Synchronized Swimming

Chapter 12: Mystery and Misery

North

"I know that you are worried and all, but would you mind slowing down a bit?" Silas says besides me. I glance away from the road and see him gripping his arm rests so hard that his knuckles are white. His face is turning a sickly shade of green again. Reluctantly, I ease up on the gas pedal and bring the speed down to only ten miles above the speed limit. Silas relaxes and looks a bit more comfortable.

I know that I'm driving like a maniac, but can you really blame me? There I was, calmly browsing paint colors with Silas, when I get a text:

Mr. Blackbourne: Everybody report immediately to the house. Ms. Sorenson is missing.

I immediately texted him back for more information, but received no reply. Silas and I sprinted out of the store, ignored the many strange looks we got in the process, and started driving.

Silas had sent out a different group text excluding Mr. Blackbourne and Dr. Green, and now he is reading off what the others said about Sang.

Silas: Does anyone know more information about Sang's disappearance?

Victor: Gabe and I had left her in her room to unpack, and when we came back to see if she was done about thirty minutes later, she was gone.

Luke: When Nathan and I came back from the store, we heard yelling upstairs so we went to go see what was up and that was when we found out that Sang was gone.

Luke: I redlined Mr. B. He swore (:O can you guys believe it?!) and sent out the group text.

Silas: North wants me to tell Luke to be serious.

Silas: So if I'm with North, Victor's with Gabe, and Luke's with Nathan, where's Kota?

Kota: I'm with Mr. B and Dr. Green, Mr. B saw this text and everything you guys sent.

Kota: Just a head up, he didn't look too pleased.

Kota: We should be at the house in about five minutes.

Silas: We'll be there in four (or three with North's driving)

Luke: I'm already here haha suckers!

Gabe: While you dimwits were busy speculating Nathan and I found evidence! Take that!

Luke: What! Tell me!!!!!

Gabe: Nuh uh, you have to wait until everyone else is here.

At this point Silas turns off his phone because we are pulling into the driveway. As soon as I turn off the car, I leap out and race inside to find Gabe. He must have been expecting an ambush because Nathan is standing beside him, ready to fight.

"Tell me what you guys found!" I growl. Nathan and Gabe remain impassive.

"We have to wait until everyone gets here. It's only a few more minutes max." Gabe explains reasonably. I can feel my face turning red at their refusal to elaborate.

The door opens behind us and quickly slams shut again as Mr. Blackbourne, Dr. Green, and Kota walk in. Mr. Blackbourne looks furious at how out of control this situation has gotten.

"Mr. Taylor, please refrain from intimidating your teammates. Now that all nine of us are accounted for, we can begin. Mr. Coleman and Mr. Griffin, I believe that you two found evidence as to Ms. Sorenson's whereabouts?" he says in a scarily calm voice. I can tell that he is barely holding in his anger.

Gabriel looks completely serious as he presents his information. "When I went to go and check on Sang, something about her room bothered me besides the fact that she wasn't in it. It seemed too empty, and when I looked around her swim bag was gone." Everyone gasps at the realization that Sang wasn't kidnapped or hurt, she just went swimming.

As all of the pieces start to come together, I blush a bit when I reflect on how much I overreacted. Around me, my brothers are clearly thinking the same thing. We are definitely getting hours tomorrow!

"I can't see Sang leaving without telling us, though," Kota says thoughtfully, "Did anyone find a note or anything saying where she went?" At this, Luke jumps up and runs over to the kitchen with a stricken look on his face.

A few seconds later, he emerges with a crumpled piece of paper. "What's that?" Dr. Green asks, but Luke ignores him and reads the paper aloud in a wooden voice.

"Hey Victor and Gabriel, I'm going to swim at the pool. I wanted to tell you in person, but I couldn't find you so I left a note. I should be back before dinner, if not you know where to find me. Bye! From: Sang."

Luke looks absolutely miserable as he explains that he thought that the note was trash and threw it away without looking at it. I want to throttle him when I realize that this whole mess could have been avoided, but one look at Mr. Blackbourne's cold steel eyes stops me.

"Now that we have all of the information, here's the plan. Victor and Kota will go and buy Sang a phone so that all future note conflicts can be avoided. Everyone else, wait for Sang to get back. When she arrives, act normally and do not shout at her- this misunderstanding was not her fault and she will not be punished for it. Luke and North, start making dinner. Everyone is to behave normally, understood?" Mr. Blackbourne states. We all nod solemnly before he continues. "Finally, everyone gets an hour tomorrow. This situation escalated out of control and caused a major issue. I know that we are technically on break from the Academy, but that doesn't mean that we can let our skills get rusty. From now on, we will have group training exercises periodically to stay sharp."

Once Mr. Blackbourne finishes his speech, everyone disperses to either their assigned task or to find something to keep their mind off of Sang. I head over to start cooking with Luke, and I can see that he feels extremely guilty about the note incident. As much as I want to blame him, I know that I probably would have made the same mistake. I shudder with horror when I realize that Mr. Blackbourne is right: we are rusty. At least I have the training exercises to look forward to in addition to swimming. All though the thing that I'm really looking forward to is seeing Sang Baby eat the dinner that I helped make. After all, I'm adding lots of vegetables, and who couldn't like those?