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Given Benton’s moodiness, I involved myself more with Science Club after classes, which required me to squeeze in Swim Club exercises during lunch. Fortunately, I had fourth-period study hall afterward, which gave me plenty of time to clean up. I tried lightly snacking before and after lunch so I wouldn’t get stomach cramps, but the buildup of schoolwork, walking Marshmallow before and after school, Science Club, and Swim Club was starting to wear on me.
After changing into my swimsuit in the pool’s locker room, I looked in the mirror. There were dark circles under my eyes, and my red hair was a shade lighter from the pool water’s chlorine. I wore a swim cap for practice races and meets. During conditioning exercises I preferred to just be in the water, and I enjoyed feeling how it passed through my hair.
I rubbed at the sleepiness in my eyes. My stomach growled. Oh no, I forgot to snack. I hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast, but suddenly I was so hungry. I grabbed a snack bar from my bag and unwrapped it. I took a small bite and tried to chew it slowly. My stomach growled more loudly as if it knew the food was near and I was depriving it.
“Fifteen minutes until the pool closes!”
I winced at the announcement. My eyes darted to the clock on the wall. How had the time passed so quickly? Study hall would be ending in a half hour. I finished the snack bar in three more bites and headed out to the pool.
Only a couple swimmers were still in the pool. Others who’d likely heard the announcement were exiting and making their way back to the locker rooms.
I pressed a toe into the water and inhaled deeply. The air smelled of water and chlorine. I dove into one of the lanes and moved forward, imagining I was a dolphin sliding through the water. The sleepiness I’d felt earlier faded away. The cool water passed over me, my face and my hair, refreshing me and bringing me back to life. I smiled, happy that I’d chosen to take the time to make this exercise part of my day.
I practiced a basic freestyle stroke before turning at the end of the lane. Flipping backward, I kicked off the edge of the pool, in the opposite direction. A few more strokes into it, I pumped my legs harder, drawing in breaths of air when my head turned to the side. I felt myself speeding through the water. Powerful, fluid, and alive.
Until a sharp pain twisted along my abdomen. My body reacted, bending into a fetal position, as my stomach continued to spasm and throb. I remembered the snack bar I’d eaten, wishing I hadn’t pushed myself so hard. I wanted to cry out. Knowing that would be dangerous, I tried to relax and release my hold on myself so I could float. I was hoping to stretch myself out and rest while floating on my back.
But my none of my muscles would cooperate. I sank deeper into the pool. Water poured in through my nostrils and mouth. I coughed the liquid out, along with the breath I’d been holding, only for my lungs to respond with a spasm and then suck the water back in again. I was certain I was about to drown.
The lack of oxygen was making me dizzy and lightheaded. I attempted to raise my head above the water by paddling my feet. But instead, my body flipped forward and sank lower. I blinked, trying to process the fact that I was now looking at the bottom of the pool. The sleepiness I’d felt before entering the pool returned full force. I remembered when I’d dove into the lake when I’d seen Grandma’s necklace sitting on the lake’s bed. And how it had begun to glow.
I yawned, drawing in another mouthful of water. The taste of chlorine was awful. I spit it back out again, slowly, from under the water. My heart started to race. Surely I had already drowned. It was as if I were daydreaming about Grandma’s necklace. Two hands taking it away. Tiny elbow fins. Maybe I’d fallen asleep in the locker room and hadn’t gone swimming, after all.
My body remained suspended and frozen, my muscles stiff. I felt heavy. Maybe I was trapped in a dream with my mind awake and my muscles paralyzed with sleep. And yet I continued to draw water in and out, as if I were breathing it.
A pulsing of blue light shone through the backs of my eyelids. I opened my eyes, unaware of having closed them. My arms loosened. I lifted my hand. I was wearing Grandma’s bracelet. The cluster of pearls was glowing blue. For me? I smiled. I’d kept the bracelet fastened around my wrist, not wanting to leave it in the locker. As more of my body loosened, I flipped myself over and straightened my limbs.
I stared at the pearls, wondering what had prompted their glow. Blue light continued to flow from them and was coiling itself around me. I drew in more water through my mouth and nose, and then pushed it out again. Blurry light from above suggested I was still under the water. I hadn’t exactly breathed, but whatever I was doing felt vaguely similar. I lifted my head above the water and took in a deep gulp of air. My lungs responded by welcoming the air, as if nothing strange had happened.
When I pulled myself out of the pool, all was silent. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. I rushed to the locker room, quickly rinsed off in the shower, and changed. Half stunned like a zombie, and half elated that the pearls glowed for me, I teetered off to my next class.