"Gentlemen, on your marks!"
I bent down again. This time, noticing my heart wasn't thumping like it was before. I took pride in that, assuring myself that this race was mine for the taking.
"Get set!"
I steadied my breathing.
Pii!
In the next second, I dived down into the water then emerged at the surface, stretching out my arms to form a 'Y'. Cupping my hands, I caught the water and shove it to the side whilst keeping my legs together. They pushed me forward by moving in a wave-like motion. I kept the steady rhythm, swimming to the tune of my muscles. Reaching the end of the pool, I touched the tile and somersaulted backwards, thrusting myself forward with that same wave-like motion.
I soon realised that I was at par with the guy who had won the first race, and in the next second, I quickened the movement of my hands, shoving water out of my way. Giving myself one last push, I touched the tile, bringing the race to an end.
Drawing in deep bouts of air, I kept my head up as I moved to the ladder and pulled myself onto the side of the pool. I yanked my goggles off, blinking furiously.
"Holy shit! You did it." Ethan tumbled into my arms, nearly knocking us down. "You freaking did it, Akwasi! You got first place with 1 minute, 35 seconds!" My friend wrapped me in a tight hug.
His outburst had attracted a number of heads, but Ethan didn't seem to mind as he swayed me sideways. "This is great!" He said, bringing us to a standstill. "Keep this up and you'll definitely be making the team."
His words brought me a sense of accomplishment, but my subconscious chose that exact moment to remind me that the tryouts weren't over. There was still one more race. The freestyle race. A light smirk touched my lips. Freestyle was one of the easiest swim styles ever. It also happened to be my strongest technique. I'd been swimming freestyle for decades and I highly doubted if there was anyone here who could beat me at it.
Taking the bottle of water Ethan had brought over, I unscrewed the cap and chugged everything down. When I pulled the bottle out of my mouth, my eyes suddenly landed on a girl who was definitely watching me with keen interest. Embarrassed that she had been caught staring, she threw me a shy smile and a wave.
I waved back, feeling a bit flushed.
"Ok guys!" The coach yelled one more time. "It's time for the final race. Let's go!"
I handed the empty bottle over to Ethan, who was still brimming with excitement. "Go knock 'em dead!"
Chuckling, I moved over to my block, climbing it for the third and last time today.
"So, you're friends with the team captain." The guy who won the first race, Daniel, stood on his block, stretching his arms.
"Yeah," I turned to him. "Is that a problem?"
"No. Not at all." He brought his arms down. "I guess that explains why he placed his bet on you."
My eyebrows narrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"He didn't tell you?" Daniel blinked back, amusement gleaming in his eyes.
It made me even more curious. "Tell me what?"
"He and the rest of the team are betting on us, the two of us," he said, but before he could add more, the coach shouted.
"Gentlemen, get ready. On your marks!"
Quickly pulling the goggles over my eyes, I stooped low and pretended not to hear the raging thoughts in my head. Ethan is betting on me? Why is he betting on me?
Now is not the time to think about that! My subconscious yelled. We have a race to win. The dude probably just said all those things to throw you off your game.
Right. I shook my head and calmed my breathing. This wasn't the time to entertain doubt. I had to win this race and show Daniel that he couldn't trick me into losing.
The sound of the coach's whistle rang in my ears and I dived into the pool, plunging deep under before coming back up. My arms flung together on the side, moving in a circular motion whilst simultaneously kicking my feet up and down. Reaching the end of the pool, I did what I'd done in the other two races, touched the tile and flipped over to continue on. I didn't need a third eye to know that I was in the lead, because by the time I touched the starting tile, Daniel and the others were now sloshing through water to do the same.
The coach's whistle cut through the air one last time and I pulled off my goggles and cap. "Yes!"
A soft splash came my way. "Good race." Daniel appeared in my lane, trying to act all friendly.
I just threw him a flat 'yeah' and made my way out of the pool, receiving a round of applause. Tossing my cap and goggles to the side, I yanked a white fluffy towel off the rack and began to pat myself dry. A few of my competitors stopped by to congratulate me on winning two out of the three races.
"Thank you all for displaying your skills, ladies and gentlemen," The coach spoke up once the applause and commotion had died down. "It was a pleasure watching you swimming today. As I said earlier, your times for each race have been recorded and will help us select the new recruits for the team. The results will be out during the week, so keep your fingers crossed."
Rubbing the towel in my hair one last time, I draped the fluffy material over the plastic rack.
"Hey."
Turning around, I found Daniel behind me, lips pressed together. A sense of irritation grew inside me.
"Look, I know you see Ethan as a good friend and all," he began. "But trust me, he's not who you think he is."
"And why should I believe you?" I quizzed, crossing my arms. "You barely even know him."
Taken aback by the sentence, Daniel seemed at a loss for words, then he opened his mouth. "You're right. I don't know him as long as you have, but I know Ethan well enough to know that he doesn't deserve that title he holds as Penfield's Greatest Swimmer...and I'm here to set things right."
His words lingered in the air until the person we were talking about joined our merry little circle. "Hey, champ." Ethan playfully punched my arm. "Everything ok?"
There was a weird pause.
"Yeah." Daniel's eyes darted over to him. "Everything is fine, I was just congratulating Akwasi on the win. Great job out there," he shook my hand before taking his leave.
"Sucker," Ethan smirked, watching Daniel's retreating form. "I bet he's cursing himself right now for losing."
"Yeah," I mumbled absentmindedly. Ethan's use of the word 'bet' reminded me of what Daniel had said before the last race. "Hey, what's this I heard about you betting on me."
"Oh that?" My friend shrugged. "It's not important."
"All the more reason why I should know about it then."
Ethan feigned agitation at first, then he let out a dramatic sigh. "Fiiine, here's your share." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a wad of ten cedi notes which he slapped into my hands.
My eyes widened at the sight of the money. "Whe...what's this for?"
"Your share of the money." He smiled broadly. "I won the bet. The entire team was convinced Daniel was going to win all three races since he used to be a Shark, so they all bet on him. I was the only one who bet on you, cuz I knew what you were capable of, and you definitely met my expectations."
"Wait, you said Daniel used to be a Shark, meaning he was on the team?" I asked, astounded by the revelation.
"Oh yeah. He joined with me, back when we were in level 100. But because he was a pussy and couldn't stand the fact that someone was a better swimmer than him, he quit when we got to level 200. Only God knows why he suddenly changed his mind and decided to come back."
On cue, a bucket load of questions flooded my mind. When I first met Daniel, I got the impression he was a freshman like everyone else who was trying out for the team. But this piece of information had pushed me into a pool of surprise and wonder. Who was Daniel, and why did he quit the team? Also, why did he tell me not to trust Ethan?
My eyebrows furrowed in deep thought, but Ethan snapped me out of it when he attempted to snatch back the money he had given me. My hand quickly closed over the wad of notes and I stepped back. "What do you think you're doing?"
"So you do want the money," he chuckled, then pointed towards the locker rooms. "Come on. Let's hit the showers."
*****
Thanks for checking out this week's update. I appreciate it ðð½