Intriguing Escapade at Swim Camp E-Book

Sherry Walraven

• Herausgeber: Proisle Publishing Services
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 175

Beschreibung

The bright Texas sunshine filled the windows of the natatorium as competition teenage swimmers were working hard to prepare for the competition that would take place the following week. They felt good about their chance of winning this school year. They had a new coach who seemed nice, but the swimmers had been working so hard, they didn't have the time to get to know her too well yet.

The teenagers were excited about the camp. They would practice their swimming in a lake in the mornings, zipline in the afternoon, or just go exploring. The teens couldn't wait to begin this adventure.

One afternoon five of the teens found a cave they couldn't resist going inside. They found a little more than expected as some men started chasing them. As they started running, they found help with an elderly woman, who motioned for them to follow her. What they saw at her house was not to be believed.

Going in the cave had changed things somewhat at the swim camp, but the change was not only with the cave, but their new coach turned out to not be what the teenagers thought she was supposed to be. If not for the other coaches that went to the camp with them, they were afraid they would not have made it home alive.

Leseprobe

Intriguing Escapade

At Swim Camp

By

Sherry Walraven

© Copyright 2024 bySherry Moss Walraven

ISBN:

978-1-963735-30-7 (Paperback)

978-1-963735-31-4 (E-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher disclaims any responsibility for them.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Proisle Publishing Services LLC

39-67 58th Street, 1st floor

Woodside, NY 11377, USA

Phone: [phone])

[email protected]

Dedicated to my Granddaughter, Michaela.

Thanks for giving me the information

to put in this book.

You are great!

What is Swimming?

Heart pounding

Arms stroking

Legs kicking

Blood pumping

Fingers gliding through the water

Instructor yelling kick kick kick

Eyes locked on the end

Arms splashing

Legs pounding on the water

123 breath 123 breath 123 breath

And that’s swimming.

By Jake S.

Introduction

The splashing of the swimmers, who came for practice, was giving it all they could as they did the butterfly stroke, backstroke, breaststroke, and ending with twenty minutes of free style. Getting ready for competitions could be strenuous as they went through their routine of different strokes. Swimmers were excited and maybe a touch nervous as they were thinking about the competition, wondering if their time was okay and would Coach Sheila think they were good enough. It could make a swimmer somewhat jittery with anticipation of an upcoming competition.

It took a great amount of energy and a strong desire to do their best to win their heat. The thrill of competition was invigorating as they went through the actions of their stroke. The coach didn’t seem to be concerned because they were good swimmers, and she was wanting a championship this year.

One thing no one noticed as the swimmers went through their strokes, was the person watching intensely at them as they did their practice session. This person had memories of wanting to be a good swimmer, but things at home put a stop to the chance of being a competition swimmer. Sometimes things just happen.

The wanna-be swimming champion began thinking, “That should be me in the water going through my stokes instead of these girls, who were good, but I am better. If something was to happen to them, maybe they would let me compete. I know I am a little too old, but hey, I still look young. That is something to think about. I overheard that they were going to a lake to practice for a couple of nights. That might give me a chance to do my thing. I could still be a great swimmer. I guess I will be making a trip to the lake where the swimmers will be. This just might be what I need. Perhaps I could replace one of the girls,” thought the one with a huge smile, who wanted to be the champion she thought she could be. She was older and more experienced than these girls. Perhaps one of them will be hurt and can’t do their heat. I could jump in her place. That is just what she needs. She did not want anyone to be hurt, but if it was just a little bit, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. She just might be a champion swimmer yet. Everyone would think differently of me if I were a champion. She would like to make her dad and her brothers proud of her. She was the only girl in the family, so she knew they would be proud.

Chapter One

The enflamed sun was making shadows through the large windows of the natatorium where teams of swimmers practiced for an important competition to be held soon. The parents, who were waiting to pick up their son or daughter, could hear the splash of swimmers as they practice, along with whistles blowing, voices of swim coaches, and the strong smell of chlorine filling the air.

“Great job, Grace. Keep up that pace,” hollered Coach Sheila, who was Grace’s new swim coach this year. All the team liked Coach Sheila and thought she was a fantastic coach, and she could be funny sometimes. Some of them wanted to be like her, even though they didn’t know her very well. She was new, so they haven’t had much time to get to know her well. She seemed nice, but you never know about a person unless you are around them more often. The swimmers thought Coach Sheila would probably be okay. She was fun at times, but somewhat cranky at other times.

Grace Waldon wasn’t too sure, at first, if she even wanted to do the swim thing. Coach Sheila could be a harsh taskmaster at times, but Grace realized that Coach could also make it fun, and she liked fun and being here with her friends, so she decided to keep up what she began three years ago. Her friends would be disappointed if she had dropped out, because they all wanted to be together, and this was a good time to do that. The girls were more like sisters than just friends, and that was the way they liked it.

The Gillygut twins, Silver and Gold, along with Lisa Acre were all best friends with Grace, and they were all on the same swim team. When you saw one, you saw them all. They had been best friends since first grade and here they were already in the ninth grade now. They were the coaches’ best swimmers, or so Coach Sheila told them, but she may tell all the swimmers that so they will do well to make her proud. Coach Sheila was a hard person to figure out what she was thinking at any given moment.

Grace’s parents had a conversation with her and explained that sometimes coaches get a bit excited and that doesn’t mean they are a bad person. It means they are a good coach, who cares for their swimmers. They told Grace she did not need to quit what she started. Grace smiled because she loved her parents and wanted to do what they said. Much to Grace’s dismay, they were usually right.

After practice, Coach Sheila had a meeting with the swimmers and their parents to see how well her idea will be received. She didn’t know how well the parents would take her idea. They may not like it, and that is entirely possible they won’t like it. It would require taking their kids away from home for a few days. Of course, she would have to recruit some other coaches to help her with the practice sessions. They could also double as chaperones.

“It has been brought to my attention, there is a lake in the next county where swimmers can hone their swimming skills. The lake is not very deep, and I would like for my team to stay several days and practice. It would not cost the parents anything, because we will be staying in a bunkhouse requiring each swimmer to have a sleeping bag, or some linens. I will be providing the meals for the trip,” explained the smiling coach. She knew she needed to play nice with the parents, because she needed to have them on her side.

“I have something else I know the parents would like to know. I have confiscated some more swimming coaches to be chaperones and will help with the drills we will be doing. All the coaches will be in the water while the swimmers are practicing, so they will not be in the water alone.” Coach Sheila was hoping for the best. She knew parents were cautious with their children.

One of the parents asked, “How about restroom facilities?” Coach knew the parents would be concerned about details, and she would make sure she said everything just right. There would be no room for mistakes on her part. She had some trouble in her other school, so she needed to be careful.

“Good question,” said Coach Sheila. “It’s a large bunkhouse where we will be staying with a large room with bunk beds, a large kitchen, and a large restroom with showers. I will take the food, and a first aid kit. The owners put a chemical around the lake that keeps the snakes from entering the water. They have never had a problem with any other swim teams before. It should be a productive camp to practice for our competition, and I hope you will trust us with your swimmers.”

Coach Sheila smiled at the crowd and began introducing the other adults, who will be helping her. “These are my helpers, who are all championship swimmers. Beginning on the right of the row is Dan, Hally, Bell, Jaybird, Hank, and Maggie. Do not worry, parents. They are professionals, and we all will be working together to train and take care of your swimmers. It should be good for the competition to have this training.”

After Coach Sheila’s speech, all parents signed the permission slip except for one, whose parents were taking their family to see Mount Rushmore. Coach was happy and could not wait to begin the swim camp with her “Platinum Winners.”

The swimmers were excited about pursuing this adventure. Grace, Silver, Gold, and Lisa couldn’t wait to spend three days together. They knew they wouldn’t swim all day, so perhaps they would have time to explore what else that might be here around the lake. They were hoping there was a zipline. The girls knew they would have fun even if there wasn’t anything else there at the camp.

Chapter Two

Coach Sheila had high hopes for her girls this year. She could feel in her bones that she had her championship team. She thought she did last year, at a different school, but the girls let her down. She had high hopes for this team. Changing schools may be the best decision she had ever made. She felt this would be her chance for having a championship team, and that is why she even does this. She gets a championship team, and then she quits for good. She really didn’t like kids, but she would put up with them to get her championship. She sure didn’t like the notion of the parents finding out she didn’t like kids. She would lose her job, for sure.

Sheila Brown liked her girls a little bit that she coached. They knew if they had a problem, she was always there for them, or at least, that is what she tells them. She didn’t need any teenager problems to deal with. She had been coaching swim teams for fifteen years, and she loved every minute of it. She was hoping for that championship this year. She had great swimmers, who could do great under pressure. Most of the girls were close friends which gave them incentive to do their best. It was like, at times, the girls were going against each other. It didn’t bother her, because it gave the girls incentive.

She knew she sometimes could get somewhat testy with her girls, but she remembers her dad being harsh with her. She wanted to forget the beatings he doled out to her and her brothers, which was often. One of her brothers had to be taken to the hospital with a broken arm after one of her dad’s beatings. She often wondered if their dad loved anyone, especially his kids. Their mom ran away when Sheila was only twelve, because she didn’t want to put up with their dad. Her brothers were older than her, so they raised each other.

Sheila contributes all her problems in her past due to her dear ole dad. She had a tendency, at times, to lose control, and that wasn’t good in her line of work. This very thing has been her downfall a couple of times in the past. Yeah, she hit one of her swimmers, who she said was the reason they lost the championship. Before she was at that school, she had an incident where she lost her temper and broke the hand of a girl who simply just asked her a question. Coach told the girl she had already given her instructions, and she should have listened the first time. Sheila thought she may have been a bit too harsh, but that’s all she knew to do, because that is the way her dear ole dad did it. You had to listen or pay the consequences.

“Were you not listening when I gave the instructions, you little brat?” asked Coach Sheila with a scowl on her face. Parents took offense to her tactics and got her fired from one of the schools where she was before now. Well, if she was being honest with herself, she had been fired from every school she was ever worked, but these parents, and the school principal didn’t need to know what she did before she came to their school.

The girl began crying right before Sheila, with all her strength, pushed the girl into a block wall. Of course, she lost her job. She did not leave those schools on her own. She was fired from both schools. She lucked up with this job, and she didn’t want to lose it. She was trying her best to not lose control. Her therapist was always on-call for her. She sure didn’t want to be fired again, because no other school would hire her. She didn’t know what she would do if that happened.

She didn’t need for the parents of her girls to find out about her past. That wouldn’t be good at all. Sheila did not need to get another job. She would pray the parents never found out her past, because if they did, she knew they would have her fired, and she sure didn’t want that to happen. If they found out, it would be her undoing. She would never be the same again. Just a woman without a job and nothing to do with her time. She didn’t think anyone could find out about her past anyway, so she wouldn’t worry about it. Worrying didn’t solve problems or make them go away.

Chapter Three

The big day finally arrived to go to their first-ever swim camp. They didn’t know everything that would take place, but it had to be great in the minds of the group of best friends. The girls all met at Grace’s house. Everyone had already gotten to Grace’s house except Lisa. Her parents were out of town, so the maid would be bringing her here any minute now. The girls were ready for this camp. They were going to have so much fun, and they couldn’t wait for it to happen.

The girls began to giggle as they saw Lisa get out of her maid’s car. The maid’s car was tiny with rust on both bumpers, and the doors squeaked while the engine backfired every five minutes. Lisa ran up to the others, because she was so happy to be going to swim camp with her friends. She needed to be with them and have some fun. It gets her mind off her parents not caring about her. She missed her parents. They weren’t always gone all the time when she was little, but the older she became, the more they stayed away. They must have thought the maid could raise her. Lisa loved her maid, because she seemed to really care about her, and wanted what was best for her. She would always take up for me when her parents were home and saw something they didn’t like.

“Okay, little ladies. Look and see if you have everything on the list. You don’t want to leave anything,” said Grace’s mom who was checking everything out for the girls. Everybody gave her a thumbs-up telling her they had everything they needed.

They all piled into Grace’s mom’s car, so she could take them to the school where the bus was that will take them to swim camp. The bus was filled with giggling teenagers who couldn’t wait to see what was in store for them at this camp. They knew they would have fun but didn’t know if there was anything else to do on their off time. They figured they would just have to wait and see when they arrived. They may have time when they first arrive to check out everything around the camp.

The bus finally made it to the lake beside a huge building. Girls and boys made it off the bus. The boys began unloading the luggage from underneath the bus, while the girls picked up their luggage and headed for the girls’ bunkhouse. All the boys could hear was the girl’s loud giggles. They couldn’t understand why girls like to giggle, but all the girls they knew giggled, and sometimes for no reason at all. The boys thought girls were strange.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” hollered Coach in a loud voice, so all could hear over the din of the excited teenage voices. “Go get your luggage and put it in the bunkhouse. We will meet in thirty minutes for our first swim practice. Don’t be late. If you are late, you miss dinner, so if you want to eat, you won’t be late.” Coach Sheila didn’t put up with being tardy, or most anything else either.

After the allotted time, the girls went to the lake where the adults were gathered to help the teenagers get in some practice. It was different than the pool, but they got used to it in no time at all. After a couple of hours, the girls went back to the bunkhouse to put on dry clothes and decided to go exploring to see what they could find. Coach shouldn’t mind, because they were going to get lots of exercise in while they searched. They decided the more they walk, the more exercise they would get.

They searched and searched and found a zipline at the park, which was good. They walked a little farther and found a big cave. They stood staring at the opening of the cave wondering if they should go inside it, or not. None of them had ever been inside a cave before making them want to go inside this one just to see what one looked like. On the outside looking at the dark entry to the cave made the girls sort of jumpy.

“Wow! We need to see what’s in there,” said Silver in a rousing voice. She has always been on the audacious side of life. Sometimes when she wants to do something, she runs right in and the others have to follow to make sure she doesn’t do something dopey.

“I guess we could go in just a little way,” said a cautious Grace, who really didn’t want to go, but she would go with her friends. After all, how bad could it be.

Not even one of these ladies had ever been in a cave before, so they thought it wouldn’t hurt to see what’s in a dark cave. Hopefully, it wasn’t a huge bear, but no one wanted to think about that.

The girls elected Silver to lead the way into the unknown. She took her phone out of her pocket to use the flashlight. Some of the others did the same. They saw a ledge where someone could sit, along with a stream that led into another larger body of water. That might just need to be explored, but not today, because Coach told everyone to meet at the campfire for dinner shortly, and time was about to run out. Perhaps they could go in the cave tomorrow, or another day.

“I am pretty certain we have time to look just a little bit farther and see where this water goes,” said Gold who was bold also, but not as much as her twin sister. She would usually do what her sister did, whether she wanted to, or not.

“Maybe this water getting larger might mean this cave goes somewhere else. Wow!” said Lisa, who couldn’t believe she was even inside a cave, but she was liking this quest.

“What time is it? We were told not to go far because dinner would be cooked outside, and we will need to cook our own food,” said Grace, who thought this cave visit was kind of neat until she heard a noise that didn’t sound good. The girls jumped as high as a girl could jump when a raccoon ran toward the entrance of the cave. At least, it wasn’t a bear. They all began laughing at the raccoon and were grateful it wasn’t something larger.