The name of the game | ONC 2022 ✔

Chapter 6

"So Ash, it's been a year and a half since your accident," the doctor's voice sounds like it's supposed to be calming.

"Yes," I say. Mom sits beside me, hands folded neatly in her lap. I hope Mom will take the lead like she normally does.

"How are his legs?" Mom asks, cutting straight to the chase.

"They have healed very well. The bone will always be a little chipped, though," the doctor delivers the news easily.

"And what do you mean by that?" Mom leans forward slightly and her hands start fidgeting.

"Some small pieces of bone may still be in the muscles." The doctor says.

"What will that cause?" I ask.

"Nothing major. To put it simply, he will never be able to run a marathon or anything like that,"

I glance at Mom, and she frowns slightly at my 'try me' look.

"I know that look," she whispers.

***

"Could we have 3 hydro-slide passes please," Jake says to the lady at the entry to the pool.

"Of course, that will be $15 thanks," the lady accepts my 3 $5 and straps the bands to our wrists.

"Thank you," Cole says, and we all step past the barriers. We came in our swimming stuff, so we go straight to the pool. The main pool is a big rectangle with the 3 hydro-slides dropping you into the deep end. The water is blue, and you can see black lines in the lap pool. I drop our bag in one of the lockers that line one side of the pool. The roof is some form of clear plastic.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Cole dives in perfectly, drawing stares from the lifeguards. Jake and I look at each other than sprint to the pool. Our dives are perfectly synchronized and when we resurface, all eyes are on us.

"Way to make an entrance," Cole swims over to us. I comb my fringe out of my face.

"Ready to slide?" I ask.

"Let's go." Jake starts swimming over to the steps closest to the slide entry. Cole and I follow.

We show our bands to the lifeguard, and he nods us through.

"Why are there so many stairs?" Cole groans and we start climbing. It takes us 2 minutes to get to the top, but Cole acts like he's dying.

"So many stairs," he says.

"Sounds like someone needs to do more cardio," Jake teases.

"Are you ready?" Cole has already chosen one of the slides. Jake and I go to the slides closest to us and wait for the light to go green.

"Go!" Jake yells and I swing down the dark tunnel.

"Woo-hoo!" I hear Cole yell from his slide.

___________________

Cole, Jake and I are lined up on the edge of the pool.

"Are you ready?" I look to Cole, who's on my right. He nods. I turn to Jake on my left.

"Just say the word,"

"Go,"

We all dive, perfectly in synch. Years of practice have come into play here. Just like we practiced last time we were together, I turn a flip while Jake and Cole dive normally. I hit the water with a slight splash. Careful to keep my eyes closed against the chlorine. Rising out of the water, I shake my head to dislodge the water in my ears. I don't open my eyes until I'm sure all the water has dripped off my fringe.

"That was awesome!" Cole high-fives Jake, then swims over to me. He holds his hand out and I high five him.

"Totally," I say and attempt to get all the hair out of my ears, so I can hear properly.

"Had enough?" Jake asks, swimming a bit closer.

"Yeah," Cole says.

"Same,"

We all exit the pool and grab our towels out of our bag. I rub my hair with my towel and dry my face and chest before tying it around my waist.

"Let's go," Jake leads the way to the exit. We slowly push through the crowds of people just arriving. Bags, kids and random goggles are everywhere.

Eventually we make it out the door and into the open space. I take a deep breath of fresh air.

"Fresh, non chlorine air," Cole sighs. He runs his hands through his still damp hair and shakes off the droplets.

"We should get back," Jake says.

"Probably," I agree, and we start the walk back.

_______________

"How was the pool?" Becky, a patient at the center, asks as we walk in to the common room.

"Crowded," Cole answers, flopping onto the couch beside her. Becky's blonde and pink streaked hair is spread across the couch next to his head, so he moves it all over and rests his head on the couch back.

"Did you have fun?" She asks.

"Yeah. We got all the attention when we were diving, though," Jake says.

"I bet you did. You guys should do a competition or something," Becky suggests.

"Maybe one day," Cole sighs.

"Yeah," I say. "I'm going to my room." I leave the common room and walk down the hall to my room.

After making sure the door is properly shut, I flop onto my bed and go onto my phone.

Voicemail: you have one missed call and one new voice message

Confused, I dial voicemail to hear it.

"Hey Ash, when you get back, do you maybe want to hang out sometime? Let me know. Oh, it's Jess, by the way."

I quickly text back.

AshM: Yeah sure, send me a time and a place, I'll meet you there.

I put my phone face down on the bedside table and go sit at my desk. Absent-mindedly, I pick up a pencil, open my sketchbook and start drawing. The smooth charcoal lines are drawn from memory. Colors seem to flow out onto the paper.

Then I go over the pencil lines with a marker, outlining the cliffs and the shadows. I look down at the paper and realize what I've drawn.