SWIMMING IN CHAOS~THOMAS CECCON

13

"Bianca"

Dinner was progressing normally. The atmosphere was calm, and the food was exquisite.

I was seated between Martina and Thomas, whom I had noticed was acting strange and distant since we had sat down. On the other side of the table, directly across from me, was León, who was chatting animatedly with Luca.

'Are you sure you're okay?'— I asked him again for the second time, but he just nodded, as he had done earlier.

Resigned, I continued enjoying the dinner while sharing anecdotes with my teammates and other swimmers.

'Bianca, are you from Rome too?'— I heard the voice of León, who turned out to be one of the best swimmers in France.

I turned to look at him and replied, 'Yes, I was born and live there. The truth is, it's a beautiful city.'

'I can say that its citizens are beautiful too.'— I couldn't help but blush when his words came out of his mouth, accompanied by a smile.

Suddenly, I glanced sideways at Thomas and noticed how his expression was more serious than usual. It bothered me that he wasn't enjoying himself as he always did because I knew it had been his dream to come to Paris and compete.

Besides, although he's a bit shy at first, he's always enjoyed talking to new people. All the swimmers are super nice, and I'm sure he'd really like them.

'Have you ever been to Italy?— I asked, curious. 'No, but I would love to go, especially knowing how nice Italians can be'— his response sparked laughter among the whole team, except for one person.

'Unlike you guys, right?'— Thomas immediately exclaimed. I shot him a scathing look. What was that comment about? León was a very pleasant person.

'Well, I suppose not everyone is the same. At least I consider myself a good person. What about you? Do you consider yourself a good person?'— I didn't expect that response from León, but it gave me satisfaction because Thomas could be really unbearable if he wanted to be.

'In my opinion, yes. Why do you ask? Don't I seem nice enough? If you want, just to make you comfortable, I can smile all the time.'— I was surprised by his words. Why was he acting that way?

'Thomas, stop it'— I whispered to him to avoid the others hearing me— 'You're acting like an idiot, don't be rude.'

'What's wrong, Bianca? Didn't you say I seemed very serious? Well, now I'm conversing with others, smiling.'— he said with clear sarcasm. At this point, the tension was evident.

'When I saw you earlier, I thought you were enjoying talking to León. I was eager to meet him and talk to him myself too.'— he continued, his sarcasm still lacing his words.

All our teammates were staring in his direction with disbelief. Couldn't he act like a normal person for once in his life? Sometimes he embarrassed me.

To prevent the night from being ruined and the good atmosphere from disappearing, I decided to intervene again.

'Thomas, can you come with me for a moment? We need to talk'— he turned his face towards me— 'Bianca, don't be disrespectful, we haven't even finished eating'— he responded, laughing. I was fed up with his childish attitude.

'Please, Thomas, just get up for a moment; it will only take five minutes'— he huffed and got up, and we headed back to the garden, which was now empty.

'What's up? I was having a great time with our new friend'— he said ironically.

'What's up? You're acting like a damn idiot. Everyone was having a great time until you had to step in and ruin everything'— I responded, furious with his behavior.

His smile faded as he listened to my words. He knew perfectly well that I was angry, and he understood exactly why.

'Since you said I seemed very serious, I wanted to cheer up a bit to put you at ease. Is that something wrong?'— he asked indignantly.

'Why do you always have to draw attention to yourself in front of the whole team? Can't you behave like an adult?'— I responded decisively, tired of his sarcastic retorts.

'You're the one who's not behaving like an adult, talking to a guy you just met while he's caressing your arm after you kissed me this morning. You're incredible'— he retorted angrily. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

'That's the point. Meet new people, talk to them, have fun. You don't have to be bitter all the time. Besides, I wasn't the one who kissed you, it was the other way around, in case you don't remember'— I emphasized, seeing how he wanted to blame me for something he had done.

'I agree, but you don't have to talk to him like you want to sleep with him. Especially not after what happened between us just a few hours ago. Are you aware of that? That's why I'm upset because it seems like you didn't give a damn about the kiss since, at the first chance you get, you're already throwing yourself into someone else's arms. And you don't even know him.'— his words surprised me. Was he really upset about that?

'I have no intention with him other than friendship, but as always, you create paranoia in your head. You have no right to interfere in my life or question what I do or don't do. Besides, you're acting like a complete idiot in front of everyone, ruining their dinner. Now I ask you, please, let's go back inside, and behave like a mature person, or don't bother coming in.'— I said with determination, in a slightly desperate tone.

'What do you mean don't interfere in your life? Then why the hell did you kiss me back? If you don't want anything with me, then don't do it. But if you kiss me, don't ignore me and go talk to other guys like you've known them all your life.'— he said, agitated. Without saying anything else, he headed towards the entrance to return to the dining room.

Resigned and hurt, I followed him and decided to ignore our conversation. My night was already ruined, but I didn't want to ruin it for everyone else."