Victory

As Brice left the pool triumphantly, Frankie just floated there.

She really should’ve been able to accept that she lost quite easily, considering the skill gap. But for whatever reason, it felt soul-crushing.

As her head bobbed under the surface of the water, she stared down at the pool floor beneath her- a place she thought she might never escape.

But a shadow crept across the depths. And as she raised her head, she saw a hand stuck out to her- a hand belonging to Brice himself.

He didn’t say anything to her. But he looked at her in a way he hadn’t ever before. With a frank and relaxed half-smile slipping onto his face, the guy looked honest.

She took hold of his palm, and was pulled to the side of the pool by his honed strength. Umi and Katie running up to her, she was immediately met with their praises.

“That was so cool!”

“You almost beat him, Frankie!”

She could only glower at the man, tilting her neck upwards to see his almost proud face.

“You don’t like swimming, do you?” He said casually, like it was a joke. There wasn’t the slightest rude intention in the words.

“Not really.” The girl laid on the line.

“I figured. You know, I was gonna go easy on you at first.”

“At first?” Frankie’s tired eyes glared, her body pushed to its limits.

“Then I saw it. That look on your face right before we started. You wanted to win, but you weren’t looking forward to fighting.”

Frankie thought back to when they stood prepared at the edge of the pool.

“That was when I thought I’d put it all on the line for you, give you a real show. Instead of letting you win, I’d give you something better- I’d piss you off enough to push yourself for once.”

Her muscles remembered the strain of her first push after Brice surpassed her.

“Truth is, I didn’t let up until I heard you really start fighting for it. That’s the only point I put the kid gloves on for ya.”

Frankie reminisced to taking the lead for the time she did.

“You must think I’m a real sick kinda guy, huh? Letting you believe you were gonna win like that?”

Frankie scowled, gritting her teeth at the asshole looking down on her.

“I just wanted to show it to you for awhile- the strength you could have if you put that power into something you actually liked.”

He rested his hand on his opponent’s shoulder.

“You were never gonna beat me, kid. But for some reason, you believed you could. Against a gold medal like me. Ain’t that crazy?”

He laughed, removing his hand to grip it to his hip.

“I’m sorry you couldn’t beat me, miss. But you sure as hell beat some version of yourself.”

Brice smiled at Frankie, lips drawn all the way across his goofy face like he was looking at his own daughter.

“Be proud.”

Umi approached him.

“Why are you here?” She asked. “Surely you didn’t come just to race one of our visitors.”

“I never dreamed someone would draw this kinda reaction outta me.” He chuckled. “No, I’m just here for a friend.”

“Friend…?” Umi muttered, the loner in front of her still grinning.

“Yeah… he ain’t here right now, sadly. But he’d been to this park, once in his life.” Brice watched the wobbling reflections in the water’s surface. “That was… the last time he went to a place like this. And it’s my knowledge that… he came here with that intention.”

Frankie watched the puddle of sweat and water forming under herself, her trials and efforts spilling out into the tile ground.

“It was… very regrettably, too unkind a world for someone like him. And I should’ve been there to help him with that.” Brice’s sad eyes cowered. “He took his life, on that same Gigawhale ride I climbed up and slid down many times this day. That was the promise I made to him, long after it was too late to tell him myself. Like him, I was scared. Everytime I thought of those silly things I saw his face. Whenever a park or a slide was mentioned, I recalled all the words I never got to say to him.”

The water finally grew still, the lineage of the waves created by the swimmers at long last fading into calm waters.

“It didn’t get any better, riding that thing. I thought of him every time I took another step in line or crawled into that old raft. But it was good, I think.” He mourned. “Thinking of him… doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I had fun… the fourth or fifth time I slid down it.”

The second Frankie finally garnered the courage to look up at the man, he spoke to her with a newly-formed smile.

“Tell ya what, kid. I’m gonna leave now. I got everything I wanted out of this visit.”

Her eyes glew.

“Just don’t take it the wrong way. Can’t always get whatever you want, punk.”

He showed his teeth in grinning defiance.

“T-thank you, sir…” Katie spoke for her sister. “Im sure she’s very grateful…”

He nodded, taking a few paces to grab the bags he’d already set back here in anticipation for the end of the race, as he stopped one moment before leaving the wide building.

“We’re all suffering.”

With that, Brice Gills ended his day at Makoasisis. And Frankie’s childish dream… was granted with honor.