Holden Peters expects nothing exciting to happen during the summer before his final year of high school. But in a spontaneous act of bravery, he saves his pretty next door neighbour from drowning and is deemed as a local hero.
Thanks to his newfound...
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Although I was exhausted, I couldn't sleep that night. Instead, I stared at the ceiling, studying the texture of the paint and memorised every remain of double sided tape from the glow in the dark stars I had hung up as a kid. Eventually, I craned my neck towards the clock and looked at the glowing numbers on the digital screen. It was just past five in the morning and I was sick of being engulfed by my own thoughts that I finally threw back the covers, pulled a hoodie on and snuck out of the house to go for a run.
I didn't know where I was going, I just knew why: I needed to get out of the house, get some fresh air and get the blood circulating. With my earbuds in and a loud album selected, I hit the road and kept running. There was no particular direction I decided on, I just forced one foot in front of the other; enjoying the delicious burn in my muscles, the sharp inhale of the crisp summer morning air, the way my lungs squeezed in suffocation and the adrenaline that inspired me to keep moving. It was a distraction. The demanding pain was forcing me to concentrate on the physical pain, rather than the mental headache.
But eventually, every engine runs out of steam. Since I had skipped dinner and I hadn't had a chance to have breakfast yet, I went on a Macca's run. The twenty-four hour fast food joint was a couple blocks down the road and the idea of food gave me enough motivation to keep running until I saw the magnificent, glowing sign.
I entered the place breathlessly and searched my pockets for money. I was just short of twelve dollars in coins, but I had enough for brekkie. The place was pretty much deserted, other than a really stressed and caffeine-addicted business woman, who I swear had twitchy-eyes. So while I waited for her to make her order, I enjoyed the sweet aroma of greasy food and strong coffee.
When it was my turn to step up to the register, I asked for a take-away sausage and egg McMuffin, paid and walked away with my breakfast. I had already scoffed the hash brown by the time I exited the parking lot and had already unwrapped my muffin. I slowed my pace to a walk as I ate and kept my earphones dangling from my shirt to keep my ears alert from the early morning traffic that was starting to build.
The shortest way home was to cut through the road where the pool was. Although I didn't want to go within a hundred metre radius of the place, the temptation to go back home and sleep until late afternoon overruled my reluctance. So, I crossed the street and was on my way. The closer I neared the aquatic centre, the more I wanted to turn around and just go the long way. A tightening knot formed in my stomach as I approached but I weakly convinced myself it was the oily breakfast even though I knew better.
Eventually, I figured I was being a wimp. I mean, no one would be at the pool at six in the morning and Dean probably forgot he even offered me a job, judging from how messy his desk was proved he was an unorganised person. With this new state of mind, I walked towards the pool with a new confidence. I even paused at the locked gates of the pool, eating my breakfast and confirmed that my philosophy was correct: the place was empty, not even Dean had showed. That earned a big, broad smirk.
