Synchronized Swimming

Chapter 11: Room Assignments

Sang

What a dilemma- which room should I choose? Out of the seven available, three have bunk beds, so those are obviously meant for the boys. Three of the remaining four single rooms are fairly spacious and comfortable looking; one in particular has a spectacular wall of windows facing the backyard and an en suite bathroom that I immediately loved. The fourth room is cramped and dark without any form of decent lighting, which brings me back to my current problem. Since I'm the smallest, should I pick the smallest room, or should I pick the room that I love? I know that the boys would give me any room I picked, but I don't want to take advantage of their kindness.

"So Sang, which one do you want?" Victor asks quietly besides me. I hesitate, trying to hold back a grimace as I seal my fate for the next two months.

"I'll take the small one." Victor and Gabriel, who is also with us, gape at me.

"No way! I saw how you looked at the room with all of the windows, why would you pick that horrible small one?" Gabriel asks with exasperation.

"I'm the smallest, therefore I should get the smallest room. It's logical." I defend my choice, but Gabriel shakes his head and pulls me over to the window room.

"There, you can have the one you actually want." he says.

Victor looks at Gabriel with a slight frown. "Gabe, if Sang truly wants the small room, you can't force her into another," he says before directing his attention to me, "Sang, I know that you don't want to impose on us, but we don't mind if you ask for what you like. The nine of us are going to be rotating rooms every couple of days anyway so that no one has to spend the whole time in a bunk bed, so we would take turns in the small room. If you still want the small room, we won't stop you from taking it, but I think that you would be happier in this one."

His reasoning makes a lot of sense. In answer to his unspoken question, I walk into the window room and plop down my swim bag. Victor places my suitcase next to it, and Gabriel gently sets the box with my radio down on the bed. I feel better knowing that one of them won't get permanently stuck in the other room.

"We're going to go get settled in our rooms, and everyone else is out doing stuff right now. If you need anything, just shout." Victor tells me. I nod my head to show my understanding and watch as the two boys leave the room. Looking around, I gasp as I take in how nice the room actually is. I was too distracted by the argument before to truly appreciate its beauty.

At the center of the room stands a four poster bed made out of a gorgeous dark wood that contrasts nicely against the cream bed spread. A plethora of fluffy pillows take up the top half of the bed, and I want to go and fall into them. Next to the bed is a night stand with a reading lamp and an alarm clock. Against one wall there is a desk with a rolling chair; the opposite wall has the door to the bathroom and another door which I assume leads to a closet. The light pouring into the room gives it an almost ethereal atmosphere that is strengthened by gauzy blue curtains. In this moment, I could kiss Gabriel for encouraging me to pick this room.

I blush. Where did that thought come from? I've never even kissed a boy, and now I want to kiss Gabriel after knowing him for less than a day? I shake my head to clear my thoughts and set about unpacking. I was right, the other door does lead to a closet. A huge, walk in closet. My clothes only take up a fraction of the space, so I put my now empty suitcase in it to make it look less barren. Placing my radio on the desk, I plug it in and feel relieved when it still works.

I collapse onto the bed and think about what to do next. Unpacking took a grand total of ten minutes, and I don't want to bother Victor and Gabriel yet and seem needy. Suddenly, I remember Kota's words from lunch: we have a lane permanently reserved at the pool. The boys pointed the pool out on the way over to the house; it's only about fifteen minutes walking speed away. I can go and practice! I change into my suit and pack my swim bag before going and looking for Victor and Gabriel to tell them I'm leaving. My search yields no results, so I settle for writing a note explaining what I'm doing and leaving it on the kitchen counter.

I head out the front door with a grin. I love swimming, and I can't afford to lose my conditioning, so this is a win-win scenario! After I get back to the house I can stretch and work on my flexibility, then eat dinner with the boys. This camp is definitely looking better than it did this morning.

Luke

When Nathan and I get back from the grocery store, we unload all of the bags onto the kitchen counter. A piece of paper gets knocked off, and I throw it away, slightly annoyed that people are already messing up the pristine kitchen. Sudden shouting pierces the silence, and Nathan and I look at each other with questions in our eyes before running to investigate.

Upstairs, we find Gabe and Victor standing in front of an empty room. Both are freaking out, only Victor is hiding it better that Gabe.

"She was here thirty minutes ago, where could she have gone?" Gabe is yelling. My heart starts to beat more rapidly when I realize that Sang is missing. Now that I know the gravity of the situation, I don't hesitate when I pull out my phone and redline Mr. Blackbourne. He picks up on the first ring.

"Mr. Taylor, explain." he commands.

"We lost Sang." I tell him in a rush, barely holding in my panic. Mr. Blackbourne does something that I've only heard him do a handful of times:

He heaves a big sigh, and swears.