Served! (Book Teaser!)

Chapter 6

     The swim meet started during fourth period, so the teachers let most classes go to the school pool to cheer on our teams. Greyson was on the other side of the pool talking to Coach McFarlan. He seemed fairly calm, which was great, because when Greyson was nervous, he tended to get a little queasy, and we definitely didn't need a repeat of his seventh grade meet pizza surprise all over the deck.

"Let's go BEARS!" Addy cheered beside me. Being the stereotypical best friends we were, we planned to twin today. We both wore dark wash skinny jeans and our red converse, along with Menlo Park High Bears sweatshirts we bought from the school store yesterday. Addy got a yellow one and I wore a red one. Katana who had painted red and yellow warrior marks on her, Addy, and my cheeks, was sitting on the other side of me. The next event was 50m obstacle. I looked through the line of swimmers for Grey, and spotted him standing in front of the second last lane, slipping his Nike Chrome swim goggles over his eyes. As I skimmed back through the line, my eyes almost fell out of their sockets at the sight of Hunter, in his red Bears speedo shorts, his solid abs flashing a four pack. Woah.

"Luna? What are you staring... Oooohh!" Katana laughed as she realized what I was focussing on. "Hunter, huh? You two would be cute together! Are you going to his party tonight?"

"Yah. If I don't fall on my face tonight, it'll be a miracle. I'm terrified that I might embarrass myself infront of him!" Addy laughed at my response.

"Luna, you're fine! You're funny, intelligent, and athletic! Plus you look pretty cute in that outfit! You're practically set for a smooch with that hunkinator!"

"Addison! Bring it back! I'm focusing on keeping a low profile tonight!"

"Yah, yah! I can just tell he's planning on making a move tonight! I saw that note, Luna! He's into you!" Addy looked past me, then giggled.

"What?" I said before looking back to see the emerald green gaze of Hunter locked on me. He smiled warmly and gave me a thumbs up before sliding his goggles over his red swim cap. I gave him a thumbs up back and eased back into the bleachers.

"I told you! He likes you!" Addy chirped. All three of us giggled. A short bald man in a white polo shirt and white pants stepped up onto the lifeguard post. He held a microphone in one hand and a bullhorn in the other.

"Swimmers, take your positions!" The man called out into the mike. The eight swimmers stepped up onto their blocks. "Take your marks." He lifted the bullhorn up a bit. "Get set." He lifted the horn right up. "GO!" The horn blared and the swimmers dove into the pool. Hunter, who was in lane 4 was slightly ahead of the pack, closely followed by Greyson in lane 7. As the two got to the first obstacle, they dove under. Greyson's red capped head popped up first, Hunter's milliseconds behind. They reached the second obstacle at about the same time, a few boys right on their toes behind them. Hunter reached the surface just before Grey and swam hard to the wall. He reached the wall literally a nanosecond before Greyson.

"Well that's gotta suck for Grey. He was so close!" Katana sighed.

"What? Oh, yah. At least he still has two more races!" I said, trying to look on the bright side. At least it was someone else from our team that beat him.

"Well James Steele from North Fair Oaks is in his next two races along with Hunter, and Grey said James was his biggest competition." Addy droned.

"What happened to all your Tony Robbins pep? Greyson's a great swimmer! There's no need to worry." I stressed. At least I hope there isn't. If Greyson didn't get a third in his next two events, his team wouldn't have enough points to win the overall team award. Please, God! Let him win this one!

There were a four races before Greyson's next. James Steele was in the first two races, and won both. Our team swept the podium for the 100m front crawl girls race, but only managed a silver in the girls 50m obstacle, losing the gold to North Fair Oaks and the bronze to Redwood City. As they announced the 100m front crawl, I saw Greyson quickly hurry over to lane 7 and James and Hunter made their way to a lane. James Steele was tall and built. I swear his thigh was almost the size of a ham. The announcer called the first two starting commands and the swimmers took their stances on the podium. Please let Greyson win this one!

"Let's go Bears!" I called out. "You can do this Grey!" Hunter looked up at me from the block a bit confused, but shook it off and refocused. Crap. Now he probably thinks I like Grey! This is why I usually don't have crushes on people! The bald man sounded his bullhorn and the boys were off. James Steele started in the lead, followed by Greyson, who wasn't too far behind him. I was surprised to notice Hunter in fourth, following Jimmy Rodriguez, the shorter scrawny boy I recognized from my science class. As James reached the wall, his flip turn was slow, and he lost some momentum, sending Greyson into first. Greyson barreled through the water, more determined than I'd ever seen him before. He reached the wall first, followed by James, then Jimmy. Hunter reached the wall in fourth. At least Grey won! Oh my gosh Grey WON!

Greyson got second to James in the 100m obstacle, Hunter in third that time, and Menlo Park won the 4 x 50m obstacle relay for boys and girls. As they handed out medals, Addy and I put our mental math skills to the test to see how many points our team had earned.

"So if Mike got second that's seven more points which makes for 43, then add Jimmy's third. That was six points." Addy stared frustratedly at her hands. "I need more fingers to count on!"

"Or you need a math tutor!" Katana giggled. Coach McFarlan, who was standing in front of the podium, cleared his throat into the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you to everyone for coming out to Menlon Comp's 27th annual fall swim meet! We're pleased to announce your second runner up for the Jason Harman Overall Team Award, Redwood City High School!" A tall blonde haired boy stepped up to the podium and received a small black plaque for his team. "First runner up, North Fair Oaks Academy!" James walked over to Coach McFarlan with a stone cold face, took the plaque, then walked back to his team, not even standing on the podium.

"Talk about poor sportsmanship!" Katana whispered.

"It's North Fair Oaks? Their the definition of 'Daddy's Money'. What do you expect?" We both laughed.

"Now please, put your hands together for the winning team of the Menlon Composite High School Bears fall swim meet Jason Harman Overall Team Award, for the fifth year in a row..." The students in the crowd went crazy. A group of seniors in the front ripped off their shirts, exposing the painted letters on their chests spelling out Bears. Addy and I jumped up from our seats and screamed. "Your very own Menlo Park Bears!" I jumped up and down cheering as loud as I could! I caught Greyson's eye and gave him two big thumbs up. He gave two back in return before going off with his team to take a picture with their large plaque and trophy.

"I love high school!" Katana laughed.

"The atmosphere certainly is pretty awesome!" I agreed. Maybe high school wasn't going to be so bad.