Free Rival Love by Natalie Decker

questions. I can’t go to the cafeteria, that would be flat-out stupid on my part. I’m definitely not eating in one of the girls’ bathrooms because that’s just nasty.
    Without even realizing where my feet are leading me, I end up at the back entrance to the pool. The front desk is deserted and the boys’ locker room door to the left of me is wedged open a crack. Glancing around, I push open the door and make my way to the pool deck. The smell of chlorine hits me hard and stings my eyeballs. I blink a few times and smile.
    I walk past the undisturbed pool and up to the upper deck where the fans sit. Taking a seat on the bleachers, I sigh. If I can’t get my mom to transfer me back to Harris Academy, can I really skip a whole year of swimming? The thought of it makes me ill. Swimming is a part of me, like breathing, eating, living. But I know I can’t join this team. I can’t betray my friends like that. My heart aches. I feel so trapped.
    This is completely unfair. For the first time in my life, I wish I wasn’t me. If I sucked at sports this wouldn’t matter. If I was a nobody, no one here would care what school I came from. It’s true, too.
    Turning my head to the ceiling I ask, “Why did you do this to me? Am I supposed to learn a lesson here?”
    A loud mass of giggles echoes up to me. I peer over the glass railing and see a group of swimmers with their Bobcat Swim t-shirts on, fanning out over the pool deck. Shit! They haven’t spotted me yet, but I’m not about hang around until they do. I snatch my paper-sack lunch and sneak toward the nearest exit.
    I hear someone whine, “I hope that bitch doesn’t try out for the team!”
    I keep my eyes on the girls while making my way to the other end of the stands. Amber snarls, “If she does, it’ll be up to us to get rid of her, because you know Coach will want her on the team.” She looks at the three girls with her. “She’s not even that great of a swimmer. Do you see how she roams the halls? Like, ‘I’m Skylar Fletcher. I won state in not one but two sports, three times. I’m so awesome, bow down to me. Blah-blah-blah.’ God! Why’s that freaking bitch even here?”
    Covering my mouth I try to stifle back the laugh building in my chest over the imitation I just saw. I hear Laura from my English class start. “She totally acted like the queen bee in English. I mean, can we say, needs attention or what?”
    Heads nod, and I’m finally at the door. The handle clicks, and heads turn to the popping sound. Oh, man! “What the…” I hear as I dart out the door and sprint down the flight of steps. I don’t even wait to get to the last step and jump from the fourth to last. Hitting the ground, aftershocks ripple up my legs, but I ignore it as the locker room door bursts open with a group of girls flying out.
    Sprinting, I rush through the commons. The girls are following, but I’m outrunning them by two full car lengths. High-pitched screams, along with shouts and some deep authoritative voices follow. “Hey! Stop! Hey!” I don’t listen. I keep running, whipping down a long hall and darting right, then jumping down four steps and taking off. I test the first door on my left. Locked. Rushing to the next one on my right, I test it. “Score,” I whisper and step in. I flick on a light, and find myself in a janitor’s closet. “Nice.”
    My fingers swing the lock and I switch off the lights. Pressing my back against the door, I slide to the ground and sigh. Pounding footsteps file down the hall and then the doorknobs start jiggling. I pull out my phone and start playing a game of Angry Birds because I have a feeling I’m going to be in this closet for the rest of the day.

Chapter 16
     
    Caleb
     
    At lunch there’s rarely any entertainment. It’s mostly people shooting the shit and eating. Today, we got a whole lot of fun-filled action when Skylar outruns Amber, Laura, Jillian, and Pam, along with our athletic director, Mr. Chamberlin, and