"Bro, you were terrific out there!" Seth yelled in complete exhilaration. "Your form! God! Your form was super perfect throughout the entire race, that it kind of made me wish I was in there, swimming alongside you."
"Really?" I yanked my goggles and swim cap off as we made our way through the corridors.
"Yeah." He nodded, then solemnity touched his features. "I didn't want to say anything initially but... for the past three days, I've been thinking about quitting the team."
My eyes widened.
"Seeing you in action today made me change my mind," he quickly added with a smile.
I tried my best to return it. "I'm flattered, Seth but... I don't get it. Why would you even think of quitting, when you're one of the best backstroke swimmers we have? I've seen you in action several times and you're really good."
"I know." Seth shrugged. "But it's hard to be appreciated for it when there's someone better, casting a large shadow over you."
Even without mentioning his name, I knew exactly who he was talking about.
"I've been a part of the team for about two years now, and within those two years, Ethan has been the center of attention. He wins all the time, even on the days that he doesn't make much effort. The only person who gave him a ran for his money was Daniel, and even he didn't last long on the team. When I sat down to think about all these things," his shoulders sagged with a sigh, "it made me realise that as long as I'm on the team, I'm going to remain in Ethan's shadow forever. But seeing you today, battling Ethan, it changed my perspective."
He turned to me. "It showed me that no matter how good a person is, there's always someone better than him out there. And that person is you, Akwasi." He stopped to place a wide hand on my shoulder. "You have what it takes to beat Ethan, and because of you, I'm not going to quit the team. I want to be by your side when you win, and I want to do whatever it takes to reach your level. Don't let me down, brother."
Taking his hand off my shoulder, I clasped it in a firm handshake. "I won't. You have my word."
When I first met Seth, I didn't like him at all. He reminded me of those big, burly guys who used to bully me in primary school, and it didn't help when he said I wouldn't make the team because I was too frail and skinny.
But to have someone who made such a comment, stand in front of me today, saying that I have what it takes to beat Ethan, filled my heart with nothing but warmth. Indirectly, Seth had taken back his previous words. He didn't see me as a frail and skinny guy anymore. He had acknowledged me as a great swimmer, one that had the potential to exceed Ethan's capabilities. And because he'd pointed that out to me, I made a promise in my head to never let him or any of my friends down.
They believed in me, they believed in my swimming, and I had to do whatever takes to meet their expectations.
I pulled Seth into a hug, slapping his back so hard that it startled him, then he laughed, "Please don't slap my lungs out, I beg you."
Laughing, I let go off him.
"C'mon, I'll walk you to the locker room. There are some other guys I need to congratulate."
Arms draped across each other's shoulders, we strolled over to our destination and pushed past the doors, only to find utter disarray.
"What's going on?" I slipped away from Seth's side, pushing past the guys standing in front of me. My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "What the fuck, Ethan!"
Using a crowbar, Ethan had pried my locker door off its hinges and was busily raking out all my belongings. My underwear, shower bag, swim gear and a couple of toiletries were all strewn across the tiled floor, when I jumped over the bench and grabbed Ethan's arm, stopping him from sending the crowbar on another journey through my locker.
"What in heavens name is wrong with you?" I shoved him to the side and he nearly tumbled over a can of Nivea deodorant.
Regaining his posture, he angrily kicked the can and any other item in his way, before glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.
A wave of surprise hit me in the face. Has he been crying?
"Dude." Nana Kwame stepped forward. "You need to calm down." He tugged his friend's arm, but the growl Ethan sent his way had him shuddering away in the next minute.
"What are you on, Akwasi?" The angry guy bellowed out.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I folded my arms.
"Don't give me that crap!" He snarled, pointing the crowbar at me. "I know you're on something. That's what gave you that extra edge to beat me!"
"Unbelievable." I shook my head and tried suppressing the little smile warming up at my lips. He was being super childish right now. "Look, the fact that you're on drugs, doesn't mean I am too. The whole reason I beat you was because I worked my butt off to earn both wins. I didn't rely on any drug to make it this far, so if you can't accept or understand that, then you better prepare yourself to lose that title."
Ethan's jaw tightened. "You must be pretty stupid to think that I'm gonna let you take away my title."
"It's not yours, Ethan," Seth joined in. "You don't own swimming in Penfield."
"Will you shut up and get lost?" Ethan turned to him. "Pussy-whipped morons like you don't belong here."
"Oh but drug-induced cheaters do?"
Without warning, Ethan hurled the crowbar at Seth who was fast enough to dodge it, thankfully. The curved iron bar hit the set of lockers behind him, leaving a visible dent before clanking onto the tiled floor.
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" I pushed Ethan and he retaliated with a forceful shove, which had me stumbling back a bit. The vein at the side of his head pulsated with pure vexation, and I was a hundred percent sure he would've launched another attack if Coach Sarah and the Basketball coach hadn't barreled in.
One of the guys must've sensed a brewing fight, and had quickly darted out to alert the authorities.
"What is going on in here?" The Basketball Coach yelled at the top of his lungs.
Coach Sarah moved past him; eyes glued to the mess Ethan had created. The sight of my mangled locker door, toiletries and other stuff clouded her face in thunderous rage. "Who's responsible for this?"
At first there was no response, then Ethan slowly turned to Coach Sarah and lifted his hand. "I am, coach, sorry." All the vexation in his voice withered away, leaving room for nothing but sadness and remorse.
But it didn't even tug at Coach Sarah's sense of pity. "My office, now!" She ordered in such a cold, stern tone that sent a chill down my spine.
With his head down, Ethan shuffled away, followed closely by the Basketball coach.
"Whose locker is that?" Coach Sarah asked and I quickly owned up. "Here, these are the keys to one of the empty lockers at the back." She tossed them to me. "You can keep your stuff in there for now, till we get your locker fixed."
"Thanks, ma'am."
She nodded, then her eyes flew over to the rest of the team. "With the exception of Akwasi, I want the whole lot of you out of here in the next thirty minutes! Anyone here after that, will automatically be kicked off the team, better get your asses moving!"
The moment Coach Sarah walked out; a flurry of activities ensued.
Bending down, I picked up all my stuff and made my way towards my temporary locker.
¤¤¤¤¤
Later that night.
"Yes! Victory is mine again!" Deon tossed his controller on the carpeted floor and began to cackle like a deranged maniac. "Buhuhahaha!"
Akunna heaved, slouching forward. "And here I thought my strategy was gonna make me win."
"You flew straight into a bus city the moment you jumped out." I reached for my can of ginger beer. "How was that strategy going to help you win?"
"I was relying on my super handy shotgun skills," he groaned.
"Well they're not super handy now, are they?" Deon chuckled and Akunna didn't hesitate to fling a handful of chips at him.
We were in the hall's JCR, having our regular gamers session. Finishing up on our third game of Fortnite Battle Royale, Deon had emerged the winner out of the ten other players that were with him on the field.
I, unfortunately, got shot halfway through the game for a pretty dumb rookie mistake. The joy of killing an enemy with so much loot had me running towards it without checking my surroundings for other enemies. Deon and Michael, a guy in our gamers group, took advantage of my naivety and wasted no time, shooting me down. After slapping my forehead a couple of times, I grabbed a can of ginger beer to make myself feel better.
"Alright, let's take a quick breather," Deon announced. "I need to go to the bathroom."
Relaxing in my seat, I pulled my phone out to check my messages. There were a number of them begging for my attention, but the first one I opened was from my girlfriend. She had sent me two pictures. The first one had Mawuli cuffed up and being pushed into a police car by two tall men.
My eyes widened before moving down to the message underneath.
Shola: Turns out the whole pilfering thing was true. Mawuli had stolen close to 400cedis from the club's treasury account. Dr. Kankam and the head of Penfield's security organised a search party for him, after discovering that he had packed out of his room. They found Mawuli at the nearest VVIP bus station, buying a ticket to Ho.
"Oh crap," I mumbled. By attempting to ran, Mawuli had put himself in deeper shit.
Shola: In other news, your name has officially been cleared! Yay!ð¥³ð
The pic that followed was a news item in the Penfield Daily titled: Star swimmer cleared of engineering club's sabotage case.
And below that was a picture of me in the pool, smiling after winning one of my races.
Warmth blossomed inside me as my fingers raided the keyboard.
Thanks babe, it really means a lot.
Sucks for Mawuli though.
Shola: Ikr.
Since he tried to run, the situation
is ten times worse now. I heard Dr. Kankam
say that his parents have been informed.
Hopefully, they'll get him out
and find him a good lawyer.
Yeah, hopefully.
Anyway, I've gotta go. Nadia has got this
small slumber party planned to
celebrate her new position in the club
and she insisted that I be there.
I'm heading out right now.
Talk to u later
Byeð
Bye ðð
Have a good time.
"Ok, I'm back!" Deon settled down beside me. "Let's get this party started."
"Oh, you are so going down this time!" Someone yelled.
Stuffing my phone back into my pocket, I had just picked up my controller when the device vibrated again. I quickly pulled it out, wondering who it could be. The sight of the caller ID made me freeze.
Ethan
What did he want?
"Yo, are you playing?" Akunna tapped my hand, then noticed the name flashing on my phone screen. "I thought you said you had a fight with him?"
"I did."
"So why is he calling you?" Akunna quirked up a curious eyebrow.
"Why is who calling who?" Deon leaned over, spotting the name. "Oooo." He drew back. "Are you going to answer?"
The phone continued to buzz in my hand, awaiting an action.
"No." I tapped the red button and the call immediately came to an end. "Whatever Ethan has to say, he can keep it to himself. I'm sure he just called to grumble."
Setting the phone aside, I grabbed my controller, ready to launch into gamer mode, when the device buzzed again with Ethan's name flashing on the screen. Without hesitation, I hit the red button.
But no matter how many times I ignored, the incessant buzz wouldn't leave my ears.
"I don't think he's going to stop until he talks to you," Akunna said after I had tapped the red button a seventh time.
Not even a minute had gone by, when the device came to life again for the eighth time. The electronic hum pulled everyone's gaze to me.
Reluctantly, I picked up the vibrating phone and stepped out of the JCR.
******