Chapter Eight: Where Were You
Friday Morning
At precisely 4:15am the alarm on Reid's cell phone buzzed loudly. The blonde's hand shot out from under the mess of covers, frantically slapping the nightstand beside the bed. He managed to knock his phone to the floor, muffling but not stopping the sound.
He leaned halfway out of bed to grope at the floor, until he managed to grasp the phone. His arm retracted under the covers as he started at the display;
4:18 am
"Too fucking early," he moaned to himself.
"Did you set if for am instead of pm again?" Caleb asked. "Or are you actually going to practice today?"
"Practice," Reid grumbled tossing his phone back on the nightstand.
"Do you want me to wait for you?"
Reid peeked out from under the covers to see Caleb wide awake and fully dressed with iPod in hand ready to jog the two plus miles to the Athletic Complex.
"No. Go ahead without me."
"You remember where it is, right?"
"Yes," Reid nodded sleepily. "South campus. Big building with a pool."
Ten minutes later, Reid was on his way to practice. He hadn't bothered to brush his teeth or hair. And he was pretty sure his clothes didn't match since he'd gotten dressed in the dark. But it was 4:30 in the morning and he didn't really care.
He'd walked about half a mile when it started to drizzle.
He zipped up the front of his Spenser Swimming windbreaker and pulled the hood over his head. He thought about turning around and going back to bed. But Tyler's words still lingered in his mind. He used to being the best, the fastest and there was no way he was going to let some guy named Bruno, beat him at a home meet.
Reid picked up the pace. His gym bag thumped against him as he walked. He reminded himself to take it easy today as he hadn't been in the pool or worked out in a few weeks. Overdoing it today would make him sore and he didn't want the annoyance of being uncomfortable should he happen to find a willing female partner over the weekend. He crossed his fingers. Please let it happen. Soon.
By the time Reid got the Athletic Complex he was hungry, wet and tired. Dutifully he got changed and made his way to the pool. It was now after 5am and all the lanes were filled.
He sat down on the bleachers next to Caleb. "I can't believe people wake up this early to practice."
"Wake up?" a girl sitting behind them laughed. "Most of us haven't gone to bed yet."
Caleb laughed along. "Reid this is Stacey. She's captain of the women's team."
"Garwin," Reid extended his hand. "Reid Garwin."
Caleb introduced Reid to several of the swimmers seated on the bleachers. The next twenty minutes were filled with shop talk. Best races. Best times. Their toughest opponents.
Reid was bored out of his mind. The coach was no where to be seen and his earlier motivation was quickly waning.
"How long do we have to wait for a lane?" he asked Caleb.
"Depends," Caleb replied. "Some days you don't get one."
"You're shitting me right."
"Wish I was. It's a lot different than Spenser," Caleb replied.
"So why come this early if you can't practice?"
"If you come later it's even worse. They block off the pool for Aqua Aerobics and there's an open swim for all students. And they have a water polo league …"
"I get it," Reid shook his head. "So what do we do, just sit here and wait?"
"We could go to the gym."
To Reid anything was better than sitting on the bleachers. So he and Caleb went back into the locker room and changed into their sweats. Danvers led the way to the athletes' gym – which was somehow different than the gym the other students used.
It looked like a regular gym and smelled like it too. There's nothing like the stench of feet and sweat first thing in the morning.
The gym was far from empty, but there were still several pieces of available equipment. Reid stepped onto a treadmill figuring he'd jog a mile or so to warm up. He hit a few buttons on the display selecting a program. The belt began to turn and he stepped onto it. He noticed Caleb was across the room doing the same thing.
The belt sped up a little and Reid settled into a steady pace. He saw Caleb listening to his iPod and wished he'd brought his. It would have been nice to listen to something other than the grunting of the guys lifting free weights.
The belt increased speed again. Reid pushed himself to keep up. He could feel the sweat forming on his brow.
The display flashed and the belt went even faster. Reid was now in a full out sprint.
"Shit," he cursed hitting the SLOW button. No need to kill himself for a warm up.
But the belt didn't slow down. His breaths were shallow and quick. He knew he was going way too fast. Reid pressed the button several times but nothing happened.
Keeping his focus on the display so no one would see him, he Used.
The belt instantly stopped and Reid who was still running at full speed slammed into the front of the treadmill. The momentum caused him to bounce off the display and fall backward on his ass. He tried to grab the safety bar, but his hand slipped and he tumbled onto the floor.
"Hey man, you Ok?" He heard someone yell across the room.
Reid laid there for a moment panting.
"Yeah," he answered. Bruno or no Bruno. He was never waking up this early again.
Official OC Counter:
1. Vanessa Gardella - Sarah's roommate
2. Sara - From Calculus
3. Stacey – Women's Swim Team Captain
See Introduction for how to submit your own character!
-Gemma
