Ok so I'm a bit caught up in this story so one more update this weekend then I need to turn my attention to my other stories.
Sunday:
She had one week. One week to go from being a teenager that only swam for fun to a varsity swimmer that swam for time records and medals. After looking up some information online, Callie decided that if she was going to achieve this goal, she was going to have to figure it out for herself and pray that beginner's luck was a real thing. That one dinner at Sharon's condo allowed Callie to make a plan with her grandmother that would allow her to use the pool that was nestled in the center of the building's grounds. That weekend, Callie slept at Sharon's and when she wasn't sleeping she was in the water. Sharon would sit outside and watch as Callie went back and forth trying to perfect her timing, her turns, trying to desperately to beat her own times, let alone someone else's.
On Sunday night Stef drove to her mother's to bring both Callie and Jude home. Jude had asked to go join his sister for the afternoon so Brandon had dropped him off early that morning and now Stef was hoping to pick up both children and get home before Lena had dinner on the table. She let herself into the condo and called for her mother.
"Mom?"
"In the bedroom honey." Stef ducked her head into her mother's bedroom to see Sharon folding laundry.
"Did my children behave themselves?" Stef grabbed the folded clothes and started to put them away.
"Like they were ever in the house long enough to give me trouble. Pretty sure Callie sprouted gills with all the time she's been in the water the last two days." Stef smiled and sighed.
"She has something to prove. More importantly she has someone to prove wrong." Sharon and Stef both left the room and headed towards the back door. They walked down the path that led to the gated pool area and they could hear splashing water as well as a whistle being blown every so often. When they walked into the pool area they saw Callie in the water with Jude standing off to the side with the whistle in his mouth and stop watch in his hand. Every time Callie would get in the center of the water Jude would blow the whistle and she would flip around in the water and head back in the opposite direction. Jude eventually looked up and saw his mother and grandmother standing there so he blew the whistle again and tapped the water with his hand, signaling to his sister to come up. Callie made it to the pools edge and after grabbing a few gulps of air she pushed herself out of the water. As she wrapped herself in a towel she held her hand out to Jude who handed her the stopwatch. Callie studied the numbers and tossed the watch back at her brother, clearly angry about the results.
"Cal, you are off by 30 seconds, it's not that bad. Besides, you didn't start swimming like this until three days ago. The fact that it's only 30 seconds means something."
"Jude those 30 seconds are what could send me right back to jail and you know Sanchez would be all too happy to sign the paper that would put me there." Callie walked toward the gate where Stef and Sharon still waited and Jude followed her.
"You still have five days Cal, you can shave 30 seconds off that time in five days. Now can we please go home?" Callie paused for a second before dropping her towel and going back to the waters edge.
"Jude, time me." The boy looked at his mother and before he could say anything Callie had jumped into the water and Jude was forced to hit the stopwatch trigger quickly. Stef stood behind her son and eyed the time before looking up to see Callie cutting through the water. Stef was impressed; she didn't know Callie could swim that fast or with such exact technique, but she was gliding through the water like it wasn't even in her way. When Callie made the turn and pushed off the opposite wall Jude walked over to the waters edge and waited patiently until his sister's hand hit the pool wall. Callie came up for air and shot a look at Jude who held up the stopwatch.
"Now it's 58 seconds." Callie smiled and got out of the water, picking up the towel she had earlier dropped. "Good. Now we can go home. Bye grandma." Callie kissed Sharon's cheek and she and Jude led the way back to the condo and after grabbing their bags they piled into the van with Stef. The ride home was silent, not bad silent, but…well Stef didn't know why. Once they got home, everyone sat down to dinner and talked about what their plans were for the coming week. They talked about tests, book reports and eventually they came to the topic of the swim meet.
"So you just have to beat Rachel's time and you get Sanchez off your back?" Leave it to Jesus to cut to the point.
"Jesus." Lena warned her son who shrugged his shoulders.
"What? Don't tell me you are defending the woman that is hell bent on treating one of your kids like crap. If she had her way Callie would be back in juvie. I have to respect her position, but do not tell me I have to like someone who picks on my sister." Lena was a little stunned and Stef had a proud smile on her face. Callie cleared her plate and sat back down next to Jesus.
"Don't worry about it Jesus. She isn't sending me anywhere."
"You really think you can beat Rachel's time with only a week to train?" Mariana questioned, not trying to doubt her sister, but silently hoping Callie had a back up plan just in case.
"I really think I can try. I've dealt with people like Sanchez my whole life. People who think if they hold your feet to the fire it'll make you stronger or somehow make you a better person. At the same time those people are sure you'll fail and have already positioned in second place in their own minds. She's free to think what she wants of me, but in doing so she's forgotten one very important thing."
"What's that?" Brandon asked and Callie smiled, "I don't do second place."
Monday:
The next morning Stef woke up early and assumed she was the only one awake, but as she went downstairs she could see that she wasn't. She could hear voices in the backyard and she was a bit surprised to see both Callie and Jesus in the yard. Callie was on her back, knees bent while Jesus stood above her, his feet on top of her own to provide counter balance as Callie sped through sit ups. After a few sets Callie started to slow down and Jesus kept pushing her to finish.
"If you think it's so easy then you get down here and do 50 sit ups.." Callie spit through gritted teeth.
"I'm not the one who has to show the dragon lady that she's wrong. Come on, you still have five more."
"I can't do five more." Jesus shrugged his shoulders.
"That's fine. Have fun going back to juvie." Stef wasn't sure what shocked her more. That Jesus had said that or how fast Callie was on her feet with Jesus' shirt in her fist.
"Is that you trying to motivate me? I know what's a stake. I know what I have to do."
"See that anger, that fire in your eyes, that's what I want to see. You have all this anger inside you and I don't blame you. This situation is fucked up, but you have no choice about facing it. But you are letting your anger cloud your raw talent. Tap into that anger, use it to help yourself, channel it into this Callie."
"What do you think I'm doing?" Callie spat back.
"I think you are getting mad at yourself for not being perfect at something the first time you do it. I think that deep in your heart you have already given up and I hope to every God in existence that I'm wrong."
"What do you want me to do Jesus? I'm training for this day and night and she…she could still ruin everything."
"I want you to fight for yourself Callie. You spent so long fighting for Jude you forgot how to fight for yourself. I want you to stand nose to nose with her and let her see the fire you have inside you. I want you to stomach that fear and rise above it. It's ok to mad and it's ok to be scared, but you have the power right now, not her. You've taken the battle to her doorstep, not the other way around. You are the one to be feared, not her. You know what you're worth, so go out there and get what you're worth."
Callie smiled with tears in her eyes, "you stole that line from Rocky."
"Oh, yeah. And what are you going to do about it?" Callie shook her head dropped back to the ground and finally finished the last five sit ups before Jesus held out his hand to pull her back up.
"She's not going to ruin anything and even if she tried, she'd have to fight through at least six people to get to you." Callie reached down to grab her backpack and as she threw it over her shoulders she looked back at Jesus.
"Do you think I can do it?" Jesus placed his own bag over his shoulders before looking back at Callie.
"You are one of the strongest people I know."
"One of?" Callie joked and Jesus stuck out his tongue.
"Well mom kind of took of bullet for me, but you come in at a close second." Callie laughed, but asked her question again.
"Do you think I can do it?" Jesus stood in front of Callie and looked her in the eye. "I have no doubts."
So I figured I would break up the week into chapters. Not day by day chapters, but next chapter can be Wednesday and Thursday, then the next chapter can be the swim meet. Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Let me know what you all thought
