I kissed my brother, and I liked it

Swim

~a week later~

"AND NEXT UP! WE HAVE DANIELLE AND POPPY VS. TERESA ANNDDD... GWEN!" The shout of the swimming teacher outside fills the girl's changing room where I sit nervously, with my palms stuffed between my knees.

Everyone starts cheering for either two of the girls who stand at the edge of the swimming pool, ready to leap in it at the blow of the referee's whistle.

"YOU DO KNOW THAT I CAN'T SWIM FOR SHIT, right?", I say to Kylie, who's​ standing behind me in her own swimming costume. She opens up one of the lockers and pulls out a blue swimming cap from within.

"You do know that won't fit on my head, right?"

She rolls her eyes and stretches the cap to show me that it will fit. "It's stretchy", she says.

"That's what she said... wait what?", I say, really confused at why I just said that.

Kylie starts cackling loudly and shakes her head. "Jesus Cath. Stop being such a pussy. Just do as I say and we'll win, for sure. Just beat the bitches real hard."

I put my face in my hands and try to take deep breaths. My hands shake from the anxiousness​ that bubbles inside me. Goosebumps rise all over my skin and I feel cold, suddenly. "Why'd you sign me up for this Kylie? You know I can't do this."

She flips the chair I sit on around with a jerk and looks me straight in the eye. "You're the only brave friend I've got. And no one from the Panthers was willing to go against the Lions or the Snow leopards."

"Wait what? We're going against fucking animals? What the hell are you saying Kylie?"

Annoyed, she slaps her palm on her forehead and then slaps me across the face. "Take a reality check Cathryn. You idiot! We're not going swimming against fucking​ lions and shit. It's a swimming competition, remember? Against real humans. Teams of humans. Sports teams. You're in a school. Not in a frickin' jungle!"

"Oh yeah! We're the-"

"Panthers", she cuts me midway.

"Of course. That's exactly what -I was gonna say, though."

A loud whistle blows outside, signalling the start of the next race.

I tremble continuously while Kylie stretches the swimming cap in abnormal ways right beside my face to cover up the huge bun on top of my head along with my ears.

"Ow ow ow!", I whine as she sticks it on my head. "It hurts." It wouldn't go on. "Wrong size", I complain. "There's only one size", she says, "it's gotta fit!"

We struggle with it for a few more minutes, tangling our arms and legs with each other in an attempt to somehow, get the cap on. When it feels smug and Kylie gives me an encouraging thumbs up, I turn around to look at myself in the mirror.

It looks ok. Like any normal swimming cap. Feeling a little bit better about myself, I sit straighter and wiggle my ears inside the cap. Suddenly the cap slips from my head, making all the hair on my scalp get pulled back slit, and shoots behind. It slaps Kylie in the face and she falls down from the shock of it.

I start laughing at her.

Ms.Hairy, the girls' swimming teacher, comes towards us and announces, "You girls are up next."

Another nervous shiver runs down my spine and I shut my eyes to deal with the aftershocks of it, that leave me trembling once again.

"Let me help you with that cap", she says and sticks it firmly to my head. I smile her a thank you, cuz that's all I can do with the energy I've got.