Dive

• Aruna Wasala, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2021

“Mitch Peers, final diver for the day.”
The tinny voice rang out over the pool complex, and Mitch shivered, his nerves tight with tension. His senses seemed to have left him until he felt a shove in the back, his coach pushing him to go. He stumbled forwards and strutted toward the diving board. He had eyes only for the shimmering, serene blue water of the 2-metre-deep diving pool. It looked so enticing on a warm night like this. But never had he wanted to plunge into it less. His train of thought shattered as his cold feet hit the edge of the diving board. He didn’t remember walking here. Taking a tremendous breath, he gazed up. The diving board looked higher from here, seemingly scraping against the untroubled orange sky. He shook his head, angry at himself. He hadn’t come this far to look at the diving board. As slow as a half-dead turtle, he started climbing the ladder. He could feel the penetrating gazes of his team members and his coach boring holes into his back, sharp as knives, but he didn’t care. This was his moment. His time to shine. Climbing up to the top seemed to take forever and a day. Standing up, he stretched his arms and legs, until the speaker started announcing him again. As a child, he had imagined this moment, played it over and over again in his head until it had attained a dreamlike quality. The lights had flashed in his fantasy, the announcer had said the exact words that she was saying now.
“Little Mitch Peers, youngest diver in the Olympic games.” She was saying.
Listening to the words, knowing they were real was the very definition of joy to Mitch, but at the same time, it signified terror. What if he failed? What if he slipped? A maelstrom of doubts whirled through his mind in a churning mixture of emotion and apprehension. The announcer stopped speaking, and a whistle blew, barely penetrating the edge of Mitch’s thoughts. He got into the diving position, which had been drilled into his very core so much that his body knew what to do by instinct. Between the few seconds after getting into position and diving, time seemed to slow down to a shuddering and abrupt halt. His mind flashed back to a memory, of that fateful day, the best day of his life. The day he had qualified for Olympic diving. A normal day of training, till his coach ran in with a letter in his hand. At that moment, Mitch had fallen off the board with shock. He vividly recalled the feeling that had churned through his body at a million miles per hour. Euphoria. With a jolt, he thudded back to reality. Grinning, he drew a breath.
And he dove.