Rising To The Surface

Chapter 11

I had barely spoken to mum and dad and they still hadn't come home from their little 'business trip' in the city, which I now knew was all related to court cases and me. I missed them and had so much to talk about with mum, but when I tried to call last night, she only had a minute to tell me she was still out with some old friends and would call me later, only I fell asleep before that time came and did indeed miss her call. Instead of spending my day thinking about all the possible reasons why all this court stuff was taking so long, when it seemed it wasn't the actual court hearing, I spent my day focussing on classes. My maths teacher informed us that the final test before the exam on this unit was in a week and everyone should be studying their hardest. I had been trying my hardest and asking my teacher questions so that I could understand the topic and so far was doing well. I didn't feel confident, but my teacher said that would come with revision, as strange as that sounded.

I was buzzing with nerves and excitement by the time biology rolled around as my last class of the day, the last class before my first track session. I didn't know how it would go or if I would be able to keep up with any of the girls on the team. I was sure I didn't have their endurance nor their strength but was excited, nonetheless.

"What sport do you play?" I asked Levi, remembering that it was compulsory for everyone.

"Mines external." He explained. "I surf a lot, so I just represent the school at all the competitions, and they help with funding, so I don't do a normal one like mostly everyone else."

"That's so cool." I beamed at him. I didn't tell him the facts that'd I'd never been to a beach, couldn't swim and had never seen anyone surf, only talk about it.

"Do you run with your brothers? I'm sure Teddy here would get you out enough though." He laughed.

"I've raced Austin a few times." I nodded, smiling at Teddy in the process. I appreciated that Levi didn't question anything I told me and just listened from the beginning. "Do you have siblings?"

"I have a baby sister. My parents got divorced and my dad had another kid with his new wife."

"What's her name?"

"Evie. She's three next week." We talked back and forth about our families and our dogs and really just got to know each other. Levi hadn't gone to the school for very long either and had only started at the beginning of the year, since he'd gotten a scholarship for his surfing. I realised he must actually be really good if the school was paying for him to go here just so they could get some credit for the competitions he won. He had always wanted to go here, and it made me smile at how passionate he was about his surfing. I hoped to find my thing like that too, since so many other people I knew had their 'thing' and since starting at a new school, I noticed how much I didn't. Before I knew it, the bell had gone, and I was headed to meet Tate to go get changed.

***

I followed Tate around like a lost puppy all evening, but she didn't seem to mind helping me make sure I knew what I was doing. My presumption was right in that it was mostly just running, but since it was preseason training, most of the team was 'out of shape', according to Tate. I was able to keep up most of the time but took much longer to recover than they did.

The coaches were so nice, one in particular always making sure I was alright and reminding me to push my limits but not break them, especially not in my first session.

By the end I was exhausted, but we'd finished early and that meant we had to wait. Tate was getting a ride home with Gabby, who had soccer training tonight, and it just so happened the boys' and girls' soccer teams were merged for the session, so we sat in the stands where they could see us. Austin, Sean and Jonah were all playing, and it was kind of impressive the way they manoeuvred the ball across the pitch.

"Can I ask what Teddy helps you with? Sorry if its invasive, you don't have to tell me." Tate asked, semi-sheepishly.

"He's for anxiety and PTSD. He helps with panic attacks." I gently smiled at her to confirm I didn't mind her asking. She was respectful and had waited to get to know me a bit before asking which I appreciated. I had enough trust in her to tell her.

"I can't even begin to imagine how much that would suck. I'm sure Teddy helps though."

"He does. Such a good boy." I cooed, earning a very eager wagging tail in response.

"Ash!" Sean yelled out to me from down on the pitch. "We're done, they're just getting changed."

"Friends with Sean too?" Tate smiled.

"I guess. He's at my house a lot." I shrugged, as we walked down to meet him. Gabby had also come out and was waiting for Tate as the bottom of the staircase.

"See you tomorrow." Tate waved.

"Bye!" Gabby added.

"See ya." Sean responded, whilst I waved, even though they weren't speaking to him. I gave him a funny look but thankfully Austin and Jonah appeared.

"You guys stink." I scrunched up my face, unable to ignore the horrible stench of sweat surrounding me.

"You have to sit in a car with us too." Jonah laughed. "We only got changed for your sake."

"How was your track session? We could see you guys running and I think you did more than us!" Austin questioned.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, running towards him, despite the tense muscles in my legs.