She lost more of her lead with every single stroke. Had the water turned to mud? Kate’s arms had never felt so heavy before. Rather than glide across the surface, her hands landed with a resounding thud on the water like when she swung the mallet at one of those amusement park games.
The unthinkable happened. She felt a flutter on her calf—the dreaded touch of the swimmer behind her. Her stomach sank to the bottom of the pool. First she saw a pair of hands pulling through the water near her face. She tried to speed up—not a chance. She just couldn’t do it. The hands gave way to arms and then the top of a head. Who could be passing her? Ugh! It was Pam—a very smug-looking Pam. Kate knewshe swam better than Pam—or did she? Maybe everyone had been wrong about her.
Kate had failed. She didn’t want to talk to anyone or even show her face. She hurried through her shower and then rushed to her locker to try to get out of there before the other girls finished with theirs. She just wanted to go hide out in her classes until the afternoon practice.
