Authors: Aimi Myles
Swim Again (14 page)
Alright I’ll admit it. I’m nervous.
I developed Mauri’s habit and kept wringing my hands. The music I attempted to listen to didn’t help. I blocked it out. All I could think about was how this was my moment. My journey back to the top, the best swimmer in the pool, or just another guy with a sad situation.
With my foot still planted on the floor, I wagged my leg around. I had been unconsciously moving my upper body back and forth. I was sure that this was the footage shown to everyone back in the states. People would make their conclusions—he’s too nervous to do anything. Is he the comeback kid? Or watch and wait. He
is
the heart of a champion.
All these things made my anxiety worse. If I let it take over one race, it could have a domino effect on the others. I knew I could win. I had the knowledge; I had the skill; I was ready, but I needed to focus. I shot out a gust of air from my lungs, and shook off the uneasiness.
I glanced over to Brayden, who nodded at me.
Don’t mess up.
I got this.
The announcers on TV had to be going wild over the drama between the two, Kaz and Brayden, reminding the audience of how they got there. How Brayden’s father tried to ruin Kaz’s career. And on top of that, the 200 Free was one of the most anticipated events.
A few guys from various countries were picked to challenge Kaz. The gold really was for anyone to win. With Kaz coming close to breaking the world record in the trials, the Olympic record not far away, I had total confidence that he could beat out Brayden and take first place in addition to breaking the records.
Rubbing my hands together was a nervous habit that I had developed while I was swimming, and so it wasn’t right if I didn’t do it then.
“Don’t worry Mauri,” Kaz’s mom said. She sat next to me and my mom was to the right of her. “He’s going to win.”
“Not if Brayden has anything to do with it,” Brayden’s mom shouted. We turned around to see her grinning at us. “May the best man win.”
“Well, good luck,” Kaz’s mom said. “Cuz he’s gonna need it.”
Brayden’s brothers and sister laughed it off along with the rest of us and the crowd of people forced to hear our trash talk. We piped down then revved up our cheering section when the guys were announced. Due to the luck of the draw, Kaz got lane four and Brayden was right next to him in lane five.
It was happening. The first of many final races. Kaz versus Brayden. They took their marks on the diving board. The buzz sounded, and they were off. Kaz’s dive was one of the best dives I had seen him perform. Phew. That history of a fracture didn’t bother him. And he was able to travel under the water for a great distance, cutting down his swim time.
We cheered as he glided through the water. His form was better than the preliminaries, but Brayden was a tiny bit in front of him. I balled up my fists as Kaz reached the other end and was close to flipping over for the turn.
Yay! He got a good push off of the wall. He didn’t go too early. On the way back, Kaz kept the same pace, a few seconds behind Brayden. When they reached the second turn, I saw that they were both on pace to set the Olympic and World records.
The crowd’s cheers got louder as they made the last turn. The hype about another man winning the race was just that as Kaz and Brayden fought for first. Kaz was creeping up on Brayden. A few seconds later, he was neck for neck. We all jumped out of our seats for the photo finish. Four more strokes… No Brayden is almost there. But Kaz took one strong stroke and…
“Ahhhhh!!!!” all of the people around me yelled. I was jumping up and down with them. Kaz won! Or at least I thought he did. He and Brayden searched for the scoreboard as soon as they came up or air. Kaz yelled and threw up his fist then splashed the water. He carried on with his celebration as he had beat Brayden by half a second.
I turned to Kaz’s mom and mine, who were crying, embracing each other. Behind me Brayden’s family was celebrating as well, although they would have been a lot wilder if Brayden beat Kaz. One of Brayden’s brothers grabbed my shoulders and shook me back and forth. I received some pats on the back and Kaz’s mom grabbed me into a hug.
“Mauri!” she said. “No Coach Mauri! Ahh! He won! Thank you!”
“No, it was because of your support,” I said.
“Group effort.” She peeked up at Brayden’s mom. “What was that comment again Abby? He needed luck?”
“Congratulations!” Brayden’s mom said and smiled. “For now. There are two more races between both of them. So get ready.”
“We’ve been ready,” Kaz’s mom said.
My mom got a hold of my arms and started dancing as we all laughed. Our section cheered and yelled some more, nonstop. Ah. The camera men found all of us. I glanced over to Kaz, talking about his comeback to the sports announcer. I stared, proud, and didn’t realize that tears had snuck out of my eyes until they blurred my vision.
No! Not on camera.
As soon as Kaz and Brayden were finished giving interviews to the media, they came and found us in the stands. Our whole crew, and Brayden’s, had to squeeze past the poor people in front of us to congratulate the guys.
I patted Brayden on the shoulder as he passed, and he returned the favor to my hand. Kaz was right behind him with the biggest smile that I’d ever seen him wear. He jumped up onto the, I guessed, stools, to raise himself up to us in the stands. I thought he was going to hug his mom first, but he outstretched his arms and cupped my cheeks. He delivered a gang of kisses to my lips, then secured me in his arms.
“Congratulations!” I said.
“I forgot to ask if you’d take me back,” he said in my ear.
“Yes!”
“This is all because of you, Mauri. You kept me going. Thank you, love. Thank you so much. This is going to be you next time.”
“Funny,” I said.
I rubbed his back a few times. He should have moved onto his mother by then. His lingering was going to make me feel embarrassed. I didn’t like the cameras on me that much. Well, not much at all.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Kaz said. “And I’m going to take every moment to show the world how much I love you. Now and forever.”
The End
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About the Author
Aimi loves reading and keeping up on her shows when she’s not writing. She resides in Texas with her family.