Blind Swimmer

Chapter 1: Water

Percy POV

Today's swim meet was packed with people. The stands were buzzing with activity, and even the pool area was hard to navigate.

"Ready!" The announced exclaimed through the microphone.

I crouched down setting my hands on the edge of the diving board. My knees were bent, and I was ready for the dive that would start the race.

"Set!"

I took in a deep breath. This race was an important one. We were at Regionals, and today's races would qualify me for states. I was pretty confident about my chances though. Everyone was confident about my swimming abilities.

"Swim!" the announcer shouted.

I dove straight into the pool. The feeling of power and comfort washed over me as my body smoothly guided in the water. Just my dive alone propelled me through a quarter of the pool.

The tan muscles of my arms, legs, and abdomen stretched and contracted with each movement and each stroke.

I did a flip at the end of the pool and pushed off the wall for my second lap. There were four laps total in a 100-meter freestyle swim.

This freestyle race was over in no time.

"Congratulations to Percy Jackson for finishing first in the heat. Not a surprise," the announcer exclaimed while laughing. The crowd cheered even louder.

I stared at the board for my time.

It was a very competitive time at 49.87 seconds. In comparison, the world record for the 100m freestyle was about 45 seconds.

I smiled as I pushed myself out of the pool. My muscles were burning but in a very good way. I knew that I was doing a great job, and that satisfaction was all I needed to keep going.

"Great job, Jackson. You are making our school and town proud," Coach Hedge said as he patted my shoulder hard.

Gods, Coach Hedge was tough.

He literally never smiled. Even his compliments and reassuring pats felt like a hit with a baseball bat.

"Thanks, Coach," I said as I went to sit with my team.

It sucked to say that the rest of my team probably wouldn't qualify for States. Humbly speaking, it would just be me representing our school and town in States this year. It would be the first time in over 30 years that Goode High School's swimming makes it to States.

I was super excited, though.

I loved swimming, and it meant the world to me. I couldn't imagine doing anything but swim and compete. Swimming ran in my blood, and it allowed me to stay connected with my dad.

***

"Great work, Bro, you're going to States," Jason exclaimed in the parking lot.

"Thanks, Jason. How was your game yesterday?" I asked. Jason was the quarterback of Goode High's football team, which was another treasure for our small, rural town.

"We won, 17-7, which was great," Jason said.

"Good for you, bro," I said as I patted his back.

I was so tired after the long drive from regionals back to our school. Jason agreed to drive me home because I was too tired. Also, I didn't bring my car to the school when we left for the competition.

"Wait, Percy, please," Frank called as he ran up to us. Frank Zhang was a fellow swimming mate. He was pretty good at swimming because he had a lot of strength and power. However, since he was on the bigger side, Frank also got weighed down a little.