Marco stepped out from the change room. A group of boy surrounded him, their chatter growing all around him as they eagerly awaited the other teams. He glanced up nervously to see his orange haired sister in the stands. Her cheeks were coated in freckles, her skin pale in contrast to her fiery bush of hair. She waved at him polietly and flashed her perfect white teeth. Marco nodded in return and then glanced awkwardly at the water.
Twelve feet deep and fourty feet long, the pool had become his second home in the past few years. Swimming meant everything to Marco. One could almost say Marco had befriended the water, or that it moved to his touch. Being the top swimmer in the city gave Marco attention that he didn't exactly appreciate. Marco was a shy boy, unlike his sister who had a flaring, flaunty personality. He could already see Saphire in the stands surrounded by her friends.
Marco moved closer to the edge of the pool as the other school walked past throwing dirty looks and awkward glances. He balanced on the edge and studied his reflection in the nearly still water. It wasn't until the change room door clanged shut that Marco looked up. One of the older boy split from a group and made his way towards Marco. His slim, scrawny body was of no comparision to the bulky boy walking towards him now. "Star swimmer eh?" he scoffed nudging Marco till he was standing on the very edge on his tip toes. "You look more like a star twig." He nudged Marco again until his heels were dangling over the edge. Marco held his breath and waited for the water to cascade around him as he tumbled over the edge into the blue.
The water engulfed him softly, like a mothers touch. He rolled in the waves and swam upward his head breaking the surface. His body sat softly on the water. A cushion of soft harminous blue. He struggled to pull himself out onto the rough hard cement. He breathed in the chlorine filled air and moved to his lane at the pool. A whistle echoed around the building and the rest of the boys moved to fill a lane. Marco snapped down his goggles till they covered his eyes and he tighten his swimming shorts.
"On your mark, get set. SWIM." Shouted the lifeguard. Marco pushed off from the heavy cement slicing through the water elegantly. The water seemed to move with him as he propelled down to the other end at least ten seconds ahead of the rest. He spun himself around at the end and rocketed down the lane till his knuckled collided with the wall. He saw little bits of red squirt into the water and the small gash on his knuckles. He shook his head and broke the surface before he grabbed hold of the ladder and pulled himself out. He took a seat as the stands applauded his 20th first place win in only this years competition. He toyed his fingers in the water until he remembered his cut. When he looked down the wound was no longer there it was just skin, not even a scratch was left.
Marco flipped his hand and even checked the other one before deciding he had been seeing things under water. He glanced up at his sister who was still surrounded by her friends. She gave him a quick thumbs up and smile before readverting her attention to her friends. He placed his hand in the water and traced random designs as he waited for the winners to be annouced. He glanced up to see his team mate Brody was the last to make it out of the pool. He lifted his hand out of the water, but it felt heavier than normal. He glanced down to see a twister of water attached to his hand from the pool. He pressed his hand deep in the water for a few second before removing it glancing around to make sure no one had noticed.
Marco followed the the second and third place winner to the podium to recieve yet another medal he could add to his collection. "And in first place we have Marco Cordors." Marco flashed a brillant smile towards the crowd and then bowed his head as his coach slipped the medal on and the town's photographer snapped a photo of Marco for yet another headliner. When Marco glanced back up to look for his sister's approval she had disappeared from the stands.
*
Saphire had wandered outside into the alleyway beside the school. She had just stepped outside and shut the door before she pulled a cigarette from her pocket. She lifted her index finger and concentrated slightly waiting for the flame to erupt out of the end. She softly pressed it against her cig and then inhaled the smokey taste.
She wasn't out there long before two seniors came parading down the alleyway obviously coming to make their afternoon deals. "Hey princess, get out we got buissness to do." They shouted stomping up to get in her face.
"Gentlemen, just let me finish my fag and I'll gladly be on my way." she murmured.
"I said. We have buisness to do." one of them sassed back. The other one reached for her arm and Saphire quicked reached back wrapping her fingers tightly around his arm. He yelp out loudly cursing "fuck, fuck, fuck. Let it go!" She released his arm, a hand print still remained burned into his skin.
"Now can I finish my cig in peace?" she asked.
"Demon." they both screamed running away in cowardly fear. Saphire spit on the ground and took another long drag as if nothing had stressed her out more than those two men. She dropped her cigarette and turned opening the door back into the school. She looked down the long hallway to see Marco leaving the changeroom a gym bag slung across his shoulder, his hair wet and messy.
"There you are." he grumbled.
"First place again?" she murmured lifting the medal off his chest. He flinced, her hands were still firey hot from her adventures outside.
"As always." he chuckled trying to ignore the smokey scent his sister had lingering off her. "So where'd you go?" he asked curiously.
"Outside to get some air." she responded softly. She opened the door to the car and they both climbed in. Saphire turned up the radio and Marco raced the car home, no more words were exchanged between the two of them.
