Chapter Text
I laid on my back, hands tucked underneath my head as I squinted up at the dingy white ceiling tiles above me. I shifted my hips and groaned, trying to get comfortable as my muscles cringed against the firm springs of my extra-long twin mattress. I missed my extravagant pillow-topped cloud of a bed I’d left behind at the Homestead. Maybe I should have stayed home to pursue an online degree from the luxury of my own bedroom.
“I don’t know anything about rowing, Chrissy. Tell me again. Why is it a good idea for us to sign up for a college team?”
I rolled onto my side to face my best friend of nearly 10 years, who also currently happened to be my freshman roommate here at Purgatory College. Her bed sat opposite to mine across the room. And despite the fact it was nearly 8 PM, it was still unmade. Her duvet and sheets were heaped in a messy pile. She sat cross-legged on top of them, scrolling through TikTok. I quietly observed her repeatedly flick her thumb across the screen every few seconds, too impatient to watch a complete video clip before moving onto the next one in her feed. I made a mental note to look into buying Chrissy a pair of headphones for the holidays to spare me from the noise. Or maybe a nice pair of noise canceling ones for myself…
“Waves, it’s a novice team. For beginners. Literally no experience necessary. Although…” she diverted her eyes up from her phone for a brief moment to perk an eyebrow at me questionably. “You do know how to swim, right?”
“You know I can swim! We’ve swam at your lake house nearly every summer since we were kids.”
She shrugged, directing her attention back to TikTok to continue scrolling. “Just gotta make sure there’s no chance of drowning out there.”
I frowned. “Isn’t the whole point to stay inside the boat?”
“Unless you catch a crab.”
“What?” I scoffed. “Catch a crab?” I repeated, mockingly. “You’re making that up.”
She laughed. “It’s a real thing!”
“Do tell me more,” I plead sarcastically. I sat upright, legs now dangling over the edge of my bed.
She closed out of TikTok and began tapping her thumbs against her phone. My ears relished in the silence for a few moments as she now searched for something. Seconds later, she tossed her phone at me to watch a video she’d pulled up. I peered at the screen. The video was currently paused on a long, narrow, burgundy colored boat full of guys. “Purgatory College” was printed on the side of the boat in bold white letters.
“You remember how my brother rowed on the varsity team last year?” She asked.
“Yes,” I sighed. “And then he graduated and not only convinced you to follow in his footsteps, but to try and now drag me along as well.”
She smirked, pointing over at her phone. “That was his boat at one of the regattas last spring. Check it out.”
I pressed play and observed the Purgatory College boat rowing side by side with another boat. The competitor gained traction, soon widening the gap between them.
“Chrissy, what am I looking for?” I asked impatiently.
“Shh, wait. Just watch. Look!”
One of the guys suddenly ricocheted out of the burgundy boat and splashed into the water. His team pursued the finish line without him as if nothing had happened. I gasped, watching him tread water in the middle of the lake before quickly rewinding the video. The second time around, I watched closer in order to better understand what had happened. His oar had gotten stuck in the water, causing the handle to smash into his stomach. The impact propelled him up and over and into the lake.
“Jesus,” I muttered, eyes wide. I bit my lip, rewinding the clip yet again in slight amusement.
Chrissy shook her head with a tsk. “Good thing the boy could swim. Imagine how cold it must have been though. Sheesh.”
I pictured myself stranded out in the freezing cold water, shivering involuntarily. Maybe this really wasn’t such a good idea. I mean, yeah, I’d say I’m in relatively good shape. Great, even. I run. I do yoga. I love my Peloton bike as much as any other basic bitch. But there had to be other activities on campus far less strenuous than rowing that Chrissy and I could do to settle in as baby freshmen.
Chrissy must have noticed the worry plastered across my face because she quickly jumped up and snatched her phone out of my hand. She was once again furiously typing away before she tossed the phone back at me. I looked down at a photo she’d now pulled up. It was another Purgatory College boat out on the water; however, this one was much smaller than the men’s boat from the video - about half the size - and had female rowers. There were 4 of them with their arms stretched forward, legs compressed and knees bent, and defined muscles rippling deliciously in their backs, shoulders, legs, and arms. The temperature in our dorm room suddenly felt warmer.
My eyes settled upon a 5th woman seated at the head of the boat. The 4 rowers were all lined up in the boat, facing her. She wore a burgundy Purgatory College windbreaker jacket and a matching baseball cap. Her frame was noticeably smaller compared to the other rowers. She also wasn’t holding an oar. She was bent forward slightly and looked like she was…shouting something?
“Look at the little one, Wave!” She pointed at the 5th female I’d been staring at. “That’s the coxswain.”
“Cocks-in?” I awkwardly repeated.
What in the world.
“Mhm, coxswain,” she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
“Now I’m convinced you’re making shit up. Come on!”
“Get your head out of the gutter! Coxswain!”
“Alright, stop saying it!” I threw a pillow at her.
She caught it and tossed it back at me. “No but seriously, they’re like the smallest one in the boat and basically all they do is sit there and shout at everyone to row! You’d be so good. You’re so fierce and demanding. Not to mention you’re tiny!”
I pinched the picture on the screen, zooming in closer on the coxswain’s face. Her expression was indeed fierce. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her mouth was open like she was in the middle of barking out a command. I pictured myself in her seat, leaning forward and gazing into the eyes of a sexy, chiseled rower seated right in front of me. Shouting to go faster. Harder. I felt my cheeks flush and immediately stood up, tossing Chrissy’s phone onto her bed like a hot potato.
I moseyed over to my small, wooden dresser, and opened up a drawer of workout clothes. It was filled to the brim with an array of colorful spandex shorts, leggings, and tanks. I turned towards Chrissy who was in the middle of taking a selfie.
“Let’s say, hypothetically, I agree to try out for the team…” I started skeptically. Chrissy was suddenly beaming with excitement.
My phone vibrated, notifying me I’d received a Snapchat from Chrissy. I opened it, rolling my eyes at her in response to the selfie she’d just sent me. She grinned.
“What do we wear? What do you think they’re gonna make us do?” I continued, questions now flooding my brain. “When do we even find out when the season starts? It’s been like 2 weeks we’ve been on campus. You’d think they’d send out some kind of announcement by now, wouldn’t you?”
Chrissy bit her lip and jumped off the bed. She hesitantly slipped a piece of paper out from a folder on her desk. It looked like some kind of flyer.
“Waverly Earp. All great questions…”
“Chris…”
“You should ask those during the informational session.” She waved the flyer in her hand, smiling innocently.
I clenched my jaw. “When is this session exactly?”
“Tonight…” the tone in her now soft voice trailing higher.
“Tonight?” I repeated firmly.
She glanced at the lock screen of her phone. “Maybe in like, I don’t know, 20 minutes?”
“Chrissy Nedley, what the fuck! I look like garbage!”
“We both know that’s literally a lie. Brush those luscious brown locks and let’s go.”
I scrambled into the bathroom connected to our room. I frowned at my reflection in the mirror and frantically splashed some water on my face.
“You kept this a secret on purpose so you could butter me up and then keep me from backing out!” I shouted, aggressively brushing through some knots in my hair.
My phone lit up and vibrated from the counter, displaying another Snapchat notification from Chrissy. I opened it to display yet another selfie, now with some kind of dog face filter.
“We’ve been best friends forever, Wave!” she replied, tying her long, dirty blonde hair up into a ponytail. “I know how my girl works.”
“You’re a sneak!” I puckered my lips as I applied some gloss, hoping I’d look somewhat decent to a room full of strangers. “Why are we still friends?”
Chrissy chuckled softly as she tightened the laces of her sneakers by the front door. “I’m telling you. You’ve already got that shouting and demanding thing down, Ms. Coxswain! Look out ladies.”
I emerged from the bathroom and snatched my burgundy Purgatory College hoodie from the closet in a rush. I pulled it over my old, worn out, light gray high school cheer t-shirt I’d anticipated lounging in for the night from the privacy of my own room while watching tonight’s new episode of Survivor.
Chrissy opened the door, looking at the imaginary watch on her wrist to indicate that I needed to hurry the fuck up.
“I want a divorce,” I mumbled, scurrying through the doorway behind Chrissy who dramatically gasped at such a statement.
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do,” I insisted, locking the door.
“You love me too much.”
“Maybe. Where are we going?”
“Garden auditorium.”
“Awesome sauce,” I muttered reluctantly.
Chrissy and I headed outside, cutting through the grassy quad in a direct line towards the auditorium. We were cutting it close, no thanks to Chrissy, but luckily, we didn’t have to walk very far. The mid-September air was already feeling pretty crisp now that the sun was down. I slipped my phone out of my pocket to send a quick text.
“Who’s that?” Chrissy asked.
“Wynonna. I asked if she’d come visit sometime soon to drop off my winter coat.”
My phone vibrated seconds after. “Yay!” I chirped to myself after reading her reply.
I reached out to open the auditorium door, Chrissy right behind me.
“She say yes?”
“Surprisingly, yes. Must miss me already.”
“What a great sister.”
“She has her moments,” I grinned.
“My brother’s not coming back to visit until May.”
“What’s in May?”
“He’s rowing in the alumni race.”
I scoffed. “Oh, Kyle.”
A blonde woman stood behind a wooden podium at the front of the auditorium, sporting a burgundy Purgatory College Women’s Crew bomber jacket. “Come on in, ladies, take a seat. We’ll be starting in just a minute,” she said, gesturing for those of us standing at the back entrance to come closer. She must have been the coach.
I glanced around the room. There were maybe 30 or so girls scattered in seats. Definitely also freshmen like me and Chrissy.
“You’re a sucker for the front row. Wanna go down there? Show them we mean business?” she jested.
I darted my eyes to a small cluster of girls who were standing a few feet over from the blonde, sporting similar jackets. They were laughing and chatting animatedly amongst themselves. Rowers, I’d assume. Upperclassmen - they definitely had at least a couple years on us. Brown eyes of one of the rowers met mine, followed by a wink. Her vibrant red hair was wrapped up in a messy bun. I quickly averted my eyes, my stomach churning uneasily.
Chrissy nudged my shoulder. “Earth to Wave. Where do you wanna sit?”
It was normal for me to sit in the front row of my classes. No shame. I wanted my professors to know who I was. Right now, however, my feet refused to budge. So, I immediately plopped myself down into the nearest open seat.
Chrissy waved her hand at me, directing me to at least slide down another seat so she could sit down next to me.
“Hi ladies, I’m Jeannie Lucado,” the blonde began. The chattering voices around us immediately hushed. “I’ll be the head coach of this year’s freshman novice team. We’re thrilled to see so many of you here tonight. I already know this is going to be a great season, right girls?” She turned to face the small cluster of rowers who started clapping and hollering excitedly in response. Lucado grinned, motioning for them to come closer. They swarmed around her - a blonde and brunette on her left, the redhead to her right.
“Unfortunately, our varsity coach, Xavier Dolls, had a conflict and couldn’t be here tonight. However, a few of our beloved senior varsity team members have graced us with their presence. Joining me, we have Eliza Shapiro, Rosita Bustillos, and Nicole Haught - our varsity captain.”
Chrissy leaned over, whispering in my ear the exact thought that was running through my head. “Hot. Go figure, eh?”
My mouth went dry as I stared at the redhead’s legs. Her muscles stood proud and prominent through the polyester fabric of her black and white striped Adidas sweatpants. I lifted my gaze higher up Nicole’s body and felt my breath catch in my throat as my eyes locked with hers. I was obviously checking her out. Hard. And she’d caught me. She shot me a smile. God, she was beautiful. And fuck me, was that a dimple?
I quickly looked back at Lucado, who was currently explaining that in order to join the team, we needed to know how to swim. Chrissy elbowed my side deliberately. I ignored her.
I needed to get my freaking shit together and focus. I’d registered absolutely nothing Lucado said the entire time I was eye-fucking the goddess beside her. Hopefully it wasn’t anything too important.
“Our first practice of the season will be tomorrow night at 7 o’clock. It’ll be a swim test over at the Athletic Center pool where you’ll be expected to tread water for 45 minutes. Don’t show up without a bathing suit. Once we’ve formally validated that everyone can swim, then the more exciting stuff will follow. You’ll get a more detailed rundown tomorrow of what you can expect during winter training over the upcoming weeks.”
One girl’s hand immediately shot up. “Do the novice and varsity teams practice together?”
“Coach Dolls and I manage our own separate schedules. We’ll typically stagger our time spent in the gym and the pool to avoid working out on top of each other. But our practice schedules will still occasionally overlap, so it’s common to run into each other.”
“Like during morning sessions out on the lake!” Eliza chirped.
“Bright and early,” Nicole emphasized. “On weekdays, plan to be at practice by 5AM. I hope y’all are early birds.”
That voice though.
A few scattered groans filled the room.
“That’s right,” Lucado chimed back in. “We expect all team members, novice or not, to be in bed early during the week. No late night partying. There’ll be no sympathy for anyone who shows up to practice hungover.”
“Or any no-shows,” Nicole added.
Lucado nodded. “Especially no-shows. Everyone will have a designated seat in a boat. If you don’t show up to practice because you’re hungover or you’re too tired, that’s an empty seat we’ll have to scramble to fill, and you’ll be ultimately letting your boat mates down. It’s one thing to have a valid excuse not to attend practice. If you’re actually sick, that’s fine. Stay home. But we’ll have no tolerance for anyone who intentionally skips out on practice because they don’t feel like it. Doesn’t matter that this is a novice team. We’ll be working and competing just as hard as any other experienced team. If you aren’t willing to put in the effort, then this might not be the right fit for you."
“Maybe try golf or ultimate frisbee,” Eliza jeered. Nicole snorted loudly.
Rosita jumped in. “But if we haven’t scared you off by now, we’d love for you to give it a shot! This entire team really is like one big family.”
“Thanks again for stopping by tonight. We’ll stick around up here for a few minutes in case any of you happen to have some more questions for us. I’ll see the rest of you tomorrow at the pool. 7 o’clock!”
Lucado and the rowers waved at the crowd who chimed out a series of thank you’s as they filed out of the auditorium. I exhaled, turning my head towards Chrissy as we both stood up.
“Any questions for the girls, Waves?” She pointed her thumb over in their direction, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
I shook my head and started heading towards the doors. “Nooo, thank you.”
She huffed, following behind me.
“It’s late. Don’t we gotta start getting to bed early?” I quipped, causing Chrissy to shriek in excitement.
“Yes, bitch! I knew you’d come around.”
It’s usually not very easy for me to willingly throw myself into something so foreign, but for some reason I was feeling surprisingly motivated coming out of that session. I do love a good challenge, as well as an opportunity to learn and excel at something new. And this was definitely all very new to me. It was also comforting to know that all the other novice rowers would literally be in the same boat as me - no pun intended - having absolutely no prior rowing experience. We’d all be starting from the ground up, figuring it all out together. Kind of like college for us in general, really, as freshmen. We’d get through this together.
My mind drifted back to Rosita’s words: like one big family. I liked the sound of that. Who knows? Maybe this whole rowing thing could actually end up being kind of fun after all.
I cringed, now reflecting upon my awkward moment with Nicole. She must have thought I was a complete loser, ogling her like a creep. At least our practices would be held separately, so she wouldn’t get to witness me make a total fool of myself. No problem there. This could actually work.
“Hey, have a great night guys,” Nicole breathed in passing as she came up from behind me and Chrissy. She turned her head back over her shoulder. “Hope to be seeing you around,” she smiled, giving me a wink. She tucked her hands in her pockets as her long legs advanced her further ahead of us.
“See you around!” Chrissy cheerfully replied back.
Well, fuck me.