The Guardian From Hell

Swim Tryouts and A Crazy Chick

Chapter Three

2009

     Percy took off his shirt and put it into the locker. The boy's changing room smelled like swamp ass mixed with AXE body spray, and Percy wanted nothing more than to leave the room instantly. So, he was in a hurry as he put on his swim suit.

     He walked out into the indoor pool, and sat on the bench, waiting for instructions. He was nervous. He was trying out for the swim team for the first team and had been training for the last few months. But what if everyone else were better?

     "Jackson!" The coach, Gleeson Hedge yelled. "Take the necklace off!"

     Percy's hand closed around his shark tooth necklace. "I... uh... I don't take it off." He said.

      "I don't care. It's a hazard for swimming, and I can get sued. So take it off."

     Percy walked back into the locker room and reluctantly took off the necklace. He placed it in the locker that held his clothes, phone, and earbuds. He walked back out, before letting out the breath he had been holding as to not breathe in the locker room scent.

     The rest of the people who were trying out soon joined him by the pool. Coach Hedge told them all to line up. He was going to 'inspect' them. For what, Percy had no idea. He felt like a piece of meat being sold at an auction.

     Coach Hedges eyes roamed over his body, taking in every detail. He made a 'hm' noise, before moving onto the next person. Once he had looked over everyone in the line, he picked up a clipboard that had been sitting on the bleachers. He wrote some things down for a couple of minutes, before turning and addressing the students.

     "There will be two short tests that you will be participating in today. The first is a speed test. You will each swim a fifty meter freestyle which I will time. The pool is fifty meters long, so you will be going from one side till the other. Shouldn't have to explain that, but you cupcakes always find a way to not follow that logic. The second will be an endurance test, will I will time how long you can swim for. If you are selected to be a part of the team, the goal is for you to become faster, and swim for longer. This will be showcased when we do this again at the end of the season. You have five minutes to stretch before we start the speed test."

     Percy started to stretch his arms and legs. He would need them for a freestyle race. As he did so, he checked out the competition. They all looked relatively in shape, but not really strong, per se. Percy had actually spent all summer getting better at swimming and working out. After he got caught in a riptide at the beach and almost died, he had decided to get better so it wouldn't happen again. It was actually Grover's idea to try out for the swim team.

      "Bryan Agulara! You're first!" Coach Hedge called.

     Bryan made his way to the block. He waited for Coach Hedge to tell him to go before diving into the water.

     Instantly, Percy felt better about his own ability. Bryan's dive was weak, barely getting himself into the water. Typically you wanted to dive in and get as far as possible so you didn't have to swim as much.

     Bryan finished his fifty meters and slapped the ground on the other side.

     "Forty-four seconds." Coach Hedge called.

     Percy had to physically stop himself from choking on his own spit. That was a terrible time. He remembered seeing an eleven-year-old get a better time than that—a little over thirty seconds! Sure, it was a really good nine-year-old, but a nine-year-old nonetheless.