The Abyssal Kingdom: part 1

Chapter Eleven

It was August and that meant the beginning of a new swim season. The juniors were coming in to be selected for teams and Brian had managed to convince her and Ruby to come down to greet them. Glad of a distraction she agreed.

On the way there she realised it would only be another week before she received her leaving certificate results. With everything going on she hadn't given them much thought.  It gave her a queasy feeling, she'd been avoiding the college talk at home and for once, her mother was on the same page.

She met Ruby at the door and they both changed. They wouldn't be in the water today but had to wear lifeguard uniforms. The pool filled up fast and they were both very busy running around getting the lanes ready and signing up the new girls.  A lot wanted to speak with Salantina and ask her how she trained for her big win.  Not wanting to tell them the awful truth that she hated every minute of training and felt like a depressed robot. In the end, she just told them to enjoy the process, winning isn't everything and to try and enjoy themselves. They seemed pleased and she wished she had taken her own advice.

Brian eventually blew the whistle and that meant the trial for the grouping was about to begin.

'Girls can you make your way up here please to the top of the pool I need everyone's attention,' He shouted.  Salantina and Ruby went and stood on either side of him.

He began talking about what the training would be like when someone caught her eye.  In the stands, she recognised a face and almost gasped. Fynn stared directly at her.  Her entire body froze before his eyes dropped then to the floor.

'Are you listening Sal?' Brian asked. 'Ready for your presentation'

'Sorry, Brian, I zoned out.' Clearing her throat she started talking. Her feet paced back and forth while she tried to pretend this was her comfort zone. It wasn't.  She never liked presentations. In her mind, while she talked she was rambling, her face felt hot and her body shook awkwardly while she walked over and back, moving her arms a lot. A tip she found on YouTube the night before. It didn't help Fynn was in the stands and she cursed herself for spotting him before the speech.

By the time she finished talking, she tried her best to step out of the way for no one to notice her. The stands were quite full of other people's family and friends maybe he knew someone else joining today? She swallowed hard at this thought, had he met someone?

Now hurt she put her mind into what she was supposed to be doing: helping these new swimmers to the team feel welcome. The hour went by fast with her only having to jump into the pool once.  After it was over Brian called her over to talk at the end, it was the usual he talked and she listened when she noticed Fynn staring at them. Her face felt as if it were on fire making her turn away from him to try and focus on what Brian was talking about.

Everything went over her head though. He didn't notice thankfully because he became preoccupied with a junior's mother wanting to speak with him. Now stood alone she awkwardly walked to the changing rooms. 

Go the noticeably long way around the pool to the changing rooms or pass the stands?  Her hands shook and her face still felt warm. She must have looked like a tomato all day. Maybe he will think it's sunburn she hoped. What do I have to be embarrassed about, he played me.

 Fynn was still sitting in the stands when their eyes met. Her intentions were to walk into the changing rooms and leave quietly. One part of her wanted him to talk to her and the other dreaded it. As she walked past, Fynn called quietly for her.

'Hey Sal... you looked great out there.' Unsure how to respond Salantina gave him a smirk and continued walking. 'Can we talk? After your practice I mean... I can meet you outside when you're ready if you want to?' Fynn said in a low voice. He looked apologetic and his face a little red.