly back to her assignment, and Eris pulled out her tablet, flipping idly through the feeds, her heart pounding though she wasn’t sure why.
The University Club fall gala was going on right now, miles above their heads. Avery had offered to bring her as a guest, but Eris had declined—she wasn’t sure she wanted to face the stares, or the chance of seeing her dad—that is, the man she’d thought was her dad. Either dad, she mentally corrected, because Mr. Cole would of course be there too.
Still, as the minutes ticked by and Eris flipped through photo after photo of her friends all dressed up and having an amazing time, she began to regret telling Avery no. Her mind drifted to what she’d be wearing right now, if she were there. Maybe her blush-colored gown with the scalloped hem, or something silver—hadn’t that been the theme of the party this year? She pulled up the invitation on her contacts. The University Club invites you to an evening under the stars, it read in elaborate cursive, with animated stars falling in bursts around the corners of her vision. There was a comet tonight, she remembered suddenly.
“Done,” Mariel said, clicking to turn in her assignment. “What do you want to do tonight?”
“Get your coat.” Eris grinned. “We’re going on an adventure.”
* * *
“I’m confused,” Mariel said as they walked along Jersey Highway at 35th Street. The solar-charged lamps cast interlocking rings of golden light on the sidewalk. Up ahead Eris could see the hulking form of the Intrepid naval museum, an enormous old ship anchored to the Hudson’s floor. They’d gone on a field trip there in third grade. She still remembered how Cord had tried to dare her and Avery to jump off the side, to see whether the water would give them mermaid gills. Cord—she hadn’t really thought about him in weeks, had she?
“All your questions are about to be answered, I promise.” Eris stepped up to a gate marked PIER 30: EMPLOYEES ONLY. She entered the code she’d paid for online, and the door swung open.
They stepped out onto a wooden dock, with rows of corrugated iron doors on either side. Water lapped softly under their feet. Eris couldn’t stop smiling. She loved this sensation: the delicious thrill of setting out on a wild quest for something you may or may not find, all the while knowing that whatever happened, the night itself would certainly be wonderful.
She punched the same code into one of the doors, which retracted up into the roof overhead, revealing a small space filled almost entirely by a four-person hoverboat. Its shape reminded Eris of the top of a mushroom, propeller jets peeking out from under the sleek white hull. The only decoration was a peeling American flag decal. “Put this on,” she said, tossing Mariel a silver inflato-belt.
“Whose boat is this?” Mariel stepped onto the tiny enclosed dock, snapping the belt around her waist. Eris pushed a button and the hoverboat began to lower onto the water.
“We’re borrowing it,” she said simply. The after-hours rental she’d paid for was, she felt pretty certain, illegal. The lights around the boat turned the water in the slip a brackish green.
Eris kicked off her shoes before grabbing Mariel’s hand and pulling her inside, onto the white vinyl seats that circled the interior of the boat.
“Do you know how to drive this thing?” Mariel asked, watching her. She seemed torn between skepticism and enthusiasm.
“It has autopilot. At least, that’s what I was told.” Eris grinned and pushed the start button, and the hoverboat took off into the night.
They skimmed across the surface of the water, which was as dark and impenetrable as the surface of a black mirror. Eris’s hair whipped around in a reckless tangle. Spray flung up into her face. The sting of it felt shockingly good. Across the river in New Jersey, scattered lights twinkled warmly.
Mariel was looking out over the water, watching their progress. There was something almost regal in the shadowed line of her profile, her long nose and high brow. Then she turned and winked at Eris, and the illusion was broken.
“Where are you taking us, O intrepid captain?” Mariel raised her voice over the sound of the wind and the motor.
“Somewhere we can see around that.” Eris pointed back at the Tower, which stretched impossibly high into the darkness.
They passed the shrouded form of the Statue of Liberty, heading south around the seaports, where Eris could hear the sounds of music and raucous laughter. Finally, when they were far enough away that the Tower no longer filled the whole sky, Eris killed the motor. She leaned over the side to trail her fingers in the water and pulled them quickly back. It was bitter cold.