Charity

Part 1- The Needy And The Needed

Part 1- The Needy And The Needed

The summer before senior year. The one summer that can either make or break the rest of my high school life.

The air was still, and a faint breeze blew my bangs in front of my eyes. I brushed them away with shaky palms before standing up. No one else was here. Just me, and my lack of courage.

I clenched and unclenched my fists, once, twice. I felt like I was going to throw up. Let me tell you, not a great sensation.

But I had to be a man, grit my teeth and do it. Just get up and go.

I saw the figure slide out of the pool, so gracefully that it almost scared me. No human should be possible of that.

Shaking my head, I wiped away a bead of sweat that was trickling down my brow and stood up. My head down, I marched down the empty bleachers towards the figure. Just keep walking, one foot in front of the other.

I didn’t stop walking until I was standing before her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her pausing to stare at me in confusion, small droplets of water pooling at the tips of her hair before dripping onto the floor in a methodic plop. One after the other. Again, and again.

“Um…what-”

Before she could finish, I threw myself at her feet, my hands clasped together and my eyes clenched shut.

“P…please! I’m begging you. I need your help! Charity Greene, would you please teach me how to swim!”

Unknowingly, my voice had been raising in volume the entire time until I had practically bellowed my last sentence. Yet, compared to that, the silence that followed was deafening. Nothing but the omnipresent patter of water droplets filled the natatorium. Finally, she spoke up, her calm voice startling me.

“First, get off the floor. It’s gonna make your jeans wet. Second, I repeat: What?”

I stood up and quickly dabbed at my jeans that were, as predicted, sopping wet. After wiping at them for a moment, I looked up to face her and almost abandoned my mission and ran when we made eye contact. Her grey eyes pierced into me as if they could see through to my soul. Swallowing my fear, I straightened my posture again and explained,

“Look, I really like this girl in my grade called Julie. Julie Samuelsson. I like her but she only recently broke up with her boyfriend, and my friend Shane told me that he used to be a swimmer. Not just any swimmer, but a real pro. A so-good-he-makes-dolphins-look-like-seaweed type of swimmer, and that the fact that he was so good at swimming was the main reason why Julie liked him. The problem is, I can’t swim. So I thought that maybe, since you’re the best swimmer in the school, you could help me. So I’m begging you, please teach me how to swim!”

I finally stopped and caught my breath. I hadn’t realized how childish I’d sounded until it was too late, and I looked at the ground in mortification.

“Let me get this straight, you want me to teach you the fine art of swimming so that you can impress a girl that gets turned on by guys that stink of chlorine?”

I winced slightly at her raw analysis of the situation, before nodding,

“Not exactly, but yeah. That’s the basic idea. So will you help me?” I paused for a second before realizing I had forgotten a crucial detail, “Oh! Sorry, you probably don’t even know who I am since you’re a senior. Um, hi. I’m-”

“Zach Ward. Junior. 17 years old but you still look and act like an awkward Freshman. You joined Lincoln High School last year, and apparently you like Julia Samuelsson. Don’t worry, I know who you are.”