Maya’s sitting at the picnic table outside the office. I rush past, shouting, “Hi! Bye!”

“Wait, what’s going on?” she calls. “I just texted you. Wanna come with me to get a manicure? I’m free! Mrs. Olsen took the boys to the doctor. I could really use some pampering.”

“No, sorry, can’t right now!”

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing! We may have solved the puzzle!”

She looks from Zach to me. “What puzzle? Is this your secret?”

I bang open the door. “I think we found a way to get rid of the algae!”

Zach and I run inside and Maya follows. Dad’s behind the front desk on the phone. I wave my arms, then whisper, “We need to tell you something!”

Dad raises his eyebrows, shakes his head. Then keeps talking!

I grab a sticky note and write IMPORTANT! but he still doesn’t hang up! I can’t help it, I sort of morph into my sister—pacing back and forth in front of the desk, doing a couple of stomps and several huffs—until he finally ends the call.

“Okay, what’s the emergency?”

“Dad!” I shout. “Sorry to barge in, but Zach and I found a solution!”

“Well, maybe,” Zach says.

“No, not maybe, yes!” I add one last stomp. “Listen. There was a contaminated lake in Montana. They made these islands with plants on them, and the roots dangled into the water and ate up the bad algae! The lake got better, just from the plants!” I snap my fingers. “Problem solved!”

“That’s amazing!” Maya says.

“They work like a wetland,” Zach explains, reading from his phone. “The plant roots grow through a porous soil base and absorb the nitrogen and phosphorus—”

“You can show him all that later,” I interrupt. “Dad, you have to call the people from the health department. The bloom isn’t going away. We have to do this! Now!”

“Hold on.” Dad puts up a hand. “I’m sure they’re aware of these plant islands, wouldn’t you think?”

“They didn’t mention it at the meeting!”

“Annalise, we have to be patient. They said the best thing is to let the bloom dissipate on its own. They’re in charge.”

“It’s been days! Nothing’s changed!”

“Remember, they said it can take weeks, even months. The other lake might have had different conditions,” Dad says softly. “You don’t know what was going on there, or if it was the same as here. The shape of the lake, the depth, the type of algae—all that makes a difference.”

I look at Sophie’s note with the frowny face: The lake is sad. “Dad, why can’t we just call? Ask if they know about the plant islands?”

Mom comes into the office, glances around at us. “What’s going on?”

Dad grabs his phone. “Okay, I’ll call.”

“They figured out how to get rid of the algae,” Maya tells Mom.

“Really? How?” Mom asks.

Zach explains the floating plant islands. “Very interesting,” she says. “What kinds of plants do they use?”

“Anything that likes water.” Zach shows her pictures on his phone. “Iris, sedges, cattail, some types of ferns.”

Dad starts talking to someone and we listen. He mentions the islands, then stops midsentence. Long pause. “Yes,” he finally says. “Right. Of course. I understand.” He hangs up. The entire call was about two minutes.

“They know about the islands,” he says.

“Great!” I shout. “Are they going to use them?”

“It’s what I thought. They don’t have the budget or resources. They’re sticking with the current plan for all blooms. It should eventually go away on its own, depending on the weather.”

“So?”

He puts a hand on my shoulder. “So we just have to wait. It’s out of our control.”

“But it’s not out of our control!” I yell. “We can do something! And we have to! It’s our responsibility to take care of the lake.”

“Annalise,” Dad says. “Listen to me—”

“No! Why won’t they try the islands? Or do anything? It’s dying! We have to get the algae off so the lake can breathe!”

So Renn can talk to me. And listen.

Dad moves toward me, arms outstretched. “Don’t worry. It’ll be all right. I promise.”

Mom’s right behind him. “Gramps used to say—”

“No!” I back away. “You don’t know that it’ll be all right! Some things are never going to be completely all right. What happened to me will always be there, no matter what you say or do.”

Mom’s fingers flutter to her heart. Dad covers his mouth with a hand. Their faces. I’ve stung them. I threw those words like darts, when they had nothing to do with it. And the words can’t ever be erased.

Zach and Maya are standing by the Thought Wall, surrounded by yellow squares. People’s wishes and hopes and feelings.

“But I can help Renn,” I blurt, and run out.

I weave around towering pine trees, their low branches scratching my arms. I stumble on the dirt path until I get to the last cabin. It’s empty.

I fall onto the front step, my face hot and sweaty, curling into a ball and wrapping my arms around my legs.

I hear heavy footsteps and look up. Zach and Maya are running toward me.

When they get to the cabin, Zach’s wheezing a little. “You going out for cross-country or something?”

“Ha,” I croak.

“Are you okay?” Maya asks. “That was some big stuff back there.”

I sniffle. “If they’re not going to do anything, I have to.”

Zach shakes his head. “You heard what your dad said. They’re in charge. We need to be patient.”

“Forget patience. I’m done waiting. I’m going to make the plant islands and put them in the lake.”

“What?” Zach says. “Annalise, you can’t just—”

“I can.” I picture the silver snowflake in Mrs. Alden’s window. “And I only have one question. Are you with me?”

Neither of them says anything. Are they thinking this is the worst idea they’ve ever heard, or the best?

I uncurl and stand up, brush off my shorts. “I guess it doesn’t matter if you are or aren’t, because I’m doing it anyway.” My voice catches. “I am not abandoning Renn.”

Maya looks at me, then raises an eyebrow. “Interesting thing about Wisconsin. I’ve heard my parents talk about how it’s a home rule state.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that towns can make their own decisions about things that affect them.”

“Hmm,” Zach says.

Maya smiles. “Exactly.”

“So…” I look from one to the other.

“So I’m in if you’re in,” Maya says.

Zach throws up his hands. “I’m outvoted. Where do we start?”

I let out a breath. “With our own plan. We’re going to save the lake.”