Jody expected the school where she goes to have a smaller swimming gym. She hadn't even been to that school in a week. Everyone was looking forward to the swimming class. Men are wearing shorts, and women are in swimsuits. The men in their class whooped because the It Girls came out late and caught their attention. Kody, Tim, Brian, and Zev, the last group of boys, are getting closer to everyone else. Even though Brian was behind the three men, everyone seemed to watch a show as the four got more relative to the group.
She can hear the women's screams. As soon as Jody came out of the bathroom, everyone was quiet. Everyone looked at Jody in silence. She walks with her eyes on the far horizon. She doesn't look at her classmates when she walks up to them. It gives her a cool, aloof look. Like a strong woman, Jody keeps her head and chin facing straight ahead. She has a beautiful posture; her arms swing; naturally, she points her toes straight forward when she walks, and Jody's hips sway, making her look hot. Soon, she reached out to her classmates and stood next to Brian.
"Damn, you're sexy, Jody!"
"Shut up!" their swim coach grunted.
"Hello, princess," Brian said, smiling.
Jody didn't answer. She just glanced at Brian. Soon, the class would start. Zev was staring at Brian and Jody intently. He had not trusted the guy next to Jody since he came to their town two years ago.
"You're conspicuous, dude," Tim told Zev in hushed tones. He saw Zev staring at the two on the opposite side.
"Shut up, Tim," said Zev. "You already know I didn't like that man from the start. And that woman? My father entrusted her care to me. If she gets hurt or dies, I must account for my father."
Koby chuckled. "Explain more, dude."
Brian and Jody were at the other end of the pool. Brian was looking at Jody because he had been talking to her, but Jody ignored him.
"Are you aware that our coach is 52 years old?"
Jody frowned and then looked at Brian. "Seriously?"
Brian smiled. "Yeah"
Jody just kept looking at their swim coach. Jody thinks the man is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and muscular. She knew they were hard, even though she couldn't touch them. From how the coach looked, his skin was red, and he cared for his body by working out and eating well.
"It's not obvious from the way he looks. I thought he was not much older than thirty."
"Do you know what makes the people of Rivendell look young?" Brian asked.
For a moment, Jody was speechless. She seemed to know what Brian would say before he said it. She learned from their conversation that Brian had transferred to that school two years ago.
"You talk a lot for a man. Do you know that?"
Brian chuckled. "Am I? Could you notice me? You're ignoring me."
Jody did not speak. They soon went down into the water. First, stay underwater for a long time. Jody's entire plan was to last underwater longer than anyone else. But she was the first one to come up, which surprised her. Soon after Brian came up, all his other fourteen classmates were underwater except for her and Brian.
"You two still need to work on it," the coach said. "Brian, you've been living in this town for two years and still can't stay longer underwater?"
Brian smiled as he scratched his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. I don't think I'm strong enough to sleep underwater."
Jody laughed in secret. As Brian and Jody waited for the other classmate to get out of the water, Brian swam closer to Jody. Everyone, including Zev's group, came out of the water a few minutes before entering. When Jody looked at Zev, she frowned.
'Is he just being humble?' Jody thought.
She saw that Zev had joined his friends in getting into the water. She remembered last night when he was swimming in the pool; he was underwater for almost 30 minutes. She purposely watched the man from her window after she got out of the water and left him in the pool. At first, she thought he had drowned, so she ran out of her room. He also went up when she saw him from the living room window.
"How can they stay in the water for that long?" Jody asked.
Their coach heard it. "Why not? There is a big river in Rivendell. Miss Santillan, you haven't been to Rivendell yet, right?"
Jody gave the nod. "Why? Rivendell is a beautiful place," the coach said.
Jody said, "I just haven't done it yet." But she is terrified. She was scared to see the beast she had already seen in the woods. Even though Zev killed that beast, she may not have gotten over her parents' deaths.
"Sir, did you hear last week who the weredragon killed?" Brian asked.
"Yes, city folks. They are tourists in Rivendell," the coach said. "They were a married couple, and then they both died."
At that moment, Jody couldn't seem to take a breath. She was not interested in hearing that story. It hurts her.
"Sir, I'm just going to put something in the locker. Excuse me," Jody said. She climbed up on the pool's edge and entered the locker room.
As Jody came into the locker room, Zev saw her. It dashed inside. Zev was on his way out when he heard Jody's voice. He frowned and took a peek inside the locker room. He saw Jody standing in front of her locker and heard her crying. Zev stopped watching Jody and left her.
As he approached the pool, he heard the coach and Brian talking. That's what happened in the woods with Jody's family. No one knows that the dead tourists had a child. His father did the right thing by not telling anyone Jody was involved in the incident.
———-
Zev's group ate a burger that Kody had bought while sitting in the parking lot. After their swimming class, he said that he was hungry. They're waiting for Jody to come. They left it earlier while getting dressed and don't know where else it went. When his phone rang, he answered it right away.
"Yes, dad, I'm just waiting for your adopted child," Zev said on the other line. "I don't know. I'm just here in the parking lot waiting for her. Yeah, but I'll leave her if she doesn't show up in five minutes. Dad, I can't make you do anything. Okay, see you."
Zev hung up the phone and ate the burger he was holding. "It seems your dad cares more about your sister than you do."
"She's not my sister," said Zev. "She never will be."
"Of course. Perhaps Jody will become his girlfriend." Both Kody and Tim laughed.
"What you're saying is impossible."
"Really? Why?"
"She was way too perfect..."
"No, she doesn't. I'm not interested in only beautiful women."
"But she's not only pretty; she's also smart."
"Do you think she can make food for herself?"
Kody and Tim gave Zev a shrug when he asked them a question. Jody doesn't look like she can cook for herself. Glendir told him that Jody's family was only middle class because her father was an engineer and her mother taught at a college. Still, it was like growing up in a wealthy family.
'Spoiled brat.' Zev thought.
While drinking soda, Kody turned to Zev. "The town fiesta is coming up."
"The weekend is here again!" Tim even high-fived Kody.
Zev said nothing. He watched Brian and Jody walk while looking at the main building.
"Get out of there. Jody's already here." Zev told his friends as he ate the burger and gulped down the soda.
"Can I drive you to your house?" As he and Jody walked into the parking lot, Brian asked. "You don't have to pay me for gas."
Jody giggled. "You feel like maybe we're close..."
"Why? Are we not already?"
"Not yet."
"So that's why you were so slow." Zev turned his back on Jody and Brian because he was upset. He waved to his friends, who got out of the car quickly. He jumped into the driver's seat and immediately turned on the engine.
Brian made a face and then looked at Jody. "Are you..."
"I'll just tag along," Jody said when he saw Brian was surprised.
"Ah, okay."
"Are you coming in, or will I leave you?" Zev asked.
Jody frowned. Then she got closer to the other side of the car and stood there. Brian let her in by opening the door. When she got in, she smiled at Brian, shut the door, and ran away quickly.
"You're being vulgar." Jody was upset. She puts on a seatbelt.
Zev just smirked and didn't speak. He sped up the car. Even though Jody wore her seatbelt, she still gripped the handle on the vehicle's ceiling.
"Are you going to commit suicide?" Jody asked, annoyed.
"Why? Are you afraid to die?" Zev asked. Jody didn't answer. "Get used to it because I'm not going to slow down. We should test the new car drove."
"Test drive? What do you mean?" Jody's nervousness suddenly got worse.
"You'll see that..." Zev smiled and stepped on the gas pedal.
Zev could hear both Jody's scream and the loud sound of the car's muffler running fast along the road simultaneously.