Lights Out

Don't Let Them Leave You

It was supposed to be an innocent swim meet, a bunch of us teammates who desperately needed practice. I was never one of their favorites; I could swim laps around all of them and they knew it. So when they invited me to practice, a small get together they explained, I was flattered but more than a little cautious. Why would people, teammates or not, invite the best swimmer on the team for a practice? I had a feeling they would try to examine me, find out where I excelled and where I may hesitate. They wanted weaknesses.

On the night of the practice, I put on my most simple one-piece suit and packed my duffel with my towel and hair dryer. It was cold so I added a hoodie in case. In the side pocket went a knife and a can of pepper spray. A young girl walking alone at night sounded like a kidnapping or murder waiting to happen. But I fretted for nothing; there wasn't a single soul outside and I assume it's because of the weather. The wind nipped at my exposed neck, gooseflesh rising down my back.

Karina and Jerrod were already at the pool, running lazy laps waiting for everyone else. We were still missing Jenna and Caitlyn, unless they all carpooled. Jerrod saw me approach first, waving pruned fingers in my direction. My mind sent a red flag at those prunes but I couldn't explain why, it's not like swimmers don't get wrinkled fingers and toes. 

"Hey, you made it. Why don't you hop in? We broke into the control room and turned up the temperature a little."

I set my bag down, slowly though I felt like going home. "Where's Jenna and Caitlyn? Are they still coming?"

If anyone was going to make me feel more comfortable, it was those two. They didn't rely on a scholarship for school, they wanted a fun activity to do on the weekends. They wouldn't try to single me out at a match from this practice and maybe it would stop Karina and Jerrod.

Karina swam up the edge, her eye liner lightly smudged. Even swimming she refused to be without makeup. "Cate messaged saying they would be a few minutes late. We can start without them."

Before I could react, Karina hooked a hand around my ankle and tugged. I stumbled before falling into an awkward swan dive, letting my body weight carry me over the edge. The warm water splashed against my chilled skin and I immediately felt my body loosen and take charge. This was my world, my happy place. I felt at home.

Jerrod and Karina were giggling when I came up for air and I couldn't help but join. Being in the water swept away my fears and replaced it with a confidence I wish I had on dry land. "Shall we do a practice run?"

We lined up on the far side, Jerrod counting to three before we dove in. My legs became rudders as I flew like a bird through the water, barely a ripple behind me. My torso instantly twisted at just the right moment to aim my heels against the pool wall and propel me back the way I had come. I snuck a peak at the other two lanes and saw Jerrod and Karina just turn around. We did a couple more in just the same fashion until Jerrod whined that his arms were hurting.

Karina snorted, floating delicately on her back. "How can anything hurt? You practice more than Layla does, and she's here every other day."

I blushed, unaccustomed to such a compliment. My father had pushed me to take swim classes and it was all over from there, I took to the water like a duck and it became difficult to get me out of the water. I begged to camp by ponds or go to the community pool, even if I were there for ten minutes. It was the best feeling to have the cool embrace that it gave me.

"I don't practice that much, actually. I suppose that's my downfall." Jerrod drifted over to me, a kind smile on his face. "Are you hungry? We were going to grab something to eat after this."

The smile fell off my face. "Jenna and Cate haven't gotten here yet. It's just been us for like an hour. Shouldn't we wait for them? It seems rude that they wanted to come and then we leave without them."