The Easy Part of Impossible - Sarah Tomp Page 0,24
only gets you halfway.’”
Maggie laughed.
“Point your toes! Keep your legs straight! Your abs are your friends!”
Maggie said, in her exaggerated nerd-voice, “Could I have your body fluids?” right as an older man came around the corner.
“Come on.” Ria dragged Maggie down the aisle by the hand.
“Don’t be so rough. What about our maximum pleasure?”
They burst out laughing. Wild, hysterical laughter, more about them, and being together, than what they were talking about. It was the way it used to be. Maybe she didn’t have to keep looking backward. There might be something worth seeing ahead.
Twelve
Even though Friday night football games were one of those typical high school experiences Ria had never been a part of, she hadn’t especially minded that she’d missed them. But the size of the crowd made it easy to believe she was the only one who hadn’t cared. The bleachers were full, and more swarms of people milled around the sidewalks between the stands and the Snack Shack.
Sean had stopped texting her every minute, now that he was sure she was coming, but she knew he was sitting in the senior section. Up high and near the end zone.
“Didn’t you say Tony will be here?” asked Maggie.
“Yeah. Why?”
“He’s friends with Sean. So maybe we could double-date. He’s kind of cute, and I don’t want to waste my senior year.”
Ria shouldn’t have been surprised. Maggie had always been better about balancing life with dive practice. They were so different.
In looks, too. Her own dark blond hair was straight and thin while Maggie’s thick red hair went everywhere. There was so much more of her—more height, more curves, everything more, more, more. On the diving board, it had always seemed like more was harder to reign in. Ria had never envied any of the extra inches. Now, seeing the confident way Maggie moved through the crowd, she wasn’t as sure she’d mind.
She followed Maggie up the bleacher steps. They were taller than average stairs, an awkward distance apart, making her aware of each and every level she climbed. She was headed straight for the people she’d been avoiding.
“Prunes!” cheered Maggie, greeting the huddle of swimmers, water polo players, and divers—the ones who lived at the Aquaplex. Their proud nickname was from the way their skin wrinkled from being waterlogged. The result was a very certain look. The fried hair, the tanned skin, honed physique beneath their clothes.
It was the first time she’d been around her team since she quit. Half of the team went to Chappelle, the other high school in the area, and with her minimum schedule she hadn’t even seen Devin or Jillian. She stood in the aisle next to Maggie and scanned her old teammates.
She almost didn’t recognize them anymore. It was always weird to see each other in real clothes. Everyone wore workout gear in the gym and next to nothing at the pool, so any other attire seemed foreign. The tiny Speedos that the boys wore didn’t leave any doubts regarding anatomy, and yet it was seeing them in jeans and tight T-shirts that made them look definitely male. It was the reverse of normal people suddenly seeing each other in swimsuits. “Hey there, Ria.” Temo stood up and gave Ria an awkward hug, then looked her over. She was suddenly glad to be disguised in all black.
“Let me in,” said Maggie, settling beside Devin. She must have already forgotten Tony.
“Hey, Ria, I’m surprised you’re not down on the field,” Chrissy said, pointing. “I figured that’s why you quit. To be a cheerleader.”
Ria forced herself to laugh, over the simmer bubbling up. It was a nothing kind of Chrissy comment laced with something sharper. Benny scorned and belittled cheerleaders. Ridiculed their waste of tumbling and flipping abilities.
“Oops, Chrissy,” said Ria. “Your bitch is showing.”
“Better be! I wear it proudly.” Then Chrissy winked. “I miss you too.”
Tears sucked. Damn Chrissy. They’d always been at war. She had the skills to be Ria’s strongest competition, but she wasn’t willing to dedicate the time. It figured she’d be the one to ambush her in public now. Ria moved on down the row and squeezed into the spot next to Sean. She leaned into him, desperate to think about anything but the fact that her team wasn’t hers anymore.
“You’re finally here.” She could tell he’d been drinking by the size of his smile. Whenever he caught a buzz, his teeth seemed to grow and multiply. He slipped his hand around her waist and nuzzled her neck. Then