Page 111 of Freestyle
But we don’t need them to.
The second we step off the deck, it’s mayhem.
Someone screams my name like they’ve won the lottery, and then we’re surrounded, towels whipping, arms flailing, wet bodies crashing into ours with the kind of reckless joy that only comes after months of bone-deep sacrifice finally paying off.
Coach is shouting something triumphant from across the pool, clipboard forgotten, fists in the air. Teammates are grabbing my shoulders, ruffling my soaked hair, slapping my back so hard I nearly stumble. I think someone eventries to lift me, which ends about as well as you’d expect with this many wet limbs and adrenaline.
Gray laughs beside me, deep and unguarded. He’s still got an arm around Rowyn, and she’s laughing too, eyes wide, cheeks flushed, her hands caught between holding on to both of us and shielding herself from the chaos.
“You lunatic!” Jett yells, nearly tackling me in a one-armed hug. “Where the hell did you pull that finish from?”
I grin, barely able to catch my breath. “The abyss?”
He barks a laugh, already yanked away by someone else, and the wave keeps rolling.
One of the underclassmen yells, “That’s what I’m talking about, Nix! That anchor leg was savage!” Another throws a towel over my head and howls something about needing to rename the relay after me.
For a moment, it’s wild. Noisy. Frantic.
But even as I’m pulled from one teammate to another, getting drenched in secondhand hugs and dripping high-fives, my eyes keep drifting back to Rowyn. She’s tucked beside Gray now, his arm a shield, his hand splayed across her lower back in quiet reverence, and she’s watching me likeI’mthe miracle.
It steadies me in a way the cheers never could.
Thirty
Rowyn
“MissCaddel,yourtuitionis paid through the end of the year,” the clerk says as she types away on her computer.
“No, there must be some mistake. I haven’t even made my last payment for this semester. Can you look again?” I steeple my fingers along the counter, nervous energy flowing through me. I came to ask for an extension because with everything going on, I haven’t been able to make the money I needed.
“Miss, it says right here.” She turns the monitor so I can see the proof plain as day.
“I-I don’t understand,” I say quietly, thoughts running through my head. Each more unlikely than the last.
“Oh, I see now. There was a donation on your behalf about two weeks ago. It paid off what you owed for this semester, and put you over on your tuition. You are all caught up for the rest of this year. See here. Look. The paperwork has already been submitted. So, no need to worry about that, dear. It seems like you have quite a good friend who cares for you very much.”
I grab the receipts from her, folding them and sliding them in my back pocket.
“Thanks for your help,” I reply as I leave the registrar’s office. The warm sun beats downon me as I walk across campus to the shaded sitting area. I pull out my phone and text the group chat.
Rowyn:
Went by the registrar’s office today. I’m sure you know what I found.
Bubbles appear then disappear over and over until Nix finallyreplies.
Phoenix:
We were going to tell you.
Gray:
You don’t need to be working at the bar anymore.
Phoenix:
It was a mutual agreement.
