Walking out of the parking lot, I looked up at the YMCA. I had worked here as a lifeguard for the last two years that I had lived in town, and had been volunteering in the aquatics department for five years before that. Thanks to all the experience I had, my boss Teddy had told me I could come right back to work when I returned from university, without having to go through the usual forms and formalities.
It had been ten days now since I'd returned. Apart from my new friends in Free the Children, my life was almost devoid of any contact with others. My parents were busy with work and usually too tired to spend time with me when they finally came home. And Sid was at school half the day, and socializing with his friends for the rest of the day. I'd asked my boss to contact me if there were any shifts that needed covering, as I desperately needed something, anything to do to relieve the feeling of isolation. Being alone simply gave me time to reflect on my thoughts, and painful memories were always the first thing to pop up. Thankfully Teddy had said there were shifts on Monday and Tuesday afternoons for a couple of hours each week which I could work until he found other hours. I'd taken them immediately, glad to be out of the house and actually doing something.
As I walked in to the lifeguards office, a few heads turned to look at me. Then a loud squeal erupted from the far corner. "AKASH! You're back!" a girl with reddish-brown hair screamed happily, running and giving me a hug. I laughed and gave her a quick hug back. "Hey Kelly, how's it going?" I replied smiling as she pulled away. She was two years older than me, and she was probably the one guard who was always kind to me, even before I started working here. I guess for that reason, I never bothered to try and push her away as I did with most others.
She grinned and went back to her bag, digging for her whistle. "I'm good, got back three weeks ago. There's not many hours right now for us seniors though, not till the summer starts for the high-school guards too," she said, shaking her head in disappointment. She walked back and leaned in to my ear, "The others aren't much fun to talk to, I missed ya," she whispered. To this day I don't know what made me more interesting to talk to than the other guards, but I had long decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. If she actually enjoyed talking to me, I would take it.
The other guards looked at me and nodded in recognition, but otherwise gave looks of indifference or contempt as always. It was common knowledge to all of us, except Teddy, that the majority of the guards didn't want me here, but that didn't hurt me anymore. I nodded back and gave a small sarcastic grin to them, then proceeded to get my whistle out and get ready to teach lessons. Suddenly I felt a clap on my shoulder and turned to see a grinning man. He was slightly balding, and was about my height. "Hey Akash," Teddy greeted me happily. "Good to have you back among the guards." I nodded and grinned back. "Good to see you again Teddy, glad to be back." He handed me the sheet which listed the names and levels of the children I'd be teaching tonight. It wasn't too bad, I thought, skimming through them; two lessons, then guarding the therapy pool for half an hour, and then one more lesson. I stepped out onto the pool deck looking around and breathing in the familiar smell of chlorine. As I walked to where my first class was waiting, I couldn't help but smile. I had missed teaching lessons most of all when I had left, and I couldn't wait to start again. It would be best if I had a good relationship with all the guards, but I'd take this for now.
Refusing to let that dampen my enthusiasm, I grinned widely at my first class, spotting some familiar faces there. "Hey everyone, I'm gonna be your teacher from now until the summer okay?" I crouched so I was level with most of them and looked around at them. "I've taught some of you before," I continued, nodding at a couple of them. "Jake, Diane, how are you guys?" They smiled back, remembering me too. "For the rest of you who don't know me, I'm Akash. But you can call me A-1 if you want, because that's me, the number 1 teacher!" I winked at the group, and they laughed. I relaxed, if I could win the kids' good opinions at the start, the lessons were always more enjoyable.
