I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT. That he’s gone. Practices aren’t the same without him. He was always the leader—I can still hear his voice, yelling from beside the pool as I worked on my turns. You can do better than that, man, he’d say. I guess some people would say he was intense, but he just wanted the best for everyone. He pushed people, you know? Oh man, that was a terrible choice of words.
Anyway, you asked about the NCAAs, where Mark bombed. I know a lot of people were happy to see that. The guys from Boston College practically cheered. It was a really big shock for us. After he lost the hundred free, he didn’t want to anchor the relay, so Mike Mathers swam instead. He isn’t half the swimmer Mark was, so we didn’t advance in that either.
I saw Mark in the locker room after it all happened. He was hunched over the sink, gripping his goggles in his fist. He looked so pissed off. There was this energy crackling around him and I didn’t even want to talk to him, because I knew anything I said would just blow up. He had to cool down first.
I didn’t think he saw me anyway, but I heard him as I tried to open my locker.
“She ruined everything,” he said. “She has no idea how hard I worked, and it’s all for nothing.”
I didn’t know who she was. Mark never mentioned a girl. From what I saw, he was work hard, party hard. He didn’t have time for a girlfriend. But then again, he was a private person. I mean, he wasn’t a guy who went around bragging about who he screwed or whatever.
Mark the Shark, man. I still can’t believe he’s gone. And the crap he was dealing with all that time. With that weighing him down, I’m surprised he didn’t drown sooner.