When I'm with you

Chapter 30

The most awaited day had finally arrived: the Fresno High School Swimming Competition. After all of our hard work and perseverance, it was time for us to show people what we had. I believed this was going to be our most memorable competition yet because it was the first time we were going to represent our school in the whole area of Fresno, and it was the last time that we were going to swim with our seniors.

I had to make sure that Jane would arrive on time so I asked her to pick me up. This was a big, no, huge day for us, so I didn't want her to just barely make it on time. Contrary to my expectations, Jane arrived early for once. She probably hadn't slept well the night before because of all the pressure and tension. I could tell because I was like that, too. I was wide awake for almost the whole night. I tossed and turned in my bed, not satisfied with any of the positions my mind came up with. I tried sleeping on my side, on my back, on my other side, even on my tummy, with my face buried in my pillow. I eventually ended up with my head hanging off the edge of the bed. It was all useless. Also, counting sheep to sleep is just utter bullcrap. Whoever came up with that joke of a sleeping method was out of their mind. I found myself counting to almost a thousand sheep but I was still wide awake. Moreover, my imagination was at the peak of its activity. A hundred different scenarios ran through my head: I saw myself forgetting to wake up on time and missing the competition, then I saw myself winning, then losing, then hurting myself yet again. It was ridiculous. It was something that we'd been preparing for since the school year had started, and now that it had finally arrived, I was feeling nervous yet excited.

As Jane dragged me out of the front door (she barged into our house, greeted my parents, pulled me to my feet and said goodbye to Mom and Dad) and into her car, I praised her for her punctuality.

"What can I say," she smiled, "I guess your enthusiasm for swimming is finally rubbing off on me."

We immediately made our way to the assigned location. It was surprising how most of my teammates arrived before the given time and, of course, this made Katy satisfied. It was a good thing because we didn't have to waste time waiting for others. Everyone was pumped for their respective events. You could feel the excitement in the air. The location was still the Siena Sports Complex (where I had my humiliating loss last time). Even though the mere mention of that place still left a bitter taste in my mouth, I couldn't hide the fact that it also gave me the courage to work even harder to avoid repeating what happened before.

It was amazing how this place never failed to leave me in awe of the sheer size of it. It was just so huge. Although it was a place for all kinds of sports, today's event was meant only for the swimming competition. When we finally stepped into the waiting area, my feet abruptly stopped in their tracks, like something suddenly pulled them back. Then I realized that what was stopping me wasn't something from behind me, but it was actually what was in front of us. The intimidating looks coming from the other competitors turned my knees into jelly. I looked around and noticed that most of the participants were pretty well-known for being insanely fast swimmers. I recognized some of their faces from the live broadcast of FHSC that I watched every year. I couldn’t help but fangirl a little on the inside at the sight of them and I couldn’t believe I was actually going to swim against the people I had been admiring from the television screen, but I kept my emotions in check. I couldn’t afford to be distracted or intimidated. I was supposed to be worrying about my race, nothing but my race.  Besides, I worked myself to the bones to prepare for this day. I was ready. I let out a deep breath and continued my attempts at reassuring myself.

We were assigned to the same place as before. As we made our way there, I could feel everyone's stares, as if they were trying to get inside our souls and I swear it made every strand of hair on my body stand on end. The atmosphere made you feel like you were walking through a forest full of wild animals who wouldn't hesitate to eat you if you made just one wrong move.