Jeff raps sharply on Gordon and Virgil's bedroom door. But gets no answer the first time. So quietly opens the door.
Both boys are still fast asleep, the window wide open trying to tempt the non existent breeze in from outside. It is going to be a scorching hot day, and luckily for the about to be grounded Gordon his room is fitted with an air conditioning unit!
The room is a mess, but that's not all their fault, it really isn't big enough for both of them, and the longer Virgil stays the more of his belongings migrate from his own room.
He quietly crosses the room, trying not to disturb Virgil and gently shakes Gordon awake.
Gordon stirs sleepily opening his eyes to see his dad standing over him.
"Gordon come with me downstairs. We need to talk" His dad tells him, peeling back the blanket covering Gordon's legs.
He's dressed in a tank top and pair of shorts, and yawns heavily as he sits up.
His arms and legs are still too skinny for Jeffs liking, and in his opinion he's still too easily breakable. Strengthening his resolve to punish him he helps Gordon up out of bed and takes him downstairs to the office.
"Delete the photos" Jeff tells him, handing him his phone.
"What photos?" Gordon asks. Trying to play dumb.
"You know what photos. Scott told me everything Gordo, how you caught him in the bedroom with that girl, then blackmailed him with the photos you took. Delete the photos. Now!" His dad tells him.
"Fine" Gordon tells him smirking.
"And get that smirk off your face Gordon, because you are about to get grounded". Jeff tells him.
"G-g-grounded?" Gordon stutters, his mind now firmly on tomorrow.
"One month no pool, and you're not leaving your bedroom this weekend" His dad tells him firmly.
"B-b-but dad! The swim meet?" Gordon cries in despair.
"Sorry, apart from the swim meet, we made a deal Gordon and I won't make you let your team mates down. And we will all still be there to support you. I'm angry at what you did to Scott, but I love you Gordon Tracy, never forget that" His dad tells him wrapping him up in his arms for a cuddle.
"I love you too dad, and I'm sorry. Do I have to give Scott his money back?" Gordon asks.
"No you don't but I am confiscating your phone until you can prove to me that you're responsible enough to own it. Now go back to your room. Someone will bring up your breakfast in a bit". His dad tells him, holding out his hand for Gordon's phone.
Jeff goes through Gordon's phone to ensure the photos are deleted, before placing it in the draw of his desk, and locking it away.
*TB*
Gordon is bored, he's been lying on his bed alone for the last 3 hours. It is boiling hot in the room and the air conditioning isn't working. He knows he isn't allowed to leave this room, but surely being able to feel his blood boiling counts as life or death!
Opening his bedroom door he goes downstairs, the house is empty as everyone is outside in the sunshine. Virgil and Alan are in the pool while John, his dad and grandma are relaxing by the side.
"Dad?" He calls from the doorway.
His dad looks up from the magazine he was flicking through and raises an eyebrow at him, giving him the chance to explain why he isn't in his room. Another lesson he learned the hard way, to listen to the boys.
"The air con isn't working. It's too hot up there" he whines.
Jeff doesn't hesitate to get up and follow him upstairs to check it out. Looking over the unit he realises pretty instantly that this is beyond his skills and will need an engineer to fix it. Gordon is right the room is too hot for him to be confined to for long.
"Want to go for a swim Gords?" He asks.
"Really?!" Gordon replies happily.
"Yeah you can't stay in here all day, not like this you'll end up with heat stroke. Ask Scott to come in here on your way out please" he tells him laughing at the way he flees the room, with his swimming kit, before he can change his mind.
"Hey scott!" He asks barging into his room, ignoring the do not enter sign.
"Get out and knock!" Scott tells him impatiently.
"Nope, dad wants you. He's in my room" Gordon replies before walking back out the room.
Scott rolls his eyes and goes to meet Jeff.
The heat from his brothers room feels like a sauna.
"You wanted to see me dad?" Scott asks.
"Yeah I did, the air con is broken in here. It's inhumane to keep Gordon confined in this sweat basket so I have released him from solitary confinement, it's only fair that you get the same treatment. You don't leave the grounds though Scott." His dad tells him.
"Really? Cool! Want me to grab your toolbox from downstairs and we will see if we can get this fixed?" Scott asks.
"Nah, I have called an engineer out, how about we go and join the others by the pool, I have unbanned Gordon from it just for today, I need to make sure he doesn't end up ill from being in here all morning" his dad tells him. "Thank you for offering though, I think this is beyond our fixing capabilities!"
The afternoon passes quickly and fairly peacefully with Gordon on his best behaviour in the pool, he doesn't even attempt to drown Alan, or splash John.
Seeing as his plans changed, Jeff decides to set up the barbecue instead of ordering in Chinese food. And soon the garden is full of the smells of burgers and hotdogs grilling, as they casually migrate to the picnic benches to eat, Jeff looks at the 5 boys with a sense of pride. These are the people who kept him going after their mom died. He could have easily have fallen apart, but these boys needed him. They were all so young and innocent back then, even Gordon!
They stay out there even after the sun has gone down and the clear blue sky has given way to a perfect starry night, it is still too warm to go back indoors. Jeff brings out a bottle of wine for himself and grandma to share, while the boys go for one last swim, before bed.
Gordon can't believe a day which started off so badly has turned out so perfectly, as he lies in bed later that night falling asleep. Virgil is already asleep in the bed opposite and Gordon still highly doubts he will ever be ready to sleep on his own for more than a few days.
*TB*
Gordon wakes up screaming just a few hours later. Virgil is at his side before his second full scream has left his mouth.
"Gordy! It's okay. It's Virgil." He tells him, climbing onto the bed next to him. Holding the shaking life-form in his arms while he cries it out.
"What happened Gordy?" Virgil asks. Dreading the response.
"Car" Gordon replies shivering. "It was a monster truck, with teeth and instead of crashing into me it opened up the grill and it had the biggest fangs and it swallowed me whole. Only the driver wasn't Scott's football team mate it was Scott, and he was laughing at me" Gordon sobs into Virgil's shoulder.
"Stay here I will be back in a minute" Virgil tells the terrified boy.
He's back within a minute, with Scott right behind him.
Scott sits down beside him, stroking his hair soothingly.
"Squid, it's okay, you know I would never ever do anything to hurt you. You spent a week blackmailing me for money and the only reason I told dad was because you were bankrupting me! The chores I would have let you get away with for a lot longer" he tells him smiling.
Gordon looks up at him still teary-eyed and visually tired.
"I'm sorry Scotty" He tells him tears are stinging his eyes.
"C'mon Gordo, try and get back to sleep you have a really long and busy day tomorrow" Scott tells him. His eyes full of the compassion his dad was trying to teach him at Wallace's sentencing.
Scott stands up only once he is sure Gordon is properly asleep and wanders over to Virgil who has sat watching the scene unfold before him.
"Thanks for getting me Virg, I can't believe I'm the villain of his nightmares now. I'm not even angry at him. I'm actually impressed with his ingenuity when it comes to blackmail and extortion!" He tells his brother smiling.
"I Know, but he's still really fragile Scott we just have to be patient with him" Virgil tells him.
Scott gives him once last look before he heads back to his own bed for the night.
*TB*
The next time Gordon finds himself awake, it is morning and the sun is streaming through his window. He jumps up out of bed remembering that today is his big day. Running over for a weather check, there is not a single cloud in the sky, and it is shaping up to be another blindingly hot perfect day.
He pulls one of Virgil's T-shirt's on over his swimming trunks, the sleeves almost cover his whole arms and the T-shirt falls to his knees, and packs spare clothes for after the meeting. Looking into the mirror built into his wardrobe he runs a brush through his hair twice before declaring he is ready and running down the stairs, for breakfast.
His dad is already in the kitchen making pancakes.
"Mmm my favourite!" Gordon declares happily, as his dad places his first pancake on the table for him.
"Breakfast of champions Squid" His dad tells him laughing as he devours the pancake in less than 30 seconds.
His brothers filter through to the kitchen, and help him eat his way through the large stack of pancakes, before they pile into the two cars needed to transport the whole family. Gordon, Scott and Virgil travel with their dad while John and Alan go with grandma.
Gordon can barely contain his excitement as his dad pulls into a parking space and is trying to get out the car before even removing his seat belt.
"Gordon slow down!" His dad tells him. "I want to talk to you quickly before you go and meet your teammates."
Virgil and Scott scarper, knowing that his dad is about to give him a pep talk, and it would be A lot easier for him if they were alone.
"I want you to go out there and have fun today, you try your hardest and it doesn't matter if you don't win a medal. You have never swum competitively before and a lot of the kids you're going up against are going to be a lot bigger than you are. You do your best and we will be proud of you no matter what. Okay?" He tells him.
Gordon nods, eager to get out there already. "I know dad, and thank you for being here with me"
"I wouldn't miss this for the world Squid, now go get em!" He replies grinning. He knows his ultra competitive son will be super disappointed if he doesn't win anything, but he won't be.
Gordon's first race is scheduled as the 3rd event of the day, and is a 100m free style against kids up to a whole year older than he is.
The pool where the event is taking place is half the size of a full Olympic pool, and he will need to swim 4 lengths of it. This is his secret weapon, his turns are something he has been working on with Mr Morgan relentlessly over the last week.
He steps up to the starting block, and looks into the crowd. Not only is his entire family there, Billy and his family are there too. Smiling to himself, he adjusts the cap on his head and pulls his goggles down over his eyes.
The first beep sounds and he finds himself bending over ready to dive, eyes on the prize, fully focused.
Then the second beep, and he leaps into action. This is just another swim, he's the only one in the pool now as he slices through the water at 90% speed, slowing down for the turn and pushing off hard for his second length, upping his speed slightly. His second turn is perfect and he has no idea, but he is now neck and neck for the lead. Speeding up again he is almost at his maximum speed. This was his game plan. Save some stamina for his final length. He makes a slight mistake with his footing on the final turn, but that's okay one last 25m push for the end zone. Pull power now, and he makes his strides even stronger.
And wins his first competitive race by the tiniest of margins. And he knows he has room to improve, both in speed and technique. This is what he was born to do.
That and playing practical jokes!
Climbing up out of the pool Mr Morgan is there to greet him with a high five and a towel, which he drapes around his shoulders.
"That felt so fantastic!" He squeals in delight.
Mr Morgan grins back at him, handing him a bottle of water. And leading him back to their seating area.
He is scheduled to take place in 3 other races, an 800m freestyle race where he finishes 3rd, a 50m butterfly which he wins and a 200m backstroke where he finishes 4th. But by then he is starting to get really tired.
The prize giving ceremony he is presented with 2 gold medals, a bronze and a certificate for best overall performance. Then he is finally free to go and be with his family.
Hastily showering and putting on a fresh pair of shorts and his spare T-shirt, still with all three medals about his neck, he's runs out to find his dad, grandma and brothers.
"You did great Squid!" His dad tells him scooping him up and swinging him around his head, causing him to giggle delightedly. He puts him back down and he is mobbed by his brothers and Billy who has been there all day cheering him on.
"How about we treat the boys to pizza?" Grandma asks Billy's mom and dad to join them.
"I think that's a wonderful idea, what about you Billy? Pizza with the Tracy's?" Billy's dad asks.
"YES!" He replies loudly.
The pizza parlour is busy, crowded with families all enjoying the warm weather, but they're seated fairly quickly, the grown ups at one table and the boys at a second table, which was only agreed with if Scott kept an eye on things.
Their waiter comes over to take their order, he recognises Scott from school.
"Scott Tracy! What are you doing here on a Saturday night? Don't you have a date?"
Scott grins at him, "usually but not tonight. Tonight I'm with my family celebrating Gordon's swimming success"
"Ah, I see" He replies noticing the three medals still around Gordon's neck. "What did you win those for?" He asks politely.
"This one is for the butterfly, that's the really hard one it hurts your arms a lot." Gordon points out one of the gold medals.
"And this one is for my freestyle win, that's the easy stroke that anyone can do! And this one is also for freestyle but a lot longer race distance" Gordon explains.
"I see, and what does the champion want to order?" Their waiter asks.
"Pizza, with ham, mushrooms, onions and pepperoni please" Gordon replies politely.
They all place their orders, and Scott gets up to get extra napkins.
"Gordon Tracy?" The waiter asks Scott, "wasn't he the one Wallace ran over last year?"
Scott nods.
"He looks like he's doing okay now"
Again Scott nods, looking over to where his brother is sat laughing and joking.
"He is now, it's been a long journey for him but yeah he's doing okay now" Scott tells him before heading back to be with his family.