Shallow to Deep

The Gang

        Veronica stepped inside Mallory's marigold colored Ford Escape. It fit up to four people and just like she suspected Mallory had invited the rest of the gang to come watch. Elias was the only boy in the group. Veronica met him at the beach. They were the only two out past the breaker waves that day. It was windy and well she had felt like throwing up. Soon she had found Eli staring at her back on the beach, where he had explained that she had passed out. From there conversation sparked. Cassie was the smart girl of the group. Cassie wore glasses for the sake of looking smart even though most people already knew she was smart. Any time the rest of the group was stumped, they could count on Cassie for help. 

        "Thanks for the ride Mal. I really appreciate this. However, this was suppose to be a surprise for Cassie and Eli when they saw it on TV."

        "Welcome and you know I just can't resist having company for while you are warming up and in the pool." Mallory flashed a quirky smile at her. 

        Eli was giving her the death stare. "You know I would have killed you in my mind if you left me out to watch it on TV. We swim together on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. That is 5 days a week! Do your best!" 

        "The average for last year for the 200m Butterfly was about 2 minutes 14 seconds and 99 hundredths. This year the times will probably be a little bit faster. This means you need to do a whole second and a half better than your personal record." 

        "Um... thanks, Cassie. Very encouraging." Veronica had known this and forgotten it. It wasn't something she needed to think about. All she needed to do was stay with the people out front. Then she would try to break away at the end.

        "Sorry Veronica, got carried away stating the facts."  Mallory giggled in the background.

       "Mallory! Not funny!"

        "I'm not laughing at that. Look at the third page of this book" Mallory passed back a dictionary thick book.

        "Are you reading while driving!" Eli looked as if he was going to jump out of his seat and strangle Mallory.

        "It actually isn't that hard." Mallory's blue eyes sparkled. Whenever her eyes sparkled Veronica knew Mallory was up to something sneaky.

        "Where are we actually going?" Veronica did not want to have to wait to find out.

        "The Olympic Trials of course. Where else would we be going?" Mallory made a right turn and the building with the pool was on our right side. Once the car was parked they made their way inside to where a bunch of girls were already standing. Most looked about 18 or 19. Veronica was 17, so one of the younger competitors. 

        Veronica's was in the first heat of this 1st round. She needed to have one the top 16 times to get into the semi-finals. Veronica had been placed in lane 3. The pistol sounded the start of the race.