Over the Cobblestone Bridge

Chapter 2 Nathan

Everything happened suddenly in a blur, bodies moved slowly, and voices were drowned, "I need a medic!" The coach yelled, his face tight with concern. Nathan watched the scene before his eyes, the pained look on Caesar's face as he tried to gasp for air, the medics trying to remove his hand from his shoulder, and gently placing him into a more comfortable position. After blinking several times, Nathan came back to his senses and ran over to the coach.

"What happened?" He asked in a panic. No one answered as the school's medics decided best to take Caesar to the hospital for better examinations.

Coach finally stood up after the medics whisked the injured boy away from the pool and through the double doors. He placed his hand on his captain's shoulder and sighed, "Most likely stretched too far, it might be a torn muscle or ligament. He'll be alright."

Nathan's mind raced, they were one man down, and he didn't even finish the lap. Worry was written all over his face.

"It's fine, Nate, he'll be alright."

"Does this mean we lost?"

The coach was taken aback by the captain's worry about the game instead of his teammate. "We'll have to wait and see what the judges say."

Though Nathan had expressed his worry for the game over his friend, his mind thought the opposite. It was true that he was worried about Caesar, but he wasn't able to express this out loud. He turned back to his teammates who were waiting by the pool with the same worried expression as he wore, Alex unfortunately in complete shock. Without caring about the results of the game, Alex rushed after the medics to follow his best friend to the hospital.

Everyone leaned in eagerly to see who the winners are, despite the mishap that happened. Breaths were held as they waited the long, excruciating wait of the results, in hopes that their team had won. The coaches were in a heated discussion of how to distribute the points considering they've lost a teammate due to the injury. Still, after a long wait, it was officially announced that Timberwood High were the winners. The crowd jumped to their feet and cheered in excitement. It was a given that they would be waking up the neighborhood with their thrills. The only ones who were not celebrating were the opposing team, they threw their swim caps to the ground in disappointment and headed out of the vicinity.

Nathan smiled and high fived his team before walking into the locker room to change, everyone else followed suit as they continued their rambunctious behavior and fought who was the faster swimmer. They all joked how Luke's random good luck chant at the lunch table had actually worked. While the team continued to cheer and celebrate their victory, Nathan's thoughts were elsewhere. He pulled his shirt over his head and placed a towel on his damp hair, his shirt clung to his chest.

"This calls for a celebration," Caleb announced as he placed a victory hand on Nathan's shoulder, "you in?"

"You guys go ahead, I have to catch up on some schoolwork," Nathan replied with a chuckle. He had finished buttoning his pants.

"Whatever man, be a loser," Caleb laughed as he ruffled Nathan's hair, "see you tomorrow, captain."

"Later, Shark Boy," his teammates teased as they walked out of the locker and left him alone in his own thoughts.

Nathan waited until everyone left before turning back to his locker and reaching out for his swim cap. He stared down at it and remembered his first day on the swim team. The jock chuckled at how scrawny he was back then, and how much he built. Nathan felt like it was only yesterday since he pulled his whole team into nationals as a freshman. Because of him, the trophy case has filled up with swim competition trophies. A sport that shouldn't be as more enticing than football inevitably became the star sport of the school.