Flame Touch

Chapter 11-Melody

I filed into the bus along with everyone else in my class. There was no one I knew in my wellness class, so I always found it pretty boring. Today we had to change into uniformed swimsuits and then swim in a freezing lake.

Fun.

After dropping us off at the lake, we all stood awkwardly at the bank. The guys were on one side and the girls were on the other (for obvious reasons). I personally loved swimming, but when you have English right after gym, and only ten minutes to take a shower- it can be very…very frustrating.

Our teacher/coach/fattest gym teacher on earth started shouting, “Alright! I want a relay race today! Let’s swim the lake from bank one to half-point!” He counted us off in teams of four and I was with an orange haired girl named Lizzy, who was way too enthusiastic for gym; A guy with brown eyes and Indian complexion named Semba, who looked like he was really uncomfortable and was Ms. Cassio’s son (she likes to be called Ms. rather than Mrs. for some reason), and *drum roll please for the unluckiest girl in the world* Janet Wager.

She was wearing a red, sleek swimsuit with flared edges and a cross-strap back. It wasn’t our uniformed swimsuit, but since it was red and our uniformed suits happened to be red, our stupid teacher didn’t notice at all.

“Okey!” Janet Wager said, “Who wants to go first? Semby?” She asked blinking rapidly in hopes that he would notice how evenly her eyelashes were placed. Now, I didn’t know Semba that well or anything, but I really hated how Wager completely ignored Lizzy and I. So I stepped in front of Semba and said, “Don’t worry Janny, I’ll take the first stretch,” and with a smirk, I walked back up to the bank. Only when I reached the edge of the lake did I realize that someone was behind me.

“Thanks for back there.” Semba panted, still tired from trying to catch up with me.

“Thanks for what?”

He smiled, “Thanks for getting Janny off my back. She seems real sweet at first, but my friend told me that she was a total diva and-” he blew his black hair away from his face and shuffled uncomfortably, then leaned in close and whispered, “I kind of can’t swim.” He pulled away with a very red face. “Janet knows this, and ever since she started hating my friend, she started hating me too, so she kind of tries to make my life miserable at every corner.” He blew his hair again.

‘What did your friend do?” I asked, still surprised he was telling me this.

“He pushed her into a ditch.”

“He what?!”

“Janet threw some mud at him and he said ‘try this on for size’ and pushed her into a ditch. It wasn’t a very big one, only three feet, and it was a joke! But Janet started hating him since that day.”

I was trying ever so carefully not to look like an idiot and try to look cool, but I burst out laughing and couldn’t stop until Semba gave me a very concerned look.

“S- sorry.” I said as I tried to retain what was left of my dignity, “But seeing pretty princess Janet in a muddy ditch is kind of funny don’t you think?” Semba laughed and was about to reply until fatty teacher yelled, “Alright! All first people in line!” Semba groaned. I felt bad for him, so I said, “Don’t worry. Act like you hurt your ankle, and I’ll figure out how to compensate for your lap.” He looked up in surprise and relief, and nodded. I ran up to the edge of the bank and waited for coach to blow the whistle.

“FFFTTTTTTT!”

Five simultaneous splashes were heard as five different swimmers, including myself, launched off into the lake.

After the initial coldness, the water felt like silk on my skin as I glided through it. I closed my eyes to enjoy the sensation. I was one of the only people who wore a swim cap because of my long hair, and though it looked ugly, it helped out a lot and it let the water caress my neck. I was enjoying this until I bumped against something. That was wrong; the middle of the lake doesn’t have any land. I opened my eyes and saw sand. I looked up in wonder, thinking that I had accidently turned directions while swimming and swam back to the beginning, but there was no one on the bank. I looked to the opposite bank and realized, with some degree of confusion, that I was on the other side of the lake. Still not understanding what happened, I swam to the other side at the same speed I swam to the other bank. When I climbed out of the water, everyone was staring at me with open mouths.

“Did you see that?”

“She swam all the way-”

“Faster than everyone else to go to the half-point”

Sensing that I was going to get an explanation soon, I kept my mouth shut until the coach came up to me, “Do you know what you just did?” he boomed and my ears turned red, “no.” I peeped in a small voice. “You,” he began with a stern look that suddenly broke into a huge smile, “Just made varsity and won your team the relay race!” He clapped me on my back with his thick hand, “Never in all my days have I ever seen someone swim the lake in under three minutes! Amazing!” he continued with the praise until my face turned the same shade as my ears and I went back to my team.

“That was amazing!” Semba exclaimed before Janet could make the first comment, “When you told me you’d compensate, I didn’t think- I mean you- wow!” he said looking at me with gratitude in his eyes. I blushed and mumbled that it was nothing. Lizzy came up to congratulate me too until Janet Wager burst out, “It’s not fair! If she gets to swim all of that we won’t get any exercise! She’s trying to make us fat! She should be punished!” Coach whirled around to Wager’s perfect innocent face. He studied it for a long time until he finally sighed and said, “Alright Ms. Wager, you make do a one-hundred if you wish, using the mid-point as the end.” Janet stopped, and then spluttered, “Wa-wait! I don’t won’t to-” but coach cut her off with a signature stare until she reluctantly started off towards the bank to swim. Coach was one of the only teachers immune to Wagerness and I was grateful for that. I heard a laugh behind me and twirled around to see Semba holding up a hand for me to high-five, “You got her two for two today,” he said still laughing. I smiled and returned the high-five.

“Maybe swimming isn’t that bad,’’ I thought, still smiling. I felt a chill go up and down my spine and for a moment I felt like I was on top of the world, in heaven, in love, I don’t know. The pure randomness of the happening was exhilarating and, all of the sudden, it stopped.