9 Makai - First Meet With A New Team

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Kai

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It was kind of hard to believe that I had already been at this new school for a week now. That and I was given a position on the swim team right away. I was enjoying this move out here quite a bit so far. I didn't think that things would go this good when my parents were transferred.

Yeah, I had turned eighteen over the summer and I could have stayed behind in Florida but there was nothing too pressing keeping me there. Why not go with them and see what new adventures await.

I also didn't expect to find someone who intrigued me so much. I don't know what exactly it was about Ocean Shores that made me so curious, but for some reason I couldn't leave him alone.

I had been trying to get him to talk to me but he seemed to hate me for whatever reason. I think it had something to do with that shallow bitch he was dating. Apparently she had taken a liking to me even though she was with him.

Even if she does dump him and chase me I would just put her in her place. I don't like petty people. She could go bark up someone else's tree because I wouldn't listen.

Ocean though. He was a different story. Everyone told me that he was a good guy and that he generally liked everyone, so why did he hate me?

I think I knew. He was the number one swimmer and I came and took that away from him. That was probably hitting his ego pretty hard. I couldn't help it though. We were closely matched. We were neck and neck really. If he stopped letting himself get bothered by the idea of it then he would probably beat me in no time at all.

Ocean was interesting though, and not just his name. I was also curious as to how we ended up in all the same classes and had lockers that were right by each other.

I didn't want to break the streak though so when I found out the locker next to his in the locker room was empty, well, I took that one. If I tried hard enough I could wear him down. I'd get to know him soon and he would come to see I wasn't a bad guy after all.

The meet today was at the community pool. It was my first time there and I wasn't used to the layout of the place but it wasn't that much different from most public pools.

In the locker room I went right to one next to Ocean again. I wasn't the only one who chose their locker position based on the ones back at school. Everyone was basically picking the lockers in the same layout as they were used to. So my choice wasn't that out of the ordinary.

I noticed something that I hadn't seen before. I don't truly want to admit that I had been watching Ocean, but the truth was that I had been. Still, it took until today to see the mark on his left shoulder. Maybe it was because I was always on his right side when we got ready and I just never paid that much attention to his back. Yet there it was, a trident shaped mark. It was brown but smooth and flat so it didn't look like an oddly shaped mole or anything. It was similar to the mark I was born with but different in color. So, that was interesting. I hadn't gotten that vibe from Ocean at all.

Ocean was in the relay first with three other members of the team. He did great, they won and he had the fastest time. I had hoped that the win would give him the boost he needed to get through the day. I had noticed that Ocean looked a bit tired and worn out.

Next up was a match with the two of us against two from the rival school, St. Reece's I think they were. Ocean and I won, but I was just a little faster. I saw the defeated look in his eyes and it made my chest hurt to see it.

What was with that feeling?

We had three more races together. Races that Ocean and I were paired together against the other school. We were winning them all, things were going great, but I was beating Ocean every time.

I couldn't help it. I just swam. Being in the water was literally the best place for me. It was home for me. There was no place on this planet better for someone like me than the water. It didn't matter if it was saltwater or freshwater. It didn't matter if it was a pool or a lake. If I could swim in it then it was paradise. That's just how people like me were.

I couldn't make myself swim slower either. I already felt like I was holding myself back at times and that alone was a struggle. What else was I supposed to do?

Just before the last match of the day I saw Ocean start to wobble as he was walking. It really looked like he was about to fall over. I grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

"Hey, Ocean, are you alright?" I could tell he wasn't but I didn't want to upset him. I was worried about him.

"I'm fine." He seemed to growl the words.

"You don't look fine, dude. You look like you're about to kneel over."

"I said I'm fine." He snapped at me and walked away.

I thought he was going to fall down or pass out at any moment. I didn't want him to swim the next race but I couldn't make him stop. The coach had given him the OK to swim so what could I do about it?

The next race was the butterfly. I knew it was one of Ocean's best and it was definitely one of my worst. I knew that Ocean would probably beat me, given the times he had done during practice.

So, imagine my surprise when I beat him by half a second. I was seriously getting worried about him. That look on his face was not boding well for his mental state or his physical well being.