Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Forcing my tired limbs out of bed, I threw on shorts and a tee, then padded down the hall to take a leak and brush my teeth. On the way out the door to the aquatics facility, I grabbed my swim sack, where I stored toiletries, a change of clothes, my swimsuit, cap, and goggles, and then hooked the book bag I used for my classes over my other shoulder.
The first order of business was always the weight room located near the lockers and across from the pool. Coach Reynolds’s warning about how crucial stretching was before lifting anything heavier than twenty pounds still rang in my ears as I bent over to touch my toes. There was little talking that early in the morning, which was fine by me. I was still exhausted and needed to keep my focus on spotting Bailey on the bench press whenever he needed it.
Workout finally done, we switched with the women’s team, changed into our swim gear, and headed to the pool. Morning practices differed from afternoon sessions. Coach gave us a chance to concentrate on the individual categories we’d be competing in. This morning, I wanted to focus on the 100m butterfly, backstroke, and freestyle in preparation for our first home meet.
Bailey jumped in the water first and immediately got to work. The butterfly was more challenging for him, but he always rocked the breaststroke, and I marveled at his speed this early in the morning. It usually took me a few laps to get going.
Not gonna lie, the stakes in college were higher, but this was the life we’d chosen. The season lasted into the spring, culminating in national meets, so we always prepped with that in mind. We worked damned hard, and I got a tingle under my skin every time I thought about competing for Franklin U.
After our morning practice, we headed to the dining hall, where we stuffed our faces before class. By then, we were practically starving. It might’ve been the beginning of the semester, but we’d already gotten to know our teammates’ habits from twice-daily practices. It helped when you had the same schedule. We’d established the seating arrangement around the long rectangular table, the upperclassmen getting first dibs, of course. From this vantage point, I could see Andrew, our senior captain, shoveling veggie omelet into his mouth faster than those dudes at eating contests, and beside him, a junior named Carter was already searching for more of that sausage gravy he slathered on biscuits and everything else in sight. I swear he’d even mix it in the oatmeal he liked so much if he didn’t think he’d get razzed for it.
“Gonna head out,” I said to Bailey after finishing a second helping of scrambled eggs. I got a few waves from the other guys—an overexuberant one from Jordan—as I trekked to my communications class.
After two morning classes, lunch—where I put my head down for a twenty-minute power nap—and then chemistry lab, I met Bailey back at the aquatics facility. The afternoon consisted of team practice for relays. Being in the water again was always refreshing after schoolwork, the long day only really setting in once we got back to the dorm. Some nights I fell asleep instantly once the lights were out and the covers pulled over my head to blot out any other noises, like Bailey’s chattering. Other nights, though, I was too pent-up from the day to fall asleep easily and had the smudges under my eyes to prove it.
“Dinner?” Bailey asked once we showered and changed.
“Always.” I followed him to the dining hall. We ate mostly healthy meals several times a day, watching our carb-to-protein ratio because we burned a ton of calories. Though I’d admit sometimes it was a total fail. It was hard to turn down food, especially late-night snacks. But we made up for it in the pool the next morning. And then again in the afternoon. Our bodies were lean and limber, and Coach didn’t hassle us about our habits as long as we showed up and did the work.
We’d just finished a homework session in our dorm and were watching some dumb reality show in the common room when the other swimmers on our floor, Dave and Tim, asked if we wanted to grab some grub at this place called Shenanigans. I was finally finding my way around campus—a few parts of San Luco too—and the atmosphere at this bar that also served food always looked fun. Plus, it was located right across the road from the university, on the beach, and the smell of the ocean always calmed me. I supposed any body of water usually did.
We walked across campus as a group, and I reveled in striking out on my own in the world. I loved my parents and was emotional when they’d pulled away from the dorm after helping me move in, but I was ready. It was exhausting trying to be the good kid, the invisible one, so my parents could focus on my sister’s health. She was three years younger than me and had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in grade school, but getting her regulated was hard on them—hard on all of us. Watching her levels get dangerously low and the havoc it wreaked on her body was scary as hell. I was always afraid to give my parents more to worry about, so being at the university on my own felt amazing. I still had to maintain my grades and schedule, but I could relax a bit more too. And having my best friend by my side helped. I might’ve felt like a fish out of water if I’d been here alone.