It's cold, I can tell before I get in. My cap smells of fresh latex. My goggles are so old I smell them rotting. I quickly check to make sure my tight little pants haven't slipped too far down. She says something I could care less about, I'm not trying that hard anyway. Once all the electric systems are safely protected from the water we hop out and wait for the first event. They always start with girls so I have a minute. This isn't a real meet so speed really isn't my greatest concern. Coach wouldn't be happy knowing that.
It is probably good to inform you that I am a swimmer. Not your doing flips in the water and wearing big baggy pants kind of swimmer though. I'm one of those tight pants wearing, latex hat snapping, chlorine smelling swimmers. Unfortunately, I'm built for height not width, so I'm not the big body builder type. As a matter of fact, I am notoriously skinny. But I know my way around a pool. Anyway, I am on the high school swim team this year and this past week we had time trials. I had no idea they were coming so I came in on the first day completely unsuspecting what was to come.
I came in the door on the first day to be immediately singled out by Coach P. "Come help us move some stuff into the bubble." he said. His regular hat was gone and his hair seemed askew. "What for?" I asked. Jason slid into the conversation circle. "Time trials" he said. Jason is a redhead but his eyebrows are blond. "You aren't built for heavy lifting," he said "but you can help if you want." I wasn't amused by his last comment but I followed him downstairs with some other boys. I came back upstairs once I found out I was the only boy they didn't need. I made my way silently into the locker room. After I was in my jammer I was ready to go. A jammer is a swimsuit that is tight like a speedo but long like trunks. I'm still not quite ready for the brief but I will be eventually. After we've set up the pool I hop in lane one as always and start of with a 200 warm up. Belinda decided to give us stupid things to do like always and we decided to ignore her like always. I checked the heat sheet after I felt warm and found I was in heat three, lane three, in almost every event. I suspected nothing less. I was just slow enough not to make it into heat 4 with Simon, Jack, and the twins. This didn't phase me.
Now if you've ever been to a swim meet you'll know that it is one of the longest experiences in the natural world. It involves hours of waiting for your single race, hoping something will fall on your head before you have to think about how nervous you are. It will have you begging to go to church or watch mold grow. The only safety from this terrible experience is music, a good friend, and a snack. I was without music or food but I had plenty of friends.
Mandy, Anna, Sharon, and Miranda are always a good source of entertainment. For whatever reason I always made better friends with the girls on the team then I did with most of the boys. Mandy greeted me with an ecstatic pronunciation of my name. Anna just said hey but she said it genuinely. Sharon, who is exactly like my sister, always says something ridiculous but gives a friendly grin at the end of whatever sarcastic comment she gives. Miranda normally starts with something about best friends and then begins arguing with someone about it. They were a great deal more serious about that day than I was. After pounding out a speedy 50 free, Jack hauled me out of the water by my arms and dropped me neatly on my feet. Jack is one of the body builder types. He isn't tall but what he lacks in height he makes up for in muscle mass. His chest is probably slightly wider than my torso is tall. I time with the little black button for a minute before my race. I break off the wall of a 50 back with a surprisingly good start. I climb out most of the way before Bobby snatches my wrist and drags me out. Bobby's a nice kid my dad introduced me too. He's a nice guy and he always laughs at my jokes. We banter momentarily and then he makes his way to his lane and I'm left by myself. I wander over to the heat sheet when suddenly Miranda leaps from behind the Lifeguard tower. "I'm gonna freakin' suck!!" she says a couple times throwing her head all over the place. "I'm sorry." I say with the greatest level of sympathy I can muster. I'm not sure how, but she then managed to sucker me into hugging her.
After being on a swim team for a while you realize that when you're in the water, all sense of personal space is immediately diminished. You will be poked, rubbed, and sandwiched on a daily basis, and hugs are one of the most common. I've been hugged by men and women alike on a daily basis. At first it seems really weird but eventually you get used to it. I've never been a serious hugger but now that everyone assumes I don't like hugs I kind of miss them.
After Miranda stepped back Mandy appeared beside me with a look of abandonment. "Oh, so you'll hug her but not me?" she said. "I'll hug anyone, you just gotta ask." I said. I extended my arms and she stepped into them gratefully. Now most of my hugs are a sort of with my legs far away from the other person. Mandy doesn't hug like that. She pulled me into a very tight hug and I think I may have had a stupid look on my face once I realized how close she was standing. After she departed and I made sure nobody had seen my "I'm-touching-a-girl-face", I quickly made my way to my starting block. I tried naively to put some music in my head to pump me up. The problem with the old cranium radio is that it likes to change to the worst station for the situation. I jumped out playing some Bullet For My Valentine and entered playing "Old Man River." I decided it would be best if I just turn it off and pumped out a solid 50 breaststroke.
Nothing special happened after that. I got to do it again the next day but it wasn't as fun as the day previous. Nobody seemed to know who I was and I spent most of the time by myself. I guess it was cool I was the fastest in every single event with the different group of people and all, but speed was never really my focus. I climbed out of the water without any help most of the time and I just wasn't feeling the water that day. I was lucky enough to talk to one of my friends from the Surfers Swim Team. Maria is one of the friendliest people you'll ever meet. You pop up on the wall and she'd give you a cheery "Hello!" My normal response was "BBBUGGGHHHEEAA!!" in an attempt to capture precious oxygen but still confirm I heard her. She's a person I doubt has any enemies and is always great to talk to. She made my lonely day just a little better.
I remember a time where I didn't have a lot of friends and how miserable that was. I'd walk around the lunch room looking for people I could talk to. My only friend was a guy who I know would sell me for a higher social position any day, and one day, he did. Luckily I had found my team of six companions by that time and my ability to speak to other people had improved. Now it seems like this doesn't relate to swimming but to me it does. Without my friends I wouldn't swim, I wouldn't go to school, I wouldn't do anything. So I think I owe my friends a thank you. Jack, Jason, Simon, Mandy, Miranda, Anna, Sharon, and others that I will mention later on in other posts. So maybe this isn't very important to the overall feel of this blog but I think it ties in nicely throughout.
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