Wall of Wishes by Suzy Vadori

Author:Suzy Vadori
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Supernatural_ romance, supernatural, romance, suzy, vadori
Publisher: Suzy Vadori
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ava

Margaret was already in the pool when I arrived to swim practice that night after supper, her swim cap bobbing in and out of the water with every stroke. She was often the first one in, the hardest working.

I winced each time Margaret’s arms sliced through the water, sending splashes into the lane next to her. She wasted so much energy with her strokes. If she were more efficient with her efforts, she could be a terrific swimmer, or at least there was that potential. Then I wouldn’t be bumping her from the team.

“Ava, I have the roster here for the Boston meet.” I hadn’t seen Coach Laurel join me on the deck. She handed me a clipboard. “It needs your signature,” she added.

“Sure.” I was wet from my cleansing shower and my knees shivered as I took the clipboard. I read it over twice.

She’d made a mistake.

“Coach, Courtney should be the swimmer and Margaret the alternate.” I pointed at Margaret’s name, listed as the last registered swimmer. Courtney was a footnote on the page. Our alternate.

“No mistake. Didn’t Courtney speak to you about it?” Coach frowned. “She came to me earlier today. She didn’t feel Margaret should lose her place. She insisted on being our alternate for the rest of the year. We’ll give her a permanent spot next fall.”

A hot rush pushed into my temples. Courtney had done this behind my back, after I’d embarrassed Margaret at breakfast. I’d been so sure the right thing to do was to give Courtney her rightful spot. The spot she had… before. I opened and shut my mouth, nothing coming out. I should have fought harder for Margaret. Courtney had done the right thing. And I had not.

“Ava, I had left the decision to you.” Coach Laurel watched me carefully. “But I was frankly surprised at your plan to replace Margaret. She’s a member of our team. I think this arrangement is best.”

So, it was done. Margaret had been upset and I’d done that. Coach was giving me an out, a way to fix one small wrong I’d done.

“Yes, of course,” I said. I signed the roster the team would submit, scribbling my name in blue ink at the bottom. At the far end of the pool, Courtney hopped into Margaret’s lane and stopped her mid-stroke. After a brief exchange between the two while they treaded water, Courtney proceeded to demonstrate the arm placement that would reduce Margaret’s splash with drawn out, slow motion strokes. Why hadn’t I gone and done that?

Margaret mimicked her motions, reducing her splash by at least half. After a few strokes, Margaret grabbed the wall at the end of the pool and the two girls shared a laugh. It was nice to see Margaret smile. I hoped she’d forgive me.

I watched them for a long moment as Coach Laurel collected the clipboard from my grasp and left me standing alone on the pool deck. Helping teammates was an important trait in a captain. Maybe it was the most important trait.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.