Kiss of A Titan
Chapter 35

The day of the pre-season games came so suddenly to everyone on Wednesday morning and a completely different atmosphere filled the entire school grounds, particularly the gymnasium where the rowdiness was much larger than it was outside the school building. The hall was swarming with invited guests scrambling to find their seats reserved for them in the place of the audience. Apart from the three athletic teams that were invited to partake in the indoor summer games, the game was attended by parents with other kids of their own as well as other people from the nearby city that had the passion of watching athletes compete against each other.

Because of the event, the corridors were empty since lessons were suspended for everyone according to the instruction given by the Principal who was already welcoming some of the judges for the event in the event center and a lot of students that weren't in the host team joined the audience to find a suitable spot to catch a good glimpse of the bright spacious hall that was filled with enough light to enable everyone see what was happening in the hall.

The hall was very lively with intense noises brewing amongst the audience as they tried to get seated for the event to kick start. Reservations for the three athletic teams had already been made beforehand prior to the event day by the host school and it wasn't cumbersome for them to find the hall where the guests and the judges had been waiting for them to arrive in their seats. The umpire and the guest speaker for the day had already found their way to their seats near the judges at a suitable spot in the main arena below the audience not too far from where the four teams were to compete for each of the games.

As for the host team, we were getting dressed in our official team jersey with the stylish jacket for the event and the girls were the first to finish dressing up and were waiting with the coach for the guys to finish dressing up. I swiftly took the opportunity of their delay to look for Richard so that I could give him the bracelet I found in the locker room yesterday. There were only a few of the boys in the room that clad themselves completely when I entered to look for Richard who turned out to be missing from the group of boys I met inside the room.

I found Clyde half dressed with only his jersey pant on while talking to two of the athletes who were also not completely dressed like himself. I walked up to them not intimidated by his bare chest and they seemed welcoming as soon as they felt my presence. They suddenly stopped their conversation and all three boys directed their attention towards me to figure out the reason why I had confronted them.

"Hey there, love, I can see you that are already dressed up for the games", Clyde said grinning maliciously.

"Sorry but I can't talk right now. Have you seen Richard or perhaps know where he is?", I asked expecting a positive answer from the three boys.

"No, I haven't, Have you, William?", "Nope", "Me neither", The third guy, whose sturdy chest was more prominent than Clyde and William, rejoined.

"Well...he was here a few minutes ago", One of the boys said, looking around to confirm his doubts.

"I guess he must have gone out before us after finish dressing up", Clyde said and saw that I was disappointed. Then he took me aside from William and the other boy who went back to put on their outfit.

"If I may ask, why do you wanna see him?", He asked as soon as we got to a corner "And why do you want to know?", I replied with a question.

"Just in case he comes back here", He said convincingly. Trusting his coaxing words, I brought out the bracelet which was in my palm the whole time I was talking to him and he intently peered at the lost item with great interest as though he was the owner.

"I've been looking for the person who owns this bracelet and....", "You believe it belongs to Richard", He deduced. I nodded hoping to receive progress from my findings.

"I don't think it belongs to him", "How come?, I saw the bracelet here after he left yesterday", "Don't be ridiculous, Rosalie. It could belong to someone else and I haven't seen Richard with that bracelet. Not even once", He replied, resting his hands on a closed locker.

""Fine...I'll ask one of the girls, thanks anyway for your help", "You're welcome", He answered and watched me keep the bracelet in my locker before exiting from the room. I went back to wait with the other girls along with Coach Robbins and soon, the boys included were ready to meet us at the hallway. It was when I returned back that I saw Richard already there with some of the boys including Linder but Clyde and some few others were still left behind in the dressing room. Soon we were all ready to leave for the gymnasium and it was only after we arrived there that we found out that the other three teams were already waiting for us at the entrance which was well decorated to contain thirty two athletes since all four teams were individually allowed to have eight athletes for the indoor games. The colors of the jersey remarkably separated the four teams and it was quite easier for everyone to know the stark differences between the competitors. The invited team from Denver, whose blue denim jacket and white colored pants enhanced their attractiveness, was the first to be called out to assemble in front of the audience by the commentator followed by the second team in green from Texas, and then the third in red from Summerville trailed behind their second opponents while receiving cheers from the audience who were quick to respond with clapping accompanied by a wild roar of shouting.

A thunderous ripple of wild cheers as well as whistling emanated from the crowd of spectators when the host team was publicly invited to join their formidable opponents and a mild display from the cheerleaders escorted by the school mascot escorted the team to assemble in front of the audience along with the other athletic teams.

The games started with each of the contestants earning points consecutively at the horizontal bar which was the first games for the four teams and so far, the other events was enjoyable and intriguing for everyone who partook in the games but more competitive for each of the contestants who displayed great performances that thrilled the audience as well as the judges with their acrobatic stunts particularly Katherine who greatly impressed everyone on our team including Coach Robbins with her performances.

Things were going rather well for our team after time had trickled into the first quarter into the event even though we were points behind the team from Denver that was leading the competition. Whilst this was going on, I was enjoying every bit of the spectacular display at the bench among five other substitutes. I didn't feel bothered by the fact that I wasn't chosen to partake in the games since I already knew that I wasn't part of Coach Robbins favorites athletes for the day but it was not until after Richard came first in the men's breaststroke swimming event that my earlier opinion turned out to be horribly wrong.

Wanting to impress the likes of those home fans, especially the principal, Coach Robbins magnanimously came to me at the bench with those who had little chance of starring in the event and told me to get ready to represent the team in the first round of the next game.

At first, I was excited that I had to swim in front of everybody including my aunt and her two kids who had been having fun in the audience ever since the games started but I became nervous when I found out that the swim style was the butterfly stroke I hadn't fully mastered yet.

"Rosalie, you're up for the next round", "But, coach...I...", I stuttered and flinched when I saw the frightful gaze of the other athletes sneering at me. Richard heard what he said as well after settling down on the bench along with the substitutes and the look on his face when he overheard what the coach said told me he wanted to dissuade the coach from his impromptu decision which obviously was a poor one to the other substitutes who were far experienced in this routine than I was.

"You don't have to be afraid", "I'm not. It's just so....unexpected", I replied in bewilderment.

"This is the pre-season games and rookies from other teams often partake in this event every year", "I understand but I've not fully mastered the butterfly stroke yet", "You don't have to worry about taking the first position. What I want is for you to do the best you can to swim for our team, that's all", he said, patting my back. His words sounded convincing enough for me to give up trying to change his mind.

"Fine....I'll do my best", "That's my girl. Now undress quickly and get yourself ready", he replied and walked away to have a chat with the commentator. Although the others including Richard saw that I was clearly nervous, I unzipped my sweater leaving only the swim suit I wore underneath and took the goggles from the duffle bag that was lying beside my foot the whole time including the swim cap.