The hidden talent

The Hidden Talent 

He had been unseen, unnoticed, and unheard. No one ever recognized him because he was just a bystander, trying to fit in. He was always just there but no one really cared. Just another regular. He was done being so regular though, he wanted to stand out, be seen.

Rico went to a school of over 3000 students, there were so many cliques and settings he wasn’t cool enough for. Rico was gifted though, he was an exceptional swimmer but no one cared because he wouldn’t talk to any until it all changed. 

Rico was walking through the halls and saw a table with two boys sitting quietly, these boys looked very misshapen, bulging shoulders and quads you could tell they were athletes but couldn’t tell what sport. The sign on the table was for the swim team so Rico decided to change the way he was living, come out of hibernation. Tryouts were on Friday so he had a week to prepare. Little did he know he’d be the best swimmer in California. 

Comes Friday and Rico is ready. He had been running and lifting every day twice a day just to prepare. He shows up to tryouts and there are just tons of kids of all sizes and shapes in line to swim. The captains sizing up each kid looking for the kids in the best shape, it didn’t even matter if they knew how to swim. It was time to shine, Rico climbed up on the diving board to begin the race. Rico could swim for days, but no one even knew his name. Clearing his head was the most important part of his whole race. Three, two, one, go, and Rico dove into the water, his heart beating rapidly. Rico was on the way to become the best high school swimmer in California, finishing his tryouts 100m in just 54 seconds. Rico was done hiding, done hibernating. 

Rico ran home with joy after tryouts, easily making the team and smoking all the other swimmers. Rico’s dad wasn’t as proud as he expected because Rico didn’t have great grades. He says that all this swimming doesn’t mean anything because grades are most important. Rico knew it was true too he just expected a little bit more. Thursday was their first meet and Rico couldn’t be more excited because people were noticing him. After his excellent performance at tryouts the whole team wanted to talk to him, he felt like a celebrity. Rico had only a few days to get his grades up so he could compete, working part-time, swimming, and taking AP classes was near impossible for him, he had to grind. Rico was failing multiple classes and none of his teachers really liked him because he had always just been a bystander. Going to multiple study halls after work he managed to get two of his Fs up to Cs in just two days. AP Lang was his toughest class his teacher was scary and tough but was always willing to help. So, Thursday, the day of the meet Rico spent all morning in his English teachers class, finishing around three missing assignments with the help of his teachers Rico was eligible to compete. 

Rico gets on the bus and immediately puts his headphones on, he doesn’t want anything distracting him from the most important thing, winning this meet. He’s still new to the team so even though everyone respects him he still getting used to not being an outcast. Rico and his team pull up to the facility and it is just insane he is shocked by the size of the pool and the number of people surrounding it. In this pool, more than 20 people could race at the same time which made him a little more comfortable because at his school there could only be 10. Rico was focused, the only thing on his mind was winning. Three, two, one, go and they were off Rico was off to a bad start he needed to catch up. There were just two people in front of him, he started to pick up the pace and finished his first race just barely in second place. He needed to pull it together in order to win this race and qualify for states. So the second race begins he is off to a great start, way out ahead of his opponents but he won’t hold back until he knows he won. The meet is all over and Rico barely took home the gold. Rico was surrounded by his joyful teammates but Rico wasn’t happy. He needed to step it up, the job wasn’t done. 

States was in a month but Rico was in no shape to compete with those kids, most of them had devoted their whole lives to swimming. He could never do that, Rico had enough on his plate and just had to keep his grades up until then. His grades were good enough to be eligible but he still had to keep them up while staying in shape for states. Rico never thought hed make it this far, from being an outcast to one of the best swimmers in California someday Rico wanted to make it to the Olympics.

It’s the day before states and Rico’s grades are near perfect, he’s one of the most popular kids in school, he’s won every meet he’s been to but he just doesn’t feel right. He’s done everything right but there’s something off. So he goes to the pool early and swims, this helps him relax and calm down. He’s back to his old environment with no one around him just alone. He decides to run home instead of the bus just to get some time to mentally prepare for the big meet. When he gets home his dad is yelling at him for not working enough Rico cant take it he ignores him and goes straight to his room. He doesn’t want any distractions from winning states.

It’s the next day and Rico is feeling better than ever physically and mentally. there’s nothing on his mind but winning he will not let anything stop him from winning. Even though he’s very well known Rico doesn’t want all the attention right now because he needs to focus. He gets on the diving board and clears his mind, humming the song he last listened to on the bus, he gets into a rhythm and is ready to dominate. The race begins and is a little behind first he gets a perfect tumble turn and is dead even with the number 1 swimmer in the state, his name is Ronald McSwagger he’s never lost in his highschool career. Until now, barely winning for his team he couldn’t be happier. Rico came out of hibernation and was no longer an outcast because every swimmer in the state knew him.