Picture Perfect

Chapter 5

"Assignments in your desk,"

"Thanks,"

That was what Ben Gross and Alice Lee's text messages consisted of. Alice didn't know what she was expecting, but the next few days flew by in total normalcy... until Friday.

"Tomorrow is the swim meet, meet you at school at 8 am,"

Oh crud. She had totally forgotten that the swim meet was a Saturday. She'd have to tell her mom, and her mom wouldn't be happy with her sudden change of plans.

"What's this school event you need to go to again? Why hadn't I heard about it earlier?" Her mom questioned, still kneading dough while looking at her piercingly at the same time. Alice's mother had dyed hair. The tawny colour suited her well and complemented her pale yet angular face. She had striking cat-like eyes, just like Alice. It made the "mother's stare" that much more intense.

"I completely forgot about it ma," Alice confessed and placed both her arms on the kitchen counter.

"Sureeeeee." Her mother stopped kneading the dough, "You've never missed an event for the newspaper club before, what's going on?" You know it's serious when mom starts wiping her hands and places them on her hips. "...and Alice... The swim meet... Are you sure you want to go?"

Alice opened her mouth to say something but it got caught in her throat. Her mind reeled back to memories of her childhood. Big, lapping waves hovering over her head and coming down at her in full force. Her head surfaces, but another one crashes down on her and she starts to gasp for air in the little gaps between waves. Her legs were getting tired—

"I—" Alice started, pulling herself away from the memory, "will be okay, ma." She hadn't told her mom that she was now juggling a completely different club. She hadn't told her as well that she was trying to—or at least wanting to—get over her fear of the water.

Her mom raised her eyebrows, and sighed a long one. "Alright, if you say so Alice. You've never given me a reason to doubt you before, so I'm gunna have to believe you,"

Internally, she heaved a sigh of relief. Outwardly, she merely rolled her eyes. She had a habit of doing that. "It's just swim meet ma. Nothing interesting. Plus, Simone is competing!"

When Saturday came the spirit of sportsmanship was on an all time high. Cheerleaders were chattering amongst themselves. The swimmers—some of the most popular guys in school, including Paxton Hall-Yoshida—were talking amongst themselves and giving each other fist bumps.

She was like a stick in the mud. She stood out way too much with her lavender backpack and large DSLR around her neck. The discomfort made her pick up the Canon in her hands and turn it on. She realized there was no memory card so there was nothing to see. She awkwardly put it back down.

It felt like near a century when Ben Gross finally showed up with his signature collar shirt and jeans. "Come on, let's go," he said right after handing the now empty memory card to her. "Wait, what?" She muttered while following in a hurry, pushing the memory card into the correct slot.

An actual shiver ran through her spine when she realized Ben Gross was walking towards the school team bus. Both cheerleaders and the swimming team took the school team bus. At the back of her mind she was expecting to take the school bus, but actually taking it was akin to cage diving with sharks.

It was brutally uncomfortable and yet exhilarating.

Ben sat down at the third row, it was a two seater. Alice took a moment, looking around her before moving to sit at the fourth row, just behind Ben.

"Where are you going?" Ben asked incredulously, looking up at her with his mouth agape, expression blank.

"I was going to sit there?" Alice said, not meaning for her statement to come off as a question and pointed at the seat behind him.