The Rosewood Lady Shark's after school swim practice was in its final stretch. The girls were hustling to finish up their last laps to get to the locker room and change so they could enjoy their weekend all the sooner. One shark stood out above all the rest only this time it wasn't Emily.
"Way to go Paige. With times like that you just might make anchor at the next meet." The coach praised the redhead who only acknowledged her with a half hearted smile.
She hadn't been trying to out swim her previous records or impress the coach. She had only been trying to leave behind the anxiety she felt whenever Emily Fields walked in the room. She looked to see Emily push herself out of the water and immediately began to feel her face grow hot. Yeah… it didn't work. With a shake of her head she turned and walked to the locker room.
After showering and changing her clothes, Paige headed back to her locker only to lock eyes with Emily.
"Hey." Emily's tone was friendly. "Nice job out there. You made me look like a guppy." Emily lets out a sigh when she only received a slight nod in response. "C'mon Paige, don't shut me out."
Paige mentally cursed and looked at Emily with a mixture of sorrow and frustration. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by their coach.
"Ok ladies! I'm passing out the permission slip for our trip to the lakes next Saturday. Have them signed and brought back to me by next Thursday at the latest!" Paige took a sheet and quickly scanned it before placing it in her purse. "Oh and Emily, we need to talk. Your grades? You have a D in math and your English grade is dropping too. What's going on?"
"Nothing. I've just been having trouble understanding the material. I'll get it up." There was something in Emily's voice that sounded like there was more to the story than just having problems with concentration. It went unnoticed by the coach but not by Paige.
"Damn right you will. You're one of our best swimmers and we can't afford to lose you in the middle of the season. Paige!" Coach called after the redhead who had tried to discreetly excuse her presence without being noticed.
"Yeah coach?" Paige asked walking back over to the two.
"Since you two are our lead swimmers, I think it'd be a great idea for you two to take the lead and show the rest of the girls what teamwork really is." Emily furrowed her eyebrows in confusion; Paige, in worry.
"You're going to be Emily's tutor for the next few weeks until she brings her grades up." Paige's mouth fell open in protest.
"But Coach!" Paige started but fell silent when Emily spoke up.
"Coach, that's really not necessary."
"If you want to stay on this team it is. Now no more buts! It's about time you two learn to get along. We could all benefit from warmer waters." With that, the coach walked away, leaving the two swimmers in stunned silence.