The Dive from Up High

2- East Side High School

I pull in the student parking lot of the school. When I turn the ignition off, I take my seatbelt off, get my backpack for school, another backpack for Diving practice, and head to the doors of East Side High.

I look at the schedule I'd been given last week in the mail.

STONE, ALLISON Grade: 11

1st Period: Honors Trig

2nd Period: Advanced Placement U.S. History

3rd Period: Advanced Placement Language & Composition

4th Period: Advanced Placement Biology

5th Period: Honors Chemistry

6th Period: Show Choir

7th Period: Diving

Great. I need to find the Math Hall again...

With the crowd of people in this hallway, I doubted it would be possible to find the Math Hall. I saw Emerson by the stairs to the second floor. She was at her locker putting her Diving gear in it.

"Hey, Alli! Here, let me take your Diving bag for you," she says when I go to her locker. I hand her my bag.

"Thanks, Em. Where is the Math Hall again?" I ask her.

"Go up the stairs, go through the Science Hall, then go through the last corridor on the right. In that hallway, you'll find your Trig class," she replies as if she has the whole map in her head.

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome! See you at lunch."

I head up the stairs, then go in the Science Hall. I remembered where I was going. I walk to the Math Hall, then go to my Honors Trig class. I walk into the classroom, taking a seat by Julie, my teammate in Diving. We were in Show Choir together.

"Hey Julie, how was your summer?" I say, taking a seat by her.

"It was very busy... My parents trained me in Orlando every single day. My back still aches from State," she responds. I nod my head with sympathy. I trained for a solid month before State, and my neck was giving me some problems. I healed before State, but after that, I was training very rigorously for Regionals.

"How'd you do at State?"

"I got fourth in individual, and got third in sychron," Julie says.

The teacher arrives with a smile on her face. She closes the door, then goes to her desk.

"Good morning! I am Mrs. Ketch, and I will be your teacher for Honors Trig this year! I'm excited to teach every single one of you. This is the first year I've had a lot of student athletes, so quite a few of you will be gone periodically. I understand this a lot, and your coaches have sent me a calendar. I know when you will be gone, and since you're first hour, there will be a TON of you being gone at this time. So, you guys will have some slack, but your classes always take priority."

I remembered that our Diving Team would be leaving on Friday for the district showcase. It's one of the meets before Regionals, and they wanted to make sure we would be ready for September.

"I will hand you your assignments the day before you leave.

"Divers, you will be leaving during third period Friday for district. Football, you're leaving during second period the same day for the all-day scrimmage. Cross Country, you will be leaving immediately after first period begins the same day for a practice meet. That's all the announcements regarding sports for now."

Julie raised her hand, needing to ask a question. "Mrs. Ketch?"

"Yes, dear?"

"What is your favorite sport, anyway? You strike me as a person who loves them," she says honestly.

"Diving is probably one of my most favorites. I wish I was the coach for the team here," Mrs. Ketch says.

I knew she loved Diving, because she put our announcement first.

For Regionals, they were only going to take the top 100 that qualify to Nationals. There were at least 650 people competing in Regionals, so it was a pretty big pool of people going. Each diver were given itineraries for Regionals.

REGIONALS DIVING CONFERENCE: TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA. 9/16/2019-9/21/2019
High School: East Side
City: West Palm Beach, FL
State: Florida
Student Name: Allison L. Stone

Dive Type: Individual
Time: 11:45 AM
Dive Date: 9/17/2019

Synchronized Diving Partner: Emerson Brackett
Time: 10:06 AM
Dive Date: 9/19/2019