The water was icy to the touch and there was no possible way in the world that I could ever ignore the fact that the freezing temperatures were trying to take control of my body. It can be difficult to create a distraction when it comes to the times where I am forced to plow myself through the water in these cold conditions. After a while though, a person can get used to it, the numbing feeling. Swimming is my life. I can't even remember a time where swimming wasn't in my everyday routine. Whether it is cancelling after school plans, waking up at the crack of dawn, even skipping school to drive numerous hours to a meet where I end up racing for a total of two and a half minutes. It's how I live. Swimming can be a big pain in the ass the majority of the time, more so a pain in general majority of the time, but I can't live without it. The pain may last an hour, a day, a week. But I have learned that eventually all of the pain will subside and success will take its place. That kind of adrenaline puts me at peace. I'm in my comfort zone when I'm in the water.
*****************************************************************************
I reached my fingertips to touch the tiled wall of the pool. I shot my head up within a second to hear my coach call out my time, ":26.90"
"Damnit," I muttered under my breath.
I gracefully placed my hands on the concrete pool deck and easily pushed myself out of the icy pool. The mid-morning sun shined down releasing warm and comforting heat onto my chilled skin. The glossy water dripped off my body creating a trailing puddle as I stalked away from the deathly cold pool. Finally, I was done swimming. Actually, for the next month. You will see why.
"Hey, Reagan wanna stop at Dunkin? I have money, plus I'm starved!" my friend Grace picked up her rather large towel and brought it up to her rosy cheeks as she patted herself dry,
"Sure, I'm in. I just wanna get out of here, so I can shower and get this chlorine stench off of me," I responded casually as I peeled of my black swim cap, releasing my damp, messy bun of hair. I quickly gathered my things and headed to the changing rooms to put one my cozy black Princeton Swimming sweats, gray hoodie and my old of pair of black converse.
*********************************************************
The strong smell of coffee beans swirled through my nostrils and I became entranced by the scent as I stood in line to place my order. The old woman in front of Grace and I couldn't make up her mind as to whether she wanted a triple chocolate chunk cookie or hash browns along with her coffee. As soon as she finished her order I immediately placed my request fearing that the old woman would change her mind, yet again...
"I'll have a bacon, egg, and cheese on a toasted bagel please," I said.
"And I would like a hazelnut cinnamon latte with half of a dozen donuts. Two chocolate, two jelly-filled, and uh...Ray what do you want?" Grace questioned.
"Oh, um two cinnamons, I guess." I suggested.
"Two cinnamon...that's it, thank you!" Grace called gratefully.
Grace is my best friend. We've known each other since we were in the first grade. That's ten fun-filled years of the craziness packed into five foot six inches of pure brunette. The two of us really clicked when I joined the swim team when I was eight. I guess spending twelve hours a week at the pool really brings two people together. We've been inseparable since.
We walked back to Grace's car and sat for a few minutes discussing our upcoming plans for the remaining month and a half of summer, "I don't know what I'm going to without seeing you for a month, I'm not looking forward to road tripping with my family the rest of the summer..." Grace complained.
"It won't be that bad, I'll be here when you get back and we'll have extra time before school starts to hang out again. At least you're not me who's gonna be stuck here lifeguarding basically overtime for the rest of the summer." I reminded her.
"I'm just worried because I'm going to be out of the pool for so long, I don't wanna be completely out of shape for when the season starts and then we have Nationals only a few months from now."
"It'll all be fine, just go and try to have fun with your family! It won't be that bad, I promise. I'll only be a text away," I laughed.
With that, Grace started her car to bring me home, with it only being nine in the morning all that was on my mind was getting back to my most likely empty house and take a much needed nap, relieved that I wouldn't be 'suffering' like Grace would be for the rest of the summer. As I was walking up to my house after being dropped off, I laughed a bit to myself again wondering how she was going to handle it.
******************************************
A/N
I'm really sorry if this is shitty, but I just kinda want to slowly work my into this story just because I don't know how things are gonna play out yet. ok so yea let's see how this works lol thank you if this first chapter!!!
twitter: @wrecklash
-casey
YOU ARE READING
over the water - l.h au
Fanfiction"somewhere over the water, next to a harbor, someone is eager to listen, someone to be in..." When Reagan's parents decide their daughter needs a reality check, and is sent to her grandparents' house for the summer, she has bigger things to worry ab...
