Chapter 02.1

I woke up early—only my father was awake. He quickly packed my breakfast, and I headed off to training.

We had mandatory swim practice twice a week, both in the morning and evening. The parents had decided on this schedule last year so we wouldn’t be overloaded with late-night practices nearly every day.

The school’s swimming pool was in the building next to the gym. It had a competition-sized pool with two changing rooms, but only one side had a grandstand. The facility had been renovated along with the school, so its white walls and blue-and-white tiles looked fresh and modern.

I arrived, changed, and stepped onto the pool deck—only to realize Brian hadn’t been exaggerating. Paul was already there, preparing to swim a timed lap.

The coach signaled the warm-up, then the swim, and finally, the timed lap. Paul was fast—roughly as fast as me.

“Simmons, you’re up,” Coach Stein called.

I prepared and dove in. I swam as hard as I could—I had to win if I wanted to be captain.

Everyone completed their laps, but the coach didn’t share our times. He simply wrote them down for himself.

“Alright, boys. You know your captain graduated, so this year I’m looking for a new one. My decision won’t be based solely on speed—I’ll be considering leadership and other qualities as well. So, I suggest you all give your best effort. I won’t decide today, but after the first competition.”

Everyone started changing, but I still wanted to talk to the coach.

“Coach, a word. Last year, it was said that I’d get the captain’s position. What happened?” I tried to keep my tone calm.

“I know, Simmons—I remember. But this Tashiro kid is really good. Today, he was practically faster than you. We’ll see who values this position more and who shows stronger leadership. A few weeks, no more, and it’ll be clear.”

“Alright, I understand. I’ll do my best,” I conceded.

There was no point in arguing—he had already made up his mind. I’d simply prove that no one was better than me.

While changing, I noticed how quickly Paul had made friends. After just a few days, he had built good relationships with everyone. A conversation caught my ear.

“Are you coming to the movies on Saturday, buddy?” Daryl asked.

“Yeah, thanks for the invite—I’ll come,” Paul replied.

“Bringing someone or coming alone?” Aaron asked.

“I haven’t had much time to date, but if it’s okay, I’ll bring my sister. Just a heads-up—she’s only sixteen and off-limits to everyone.”

Loud laughter followed his statement.

“Alright, buddy, we don’t fish off the company pier anyway. We leave each other’s siblings and girlfriends alone—and make sure others do the same.”

“Maybe I’ll invite Jane too,” Paul said quietly, more to himself. I tried not to pay attention.

“Go ahead,” Brian said with a smile.

I wondered why they cared so much about who the new guy was bringing on the weekend. They were still getting to know each other. I finished dressing and left them, even forgetting to style my hair.

As I walked, I let the wind dry my hair. Girls liked it much better when it was styled, but I didn’t care today.

I thought I’d sit in the classroom before the lesson and quietly eat my sandwich, but as soon as I entered, I realized I wasn’t the first. Jane was already inside, reading.

She hadn’t put much effort into her outfit today either—probably just picked one of her nearly identical patterned shirts and paired it with her one pair of jeans.

“Hi, little girl. You got here early,” I greeted.

“Hi. Just like you. Ran out of hair gel at home?” she asked, glancing at my hair.

“What are you reading?” I ignored her jab.

“A book.” Her slightly sarcastic response made me smile, though she didn’t look up.

“What kind of book?” I pressed.

“Not your world—you wouldn’t understand. Sci-fi. Time travel.” Her eyes remained hidden behind the pages.

“And what’s it about?” I wasn’t about to let her read in peace.

“The protagonist goes back in time and meets himself to save the world.” She put the book down but didn’t close it. She thought she could shake me off with that.

“Do you believe in it? I mean, time travel?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Theoretically, as far as I know, it’s impossible—we’d have to be faster than light. But who knows what the truth is? And you?” She politely returned the question.

“I haven’t thought about it,” I admitted.

“Figured. With swimming, girls, and hair gel, there’s hardly time for that.” That was sharp, but I didn’t take it personally.

“If you could, where would you go back to?” I asked, ignoring her remarks.

She closed the book.

“I’d tell my dad not to get in the car that day. Or if he did, to do it an hour later,” she said, surprisingly calmly.

I wasn’t interested in any emotional stories, so I changed the subject.

“Have you thought about our biology video topic?”

“Yes. I have a few ideas—we could discuss them over the weekend.” She immediately returned to her smart-aleck tone from yesterday.

“Hi, guys,” Paul stepped over and dropped his bag between us.

I only then realized that time had flown by—I barely had five minutes left for my sandwich. I quickly went out and devoured it.

“Good thing you’re back,” my swimming buddy greeted me. “Would Saturday at 2 PM work for you to sit down and discuss the video?”

“Sure, I’m free in the afternoon. Where should we meet?” I asked.

“We can’t do it at my place—my dad’s throwing a big party in the evening, so it’s better if I’m gone in the afternoon,” Paul said.

“Jane?”

“Could we meet somewhere neutral, like a burger place?” she suggested.

“Not good—I’d have to run around all day because I already have plans for the evening. Come to my place. We can discuss everything calmly there,” I said.

“Alright.” They agreed, so I scribbled my address on two slips of paper and handed them over.

Just then, Mr. Thomas walked in and dove straight into the lesson material.