"So where were you yesterday?" Kimmie asked as soon as I slipped into the women's locker room.

"Oh, nowhere," I replied vaguely.

Kimmie raised her eyebrows.

"Well..." I shimmied out of my clothing to reveal my sleek racing suit underneath. "Actually, my dad took me on a short trip."

"Really? I wish my parents would do that," she said wistfully. "Where did he take you?"

"Oh, you know, for a drive in the countryside. Nothing special." I grabbed my swim cap and goggles, wondering if I should tell her the rest of the news. But no—that would only cause unnecessary drama before our meet, and I couldn't do that to Kimmie. Besides, how likely was it that Dad and I were going to move all the way out to Shady Cove? I didn't want to stir up any false anxiety.

Despite justifying my explanation in my mind, it still felt wrong leaving out the details. Kimmie and I had been best friends since we were in elementary school, and we usually shared everything with each other. I winced and was about to change the subject when Kimmie spoke again.

"I still can't believe you missed an entire school day just for a drive in the country. I mean," she clarified, "I'd rather be anywhere else than at school flipping through textbooks, but why did your dad take you out of school yesterday, of all days? Coach was surprised that his star swimmer actually missed a day of practice. It's unheard of."

"Yeah," I murmured, my thoughts elsewhere. I remembered how Dad and I had driven through Shady Cove, glancing at the quaint little beach shops and watching the gray-blue water seawater hurl itself against the base of the Redrock Cliffs. Long, winding trails snaked down the bluffs to the benign cove where the town had got its name.

The "shady cove" actually was quite shady, as it was situated partly underneath an outcropping of cliff. Looking back, I realized no one had been splashing in the water or lounging on beach towels—the stormy weather had driven everyone indoors.

After observing the cove and the vast enormity of Redrock Cliffs, Dad and I had grabbed a snack at the Shady Cove Café. We had sipped hot chocolate and nibbled on cookies as the storm outside gradually worsened...

"Rayne?" Kimmie's voice shattered me out of my thoughts. "What's wrong—are you nervous about the meet?"

I shook myself out of my reverie. "No, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

Kimmie gave me a worried look before looping her arm through mine. "You're going to do great, as always," she reassured me. "Nobody can beat the lightning-fast Rayne Bennett!"

I forced myself to smile as Kimmie paraded us out the door and into the bright sunlight. The storm clouds had passed overnight, leaving everything smelling fresh and clean. It was a beautiful day for swimming, and as soon as my eyes landed on the sparkling blue water in the pool, my mind immediately kicked into racing mode. I was eager to jump in and get moving, to feel the cool wader gliding past my limbs, to reach out and stroke—

"Good morning, Rayne!"

I turned and saw Coach Davey striding towards me. "'Morning," I greeted.

"Hey, where were you yesterday?" he asked casually. "I was surprised when you didn't show for practice."

"My dad called the school. We had some family business to take care of."

Kimmie grinned, as if to say, Yeah right. 'Family business.'

If only she knew. Fortunately, Coach didn't catch the look of skepticism on Kimmie's face. "Well, I'm just glad you're here and ready to race," he continued. "You two can go on ahead and hop in the pool. Start warming up with your teammates. We have some tough races ahead of us!"

"We do?" Kimmie asked, her smile fading.

Coach nodded. "Don't worry. I have full confidence in you girls."

Kimmie smacked her palm against her forehead. "Oh, man, I forgot we're up against Shady Cove today!"

"Yes, and they have a good swim team this year..."

But I didn't hear the rest of his sentence. How could I have forgotten that I was racing against Shady Cove, of all schools, in today's meet? I swallowed apprehensively. "Come on," I muttered as Kimmie and I headed towards the pool. "It's no big deal."

But as I slid into the far lane to warm up with, I realized it was a big deal. That place had stirred up memories that would have otherwise lain dormant. Just remembering the picture hanging in my old bedroom made my blood run cold. I was petrified. No matter how many times I told myself to snap out of it, I just couldn't. Kimmie gave me another worried look, so I forced myself to smile. "I'm fine," I urged. "Don't worry about me."

"Are you sure? Because you seem a little jittery today."

I just waved her on. Kimmie sighed and pushed off the wall, automatically launching into freestyle. I waited a few seconds before following her, ducking my head underwater and using my legs to push off the wall. I closed my eyes and let the feeling of gliding through water take over. It felt so good, and before long all thoughts of Shady Cove and my old house vanished. After completing my final warm-up lap and pulling myself out of the pool, I let out a deep breath and smiled. It was time to race.

Kimmie and I waited with our other teammates by the side of the pool as the announcer called heat after heat. Finally it was time for the girls' 400 IM—an individual medley composed of swimming butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and finishing with freestyle. When the announcer called the names for Heat 1, my entire swim team cheered when they heard, "Rayne Bennett, lane 4."

I grinned and pulled my goggles down over my eyes. After adjusting my swim cap, I stepped up to the starting block in front of lane 4, my gaze fixated on the sparkling water below. Though I was always a tad nervous before racing, I was also pumped up with adrenaline. Swimming was my sport. As my gaze flickered over to my opponents, sizing them up, I told myself I could beat them—and beat them hard. This was my race, and I was going to win.

The referee blew a series of short whistles, followed by one long whistle. I stepped onto the starting block with my right foot forward, left foot back. I was ready.

"Take your marks."

I bent over and gripped the starting block with both hands. Letting out a deep breath, I narrowed my eyes and focused on the shifting turquoise water below. Let's do this.

The buzzer sounded. In a flash my arms extended and my legs thrust me from the starting block. I entered the water in a flawless dive and immediately began dolphin kicking. As soon as I glided near the surface of the water, my arms launched themselves into butterfly stroke. With each powerful pull I surged forward. Upon reaching the wall, I touched it with both hands before twisting my body around and pushing off in the opposite direction.

Now it was time for backstroke. I flew through backstroke and then breaststroke, my entire body focused on one thing—swimming. With each kick, my hunger for winning mounted. By the time I pushed off the wall and was sprinting to the finish, my muscles were fatigued from exertion and my lungs were screaming for air. But I pushed myself to go faster, never once slowing down until my hand slapped the wall and I jerked my head above the water.

"And in first place we have the swimmer in lane 4, Rayne Bennett!"

As soon as I heard the announcer's voice, a huge smile lit up my face. I'd done it—I'd won! I slapped the water with excitement and pulled myself out of the pool.

"Congrats, Rayne!" Kimmie smiled and wrapped her arms around me. "You'll never guess how much you beat the swimmer in second place by!"

"I don't know. What?" Still grinning, I turned and glanced at the scoreboard. My jaw immediately dropped open. The times of all six swimmers were flashing in red numbers. It was unbelievable.

"Five seconds?" I asked dumbly. "Wait, is that for real?"

"You better believe it!" Kimmie squealed.

I rubbed my eyes and gawked at the scoreboard. My time was astonishingly fast—but so fast that I had beaten the second-place swimmer by five seconds? I felt a wave of pride surge within me. That just had to be good enough to qualify for the Junior Olympics!

Coach Davey, who had been standing only a few paces away, reached over to give me a hive-five. "That was phenomenal," he boomed. "You just blew the socks off every person on the pool deck!"

I laughed and shook my head. "I don't even believe it myself," I said truthfully. A shiver of delight ran down my spine. It was almost too good to be true. And yet when I glanced back up at the scoreboard, it was indisputable. Numbers didn't lie. I had never swam faster in my life.

"Amazing job, honey," a familiar voice called.

I whirled around, and a smile immediately lit up my face when I saw who it was. "Dad!"

Despite my being soaked and shivering, Dad wrapped me in an enormous bear hug. "That was your best time by far," he said. "How did you swim so fast?"

"I don't know," I laughed. "But it felt good!"

Dad pulled away and looked me in the eyes. "Rayne, can we talk for a moment?" he asked, his voice dropping an octave.

I glanced over my shoulder at Coach, Kimmie, and the rest of my swim team. "I'll be right back," I told them.

Dad pulled me aside to a quiet corner of the pool deck. His eyes were glowing with excitement. "I don't know how you pulled that off, Rayne, but it was unbelievable." He gave a low whistle. "The Coach from Shady Cove High even walked up to me with a word of congratulations."

"What? He did?"

"He sure did! Isn't that great?"

I felt sick to my stomach. "Dad..."

"After telling him that we were moving to Shady Cove, he said he would personally ensure that you try out for the Junior Olympics. He really wants you on the Shady Cove swim team, and if you decide to join, he'll do everything he can to help you pursue your swimming dreams. Isn't that great?"

Great? Didn't he understand? I sighed and stared down at my bare feet, watching the endless water droplets trickling down my legs.

And then it hit me. "Wait," I said; "so we are moving back to Shady Cove?"

Dad realized his mistake. "Well...yes. You see, I bought the house."

My heart plummeted. So it was final—we were moving. And Dad taken the liberty of purchasing our old home without consulting me first.

He must have seen the outrage plastered on my face, because he quickly added, "Rayne, honey, I thought you would be excited at the possibility of moving back! And just wait until you meet the new swim coach."

I shook my head. "Not now, Dad. I don't want move there. We left all that behind when we moved here." I angrily blinked away a few tears. "And I like it here, Dad. Newland is a great city. Why can't we just find a smaller home or apartment in Newland? Why do we have to move back to that dumb old house in the middle of nowhere? Why do we have to be reminded of—of—" My hands, which had started gesturing wildly during my little rant, fell limply to my sides. "Never mind. You don't even listen to me anyway."

I was about to turn away when Dad said sharply, "Rayne. Please, just hear me out, okay? I know you're still a little unsure of how to handle this whole moving business, but I also know that nothing makes you happier than swimming. Is that right?"

I nodded mutely.

"This coach is willing to work with you and help you achieve your goal of going to the Junior Olympics. He's trained other athletes, students like yourself who have always dreamed of competing at an elite level, and they've made it. They swam in the Junior Olympics and won medals. So this coach obviously knows what he's talking about, and he sees something in you, Rayne. He sees a phenomenal athlete with the potential for a great future."

Though I was loath to admit it, his words rang true. The thought of being coached by someone who had trained future professionals was appealing.

"But there's a problem," I argued. "We're not moving back to Shady Cove. We can't."

"Is this because of your mother?"

I closed my eyes. "Yes," I admitted, "it is because of her. I don't want to move back our old house simply because you want to relive those memories. They're in the past, and they should stay in the past."

"You can't keep on shoving her away, Rayne," Dad said softly. "She is more a part of you than you realize. Sometimes we have to face those memories instead of pushing them into the darkest corners of our minds."

I knew he was right. But I had tried for so long to forget about her because all it brought was pain. I didn't want to remember her, but I also ached for that motherly role at the same time. It was too much to handle. "Look, Dad," I pleaded, "can we just talk about this later?"

He nodded reluctantly and gave me one more hug. "I'm proud of you, Rayne," he murmured into my ear. "Go enjoy your moment of victory."

I pursed my lips. Moment of victory? Because of him, that moment was lost. I couldn't get the thought of moving out of my head. With a sigh, I peeled off my swim cap and headed back over to Kimmie and the rest of my swim team.