Smooth Sailing

June 16, 2018

June 16, 2018

On Saturday, the yacht club party was at the Sterling-Staffords' house, much to my chagrin. I had managed to avoid Quentin for most of the summer, but I would almost certainly run into him when the yacht club party was at his house.

There were two things that comforted me, however. There was a junior league race before the party that I was sure to win, and there was always the possibility that Véro would show up at the party now that she was a member of the Clearwater Lake Yacht Club. When I woke up that morning, I thought of her, hoping that she would come to the party, and everything would be okay.

After breakfast, I immediately went outside and got ready to sail. Everett was still asleep, and Véro was nowhere to be found, but I did see Eden sailing her boat towards the starting line. I set sail and waved to her as I passed her. Eden shouted something back at me, but I wasn't listening to her. I had to focus on winning the race.

Once all of the members of the Junior Sailing League were at the starting line, Mom and Grandma, who were both on the judging committee, began the sequence of signals that would start the race. When Mom finally raised the flag for us to start, Brooke immediately glided over the starting line. By the time I made it past the starting line, several other sailors were already ahead of me, and I knew exactly why. I had become too reliant on my crew.

I caught up eventually, but I still could have gone faster. Eden nearly passed me at the very end of the race, and although I won the race, it felt like a loss. What would happen in the regatta, when there would be talented sailors from other yacht clubs? What would happen if I sailed like that?

Although Véro and I had practiced plenty, there was still a lot more work to do. I was far from perfect, and so was she. As I sailed back to shore, I was hopelessly disappointed by my own performance, and I promised that I would work harder next time. The regatta was coming up, and I had to be better by then.

By the time I returned to shore, Everett was awake and ready to annoy me all the way to the Sterling-Staffords' house. "Mom, Dad, can we sail to the Sterling-Staffords' house?" I asked.

"I don't see why not," Mom said.

"I don't want to go sailing," Everett complained. "It will be faster if we drive anyways."

"Everett has a good point, and we're already a little bit late," Dad said.

Mom thought about it and said, "I guess we'll drive. Come on, Sylvie, let's get in the car."

I groaned and hopped out of the sailboat. I quickly went inside to exchange my soaking wet clothes for something more appropriate for a party. Knowing that the Sterling-Staffords had a pool in their backyard, I put on a swimsuit under my clothes so I could go swimming when I got there. Then, I got into my parents' car. Dad turned the radio to a classic rock station, and Everett and I both sang along. An appreciation for our parents' music sometimes seemed like the only thing that I had in common with my brother.

When we arrived at the Sterling-Staffords', the party was already in full swing. My grandparents were busy talking to Quentin's grandparents, and most of the kids in the yacht club were swimming in the pool, with their parents chasing after them and warning them not to go into the deep end. I found the food table and took a burger and some chips. Then, I sat down at an empty table and searched for Véro.

At first, I couldn't find her. There weren't any purple-haired girls swimming in the pool or lounging around on the beach, so I simply assumed that Véro wasn't there yet. I texted her and asked if she was coming, but I didn't get a response. I would just have to make it through this party alone.