Finding Us

Chapter Twleve

Chris shook the water from his arms as he climbed out of the pool. This was the fourth meet of the season, the third that he was able to participate in. He shook his leg off. Being out of that cast felt great. They played Aurora today. He looked to the stands to find his parents, Demetrius, Greyson of course representing both teams, and Lacey. She had made it to all the games this season after the first one. They made eye contact and she smiled and waved their school towels in his direction. She was so happy for him and it made his heart soar.

They had been dating for almost two months now and it had brought him nothing but bliss. His parents loved her and he loved her. Whoa! That thought hit him like a brick one. Not that he'd thought it, but that it had come so naturally. He'd never loved another girl in his life like he'd loved Taylor and that had been nothing but a disaster. Love was a tricky subject for him. He broke eye contact with her and focused on the team. He didn't want to think about it anymore, because if it was true, he had no idea what he was going to do.

Coach Burner blew his whistle and the team huddled. They had 10 minutes until the meet began, "Okay gentlemen, we all know our positions for tonight. Keep your eyes on the goal at hand. Focus on your strokes and your breathing, not the crowd or the voices screaming at you from the sidelines. You've all got this. Christopher, you're starting for the Freestyle stroke. You're the fastest swimmer on the team besides Harry, but he's out on leave in Italy for his senior trip. You've got this.", the team began dispersing and then the coach pulled Chris back in, "Oh and Christopher, you're ending the relay swim. We need you."

"I've got this coach. You can trust me."

The Butterfly stoke would be first, followed by the Backstroke, and then the Freestyle swim, and then the Breaststroke, then ending with the relay. If they won this meet, it would put Northwestern in the lead of the division with a 4-0 streak. Chris remembered keeping up with the team from last season. They had made it to the championship swim off with a 13-1 meet streak. They had taken home the trophy, although, Ohio State University had given them a run for their money. They had barely won with a score of 5-3. He was determined to do even better for the team this year.

The players took their marks for the Butterfly Stroke and the gunshot sounded. They leapt into the water as Chris looked over Aurora's swim records. This year alone, they also had a winning streak of 3-0. They were coming up from last year's record of 9-5. Either way, one of them would lose their winning streak tonight and it wouldn't be Northwestern.

Greyson must have been in a tight spot, wanting both teams to do well. Greyson was the best. That's why they were best buds. He hadn't been able to talk to Greyson as much as he wanted to, but from what he'd heard, Greyson was getting along great at Aurora. The paralegal program there was the best in the state. When they were younger, Chris had teased Greyson that he'd make a great lawyer with as many questions as he asked. Greyson would do amazing things in his future. He out the Aurora pamphlet away as the Butterfly Stroke was coming to an end. Each school had 3 swimmers. Northwestern had finished first, but Aurora cut in with a close 2 second follow up in second place. Aurora also got third, but not without Northwestern finishing with fourth and fifth, leaving Aurora getting the last place position, which would hurt their score in the end. Chris looked at coach's face, only to see that he was not very happy. When his teammates got out of the water, Coach Burner ripped into them. Even the first-place winner, because coach knew he could do better than that. The Backstroke members took their position on the starting line. They dove into the water and this stroke ended a little better. With Northwestern finishing in first and second and fourth. He checked the score board before adjusting his swim cap and taking his place on the starting board. The score read 3,014 points for Aurora and 3,525 for Northwestern. They weren't up by much. In the end, they'd calculate the points by the thousands and rank them according to a scale of 1-10.