Approaching Normal // third book in Dementophobia series

four // welcome back

--Bowser's P.O.V--

After the swim meet, Benji and I barely spoke a word to one another. I was feeling extremely bitter and angry at him and it was a stupid reason.

I never usually was the type of person that had a huge ego or cherished attention. In fact when I was still swimming, I hated the praise and everybody's applause. I didn't think I was the greatest swimmer in the school let alone did I think I was a prodigy, but after watching Benji's swim meet, I started to realize how good I actually was.

Every time someone got in the pool to race, I was able to watch their form and pick out all their mistakes easily. They were all really stupid mistakes; mistakes that I never made in my lifetime. Even my brother, who was trained at the same place as me and who was taught by the same coach, made some ridiculous blunders. That was the reason why he couldn't even touch my records.

Honestly, I was ashamed at how bad the team really was. When I was still on the team, we went to nationals almost every single year. Now, we could barely make it to state.

At first, I hated the fact that I was being forced to go to Benji's swim meet, but I was also grateful because it got me thinking about a few things. Maybe I really could go back to school, finish out my senior year in a public school, maybe I could even get a few of my college scholarships back.

Another thing that I couldn't get out of my head was that Hanna girl. She seemed to know a lot of about Benji and I both and I couldn't help but be freaked out by it. However, I wanted to learn more about her. She was the first thing that I actually made me curious in a long time.

"Hey, Benji?"

My twin brother looked away from the tv show he was watching, Mr. Robot, at the sound of my voice. "Yes, Bowser?"

I ran my hand through my hair, a nervous habit that I seemed to inherit from my father. "Do you know a girl named Hanna? A little red head?"

Benji's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, I do. Her brother is one of the freshman on the team this year. Her eyes always seem to stay focused on me when I'm swimming. It's a bit weird if you ask me."

He sat in thought for a moment before adding something. "Do you remember that guy, Chris, that you met outside the school?"

I nodded.

"Well, he's Hanna's older brother, but that's pretty much all I know about her. Why are you even asking?"

"I just ran into her at your swim meet. I was just curious on who she was," I responded back. "I'll let you get back to your show."

I stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen, Benji staring left my fleeting figure.

•••

"Are you sure that you really want to go through with this?" My mom asked we were seated in the office, waiting for the principal to call us back. "We can always back out now or you can do half days even."

I shook my head. "No, momma, it's okay. I want to do this."

"Don't you think you're rushing into this a bit too fast? It was only two days ago when you asked me if you could come back to school."