Swimmer Boy (Book 1)

Chapter 8 ~ Training camp

"This place is amazing!" Kou gushed as we made it to the main island for our training camp.

"Yeah." I smiled but on the inside I was nervous and anxious. We shouldn't be here. He, specifically, shouldn't be here.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Mrs. A asked me.

"Oh, nothing." I waved it off. Well, hopefully things will turn out alright.

"Rei, are you okay?" Makoto asked Rei, who had apparently gotten seasick.

"I'm... fine." He gagged.

"Here, a gift." Coach Sasabe held out a cooler.

"Mackerel." Haru's eyes lit up. Of all things-

"You guys! You're gonna want to take a look at this!" Rei came running.

We all stood outside the stadium as the Samezuka swim team practiced indoors. "Why are they here?" Makoto asked.

"Rin's here!" Nagisa pointed.

"Was this your plan, Kou?" Haru asked.

"This is a total surprise to me, I promise!" She defended.

"We should go say hi!" Nagisa said.

"No." Haru replied. "I made him a promise. We're going head-to-head at district." That was when I first saw Rin again at the swimsuit store...
                                    ~~~~~

"Hopefully next year we can practice in an indoor pool." Makoto said.

"Come on, it's no different from the ocean." Nagisa tried to reason.

"They're night and day!" Rei argued.

"Come on, girls. We don't want to miss our reservation at the lodge." Mrs. A said.

"The lodge?" The boys asked.

"There's a lodge right there, so why not?" Mrs. A pointed to the lodge we had secretly booked.

"I feel like an outside dog." Nagisa pouted.

                                    ~~~~~

After Mrs. A, Kou and I got to the lodge, we checked into our room and got our stuff settled down. "They have facials, massages, mani-pedis..." Mrs. A read off a brochure.

"We should do that tonight to relax." Kou said. "Plus, I was gonna take some pictures for memories. What do you say we go down to the beach, Sakura?"

"Sounds fun. Let me grab my swimsuit." I replied.

"I thought you couldn't swim." Kou said.

"Haru's been teaching me some basics lately." I said. After I got changed, Mrs. A headed down for a massage while Kou and I made our short trip to the beach.

"You guys are back?" Haru asked us.

"Yeah. I'm gonna take some pictures for the scrapbook." Kou answered.

"Okay, let's go!" Nagisa cheered and ran towards the ocean.

"Wait for us, Nagisa!" Rei argued and ran after him. I laughed as Haru and I walked towards to water.

"Be careful." He said before diving into the water.

"Bye bye!" I waved. I was about to jump in myself when I noticed someone missing. I turned around to see Makoto staring out at the ocean, a mixture of sadness and reluctance in his eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll be just fine." He smiled once he noticed me staring at him. I couldn't bring myself to say anything as he walked past me and into the water. I don't want to hold him back, and there's nothing I can do to change his mind.

                                    ~~~~~

"That was great, you guys." Kou and I met the boys as they returned from their lap. "Rei you did really good for a beginner."

"I didn't realize how difficult long-distance swimming would be." He looked a little discouraged.

"That's enough for today, boys. Let's have some  tropical barbecue." Mrs. A laid out the food on a picnic table. "Oh, I forgot seasonings."

"It's okay, I'll just go borrow some from the lodge." Kou said and ran off. It was a little while before she returned but we all made our plates in the meantime.

"That took you a while." I mentioned to Kou as she finally returned. She looked around before whispering to me.

"I ran into Rin." She said.

"Oh, how did that go?" I asked.

"Good, actually." She smiled.

                                     ~~~~~

That night I was stuck staring at the ceiling as my body refused to let me sleep. Haru's training has slowing started getting more intense, so I should be tired and asleep, but... I just have this odd feeling in my stomach. It's a mix of uneasiness and anxiousness. Maybe I should walk around outside.

As quietly as I could, I grabbed my shoes and snuck out of the room. I knew it was dangerous to walk around alone in an unfamiliar place, but something just wasn't seeming right.

I made my way down the boardwalk to where the boys were camped out on the beach. As I got closer, I started to see a familiar silhouette moving around.

"Makoto?" I whispered as I got close enough.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?" He asked, just as confused as me.

"I... couldn't sleep." I shrugged. "Is something wrong?"

"Rei and I were sharing a tent, but now he's gone." Makoto kept searching around.

"Maybe he just went up to the lodge's restroom." I tried to think positively, even though I just knew otherwise.

"Maybe, but-" Makoto was cut off as rain starting pouring down.

"HELP! HELP ME!" We suddenly heard from the ocean. We looked out and there was Rei. He got caught in the storm.

"REI!" Makoto threw off his shirt and dived into the water after Rei. The wind and lightning picked up as I couldn't take it anymore. I sprinted towards the water and tried to remember everything Haru had taught me.

"MAKOTO!"