[Day 4] Swimming: 4x100 Freestyle Relay

I walk onto the pool deck while shoving the rest of my ponytail into my swim cap. Once I’ve made it to the first lane, I unwrap the goggles from around my wrist and pull them over my head. Standing third in line, I peek just beyond the boy in front of me to see a boy who was once familiar to me: Rolex. Honestly, the only reason I signed up for this event was so that I could somehow run into him again. He never talked to me after that first date – was date the right word? For a while, I thought that maybe I had done something wrong. Maybe it was the fact that I’d tried to hold the door open, or maybe it was my general awkwardness during dinner. But I soon realized he’s the one who wanted to be the gentleman, and that he never was. I gave him what he wanted, and he gave nothing back.

I want Rolex to look backwards and smile, whisper my name, and step out of line for a moment just to come closer to me; I’m angry with him for leaving without any word, but it’s a sort of frail, desperate, and lonely anger that wants to be healed and held to, because even standing here several feet from him causes my heart to beat slightly faster. I wonder if he even knows I’m on his team; he hasn’t looked back once, but he must have seen my name on the roster. All I want to do is reach out – reach out to tap his bare shoulder with one finger and remind him I’m here, but before I get the chance to, he enters the water with a splash.

I bring myself back to my senses, and wait until the next boy dives in before climbing up onto the platform. I divert my gaze from the lane before me, watching Rolex as he climbs out of the pool. I quickly shake my head and bring my attention back to the water. I need to stop thinking about him. It’s been long enough. He doesn’t want to talk to me, and besides, I have more important things to worry about. I dive into the water just as the boy before me touches the wall, but my arms are as sore as my heart as I swim across the pool.

There's always gonna be another mountain

Overcoming the diversity in life hasn't been easy. Every single day is a challenge, but I'm standing here to prove to my sister that it was possible. Yesterday was a great performance in running. I proved that I was capable of overcoming every single obstacle in life. Only one thing would make it better, and that would be if my parents were watching, and they saw how good I was doing. Maybe it would make them proud, and they would want to come back into my life to mend the broken relationship. Today is a swimming event. I'm competing with a team to represent district one. I can only hope that we do well, and I'm going to do my best to make sure I provide for my team.

I've never been one for swimming, but this will be enjoyable because it's not for fun, it's for real. Anything with competition makes the world better. I take a deep breath as I wait my turn, and I keep waiting. It's my hope that my parents are out there watching this again. I want to make them proud, I want to make Hylla proud. I wait for my turn to go, and I'm prepared. This is the time to show that I'm capable of doing a great performance. It's now or never.

Hylla this one is for you.

I dive...

MGLkaiwC1000+5000
57.30 seconds