Penfield's Greatest Swimmer

🌊~10

"And helped you become Penfield's Greatest Swimmer." I looked at my friend in awe. "How did you even do it? It must've been tough with all the competition."

"Eh, which competition?" He remarked in a snarky tone. "Please, I'm a Cape Coast boy, born and bred. Swimming is in my blood. This school didn't know what swimming was until I showed up. I set the standards for them to follow and that's why they made me captain of the swim team." He pulled off the last piece of meat on the stick. "And speaking of the team, you should join."

My eyes grew wide. "The university's official swim team? Oh no no, I shouldn't."

"Oh come on, don't say that." Ethan pressed on. "It'll be just like old times... well minus the ocean, but at least we'll be able to swim together again."

The thought mulled over in my head and frankly, I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested in reliving those days with my best friend.

"Yo Ethan!"

The buffed guy who had introduced the varsity team earlier on the float came jogging in our direction, shirtless and stinking of alcohol. My nose twitched.

"Jesus, Seth. You reek!" Ethan snapped without a hint of hesitation.

"Oh that, I just won the beer pong game. Don't worry, I plan to hit the showers later, but now..." He lifted his phone up, lips crawling into a creepy smirk. "Amina just texted me. She and Princess are already waiting at our hall."

"Right." Ethan jerked up. "Um err...sorry Akwasi, but I've gotta go."

"No problem." I also joined them on my feet. "I have to go too. Still got some unpacking to do."

"Oh ok, which hall are you in?"

"OBH."

"Oh my dad's hall. That's cool."

"Wait. Your dad's hall?" I queried and that was when it hit me. Osei-Boateng. Ethan had the same surname.

"Yeah, my dad built that hall," he confirmed. "Said it was a gift to the university for helping him with his campaign back when he was contesting for mayor. But it was a lie, I mean I know my father. All he wanted was to show that he has money. They even put a bust of him in the hall's lobby, didn't you see it?"

Now that he'd mentioned it, I did remember seeing one earlier today, when I'd first arrived with Wɔfa Yaw and Mr. Dery. But I didn't have enough time to check what had been written underneath it.

"Well it's a fairly new hall so," Ethan continued, "I think you're going to enjoy your stay there."

"Ethan!" the buffed guy grumbled. "C'mon, we can't keep the girls waiting."

"Yeah, I know that." He tossed the response over his shoulder, before turning back to me with a smile. "It's great seeing you again, Akwasi." Extending a hand, we indulged in the usual bro handshake with a pat on the back. "Oh, and don't forget what I said about joining the swim team. We're meeting tomorrow at 4pm for tryouts over here." He pointed at the sports complex. "You should come."

"Sure, I'll be there," I said and waved him off as he followed his friend, the buffed guy, into a nearby Hyundai Elantra and they soon sped off.

¤¤¤¤¤

11:42 pm. The timer on my phone read.

Underneath that were notifications for four missed calls. Two from my mother and two from Wɔfa Yaw. I sighed, making a mental note to call them back tomorrow, since they would probably be fast asleep by now.

I trudged all the way up the stairs to my room, surprised to find it empty. Just when I was about to wonder where my roommate could possibly be at this time of the night, I felt a hand clap against my back.

"Hey, thanks for ditching me earlier." Akunna sauntered past me, laptop under his armpit and airpods sticking out of his ears. "Plus, you missed our gaming session. Deon was expecting you."

A wave of guilt hit me in the face. "I am so sorry about that, Akunna. Everything happened out of the blue and I just went along with it. I completely forgot that I was going to meet him here."

"Ah, the filthy rich swim team captain that everyone in this school seems to worship."

I quirked up an eyebrow. "You mean Ethan?"

"Yeah him." After leaving his devices on the study table, Akunna moved over to the mini fridge where a tube of pills sat with a bottle of water. "How do you know him anyway?" He picked up the bottle, unscrewing the cap.

"Well..." Tired of standing, I covered the short distance to my bed and dumped myself on it. "Ethan and I grew up together."

"Really?" Akunna asked, popping a couple of the pills into his mouth, then brought the water to his lips.

"Yeah. He used to live in Cape Coast when he was younger. But when his father became a big time politician, his family moved here, to Accra. We never saw each other again... until today."

"Huh." He plopped down on his bed. "Did you guys talk?"

"Yeah we did. He even wants me to join the swim team. Said they have tryouts tomorrow."

"You're not going, right? You've already signed up for one activity, remember? Shola's club."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't hurt to join one more," I said with a shrug and Akunna gaped at me, astonishment gleaming in his eyes.

"What?"

He set his bottle of water on the floor. "Earlier today, when I asked you to come with me to the fair, you didn't want to. Now you're thinking about signing up for two activities?"

"Well isn't that a good thing?"

"It is, but the swim team takes a lot of effort. Plus juggling that with your school work and the engineering club, yo-"

"I'll be fine, Akunna," I assured him whilst kicking off my shoes. "Trust me, I can handle it all. It's just a bunch of extra activities. What's the worst that could happen?"

*****