AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yessss. Go on…” Chase encouraged.
“I signed you up for soccer with your age group. It also starts in two weeks.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I couldn’t imagine Chase studying jiu-jitsu.
“Morgan, sweetie, are you still set on karate?”
“Yeah, I should advance to green belt. I want to focus on perfecting karate,” Morgan explained.
As soon as Mom pulled into the garage, my brothers and I tore out of the car and into the house. We were too excited to not hurry. It was the first time we’d been able to swim since the fall because the pool water wasn’t warm enough.
I toed off my Nikes and shed my gi. Even though I was in a hurry, I still took the time to fold it and set it on my bed. I tossed my underwear on the floor and pulled my swim trunks with palm trees out of the drawer, stepped into them, and ran out into the hallway. Morgan was walking out of his room while still pulling up his trunks.
“Let’s go!” I said and took off toward the stairs.
“Wait for me!” Chase cried from his room.
Morgan and I stood at the top of the stairs and waited.
“I’ll get the bench. You and Chase go get the pool floats from the shed.” I explained our plan of attack.
“Come on, Chase!” Morgan hollered.
“I can’t get my shoe off!”
I could tell by Chase’s tone that he was getting frustrated to the point of tears. I rolled my eyes and jogged to his room with Morgan right behind me. The top of Chase’s gi was crumpled on the floor, and he had somehow managed to get the pants off while still wearing one shoe.
Morgan picked up his gi and set it on the bed while I worked on the massive knot in the laces of his Nike.
“How do you do these things?” I asked as he laid on the floor.
“I don’t know. They just happen.”
“Maybe you don’t need Nikes like big kids. Maybe you need Velcro shoes.”
“Noooo. I need Nikes like you and Morg.”
“Then stop being a baby and take care of your things like big kids.”
“I’m Hulk Hogan,” he reminded us.
I got the knot out of his shoe and pulled it off. Chase quickly changed into his bright red swim trunks and then we took off for the pool.
“Morgan, Hollis, watch Chase until I get outside,” Mom called out from the kitchen.
Yes, yes… we’ll watch Chase.
We were all great swimmers, having grown up with a pool. Morgan and Chase took off in a foot race for the shed on the side of the house. It was where Dad kept our pool toys and a bunch of other stuff. I picked up the long bench from the patio picnic table and carried it to the side of the pool and set it on the decking. I crouched and dipped my hand in the water; it was so warm. I looked up when I heard Chase make an explosion noise. He had dramatically rolled into the grass with a pool float. He ran over with the float and launched it into the pool.
“Morg is blowing up the others,” he panted.
“Okay. Want to get the first body slam in?” I asked him.
“Do I? Duh!”
I slapped his shoulder, pushing him in the direction of the diving board. I did the first cannonball of the season and then swam over to the float. I climbed on it, laid back, and paddled with my hands to line myself up perpendicular to the diving board. Chase was standing on the diving board, flexing his arms and making body builder poses while I got into position.
