Chapter 107 - Makai - Back To School Part 2

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Makai

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No one noticed it at all when we sat next to each other. No one asked why we were sitting together now. After all, it had started before Ocean had taken time off of school.

They did, however, ask where Ocean had been. Even Coach Dickson had asked him after first period. Coach had needed to wait for practice to be over before he could say anything about it and ask why Ocean was away. However, class started too soon, and he had to wait until after the bell rang.

"I was visiting family. My aunt is sick, and we weren't sure if she was going to make it. It was pretty tense, and my parents thought it was best that I go to see her, just in case, you know."

"So you were gone a week over that?" The coach looked pretty angry about it.

"Hey, she is the only aunt that I have. I think it was a wise decision of my parents to take me with them." He shrugged and tried to put an end to that.

"OK, then how was it that you kept up with your training while you were gone? And why did Rivers pick up all your work?" The coach wasn't letting him end it so soon, and I saw that some of the rest of the class was listening in on what was happening.

"My dad works in the same industry as his. So Makai was giving his dad the work, and my dad was picking it up from him when he went back to the office. It was weird, yeah, but it worked. I managed to get it all done while I was away. And the building my aunt is in right now has an indoor pool so I was using that to keep up with my training. Not many people seemed to be using it, but it was well maintained."

"I just don't believe this. You couldn't just go to your aunt's house after practice everyday or something?" The incredulousness in the coach's voice was a little irritating.

"To be fair, Coach Dickson, from what I heard from my dad, his aunt's place is like four hours away. That wouldn have been a little impossible to do every day. That would have been eight hours of driving a day plus school and sleep. There wouldn't have been time for practice, morning or afternoon, and there wouldn't have been time for visiting his aunt at all. That just wouldn't have been feasible." I tried to offer a little bit of help to him.

"I wasn't talking to you, Rivers." The coach snapped at me.

"No, but I answered you anyway. I think you're being a little bit unreasonable. If you just take a step back and think about this sir, I think you would see that." The coach glared at me for a moment then sighed.

"You might be right." He was shaking his head. "It's just, you're a good kid Ocean, and I get the feeling that I am not getting the whole story here. I just don't want to find out that you're doing something that you're not supposed to be doing. And of course, I don't want to lose you from the team. We have nationals for that tournament this spring, as well as nationals for the school districts. I don't want you quitting before you could even compete in those. They're great opportunities, Ocean, and I don't want you to blow them."

"I won't, coach, I promise."

Coach sighed and looked around him. He could see that his classroom was already filled with the students for the next class, and the hallway was empty.

"Dammit. Let me write you a pass for being late." He said those words right as the bell rang, letting us know that we were late.

"Is it bad that I already want to go home?" Ocean looked at me with weary eyes.

"Not at all. That was a little awkward." I told him and tried to look supportive.

The rest of the morning went fine. None of the other teachers grilled Ocean about anything, however, Mrs. Brewer, our AP Physics teacher, was a little peeved with us being late.

"Sorry ma'am, Coach Dickson needed to talk to us about something." I told her when I handed her the passes. She looked at us angrily for causing the disruption, but continued after that.

That was the only exciting thing that happened after the strangely intense lecture from Coach Dickson. Yet, for some reason when lunch rolled around, I found myself already feeling exhausted from the day.

"Ocean, man, where have you been?" Ryan sat down next to us with his tray of food. This was the first opportunity that he's had to ask that question all day.

"I was visiting family." He told him immediately.

"That's not what I heard." Alex sat next to us as well.

"What did you hear?" Ryan smiled at him eagerly.

"I heard he tried to run away with some girl and got into massive trouble with her parents."

"That's bullshit." Ben was sitting across from Ryan now and rolling his eyes. "Do you really think that Ocean would do anything that could potentially keep him from swimming?"

"Yeah, you've got a point." Ryan laughed at him. "There is no way in hell Ocean could stop swimming."

"You guys do know that I am right here, don't you?" He was glaring at them each in turn as they talked like he wasn't even here.

"Well, in our defense, you haven't been here in a week. We need to readjust to the idea of you existing again." Ryan cracked another joke.

"You're all assholes, you know that?" Ocean rolled his eyes and the five of us, even him, started to laugh. At least there was nothing overly different with this part of our day; it was just a different subject for our usual joking.

The rest of the day seemed to be going just fine. There weren't any major incidents at least. Not until after the bell rang for the day and a certain someone came up to Ocean with fake sincerity.

"Oh, Ocean, I am just so happy to see you back. I just missed you so much." Brittney's words were nothing, but cutesy sounding bullshit. I was proud of Ocean for what he did next. He just kept on walking past her without a single word in response. He didn't look at her, he didn't engage her, and he didn't retaliate against her. He was acting like he didn't care about her at all.

"Don't walk away from me, Ocean." It was the same thing that she had yelled at him at his birthday party just over a week ago. "I swear to God, Ocean, I will bury you if you keep trying to treat me like this." There was venom and rage in her voice as she screamed after him.

"I don't think you have enough clout to bury him." Ben laughed as he followed after us. "You may be popular, but you're not as hot as you think you are." Ryan, Alex, and Pauly, all members of the swim team that were following us toward the locker room, all laughed at Ben's assessment of the girl in question. 

I was glad that everything was going well, though I had a feeling that Brittney was going to try something. I just hoped that when she did the team stuck with Ocean instead of abandoning him. If things went like they did just now then it would be fine.

After we were in the locker room, and everyone was getting ready for practice, I pulled Ocean aside for a moment. We hadn't actually had a moment alone all day so this was the first chance I was getting to talk to him.

"Ocean, you need to hold yourself back a little. If you keep swimming at your max, then everyone will start to suspect something." I didn't want to sound like I was controlling or anything, but I had to tell him.

"That was me holding back." He rubbed the back of his head and laughed as if embarrassed. "I don't know how to hold myself back anymore than I already am."

Shit! That could pose a problem in the future. I just really hope that no one starts to suspect him of something now.

After practice, it was time for me to drive him home. For the rest of this week he would be driving himself to and from school. That kind of broke me as well though, since I had been driving him so much lately and had been with him everyday recently. Now I was going to be without him in the morning and the evening. I would have to try and make it through this time, I just needed to be strong and stay positive.

After I kissed him goodbye inside the door and left, I could already feel the hollow emptiness that his absence left in me.