Chapter 72: Chapter 72
So You’re Good At Swimming
"You sound like such a poet." He says. That is his strongest refute because he knows
what I had just told him is true. We go back to watching the game in silence.
I’m sighing every minute because I am borrrrred out of my mind. I don’t know how it came to, but all of a sudden, I find myself staring face to face at Calyx.
He is looking at me in the crowd. I glance around to know if he is looking at someone else. But no. His gaze pinned on just me, no other person. And then he lazily takes his eyes off.
It was a very brief moment but it was somehow enough to get my heart quickening with fear and fascination. I feel like I should leave. I really should leave. But that would mean passing the front of so many people. All the seats on my left and right are fully occupied. Why did me and Maverick have to sit in the very middle? Whose idea was it again? Luckily the game soon ends. His team had won.
Him mostly. "Did you see him back there? How can one person be so hot?
It’s unfair! He is the sole reason for global warming." Maverick has been talking my ear off about his crush since after the game. The discussion moves from school and takes place at the noodle shop.
"Would you please keep quiet about him for a second?" I say when I get so fed up. "I just cannot understand the appeal about that guy. Find someone else to crush on. I promise I would give my full support." I place my hand on my chest to emphasize. "You think I haven’t tried that? He is one of a kind. You admitted it too. You said he is handsome."
"Was." I correct. "He is not to me anymore. I’d choose the ugliest guy in the world over that idiot." I cuss. Throwing the cloth I was using to wipe the countertop hard on the surface.
Maverick sighs. "It sort of hurts me that you are calling him an idiot. But I can’t tell you not to because he really is." He says.
Business is slow today. It always is at noontime like this. Which means I’m stuck hearing Maverick speakings for another couple hours before the evening rush comes.
"I took some photos of him. I’m going to post them on my Pinterest board later." He is looking at his phone and blushing. I don’t need to glance at his phone screen to know the reason for that. "Suit yourself." I sigh.
"And can we please talk about something other than Mr Entitled?" I will some have to tell him to go out the door if he has nothing else to talk about.
My ears and sanity needs freedom from the name and person—Calyx. It’s always Calyx, Calyx, Calyx. I am so sick and tired of hearing that name! "Other things? Like Ted Huntington?" I come alive upon hearing that. Finally! Something interesting.
"What? Have you heard something new about him?" I eagerly ask. "Yeah. His parents decided to settle." He deadpans.
"WHAT!" I shriek. How can? "They settled? When?"
"Today. This morning. I told you it would be like this. It’s always been. That is why students like us gotta keep our head down because there is nothing like justice in Krohn’s. It’s only money and influence."
"But the money or whatever they are going to get out of the settlement will not restore their son’s mental state. Him being punished would have." I reason.
"But the money would be something at least. Knowing Calyx, he wouldn’t go cheap on settlements fees."
Three weeks in. I can now say that I have fully settled. Enough to know the people to avoid other than Calyx Lamont. I have also discovered the color of his eyes. They are green. Bluish green. I did not go close to him to know that. Maverick told me. I have also discovered that he doesn’t come to the cafeteria unless it is to bully and drag someone off. Reportedly to the lounge created by the school for him and the other diamond leagues. He has gotten a tattoo. The tattoo of a scorpion on his hand. At the back of his hand.
A scorpion, something as lethal as he is. Luckily he and some of his notorious lots are seniors with just less than six months before going off to college. The school will be a calm for a while before someone else decides to continue his legacy.
Most of the teachers praise my intelligence and attentiveness in class. They were considering making me give private tutorship to other students. I politely turned it down. The only thing I can handle in my life right now is my studies, my part-time job and my family. The last thing I need is getting told off and bullied by an entitled brat.
I’m also starting to do better in swimming. Me and Curry never spoke again after that first day. She moves around with those girls who had put me in my place on the first day. She always follows them around, carrying their bags and running errands for them. Making me understand why Maverick calls her a lackey.
What Maverick said is devastatingly right. Money and influence is the only pass to fit in Krohn’s. I knew I didn’t fit in from the first day I came here. I am not someone who tries to fit in anyway. I’m an onion surrounded by its own protective peel and layers.
Having nothing else but books and studying which is my only hope for a better future. I am not that good at swimming. So the idea of becoming a professional swimmer is ruled out. I can’t say it doesn’t hurt—at all. It does hurt. Being sidelined and pushed back. It makes me feel like I am in a different world from the others. It gets worse when I listen to the other girls on my swimming team talk about where they had gone for their past summer vacations and where they would go in the future. Some had almost travelled the entire world. While I have never left this place. The farthest I would most likely ever go would be outside of Florida. Never out of the country. But I really do hope to one day go when I become successful in the future. Then they shift the conversation to what type of bag and makeup brand they bought. I would curiously search it online to see that the accessory brand they are speaking off is total luxury. The price of a single item can feed me and my family for weeks. Here, I discovered that not only silver spoon exists. There is gold and diamond. And then there is the wooden spoon. "Are you girl’s ready?" Coach Mira’s booming voice cuts through the air like a blade. "Yes!" We chorusly answer. "You go in as soon as the whistle blows. Not a second before or after, understand?" "Yes Coach!" I dive into the large swimming pool when the whistle blows. I like swimming because I find it easy. I love the water. And it also helps clear my thoughts. I was shocked when I came out to find that I was number one. "12. 5seconds. That was excellent Gweneth." Coach Mira praises. I don’t immediately get into it because I don’t believe that I beat the other six girls now when I use to come in fourth or third among my team. "You are an excellent swimmer. You just need some extra Coaching and I would be happy to give it." She beams.
"Thank you." I say in a weak tune.
"No need to thank me dear. I just like to admire dedication when I see one. Keep it up okay. I have somewhere else to be right now. We’ll come to a consensus about how to work around your extra sessions tomorrow."
The vibe fully changes when she leaves. I felt it too. I hurry to change and come out of the swimming class. Taking the route to the students main section. But suddenly a hand rests on my shoulder. I glance up and meet the eyes of Brooke Baldwin. A diamond league rich and sassy school queen. She is one of the people that Maverick had told me to look out for and avoid. But I just had to end up in the same swim team as her. "Hi there little lolita." She says in her high-pitched voice. An uncomfortable feeling is crawling on my skin. Brooke Baldwin does not come off as nice. What does she want with me? "Why are you staring mute? Come on, don’t play dumb. I know you can speak." She says firmly this time, humor lining her voice.
"Hi." I managed to keep my voice calm and balanced even though I am uncomfortable by her presence. Her glossy lips curves into a smile. One that is can be seen as friendly. But I know that it can’t mean any good. Maverick told me to avoid her for a reason. "So, you are good at swimming?"
