Synchronized Swimming

Chapter 49: Finals

Sang

16-17 finals happens the next morning directly following the Parade of Athletes, so once again I find myself waking up way too early. I put my hair up in a sleepy haze, not really paying attention to the actions but rather letting years of experience guide me. Just as I'm heating up water for knox, I'm surprised to hear a knock on the door.

I look through the peephole, smiling when I see Gabriel standing on the other side. His hair is already knoxed back. I undo the deadbolt and let him into the room.

"Ah good, you haven't done your makeup yet. You snuck past me last time and did it before I could help, but not this time! I woke up extra early just to make sure I didn't miss it," he says. I shush him, conscious of the three sleeping boys in the room. It won't take them as long to get ready, so since they didn't wake up at my alarm I figured I would let them sleep for another thirty minutes or so. They must really be tired to have slept through all my noise and the shower running.

Gabriel takes a look at the sleeping boys, an evil grin lighting up his face. He takes my hot water, adds a packet of knox, and stirs it to a thin consistency.

"That's too thin! It's going to wash out in the pool," I whisper. He should know better! He waves his free arm around, gesturing for me to keep quiet. I watch as he creeps forwards, the cup of knox still clutched tightly in his hand. To my horror, he dips a finger into it, hissing slightly at the heat, then draws a smiley face on Luke's forehead. Luke stirs slightly, but doesn't wake up. Gabriel does the same thing to the other guys before putting the cup aside and heating up more water for me.

"Their faces are going to be so crusty!" I giggle. The knox will harden as it dries to a paper-like consistency that will make their skin both crinkly and itchy. I never knew Gabriel had such a prankster streak in him!

After knoxing my hair I reluctantly sit down to let Gabriel do my makeup. I've always done my own in the past and it's turned out fine, so I don't know why he feels he can do better. He fusses over my eyeshadow for a few minutes, carefully matching the colors to my solo suit before moving on to lipstick and blush.

"Suck those cheeks in," he orders. I make a fishy face so that he can put on the blush. It always comes off after swimming, so I have to reapply it multiple times over the course of a day. Once I tried to use lipstick as blush to see if it would stay on better. It worked- I never had to reapply- but it worked a little too well. It was only three days after the meet ended that the last traces of lipstick were gone from my cheeks.

To my surprise, Gabriel dabs a bit of blush onto my forehead and the tip of my nose. "For good luck," he says. He pulls out a vibrant red lipstick, leaning in awkwardly close to put it on. I let my gaze cross the room in an attempt to not make eye contact with him. After a moment he's finished, so I rub my lips together and go to a mirror to look at the results.

I'm rendered speechless by the sheer perfection of his makeup skills. My eyeshadow wings up into sharp points, making me look fierce and determined. The lipstick perfectly outlines my lips, making them look fuller and more vibrant. I normally put on makeup so I don't look dead in the water, but with Gabriel's makeup I not only don't look dead, I also look like a fierce badass who's ready to whoop the competition.

Gabriel watches me as I examine his work. When I turn around to congratulate him, I notice how worried he looks so I pull him into a hug. "Thank you!" I squeal. He relaxes and hugs me back before stepping away.

Luke stirs in his bed. "That pool must have the strongest chlorine I've ever swam in, because my face feels like the Sahara," he mutters. When he scratches at his face small flakes of knox come off.