Things as they seem pt 2

Are you sure this is a good idea?” Charlie asks me. 

“No.” 

“What if you get hurt? Or worse?” He seems genuinely worried about me. 

“I don’t know.” I shrug. 

After I was finished helping Thea I went to the contestants dorm to check on Charlie. The cut wasn’t as deep as I thought and had mostly scabbed over by now. 

He met me outside and I told him about what I decided. I’m not sure why, I guess I just want a friend. 

“Why did you sign up?” I ask. 

He looks away “Needed the money.” He smirks “And my brother dared me.” 

I roll my eyes but can’t help smiling “I don’t take dares.”

“What about you?” He asks. 

“Same reason. My dad lost his job last month, I figured it was my turn to help out. At least if I’m gone I’m not an expense.” I answer. 

“Man, how did it come to this?” Charlie kicks at the ground “Three years ago I was planning to go to college.” 

“It might get better.” I say, trying to be optimistic “There were more jobs this year.”

“Yeah I know.”

We’re silent for a few minutes. People pass us and the stars glitter in the sky. 

“Wanna run away with me?” Charlie asks. 

I laugh “What are you talking about?”

He’s laughing too “It just seems like it’d be easier sometimes.”

“I know what you mean.”

The door opens behind us “Hey Charlie, are you coming in or not?” 

“Yeah I’m coming.” He turns back to me “Goodnight Thessa.”

“Goodnight.”

I don’t sleep much. I keep reviewing Mary’s injury in my mind trying to find something I could have done differently. It doesn’t work and I finally fall into a restless sleep. 

Someone is shaking me. I wake up slowly and recognize the girl who was assigned to Mary. She has dark circles under her eyes and is stifling a yawn. I’m not the only one who had trouble sleeping. 

“What do you need?” I mumble. 

“Someone’s waiting outside for you.” She says. 

Oh right, I’m a stunt double today. I roll out of bed and get ready then go to the door. Charlie is standing on the other side looking like he just woke up. He’s wearing blue today, it looks nice on him. 

“What happened to you?” He asks. 

“Didn’t sleep well. You don’t look much better.” I tease. 

“Yeah, the drama in there is awful. Every emotion you have is magnified by ten and you have to read lines in front of a camera.” He groans. 

“Wow, that sounds absolutely horrible.” I say sarcastically. 

He just laughs, then says “I’m supposed to show you what to do.”

“Do you know what kind of contest they’re doing today?” I ask. 

“Just that it has to do with water.” He says. 

I follow him to a building I haven’t seen before. Inside is a pool that is double the size of the one I swam in when I was little. It’s also fifteen feet deep throughout the whole pool. No shallow end, so you better know how to swim. 

“The costume designer said she had something for you.” Says Charlie. 

“Okay.” I say, still taking in the vastness of the pool. 

“I’ve gotta go now. Don’t get hurt, I might still need you today.” He says before walking back out the door. 

I laugh, but grow serious when I remember that today I’m not just on the outside. Cross my heart and hope not to die. 

Thea is on the other side of the pool with two other women. She doesn’t seem to notice me, she’s talking angrily with one of the women and keeps shoving papers at the other one. I wander over there slowly, in no hurry to find out what happens next. 

She sees me and seems to zone out for a moment. 

“Thessa,” she says “I have a swimsuit for you in the change room. Oh, and we’re going to change your face a little, there won’t be any close ups but you’ll need to look a little more like Mary.”

“Okay.”

“You won’t actually be competing today, we just need to get some shots of you underwater, at the starting mark, in the background, that kind of stuff.” Thea says. 

I breathe a sigh of relief, resisting the urge to actually jump for joy. Maybe this won’t be so bad. Thea points me towards the change room where I get dressed into a white one piece. She comes in a few minutes later to help with makeup. 

The first thing she says is “I’m going to put your hair into two buns, that was her signature hairstyle.”

I haven’t worn my hair in two parts since I was seven, even then I didn’t like it, but money is money. A quick makeover later and I’m ready for filming. 

Thea leaves to help someone else and I’m handed off to a camera man. He tells me to get in and makes me swim as far down as I can a few times so he can get shots from different angles. Then it’s back to the change room to dry and re-fix my hair before the actual contest starts. 

I wonder how Mary is doing. Is she getting better? Is she even still alive?

The building gradually fills as it gets closer to start time. Some of the contestants look nervous, especially when they see the pool, others are still looking confident. 

The host of the show turns from talking to a camera to announce the contest for today, “The challenge today is inspired by a training exercise used by the navy. Starting in the water you need to dive to the bottom and put on the diving equipment waiting for you. Only then can you come back up to the top.” 

My swim teacher used to tell me stories of when he was in the military, he did this exact thing except in a lake during the winter. 

Everyone is given a number and lined up on the deck according to it. Charlie is beside me breathing fast. 

“Take deep slow breaths.” I tell him, “Make sure you put the breathing equipment on first, and make sure you don’t rush.”

“Okay, sounds easy.” He says. 

His tone says otherwise. 

“You’ll be fine, good luck.” I say. 

As long as he’s careful he should be alright. 

The thirty second countdown starts and everyone gets in the water. Attendants hand everyone a pair of goggles and the clock rings. Charlie swims front crawl until he’s on top of the equipment then dives under the water. I hold my breath and watch as he nears the bottom. As he grabs the mask and snorkel and attaches it to the oxygen tank my lungs start begging for air. I pinch my nose to prevent myself from breathing any water in. 

Bubbles burst from Charlie’s mouth as he struggles to turn on the oxygen. He seems to be getting weaker. I finally give up on my own battle to stay under, letting my body rise to the surface. I gulp in a breath and then go back under. Now his bubbles are coming out of the snorkel, he got it working. Relief runs through me and I go back to the top of the water. Now it’s just a matter of putting everything on. 

I allow myself to breathe for longer this time, the clock on the wall says it’s been a minute. I put my face underwater again, Charlie is doing good. A different contestant is swimming back up already. His breathing equipment isn’t on, he’s trying to get air. He swims faster but it’s not fast enough. He’s not going to make it. 

None of the other first aid team has noticed, they’re not in the water. 

I yell “Help!” then dive under the water. 

A boy wearing a first aid shirt reaches the man first. I swim back to the surface and towards where the boy will come up. The boy appears gasping for air and kicking hard to support himself and the man. When I get there I grab the man’s other side. 

“Is he breathing?” I ask. 

“I don’t know, let’s get him out.” The boy says. 

I nod and we scissor kick to the side where others are waiting to pull him out of the water. When he’s lying on the deck someone checks his breathing. A tense ten seconds follow as we wait for the verdict. 

“He’s breathing!” 

Smiles transform the worried faces gathered around the man as a path is cleared for the paramedics. They still need to get the water out of his lungs to prevent dry drowning. As he gets carried away I realize that the cameras didn’t catch what just happened. They knew what was going on they just didn’t film it. 

That’s when I realize that this is just going to keep happening . Maybe no one dies, but people will get hurt every episode and next time we might not get there in time. 

Charlie appears beside me, he’s breathing hard and his whole body is shaking. 

“What’s wrong?” I ask. 

“I’m fine. But I think someone tried to cut my oxygen line.” He says. 

I help him take his equipment off then get him to sit against the wall. I sit down beside him and we both just breathe. 

“I don’t think we should stay here.” Charlie says. 

“I think you’re right.” I whisper. 

“I need the money, but my family needs me more.” He says as he stands up. 

“Let’s go.” I say standing as well. 

Together we walk towards the host. 

“We quit,” Charlie says “money isn’t worth dying for.”

He looks at us blankly then says “You can’t. You signed a contract. If you quit now you have to pay a penalty equal to the prize money. We can arrange for you to be eliminated from the contest tomorrow if you want.” 

“Never mind, we’ll stay.” I say. 

Charlie starts to protest but I take his hand and lead him away. 

When we’re out of hearing range I say, “I don’t know what it takes to be eliminated, but Mary wasn’t and we don’t know if she’s even alive. Let’s leave tonight, if we just leave they might let us go.”

“Fine.” Says Charlie “Just be careful. I’ll meet you at the auditorium at midnight.”

I smile to cover up the fact that I’m suddenly terrified. 

I force myself to walk back to my dorm, everything in me wants to run but I don’t want to look suspicious. One step at a time. I finally reach it and allow myself to rush in.  

That’s when I remember that I’m still in my swimsuit. I go into the washroom and rinse off then change into my clothes from home. I get out and check the clock. It’s just past one. I find something to eat and try to relax. 

I still need to go help Thea. I jump out of my chair, put a white shirt on, and this time run to the costume design building. 

“Sorry I’m late.” I say. 

“That’s alright, there’s nothing left to do today.” Thea says. 

She opens a drawer in her desk and gives me a small bundle of bills. 

“Here’s pay for two days. Good luck.” 

I walk away confused. Does she know? It doesn’t matter. 

Back in my dorm I lie down on the bed and try to relax. There’s no way I’m going to fall asleep. But I do. 

When I wake up it is eleven thirty. Soft snores fill the room and the only light on is in the bathroom. I slip out of bed, take everything I brought here with me and place it in my bag. I tiptoe out of the room thankful that the flooring isn’t wood. The door doesn’t squeak, this is all too easy. 

I remember the way to the auditorium and reach it quickly. Charlie isn’t here yet and I hope that doesn’t mean he got caught. I wait by the steps where we met yesterday. Was that only yesterday?

It seems so long ago. 

Is this the right thing? Yes. I think it is. 

Charlie emerges from the darkness a few minutes later. 

“You ready?” He asks. 

“Yes.” 

There’s no fence, no cameras, everyone here wants the money so why would anyone leave. We walk all night and make it to his house by morning. 

“We did it.” I say, my smile reaching my ears. 

“Yeah, we did it.” Charlie says smiling back, “They might still come after us, maybe they can sue us.”

“That’s alright, we’ll figure it out when we get there.” I say. 

He opens the door and we walk inside.