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By Traci Hunter Abramson
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Zach rubbed his thumb over the championship ring on his finger as he walked into the natatorium, his swim bag hanging from one shoulder. The water of the competition pool rippled before him, a calm before the storm. And the first day of tryouts was always a storm. Coach Baldwin already stood on deck trying to collect everyone’s paperwork while also babysitting the freshmen and hand-holding the sophomores. Not that Zach had needed babysitting or hand-holding at that age.
He grinned. Who was he kidding? His coach always thought he needed hand holding. But that didn’t matter. He’d proved himself last year when he’d pulled a personal best in the 200 free relay, holding his own when his team had won the state championship in that event for the first time ever. And even though Ty had graduated, three of the four members of the championship relay team were still here. All they had to do was find a solid fourth, and Zach could very well end up with another championship ring.
One ring for each hand. He liked the sound of that.
Drew walked up and dropped his bag on the bleachers beside Zach. “You ready?”
“You know it.” Zach pulled his cap and goggles from his bag. He eyed the pool. This was the one place when the noise of his world faded away, when he didn’t have to worry about which parent he had to stay with or who was going to yell at him for whatever he had done wrong. And according to both of his parents, he rarely did anything right.
Drew interrupted Zach’s thoughts. “I was scouting out my club team for who’ll be able to replace Ty in the medley.”
“And?”
“There’s a freshman who’s decent at backstroke. Not Ty good, but he’s a possibility,” Drew said.
“And I’m thinking Connor for Ty’s spot in the 400 freestyle relay.”
“Definitely.” Drew looked around the pool deck. “Assuming he doesn’t tick Coach off for being late on the first day of tryouts.”
Connor sauntered in as though their practice time was in ten minutes instead of two minutes ago. “I’m ready boys. Time to show these guys how it’s done.”
Coach Baldwin approached.
“Connor, you’re late.” Coach Baldwin said, her voice much the same as when Zach’s mom scolded him for not taking out the trash. “This isn’t the way to start off the season.”
“I got stuck behind the buses.”
Coach simply raised her eyebrows. “If you hadn’t been flirting with Amelia, you would have made it out in plenty of time.”
“But—”
“Don’t argue.” Coach shifted the way she did when she was about to lecture the whole team even though there were only three of them currently standing in front of her. She held up her clipboard. “I need all of your physicals.”
Zach dug the crumpled sports physical from his swim bag and handed it over while Drew
did the same.
Connor dug through his bag too but came up empty handed. “Sorry, Coach. I think I left mine in my car.”
“Go get it,” Coach Baldwin said. “You aren’t getting in the pool until I can prove you’re cleared to swim.”
“Fine.” Connor headed for the door with his usual I-don’t-care-when-I-get-there attitude.
“Connor, hurry it up,” Coach Baldwin called after him.
Connor reached the door and gave a quick wave of acknowledgment before he disappeared outside.
Coach Baldwin yelled at everyone to start on their warm ups. Zach and Drew moved to their usual lane.
Zach stepped into the deep water, the rush of cold flowing over his entire body and drowning out the noise of everyday life. He needed this.
He surfaced and gripped the side of the pool.
“What do you bet Connor doesn’t get in the pool until after warm ups?” Drew asked.
“I may not get straight A’s like you, but I’m not stupid.” Zach jerked his chin toward the entrance. “No way I’m taking that bet.”
With the school day almost over, Eva Baldwin sat behind the desk in the women’s PE office during her planning period and skimmed over the twenty-five names on her computer screen. Tryouts were over. Thank goodness. Telling kids they didn’t make the team while also balancing the egos of the club swimmers was always a challenge, but now her roster was set.
A ripple of anticipation rushed through her. With what she’d seen over the past week, her team had serious potential to do well in the relays at the state championship again. They didn’t have the depth to compete for the overall title, not when competing with the larger teams that had so many Olympic prep kids on their rosters, but North High had been in the top ten at state for the past three years. Usually, that accomplishment went unnoticed by the top teams, but that had changed when her 200 free relay team had knocked off both Oceanview and Jefferson to win first.
Teamwork, dedication, a lot of luck, and the grace of God had given them that win. Eva prayed the magic that made their win possible would strike again.
She glanced at her watch and hit the button to power off her desktop. If she didn’t leave for the pool soon, she’d get caught behind the buses.
Footsteps approached, and Eva looked up.
Brenda, the athletic director’s assistant, walked in, a paper in hand. “I just checked your team’s eligibility. Zach’s out.”
Eva bristled, and she tried to absorb Brenda’s words. “What do you mean ‘Zach’s out’?” Zach had to swim. This was his senior year.
“He’s not academically eligible. He failed too many classes last semester.”
Certain there must be a mistake, she shook her head. “I know he did, but he took summer school. I talked to his mom myself.”
“He’s still a class short.”
Eva inhaled sharply. This couldn’t be happening. Zach was a bright kid, but the only reason he cared about passing his classes was so he could swim. She figured by the time he graduated this spring, she’d own half of his diploma.
“How did this happen?” Eva asked. “The counselor should have known what he needed to be eligible.”
“She didn’t realize he was an athlete, or she would have arranged for him to take another session of summer school.”
“The kid won a state relay last year, for heaven’s sake. He wears that championship
ring with pride. How could she miss that?”
“I’m sorry,” Brenda said, but she didn’t sound sorry. It was like the woman delighted in giving people bad news.
“There has to be a way to put in an appeal.” Eva gathered her clipboard and stopwatch from her desk and shoved them into her coaching bag. “I’ll talk to Bill,” she said, referring to the athletic director.
“Bill already knows, but there’s nothing he can do.”
“Yes, he can.” Eva shouldered her bag. “Can you let him know I need to talk to him after practice?”
“He’s at the football game tonight in Virginia Beach. It’ll have to wait until Monday.”
“Fine. I want to talk to him first thing on Monday.” Eva passed Brenda, waiting for the older woman to exit before using her key to lock her door. “And please don’t say anything to Zach. I want to know what our options are before upsetting him.”
Brenda headed for the locker room door leading to the cafeteria. “I’ll see you Monday.”
A whole weekend of worrying about Zach and what would happen to the team if he couldn’t swim. It wasn’t just that Zach was one of their fastest swimmers. He was friends with his teammates. They would feel his loss, not just because of the points he could score.
Eva turned toward the back door and lifted her chin. Everything would work out. She drew a deep breath. Maybe if she kept telling herself that, the sentiment would come true.
Zach held the little slip of paper in his hand that had called him to the counseling office. He didn’t know why his counselor would want to see him this time of year. His parents’ arguments over custody and everything else usually didn’t start until the holidays, and he was only failing one of his eight classes. He still had plenty of time to bring that grade up. Coach Baldwin would make him go to tutoring if he didn’t.
And he hated tutoring. But Coach was strict on the academic stuff. With the way last season went, the woman must have checked his grades practically every day to make sure he was pulling C’s in everything.
He cringed. He might only have one F right now, but he also had three D’s. But with his four credits of auto shop, he was above a C average. That had to count for something.
He nearly laughed out loud at that thought. He knew better. He’d tried that tactic his sophomore year—and ended up in early-morning tutoring for three solid weeks.
Zach entered the counseling office and handed his pass to the secretary.
The secretary motioned to the clipboard on the counter. “Sign in.”
Zach had barely finished writing his name when Mrs. Jones walked out of her office.
“This way, Zach.”
Zach let out a sigh and walked into Mrs. Jones’s office, surprised to see another woman inside. She looked familiar, but he wasn’t sure where he knew her from.
Mrs. Jones closed the door and motioned to the chair opposite her desk. “Please sit down.”
He’d prefer to stand, but expressing what he wanted with the adults in his life rarely ended well. Zach sat. As though to add to his discomfort, the two women remained standing. He didn’t like this, the way they were both side by side, like they needed to be a united front against him.
Eager to get out of here, Zach asked, “What’s going on?”
Mrs. Jones slowly lowered into her chair. “I’m so sorry, but Miss Leary has brought it to my attention that you’re a swimmer.”
Zach held up his right hand, the blue stone in his championship ring catching the light. “State champ.”
“That’s wonderful.” Mrs. Jones took a deep breath, like she didn’t want to say whatever it was she needed to tell him. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware of that when we created your schedule for summer school.” Another deep breath. “I’m sorry, Zach, but you haven’t passed enough classes to swim this year.”
“What?” Zach shot to his feet, his chair knocking over as he did so. “I have to swim.” He’d die if he didn’t swim.
“I really am sorry, Zach,” Mrs. Jones said.
This couldn’t be right. But the looks on the two women’s faces told him it was. Fury rose inside him, and he focused on his counselor. She had no clue what she’d done, what she’d stolen from him. She was just like everyone else in his life—pretending to care only to screw everything
up. “This is all your fault.”
Miss Leary took a half step forward. “Don’t blame Mrs. Jones. If you’d passed your classes in the first place, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
The words that came out of his mouth were ones Coach wouldn’t approve of, but he didn’t care. This woman had messed up. Her mistake had cost him the chance to swim his senior year, the chance to be on the team, the chance to win another championship ring. She’d ruined everything.
Eva should have known Bill would ignore her request for a meeting. Brenda had decided Zach didn’t have the proper requirements, so as far as she was concerned, the final decision had been made. Eva refused to accept that outcome. She’d spent all weekend researching how to file an appeal. Now armed with the information needed and the completed paperwork in hand, Eva peeked through the window in Bill’s office door to make sure he wasn’t in a meeting. When she spotted his lunch on his desk, she knocked twice and walked in.
“I need to talk to you about Zach Lawrence. I want to file an appeal with the VHSL,” Eva said, referring to the governing body for Virginia high school sports.
“Should have figured.” Abandoning the sandwich by his keyboard, Bill swiveled his seat so he was facing her and leaned back. “I already talked to Brenda. She said there’s nothing we can do.”
Eva held up the paperwork. “It’s not her job to know how to file an appeal; it’s yours.”
“An appeal is a long shot at best.” Bill gestured dismissively with one hand. “It’s a waste of time.”
Anger boiled inside her, and Eva had to fight to keep her hands from clenching into fists. Physical violence wasn’t the answer, no matter how much Bill’s response infuriated her. No, this battle would be one of words.
“Have I ever mentioned that Robin writes for the local newspaper?” Eva asked. Her former assistant coach was not only a professional writer, she was well versed with office politics in the school system and she knew Zach. “Imagine what everyone would think if they knew that not only had a counselor made a critical error that cost a promising athlete the chance to compete, but that the administration had refused to put forward every effort on his behalf?”
Bill straightened in his chair. “Are you threatening me?”
“Do I need to?” Eva asked pointedly.
“You go spreading those kinds of stories around, and it could be grounds for dismissal."
“I don’t have to spread around the stories. Zach will be spreading them around plenty if we don’t make this right.” She set the appeal paperwork on his desk. “I’ve already done all of the legwork. All you have to do is sign.”
“This is a waste of time,” Bill repeated. “And honestly, with the way Zach acted when he found out he was ineligible, I’m not sure I want to help him.”
“Wait.” Eva stepped forward. “You told him?”
“Brenda did. She wanted to make sure he didn’t go to practice today.”
Eva’s temper flared. “Bill, that should have been my job. I’m his coach. He barely even knows who Brenda is.”
“His counselor was there too.”
“Great. The person who messed up and cost him his senior season and someone he barely knows just told him he can’t swim for his last year of high school.”
“With the way his grades are, he’ll likely be back next year,” Bill said.
“But he wouldn’t be able to swim,” Eva said. And if Zach failed his senior year, she doubted he would come back to finish. He’d end up a high school dropout, and all of Zach’s dreams for joining the navy would be crushed. She motioned to the appeal paperwork. “Just sign the appeal,” Eva pressed. “Once it’s mailed, Zach can practice again until a decision is rendered.”
“Not for an academic appeal,” Bill said. “And your appeal is going to be denied anyway.”
“Whether the appeals board says yes or no, Zach has to know that I did everything possible to fix this.”
Bill huffed out an irritated breath and grabbed a pen. “Fine.” He scribbled his signature on the appropriate line. “I’ll have Brenda send this in tomorrow.”
“That’s okay.” Eva snatched the papers off his desk. No way she was trusting Brenda. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Make sure I get a copy.”
“I will.” Eva held
up the papers and headed for the door.
Zach clenched his fists beneath his desk and tuned out his English teacher lecturing at the front of the room. He didn’t care about the symbolism in whatever book they’d been assigned to read this month. He hadn’t read it, and he wasn’t going to. What was the point? If he couldn’t swim, he didn’t care what grade he got.
One of the office aides walked in and passed a note to Mrs. Carlson. With barely a pause in her lecture, she glanced down at it before passing it to Zach.
Zach read the pass that requested he go to the counseling office. A new wave of fury burned through him. No way he was going back to talk to Mrs. Jones. Not now. Not ever.
Zach let the pass fall on his desk, and he glanced at the clock. Twenty more minutes until lunch. Twenty more minutes until he would have to face Drew and Connor and Isaac.
How was he supposed to tell them he was being cut from the team? They all knew he’d done his time in summer school so he could compete. But no. Some counselor screwed up, and now he was being punished for it. This was so unfair.
Mrs. Carlson’s phone rang, and she answered, clearly annoyed by the interruption. “Yes?” She fell silent, her gaze zeroing in on Zach. “I’ll tell him.” She hung up the phone. “Zach, your swim coach is waiting for you in the counseling office.”
Coach Baldwin?
Zach let out a sigh and pushed to a stand. He snatched the pass off his desk, grabbed his backpack, and headed for the door.
Eva sat across from Mrs. Jones, her chair angled so she’d be able to see Zach when he got there. Zach had clearly ignored the first request to come to the office.
“I don’t know that he’ll come,” Mrs. Jones said. The counselor had repeated the same sentiment four times now.
“Now that he knows I’m here, he’ll come.” He’d better come.
“He was quite upset when we spoke with him this morning.”
“Understandably.” Eva would have been upset too. She knew what it was like to have your dreams sitting right in front of you, there for the taking, and then to have them ripped away. She wasn’t going to let that happen to one of her swimmers if she could prevent it.
“You know that his appeal probably won’t be granted, right?” Mrs. Jones said.
“So everyone keeps telling me.”
Mrs. Jones’s phone rang. She answered. Within seconds, surprise illuminated her expression. “Send him back.”
A moment later, Zach walked into the office. His posture was the same as when Eva had benched him the first time he failed to meet academic standards his freshman year. Today’s conversation was a lot more serious.
Tension exuded from Mrs. Jones too, as though she was braced for a confrontation.
Eva needed to stop that before it happened. She stood and faced her swimmer, tilting her head up so she could meet his gaze. “Zach, thanks for coming. We have a few things we need to discuss.” Eva motioned for him to sit down, and she closed the door to ensure privacy.
Zach sat, and Eva took the seat beside him.
“First,” Eva began. “I believe you owe Mrs. Jones an apology.”
Horrified, Zach looked at Eva. Eva waited a moment, not sure if she needed to spell out why his outburst had been unacceptable despite his emotions.
His cheeks flushed slightly. Then the young man she had grown to love over the past three seasons emerged from behind the belligerent mask.
Zach drew a deep breath, lifted his gaze, and spoke to Mrs. Jones. “Mrs. Jones, I’m sorry for the way I acted this morning.”
If the level of Mrs. Jones’s surprise about Zach showing up in her office was a ten, it magnified now to about ten thousand. To the woman’s credit, she managed to keep her jaw from dropping, but she was most certainly stunned speechless.
After a brief moment, Mrs. Jones regained her composure. She stared at Zach, and Eva suspected that for the first time, she was seeing him as the person he was capable of becoming rather than the troublemaker everyone believed him to be. Finally, someone else on campus understood who he really was. Or at least had caught a glimpse of the real Zach.
“I appreciate the apology, Zach,” Mrs. Jones finally said. “You were understandably upset.”
Now that the formalities were out of the way, Eva shifted to face Zach. “I want you to know that I submitted an appeal on your behalf.”
A flicker of hope sparked in his expression. “An appeal?”
“I don’t know if it will be approved, but we’re going to try,” Eva said. “From what I understand, it may take a week or two before we get a decision. Because it’s an academic eligibility issue, you still won’t be able to practice with the team.”
“But—”
Eva held up her hand to stop him.
“I can’t technically be on the deck coaching you unless the appeal is approved, but that wouldn’t stop you from practicing on your own. Your teammates will know what we did each day. If you were to show up at the pool and swim after practice, there’s nothing to stop you. It’s a public facility.”
“I can do that.”
“Good. Now, about your schoolwork.” Eva gave him her best you’d-better-fall-in-line look. “I checked your grades, and you know they aren’t up to standard.”
“I just need to turn a couple things in. Then they’ll be fine.”
“Great. And you’ll be doing before-school tutoring until everything is up to a C or better.”
“I have an A in auto shop.”
“That’s great, but you’re smart enough to have A’s in everything.” Eva stood. “Zach, no matter what, you need to make school a priority. If you want to join the navy, you have to graduate.”
He glanced at the floor before he nodded.
“Great. I’ll see you at six tomorrow morning.”
Zach stood. Eva and Mrs. Jones stood as well.
“Zach, I hope you know that I really do want to see you succeed,” Mrs. Jones said. “And I’m truly sorry about all this.”
Zach clenched his jaw. Eva doubted he was quite ready to forgive the counselor’s error, but to his credit, he nodded.
“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you.”
Zach nodded again.
“Now get back to class,” Eva said. “And make sure you start reading your book for English.”
“How did you know—” He broke off. “Never mind.”
***
Zach stroked through the water, his mind racing. No matter how many times he replayed that first meeting in the counselor’s office, he couldn’t make Mrs. Jones’s words go away. He wasn’t on the swim team, and he wasn’t sure he ever would be again. His insides ached at the idea of going through the rest of the year without swimming with his teammates. He needed the camaraderie that came from being on the team—hanging out, complaining about their events together, and even trying to figure out who was going to make sure Connor made it to the meet on time.
Zach finished his warmup and glided to a stop at the wall. Connor sat on the edge of the pool, his feet dangling in the water.
“This appeal had better work,” Connor said for the tenth time since he’d learned of Zach’s eligibility issues.
“I know.” Zach couldn’t fathom what he would do if he really couldn’t swim. He’d kind of hoped Drew and Isaac would stay after practice with him too, but apparently, they decided Zach didn’t need anything beyond someone to tell him what to do. Not that he could blame his friends. He wouldn’t want to put in late practices either.
“What’s next?” Zach asked.
“Eight 100s, IM order.” Connor pointed at the pool to nudge Zach into action.
Zach pushed off and swam four lengths of butterfly. When he finished, Connor had his phone in his hand and was staring at the screen.
“Hey, Drew and Isaac want to know what time you’re supposed to be at tutoring in the morning. Was it six or six-thirty?”
“Six.”
Connor nodded and texted something.
“Why?”
“They’re coming in too. Coach Baldwin doesn’t have any other swimmers coming in yet, and she’s all picky about being alone with a student.”
Zach couldn’t say he blamed her.
“Drew gets to help you with history and science. Isaac is doing math.”
“Isaac’s a sophomore.”
“Yeah, who’s taking the same math class as you.” Connor’s phone buzzed, and he read the response before continuing. “And he’s trying to beef up his resume so he can get into National Honor Society.”
“I guess someone should benefit from all this.”
“Dude, we just want you back at practice.”
“Me too.”
Connor pointed at the pool. “Hundred backstroke. Go.”
Zach didn’t particularly like this whole swimming-alone thing, but at least he was in the pool. He flicked a glance up at Connor who was staring at him expectantly. “Alright. I’m going.”
Denied. The decision had only taken six days, despite the Thanksgiving holiday. Six days of hope, six days of Zach getting caught up on homework and pushing to stay in shape.
Eva’s lunch lay untouched on her desk even though she only had fifteen minutes until her next class started. The call from Bill had killed her appetite.
A knock sounded on Eva’s office door, and she looked up to her former assistant coach’s smiling face.
“Hey, there.” Robin stepped inside.
Eva’s mood brightened slightly. “What are you doing here?”
“I was subbing this morning for Mack.”
“How’s the book coming?”
Robin’s smile widened. “It’s with the editor.”
“That’s great! Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Robin sat in the chair across from Eva. “Of course, she already wants me to start on the next one.”
“Of course.”
“I heard about the issue with Zach,” Robin said, her smile now gone. “Any word yet?”
Eva struggled to form words around the disappointment still pressing in on her. “They said no.”
“Oh, no.” Sympathy carried in her voice. “This is going to devastate him.”
“I know.” Eva let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in her chair. “I met with him in the counselor’s office, and I swear, I could see the moment when Mrs. Smith saw who Zach really is for the first time. Until that moment, I don’t think she fully understood his potential.”
“Every kid matters, but those counselors are juggling way more than they have time for.”
“I know.”
“Have you talked to him yet?” Robin asked.
“Not yet.” But the sooner she got this conversation behind her, the better.
Robin glanced at the calendar on the wall. She furrowed her eyebrows the way she always did when she was thinking. “Do you have the swim schedule?”
“Yeah.” Eva opened her drawer and pulled out the updated meet schedule. “Here you go.”
Robin took it, scanning over it and then looking up at the academic calendar again. Her eyes flashed in the way they did when she was up to something. And the woman was almost always up to something. “I have a crazy idea.”
“I love your crazy ideas.”
“Good.” Robin passed the schedule back to Eva. “Look at how the semesters fall. According to this, the semester ends the same day as districts. That means the eligibility period starts the following Monday. Zach would be able to swim at the state meet.”
“In what? He wouldn't
have any races during the regular season to qualify.”
“Not individually, but he’d be able to swim in all three relays.”
Eva let that thought circle through her mind. “We’ve never been able to go forward with three strong relays because our top swimmers always have too many individual events.”
“Exactly. With Zach, we could place in all three.”
“We could, but that would also mean someone would be swimming the relays all season only to step aside at the end to give Zach a spot. Technically, it could be as many as three swimmers.”
“That’s true,” Robin said. “And it needs to be a team decision from the beginning.”
“You’re right.” Eva pushed back from her desk. “I need to talk to Zach now and tell him what we’re thinking.”
Robin pointed at Eva’s uneaten lunch. “You eat. I’ll go get Zach and bring him here.”
Eva nodded. “He should be down the hall in the auto shop.”
“Be right back.” Robin disappeared. Less than five minutes later, she walked in with Zach behind her.
Zach looked through the windows that separated Eva’s office from the empty locker room. “Okay, this is weird being in the girls’ locker room.”
“Technically, you’re in my office,” Eva said. “And we don’t have long before the girls start coming in for the next class.”
Zach stared at her for a second. He must have sensed Eva’s disappointment because his jaw clenched briefly before he spoke. “They said no, didn’t they?”
“They said no, but we have an idea.” Eva waited for Zach and Robin to sit. Together, they shared their thoughts.
“If the team agrees to this, it means you’d have to practice on your own the entire season. You could come to team social events, and I’d want you at the meets to cheer on your team, but that’s all you’d be allowed.”
“They’re not going to say yes.” Zach shook his head, clearly struggling to keep his emotions in check. “Making states is too big of a deal.”
“You let me worry about how to keep things fair,” Eva said.
“And I think your friends may surprise you,” Robin added.
“There are conditions though. If your team does agree to our plan, I want a commitment from you on your schoolwork. Not just during the season, but for the rest of the year.”
Robin gestured to Eva’s computer. “And you know she’ll be watching your grades."
“That’s right.” Eva stood. “Zach, you matter to us. We want you on the team, but most importantly, we want to make sure you keep every door possible open for yourself. The first step toward your future is to graduate high school.”
Zach fell silent for a moment before he nodded. “Okay. I’m game if the team goes for it.”
“I’ll talk to them today.”
Zach was afraid to hope.
Coach Baldwin had asked him not to come to the pool today so she could talk to the team without him around. Which meant she was just as worried about the team saying no as he was.
Zach walked into his house and made a beeline for the kitchen. His mom’s glass of wine lay on the center island, but she wasn’t anywhere in sight.
He dropped his backpack on a kitchen chair.
His mom’s voice carried from her home office before she walked in, her wireless earbuds permanently attached to her ears.
“Let me call the contractor, and I’ll get back to you.” She squeezed the tip of her earbud and picked up her glass of wine, oblivious to the fact that Zach’s world had come crashing down today.
Zach opened his mouth to tell his mom the news of the appeal, but before he could get the words out, she said, “I have to make a few calls, but as soon as I’m done, I want to hear about your day.”
Knowing his mom, she wouldn’t be done until eleven o’clock tonight.
As soon as his mom and her glass of wine left, Zach opened the freezer and dug out some fish sticks. After dumping the better part of the package on a plate, he slid them into the microwave and set the timer.
Once his snack was heating up, he eyed his overly full backpack. He could start on his homework, or he could wait until after practice to see if it would even be worth it.
He knew what Coach Baldwin would want him to do.
Blowing out a breath, he dug out his book for English. Might was well start reading.
***
Eva lifted her chin despite the nerves churning through her. She wanted the boys’ team to support Zach, to fall in line with the crazy plan she and Robin had come up with, but they were also teenagers. Would they be able to see beyond their own wants and choose to help their teammate in such an extraordinary way?
Only one way to find out. Eva motioned for her swimmers to gather in the two lanes on the end.
They chatted and joked as they all drew closer. Eva waited several seconds for them to settle before she spoke. “Quiet down.”
The chatter stopped, and Eva lowered herself onto the starting block. “We have a situation I need to discuss with all of you,” Eva began.
“Is this about Zach?” Drew asked.
“Yes, it’s about Zach.” Eva swept her gaze over the twenty-four young men staring up at her. “I can’t go into details, but a mistake was made and Zach is not currently eligible to swim.”
“This is going to kill him,” Isaac said.
“Yeah. No way he’s going to graduate if he doesn’t have swim to keep him going to class,” Connor added.
The boys clearly understood their friend and teammate well.
Eva held up her hand. “I have an idea, but it would require some sacrifices. It also will only work if you all agree.” Eva shared her plan with the team.
Connor immediately raised his hand. “I’ll give up my spot if that will let Zach swim.”
“Thank you, Connor. What about the rest of you?” She focused on Logan, the second-fastest breaststroker behind Zach. “Logan, that would likely mean you would swim the medley relay all season only to give up your spot in the post season.”
“Would I be able to swim in another relay?” Logan asked.
It was a good question. Slowly, Eva nodded. “Typically, the three relays are made up of between six and eight of our fastest swimmers. If you all agree, I can make sure that everyone who should be swimming on one of the qualifying relays gets a spot, but I can’t guarantee you’ll get the one you want.”
Logan pondered for several seconds. “Connor’s right. Zach will give up on school if we don’t help him.”
“Is that a yes?” Drew asked before Eva could.
Logan nodded in his slow, thoughtful way. “Yeah. I say we do it.”
“Before we take a final vote on this, you need to understand, this is going to take more than just giving up relay spots. Zach will need people to train with, and I’d want him at our meets. You also will need to work harder than you ever have before if we’re going to get those relays qualified for states.” Eva focused on Connor. “That means showing up on time, not skipping warm ups, not missing practice.”
Even though Eva hadn’t expected a response, Connor said, “We can do that.”
“And we can take turns practicing with him.” Drew turned to face his teammates. “Right guys?”
Everyone nodded.
Pride swelled inside Eva, nearly bursting from her chest. “Let’s make this official. By a raise of hands, who says we keep Zach on the team and let him swim in the post season?”
Everyone’s hands went up.
“Anyone opposed to the idea?”
All hands stayed down.
Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked rapidly to fight them back. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of you all right now.” Eva pointed at the adjoining lanes. “Everyone get back into your lanes and get started on your workout. Drew, Isaac, Connor, Logan, Austin, and Trevor, I need to talk to you.”
The boys ducked under the lane lines and filtered into their various lanes, the six she had singled out remaining in the end lane.
“Trevor, I know you’re new to the team, but as of now, you’ll likely be our starting backstroker in the medley relay.”
A flash of accomplishment illuminated the freshman’s face.
“And Connor, you truly could end up being one of the swimmers to give up a spot for Zach.”
“Can I at least go to state as an alternate?” Connor asked.
“I’ll do everything I can to reward those of you who get our team to state, but what I need from you now is to work hard enough to make the state cuts during the regular season,” Eva said. “With several of you having the ability to make it to states in two individual events, the only way I can be sure to let all six of you swim is to get all three relays qualified.”
Drew, the newly-elected team captain, spoke. “We’ll get the times.”
Zach adjusted his earbuds and turned up the volume of the music playing on his phone. Despite his efforts, he couldn’t quite drown out his mother’s voice that carried from her office.
“This is not my fault. Zach didn’t do any better when he was living with you.” She paused for a minute, likely listening to Zach’s dad complain about something Zach did or didn’t do.
“I’m doing the best I can,” his mom said, her voice rising in volume.
Zach checked the time on his cell. Practice would end in less than five minutes. The drive to the pool would take twice that long.
He grabbed his swim bag and keys and headed out the door. He pulled it closed a little too hard, the door slamming behind him. His mom would be mad about that, but at least she couldn’t yell at him for leaving without her knowing.
When he reached the pool, several cars waited in the pickup zone. Not sure he wanted to face his teammates, Zach waited until the first rush of swimmers walked out. He checked his phone. No messages from Coach Baldwin. Nothing from Drew or Connor.
With his gut churning, he texted Coach Baldwin. What did the team say?
The text came back fifteen seconds later. You have amazing friends. They said yes. Come to the pool when you can. We can talk.
Zach read the text three times before he climbed out of his car and grabbed his swim bag.
He reached the door at the same time Logan walked out.
“Hey, Zach.”
“Logan.” Zach nodded a greeting. Did Logan really say yes too? If he came back, Logan could get bumped out of the relays completely.
“You going to practice?”
“Yeah. Gotta stay in shape.”
“Drew has your workout.” Logan waved toward the pool. “See you later.”
“Yeah. Later.” Zach made his way to the pool. Coach Baldwin sat in the bleachers with Coach Robin and Drew.
Drew spotted him. “That was fast.”
“I was already in the parking lot when I texted.”
Coach Baldwin stood. “I have to get going. I don’t want to get in trouble for coaching you when you’re not technically part of the team, but I’ll see you in the morning.”
Zach furrowed his brow. “In the morning?”
“Tutoring. Remember?”
“Oh, yeah. Right.”
Coach Baldwin motioned toward Coach Robin. “And Coach Robin is going to get you started on your English paper after you practice tonight.”
Zach hated English. “I already started reading.”
“Good,” Coach Robin said. “That’ll make the report a lot easier.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be writing a book or something?” Zach asked.
“I am. We’ll work together. I can write the next chapter in my novel while you write your report.” Coach Robin cocked an eyebrow. “We can race if you want.”
“You’ll win.”
“I wouldn’t count on it.” Coach Robin leaned back in her seat. “Let me know if you need any help in the pool on the workout.”
Drew held up a piece of paper. “I’ve got it.”
Zach fished out his cap and goggles. Time to swim.
Eva erased Drew’s name from the IM and moved it to the 50 free. Putting together the first meet without Zach was proving much more difficult than she had anticipated.
Robin walked into her office. “How’s it going?”
“I’m wishing you hadn’t quit coaching.”
“Need some help?” Robin asked.
Eva did. Desperately. “Do you have time?”
“I just spent the last two days working on revisions.” She sat in the chair opposite Eva. “I’d love to do something that doesn’t involve my fictional world right now.”
Eva shifted her clipboard so Robin could see it. “I don’t know what to do with the relays. We’re going against Riverbend. They’ll push the boys if we stack the right ones.”
“The Riverbend coach will probably avoid the 200 free relay since he knows we own that race.”
“I don’t know. He’s pretty arrogant. He always assumes he’ll win no matter how good our team is.”
Robin lifted her gaze, a gleam in her eye.
“I know that look. You have an idea.” Which could either be very good or very bad.
“You know, technically, you only have to turn in the name of the first person on the relay.”
“Yeah. So?” Eva asked.
“So, you know you’ll have Trevor and Logan as the first two swimmers in the medley relay no matter what. Why not send up Drew and Isaac along with their backups? If they see Riverbend stacked their medley, Drew and Isaac will swim. If not, they’ll have the other boys take their place.”
“That’s not a bad idea. That would let us go head-to-head with their top relays no matter how they set them up.”
“Exactly,” Robin said. “You can do the same thing with the 200 free relay. By the last relay, you’ll know which ones they put their top swimmers in.”
“I’ll talk to the boys at practice. If they think we can do that without freaking anyone out, I’ll do it.” Eva jotted down her top relay along with the changes she would make if she had to put in alternates for her fastest swimmers to keep from putting them in too many events. As soon as she finished, she asked, “How are things going with Zach?"
“So far, so good. He’s heading out of town to visit his dad for the Thanksgiving holiday. I’m not looking forward to the aftermath on Monday.”
“The poor kid.” Eva sighed. “No matter what his parents do, he always feels like a ping pong ball between them.”
“On the plus side, his grades are improving.”
“Thank goodness.” Eva looked down at her meet line up again. “What do you think about me putting both Isaac and Drew in the 50 free?”
“Trying to push them to get their state cuts early?”
“Yeah. They’re both prepping for a big meet next week with their club teams. It’s the perfect time to take advantage of their club team resting them.”
“It’s a good idea. The more qualifying times they have, the more confident everyone will be going into districts. No one wants to worry about a false start or someone getting sick.”
“My thoughts exactly. It’s too risky to hope they’ll make it to states by placing in the top three in districts.” Eva made another note on her worksheet. “You’re coming to the meet next week, right?”
“I am. I thought I could take splits for you, and you can put Zach to work making sure the freshmen are all where they’re supposed to be.”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
“No problem.” Robin stood. “I’d better get going. I still have to do all of my submission forms for my editor, but once I get those done, I plan to take a couple weeks off.”
“You’re always welcome to come work with the team. I’d love to have you at practice.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Robin pointed at the clipboard. “And give me a call this weekend if you need to talk strategy. You know I love that stuff.”
“Thanks. I will.”
***
Zach sat in the passenger seat of his dad’s car and tried to block out the latest rant. He rubbed his thumb over his state championship ring. The day he’d earned that had been one of the best days of his life. Had either of his parents cared enough to show up to watch? No. They’d had to work. Both of them.
The mumble of his dad’s words took form. “You’re going to have to work harder than ever to make sure your coach will swim you in the state meet,” he said for the eighth time this weekend. “If you aren’t fast enough to clearly beat out your teammates, they won’t have any reason to bump someone to give you a spot.”
“I know, Dad.” Zach uttered the response instinctively in an attempt to get his dad to stop the lecture. It didn’t work.
“And do you really think your teammates will give up a relay spot for you?”
“They said they would,” Zach said, trying to muster some confidence despite the seed of doubt his father had planted days ago when he first started overanalyzing Zach’s current situation.
“It’s one thing to make promises at the beginning of the season. What’s to keep them from changing their minds once they realize they worked hard all season just to step aside for you?”
Nothing. But they were his friends. They might lie to their parents about where they were on a Saturday night, but they wouldn’t lie to him. He hoped. “Can we talk about something else?”
“All right then. Tell me how school is going. Are you keeping up with your homework?”
“Yeah.”
His dad shot him a skeptical look. “Really? I didn’t see you working on any homework this weekend.”
“Because I already did it.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
Zach couldn’t deny that he’d said those same words countless times when it hadn’t been true, but his dad’s assumption that Zach was lying irritated him anyway.
“I really did do it. Coach Robin helped me finish my English paper on Monday after school, and Drew helped me with my math Tuesday morning.”
“And history?”
“The next assignment isn’t due until Wednesday.”
“So you could have been working on it.”
Typical. His dad couldn’t appreciate that he’d already finished most of his homework. Instead, he had to get on him about what he hadn’t done.
Zach gritted his teeth. He’d never be good enough for his dad. Not in this lifetime. Maybe if he really made it into the navy, if he could become a SEAL,
maybe then his dad would be proud of him.
He looked out the window at the Maryland countryside and wished he was already back in Virginia. ...
