In Too Deep

18

It was the Tuesday after the incident that Robyn returned to work.

"Ms Westland. Good to see you, can I have 10minutes."

Robyn knew this was coming. She nodded at her boss and followed her into the principal's office. She waited standing until Gouldie asked her to sit.

"Robyn, how are you?"

"I'm much better thank you."

"Good. Now you don't have to go into any detail with me, but I just wanted to speak to you about our employee counseling scheme." She handed over a pamphlet.

"Thank you."

"Please look into it Robyn. You're a valuable member of our team here." Somehow the principal managed to make everything sound like a threat.

"I will do."

"So I've secured the supply teacher for the rest of the week, I thought it might be good for you to oversee the homecoming activities. So it's the swimming gala today. At the local pool. Mr Sanderson will be there. Then girls soccer tomorrow, coach fleet will see you right and the big football game is Friday. Minus our captain who has been excluded for inciting sexual violence, again, Brian Sanderson will be there. . Followed by the dance, which Dorethea is organizing."

Robyn gave a fake smile. All she wanted to do was get back to teaching, she also worried that the supply teacher would be better than her and maybe she'd lose her job.

——-

Riley walked into the pool and felt a 1000% times
More confident than she'd ever felt in school. There were trials in the morning for those students who weren't part of the swim team to get a chance to swim in the gala. Realistically it was a bit unfair. By the time they went through the qualifying rounds she knew that a lot of them would be too tired to show themselves positively in the actual gala. But she was sure she wouldn't have to worry about that, she'd already completed 50 laps of the pool that morning.

"You are?" Brian Sanderson asked.

"Riley Marshall."

"Senior?"

"Yes Sir. But repeating."

"Okay, preferred stroke." He wrote in the clipboard.

"Butterfly or crawl." The swimmer replied.

"Okay, distance."

"50 meters"

He finally looked at her, "so you think you're fast."

"I know I'm fast." Riley smiled.

"We'll see." The teacher's gaze returned to his clipboard.

Riley walked away to the change rooms where she had everything packed in a locker from earlier. The competitors were asked to wear swim wear under tracksuits, and not to be walking around almost naked, that had been the key directive from the principal at the start of the week.

She got changed and folded her black denims and white polo neatly before placing them in the back locker. She lifted her goggles and swim hat and headed to the poolside where she sat with the others. She wondered momentarily as she had done for almost the last week if Robyn was okay, she wondered when she'd be back at work. If she'd ever see her again, that thought made her feel sick. She wished the teacher well in her mind. She knew she shouldn't but she still thought of her way too much.

——-

"Brian."

"Robyn" he cooly responded. Not because he didn't like her but because he'd asked her out last year and she'd turned him down. He didn't like being reminded of rejection. His ego was more sensitive than he'd ever admit.