One Last Chance

Brooke:
I'm tired. Just tired of pretending that everything is fine. Making myself believe that college will be different. Because it won't be. I'm in a loop and I can't get out. I've been a failure to my family, coaches, friends.. to everyone basically. Everyone was so sure that I would go to the olympics at the age of 15. That I had a gift, a potential to go all the way. Well, at the age of 19 I can definitely say that I no longer have that gift. I'm not even close to the times I came when I was 15, yet everyone seems to remember that version of me. Now, all they see when they look at me is wasted potential, a failure, an embarrassment. But, sadly I'm still here, in a division 1 college, acting like I'm fine, like I'm not burnt out. Because I have to be, because there simply isn't any other choice for me. And then, I receive a text.

Unknown: You look really pretty today

Nathan:
I know her. Not literally. I guess I know of her is more accurate. But I can see the real her, how she acts like she is okay even though she is barely existing. She always hides in her clothes and only talks if someone talks to her first. I can only guess what she's been through for the last 4 years, from being the gifted swimmer to a ''wasted potential''. That's how the newspapers published her as. But I was there when she was the best, and then when she was seen as a failure. I always watched her but never came close to her. I just always could relate to her, I could feel what she felt. But that was it, me watching her from far away. And then, 2 years later I see her again. In one of my classes. Well, this time, I'm not only going to watch.