Bella in the Deep End

Chapter 8

We walked through the doors that lead to the indoor olympic sized pool. The room had four rows of bleachers along the left side and the right wall was made entirely of windows. Now, early in the afternoon, the sun streamed in through the windows and reflected on the softly rippling water.

People were already seated on the bleachers- the home team supporters on the right and away team on the left- and either team was right now getting into their swimwear in the change rooms. The smell of chlorine mixed with the sound of the audience talking got my adrenaline pumping and I suddenly felt extremely envious that I wasn't going to be swimming today. The water looked so inviting, there was something about an empty pool that tempted me to cannonball into the middle of the water.

"Are you coming?" Gabriel asked.

I hadn't noticed that I'd stopped walking and was just staring at the water. I looked up to him and nodded, before jogging up beside him. We beelined around people to get to Coach Matthews office. Inside, she was typing up something on her computer, but she stopped when she spotted me in the corner of her eye.

"Bella, the girls should be ready for photos in a minute." She looked up, her sight catching on Gabriel. "Who's this?"

"Oh, sorry. Coach, this is Gabriel." He waved, but said nothing. Coach just nodded to him. "He's the photographer this year, I'm just here for interviews. Which, speaking of," I opened up my red journal and pulled out the spare pen I kept in my shorts pocket. "I just need a quick statement of what your goals and predictions for the team are this year."

Coach clapped her hands together, excited to brag about her impressive team

"Okay, so, we have a few newcomers with very impressive times, and most of our team have been training incessantly since last year. I'm feeling pretty confident about our girls, I reckon we might even make it to the finals this year for relay." She continued, speaking slowly so I could keep up with my notes. "And predictions, uh, I predict that Eva Moss might set a new school record and that we'll have a higher overall winning rate than the boys by the end of the year. I think thats it."

"Thanks, Coach." Gabriel tapped my shoulder, and when I turned he pointed out the office's window where we could see the swim team coming out of the change rooms.

Gabriel took his pictures and I interviewed the team, then we found our way to an empty bench of the bleachers where we both had a good view of the swimmers.

"Which ones, uh, Eva Moss?" He asked.

I pointed at the tall brunette stretching to the left of Coach Matthews. She had the definition of a swimmer's body, which is probably why she got so much attention from Coach and the school.

If you were going to guess that someone in the team would continue to the Olympics, it be the one that looks like every other Olympic swimmer.

"And she's the best on the team?"

"I think 'best' is a broad term." I started. "She has the fastest time, but low endurance. Can't go in races over 200 metres."

He nodded, then asked, "Is that important, though?"

"Yes, it's important!" I scolded. "A better swimmer would dedicate their time to perfect their speed, endurance, and technique. She's not passionate about the sport she just wants to place. Eva is probably going to get a scholarship over a student with a slightly lower time and the ability to actually work hard to do better."

"A student like you?" He noted.

"Yes!" I spat impulsively. "No, I mean, yes it is discouraging to put in more effort than the MVP of the team yet receive no praise, but I don't care about the scholarship. College is expensive - no one can afford it."

"But I bet Eva, who I'm pretty sure was the girl that almost crashed her Mercedes into me this morning, doesn't need the help."

"That does sound like her. But whatever, if I'm not good enough this year to get a scholarship thats my fault for breaking my goddamn arm." And now I was complaining about my arm again.

Gabriel looked at me, I assumed calculating whether it was worth it to argue. I don't like conflict and usually avoid it at all costs, but when someone really got on my nerves, I was too stubborn to lose the argument. I think that Gabriel could tell, but he continued anyway.

"Its not your fault if the system of scholarship admissions is flawed or if you broke your arm or that Eva is taking a spot you might deserve more. You can't-"

"I'm done, talking about this." I cut him off.

I did want to continue, but the feeling that he was in a way sticking up for me weirded me out a little bit. Every aspect of his being had lead me to believe he was more the apathetic type.

"Just take your photos."