I pulled the towel around my shoulders as I walked into the dressing room to change. I was meeting Jason today. We were just going to hang out at the park. Innocently. I don't know why I agreed to. Maybe it's because I really didn't have a reason not to? Or it's because Chelsea talked me into it. Yup.
Quickly I changed into Nike shorts and a Port A shirt. I tied my hair up in a bun, and then felt a twinge of sadness as I realized I was spending my last day of spring break working out at the pool. Oh well. I grabbed my back and marched out of the pool and to the pavilion.
I sat on a picnic table and stretched my legs out and yawned. My phone vibrated with a text. I looked to see it was from Jason. I opened it. Here. I felt nervous, and looked around. Was he really here? I looked around and saw him walking toward me. He wasn't wearing a hat today. His hair was black and slicked back, like Elvis. I liked Elvis. He wore aviators with black lenses.
He sat next to me. "Hey."
"Hey," I said.
"What are you up to?" he asked.
"Just got done working out," I motioned to the pool.
"You swim?" he asked.
I nodded. "I love being in the water."
He chuckled and smiled, "So do I."
"Do you swim?" I asked, a smile slightly growing on my mouth.
"Used to, now I mainly just surf. Not a lot of people that swim here anymore," he shrugged. "But you do."
I watched his muscles flex as he leaned back on the table.
"I love surfing, but I haven't been in months," I said.
"I have an extra board, and I'm always looking for people to surf with," he offered.
"Yeah, that'd be cool," I smiled.
"So how old are you?" he asked. "I never got a real response from you."
I laughed and looked at the ground. "Yeah, sorry, I have an attitude... I'm fifteen."
"Right on," he nodded. "What grade are you in?"
"I'm in ninth grade, and you?"
"I'm homeschooled, and I've skipped a grade. Technically I'm a senior," he said.
"Hmm," I said. "Why are you homeschooled?"
"School's just not for me," he sighed, and shifted his weight.
"How?" I asked.
"It's just not... I do better alone than in a class," he said.
"I guess I can understand that," I said, turning toward him.
"Yeah, do you play sports? Besides swimming," he asked.
"Basketball, cross country, and we're about to start tennis," I told him.
"I used to play basketball when I was in middle school here," he said. "This one coach, he was a jerk. He hated me."
"Coach Vasquez?"
"The one and only."
I laughed. "So you do live here."
"All my life, pretty much," he sighed with a smile.
"So what did you do today?" I asked.
"I was at the uh.. doctor's," he scratched the back of his head and started to laugh. "I'm always getting hurt."
