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June 2nd, 1977 Swimming class is to have their finals- being able to swim the length of the pool- a feat I can do the total length underwater if I wanted to. But I have to do it their way in order to pass, despite the fact I was a Jr. Life Guard at Jefferson Pool during last year's summer. An easy 'A' in the least. Interestingly enough, the pool is usually shared and divided with both the girls and boys, but today it is only girls. Furthermore, Denis, James and I are told to stay at the deep end and pull out anyone who might not make it across the length. As a joke, James stands at the side with the 'Hook' and Denis with a ring-life preserver in each underarm. I remained sitting down at the edge at the deepest end with my legs in the water. The first to go into the water is a girl who's hatred of my rival mine of her. We have been enemies since the start of the IGC program in '75, ending the CPG. But yet I do not know where this hatred came from; I just become a mirror and reflect back all the negativity or positiveness thrown at me. With her- she keeps throwing it back at me and I throw back at her, often at her face. She also seems to have separated the girls attitude towards me to a hostile one, though they only act like that towards me when she is around. Facially she is the kind of girl that guys fall or fight for- the beautiful girl. But what comes out of her mouth, is totally a different matter. Ever since I have known her, she has bragged that she can out do me in everything I can do. Unfortunately for Louisa Gonzalez, swimming is not one off them. I can hear both Denis and James comment about how cute Louisa is in her 2 piece bikini, and yet knowing who she is and who she is to me, they also make comments of not saving her if she were to start drowning in front of us in the deep end. She stands there at the shallow end, looking at the length of the 25 yards to the other end, making notice that I am within the few final yards of the goal. Yet the best she can do is raise her middle finger at me and say a few curse words before diving in. She comes out onto the water with a fury of trying to finish the length of the pool as fast as possible, but instead, wastes energy splashing about. She finishes 10 yards in a fairly good amount of time but is beginning to show signs of tiring out in the 6ft section of the pool. She does the next 6 yards at a slightly slower pace, just passing Denis at his post as she enters the 7ft deep mark of the pool. In the next two yards, she almost stops between Denise and I, almost as if she was looking to see where the end of the pool was at. She kicks to get herself started and only moved less than a yard as she approached my spot, with a look of scared uncertainty on her face. Its a look I know too well, in study, in review, in excersise and in actual practice at Jefferson Pool during the summer, it is the look of exhaustion and that slight twinge in one's legs that tells them that despite the effort being done, the muscle is going to cramp up and there is nothing that they can do about it. But, pulling her out of the water means failure of the test because she did not complete the course. I wait. She sinks. She struggles to get above the water and succeed for only a second, then sinks again. Pulling her out of the water means that she fails, and knowing that, she will try every excuse to blame me, especially if I try to go after her. Panic sets within as she tries to swim underwater, but covers no distance. Denis and James look at each other in awe, wondering what to do. I look onto her, though I can hear the swimming teacher screaming about getting her out. Training says that I have to wait just a bit more so that the fight she has in her subsides just a bit. At the far end I can hear the swim instructor dive in and make an attempt to rescue her. I dive in, going past her and crouching down against the floor, springing myself upwards, grabbing her up along the way. With my arm around her under her arm pits, I take her to the edge of the pool where James and Denis pulls her out. The swim instructor makes it towards our side as she gets pulled out by the boys. She sits along the edge, coughing and wheezing; as the swim instructor starts yelling at me for not responding fast enough. "What the fuck! I got her out- didn't I?", I yelled back at him. "It was not fast enough, Fernando!", he yelled back at me. "Well, she did not make it across...", I said loud enough to be heard, as I climbed out of the pool. "Then I'm switching grades- she passes, you failed.", he saids as gets out of the pool then stands in front of me trying to make a threatening pose. "Do that- and we'll see what happens next.", I tell him. "Making threats?", he saids. "No- fail me, and I'll get my mother to review the roll book, and if there is no reason as to why you failed me, she'll get you fired.", I tell him. "Well see about that you stupid little spic.", he says. "His mother is the president of the PTA, as my mother is the vice president; and they both seen what the grade book looks like.", Denis saids. "You making a threat too?", the swimming instructor asks in an angered tone. "Fuck this- I'm leaving.", I said to myself. "Go fuck yourself, Fernando!", Louisa says out loud. "I would not fuck you even if it was be accident!", I yell out loud as I walk into the shower area. Wanda breaks from the line and runs after me into the shower area. "Fernando! Don't Go!", Wanda shouts as she tries to catch up to me. I stop for a moment, allowing her to catch up to me. "Fernando, where you think you are going?", she saids out of concern but sounding angered. "This shit is not worth it, I do a little favor to help out and I get yelled at for it- fuck that.", I tell her, trying to my loose my temper. "Why you let Louisa almost drown then?", Wanda asks, "I know you two never got along, but..." "Wanda- remember, I took that Junior life guard training last summer, and worked at the pool as a Jr. Life Guard, and I'll do it again this summer... but- when somebody is drowning, you never jump in to save them while they are fighting the water- or they will drown you too. You have to wait until they tire out a bit and then you pull their sorry ass out.", I explain to her, interrupting her. "But...", Wanda tried to interject. "No buts- Louisa and I might hate each other, but I would never allow her to drown. But I have to go by what I was taught, and that is to wait. Besides- Denis and James already decided that if something were to happen, they were not going to help her.", I continued, trying to take a step out of the shower area and into the divided hall that separates the boys' locker room from the girls'. "But, Fernando...", Wanda jumps in front of me, trying to keep me from going any further into the boy's locker room. "Is that true?", another voice says as 3 girls walk into the shower area. Actually, it was two girls, helping Louisa walk into the locker room. "Let me go...", Louisa then says, as she tries to hobble towards me. "Look- Louisa...", as I try to say to her. "Tell me the truth, Denis and James planned on doing nothing is something were to happen to me?", Louisa asked. "Yes they did.", I answered. "And why did you, helped me?", Louisa said, "I never liked you, I cant stand you- and I would not want you to ever touch me again..." "You'd prefer if I let you drown? No, I'm not like that- and you know that.", I tell her. "Then why did you did nothing for a while?", Louisa asked. "I had to wait- look- you wont believe me anyway, so lets leave it at that.", I said and tried to step away into the boy's locker room. One of the two girls that was supporting Louisa grabs my arm and pulls me hard, I slip on the wet surface and fall onto my back with little chance of recovering. I just lay on the floor for a while. "Look what you done- Leslie!", Wanda yells out. "So!", Leslie yells back at her. I try to get back up slowly. "Fernando...", Louisa tries to call to me for some unknown reason. "What is it...", I said as I reached for the archway of the boys' locker-room entrance. "Thank you.", Louisa saids in a more silent tone. "Yeah, what ever...", I tell her, as I try to walk into the boys' locker room. "He saved your life, how about going after him and giving him some...", Wanda says loud enough for me to hear. "Why don't you take my place.", Louisa saids out loud. Walking through the maze which blocks the view of the inside of the locker room, I walk to the center table benches and sit down on them. A few feet away, is my locker- #33. A sense of 'I don't care anymore' takes over for the moment and sensory inputs are tuned down to a minimum. Someone sits next to me and remains in silence for moment, then leans over to me and reaches around. The 1-piece royal blue bathing suit only belongs to one person that I know off. "Don't take it so hard on yourself.", Wanda says as she leans her head on my shoulder. For a moment, I don't answer. "Fernando?", Wanda asks again, turning to look at me. "I'm not taking it hard on myself.", I said quietly. "Then why are you not out there with us, rescuing anyone of us that may drown?", Wanda says. "Because its no longer fun.", I said quietly. "Well, it could be if you save me...", Wanda tries to persuade me in a seductive voice. I just turn to face her for a tiny moment. "You would fail if I had to pull you out.", I reminded her. "Its a chance I'll take. Besides, its not like I'm going to drown with you out there.", she stated. "Wanda, please.", I tell her. "Please what?", she asks. "I just want to be left alone, that's all.", I tell her. She stands up and steps in front of me, taking my hands and begin pulling on them. Instead of pulling me off the bench, she slips of her feet and ends up falling on me. I want to shout back at her, but don't. She puts her hands to either side of me and slowly pushes her upper half off me, her lower half straddling on me. As she lifts herself, she winces in pain. "Ow, my knee.", she says quietly complaining. "You alright?", I ask, taking her by her sides and slowly help her get off me. "No, my knee hurts a lot.", she saids, as together we put her sitting besides me. She sits up, holding her knee against her chest. "Damn it.", I say to myself before increasing the volume, "You cant be caught in here." "What are we going to do?", she asks. I slowly reach under her and lift her up, "I'm going to put you down by the shower entrance and say you slipped there. then I'll get Mr. Abrams." "OK, don't take too long.", she says holding back her tears. We cover the short distance on no time, then I gently place her on the ground by the shower entrance. Then I stepped out into shower area and onto the pool's deck. "MISTER ABRAMS!", I yell out to the class. Another girl splashes into the pool, and he turns to face me from the far end. He signals to me as to what is that I want, though was not to happy about me interrupting the class. "MISTER ABRAMS!", I yell out again. "WHAT IS IT?", he yells back. "WANDA SLIPPED AND FELL AND HURT HER KNEE!", I yelled back, holding back a few choice words of my own. He turns to the line of girls and tell them to sit down and wait while he checked up on the situation. The girl in the pool was reaching the end of the pool as Mr. Abrams ran past her and into the shower area. I walked in behind him as he started to check out Wanda. "Now, where does it hurt?", he asks her. "My knee...", she says as she holds her leg close to her. "What happened?", he asked. "I was talking to Fernando for a bit then he tried to go inside the boys locker, but I grabbed his arm to stop him and pulled, then I slipped and fell on my knee.", Wanda answered. "Is that true?", Mr. Abrams turn towards me. The other girls started gathering at the shower entrance. "Yeah, that's what happened.", I tell him. "Honestly?", he almost tried to challenge my answer. "I was about to walk away from her when she grabbed me, so I did not see her fall, but she did slipped on something.", I tell him. Somehow he did not believe me, nor did I not care if he did. Louisa, Solmaria and Leslie step out of the girl's locker-room and look down at Wanda. Louisa leaned against the archway the lead to the girls' locker-room while the other two approached for a closer look. He places his hands behind the bend of the knee with the thumb resting firmly on the top of her knee-cap. He grasp her ankle and slowly tried to straighten out her leg. "OW! OW! Stop It!", Wanda shuts. Mr. Abrams slowly restores Wanda's leg to the position it was before. "OK, we'll get the stretcher and get you to the nurse's office. But you got to change out of your bathing suit first.", he saids. He points to Leslie and Solmaria to help Wanda up and get her into the locker-room. They protest in slience but do as they were told. He watches them as they disappear into the maze that leads into the girls' locker room. Louisa crosses her arms as she leans against the archway. "You feeling any better?", Mr. Abrams asks Louisa. "You're going to believe that phoney act?", Louisa said. "What do you mean?", he asks. "Fernando took Wanda into the boys' locker-room for whatever reason, and that is where she got hurt; not here by the showers.", Louisa explains. "You damn lair!", I yell at her. "Don't believe me? Ask Leslie and Solmaria, they'll tell you the same thing.", Louisa said. "And where they?", I tell her out loud. "They were in the locker room with me.", Louisa says. "Oh, so the three of you were in the locker room? THEN HOW COULD YOU HAVE POSSIBLY SEEN WHAT HAPPENED?!!!", I first mock her and then yell my head off. At first she was going to reply, opening her mouth and raising a finger at me but then stays there, hung in silence like some ugly framed picture on a wall. "Just fuck you's all, I swear.", as I head back to the locker room. I sit there again, just smoldering with rage and anger. Not too long ago I would have gone forth and hit Louisa with a fist to the jaw, but lately, this self-control thing has been kicking in and preventing me from taking actions that would have otherwise gotten me in trouble. Outside I can hear Mr. Abrams yelling, "GO IN THERE AND I'LL SUSPEND YOU ALL!" My moment of silence would immedaitely be broken by two other girls entering the locker room, shortly followed by three more. Leslie and Solmaria were first, followed by Mary, Patrica and Rachel. "So, you two tried to fuck in here, thats how she got hurt...", Leslie started to comment in her anti-male tone. Its no secret that Leslie and Solmaria are a lesbian couple, for all their publically displayed makeout sessions in the girl's locker digusts the other girls, but its something that only the girls know and only a very select few of the boys. I know because of my so-called girl friends (Mary, Patrica and Rachel) have told me about them. I choose to remain silent, almost wanting to get up and hit her. But hitting girls, except for a tiny few, is something I'm not supposed to do. 'Only faggots hit girls.' "And if they were, that's they're business you lesbo bitch.", Patrica barks back at her. "Oh- you're backing him up?", Leslie barks back at her. "I'll back him up any time, any place, any where...", Patrica tells her off snapping her fingers in Leslie's face and taking on a fighting stance that only girls would take. "Pat, dont- not here, not now.", Mary steps behind her and grabs her elbows to pull her away from Leslie. "Come on Les... dont fight here...", Solmaria can be heard. "How about everyone just get out of here so I can change...?", I say out loud. For a while everyone remains silent. |