For practice heats, swimmers are assigned to lanes based upon their overall rankings on the team. Naturally, Rory’s in the first lane. But as he steps up onto the starting block, he’s a little unnerved to see Chase only three lanes down. Really? The guy just made the team and he’s already starting so high? Rory wonders if maybe there’s something to worry about there after all—he did beat me this morning, he thinks, snapping his goggles into place and wincing at the sting of plastic against his face. But that’s only because I wasn’t expecting company, and I didn’t even know he was in the pool. Let’s see how fast he is now.
The answer is too fast for Rory’s liking. The moment the heat starts, Chase dives into the pool and hits the water a good two seconds before Rory, which means he has a h
