Another Round (Taylor Hawkins Fan Fiction)

Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-One

12 Weeks Later - January 2003

I’m holding my breath. Subconsciously that is.  I’m on the edge of my seat in anticipation. It has been weeks and months of training that has led us to this moment. My hands are bawled into fists, I’m breaking into a sweat; my heart is racing a thousand miles per hour. This will determine the future of this team. Everything comes down to this race, to this moment.

The Wilson-Butler Invitational is one of the largest high school swim meets in the nation. It’s a three-day weekend of madness that occurs every January. This meet is where Olympians are born. Over thirty host sites up and down the California coast determine the future of some of the best athletes in the country. This sets the standard for the rest of the season. Will you rise above and meet the challenge? Or will you succumb to the pressure?

It’s Sunday, the night of finals and the last day of the meet.  The top 8 fastest swimmers in each event from each of the 32 host sites were taken. After another round of prelims, the top eight are taken to the finals. The times from the fastest heat to the slowest heat only range less than three to five seconds. Personal times, meet records, and league records are being formed in every event.

We had one girls and one boys relay each make it past the prelims and into the finals of this meet. Two of our boys, Braden and Jacob, made it in individual events and one of our girls, Ruby made it as well. Currently, we are poolside watching the fate of our girl’s relay.

“Let’s go Bears!” Logan, the head coach of the boys yells, cheering on our girls. The last girl, Madeline just exploded off of the block, currently sitting in third place. She could easily catch the two girls in front of her.

Being here is a little surreal, considering that just a few months ago, the potentials for this team were incredibly low. The goal at the beginning of the season was just to qualify for this meet. Now they have met and exceeded our expectations for the season.

Maddie goes in for the turn and comes out ahead of the two girls. The three of us coaches start to yell louder, jumping on our feet, in addition to her teammates on the side of the pool. She continues to pull ahead and by the time the last 5 meters come, she’s a body length ahead of them. She touches the wall, glancing at the clock, a look of pure joy adorning her face. Her teammates help her out of the water, congratulating her, screaming in celebration.

This exact moment is why I love to coach. It’s the feeling of gratification that you receive when your students, or in this case swimmers, exceed their expectations.

Logan, Rob, and I congratulate our girls on their swim, setting a personal best time, as well as setting a new school record. Once the excitement has died down, I finally get a chance to sit. At almost 3 months pregnant, I’m starting to feel the effects of exhaustion setting in. I guzzle a bottle of water, focusing on catching my breath. I should not feel this tired, but I know it’s my body trying to tell me to slow down. I’ve been on my feet all day for the past three days. I know I need to rest. If Taylor could see me now, he would scold me.

The holidays were a great time for Taylor and I. We’ve told just about everybody we know that we are pregnant, unable to contain our excitement. Gianna and Drew are over the moon thrilled about the impending arrival of the baby or babies. In a couple of days we will finally know how many babies I am carrying. Taylor is due to come back from another couple weeks of touring on Friday. If his flight lands on time, he’ll be able to join us at the appointment.