Sink or Swim

6

Chapter Song:

I felt my feet slap against the pavement and the cool breeze hit my cheeks. It was a new route I began to run after school sometimes. The days I wasn't helping out at Tish's studio I would hang back at the library to catch up on homework before running.

It was that or going to a gym in town. But today was a good day to run. My muscles had ached for it all day. I couldn't sit still in class. But maybe that was because Cal had kept looking at me.

It's not that I didn't want to talk to him. I guess part of me did and part of me didn't. It was confusing.

I shook away the thoughts of him and continued to pick up my pace to the beat of the song. I made it halfway through the song before I was basically sprinting to the finish of my run.

College was another thing I couldn't escape from no matter how fast I tried to run. I still didn't get how we go from being told what to do every moment of our lives to knowing what we wanted to do forever. It just didn't make sense to me.

I didn't even have the faintest clue what to do with my future. I mean helping people sounded great but helping how? A doctor? A lawyer? A teacher?

Ugh. It was all so stressful and frustrating. Everyone else knew what they wanted to do but me. I just wish I had answers.

I rounded the last corner before ending my run right in front of our complex to the schools pool. I didn't usually end up here but I guess my body had other plans.

I tried to slow my breathing while I looked in the glass doors at my old teammates. I didn't stop my music but I could hear the familiar splashes as if I was in the water with everyone else.

I turned away before anyone could notice me. I started to stretch here instead of right next to my car. I didn't care being out here but I didn't want anyone to think I was about to go to practice.

I quit swimming last year. And I definitely wasn't ready to get back into the water anytime soon. 

Instead, I started to focus on the orange trees that lined the roads. Some were even yellow at this point in the year. I loved it when they crunched under my feet during my runs. Sometimes I would purposely fall out of rhythm to step on a leaf that looked extra crunchy. 

"Hey Ken what are you doing here?" It was Ty's smooth voice that overpowered my playlist.

"Oh hey," I paused to take out my headphones. "Just got done running."

"Oh how was it?"

Why was he trying to make small talk? Small talk was the worst.

"Good. Tiring." I nodded. "Why aren't you at practice?"

"Oh just going to see the trainer to look at my shoulder," he shrugged hiking his bag higher.

"Oh?" I felt my brows raise. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah just tense nothing wild."

"Good."

After a minute or two of silence Ty spoke, "Listen Ken I'm sorry for wha-"

"Let's just forget about it Ty," I stopped him.

"You don't mean that. Do you?"

"Listen I don't necessarily forgive you. But I'm just trying to accept why happened and move on." I sighed. "Besides its senior year. Let's just try to have a good one yeah?"

"If that's what you want," he was still hesitant. There was something more I'm sure he wanted to say but he held back.

"Are you coming back to the team?"