Summary

In “The Crack,” one day, a crack appears on the pool floor. At first, “it is barely visible” (35). Some swimmers do not notice it. If they do, they “mistake it for something else” (35). Others see it as an omen and flee. Some think it is “bad luck to swim over the crack” (36). Some deny the crack’s existence. Others wonder if the crack is a sign of something worse. They wonder what caused it. Others decide to heed the lifeguard’s assessment and dismiss it as nothing.

Many swimmers “remain anxious” (38). The crack must mean something. They are afraid. They feel sick. They wonder if it is the start of something worse. The Aquatics Director assures the swimmers the crack is being investigated (39).

No one can say who “saw the crack first” (40). It may have been Alice, “who notices everything” (40). Yet Alice remembers...