Synchronized Swimming

Chapter 14: Hours

Sang

My eyes pop open, and I look over at the clock only to groan. Seven! While that's late for me, I was hoping to get the teenage experience and sleep in until at least nine now that I can. I decide to lie in bed for a while to make up for it, but mumbled talking coming from my window overlooking the backyard catches my attention and I go check to see who is making so much noise this early in the morning.

I draw back the curtains and gasp when I see the boys doing pushups together. They're working out without me! Rushing around, I quickly dress in black exercise shorts and a baggy white t-shirt. After I pull my hair back into a rough ponytail, I sprint downstairs and into the backyard to join them. The boys are so absorbed in their workout that they don't notice me until they finish their pushups and stand up to start the next set.

Victor sees me first. "Sang, what are you doing here? You should be sleeping!" he chokes out in a startled voice. At his words the rest of the boys turn around and stare at me in shock.

"I saw that you guys were exercising and came to join you." I say, a bit hurt that they wouldn't even invite me to work out with them. Did they think that I wasn't strong enough? I'll show them strong!

"You're welcome to join us Ms. Sorenson." Mr. Blackbourne says. I start when I see him- why is a coach working out with his swimmers? Off to the side I see Sean frantically waving at me and I realize that he is participating too.

"Help me Sang! I accidently slept on the couch and now my muscles feel weird. Save me from this torture!" he says, furtively glancing about as if looking for an escape path. I laugh at his antics.

"Getting some blood flowing through your muscles should loosen them up for you." I tell him with a smile. At this point Mr. Blackbourne must have decided that the break had gone on long enough because he calls the next set: one hundred jumping jacks, one minute butt kicks, one minute high knees, three times. I wonder if they're re-warming up for me.

After the warm up I still haven't broken a sweat and I feel confident until the next exercise is called. "Fifty jump squats, thirty sumo squats per side, twice." Mr. Blackbourne says with a weird gleam in his eye.

Somehow I get the feeling that he is testing me, and determination rushes through me. I've done worse exercises with Avidite glaring down at me; I can do this now among friends. Leg strength is huge in synchro for treading water, and I've always prided myself on my eggbeater height. Let the exercise commence!

Something about working out with other people feels so much more satisfying than working out alone or under Avidite's supervision. Counting together as a group, moving in unison from exercise to exercise- the energy is incredible! Nobody talks when we exercise except for counting together.

"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!" We all say as we finish the second set of sumo squats. I want to collapse to the ground, but I know better and instead I walk in small circles to keep my legs from stiffening. Next up: two sets of fifty pushups.

Arm strength is definitely my weak point, but I struggle through. I don't know how the boys manage to do so many pushups since they did some before I came out. In the middle of the set Mr. Blackbourne walked around and corrected posture, but I'm always conscious of form and he passed me without any corrections. I felt a glow of pride- I was the only one to escape his critical eye.

The rest of the workout passes in a haze of exhaustion. At the one hour mark we took a ten minute water break, which I was immensely thankful for, but too soon it was time to continue on. Sit-ups, burpees, lunges: we did it all. Once we are done Mr. Blackbourne has us sit in a circle and he gives a pep talk for practice tonight. Afterwards I head back up to my room and step into the bathroom to take a shower. The sight of the shower head sends a pang of nausea through me, reminding me of Avidite and her punishment, but I quickly realize that she isn't here and can't hurt me. I hesitantly step under the spray of water and quickly relax. The hot water feels amazing on my aching muscles and the only thing that makes me get out is the thought of the hot water running out and leaving the boys with icy showers. I dry off and pull on some yoga pants and a soft pink t-shirt before heading downstairs to stretch and wait for the boys to finish up.

Mr. Blackbourne and Sean are already in the living room. Sean is telling some story from the hospital using sweeping hand motions and Mr. Blackbourne is looking up from his computer at him in exasperation. Both of them stop as soon as I enter the room and stare at me.

"What did you think of the workout?" Mr. Blackbourne asks.

"It was much more intense than I expected. Still, it was nice to workout with others. It's so much more fun! I'm going to stretch now to try to reduce soreness." I tell him. He nods approvingly and goes back to looking at his laptop.

As I'm stretching Sean asks me if I've ever had a physical. When I say no he explains that I should get one and I agree to let him make an appointment for Friday. I'm kind of nervous at the prospect of seeing a doctor, but Sean tells me that he personally knows him and that he is really nice.

Around fifteen minutes later the rest of the boys rush down in one noisy heard and settle in the various chairs and on the floor. Glancing up from my over splits, I see that they are all looking at me with wide eyes. "What?" I ask them in confusion.

"How are you so flexible?" Silas asks me. I smirk and tell him that I wasn't always this flexible but that years of intense stretching has allowed my legs to almost feel like rubber. Abruptly, my stomach growls and I realize that I haven't eaten anything today. I blush and hope that the boys didn't notice.

"Who wants brunch?" Luke asks, and realize that he heard but is kind enough not to draw attention to my noisy stomach.

"Nah, I'm going to take a nap."

"I have a shift at the hospital soon."

"I need to go check in on Jessica and my mom."

"My dad needs help with some project."

"Yeah, count me in!"

"I don't want to spoil my appetite for lunch."

"I have a meeting with some... colleagues in an hour."

"I'll come."

It takes me a second to decipher the voices and figure out that Gabriel and Victor are going to brunch. I realize that I haven't actually said that I'll come, so I nod my head in acceptance and Luke grins.

"Whoo, brunch train out!" he says in a singsong voice. We walk into the garage and Gabriel opens the front door of the car for me. I hop in with a sense of excitement- I haven't really talked with any of the boys in smaller groups yet so this will be a good way to get to know them better. Luke drives and puts on a pop radio station that he and Gabriel sing along to, and I giggle when they change some of the lyrics to nonsense phrases. My stomach rumbles again at the prospect of food and I wait impatiently to get to the restaurant. The sight of a pancake house causes me to squeal and Luke tells me that they have amazing chocolate chip pancakes. He must be a mind reader to know my favorite breakfast food! I sprint out of the car to get seated and the boys follow behind me laughing.