The English Teacher ➳ Emison

Chapter 18 | Away Meet

Emily inserted the room's key card into the reader, watching a green light flash momentarily before she was able to push down on the handle and open the door. Behind her, a group of girls was buzzing with excitement, following her into the two queen-bed hotel room. They were fresh off winning a meet against one of their strongest competitors, so everyone was still high on the thrill.

The girls she was sharing a room with were pleasant enough, all seniors from the Varsity team. She had begged Coach Fulton beforehand not to put her in the same room as Paige, and the woman made a whole show of not taking any room requests from the girls, but then luckily hadn't put her in Paige's room. Emily suspected she wouldn't have done that for any other girl on the team.

Emily placed her blue Sharks duffel bag on the ground by one of the beds, watching as Sydney Driscoll took the other side of it.

Sydney was a nice girl. Emily had helped her integrate when she was new on the team and assisted her in matching a higher stroke rate. The only problem with her, in Emily's opinion, was that she was a little too nice to everyone. She couldn't say no to anyone. Emily could recognize it in her because she used to be like that too.

Kim and Ava, two other girls from the team, took the other bed and got settled.

They were all talking together, partaking in their mutual enthusiasm. Emily was very happy to have collected this win against Cortland Academy. They had been personal rivals of The Sharks ever since her team had lost to them last year and the Academy girls threw it in their faces by booing at them when they had gone up to get the team's second-place trophy.

That was why today's victory left an extra sweet taste in their mouths. Everyone had brought their top game and Emily had given it her all at the end of the race, securing them an edge over the other swimmers.

Plus, she had to admit, Paige was an animal in the pool today. She had a big stake in their win too.

"Em, you go shower first," Kim offered in a friendly voice when they were getting ready.

"Are you sure? I don't mind waiting," Emily shrugged kindly.

"You worked the hardest out of all of us today," Sydney assured, "you deserve the first shower."

Emily chuckled at their insistence, "Okay."

A little later, when she came out of the bathroom in a pair of gray sweatpants and a black tank top, she felt more refreshed but also massively tired. She had taken the hottest shower known to man, and hot showers had always made her turn sleepy.

She threw on a hoodie and plopped heavily on the bed, causing the other girls to laugh in amusement.

"Don't fall asleep on us, Fields, we're going to Shana's room in a bit," Ava said as she headed to the bathroom for her own shower.

"Why?" Emily mumbled into the pillow, her eyes closed.

"Duh, she and some other girls snuck in booze," Kim quipped.

"Should we be doing that? Isn't Coach staying a few rooms over?" Sydney questioned nervously, silently reading Emily's mind.

Emily wasn't a stranger to room parties in away meets. Oddly enough, it provided comfort for the team. Whether they won or lost, they knew there would always be someone sneaking in a few bottles in their luggage for later. Emily had never been too anxious about getting caught doing these things since it was a silent agreement between the girls that if they got busted, the seniors would take the blame for it. The fact of the matter was – this year, she was one of those senior girls.

"No, didn't you hear? The hotel mixed up the order and she's sleeping three floors above us," Kim replied cleverly. "But if you're not feeling up for it, you could always stay here."