Blind Swimmer

Chapter 14: Blonde

Jason POV

I was late to the pool. My sister, Thalia, kept going off about wanting to come with me, but I knew that Percy didn't want too many people there.

It was his first time swimming again, so I understood. 

As soon as I walked into the pool room, I noticed that Percy was in the pool already. Coach Hedge was watching closely. 

Leo and Frank were on either end of the lane. 

"Hey, Percy, you're back in your domain," I said brightly. 

He turned around with a smile. He was treading water in the deep end with Frank. 

"It feels great, bro," he cheered. 

"Did you actually swim, yet?" I asked. 

"He's just about to," Coach Hedge said firmly. 

Percy nodded as he used his hands to measure the width of the lane. In swimming competitions, it was one swimmer per lane, so he'd have plenty of room to swim straight. 

Then, Percy lined himself on the wall at the end of the lane. 

His hands and touch were saving Percy right now. He was rightfully relying heavily on his sense of touch to map out the lane and the pool. 

"All right, Percy, you've been swimming in competition all of your life. You know how to swim straight, and that's all that matters now," Coach Hedge said. 

Percy nodded. 

His feet and one hand were against the wall. His other hand was outstretched in the direction that he'd push off towards. 

"All right, Percy. Move your hand slightly to the left," Coach Hedge said. 

Frank and I both nodded at the suggestion. Currently, his arm was slightly slanted. Percy adjusted his arm quickly.

Now, his arm was perfectly in line with the lane. 

"Whenever you're ready, Percy. Also, stop when your reach Leo," Coach Hedge said. 

While Coach Hedge's face rarely showed any emotions other than toughness. Today, he seemed a little bit optimistic. I could tell that he was happy as a coach today. 

Percy took a breath before pushing off of the wall. 

Watching Percy swim was fantastic because he was that good. He initially glided through the water before starting a freestyle swim. 

Percy swam in a good straight line, and he reached Leo in a matter of seconds. 

Percy was fast and powerful in the water, and he was only warming up right now. I've seen him go faster before. 

"Great work, Jackson," Coach Hedge barked as we walked to that side of the pool. 

Percy was standing in the shallow end with Leo. Leo was rubbing his stomach after Percy's arm collided against him. 

Percy, one of my best friends, was smiling brightly. 

"All right, let's keep it going, Jackson. This isn't a tea party," Coach Hedge announced firmly. 

I spent over an hour watching Percy swim. Leo and Frank caught him on either end of the pool, and Percy's times were pretty good for not swimming in months. 

We all knew that he could do better with some practice. 

Right now, Percy was only swimming blind, but you didn't need your vision to simply swim. I knew that the hard part was coming up in the next few practices.