𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭, charlie conway

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

"AND taking home second place for Eden Hall Academy in the 50 meter breaststroke, with a time of 60 seconds, is Verona Easton!"
My least favorite part of swim meets was receiving awards. I liked winning, but I didn't like being damp in a tracksuit with wet hair, having to stand and pose on a podium. That was something that hadn't gotten easier since moving to America. But I was proud to have placed in my first swim meet in the states, considering this was all of a different caliber than I was used to. I just got lucky.

I walked to find my dad and Steph in the crowd of parents, and they were easy to spot. They managed to find my bag on the bench and stayed put there until I made it over.

"Second place, Bluebell! That's fantastic!" My father greeted me with a hug and a high five.
"I think you swam faster than the girl who placed first, but I won't fight the ref." Steph said. I just giggled and gave her a hug too, though she wasn't eager for it.

I was really glad I had made my father proud with my swimming—he had only attended one of my meets once, when he was visiting us in Gold Coast when I was eight. He hadn't been back to Australia since because I could travel on my own.

Soon I saw Beck wading through the crowd to come greet me and hopefully congratulating. Though it was part of her role with the international student cohort, I could see that she was there in her "friend" capacity. She never made me feel like we weren't real friends because we slowly were becoming the real thing.

"V! You swim so fast, when were you gonna tell me?" She almost attacked me in a hug. I was glad I wasn't wet anymore with all this hugging.
"Thanks Beck. I'm so glad you came... even though I sucked in the 100 meter."
"Hey, you won something, that's pretty amazing."
She pat my shoulder. "And these are your parents?"
"Yeah, my dad and his girlfriend Stephanie."
She shook hands with both of them; I could feel the rage and jealousy seething off of Steph. She hated when I made the distinction of girlfriend rather than oversimplifying her to stepmom. I think it made her feel different and bad, but she wasn't my real stepmother yet, and I wasn't ready for her to be.

"So tonight there's going to be a little get together at my friend Adam's house—he said for me to invite you because you're on swim and he doesn't know you but he likes hosting the team. Can you come?"
I looked to my father. It was a Friday night, so I had no homework or sleep obligations, but going to a boy's house for a party would no doubt bother my father.

"You can go, Blue. It'll be good for you, make some new friends."
"Awesome!" Beck pulled a pen and paper from her purse—a pink pad of sticky notes and a purple gel pen. "Here's the address... starts at seven, goes until 11, and it's a pool party sort of thing, so bring your suit."
Beck was always such a whirlwind, I didn't know what to make of it. But it looked like I'd have just enough time to go home, shower off the chlorine, change up, and have dinner. In the car on the way home, my father was sure to give me the stereotypical lecture.

"There may be alcohol there, don't drink it, especially because of the pool being so close. Don't let anyone put something in your drink. Call when you're ready to come home... and don't go off with any of the boys on your own."

With the way he talked about it, I thought his idea of what the party would be was entirely different from mine. This was a pool party with the swim team and some others. It was low-key, and I'd just be getting to know people. Did Americans drink at every opportunity? Their drinking age was higher than Australia's, it didn't make any sense to me.

We pulled up to Adam's house, which was literally gigantic—which says a lot considering my father's house was rather large as well. I could see a few kids hanging out in the front yard, and I went to find people I knew in the back. I had on a sundress over my white one-piece bathing suit, the most casual but cute one I owned.