Risky Business (17 page)

“What else is there, Mom?” Kate dropped her uneaten sandwich onto her plate. “If I don’t go swimming, I just sit around here by myself all afternoon.” She gestured at the house. “I don’t even crack my books until well into the evening anyway. I might as well do something constructive and fun. Plus, maybe I’ll meet some new people.” She pleaded for understanding.

Mom closed her eyes for a moment and then, without opening them just yet, she reached out and touched the top of Kate’s hand. She patted it, then looked at her and nodded slowly, gently squeezing. “I know it’s been a rough four years for you, honey. You’ve had to deal with a lot of loss. Seems we can’t catch a break since your father died.”

After a moment or two, Mom shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. “You know what? I think it’s a great idea. You should go for it. And there’s no need to ride the sports bus home. I’ll just swing by the school on my way home from work to pick you up.”

Kate’s mood instantly brightened. “That sounds great, Mom. Thanks! Now I just have to make the team.”

“Swimmers, take your mark!” The coach shouted from the side of the pool, her whistle at her mouth, ready to blow.

Kate, already poised atop the starting block, leaned down and grabbed the edge just like she had been taught in the training session. Being careful not to fall in, she waited for the next cue.

“Get set.”

She drew herself a little closer to the edge, arms bent, pulling forward on the block but pushing back with her feet, like a loaded spring.

“Go!” The whistle shrilled.

Kate sliced into the water with ease, then used her powerful kick to propel her as she angled her way toward the surface, careful not to come up too fast and break her speed. The instant her head broke the surface, she pulled her right arm from behind her and began to swim.

She swam with the same long, strong stroke she used in the lake, but the still water felt lighter and crisper. It was strange on her skin, but a welcome change. She felt as though she were flying through billowy clouds on a sunny day. Kate swam fast, and she knew it.

Reaching the end of the lane, she grabbed hold of the edge and turned herself around to go back. She’d have to learn how to do a flip turn, but the coach had said that she’d have plenty of time for that. The turn cost her a few precious seconds, but she still kept the lead. Nearing the end of the lap, she tucked her head under the water and gave a final thrust toward the touch pad that controlled the timer.

She finished her tryout, removed her swim cap and goggles, then hoisted herself onto the pool deck before the next swimmer arrived back at the starting block.

Coach Thompson walked over. “Great job, um, Kate, is it?” she asked, checking her clipboard and pulling a pencil from her short, curly brown hair. She was shorter than Kate, but her sturdy stature exuded strength and power.

“Yeah, Kate Walker.” She wrapped a towel around her dripping body.

“Where’ve you been? Why didn’t you swim last year? And how did you learn to swim like that?”

“I have always loved to swim, and I just do it for myself. I swim in the lake a lot. And I mean a
lot.”
Kate shook her head to the side to release the water from her ear.

“I can tell.” The coach nodded and smiled. “Come to practice on Monday. I want to play with some ideas before we make any decisions about team placement. Okay?”

“So, does that mean I’m not on the team yet?” Kate’s shoulders dropped.

“Oh no! You have a place on the team. It’s just where that I have to figure out. Your speed and raw skill is good enough for varsity. But your start and turns need work. So we’ll just see if we can make enough of a dent in those to have you swim varsity. Deal?”

“Deal! I’ll be here.” Kate sailed away as quickly as she could on the slippery pool deck to the locker room. She couldn’t wait to give her mom the exciting news.

Brittany and Pam, two juniors, had just finished rinsing off in the showers. Pam turned off the faucet and nodded toward the pool. “Nice swim today.”

“Thanks.” Kate’s body clenched in anticipation of a conflict.

“I’m sure you’ll be swimming varsity,” Pam said with authority.

“You’ll be Coach’s new prodigy, I’m sure,” Brittany agreed.

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I won’t get in anyone’s way,” Kate spoke quickly.

“No, Kate. From the way things look, we’ll be in your way. Coach is going to have you flying before you know it. It’s good to have you on the team.” They both nodded and smiled warmly.

“Thanks a lot.” Kate returned their smiles, relieved they were just being friendly.

While she finished up her shower, Kate heard her cell phone ring inside her gym bag. She tucked her towel around her body so she could dig for her phone.
Olivia!

“Hey, Liv!”

“Hey, Katie-bug. How’s everything?” Olivia sounded a little down.

“Well, I just got finished with swim-team tryouts, and I made the team. That’s about all that’s new here.” Kate’s voice trailed off. She wished Olivia could be there with her.

“Of course you did! You’re an incredible swimmer. I can’t believe you never joined before this. Why didn’t you, by the way?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Life, I guess. It always seemed like too much time, and I thought I preferred swimming for myself. But I’m getting a big rush out of this team-competition thing. We’ll see how it goes as the season moves on, though. But hey,”—she hesitated, not wanting to let her friend down—”is it okay if I call you back later tonight? Mom’s picking me up in a few minutes and we’re going out to eat. And,” Kate laughed, “I’m standing here in nothing but a towel.”

Olivia laughed. “Okay, we can’t have that. Call me later.”

Kate slid her phone closed and dropped it back into her bag. Sadly, she realized that she’d have less and less time for talking on the phone now. She shook her head to clear the negative thoughts. She took her long, damp curls into her hand, wound them together into a knot and secured the entire bundle with a clip, swiped on some lip gloss, and applied a touch of mascara to her light lashes. Satisfied, Kate grabbed her gym bag and her heavy school bag, jogged out to where her mom waited in her car, and slipped into the passenger seat.

“So, how’d you do? Did you qualify for a college scholarship yet?” Her eyes sparkled as the car door swung shut.

Kate buckled her seat belt and chuckled, hoping her mom was joking. “You never know, Mom. You never know. But for now, let’s eat! I’m starving.”

Coach Thompson stood at the edge of the pool in her purple track suit and rubber shoes, dangerously close to falling in. She looked up from her clipboard and peered over her pink and purple reading glasses at the girls swim team seated poolside on the bleachers. “Hey, this is a pretty good-lookin’ group.” She smiled and nodded as she looked across the rows.

“Okay. It looks like we have a pretty big team this year, and I’m really excited about what I saw at tryouts.” She rested the clipboard on her hip. “I think this is going to be an exciting swim season if you each do your part individually to achieve great team results. Just remember, even though you swim alone, you’re part of a whole. There’s no ‘I’ in team.

“New swimmers, I want you to go to the posting on the locker room door and find your lane assignment.” She tipped her head toward the door. “Then, go ahead and get into your lanes and wait for further instructions. Returning swimmers, you know the drill. The workout is posted on the chalkboard—get to it and have fun!”

Thirty-six swimmers in racing suits, goggles in hand, climbed off the bleachers and went to peer at the list on the locker room door. Milling around with their shiny black swim caps on, they looked like a bunch of eight balls rolling around on a pool table. Kate tried to get her cap over her thick head of hair—no luck. She pulled and tugged on that tiny cap—still no luck. Just as she secured it over one side and moved to the other, it rolled up and her hair sprang free. She considered swimming without it just as she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Need some help?” Pam offered.

Kate reddened as she saw that Pam’s luxurious blond hair had been tucked under her cap without any apparent struggle. “Please.” She was desperate.

“The trick is conditioner. You should get it wet first. Then condition it, put it in a ponytail,and wind it around the elastic band.” Pam took off her own cap to show Kate. “Then, your cap should slip on pretty easily. Plus, if your hair’s already wet and coated with conditioner, it won’t get damaged by being in the chlorine for so many hours every day. But here,”—Pam pulled an elastic band from her wrist—”use this for today.”

“Thanks!” Kate took the elastic. “I’m doing that conditioner trick tomorrow, for sure.”
How cool of her to help
. She managed to get most of her hair tucked safely away and went to look for her name on the list.

“Kate,” Coach Thompson called. “I almost forgot. Your name isn’t there. I want to use this warm-up time to figure some things out with you, if you don’t mind.”

“Okay …” Kate looked back to the locker room door and the other swimmers. “What do you mean ‘figure some things out’?”

“Hop on in here.” Coach gestured to the empty lane reserved for warm-ups and cool-downs. Kate lowered her body into the water, trying to look like a pro by not showing any reaction to the temperature.

“I think it’s pretty clear that you can swim. You’re really fast, and you have a beautiful freestyle stroke. I’m sure that your speed is going to improve even more as you start real practices, and I can’t wait to see what we can do with your times.” Coach squatted near the pool’s edge and lowered her voice. “But first, I want to see how fast you can pick up flip turns and starts so we can decide if you’re ready to swim varsity.”

Nervous excitement buzzed through Kate’s veins. Kate could do it; she knew she could. She listened intently as her coach explained the mechanics of the flip turn, and then she pushed off the wall. Approaching the opposite side of the pool, she glided in with her arms at her side. She tucked her chin and rolled forward. About halfway through her flip, she unfolded her body, just like the coach had said. Placing her feet on the wall, she pushed off. Slightly off center, one foot slipped from the wall so it didn’t have the power it could have, but she rotated to her stomach and continued to swim.
Not bad
.

After about fifteen minutes, Coach nodded. “Okay, that’s enough. You’re going to be great. Go ahead and swim with the varsity girls in lane five. Just keep working on your flip turns.”

Kate hoisted herself out of the pool. “Thanks, Coach!” Could things get any more perfect? She joined her group and eased herself into the water, careful not to get in anyone’s way.

Pam and Brittany, along with a few other juniors and seniors, filled the lane. Since Kate had no idea how things worked, she stood to the side and let them pass.

Brittany blew a dramatic sigh and exchanged knowing glances with a few other swimmers. “See that chalkboard over there?” She pointed to the back wall, rolling her eyes. “You look there to find out what our workout is. It tells you how much to swim, how to swim it, and anything else you need to know.” She rushed through her explanation. “It also tells you the times. See the clock? If you’re given a certain amount of time to swim and you get back here earlier, that’s a break for you.”

Kate repeated the instruction in her mind so she wouldn’t have to ask again, determined not to earn another eye roll. “Okay, that makes sense. There are so many girls, though. How does that work?”

“Well, we all start out swimming in a line on the right side. If someone wants to pass you, they’ll touch your foot or leg to let you know. Move over to the right as much as you can and let them pass. Also, watch for swimmers comingtoward you on your left as they’re on their way back. Got it?”

Kate nodded and put her goggles in place.
Ready or not, here I go
. She pushed off from the wall and glided through the water until she surfaced and started to swim. Within seconds, she could reach out to touch the feet of the swimmer ahead of her. She considered not passing, just to avoid making waves. But that wasn’t why she joined the team. So she reached forward and touched her foot and then passed.

In just a few more seconds, she touched the foot of the next person and easily passed that swimmer, too. At the end of the lane, she did a flip turn just like Coach had taught her—not great, but it could have been worse. On the last length of the lap, Kate passed two more swimmers, which put her first in line.

Sandy Coble, one of the star seniors, said through labored breaths, “Kate, go easy, this is a three-hour practice. Don’t wear yourself out in the first thirty minutes just trying to prove something.”

“Good point. But so far I’m fine. Thanks.” Kate knew they thought—or hoped—she’d tire out toward the end of practice. But, in truth, she’d barely exerted herself yet. By the timepractice ended, without even trying to—or really even wanting to—Kate had proven that she was the fastest swimmer on the team. She sighed. They would all hate her.

“Kate?”

“Mm-hmm?” She turned to the coach as she toweled off her hair.