Lane Assignments

Chapter Nine

March 2015 - Fifteen months later

CPOV

The beginning of another track season here in Montesano means another one for Ana at the University of Oregon. And it's a big one for her - the biggest one yet. It's her senior season, and she's been helping to build Oregon's program. Their strength runs deep now, thanks to excellent coaching and recruiting, all the way from the sprinter to the hurdlers to the long distances. Ana is right in the middle of it running her specialty, the 3000 meter steeplechase. And my girl can fly.

My eyes travel to the corkboard that covers most of one wall in my office. It's filled with news clippings and team photos from my years of coaching. And, if I'm honest, it's a bit of a shrine to my girl. Her face - smiling alongside her teammates or staring down the line in determination - appears more often than any others.

I keep my finger on the pulse of the track and field world, and I've heard the rumors. She'll be in the Olympic Trials next spring, for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Toes on the line... face forward... eyes on the prize.

Curious to see if the new roster is up for UO - and eager to see her name highighted in green among the other seniors - I click on the tab under my 'favorites' and bring up the website.

The women's track team is has a little red "New!" attached to it.

Yes! I click on the link and scan the list of athletes, recognizing many of the names from my years of stalking... I mean, following her. Sprinters... middle distance... the steeplechase... no Anastasia Steele. I scroll down further to the longer distances. Sometimes women specialize in longer distances as their bodies mature. The elite women's marathon runners, after all, peak closer to thirty than twenty. The mile... even the 10,000 meters... no Anastasia Steele. She's not here. She's not here anywhere.

My pulse quickens and my stomach drops as I scan the list again. A thousand thoughts run through my head... Did she transfer to another school? Is she injured? There has to be a reasonable explanation here.

I fire off an email to the University of Oregon Athletics department, trying to sound as casual as possible. I've traded occasional emails with the secretary there, sending her race results and grade reports on prospective athletes. I mention that I did not see Ana on the new roster. Was it an oversight? Maybe the mistake of an intern managing the website? Or perhaps she's tranferred to another school?

I stare out the window, unable to think of anything else. Thankfully, my email pings just a few minutes later, a reply from UO Athletics. Thank goodness. Yes, let's get some answers here.

The reply is even worse than knowing nothing at all. It's a standard, carefully-worded, non-answer to my question.

Thank you for your inquiry. Anastasia Steele left the university at the end of last school year for personal reasons, which we cannot disclose.

The Office of UO Athletics

Go Ducks!

Nine months... it's been nine months. Nine months?! Another of my most promising athletes flashes through my head. She went off to school, got mixed up with a boy, got pregnant in her junior year... no senior season for her.

NO. Not my girl.

With a rock in the pit of my stomach, I drum my fingers on the keyboard. It'll take too long to search the rosters of every major university. Finally, I just bring up Google and do a search on her. Wherever she is, she can't hide from Google.