Finding Aloha by Jennifer Walker

Author:Jennifer Walker [Walker, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: YA Young Adult Contemporary Romance Fiction
Publisher: Totally Entwined Group
Published: 2021-12-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

“I’m just going to make this short and sweet, rather than keep you all waiting. I’ll read through who made it and who, unfortunately, doesn’t have what it takes this year. Practice, swim your hearts out and try again next year.” Coach has gathered us outside the front entrance of the pool a half-hour after try-outs have ended.

My invitation to the party has softened Callie and Em somewhat, and they stand beside me as we hear the news. But there’s hesitation with them as well. It’s like an invisible bubble separating us. They hold hands together and bounce around anxiously from one foot to the other. I stand beside them, but just far enough away that I’m not exactly with them. And I get it. I know all about living in limbo when waiting to see who’s in and who’s out.

At home, our swim coach wasn’t quite as gracious as Coach Wilson. She held try-outs then made us wait an entire week for the results. It was torture—not just because we didn’t know whether we made the team, but because we didn’t know what circle to stand in during the week-long wait. As disappointing as it’d be to find out immediately that I didn’t make the team here, it’d be nothing compared to the humiliation I’d feel after hanging with the swim team for an entire week assuming I had a spot, only to find out I didn’t make the cut.

Because, then what? Where would I go? Other groups and teams would have formed, and the mechanics of the school year would have begun. And there wouldn’t be a place saved for me anywhere.

Coach Wilson finishes her rambling speech about trying hard and putting yourself out there, then gets to the good stuff. She starts with front crawl, and quickly moves through backcrawl, butterfly and freestyle. With every name that she calls, a little part of me wilts. And it could just be in my head, but it seems like the space between me and the girls widens with every announcement too. They don’t think I’ve made it either. I brace myself for the inevitable, and brainstorm other clubs I could join that still haven’t gotten up and running. Track, maybe? Student council? Math club? Oh God help me. This is going to be a long year. Right when I’ve pretty much lost hope, Coach makes her final round of cuts.

“And for breaststroke girls, we’ve got Meagan Chambers and Jessica Kennedy. For guys, it’s Bryce Cooper and Adrian Curley.”

I made the team. I really made the team! I don’t know how the hell I did it, to tell the truth. Maybe Coach Wilson felt bad for me? Or maybe she saw something she could work with? Or maybe it was Callie and Em’s influence the whole time. I don’t want to think it was that—but it could’ve been.

Either way, I am officially part of the Maui Gardens Elite Swim Team—only for breaststroke, but still…55 I might not be elated about my dramatic dip in swim team title, but I’m relieved I even got a spot.

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