chapter 6

Elena was nearing Reid's office, which was located on the far end of the locker room and showers. As she went through, she remembered the two meets that had occurred since that night after the first practice.

lt was about 6 weeks later when it was time for the first meet. Elena hadn't been anywhere near a pool in that time, despite the "updates" she was sending Reid on a weekly basis. Elena walked into the locker room and began to change. Taking off her jeans first, she tried her best to ignore the fact that they had gotten tighter recently. Her thighs, as well as the rest her body had gotten softer lately. Taking off her shirt, she could see the slight crease along her stomach, and the small amount of flesh that pooched very slightly over her panties. Simply put, she was looking a little spongy. She hadn't stepped on a scale in a while, but she figured that she had gained another 5 pounds or so.

She had certainly been eating with plenty of gusto in the intervening time. For every banana at breakfast, there was a plate full of bacon, hash browns, or french toast, for every light cup of soup for lunch, there was a burger or maybe some bbq, and with every salad for dinner, there was an enormous burrito followed by a pile of cookies. Combined with reduced amount of weight training, Elena's new lifestyle was taking its toll. For all this, however, Elena was looking hot. In her swimsuit, even less was left to the imagination, and it looked great.

Having finished changing, Elena went out to compete. She had always enjoyed the meets more than the practices. This time around, it was exhausting work, but she managed to keep up. To an observer, it looked like everyone was at the same skill level, even though Elena was the only veteran. Clearly her skills had degraded, but it wasn't enough to "jeopardize" her position the team, or even to get Reid to comment on it. After the meet, he only told her to up the routine that she had been emailing him about. If he was at all disappointed in her performance, he didn't show it.

Elena consciously knew that she wasn't at the stage yet where she would be ejected from the team, but found herself being upset at Coach Reid's seeming obliviousness to any sort of change. Elena wasn't a fan of what was happening to her body, but she told herself that maybe the next meet would elicit her desired results. To that end, and feeling determined as well as famished, Elena skipped taking a shower and went straight to the dining hall.

Another 6 weeks went by, and Elena had continued her eating habits and workout routine. In fact, if she was being honest, her time spent weight training had been reduced yet again, this time to about 40 minutes. These days, Elena spent much of her time and energy trying her absolute hardest to ignore the changes that had beset her.

Going back to the locker room for the second meet of the season, of which there were supposed to be three, followed by a final, Elena prepared to change into her swimsuit. This time around, Elena was at least thankful that her jeans came off with ease. Unfortunately, this was the result her having to buy a new pair about a week earlier. She hated having to make that purpose, not only because she had liked her old pair, but because if forced her to consciously acknowledge to herself that she had gained more weight and needed them.

Before and since, Elena had avoided mirrors like a vampire, but the day she went jeans shopping, she was forced to look at herself. In her original clothes, everything looked a bit small, but when she stripped down in the Macy's changing room, she saw the reality. Her face, which had always been angular, now looked slightly fuller, but otherwise not much had changed. Just about everywhere else though, Elena starting to look thick. Elena knew that she had lost some muscle mass, but was shocked at how little definition was left. Her biceps and triceps were now larger and soft, which explained the tightening around her sleeves. Her thighs, as well as her calves, were thicker than ever. Elena even noticed, to her horror, very slight amounts of what looked to be cellulite accumulate on the back of her upper thigh. She then turned her eyes to her stomach, which looked bloated from the two meals that she had already consumed that day.

Even without all the food in it, Elena's stomach would've looked bigger. The slight crease from 6 weeks earlier had deepened, forming her first roll. The small pooch had grown as well, now obscuring the view of the top edge of her panties. The place that hadn't changed at all, however, was her chest, much to Elena's displeasure. She figured that it would've at least been the single positive out of this experience, besides the money, but she was sure that her breasts would grow in time. Elena then poked herself all over to make sure that her beloved muscles were at least still there. Elena found them intact, yet not even close to being rock hard, which was still successful in keeping her extreme anxiety at bay. Having visually assessed the damage, Elena guessed that she must've gained at least another 5 pounds, but that was probably wishful thinking. Elena then looked away, gave the new pair of jeans a try, and immediately purchased them.

Elena finished changing in the locker room, which accentuated the changes in her physique, and was ready to give another shot at disappointing Coach Reid. If observers last time thought that whole team looked to be on equal footing, this time they must have thought that Elena was a newbie or a substitute. Elena struggled to keep up, but ultimately came out in one piece. It wasn't as bad as it could've been, which came as the single silver lining, but she was gonna have to sleep for a week to recover from this. Reid didn't ask to speak to her afterwards, but they did make eye contact, in which he gave her clearly disappointed shake of the head. Elena was glad to have made some progress, but she wasn't happy that she still remained on the team. She could only hope that repercussions would come soon.

Now, a few days later, those repercussions arrived when Elena received a message from Reid, who apparently "wanted to talk". Going into his office, Reid sat her down and expressed his concern for her declining performance. He even noted that perhaps she was slacking, since he had been generous enough to exempt her from team practices. Elena didn't argue, she had no interest in begging or pleading. She was going to let him play this out. Reid ended his lecture by presenting an ultimatum: He was going to give her the benefit of the doubt, but wasn't gonna let her participate in the next meet. Instead, she was to use that time to focus her energies on coming in strong for their big final in 2 months. If she was anything less than stellar, or if she continued to get worse, then he would have no choice but to remove her from the team.

Elena thanked him for his leniency, pretended to earnestly promise to improve, then walked away. With her back turned, Elena had a giant smirk on her face, all feelings of frustration gone. After all the trials, tribulations, anxiety, and doubt, her goal was finally within reach. Elena couldn't wait for Reid to see her at the final, she hoped that he would kick her out on the spot. If that happened, then everything could go back to normal, which was all she really wanted at this point. For now, Elena had two months to prepare, so she was gonna have to redouble her efforts...