It's Wednesday, the day of Kayla and Zach's first training session.
Kayla's hanging out with Margaret at what has become "their spot", since she didn't have time the day before.
"So what'd you do again?"
"Yesterday? I took a line dancing class and learned to play Chinese checkers."
"Who's the old one here again?"
"Hey! It was pretty fun!"
"Line dancing I get, but Chinese checkers?" Margaret asks bewildered
"It's a good skill to have." Kayla shrugs.
"When would you ever need to know how to play Chinese checkers?"
Kayla looks at Margaret, ready to counter her but can't think of anything to say. Margaret smirks at this.
"See. Useless skill."
"Ugh. Whatever Mar. It broadens my international cultural knowledge. What did you do then?"
"I sat in front of the TV and killed my brain cells."
"What brain cells exactly?"
"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Don't you have anyone else to go and bother?"
"Nope! My next appointment isn't till 4. So you've got me for a full 3 hours!" Kayla grins at her
"Ohhhh, so you've got another old lady in a wheelchair then." Margaret states jokingly hurt
"Something like that." Kayla says sheepishly
"Well then, I don't need you. Go on then, there are more young stubborn girls on this boat that I can replace you with." Margaret says jokingly angry
Kayla giggles a little.
"Ohhhh Margaret! You could never find another like me!"
Margaret is about to argue when Kayla continues while smiling adoringly at Margaret.
"And I could never find another like you!"
"Oh stop. I can't take all this mush!" Margaret says in an annoyed tone, but Kayla sees the small smile that slips from her lips.
"Who is this other old lady in a wheelchair then?"
"Well, she isn't old. She isn't in a wheelchair and she's a he. So you have nothing to worry about."
"So you have a date?"
"No, not a date. Just meeting a friend to practice for the diving competition we entered."
"Just a friend?" Margaret asks with a raised eyebrow
"Yes Margaret. Just a friend. A guy and a girl can just be friends." Kayla says exasperated
Margaret scoffs
"A guy and a girl can only just be friends if they're both gay or have already tried a relationship and realized they're better off as friends."
"That can't be true." Kayla says shaking her head.
"Well, believe it. I've been alive long enough to know."
"But I don't like Zach like that. I don't think?" Kayla says looking down at the pool with a slight frown.
A silence fills the space between them as Kayla starts to think about her encounters with Zach.
"Diving huh? Never pegged you as a diver. Maybe a cheerleader, but not a diver." Margaret suddenly says pulling Kayla out of her own thoughts.
"What? Yeah. I used to dive competitively but stopped in high school."
"Why?"
"I guess I figured it wasn't cool enough." Kayla shrugs
"Did your friends tell you that?"
"Not directly, no. It's just something I figured out after meeting them in freshman year."
"You figured out? How?"
"We were required to go to this swim meet and I was super excited to see our school compete. I was even planning on joining the diving team the next day...but during the whole competition, none of them took it seriously and started making fun of the whole thing. I couldn't stand it, so I got up and walked out. They took it as I couldn't stand watching the competition anymore, but I just couldn't sit there and listen to them make fun of something I loved."
"So they still don't know you dive?"
"Nope."
"Wow, your friends are jerks and idiots."
"Not my friends anymore Mar. You're my friend."
"That's great. Would you stop calling me Mar?"
"Not a chance Mar."
They sit in a bit of a silence looking out across the boat and at the people hanging out on the pool deck.
"You know what I think?"
"Oh no."
"You need to show those fools what you've got."
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
"By winning the diving competition." Margaret says nonchalantly.
"Are you insane!? I can't just win the competition. I don't even know if Zach and I will be good!"
"You'll find out today won't you?"
"Well, yeah. I gue-"
"And you still have time! Just imagine looking at their faces when you win the whole thing!"
"But there's gonna be actual divers who've been diving for longer than I have and aren't as rusty!"
"Even more reason to get all the practice you need and whoop their butts!"
"I don't know Mar. I don't know if I can do it."
"I believe in you Kayla. And I also want to see the look on your "friends" faces when you dive off that 10 meter platform."
"How do you know I'm not going to just belly flop, real hard?"
"I don't but, when you're this old you need a lot of faith. So I have faith in you Kayla. Plus you'll have fun!"
Kayla sits there and thinks about it more as the afternoon passes by and they talk about other things. Kayla tells Margaret about Zach and the day he heard them heckling.
"I like this kid."
"I think you would."
YOU ARE READING
Floating by
Teen FictionKayla Davis is a 17 year old high school senior, popular and smart. But two days before school ended she found out that her boyfriend of 2 years had cheated on her with her best friend. Now she's stuck on a cruise ship with them and the rest of Forr...
