Hot Off the Press Page 15
Darryn shook the hands of the rest of the team. It was a ritual that Coach Tyson encouraged, even though Darryn knew that he was not well-liked among the other guys on the team. They often treated Darryn like he was beneath them, but they were forced to accept that he was one of their best first-year swimmers. Last in line for the handshake was JP, who didn’t say a word as he approached Darryn and squeezed his hand tightly, almost hurting him. Darryn squeezed back, and they stared straight into each other’s eyes. JP was trying to provoke him, he thought. But he resolved not to let JP ruin his proud moment. Darryn pulled his hand free and just walked away from JP, moving towards the locker room to change.
Mario came up to Darryn again as he walked towards the locker room, whispering in a serious tone, “Listen, Darryn, I need to talk to you. Your dad just called my phone, he said that he was trying to get through to you but that your phone was just ringing. He said it’s quite serious, about Billy, and you must call him back as soon as you can.” Mario had thin, sharp eyebrows and his hair was cut short on his round face, giving him an almost comical look which suited his jovial personality. It was rare to see Mario being serious, and the contrast of his playful features and serious words made Darryn uneasy.
“Thanks, Mario, let me just get to my phone. Can you drive me home? It will take too long to get there with the bus.”
“Sure. Go call your dad and I’ll tell Coach that I can’t be here for the rest of the races. I’ll be ready to go when you are.”
Darryn rushed into the locker room and opened his locker, taking out his ancient Nokia phone. He saw eight missed calls and two messages from his father, and immediately returned the call. His father answered in his deep voice, sounding nervous, “Hello? Darryn?”
“Dad, yes, what’s going on? Is Billy okay?”
“He just had another episode. I thought he was getting better when you left for your race this morning, but it’s not looking good. Can you come back now? You’re the only one who can calm him when he gets like this.”
“I’m on my way. Mario says he will give me a lift. Listen, don’t worry. I’m gonna be there in twenty minutes. Just try and see if you can play some music for him until I get there.”
“I’m sorry, Darryn. I know it’s an important day. I just don’t know what to do.” His father’s voice was faltering, and Darryn felt sorry for him. His father was approaching fifty and not in the best of health himself, and all of the worry over Billy was really getting to him.
“Don’t worry. I’m done here and I’ll be back soon. Just stay with him.”
Darryn hung up the phone and didn’t bother showering, throwing on his clothes and rushing out. His face hung in a look of worry, his sharp cheekbones and serious brown eyes accentuating the look of sadness and fear. He knew that he should have stayed home with Billy. He rushed towards Mario’s car, desperate to get home as soon as he could.
Read the rest of the book at getbook.at/againstthetide