“Tomorrow we leave for London” Andy begins his spiel. As he speaks to all of us I can’t help but let that ugly, ear to ear, nose scrunching, eye squinting, smile escape from my closed lips.
I excitedly squeeze Tonia’s hand next to me. Everything was becoming real. Everything I’ve been working for, for the past eleven years was paying off. Yes, I had won many international and national diving competitions, but this was something so much larger than all of those combined: I would be competing for a chance to represent Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics in front of a home crowd, something I would never get the chance to do ever again. I was going to make it; I was going to medal- or at least I hoped I would. I could already picture it so vividly in my mind: standing on the ten meter the home crowd cheering me on as I achieved nearly perfect tens with each and every dive. It was going to be something I would remember forever; no matter how hard I tried I would never forget that moment.
Chris snickers behind me snapping me out of my daydream and back into reality where Andy was finishing his speech. Hopefully he hadn’t said anything too important because I haven’t heard any words he has said since after the word London left his mouth.
“We’ll have a few days of training at the new aquatic center and then move straight into trails. Just relax and have fun: I have faith that all of you will do fine. I mean I have trained you guys”
An uproar of laughter erupts at Andy’s final statement. We all pull into a giant group hug and I end up completely squished between Tonia and Tom. He looks down at me and a cheeky smile spreads across his face. Thinking nothing of it, I reciprocate one back to him. I don’t know if it was the excitement of diving with Tonia or my Olympic dreams becoming a reality, but I could no longer force myself to act as if Tom was never a major part of my life. He leans down as if going to whisper something to me, and before I know it I’m lifted off the ground and brought to the pools edge.
“Thomas Robert Daley, you put me down right now!” I scream at the top of my lungs while everyone stands around laughing and not bothering to help me. I can dive off a ten meter platform and yet I cannot stand being picked up and held in someone’s arms.
“If that’s really what you want, Lace” a devilish smirk crosses Tom’s lips.
I feel his strong hands leave my body as I’m flung up into the air. As the cold blue water is coming closer and closer into view, I instantly know I let the wrong words slip out of my mouth. In a last stitch effort to stop myself from tumbling into the pool I reach out to grab ahold of any part of Tom that I can get my hands on. I grip onto his grey t-shirt, however my backwards motion was already too great and I continue to fall taking Tom in with me.
There’s a slight stinging sensation as my back smacks the water followed by an utterly shocked Tom’s kneeing me directly in the stomach as he tumbles into the water with me. I was definitely going to have a really cute bruise by tomorrow morning.
“Ouch” the word absentmindedly passes through my lips as I surface from the depths of the pool’s water.
“Shit! Lace, I’m so sorry” Tom says as he paddles over to me, a tone of total concern consumes his voice. He seemed to have no reaction to being pulled into the pool; clearly I had cushioned his fall.
“I hate you!” I yell at him before sending a playful spray of water at his face.
Before Tom can retaliate back at me, Andy comes frantically running over to the pool’s edge followed closely behind by Tonia and Chris. He did not look too pleased with what had just occurred between Tom and me.
“Are you two kidding me?” He rhetorically asks.
Tom and I take a quick side glance at each other, both of us slightly biting our lower lips, not daring to speak knowing Andy had more to say than a simple question.
“We leave for London tomorrow, Tom and you throw Laci into the pool. She’s a small girl: she could have been seriously injured with you landing on top of her!” A quick sigh of relief passes through my lips as I realize I was not being blamed for this incident.
‘Sorry’ Tom mouths to me as he realizes me rubbing the spot where his knee jabbed into my side.
‘It’s fine’ I mouth back.
‘You sure?’ Tom gives me eyes which show concern. I just nod a smile slightly as my response back to him.
“Don’t think you’re off the hook for this” Andy says turning towards me obviously catching my smile out of the corner of hi eye. “This is partially you’re fault too Laci: you pulled him in with you. I just can’t have Britain’s medal hopes being injured and unable to compete” As he continues on reprimanding Tom and me, Chris and Tonia slowly sneak away from their spots next to Andy and move behind him. The two of them were definitely up to something as Tonia holds a single finger up to her lips: gesturing for us to stay quiet and not react to whatever it was they were doing.
“Sorry Andy” Tom and I attempt to say without laughing as Chris and Tonia set themselves up in position to shove Andy into the pool.
‘Three…Two…One…” The two of them mouth at me and Tom instructing us to move out of the way. The second Tom and I dive under the water once, swimming away from the pool’s center, Tonia and Chris shove Andy off the edge. A huge splash follows as the two of them follow him into the pool with fingers interlocked together
“Can you guys ever take anything seriously?” Andy asks as his coughing fit from the water entering his mouth subsides.
“Nope!” the four of us call out in cheerful unison. Even after all the years he has trained us, Andy always seemed to question the fact that we were all absolutely out of our minds.
“What am I going to do with the four of you?” He places his head into his right head and shakes it back and forth disapprovingly.
“Watch us kick butt in the Olympics!” I excitedly call out while slightly jumping out of the water.
“Of course you guys will be, if you don’t do anything stupid and get hurt” Andy confidently smiles at all of us as he pulls himself out of the pool. “Remember I’m expecting to see you on top of that podium Miss. Mears”
“You are?” I question in a small state of shock. Did Andy really just say he was expecting to see me with a gold medal?
“Of cour-”Andy begins to say when he is cut off by everyone else.
“We all are!” Chris, Tonia, and Tom yell out in nearly perfect unison.
I go to speak but nothing comes out. Instead I just stand-well tread there open mouthed in complete disbelief. How did they all have such faith in the fact that I was going to win? I thought Tom was the only diver that Great Britain was betting money on a medal for.
“Because you’re awesome Lace” Tom says, as if he had just read the thoughts flying through my mind. He snakes his arms around my waist.
“Ehh you’re not so bad yourself, Daley” I tease him before splashing him in the face and swimming out of his reach.
And just like that our final practice before trials ended in a splash. (literally!) A splash war broke out between the four of us; Andy had taken the opportunity to walk away before any of us had the chance to pull him back into the pool. Even though my clothes were going to be ruined by pool’s strong chlorine and even with the continuous stream of water that kept finding a way to smack me in the face I couldn’t stop smiling: tomorrow morning I would be crammed into a small car for almost five hours with my four best friends and I couldn’t be more excited or happy.
