Sink

chp. 22

CHAPTER 22.

I hugged Dad tightly, taking in his scent before letting go. "I'll miss you."

"It's only for two weeks," Dad replied, rolling his eyes. "You'll be fine."

"Bye, sis," Dylan muttered, pulling me into a short hug. "Good luck. Send me videos."

"Thanks, bro," I said, ruffling his hair. "I'll see you soon."

"Oh, I'm so proud of you!" I'm pulled into a slightly suffocating hug by my mum. "I wish I could be there to see it, honey, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, Mum," I dismissed. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

"I love you," she smiled, pushing me out the door. "Good luck!"

"Thank you," I said, starting my way to Ethan's car.

"Wait, Malia," Dad called, and I turned around. He beckoned me towards him, and I complied. "Remember, I'll love you no matter what happens. And I'm incredibly proud of you."

I smiled, pulling him into another hug. "I'll be back soon, Dad. Don't do anything too extreme. I love you. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

He rolled his eyes playfully, but I could see that he was tired. I was hesitant on going because of Dad's condition, but he insisted that I went.

"I'll be fine, Malia," he said gently. "Now go."

And then I was off.

-

"James, I swear to God, if you are not here in ten minutes, I will murder you," Coach threatened, pressing the end call button right after. "He's going to kill me first with his ways."

Jade, along with the rest of the team started snickering.

We were meant to meet up at the pool an hour before we left, but James had failed to do that.

Coach made us meet up early in case that we had forgotten anything and to go through the plans once again.

Basically, once we've arrived at Nebraska - including swimmers from other area's in California like Flora Hill - we would have rented cars.

For our team, we had two cars that could fit five of us in it, and we only had eight people from our area.

After we get the cars, we would make our way to the hotel, where pretty much everyone coming to the trials were staying.

And then after that, we were free to do whatever, only just waiting for this Gala dinner to welcome everyone to the trials.

The arena we were competing in was available for training, but each state had a certain amount of time in the pool.

For example, we got to go there everyday, but only for an hour and a half, from two to three thirty.

We could go there and if no one was there, we were allowed to swim.

It was a pretty good time slot.

"I'm here, I'm here!" James shouted, skidding to a stop in front of the bus that was taking all of us to the airport.

"He's here!" Coach raised his voice. "I apologise for one of my swimmers being late and keeping everyone up. But he's here now, so let's go."

"It's fine, Hans," the other coach called back. "We weren't waiting that long."

Everyone boarded the bus, and I saw a lot of unfamiliar faces.

Flora passed by, opting for seats besides Jade and I. She was accompanied by a tall brunette with striking green eyes. "Hey, Malia, Jade."