For The Crowd

•twenty-five

The next day Lucas and I waited until after practice to walk back over to the pool. Lucas changed into his swimsuit before I was done, but this time he wasn't doing laps in the pool. He was floating on his back. Lucas looked really relaxed.

I let him float around in the water, but I still climbed down the stairs into the water. The water was cold so placed my head under the water to get used to the pool temperature.

"Are you ready to start?" Lucas asked, standing up right in the pool.

"Yeah," I said.

Whenever I stood up the water was almost to my shoulders, but on Lucas it barely reached his waist.

"They told me what's on your test and one thing was haven't practiced yet was floating," Lucas explained.

"Can we practice in the shallow end of the pool?" I asked.

"For now we can, but later we have to do this in the deep end."

"What do we do first?"

"Alright you have to lay back and think light thoughts. Put your arms around my neck and I will lay you down slowly."

I slowly placed my arms around his neck and waited for him to dip me back.

He stood there for a moment not doing anything but then he slowly began to lay me down.

Lucas had me let go of his neck and this time he placed his hands on my back.

"It's okay I still have you," Lucas said, removing his one hand from my back and placing it on my stomach, "Lay your body flat and think I'm as light as a feather."

I thought to myself not about being as light as a feather, but I thought about how this was the first time in years Lucas and I were able to not fight over some stupid thing.

Also the fact that he wasn't trying to drown me made this moment stranger to me.

"I'm as like as a feather, I'm as light as a feather," I said.

Lucas took both of his hands off my back and stomach and now it was up to me if I could float.

"Your floating," Lucas smiled, "Don't worry I won't let you float into the deep end."

After I floated for a while I lifted my body out of the water and went over to the wall.

"Now what should we work on?" I asked.

"We need to work on treading water and laps still. Which one do you want to try first?" Lucas asked, leaning against the wall.

"Which one involves me having to go in the deep end?"

"Both."

"I guess treading water."

"Follow me into the deep end."

"Fine," I said.

I moved around on the wall to make my way over to the deep end of the pool.

"Treading water is like running just with a weird hand motions," Lucas explained, pushing off the wall and beginning to tread the water.

"You just kick your legs back and forth and move your arms back and forward?" I asked.

"The way you move your arms is what will keep your head above the water."

"Okay. Can you help me get out to the middle of the deep end?"

Lucas grabbed my arm and pulled me out into the middle of the pool.

"I'm going to let go of you and I want you to try as best as you can to mimic what I did."

Lucas let go of me and backed away from where I was in the water. I began to kick my legs and arms as fast I could.
I struggle to keep my head above the pool for a while and I waited for Lucas to come help me, but I realised that he was letting me try to solve my own problem.

After a while I began to get the hang of it and I was able to keep my head above the water for three minutes.

-

"You're really getting the hang of this. Maybe you should be on the swim team," Lucas said, after we were both out of the pool drying off.

"Hahahah very funny," I said.

"Why are you afraid of the water," Lucas asked, sitting down on the bleachers.

I took a deep breath in.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me."

I began, "There was a girl who lived around here a couple years back she drowned one night when her parents weren't home."

"Kids drown all the time why did that one scare you so much?" Lucas asked.

"The next day my parents wanted to show me that the water is safe so they took Farkle and I to the beach. My mom was reading a book and Farkle was building a sand castle, but my dad took my hand and brought me into the water. When we were out in the water a giant wave came and my dad lost me I got sucked under the water."

Lucas was quiet.

"I had so much water inside my lungs. The lifeguards had to perform CPR on me," I said, trying not to sound weak.

I wanted to start crying as soon as those words let my mouth.

"Have you been in the water since then?"

"I haven't been swimming in the ocean, but I have walked along the shore. I have been in pools since then, but I stood in the shallow end."

"I never knew that."

"It's something you tell everyone. The only people that know about that are my family, Riley, and now you."

"You know the water isn't something that you should be afraid of. If you know what you're doing it's almost like you can fly through the water. To me it's one of the best feelings you can ever experience."

"Maybe someday I will get back in the ocean and experience that feeling you're talking about," I said, standing up and waking towards the door.

"Yeah maybe," Lucas said, standing up and following me, "Do you need a ride."

I had completely forgotten to text Josh or Farkle to pick me up from school. I either have to walk home or ride home with Lucas.

Things were going fine with Lucas so I figured nothing would go wrong.

"Sure."

On the ride home Lucas put on the radio and we barely said anything to each other.

When we reached our street Lucas pulled into his driveway and I got out and walked up the yard to my house.

I guess this was one of those times having Lucas lived next door was a good thing.

Just as I was going to reach the for the front door Lucas yelled, "Maya wait."

"Yeah?" I asked, waiting for Lucas to jog over.

Lucas made it over to me and took a giant breath, "I lied to you when I told you that I never got to meet my dad. He left my mom when I was little and he came back with Abby a couple years later."

"I also lied to your brother when I told him that he randomly left one day. He left one day, because I finally told my mom that he would hit me."

I couldn't help myself from wrapping my arms around him.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, into his chest.

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I can't believe that you told me."

"Well you told me the truth about why you're scared of water and I figured that I can trust you."

-

Awwwww this chapter is a good turning point.