The Rink of Time

Chapter Two

A burnt child loves the fire

RIVER LADISTON

The school day had finally come to an end, but my day wasn't over yet, I have swim practice.

Gotta love life!

Note the sarcasm. I'm not exactly thrilled about it. I don't hate swim practice, but I don't love it either, there are too many rules, I personally believe that we should be like the water, free and flexible.

Instead, I have to learn each position, each stroke and beat records. It's too tasking, water is meant to be peaceful, water is life after all.

Don't get me wrong, I love swimming, I just hate doing it competitively, but I don't really have much of a choice, dad says it builds stamina.

Maybe if mom was alive, I wouldn't be subjected to this.

"Go" Coach yells and I jump into the water.

Other kids swam their designated distances and climbed out, which compared to mine was not a lot, my dad personally spoke to the coach, probably bribed him if we're being real because this shit isn't healthy, just so I could swim triple the laps they did. He goes on about how I need to make world championships, I don't know how my body can take this.

After my sixth lap, I get out of the pool, I really shouldn't be complaining because I'm exceptionally good, the water has never failed me, I feel like a feather when I'm in it by my own will.

I look over at Skai who's at the bleachers, watching anyone but me.

She's probably looking for a new rebound. I walk over to her, waving over to her as I plant myself beside her.

"Hey"

"Hey" She greets back without even looking at me.

"You have no idea how desperate you look" I roll my eyes.

"Me?" she gasps finally paying me attention "I'm watching my dearest brother swim, what on earth do you mean?"

"Don't you think you're a little too young to be looking at half naked guys?" I quip

"Don't think you're a little too old to not know how to mind your business?" She fires back and I raise my hands up in defense.

"Chill out, just be careful okay, these aren't guys you should really mess with" I advise.

"I'm not going to mess with them" she shrugs "I'm just bored"

"The same way you were bored when you got with Jaden?" I ask her and she shoots me daggers with her eyes.

I know I hit a nerve, but this girl honestly does not listen. Jaden is the only guy that has ever made my sister cry, Skai could cry about literally anything, but she never cried over guys, so you can imagine how surprising it was to us.

He would cheat over and over again, and talk trash about her with the guys on the basketball team, that dude's crazy. You can also imagine how satisfying it was to break his nose.

"Look Skai, I'm only saying this because I care about you" I look straight ahead, resting my eyes on the pool "Don't use these guys as your rebound, they'll use you before you use them"

I don't get along with the guys on the swim team, except Dexter, but he didn't stay for practice today, something about needing to pick up his mom from the hospital, she's been really sick lately.

"Why?" she asks.

"Just don't, they're not good people" I tell her curtly.

"What about him?" she points at Denver Carrie. "He's hot"

"He's also the worse of them all" I add to her assessment of him.

"Well, I can change him" she tells me, a hint of a smile playing on her lips, did she really believe that?

"Okay" I nod as if I was buying into her little fantasy of 'changing' him "Go on, change him" I snort "I didn't know you were a rehab center" rolling my eyes, I get up. My fifteen minutes are up and I need to get back into the water.

The swim team bet on a new girl each year, and this year it's Skai, I never joined their bets, that's why we don't get along. They are honestly just a bunch of dirtbags.

Skai knew about their yearly bets, I would often give her the tea on it, but she didn't know she was the girl they had bet on this year, I didn't have the heart to tell her.

After practice, we make our way to the parking lot. "I wanna drivee!" Skai snatches the keys from my hand.

"Oh, hell no!" I run to the driver's door and stand in front of it.

"Come onnn" She whines. Let's just say, Skai drives like a maniac –and that's putting it lightly.

"I'm not in the mood to die yet thank you very much" I grab the keys from her hand and climb into the car as she sulks her way to the passenger seat in defeat.

There are only two words I could use to describe Skai 'Free' and 'Wild'.

Growing up, I was taught to be disciplined, according to my dad I was taught to be a man, to be a leader.

Skai on the other hand she was practically raised to be free. She's a figure skater, while I was at swim practice or being tutored, she was mostly at the ice rink or off doing something insane like bungee jumping, sky diving, going on the craziest rides in amusement parks. She is a risk taker, and she tries to get us all on board to do crazy shit all the time, of course she usually is only ever able to convince Dexter, they are literally birds of the same feather.

"Did you tell dad about the trip?" Skai asks me.

"Why do I have to tell him? you're the one who wants to go" I protest as I pull in to the drive way of our little home.

"You don't wanna go?" She lifts a brow at me as she steps out of the car.

I did want to go, it seems like a nice break

"I do but-" she cuts me off.

"Forget it, I'll talk to him, I want to ask him when he'll be back from his trip anyways" She beams.

"He's been gone for a day Skai" Locking the car door, we make our way towards the entrance of our home.

"One day too many" she feigns despair entering the house.

I love my dad, he does the best he can to raise us by himself but sometimes I try to avoid long talk because then it's all about, 'how's swimming?' or 'what do you think the government could do to promote safety' political stuff.

Skai is daddy's little girl, she gets everything she wants handed to her on a silver platter and they share a lot of similar interests like politics for example, they practically live to trash talk the government or give them accolades. There is no in-between.

She knows what to say and how to say it, but she couldn't care less about her education. She tries sometimes though, I guess it's the thought that counts.