Swimming in Tears [Sage]

[Kaytee Palladino]

It was Christmas break at Hammel and the campus seemed awful empty. Kaytee couldn't go home and it broke her heart. She was stuck on campus because of finanaces. Since her dad got diagnosed with cancer, their money had gone down the drain. He was getting chemo therapy and struggling to keep up with the bills. After break, Kaytee was going to have to quit dance lessons, quit all her clubs and get a job to help her dad. There weren't any Christmas presents this year, but that didn't matter to Kaytee. She just wanted her dad to live through this; that was her Christmas wish.

Today was not a good day for Kaytee. Everyone had taken off for break it had seemed. Not many stayed behind that she knew. She didn't tell any of her friends that she was being left behind either. Not even Craven knew. Even though she wanted to go home, she would not allow anyone to pay for her ride home. She didn't think it was fair. Besides, she would make do with being at Hammel instead of home. Her dad had a laptop in the hospital so they skyped often. They would skype on Christmas morning and that would have to get her through the holiday.

Her dad was in intense chemo therapy right now. He was in stage 3 of his cancer and the doctors want to rid his body of the cancer before it was too late. He wasn't terminal...yet. That was the point of all this. Their bills were piling up because he wasn't working. They tried to throw a benefit for him back in Minnesota, but not a lot of money was raised because of the holiday season, not to mention the economy terrible.

Kaytee need to relieve stress. She had pulled on her swimming suit in the locker room before diving into the warm water and starting to swim laps. It was quiet, the pool was completely empty. During break, people would use the pool for fun. At least today she could be alone while she suffered in silence. That was really how she prefered it right now. Dealing with something alone was a tendency of hers. She put a wall up during hard times like this, and it was immensely hard to get it down. She would put on a good face and hide it from people. Hopefully, she would be able to pull it off.

[Sage Ersilia]

Sage was so ready to go home for Christmas, and even though it hadn’t been very long since he last saw his family, he still missed their company more than anything. Being with them for Thanksgiving had made him remember how much he loved them, so going home for the holidays was a real treat. Exams were done, and now it was time to have some much needed rest and relaxation.

He spent about an hour packing his things for the trip back home, but he knew Thyme probably was already done. They were to leave together in a little while, and his cousin was so eager to go. Sage was nearly ready himself, but there were still a few things he needed to pack before he could deem everything done. A few of his clothes had been left in the locker room by the pool, and he knew he would need to grab them to be washed at home.

Sage made his way to the pool area and opened the locker, removing the items he needed before he started to walk back to his room. However, he heard the faint sound of splashing water, and he glanced towards the pool in curiosity. The shadowed figure of what seemed to be a girl swam through the water, and he leaned forward to get a closer look. Unfortunately, the boy stepped into a puddle by the edge and with his usual clumsiness, slipped and fell into the water with a dramatic splash. In a last ditch effort to save the items in his arms, he threw them over the edge before he came into contact with the pool. Due to the shock of the water, his body began to glow from the surprise, lighting up the area like a star.

[Kaytee Palladino]

Kaytee was swimming hard, not really paying attention to what was around her. Her mind was wrapped around her father and how much she wanted to be there for him while he went through this painful time. Leukemia was the official diagnosis and Kaytee knew that the process was a painful one. She had spent hours researching on top of doing her homework and studying. It was her study break, at least an unconventional one.

She heard a splash and looked over, seeing a boy submerge into the water. She swam over as fast as she could. She grabbed onto him and made sure his head was above water before getting over to the shallow end and pulled him out of the pool. She held onto his head, hoping he was okay. He looked a little stunned, but he was breathing just fine.

"Are you okay? Did you hit your head on anything?" She was calm, making sure not to give him a reason to panic. His green eyes stared at hers while she waited for him to speak. She gave him a soft smile, letting him speak. Her fingers pushed the wet blond hair out of his face.

"I'm Kaytee." She really did hope he was okay. But if he wasn't, she knew what to do. She was life guard at camp a few times and was certified in first aid and CPR. She doubted he was hurt though, he looked okay. But it was better that she checked before he moved too much.

[Sage Ersilia]

Sage flailed underneath the water, his mind still in a bit frenzied as he tried to focus his thoughts. He could swim just fine, but he had not expecting to be swimming at that moment, and the only thing on his mind at that point in time was that he could not breathe. As quickly as he had fallen, arms grabbed hold of him and pushed him back up to the surface. Sage gasped for air and swam for the edge with Kaytee, gripping on so that he could get a few breaths before he calmed and sat on the steps in the shallow end.

“That was close…thanks. I’m all right. I slipped and I guess I was so stunned, I couldn’t think properly”

Sage was a little embarrassed for his clumsiness. He would have not drowned or anything, but if he had been unlucky enough to hit his head, the situation could have been extremely dangerous. The boy frowned a bit at his now damp body, and he sighed. Now he was going to have to go through his already packed suitcase for dry clothes. Fortunately, he still had time to spare, so it was not much trouble; simply an annoyance.

The girl introduced herself, and Sage smiled back at her as she pushed the hair out of his face. She was very pretty, with her dark brown hair and green eyes similar to his.

“I’m Sage. Nice to meet you, Kaytee. Sorry we had to meet in such, um…circumstances”

[Kaytee Palladino]

Kaytee chuckled at his response and nodded, understanding how suddenly falling into water would stun a person. Thank goodness he hadn't hit his head and that he managed to fall when there was another swimmer, one that was a trained life guard. She wrung some water out of her hair and stood to grab them both some towels. She wrapped one around her body so that she wasn't flashing him so much skin and tossed him a towel before sitting back down near him.

"Don't even worry about! You're just lucky you fell in when I was here." She combed her fingers through her hair and tried to fix the weird waves it gave her hair. He was a cute guy, she wouldn't deny that of him. And she was very thankful for the distraction from her circumstances. But she was very curious as to why he was here still. He looked like he was well off enough to be going home, so it was very surprising to her to have even met him.

Sage was a good name for him. He had beautiful green eyes that just made his name make even more sense. She braided her hair, figuring she was just going to be done with swimming for the day. "Just wondering, but why are you still here? Aren't you going home for Christmas?"

[Sage Ersilia]

Sage really did feel fortunate for having fallen in the pool when he did. If it had been any other circumstance where he fell less gracefully than usual, things could have taken a drastic turn for the worse. Lucky for him, the girl seemed to know exactly what she was doing as she inspected his body, and he smiled gratefully, watching her relax and arrange her wet locks into a more orderly braid.

“I was definitely lucky. Thanks a lot. That could have been really bad if you weren’t around”

He took the towel that was offered to him and wrapped it around his body, shivering a bit from the sudden cold that overtook him. Sage knew he would warm up in a matter of minutes, especially with his light providing some heat, but he still disliked the uncomfortable feeling one got when exiting a pool. Eventually, his shivering ceased and he removed the damp shirt that was clinging to his skin like a parasite. His fingers wrapped around the towel and attempted to dry his wet hair before he turned his attention the girl, who had asked him a question. She wondered why he was still here when everyone else was already gone for the holidays, and Sage wasn't surprised by her curiosity.

“I am going home. My cousin and I just waited till the last minute to order our plane tickets, so we got a later date. We’re packing right now and the flight leaves tonight. I was getting the things from my locker to finish everything off, and well…somehow fell in the pool”

[Kaytee Palladino]

Kaytee's heart sunk just a little when he said he was going home, but her face didn't show it. She was sad that not only was she not going home, but everywhere she went and everyone she talked to reminded her. It wasn't Sage's fault, she would never be angry with him. She really couldn't be angry at anyone, it was no one's fault that her dad was sick. And really, it wasn't the hospital's fault that it expensive to take care of him, she couldn't find any person to really blame. Part of her wanted to blame someone, but she couldn't.

She smiled, "Well that sounds like fun. It looks like the rest of your cloths are on the edge of the pool. You managed to save those." She had to get away for a minute to compose herself. She walked past him and gathered up his clothing, not really caring if there were any undergarments in the pile. It wasn't like she hadn't seen them before. She usually did laundry for her Dad, so she had seen pleny of underwear.

Her face held the peaceful smile that she had walked away with, but her mind was in a different state. She held Sage his clothing and tilted her head, "I suppose you had better run to finish packing, huh? Well it was really nice to meet you and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas with your family."

It wasn't that Kaytee wanted Sage to leave, in fact it was quite the opposite. She would really enjoy the company for a little while, but she wouldn't dare say that to someone she had just met, let alone such an attractive guy. She tightened the towel around her body awkwardly, not really sure what to do now.

[Sage Ersilia]

Sage couldn’t help but see the disappointment in Kaytee’s face when he told her that he too was going away for the holidays. Was she stuck here? Sage felt bad, but at the same time, he understood there was nothing he could do about it. At least he could give her some company until he left, right? Kaytee jumped to the conclusion that he needed to rush and finish packing, but that was not really true. He was nearly done and had hours to spare.

“Thanks, but…um…I have a few hours before the cab arrives…would you like to come over to my dorm for hot cocoa…or something?”

He wanted to at least show some appreciation for her help, and he knew it was no fun being alone at a school while everyone spent time with family.

“…We could both get changed at our dorms and you could meet me at mine? I live in 209 in the co-ed’s…”

Sage wasn’t sure the girl would accept the offer, but he didn’t really know what else to do.

[Kaytee Palladino]

Kaytee smiled at him. He was truly a sweet guy, she appreciated the offer and she realized that she probaby didn't hide her disappointment as well as she wanted to. She tightened the towel around her body and thought for a moment. What kind of reply would she give to such a kind request? She honestly wanted to say yes, she would greatly enjoy a little company, but she didn't want to impose on him.

She sighed, "That's very kind of you, Sage, but I couldn't possibly accept. Don't mind me, I'll be fine. I very much appreciate it. Go ahead and get changed before you get sick, Christmas break and being sick is not a fun combination."

She turned and headed for the locker room, part of her wishing that he would stop her and insist that she came, the other part wanted to run. She knew that if she was going to be around someone, she would probably snap or break down. And Kaytee couldn't bare to do that to such a sweet guy as himself. Not right before the holiday.