"Why do you always avoid my questions?"
"I'm not, it's just that there's nothing to say. Who would ever want to date someone they can't even talk to? It's not rocket science. My eyes are weird, and people get tired of me eventually. There's your on...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Mathias | Dallas
MINUTES AFTER ENDURING A STRENUOUS WARM-UP session, Dallas perched on the bench in the empty waiting room, feeling cold despite having her purple team towel slung over her shoulders. She lowered her chin to her chest, her lips parting, eyes closing as she drew in deep breaths, gliding her hands up and down the length of her bare thigh to calm herself.
15 minutes to go.
Palpable excitement buzzed through the charged air, the intensity of it reaching Dallas from afar. Parents, coaches, teammates, and officials from all the 20 competing schools were present, all confident that their team would claim the day. Outside, a speech boomed over the cacophony of cheering and applause, the announcer declaring that the 50m freestyle had almost elapsed, as well as who took the lead in the last second.
An incomprehensible mix of Coach Asia and Albert's words of encouragement and advice whirled around in her head, forcing her to take some more breaths to calm her disgruntled spirit. Feeling cold again, she pulled her team towel closer around her figure, absently tracing her fingertips along the golden sticker embroidered along the edges of the cotton fabric.
Suddenly mind flashed to Sebastian, and on impulse she reached over into her duffle bag, ruffling around until her hand brushed the slick body of her phone. She nibbled on the tip of her and suppressed the irregular thumping in her chest as she opened the messaging app.
A few unread chats still floated around, but those were irrelevant conversations about Leila's party that night, or some school Yoohoo group chats. Otherwise, all other remittances of hope instantly shriveled when she noticed that she had zero new messages. Her eyes autopiloted to Sebastian's name and she opened the chat, her stomach churning in unease as she re-read the texts they exchanged a couple of hours prior.
2 p.m.
Seb❤️: Hey
Seb❤️: why r u ignoring me? If its abt wt hppned earlier, I alrdy said I'm srry
Seb❤️: wht mre do u want?
Minutes later, Dallas responded to him, advising that she wasn't feeling well and that they should probably take a break. Sebastian took a while to respond, but once he did, all he said was a dry 'K'.
Nervousness and agitation controlled Dallas then, making her type something that was the product of her fickle emotions and overthinking patterns. She pushed Sebastian away on purpose, so what did she expect when he did as she said?
But, was it so bad that a tiny fragment of Dallas's being hoped he would push back instead of throwing in the towels and walking away?
How about a text of encouragement?
Nothing. The stale message remained on the screen, along with a note that Sebastian hadn't come online in two hours.
Not even a word from any of her other friends. Maybe it was okay though. They were probably all preoccupied with schoolwork or discussing the upcoming party. It wasn't their fault they didn't remember.
