chapter 2

"WHAT!?!?", asked Elena, in shock. She had been called into an official's office at the university and been given what should of been exciting news.

Let's back up.

6 months ago, Elena graduated in the midst of pomp and circumstance. Elena hardly even acknowledged the day, however, as she was thrilled that her future was finally upon her. Synchro was done! She had attended her final practice the previous morning. Since then, she had done nothing but consider what lied ahead. In about two months from now, she would attend Eastwestern University and start a whole new life with a clean slate. At last she could forge an identity that was separate from her membership on a team.

Elena decided to skip the post-graduation party. High School was already behind her, and she only ever really had acquaintances there anyway. Going home, she sat in here room and considered what she would do next. This was the first time that she shadow of her sport wasn't bearing down on her life. She even considered for half a moment, maybe less, what it would be like to not have to exercise everyday. She brushed that off immediately and decided to play things by ear and see how it all turned out.

Over the next two months, Elena got herself a gym membership, which is where she ended up (unsurprisingly) most of the time. Otherwise, she would hang out in coffee shops or prepare for her upcoming move. During this time, there were a number of important developments in regards to her mindset. In high school, Elena, and likely the rest of her team, always felt like a separate module from the general student body. Having left the team and working out in a public gym for the first time, Elena finally got to experience doing what she had always done, but in a broader setting where she could stay anonymous if she wanted to. The first thing she noticed, fittingly enough, were the other people. Some were fat, some were thin, some were tall, etc. For the first time, Elena saw that people of all walks of life could engage in the same activities regardless of whether or not they were on an elite sports team. She did feel some amount of pity for the fat ones that she saw though, especially the women. Their heavier breasts, larger stomachs, soft thighs, and the copious sweating all seemed like quite the burden. Elena couldn't fathom how someone could just end up looking that way, so she figured that it must just be a choice.

Secondly, and ironically enough, people began to notice Elena just as much as she had begun to notice them. Actually being in a public space gave men opportunities to chat her up in ways they hadn't been able to before. Elena was obviously aware of the effect her buxom figure had, and nothing had changed, but now she no longer had the inner focus to shut it out. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, Elena's lack of social development in high school gave her no skills to interact with these guys anyway. She did, however, very much appreciate the attention and found herself putting a little extra effort into looking sexy before heading to the gym.

Then the summer ended, and Elena moved to school. This is what she had been preparing for all these months. The world was now her oyster and she could become whoever she wanted.

In no uncertain terms, Elena's first semester at Eastwestern was an enormous success. Going to parties and discovering the effects of alcohol, she found an outlet in which her social skills could be developed, while she simultaneously figured out how to take advantage of men's attention. Her first time having sex was incredible. That said, Elena, still obsessed with her individuality, had no interest in being in a relationship. Even her body, if anything, had improved. Elena knew what college could do to freshman. Her roommate looked like she had gained weight after only the first couple weeks. Being proactive, Elena kept up her workout routine from the summer and looked incredible for it. Through a mix of all these developments, Elena had finally developed a personality, and it was about as stereotypical for an attractive college freshman girl as one could imagine.

Knowing this, we can now return to Elena's meeting in the university official's office.

It was the end of the semester, and Elena was studying for her last final when she got an email from the coordinator of the university's athletics department. She had never engaged in any sort of contact with him before, so she had no idea what to expect. Regardless, she decided to go to his office the next day. When she arrived, he seemed a little to happy to see her, a little too accommodating. Elena now knew how to read people, and this man, this Coach Reid, wanted something.

Sitting her down, Reid then explained how the administration had sent him a list of the names of all athlete applicants in the hopes of getting him involved. He then explained how her name and background had stood out; she was apart of an award-winning team, after all. From there, he felt it was shame that someone of her talents was being underutilized by the school. As such, he had gotten the approval to form a synchro team, with Elena at the center of it all. In addition, Reid also said that the administration had also decided to offer her a large scholarship grant if she chose to accept.

Once Elena had expressed her shock, her mind began to race. After all she had done to forge her own path and separate herself from her high school path, Synchronized Swimming had returned to drag her back in. NO! She would not be anonymous again, she would not allow that to happen. On the other hand, the money that was being offered was quite generous. Since Elena's parents were already paying her full ride, she figured that she would be able keep at least a good chunk of the money, which would give her the freedom to not get a job while at school. This was a very appealing thought to Elena, who very much liked the way things were going at the moment. Then she asked herself if there was a way to not join the team, but still get the money. Knowing that she had to think things over, Elena told Coach Reid to email her the documents detailing the arrangement, and that she would give him an answer before her last final (and the beginning of winter vacation) in 2 days.

The next day, she received Reid's email. Reading the small print, Elena would be granted $20,000 per semester provided that she was on the team at the start of each term. It also said that accepting the agreement would bind her into staying on the team, meaning that she could not quit. It all sounded pretty much devastating to Elena, who was desperate to find a loophole. There was, however, one last footnote to read, which stated that her position on the team was up for review (and termination) based on Coach Reid's discretion. Elena's heart leapt, she had found her solution. If she could get Reid to kick her off the team, then she could at least keep one semester's worth of money; $20,000 was still more than she knew what to do with.

Before she emailed Reid to inform him of the "good news", she first had to consider how to get fired. Theoretically, if she broke a limb or showed up to a practice or meet under the influence, then she'd have to be kicked off the team. Elena didn't like either of these options, since they both would cause a bunch of other problems in their own right. Then the answer came to her. All it would take would be to ensure that her performance suffered to the point that the school's investment in her was no longer worth it. Elena thought if all those heavy people in the gym over the summer; they certainly wouldn't make it on a synchro team. It didn't have to be as extreme as that, though. She didn't have to look like those people, but maybe if she worked out a little less, and ate little more variety than fruits and vegetables, then that's all it would take to gain a little weight, get slightly less in shape, and become the weakest link on the team. Elena figured that she'd be working out regardless of whether she was on the team or not, so it wouldn't be a problem to fix whatever limited damage she would end up doing to herself.

It was a plan. Before sending off the confirmation, it occurred to Elena that this must be similar to the choice that those people originally made as well.