Until Dawn - 2. Chapter 2

The eerie somber solitude began to cascade to my ears. I have no idea why it was unsettling. You'd think by then I would be accustomed to such silence. After 7 PM, the majority of people that were in the swimming center had left. The minority who remained were either training in the upstairs gym or here in the swimming pool. I had been there a couple of times in the daytime, which always made me feel safe. At night-time, it seemed unnatural.

Since I hadn't had a shower early that morning before school, I decided to hop in underneath the warm shower jet to wash off the loose traces of sweat and other such commodities. Standing under the nozzle, I slapped the metal valve with my palm, and the water roared to life. A soothing, confident flow of liquid funneled down my body and washed off the burdens of the day. Within a matter of seconds, my bone-dry skin turned to a glistening sheen. Tilting my head back, I let the tepid rain pour through the thick clump of blond unassorted hair on my head. The calming baptism caressed the crown of my head and shaved sides. I knew all too well that I was still in a rush and that prolonging the inevitable would have to end sometime. Deciding I had enough for the moment, I stepped out of the shower and made my way out onto the recently squeegeed poolside tiles.

Glancing back and forth, I searched for my teammates. At the far end of the pool, the group stood huddled around by one another. Ambling forward, cautiously in case the floor was slippery, I made my way toward the team.

The closer I drew, the more audible their voices were. It sounded like whispering, as they were not using their normal voices. Everybody had turned up for practice, and I was fashionably late again. I knew it wouldn't look great to the coach.

Upon reaching the group, which seemed slightly larger than average, I scanned my eyes through the boys. There was a new addition to our club. Some Asian boy stood next to the coach. Timmy was talking to the coach, Elliot too. Sebastián was there, even Andrew. I... I was transfixed. Sebastián was relatively good-looking, his dirty copper-colored hair, green eyes, and fitting build were also admirable, but I secretly liked Elliot. Though there was a new boy I had never seen before.

Stopping short of the circle, the coach cut in, "You're late, Cooper. You’re making it a habit now! Don’t.”

Sheepishly, I sputtered out in panic, "I won't."

I had no idea who the new kid happened to be. He looked Chinese, or perhaps more Malaysian at first glance. I'm not sure why panic set in, but he was a lot taller than Sebastián. He was easily a foot higher than the rest of us.

‘He's gigantic.’ I thought.

Somehow, I believed, Asian folks were small, but that must have been a flawed stereotype. His body was toned, honed, and taken care of. His borderline brown-on-black hair sat tousled from what I assumed was a quick dip in the water. God, he was perfect…

Snapping out of the trance, I shook my head and tied my key band around my wrist, fastening it as I joined in with the group.

‘A new boy,’ I thought, this late into the season.

It either meant one of two things; the new boy was really good and was to replace somebody, or we were taking on applicants because we sucked and needed all the help we could get.

"About time, I waited in the locker room for ten minutes. I thought you were a no-show," Elliot animatedly said.

It had gotten to the point that Elliot and I developed a concurrence regarding such matters. We were, as two best friends should be, downright wacky. I wasn't intentionally delayed, and he always knew the real reason for my chronic lateness.

Insolently I replied, "Nawh… I'm always on time."

"Coop… When have you ever been on time?" Elliot chuckled.

Grinning, I added, "Sure, the events begin when the maestro arrives."

What was even more alluringly funny was watching Elliot scrunch up his face, contort and try and decipher what I had said to him. I can't explain why I used such confusing words sometimes. Possibly just for the sake of seeing him struggle. After-all, I liked-liked Elliot.

Elliot's lips quivered as he tried to pronounce the word, "My… ma… Maestro?"

The second the pronunciation fell right, Elliot's eyes darted up to me, and he cracked a smile at his accomplishment. I just bashfully shrugged it off, my head in agreement like, 'hooray, you got it.' Though he still gave me a quizzical expression as if for me to further explain what I meant.

"Yeah, it means performer," I confidently said.

Elliot expression became absent. It was as if he was contemplating saying, 'what the actual fuck.'

Instead, Elliot brazenly spoke up, "You learn that today…? You only use weird words to try make yourself sound intelligent."

His quick-witted manner and amused face said pretty much everything I needed to know. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything graceful to say to outdo his flurry of scrimmage. On the contrary, all I could think about was how hot he was, and I probably looked like a complete dork because Elliot was getting a laugh out of my misfortune.

Launching my hand out, I gave Elliot a half-heartedly shove on the shoulder and said, "Yeah, screw you!" And immediately laughed it off.

The new kid's eyes just wondered about the group. The boy wasn't actually standing amongst my friends. He was some way out of the cluster. He seemed nervous, and every so often, he quivered. Though I just turned my attention back to my friends. There was a fresh chill in the air, and a smell of wet dog was accompanying it. The people who ran the rec center wouldn't let an animal in. So, perhaps that smell was because I was damp and stinking of sweat.

The coach began to clap his hands together to revert our attention to him. Inadvertently everyone did. I slowly but surely turned my head towards him, not wanting to break my observation of Elliot.

"Okay, guys, listen up... We have a new guy on the team," Coach energetically said.

The coach lifted his right arm and gave a gentle motion towards the boy in the back. The coach's arm returned to its downward position before continuing, "I want you to make Bao feel welcome."

The boys hesitantly took their eyes away from the coach and turned to the Chinese or the Malaysian newbie. If I were in his spot, I'd feel increasingly nervous at this point, given that the entire team's attention was on him; I would be bashful.

Shifting focus between the new kid and the coach, I watched as my friends one by one closed the gap between them and the new boy. Elliot was the first one to offer his hand warmly to the kid. Both of them shook hands and introduced themselves. A second later, the slot was then filled by Sébastien; then, one by one, the rest of the group made their introductions.

Soon after, it was just me standing there, gawking at the new kid who seemingly peered back at me. It was my turn to introduce myself, and all of a sudden, I felt scared. I have no idea why other than the fact that there was a mystical aura emanating from the boy. It was airy. Even the sheer nakedness of his torso was bizarrely alluring. Though, I shook that idea off. I drooled for Sebastián; he's eye candy, but my heart was for Elliot. I couldn't handle another boy.

I reluctantly took one step after another; it's not as if I didn't want to talk to the new kid. My legs felt like spaghetti. I was waiting for a k-pop boy band to spring out at any moment. It was a funny sensation.

Each step along the ceramic tiles was an embarrassing motion. Why couldn't I have met him in the changing room? It's not every day you make an introduction to somebody when you're half-naked. On the contrary, I was not fully naked. The only thing that actually diluted that common misconception was that I had my swimming attire.

Finally, I'm standing directly in front of the new kid. His eyes are an electric green, his skin unblemished and beautifully smooth, his lips: plump and poppy pink. I didn't think he would be this attractive up close. I could feel my heart gallivanting in my chest, my breathing becoming laborious.

'Say something, you stupid idiot,' I brazenly scolded myself.

Boys... Shit... Is this the way the rest of my life would turn out? Frequently infatuated by boys.

And in doing so, I cautiously offered my hand. The boy reached out and took hold of it, although his handshake was weak and lifeless.

Observing him more intently, I couldn't help but marvel at his eyes and perfect hair. He was sculpted immaculately, shaved at the sides of his head, and a top-heavy clump dominated the crown and forefront of his skull. The first time I tried out for swimming, I was paranoid that I showed my nipples and bulge. Though this kid held himself comfortably in a relaxed manner. His nipples, each only being thumb-sized given his age.

Thinking of something to say, I offer, "Hey…. eh… welcome."

The newbie's level of disinterest suggested that I wasn't the only one at the moment to be caught off guard.

The boy murmured back a faint, "Hey…."

The reply was so faint, I barely heard it. Once the introductory was all settled, we started out with our practice. I did my routine dives like I was trained to do. The only thing that remained was to get better. Like clockwork, I'd climb the dive platform, take a position on the edge, ready my stance, and jump.

The new boy just sat for most of the session watching us all, and I couldn't help but notice him from my perch. I waved down to Elliot occasionally, secretly stealing glances.

After a reverse dive, our session came to a close. I headed back to the locker room with my friends but decided to nip to the toilet first. I didn't like the one in the actual changing rooms, as they were unheated and dirty. The bathrooms upstairs by the gym were much nicer, and the boiler room's heat kept the restroom toasty.

Telling the boys to go ahead, I climbed the stairs to the second level and entered the empty W/C.

While I urinated, all I could think of was Elliot. I wanted to get downstairs to be able to walk him home. So, I hurriedly shook my shriveled cock and tucked it back in my speedo. The door opened with a swish on the other end of the bathroom, then closed abruptly afterward. I ignored it; I decided to unravel some toilet paper to blow my nose. It was surprising that other people would use this particular bathroom, but not uncommon. That's the reason I went there, less foot traffic. I cleared out the system, giving one hard blow, but then I was alerted to a spray seeping under the door.

At first, I wasn't sure what it was, but then it dawned on me. Touching my bare feet, the liquid was warm. Hell no... Someone was urinating on the door. Gross. Stepping back, I bumped into the toilet and spread my feet apart to stop myself from stepping in the piss.

"What the fuck!" I called out.

There was no response, and I didn't want to open the door—That's not something you do when somebody is peeing on the stall you are in. Instead, I waited, and the flow of the pee just tapered off. There was no walking, even though I listened really hard. I heard the door open and then close. My heart was hammering in my chest. That moment was the most profound experience of my life, and I had never been more terrified or nervous all in one. I didn't want to open the door, but I knew eventually I'd have to. So, when I did, I was relieved to see nobody was outside the stall.

There was a large yellow puddle on the white tiles in front of the cubicle and a nice shine on the blue Formica door.

‘Did that asshole spring a water leak,’ I thought? There was so much piss.

I felt sick, but I also found myself wondering, who would do this to me? What I know now, and what I didn't realize then, was just how crazy my night was really going to get.