"This past Friday an accident causes a local athlete stitches, a fractured ankle bone, a shattered tibia, concussion, and quite possibly may have ended her career." "Extraordinary swimmer and diver may be injured to the point of no rehabilitation.""Slip and Fall may end olympic trainee's career" "Avelyn Rizay, no longer able to compete" "Teen's dream cut short"
"Avelyn Rizay." She wishes she could burn that name with all the disappointment that comes with it. She rubs her eyes, trying to build up the courage she desperately needs. She hides in the corner of the girl's locker room, her head in between her knees. Heart hammering, she straightens, and re-ties her bikini top. She digs in her bag, then pulls a thick wetsuit out of it. Please don't let them notice. She begs as she pulls it over her body, praying that it hides her feminine figure. She tugs at the swim cap, covering her bright teal hair, before looking in the mirror. A petite teenage boy with a rather thin face stares back at her.
I hope this works, she thinks to herself as she pulls black goggles over her head. A pale scar stretches from the center of her forehead to her right temple. She walks seemingly calmly out of the girl's locker room, afraid of being seen. She walks to the pool hidden in the back of her new school, opens the door, and it all hits her like a wall.
Mist filled air, chlorine packed water, and bright sunlight filtering in from a glass roof-Avelyn breathes everything in, sighing softly in relief at such a familiar setting. The first year's bare feet splash in the sun warmed puddles surrounding the pool. Loud splashes, shouts of the teenage boys-In all the commotion it was hard to hear her soft voice.
"Mister? Rin? Sir?" Avelyn shouted to a boy standing at the edge of the pool, trying to be heard. Defined muscles, longish raspberry hair, bright eyes and shark-like teeth-he was gorgeous in a way. Anger builds in her chest as he continues to talk to another teen in the water, giving advice . She hates being ignored more than almost anything else.
"RIN MATSUOKA, IF THIS REALLY IS YOU, TURN AND FACE ME RIGHT NOW! I WANT TO RACE!" The words rip themselves from her throat, silencing all but the lapping waves of the pool. The raspberry haired captain turns to the young girl.
"Oh, hey kid. Did you just ask to race me? In that?" He scans the strange "boy" in front of him. "That suit will slow you down." The captain-Rin- warns. The tiny teenager nods earnestly.
"I know, I know. I just wanna race you," A chin length lock of bright blue hair falls out of her hair cap, and Rin eyes it before she hastily returns it to it's home under the rubber. Rin opens his mouth to ask the lowerclassmen a question, but she cuts him off. "Yes, I am sure I want to do this. No, I do not want to change. Yes, I want to do this right now. I'd prefer freestyle, but if you're against it, I'll do practically anything except backstroke. And don't you dare go easy on me." The tiny teen threatens.
"I have no problem with freestyle. Do you have a name, kid? Or at least something I can call you for now?" Rin questions. She flinches at the mention of a name. Not one that isn't a disappointment. She wants to scoff.
"Riz will work. At least for now, I guess" She offers, not wanting to use her full name, for fear that they will recognize her.
"Okay Riz, lanes seven and eight are open." Rin gestures for her to follow him. He turns to the silent swim team. "You guys, keep practicing. This will only take a minute." Riz crouches in lane seven, Rin in lane eight. "100 meters. We'll go when the second hand reaches zero, okay?"
She nods, pulling the goggles over her eyes. Chants from competitions long past echo in Riz's ears. "Rizay! Rizay! Rizay!" She glances back at the clock, taking a deep breath, ignoring the hammering heart residing in her chest. A countdown begins in her head as the clock dawns on the start of this fateful rate.
5. She glances at the boy beside her.
4.
3. Avelyn glares forward, envisioning the future glory of winning.
2.
1. Rizay launches head-first off the starting block.
Her body arches, then bends before breaking the surface of the water. The second her body hits the water, everything blurs. Avelyn's arms dig through the water, pushing it all behind her. Her legs kick at a speed where they start to ache. She surges up, letting out a gasp for air before clawing at the water once more. Rizay's body flips over, kicking off the edge. How far is Rin in this race? Did he already beat me? Do I look pathetic? Rizay gasps for air every time her head breaks the surface. 10 meters left, 5, 4. Rizay grasps at the starting block, ending the race. Rizay breaks the surface, looking around wildly for Rin. Rin breaks the surface right behind her.
"The newbie beat Rin." Someone gasps. Avelyn looks up. A young man stares down at her. He catches her eye, just as she does his. Deep gold eyes, a slight tan, a humorous smile and fiery hair. "Hi, my name is Momo. Here," Momo extends a hand to Rizay. Rizay takes Momo's hand with a sweet smile.
"You did pretty good Riz." Rin praises. Rizay leans against the starting block, fiddling with the zipper of the wet suit she wears.
"This goddamn thing is so annoying." Rizay curses. Momo chuckles, looking a little preoccupied.
"Did you come here wanting to join the swim team?" Rin inquires. Rizay nods. "Then what should we put down as your name?" The wetsuit zipper comes undone and Rizay pulls it off along with the hair cap.
"My name is Avelyn Rizay." She brushes her fingers through her chin length teal hair. She pulls her hair up in a loose ponytail. She kicks the wetsuit off, adjusting her dark bikini. She stretches the goggles over her head. She smiles brightly at the silenced teens.
"I knew I sensed a hot girl!" Momo screams after a moment. Rizay giggles. "Hi! My name is Momotaro Mikoshiba-" Rizay cuts him off.
"The Otter." She laughs. "You and your brother-I think his name was Seijuro both competed at two of the competitions I went to a few months ago. You both are pretty damn cool." Momo stares at her, shocked.
"Wait. You said your name was Avelyn, right? Avelyn Rizay?" Rin inquires. Rizay lets out a curt laugh.
"It has been thirty seconds. Either you don't care or you have a worse memory than my grandma. Yes my name is Avelyn Rizay." She repeats, cheerfully. The teen Rin was giving advice to straightens at her name.
"Avelyn? As in Ave? The twelve year old who took her team of teenagers to nationals and would've made internationals if she didn't face plant on her way from the starting block on the last leg of a relay race and get a concussion." A grey haired teen questions.
"I only get remembered for my concussion." Rizay scoffs. She pulls back a chunk of her teal hair. "I ended up getting seven stitches in my forehead because of it." She shows the long white scar. "I also have have a metal plate in my tibia." She laughs.
"That is so cool!" Momo exclaims, to the shock of the grey haired teen and the raspberry captain. Avelyn stares at Momo for a moment, contemplating a thought-a weird idea from the back of her head.
"I have a feeling the two of us are going to be close." She admits, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "I guess I missed your name." She laughs, directing it at the grey haired teen. The grey haired teen begins to panic, much to the confusion of Avelyn and the annoyance of Rin.
"It's just your name, dude." Momo chuckles.
"I know. It's just I've never met a famous swimmer before." The teen retorts.
"I'm far from famous. The only reason I'm remembered was my age and the fact I wiped out. I kinda suck at swimming right now. That had to have been my slowest time since I was ten I mean it was amazing to stretch out my legs after three and a half years, but that time, I mean yikes." She rambles. Momo, Rin, and the third teen stare at her, mouths cracked open.
"Are you trying to tell us that was the first time you've swam since nationals when you were twelve?" The grey haired teen inquires, hoping he interpreted it wrong.
"You guys are thick in the skull. It has been two years, six months, and thirteen days since I've swam. That's why my time was so bad. Now will you answer my question Grey. I would like to have a name, so I don't have to call you grey forever." She stretches, preparing for another lap/
"You're incredible." Momo gasps, receiving a curt laugh from Avelyn.
"If I was incredible I would've ignored my damn mother and would've eaten something in the days leading up to nationals." She scoffs. "Anyway, I'm still waiting on a name Grey."
"It's Nitori. Aiichiro Nitori." The grey haired teenager answers, uninterested in such trivia as his own name. "Why didn't you eat? Do you blame your mother for all of this? Why are you just starting to swim now?" Nitori lists off his seemingly questions until Avelyn is forced to cut him off.
"You don't want to hear my life story." She laughs nervously. She barely knew the guy and he wanted her to go through the most emotional pieces of her life with him.
"I really do. At least the stuff about swimming." Nitori says, not getting the hint.
"Well I don't want to tell you it, so you're going to have to deal for now." She retorts. Nitori's face falls.
"I'm sorry Miss. Rizay." He apologizes. Avelyn's face turns bright red. Her heart tears at his disappointment.
"My name is Avelyn. I'm a human teenager, just like you. The only thing that makes me cool is that I swim fast. The only reason I won't tell you about what lead to my injury is I only tell it to people who I'm close to because it-it's actually really emotional for me. But I guess I'm willing to open up, as long as it's to a friend." She offers, but once again Nitori does not get the hint. "Since I just moved here, I need to make friends." She tries again. Nitori stares at her forcing a smile.
"There are a lot of nice people around here. I'm sure you'll make a lot of friends." Nitori encourages.
"So. You're one of those guys who believe they're too good to have a female friend. Nevermind." Avelyn scoffs teasingly, turning her back on Nitori.
"Wait? You wanted to be friends with me." Nitori asks, genuinely shocked. Rin chuckles.
"Is he joking? I thought he was joking." Avelyn laughs.
"You were being pretty obvious." Rin says. Nitori stares at the two with giant confused eyes.
"If you guys can show me where one is, I'd love to go to a bakery or a cake shop and get to know the three of you. I'll pay, of course." Avelyn offers. Her heart hammers. How long has it been since I've socialized? She wonders. Way too long. She decides. She waits nervously for the other teen's responses. Momo throws his arm around her shoulder, laughing.
"I'll go as long as you'll race me." He exclaims.
"It's a deal, Momo!" She laughs.
"I'd love to be your friend." Nitori admits. "There's this awesome cake shop just off school grounds. I'll show you after campus."
"CAKE!" Avelyn screams. She starts to dance a dance that could make the gloomiest person crack a smile. Momo and Nitori break down laughing at the girl's odd movements. Her foot slips on one of the many puddles and she falls forward, grasping at anything to slow her fall. Warm arms catch her just before she hits the tile at their feet. He pulls her up before chuckling. "I'm so sorry senpai." Avelyn apologizes. Rin smiles down at her.
"It's okay. We can meet outside after practice." He offers. Avelyn grins.
"That sounds great!" She stares up at Rin. Her eyes move to Momo, then to Nitori. She growls. "I feel so short." She mumbles.
"I wasn't going to mention it, but you're tiny." Rin jokes. "How tall are you?"
"4 foot 11. Which is about 150 centimeters." She informs them. Rin chuckles, Momo and Nitori soon join in.
"You're seriously tiny, Avelyn." Rin laughs. He places his hand on her head and ruffles her hair. She pushes him away, annoyed. "I'm twenty-seven centimeters taller than you. I'm 177 centimeters." Avelyn glares up at him.
"I'm only five centimeters shorter than Rin, 172." Momo informs her.
"I'm nine centimeters shorter than Rin, but I'm still eighteen centimeters taller than you."
"C'mon Nitori. You don't have to be mean about it. Maybe I think tiny is good." She mutters. Avelyn straightens, standing on the tips of her toes, trying to appear taller.
"Nope, still tiny." Momo jokes. A few meters away, a teen calls for Rin. Rin excuses himself after ordering Nitori and Momo to time Avelyn for each stroke. Nitori grabs a stopwatch and sits on the edge of the pool, ready to time the new girl. "We'll do it in reverse relay order." Momo warns. Avelyn nods, happily.
"I am not putting that damn wetsuit back on. I just put that on so you would be more apt to admitting me on to the team. I really hate that thing." Avelyn kicks the suit with her words.
She pulls her swim cap back on along with her goggles. She steps onto the starting block before bending. Her form was impeccable, you don't need a trained eye to see that. Nitori starts the timer, yelling for her to begin. She falls forward, breaking through the water. Energy fills her just at the water's brisk touch. Avelyn moves in an odd manner, a type of swimming unique to only her. It wasn't front crawl or breaststroke or butterfly, but in certain aspects it looks similar. Avelyn's stroke was something with no name, no structure. At twenty meters she soars up, gasping for air before her head falls back into the water, then again at forty. At fifty meters her body flips and her agile legs push off against the tiled side of the pool. She pushed herself as hard as she could. Avelyn didn't need someone to race to push herself, racing herself was hard enough. She found no purpose in forcing one to race an opponent when the ultimate opponent is one's self. She ponders this all before her hand even touches the starting block.
"Rin! Avelyn got a team record. 51.9 seconds in freestyle." Nitori shouts. Avelyn looks up at him glumly.
"You don't have to announce it, Nitori-Senpai." She mumbles. Her cheeks burn bright red. "C'mon let's do butterfly." She offers, pulling herself out of the pool. Momo gives her a thumbs up, a little bout of encouragement before her next lap.
Her back arches on the starting block, her hands next to her toes. Nitori repeats the process, starting the timer and shouting for her to begin. Avelyn felt out of her element when swimming butterfly. It was beautiful to watch, but rough to swim. Up, down, up, down-it just felt unnatural. At the edge she flips before returning to the up and down pattern that is butterfly. She reaches the starting block, dissatisfied with the prior lap.
"56.2 seconds. You're pretty amazing." Nitori praises.
"Give me some time and I can get it below fifty." She says, stretching out her arms. She pulls herself out of the pool and on the block once more. "Breaststroke, right?" She inquires. Nitori nods before starting the stopwatch.
Avelyn feels like a frog. A frog trying to get through the murky waters of some swamp. She cringes at the feeling. She dislikes it, but she still soared through the water at an unbelievable speed. It's hard to comprehend the fact that she hadn't swam in years. She grasps at the starting block, breathing hard.
"Avelyn, that's amazing." Momo praises. She holds her hand up, signifying that he had to wait a moment for her to be able to talk.
"I forgot to breathe." She admits, leaning over the edge. "How long was my last lap?" She asks.
"54.3 seconds." Nitori informs her. "Amazing-just as Momo said." She sighs.
"I'm partial to freestyle. Butterfly feels unnatural and breaststroke makes me feel like I'm a frog." She pauses, cringing. "I despise frogs. They're so slimy." Momo laughs.
"One last lap, okay. And try to breathe this time." Momo smiles at her. "This lap is my specialty, so good luck trying to beat my record. 47.9 seconds." Avelyn pales, noticing the one stroke left.
"Do I have to do the backstroke?" Avelyn moans. Fear builds in her chest; she prays that it doesn't show. Momo nods.
"Rin says we need to time you for each stroke. If I'm correct, backstroke is considered a stroke." Nitori laughs as if her request was no more than a joke. Avelyn sighs, giving in to the hooks her hands on the metal bar, pulling her body up.
"Flawless form, just like with the others." Nitori whispers to Momo. "Ready, Set, Go!" He shouts. Avelyn pushes off. The boys critique her form as her body breaks the water. She starts to kick and slowly sinks to the bottom of the pool. She lays at the bottom for a moment, looking up at the sky through the glass ceiling far above.
"Is she okay?" Rin shouts over to Momo and Nitori after she had been lying at the bottom for about a minute and a half.
"Should we go get her?" Momo questions. Nitori stares at the spot where Avelyn lies, confused by the entire situation.
Avelyn moves for the first time after two and a half minutes. She slowly peels herself off the bottom of the pool and stands, the water reaching up to her chest. She pries off her swim cap as well as her goggles, throwing them aside. Avelyn wades through the water, pulling herself up onto the side of the pool. She leans against the starting block, putting on a sarcastic smile to hide her disappointment in herself.
"I told you I couldn't swim backstroke." She laughs. She looks around the deserted pool; no one was there except her, Momo, Nitori, and Rin. "I'm grateful that no one saw that-don't get me wrong-but where did everyone go?" Rin chuckles.
"You didn't hear me? Practice ended in the middle of your third lap." Rin explains.
"Sorry for holding you back, Matsuoka-Senpai, Nitori-Senpai, Momo." She bows her head in an attempt to show her gratitude. "Thank you so much." She pulls herself up to her feet.
"Why do they get senpai?" Momo whines. Rin brushes Momo's complaint off like it had no value.
"No problem, Rizay." Rin gives the girl a shark toothed smile. She grins back. "How 'bout we all go get dressed. Then we'll go get the newbie some cake." He gestures for everyone to leave the pool. "Do you know how to get back to the girl's locker room?"
"If you don't I can show you." Nitori offers.
"Thank you, Nitori-Senpai, but I know my way back." She says. She starts to sprint out of the tiled building. Avelyn makes it more than half way before she slips on a small puddle of water left behind by one of the other swimmers. She falls, landing hard on her back. Nitori, Rin, and Momo wince as they watch the girl wipe out.
" I am Oh-Kay." She shouts before getting back on her feet and sprinting from the building towards the locker room. She finds the small brick building pinched between the pool and the gymnasium, not far from the sports fields.
She changes, her mind moving at the speed of light. I'm on the swim team. Now if the other twenty six girls will join something, maybe, just maybe we can improve the ratio of male to female students from something better than 341 to 27. She pulls her hoodie over her head. She scans herself in the mirror-light jeans, pale pink hoodie, bright pink converse with crisp black laces. She grabs her bag as well as a long object before running from the empty building.