Penfield's Greatest Swimmer

🌊~22

So... Ethan's relationship with Princess was history, and there wasn't a single soul on the varsity team who didn't know about it.

Their break up was basically everywhere on WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat and IG. Pictures of the couple had also resurfaced, some with huge cracks edited in between them. Others labeled Princess as a slut, a gold digger and a slew of horrify names.

Whilst Ethan seemed ok with everything; hanging out with his buddies, partying it up every night and living life to the fullest, Princess had unfortunately fallen into a gunk. After that awkward incident, she had never set foot in the swimming court. She had also missed practice five times since last week, putting her on thin ice.

Today marked her sixth miss. If Coach Sarah found out that she had skipped practice this many times, she would definitely have Princess replaced in the Regionals breaststroke event.

Digging my phone out of my sports bag, I unlocked it and pulled Princess's chat up. The avalanche of WhatsApp messages I'd sent her were still there, delivered but unseen. I heaved out a sigh and exited the chat, opting to call her instead. After a few taps, I brought the phone to my ear.

The number you are calling is currently switched off. Please call back later.

"Aah Princess." I tapped the text message button, adding on to the several unreplied texts.

Me: Princess, c'mon you can't keep skipping practice like this, you'll lose your spot in the regionals! And please turn on your goddamned phone!

"Ok, people!" Coach's deep voice echoed into the locker room from the hallway. "Get your butts out here and let's get this training session started!"

Locking my phone, I pushed it back into my sports bag and the shoved it right into the locker before following the other boys out into the pool.

Coach Sarah stood tall on one of the starting blocks with her usual tight ponytail and incredibly large forehead. Amina came over to hand her a clipboard, then she loudly cleared her throat. "Ok, before we begin, roll call!"

Oh shit!

"Ethan is not here." Coach propped up the board. "He came by to ask for permission to attend some mayory event with his dad. Aside from him, I'm not expecting anyone else to be absent."

My eyes moved towards the court entrance, wishing Princess would magically appear in the doorway. But as the minutes ticked on and no one came by, I began to dread what Coach would do once she discovered that Princess wasn't here.

"Akwasi Appiah."

"Present," I called out and watched Coach put a tick next to my name on her clipboard.

"Nana Kwame Marfo."

"Present."

"Great, that's it for the guys, moving on to the girls!"

"Where in heavens name are you, Princess?" I mumbled under my breath, stealing glances at the entrance from time to time.

"Amina Muhammed."

The assistant captain let out a high-pitched, "Present," from where she sat, glued to Seth's side and giggling at something he said.

"Jasmine Tetteh."

"Present," a feminine voice chirped.

"Princess Asamoah."

Murmurs came as a response.

Coach's eyebrows dipped into a frown. "Where's Princess Asamoah?"

The murmurs grew louder, mixing with a few chuckles.