“…Eyeballs…” Book II: 24. Sea Dragons
Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There?
By Kate Chamberlin
As Grace grows up, some of her stories are happy, some trying, some enlightening, and a few themes are sad, but, they’re all the warp and woof of what goes into the tapestry of life we call Family. The daily living skills and techniques demonstrated by the fictional characters in these stories are valid, tried and true.
Book II: The Teenagers
#10. Bad News
#11. Grace’s Day One
#12 Knight With Shining Flatware
#13. The Locker Fiasco
#14. Lost In Thought
#15. The Musician
#16. Day Two And Beyond
#17. First Date
#18. The Zipper Creep
#19. Making Up
#20. Mall Cruising
#21. And More Questions
#22. Homecoming Dance
#23. Loyalties
#24. Sea Dragons
Grace toed up on the starting block to lane 5 at the edge of the high school natatorium pool. In spite of wearing only a sleek, red racing tank suit, she felt hot and like a sweating hog. The starting horns were too loud; the crowd’s roar blocked her ears; and the shrill of the timer’s whistle sounded angry. She was blind and, now with the loud sounds, she knew what it would feel like to be deaf/blind. This was too close to being blind and deaf for her comfort.
A few moments before mounting the starting block and the loud noise, Grace heard the mockingly sweet voice of the gum cracking girl she’d met on the first day of school.
“Good luck, Gracie,” Heather said. “You’ll need it.”
The starter’s horn startled Grace into motion.
Was it really only three days ago when the Phys. Ed. Teacher, doubling as the Swim Team Coach, approached Grace? He had checked her school records and noticed that she’d been on her old school’s swim team. Would she like to try out for the Sea Dragons?
Entering the cold water with a jolt, Grace felt her racing dive was deeper than it used to be. Her powerful kick brought her to the surface, her arms stroking swiftly and smoothly…right onto the rope dividing the lanes. The rope burned her arm, but she adjusted her body and swam until she heard the timer’s finishing whistle. Although, she wasn’t first, her time qualified her to join the high school swim team.
As she hoisted herself out of the deep end, hands clapped her on the back, the crowd roared her name, and the coach congratulated her by placing the official Sea Dragons cape on her shoulders.
No one took notice of Heather as she stalked off the deck toward the locker room. Her face was as red as her swim suit, because her time was too slow to qualify her for the Sea Dragons.
As Grace’s teammates guided her to the locker room, somewhere in the noise, Grace heard an excited bark from Crackers and a loud “whoop” from her mother in the spectators’ stands.
Changing into street clothes, Grace’s teammates peppered her with questions.
“How did you learn to swim? Alexandra asked. “It looks like you’ve been doing it all your life.”
“It was by accident,” Grace replied, towel drying her hair. “There was a family gathering at my Grandma Kit’s Peach Lake cottage. Everyone was on the dock. I was about 5 years old and stood on a rock in the water next to the dock, waiting for someone to come in with me. I slipped on the rock’s mossy surface. They didn’t notice it until Mom heard splashing and jumped in after me. By then, though, I knew it was either sink or swim. I swam!”
“Did you ever have lessons?” Savannah wanted to know. “You are really a powerful swimmer.”
“My parents used to belong to a swim club, TennAqua,” Grace said, feeling for the in-seam to put her shirt on right side out. “Each summer I did synchronized swimming. They taught me the basics and I memorized the routines. I especially liked doing the Water Wheel.”
“I saw you hit the rope,” Sarah said. “How can you swim straight, anyway?”
“I don’t always go straight when I’m doing the Australian Crawl,” Grace laughed, stepping into her panties and slacks. “Mostly, I listen for the sounds of the swimmers on each side of me. Are they ahead of me? Pacing me? Behind me? When the timer’s whistle blows, I know to stretch out one arm to touch the lane timer. I prefer to do the Breast Stroke, though. There isn’t as much thrashing around as in the crawl”
“But, when you need to do a flip turn in the middle of a lap,” Martha asked, “how do you know when to do it?”
“If I’m in a place where Crackers can’t come, I count steps or door frames, or curbs. I’m used to counting things. Once I get used to the length of the pool and how many strokes it takes me to get there,” Grace answered, slipping into her sandals. “I can count my strokes and hope I didn’t lose count. One time, I actually ended up with a bloody nose from bringing my knee up too soon for a flip-turn!”
With groans of sympathy and friendly laughter, the team trooped out of the locker room to their waiting families. Crackers strained at her leash to drag Grace’s Mom straight to her and licked her hand. Ken took her other hand and gave her a congratulations kiss on her cheek. Grace felt as hot as lava from tip to toe.
Neither Grace nor Ken noticed the green-eyed-envy glare that Heather shot their way.
Ken and Grace drove her Mother home, then, headed to Family Ties to meet up with Joe and Edie in their favorite booth. There would be many more swim meets, friends to greet, and a memorable Year to experience.
kathryngc1@verizon.net