Rex the Period and Silence

#7 The Clean Flat Shoes

MONDAY!! I should have brought bronze home, however, I lose her 0.2 mil-second in the individual medley's match. Tomorrow is the last day, I can't wait to eat as much as I want and drink every beverage I see. This is the worst scene for me to not drink any beverage in this kind of situation. Wait.... I think I had a sports drink today. It's better than not at all, right? He gave me a sports drink. I thought it was very thoughtful of him, yeah...again, I asked for too much. He didn't like that drink. He never had it before, so he meant to try it and the taste didn't match him. I am nothing but his moving garbage. Still, It's not bad. I like that though. The rest of the team is partying right now. It's just me and the others two male seniors who have the match tomorrow. They are partying while I am here trying hard to open my eyes. Don't they tired? We were all burned by the sunlight and damped by the water over and over again. Am I the only one who is tired? Am I the only young blood who aged? Tomorrow I have 100m backstroke and 100m butterfly. If I'm lucky enough to be in the top eight, I'll compete again, just like today. Wish me luck!

***

I wake up and get myself ready to warm my body up. While everybody is still in their dream, fifteen minutes later, I find myself is walking by myself with half-opened eyes. The sun is hiding behind the clouds. In the alley, I see some of the competition's participators are marching to the swimming pool. I wish my teammates were here. Sadly, they are free. They are free to do anything they want. The others two seniors haven't wake up, I assume. I suppose my body is the one to blame. It takes longer for me to warm my body up, so I have to leave earlier than them. At seven o'clock, the warming up swimming pool is opened and my body is ready to jump into the water. The cold water seeps into my swimsuit, the sun emerges as my head comes to the surface, and my heart dismays as I swim further. Can I do my best just like I did? One and half hours later, I change my wet swimsuit to the dry one. I get out from the stadium to find our team's mat, hoping I find any company to buy a breakfast together. But all I find is a vacant mat with several bags on it. Where is everyone? I thought they checked out already. I hear someone steps on the mattress as I am hanging my wet swimsuit on the tree behind our mat. "Hello," greets that person. I turn around and have Li-Zhuang in front of me. I have no answer if somebody asks me why he always appears before me, cause I've been wondering why he always happens to be where I am. "Where is everyone?" I ask.

"They are packing, I guess, I don't know," he sits on the mat.

"You came with them?" I point to the seniors' bags. The seniors who have the match, just like me. "Yeah." he suns himself with his eyes closed.

"Breakfast?" I hint him to accompany me. But he just nods. I roll my eyes. Where are the girls? I should have gone with them. "Are you a model?!" I chaff him for I can't stand his insensitivity. "You're the one who says it," he opens his eyes. "I got some bread," he pulls his bag and takes a bread from it. He gives it to me. "And?" 

"For you." For a second, I am moved by his kindness but then I realized, he will say _, "I don't like it," that is what I was going to say. "I thought it'll taste good, so I bought two. I ate one, I don't like it," he puts it in my hand. "Do you think I am a trash can?!"

"You're the one who says it," he laughs.

I shamelessly take the bread, cause he shamelessly gives it to me. "Thank you, though." 

The competition is starting. De-Yuan and Ren-Zhai are getting ready. The girls are buying some snacks, En-Hui is sleeping on the mattress, Li-Zhuang is playing on his phone, and I am listening to music. "So, you attended Taiwan's high school?" he suddenly gets his eyes away from the phone. 

I unplug the earphone, "Me? Yeah," I don't know what to say, in order to continue this conversation. 

"Why did you come here?" he helpfully finds the topic.