Separian - Book 1

Chapter 2: The First Day

THE WATER WAS CLEAR. Even as the room lay shrouded in shadows, I could clearly read the "12ft" sign painted on the wall at the far end of the pool; just as plainly as I could count the number of braces in the rafter's above holding the roof together. I could feel the infrequency of my own heartbeat through the water. As I wasn't moving down here, the only disturbance came from the near imperceptible rise and fall of my chest whenever the blood pumped out to the rest of my body. The surface of the water was like glass, save what I'd disturbed while sinking to the base of the pool and, as I mentioned, the beating of my own heart. It must have helped me to see further through the chlorine stained liquid. Perhaps my eyes were starting to adapt to light and dark differently too, though. It would explain why, despite the lack of any real or artificial light, the paint at the far end was so clear to me. Better to know and not assume I told myself and glanced down at my watch to check the time. You can test that another day.

Today I needed to stay focused on running the clock down. I'd arrived at school and settled into the water at exactly 5:20am, which left me two and a half hours to complete this test. But I would also need to set aside about half an hour to shower, erase the scent of pool water, and groom myself. The very front pocket of my bag contained a small tube of toothpaste and my toothbrush. I didn't pack soap because the locker room showers were always fully stocked; with summer football practice having just finished and the first game now only four weeks away.

01:26:43

The timer on my watch wasn't broken as far as I knew. I had truly been submerged under water for almost an hour and a half without air. I didn't know how much longer I would last, but if I couldn't last at least 24 more minutes, it wouldn't matter. I would have to cut my test short in order to make it on time to my first class. Maybe I could push my time frame a little further. 10 minutes wouldn't kill me; I could shower and clean myself up in 20 minutes, no problem. Or I might be able to skip first period altogether and fain ignorance about where it was located tomorrow, when my absence was recited to me. All of this assumed that nobody else came into the pool room for the next two hours -including security.

I counted down second by second, making sure I didn't jump the gun from one to the next. My mental timer was probably just as accurate as my stop watch now, with how many times I'd tested myself this week alone. I nearly didn't need the timer anymore, but I didn't trust myself enough not to get distracted and lose track of time. That, however, was a problem I'd had long before these changes began. I'd never been tested for ADHD, but the signs were all there. Hyper-focus, easily distracted, multiple unfinished tasks and hobbies, et cetera.  And self-diagnosis was the hallmark of my generation, so what need was there for a real doctor and their near decade of medical knowledge?

A low thud echoed through the water and found my ears as a light on the far side of the room tunneled through the door leading to the showers. It was enough to disturb the surface tension of the water. "Can you believe summer vacation is over already?" I didn't recognize the voice at all. Judging by how close it was to the inner door, I might not have had time to escape the room without being noticed. Should I try anyway? The other option was to pretend as if I was getting an early start on my morning laps workout. They might believe that if I could play my role flawlessly. But then there was the matter of how I'd gotten in here, not to mention what I was wearing. Not your typical swim team attire, I thought.

"I know! Ten weeks ago we were freshman." I didn't recognize the second voice either. They were both female.

I ignored the chance of being caught and shot out of the water without so much as grabbing the edge to pull myself up. That was impressive, in and of itself. "What was that?" I looked at my watch quickly and recorded the time. 1 hour, 57 minutes, and 12 seconds. I stowed the book quickly and threw the bag over my shoulders before making for the window. The door on the far wall opened and attempted to illuminate half of the room. "Hello?" I only prayed the light switch wasn't next to the door. The light from the sun was barely visible through the window, but if I attempted to leave now, I would no doubt be seen. However, the chances of me being caught, let alone recognized, weren't great. So I jumped for the ledge I'd sneaked through to get in, grabbed the rough metallic lining, and pulled myself through the gap. I pushed out the small piece of wood as I fell and allowed the window to lock shut for the first time in over a week. "Who is that?"