The winter competition at Davidson High has had the same schedule since forever. Last Saturday before the holidays and school break, from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. with a couple of small breaks and a bigger one for lunch at midday.
The competition is organized by age groups, gender and strokes. The female team goes first, starting from the first age group - the freshmans (or juniors) -, then the sophomores (or advanced) - which was my group -, and then the seniors. Same goes for the male team, which meant that Noah and Ben's group was the last one to go.
The various groups are divided into four categories, representing the four strokes - backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly stroke, and sidestroke. Noah was competing in the breaststroke category while Ben and I were taking the backstroke.
Then, the swimmer with the best timing on each category and respective age group wins and is selected to compete against swimmers from other schools at the swim meet, which usually takes place nearing the end of the school year. The winner takes the trophy home and brings another victory to the school.
The bleachers were packed, it was mostly parents and other family members, and friends, who came to support their swimmer.
From the edge of the pool, where I was standing, I spotted my dads right away, sitting in their usual spot, right next to my aunt and uncle, all of them with their phones and cameras in hand, ready to document the event. A few bleachers down was my group of friends - Chloé, Carter, Kyle and Harper, all sitting next to each other and talking non stop, while laughing and sharing a bucket of popcorn.
Refocusing back on my task, I took a couple of deep breaths before pulling my goggles down and adjusting them to my eyes.
When the sound of the whistle was heard loud and clear across the arena, I gracefully jumped into the water and twirled my body, facing the ceiling.I moved my legs up and down in sync with my arm movements, the key to owning a great amount of control in the water while also achieving speed.
After a few laps of repeating the process, I ended up in first place, with the best timing, and jumped back out of the water with a beaming smile on my face. In a swift movement, I pushed the goggles up, resting them on top of the cap and made a beeline to where the water bottles were, taking one with me and drinking it fast and furiously.
Now, it was the seniors' turn and I stuck around to watch them, curious to see who was winning this round. After Danielle conquered that title, it was lunch break and the competition would pick up again at 1 P.M., with the male team taking the water.
* * *
Today's competition couldn't have ended better, with Ben and Noah achieving the best timing scores in their respective category, which meant that the three of us were automatically selected to go to the swim meet, to take on the best swimmers from other schools.
After showering and trading the swimwear for some normal, ordinary clothes, Noah and I took a seat next to each other on the middle section of the second row. With everyone gone and out of the bleachers, we had the arena all to ourselves.
During all of our extra swim practices, and through the course of our exponentially increasing and growing friendship, Noah and I ended up pushing each other, in the best way. Without one another, we could have never achieved our glorious goals today.
"Congratulations, Willy!" I said with a wide smile, emphasizing the nickname I've heard his best friend call him more than once. Noah chuckled.
"You too, Barbie doll." It was the first time in a very long time that Noah called me that, and I didn't seem to mind that much, now.
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