Taking Chances

March 19, 2004

She had been holding her breath and waiting for this day for a long time. Not because it was her birthday, nor because of the fun she was having with her friends throughout the day, but because of him.

It had been two months since she last saw him and there didn’t seem to be a week that passed by without a brief image of him in her head or a small thought that passed through her mind. No, she wasn’t obsessed, nor was she in love. But there was just something about him that made him stand out more than all the other guys she knew.

She met him by the pool, in the dead of winter. It was often raining outside and in order to prepare herself for the upcoming swim season, she pledged to swim daily laps to build up the endurance she lacked. She hadn’t know him in September or October, when she swam under a different coach, but when January rolled around and the little break she had taken to study for SATs passed by, she found herself face to face with him, surrounded by early aged teens.

“What’s your name?” he had asked and she had replied. Because curiosity killed the cat, he also asked her age, seeing that she stood out from the rest. It was interesting to learn she was sixteen, a junior in high school while he himself was starting his last year as a senior.

And so from there, a mutual acquaintance emerged while the relationship between coach and student still existed. It was only before and after practices that something was different in the actions of each. The practices with the other young eager teens disappeared and often, it was just her and her sister. And the very last time she ever saw him before the meet, it was just by herself. It was here that the distance that had always existed between the two of them partly melted away for a glorious hour. Topics on school, friends, newspaper and life in general were discussed, each discovering new things about the other.

As she turned to walk away for only god knows how long, he mentioned a few words that stuck by her no matter how much she tried to tell herself they didn’t mean anything. Informally, they made plans to see each other in San Diego, for a newspaper conference the schools had a chance of attending. And he casually mentioned seeing her later on when the two high schools met for a swim meet.

And that brought her to where she was today. Casually sitting on the bleachers, watching her fellow students swimming their warm up laps while the opposing team, his high school, was in back of her. She wasn’t a part of the swim team because she had figured out a while ago, right after the first team practice, that no matter how hard she had trained, she just wasn’t ready. She knew he was somewhere behind her and was itching to turn around to locate his face, but somehow her self-esteem got the best of her.

She was to wait for him to notice her and wait for him to approach to start a conversation. She didn’t have the nerves to initiate even the smallest conversation because who knew what he thought of her or whether he even remembered her at all. The presence of his friends intimidated her and even without his friends, he seemed so far away and so unreachable to a girl like her.

The first time she located him as he walked by to cheer on his friends and ready himself for his own event, he was even more gorgeous than she had remembered. He stood tall and confident, a smile radiating through his features and hair unkempt but it suited him. She stared for a second, hoping he would look towards her and remember the few laughs and stories they shared, but unfortunately, he disappeared from sight through the crowds of people.

And that was how the afternoon went. She stood in one area, wishing for him to appear or look her way, though she never had the ability to look at him for a little more than a few seconds. He was pointed out to her friends and they too began to search once and a while for him, for their friend’s sake.

The meet began to wind down slowly and as the clock neared 5:45, she began to lose faith that he would ever see her. Yet she still didn’t have the nerves to approach him and start a conversation with a simple hello or smile. She didn’t even have the nerves to meet him eye to eye, when he was sitting only a few feet away. She resorted to walking by where he and his friends stood, hoping there would be chance he could turn around and finally notice her.

But it was to no avail. The minutes eventually ticked down and she was left with no choice but actually to go. She threw him one last glance and no matter how much she wished, the magic in the world wasn’t on her side. He was still laughing with his friends, oblivious from her presence. Walking through the gates out of the pool area, again she hoped with all her heart that from far away he would notice her and call out her name.

In the end, as she sat in her car, she cursed herself and realized how stupid she actually was. Even if he wouldn’t have remembered her, it would have possibly been the last time she would ever see him and if he did remember her, than maybe there would have been more there. But she chose the safe and easy way, hoping he would notice her and he could be the first to start.

Instead of taking the chance like she should have, she was left with wishes and hopes that their paths would cross once again.

A/N: Well, let’s just make this clear that this is my collection of short stories. Each is different and not related to any others unless I specifically mention. They’re all separate and have different plots and stuff like that.

I wrote an author’s note at the end of the story the first time I posted, but I figured I should change it now. This is a true story (so far out of any of the stories posted in this collection, this is the only one) and I wrote it as I felt whatever I wrote about above. I hope you guys like it and never make the mistake I did. Thanks for reading.