knows? Maybe if he had used the Ruby he’d still be alive.”
Nothing felt right. I didn’t like what was happening to my body and I didn’t want to be hanging with this stranger who had seduced me into taking a substance I knew nothing about.
“I…I don’t want it,” I said, backing away.
“Really?” he asked. “You don’t want to be a star?”
“I…I don’t know what I want, but I don’t want to feel like this.”
“That’s your choice,” he said with a shrug. He wasn’t laughing anymore. “If you change your mind, I’ll be around.”
I turned and ran up the beach, headed for town, sprinting impossibly fast. I tried to slow myself down but my body had the throttle, not my mind. I made it off the sand and kept going until I reached the small park at the end of Main Street. Thankfully nobody was around. I lay down on the grass and stretched out, willing myself to relax. I don’t know how long I lay there. Five minutes? Twenty? Eventually I felt the effects of the Ruby leaving my body. The first sign was that the soreness in my legs returned. I never thought I would be relieved to feel pain. A weariness then washed over me as if the effort I had been putting out had sucked every last drop of gas from my tank. I sat up and rubbed my face. What had happened? Whatever the Ruby had done, it was wrong and I knew that I would never use it again…no matter how great a player it could turn me into.
I got up and jogged home at a normal pace and went straight to my room. I didn’t want to talk with my parents because I didn’tknow what I would tell them. I don’t claim to know how the human body does what it does, but I didn’t believe for a second that what those crystals did was natural or legal, no matter what Feit said. I laid down on my bed in the dark, flexing the muscles of my legs and my arms, trying to sense any lingering effects.
After convincing myself that I would live, I went to my computer and feverishly Googled any key words that might lead me to answers: ruby, Feit, fight, “fite,” sea salts, steroids, even ergogenic aids. The last search gave me some information about increasing athletic performance but I couldn’t find anything about a red sea salt that could instantly transform someone into Superman, let alone a company that manufactured the stuff.
I decided to keep my adventure on the beach to myself. I didn’t want anybody to know I had been stupid enough to take a strange substance from a complete stranger. Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about what those red crystals had done for me. For those few moments when I was under their spell, I was invulnerable.
I wanted to know more about it…for all sorts of reasons.
SIX
“W hat’s wrong?” Quinn asked.
“Why? What do you mean? There’s nothing wrong.”
I answered too quickly, which was a sure tip-off that something was, in fact, wrong. My adventure with the Ruby had been the night before and I could hardly think about anything else.
“Whoa, easy,” he said defensively. “I was just wondering why you were letting Kent move in on Olivia without a fight.”
“Olivia?” I asked, momentarily baffled. “Oh. That. Sorry.”
“What did you think I meant?” he asked with confusion.
“Not that. I mean, not that there’s anything else wrong but, I mean, there’s nothing wrong. Why do you ask?”
Quinn stared at me suspiciously as we walked along Main Street toward school. He knew something was up and it bugged him that he couldn’t put his finger on it. I had to get him thinking in the wrong direction, which wasn’t easy to do.
“There’s nothing between me and Olivia to fight over,” I added quickly.
“There could have been,” he said sternly. “But you blew it.”
I shrugged. “Kent’s an all-star.”
“And rich,” Quinn added. “Don’t forget rich.”
“Jeez, are you trying to make me feel bad?”
“Yes!” he shouted. “You can’t let that guy intimidate you just because he’s smart
Nothing felt right. I didn’t like what was happening to my body and I didn’t want to be hanging with this stranger who had seduced me into taking a substance I knew nothing about.
“I…I don’t want it,” I said, backing away.
“Really?” he asked. “You don’t want to be a star?”
“I…I don’t know what I want, but I don’t want to feel like this.”
“That’s your choice,” he said with a shrug. He wasn’t laughing anymore. “If you change your mind, I’ll be around.”
I turned and ran up the beach, headed for town, sprinting impossibly fast. I tried to slow myself down but my body had the throttle, not my mind. I made it off the sand and kept going until I reached the small park at the end of Main Street. Thankfully nobody was around. I lay down on the grass and stretched out, willing myself to relax. I don’t know how long I lay there. Five minutes? Twenty? Eventually I felt the effects of the Ruby leaving my body. The first sign was that the soreness in my legs returned. I never thought I would be relieved to feel pain. A weariness then washed over me as if the effort I had been putting out had sucked every last drop of gas from my tank. I sat up and rubbed my face. What had happened? Whatever the Ruby had done, it was wrong and I knew that I would never use it again…no matter how great a player it could turn me into.
I got up and jogged home at a normal pace and went straight to my room. I didn’t want to talk with my parents because I didn’tknow what I would tell them. I don’t claim to know how the human body does what it does, but I didn’t believe for a second that what those crystals did was natural or legal, no matter what Feit said. I laid down on my bed in the dark, flexing the muscles of my legs and my arms, trying to sense any lingering effects.
After convincing myself that I would live, I went to my computer and feverishly Googled any key words that might lead me to answers: ruby, Feit, fight, “fite,” sea salts, steroids, even ergogenic aids. The last search gave me some information about increasing athletic performance but I couldn’t find anything about a red sea salt that could instantly transform someone into Superman, let alone a company that manufactured the stuff.
I decided to keep my adventure on the beach to myself. I didn’t want anybody to know I had been stupid enough to take a strange substance from a complete stranger. Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about what those red crystals had done for me. For those few moments when I was under their spell, I was invulnerable.
I wanted to know more about it…for all sorts of reasons.
SIX
“W hat’s wrong?” Quinn asked.
“Why? What do you mean? There’s nothing wrong.”
I answered too quickly, which was a sure tip-off that something was, in fact, wrong. My adventure with the Ruby had been the night before and I could hardly think about anything else.
“Whoa, easy,” he said defensively. “I was just wondering why you were letting Kent move in on Olivia without a fight.”
“Olivia?” I asked, momentarily baffled. “Oh. That. Sorry.”
“What did you think I meant?” he asked with confusion.
“Not that. I mean, not that there’s anything else wrong but, I mean, there’s nothing wrong. Why do you ask?”
Quinn stared at me suspiciously as we walked along Main Street toward school. He knew something was up and it bugged him that he couldn’t put his finger on it. I had to get him thinking in the wrong direction, which wasn’t easy to do.
“There’s nothing between me and Olivia to fight over,” I added quickly.
“There could have been,” he said sternly. “But you blew it.”
I shrugged. “Kent’s an all-star.”
“And rich,” Quinn added. “Don’t forget rich.”
“Jeez, are you trying to make me feel bad?”
“Yes!” he shouted. “You can’t let that guy intimidate you just because he’s smart
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