June 13th, 2003
If Meghan was superstitious, she may have held some misguided reservations about competing on Friday the 13th. A day found once or twice per year, associated with black cats, ladders, broken mirrors, and whatever other silly things people talked up to justify plain old bad luck.
Fortunately for her, she didn't need luck. Skill would be what propelled her to victory, just as it always had.
Still, she found herself sitting in the visitor's locker room on a bench facing the door to the pool. Her hands were tented, eyes locked on the floor. Despite her confidence, the raw power rolling off her shoulders, that tiny little shred of doubt always seemed to make its presence known.
"We know you can do it, Meg!"
"You've got this, no sweat!"
The exuberant exclamations from her teammates mere minutes earlier played over and over again in her head. They were right, they had to be. She could do this!
…Right?
She lifted her gaze as she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Coach Jackson rounded the corner, excited smile on his face.
"The break's almost over, you ready?"
She said nothing, and he saw the expression she wore.
"What's up, champ?"
Meghan exhaled, lifting her head to meet his gaze. "Just, nerves, I guess…"
He took a seat next to her. "Perfectly normal. Still, I know you've got what it takes to win this."
She whined, bowing her head and clutching at it, elbows resting on her knees.
"But what if I don't, Coach, what if I fuck it up?"
He smirked and shook his head. "We're gonna need to get a swear jar for you…"
She deadpanned at him. "Very funny."
"I'm serious, after a month we could afford all new gym equipment! Maybe a set of bleachers…"
"Coach…"
"Even a brand-new filtration system for the pool!"
Meghan found herself giggling into her hand.
Jackson smiled. "Glad I could help. But hey, listen. No matter what happens out there tonight, know that everyone on this team is proud of you. You've done right by all of us, especially considering how much you've done to help."
He stood up. "Besides, it's not like this meet is the gateway to your ambitions. So, let's get out there and win this thing, you goddamned champion." He held out a hand.
"Ah ah ah, that's one for the swear jar!" She reached out and allowed him to pull her up.
"I'll put it on my tab."
Inhale, count to four. Exhale, count to four.
Meghan stepped onto the starting block, chancing a look around the gym. Down the line were the state's greatest female swimmers, all gunning for the title she knew was as good as hers. On the sidelines, teams and coaches prayed that their champion would be the one to clinch the final event.
In the stands…Sean and McKenzie sat, waving and gesturing at their star of a daughter.
Meghan had the best support network of anyone she knew. All of them came to watch a show of skill, with the ambition of watching her claim the trophy.
The official raised the megaphone to his mouth. "Racers! Are you ready?"
They all knelt, one leg splayed behind as their hands braced their weight. As if switched off, Meghan's mind went blank.
"Set!"
Her head lifted, her cocky grin adorning her face.
A whistle blew, sending the swimmers rocketing into the waiting water.
Sound gradually dropped out of her senses. Her breathing slowed and steadied, trained to allow for the most efficient muscle movement – any wasted air only slowed her down.
Meghan's state of mind in a competition entered a realm akin to the water itself – persistent and methodical, dangerous when angered. She was in her element, poetic symbiosis melding them into one. Slow, peaceful tones wrapped themselves around her body, pulling it in sync with the water.
Meghan spun, hit the wall, and launched for another lap. Again, and again, and again… After the seventh lap, she noticed far fewer people keeping pace.
Amateurs.
One by one they dropped from actual contention, and Meghan used each small victory as motivation to keep grinding. Soon enough, only two others remained. Within two seconds, they all kicked off for the final stretch, and she found herself a half stroke behind.
To the untrained eye, it seemed that Meghan wouldn't have the ability to pull this out. However, like a shark to its prey, she could see her opponent fading. Prey that was growing tired, the stress from the constant chase pulling the other swimmers down into the dark below.
With a burst, Meghan propelled into the current, riding the driving current into the lead spot. With mere meters to go, she sped forward and touched the wall, an air horn sounding above.
The three swimmers vaulted out of the pool and stood in place, chests heaving. The time judge rose from his seat and slowly made his way towards them. A nervous quiet permeated the room, the judge seemingly walking at a deliberate snail's pace.
He passed one racer, then the second, and stopped in front of the third, raising her arm.
Meghan had won the California state competition for her team.
The section housing her team and fans erupted in cheer, in complete contrast to the deflation of the others watching. She found herself swarmed by teammates, Coach Jackson standing back with arms crossed and a proud smile.
The locker room celebration lasted for the better part of half an hour. As soon as Jackson managed to get everyone more or less paying attention, he addressed the group.
"You all know I'm not really one for long-winded speeches, but this has to be said. I am so goddamn proud of every single one of you; you all brought you're A-game tonight. None of your efforts can be understated, and you cleared the final hurdle effortlessly."
One by one he went down the roster and individually thanked them for their hard work, leaving Meghan for last.
"And I don't think I need to state just what you've meant for us, Meg. You took us above the competition, and made us one happy team. So, thank you."
She gave a dramatic flip of the hair, a rightly smug expression on her face. A chorus of demands for a speech fired off from varying persons in the room.
Meghan laughed and threw up her hands, relenting to the horde. She climbed onto a bench and looked over her teammates.
"First off, I want to congratulate you all; everyone pulled their weight today. It was a team effort that got us here, and now we can look back knowing that we gave it our all and have everything to show for it."
She pointed at the team, sweeping her hand across the length of the room. "And I want to thank you all, for all you've done for me."
A flurry of confused looks went around the room.
"Being on this team… having all of you to be friends and teammates with, to help me grow, to pick me up, to be the best people a captain could ask for… it's been everything I ever could've wanted from the experience. I'll remember this night as a first of many, and I hope you've all had as much fun as I have in getting here, because it won't be stopping any time soon."
She hopped to the floor and raised her fist. "Bring it in, everyone!"
Meghan's teammates surrounded her. "Family on three, one two three!"
"Family!" Whooping cheers went from wall to wall until Jackson caught the team's attention.
"Well said, Meg." He put his hands on his hips and looked to the floor. "You know, I think some sort of actual celebration is in order…"
His head lifted. "And I know just the thing. Dinner and dessert at Ruby's tonight, all on me!"
The team cheered again, pure joy threatening to punch holes in the lockers.
"Dress casual, you know the drill. I'll see you all there!"
Whatever, fuck it, this'll do. I'm not trying to impress anyone.
Fabric from the blouse fluttered as Meghan wrenched the hanger from the closet, frustration marring her face. She gritted her teeth, pushing an annoyed sigh through her nose.
Evening traffic in California was always rough, didn't matter where you lived. Meghan had little patience for it, especially when she had somewhere to be. She'd texted Coach Jackson and her co-captain that she'd be late, colorful language highlighting each sent message.
She capped off her outfit of the evening, checking the final results in the mirror.
Not about to let some stupid pricks holding up traffic ruin my chance at having fun.
Meghan grabbed her camera from the nightstand. She held her left elbow, with the hand holding the camera resting lazily to the side. She smirked.
Damn, I'm fuckin' hot.
She righted the camera and snapped a picture before returning the camera to the stand.
She descended into the living room, using the bottom of the banister to hook around the staircase and propel herself toward the door.
"Dad, I'm taking the Acura. I'll be back later tonight."
Sean turned from the television, placing an arm on the top of the couch. "Be careful, Meg, summer Fridays bring out the extra stupid in people."
She waved him off and turned to leave. "Yeah, yeah, I know dad."
He called to her back, "Meghan I'm, serious. Please be careful," She turned to face him. "For me."
Meghan looked at her father, and seeing the conviction etched into his face pushed her to give a nod. "I will. I'll see you later. Love you, dad."
"Love you too, sweetheart."
With that, she opened the door and left the house.
Meghan gingerly lowered herself into the car, clicked the seatbelt on, and started the engine.
She backed out of the driveway, and made her way toward the on ramp to Route 76 from Canyon Vista. As she got up to speed and merged into traffic, she became aware of just how light it actually was.
Weird… maybe everyone's already out drinking.
Five or six pop songs later, signs dotted the road, marking on ramps and off ramps for downtown. Meghan's chin bobbed up and down, hands drumming on the steering wheel to the beat of her new favorite track, voice belting out perfectly tuned lyrics.
At a break in the verses she looked back to the highway to see she'd almost missed the exit.
She dropped the carefree attitude and gripped the wheel with both hands, swearing under her breath. She jarred the wheel to the right in an effort to reach the off ramp in time.
A deep horn blast ripped through the air, causing Meghan to jump in her seat and slam the brake pedal. Her head whipped around in the direction of the noise as her breathing became erratic.
Time simultaneously slowed and sped up, her brain struggling to keep up with the stimuli. The tractor trailer roared past her, horn blaring the whole way. She fell in line with the exiting vehicles, white-knuckled hands clutching the steering column for dear life. She sucked in as much air as she could, her body having momentarily forgotten that she needed it.
Meghan slowed to a stop at the traffic light at the end of ramp, and ran a hand through her hair and down her face. She reached for the volume knob on the radio, the violent shake in her hands not going unnoticed.
Get a fucking grip, Meg, you nearly just killed yourself…
Taking a final deep breath to even herself out, she released the brake pedal upon seeing the very same tractor trailer sluggishly move its way forward. She got onto the North Coast Highway, waiting for the sign for Pier View Way – the public lot there was the closest to Ruby's without having to walk more than she had to.
The light at Civic Center Drive flashed yellow as the tractor trailer crawled under it, earning a groan from Meghan before she stopped at the intersection. Again she drummed her hand on the wheel, albeit this time because of the wait.
I just need to get out of this car and eat some goddamn food. Coach is gonna freak out at this one…
The light flipped, and Meghan switched her foot between the pedals. The engine spun up as the car started rolling forward.
Screeching tires forced her attention to the left, and Meghan had just enough time to pull in a terrified gasp before a pickup truck slammed into the door.