After reaching the wall with one of my hands, I raise my head above the water. To my dismay, I was shocked to see that someone had already finished.

I was forced to be content with my red second-place ribbon. It was almost a depressing sight, although there were still more chances to go.

My total points was now 48.

This was quite shattering for me to realise. The actual consequences of this I was still unsure of, but it seemed that there was someone else who was supposedly better than me at swimming. This was going to be quite the issue. Luckily, they would be announcing the current points for each of the separate categories, so I could see for myself whether I was lagging behind or not. I retreated back to my bag and wiped myself down for the third time, I had brought two towels with me so it wasn't too big of an issue. After drying off and putting on some clothes, I sat down and ate some lunch.

My next race wasn't going to be for another forty minutes, and they would announce the points before then. I decided to get at least some food into my system, although all the races and adrenaline had caused me to slightly lose my appetite. I had predicted this and only packed foods that were quick and easy to eat. I had a banana, and a small lettuce wrap, the soft drink that Teru had given me was enough to quench my thirst. It wasn't long before all the students gathered back at the tents and listened to the announcement. After talking about "make sure to pick up your rubbish," and "make sure to be within your designated areas" they moved on to the points.First, they began with house points, our house was coming third, largely thanks to me, but that simple number gave me hope for the relays later on. But the part I was most interested in was the individual points. He called them out, going by year level and gender until he finally reached year 11 girls.

. Asahi Yuuna - 50 (Scaled up)

. Hiyori Jun - 50 (Scaled down)

. Chloe Afford - 48

No way, I was coming in third. This was way below what I thought I'd be coming now. How? How are they in front of me? There was a chance that they had done more races than me, so it was possible that was the reason. It was definitely a possibility because if they weren't in the 200m individual medley, then the points may have added up like this. I couldn't exactly rule out the fact that they may just be beating me. There was a girl who beat me in freestyle, after all.

After a few minutes, the announcement was finished, and everyone returned to what they were doing before. After a while, I went to my last individual event for the day, the 200m freestyle.

Once again, I waited behind the diving blocks, awaiting the signal.

This time, however, the girl next to me was Asahi Yuuna. This was going to be tough. However, if I wanted the first place ranking, if I wanted to show this story that I was the main character, I was going to beat her, no matter what, even if it meant taking a gamble.

Usually, it's impossible to predict when the siren will go off, so you can't jump before you hear it. The average human reaction time, especially in a high-pressure environment like this, could be close to a second. Meaning if I pre-emptively jump, I could try to predict the siren, thus cutting seconds off my time. It would also give me greater momentum off the block. I had the risk of getting a false start, but I needed to take the chance here. Our house is likely going to suffer when it comes to the relay, so if I'm behind now, it would be very unlikely I would be able to claw it back.

Right after I heard, "on your marks," I began leaning forwards, and almost the millisecond before the siren sounded, I dived off the board. I think that was perfect timing. However, this race was still a marathon, not a sprint. With each breath, I checked the position of the girl next to me. One of them was a good metre or two behind me, but Asahi was neck and neck with me.

The wall was beginning to come into view, and the two of us tumble turned almost at the exact same time, boosting off the wall. We continued almost right next to each other again, tumble turning at nearly identical times for the second time. Finally, I felt as if I was getting a lead on her, ever so slightly, I saw that her arm movements were just before mine, and I felt my tumble turn just before hers.

It was the final 50m now. I had a few centimetres of lead ahead of Asahi. This was my chance. My arms felt as if they would break at any moment. It was like I was trying to claw my way through thick mud. My legs wanted to stop, and my arms wanted to stop, but like an unyielding leader, I pushed on, disregarding the pain and resistance.

Reaching in front of me with all I could. My fingertips touched the wall. I suddenly rose above the water, facing the right, and I was instantly met by the tired, panting face of Asahi Yuuna. "Good race," she said. I was still catching my breath at the time and looked over at some of the other girls who were still swimming. The two of us were several metres in front of each other, "yeah."

Eventually, the race concluded, and I eagerly looked over as some teachers came over, holding the ribbons in their hands. For all I knew, Asahi and I finished at the exact same time. Although my prediction were obviously off, I had no idea who had won that race.

Teru, I wonder who you're cheering for?

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