Deep End

Chapter #14

I wake on time on Friday, for once, heading to breakfast by myself and then to class.

Thankfully the meet is home that evening so no traveling today, but unfortunately that means I have to go to all my classes. It is incredibly hard to focus on race days and add in class I am counting down the minutes until I am done.

Finally my last class lets out and I beeline for my dorm. Grace is just leaving as I open the door, heading for a quartet rehearsal she says and she side steps me and heads out the door.

I quickly strip down and throw on my meet sweats and shoes, grabbing a quick snack and my water bottle as I head to Mel's room.

I knock and shout through the door, "READY?!"

"YEAH!" She calls back, coming through the door a second later dressed in the same sweats and munching on a granola bar. "Seeya Chris," she calls to her roommate.

Mel went in blind for roommates and really lucked out was an awesome one, also an education major.

Mel and I are swimming the usual today. Mel is in the backstroke and IM and I am once again only in the 1,650 and relay, but honestly I don't mind. It gives me a big break in between events are some of the upperclassmen are way faster than me at other events I could potentially do.

As we head into the pool I hear the chime of my phone. I pull it out of my jacket pocket and check. I see Jeff's name light up on the screen by the new text. I shut off the phone and put it away. I'll text him back later.

We go through the motions of the meet, swimming, cheering, swimming and cheering. I inch closer to the freshman record in the 1,650 freestyle, again getting a personal best time.

The meet ends with split results, the guys team winning while the girls lose by a measly 2 points, adding salt to the wound. This is our first loss of the season.

At that point coach announces an unscheduled practice for tomorrow. Great. Originally we were supposed to have a free day. A groan runs through the group while coach says something along the lines of "I don't want to hear it."

Rolling my eyes I get up and head toward the locker rooms with the rest of the team. Exhausted and feeling discouraged.

I shower and pull on my cloths, really not feeling the after meet swim party. Secretly I am hoping they will just cancel, but based on the chatter around me it is anything but canceled.

This is only the third one of these parties and honestly they're pretty tame as far as college parties go. I missed the first two due to my "funk" but from what Mel told me, there's no alcohol or drugs, non of us wanting to pollute our bodies during swim season. The craziest thing to happen was the 2 members of the dive team crashing into each other on the trampoline of the house several swimmers rent and live in.

Honestly it's my kind of party. I don't much care for alcohol, I tried it a few times throughout high school and never once liked it. Also, there's a strict "swimmer's only" policy, way different than a lot of the frat or sorority parties around campus I have passed, and that's fine by me.

Heading into my dorm room, I flip on the lights, Grace isn't back yet.

I do a quick change, throwing on my favorite jeans, a pair of wool socks, boots and my warmest coat. I take a quick look in the mirror and finagle my hair into a side French braid, throw on a baseball hat for the Grand Rapids Whitecaps I stole from my dad and head out the door.

I see Mel walking towards me. I didn't see her after coaches announcement and based on her face she feels about the same I do with the suddenly scheduled practice tomorrow.

"Alllyyyyyy," she wails out as I get closer. "I just wanted a Saturday off. One Saturday, is that too much to ask? I mean, I swam like shit tonight, I get it, but I just wanted one Saturday."

I pull her into a hug. "Let's go to this party and forget about it, sucky swims and all."

We talk about where we went wrong, the points we lost and gained, and the weakest links on the girls team. We might be freshman, but I work hard and pulled my weight today. Not a great team mentality but I'm bitter.

We walk up the the 4 bedroom, 2 story house being rented by a few guys on the guys swim team and I follow Mel in.

The "party" if you can even call it that, is split into two groups. I would call them "mopers" and "forgetters." The mopers are gathered in a living room of mismatched furniture, watching—wait is that Sponge Bob on the TV? Yikes. While the "forgetters" are all talking animatedly in the kitchen while playing beer-less beer pong on the long kitchen table.

Park swoops in and puts his arms around us. "So, this is by far the worst party I have been to, like, ever."

"Yeah, glad to know I'm not alone in bumming about the loss and practice tomorrow, but I didn't figure everyone would feel the same." I say.

"Follow me," He says, grabbing my hand as I grab Mel's and he drags us outside.