Page 19 of Absorbed

Bob was not as impressed. Before the day was over, he phoned everyone on staff. “Be here at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow, in your swimsuit. You will address the issue of punctuality and dependability as a team.”

It was still hazy when Bob opened the door Saturday morning and ushered the crew out to the deep end of the pool. He had already removed the cover.

“You will all be treading water for as many minutes as anyone is late this summer,” Bob explained. “Because this is the first offense, I won’t make you do the full hour that Jessie was late. But be warned that next time it happens, I won’t be so lenient. Today it will be the twenty-eight minutes it took before anyone called to find out why he didn’t show up.”

“Sorry I didn’t call sooner, guys!” Tiffany said.

“This is about teamwork, Tiffany. At least you were looking out for your teammate. Now, the timer will start once everyone’s in the water. It will be paused if anyone floats. It will be restarted if anyone gets out before 28 minutes are up.”

Mark leaned against the tower, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, like he was all too familiar with this exercise. Stacey wondered how many times over the past three years Mark had been the reason the crew had to tread water, and for how long.

Stacey’s arms were wrapped tight across her belly, gripping her T-shirt. She had her red bathing suit on under her shorts and tee but was still uncomfortable wearing only her swimsuit in front of the other lifeguards. Now she had to undress in front of the whole crew. Despite the chill in the air, sweat gatheredunder her arms and trickled down her ribs. She hoped no one had noticed.

The other guards peeled off their clothes like it was no big deal, then slithered into the water. The longer Stacey waited, the bigger a spectacle she would be.

“Like ripping off a Band-Aid,” Stacey muttered to herself.

She held her breath, slipped her shorts off quickly, yanked her T-shirt over her head, then started down the ladder. Only after she was submerged to her shoulders did she finally exhale.

That’s when she noticed that the only guard not in the water yet was Melissa. “This is totally unfair, Bob,” Melissa protested. “The rest of us should not be held accountable for Jessie’s irresponsibility!”

“If you have a problem with the way I run this facility, Melissa, you are free to quit,” Bob said, his arms crossed. “Otherwise, get in the water.”

Melissa let out an audible gasp, then pursed her lips, pulled off her tank top and climbed in.

Coach Bob stood on the side of the pool like a swim meet official, stopwatch in hand. He waited to say go until Melissa was in the water.

Treading water came naturally to Stacey, after numerous childhood games of Marco Polo. Once the timer began she was able to relax. During lifeguard certification, they had to tread water for ten minutes with their hands on their heads, and Stacey hadn’t found it difficult.

Melissa’s voice arched over the pool. “I can’tbelieveyou couldn’t show up on time for a noon shift! Seriously?!?” she shrieked.

Jessie rolled his eyes and turned away from her.

Whatever connection Jessie and Melissa had earlier in the week had faded, and it buoyed Stacey’s mood.

Chad paddled closer to Jessie. “How long can you keep your hands up, dude?” Chad asked.

“I dunno. Never did more than the ten we had to. You?”

“Me either. Loser buys lunch?”

“You’re on!” Jessie said.

“I’m in,” Tiffany said.

“Me, too,” Stacey chimed in. “I hope you brought plenty of cash.”

Desiree and Melissa moved away from the crew, relocating under the diving board where they whispered to one another. Melissa paddled, chin lifted, as she struggled to keep her hair out of the water.

“All right, then,” Chad said. The four competitors circled up in the center of the deep end. “Both hands have to stay dry.”

“No kicking or knocking into each other, right?” Tiffany asked.

“Right. And no spitting water or splashing,” Chad agreed. “Everyone ready?”

They all nodded.

“Go!”

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