Chapter Text
5:05PM
thegoodwitchluzura added: gus, willow and amity to: swim team frens <3
thegoodwitchluzura: hey guys <3 i thought we should all have a chat together to talk, especially since we’re all gonna be hangin around each other due to the team starting up again :)
amity: good idea, Luz!
gus: this is awesome :D so,,,what do you guys think about our :sparkles: epic rivals :sparkles:
amity: i’m assuming you’re talking about the emperor’s team?
thegoodwitchluzura: its so silly that he calls himself the emperor when he’s just the mayor :///
gus: yeaaah it’s pretty lame ngl
> anyways,,,yes im talking about belos’ team
amity: i wouldn’t say that they are our ‘epic rivals’, you’re giving them too much credit, gus. i still can’t believe my parents want me to join their team. they train them to the breaking point from what i’ve heard and it seems absolutely awful :/
thegoodwitchluzura: :(( why wont belos take care of his swimmers D:
amity: i wish i knew…
willow: sorry guys!!! I was watering the garden, what’s this for?
thegoodwitchluzura: its a group chat for us 2 all talk in <33 ik we dont have a lot of classes 2gether this year so i figured that this would let us talk more!!
> plus i got sad only getting to talk to u guys at lunch or a few of u in my classes
> and at practice ofc
willow: aweee that’s sweet <3 i missed talking to you guys too!!
amity: i did as well!
gus: me three :)
willow: :]
> also i read up and saw we were talking about the emperor’s team and i actually have something to say on that topic!!!
gus: :eyes:
> spill the tea, willow
willow: i heard that the golden guard is stepping down!! something about a major injury occurring so yeah…
thegoodwitchluzura: WHAT
gus: WHAT
amity: WHAT
thegoodwitchluzura: but that was belos’ best swimmer,,,,whats he gonna do now???
willow: i think he’s giving the role to someone else and supposedly,,, if the rumors are true, it’s gonna be his nephew…i think his name is hunter??? but yeah he’s apparently gonna take the role of golden guard
thegoodwitchluzura: WAIT IF ITS THE HUNTER YOU ARE TALKING ABT, THEN HES IN MY SCIENCE CLASS AND ENGLISH CLASS THIS SEMESTER!!!
gus: really? dang, what’s he like??
thegoodwitchluzura: idk hes a bit mean at times,,, i dont think hes rlly been around any people from the sounds of it
> i think he was homeschooled until now tbh
> if hes the golden guard tho,,, then he must be a really good swimmer and if hes being a jerk then maybeeeee
amity: Luz, what are you planning?
thegoodwitchluzura: friendship. :)
willow: luz,,,you are so scary sometimes, you know that???
thegoodwitchluzura: tysm willow <333
> anyways yes im gonna talk 2 him when we get back 2 school tmr n no one can stop me hehe
amity: okay but if he says anything to you then let me know and i will beat the crap out of him!! >:(
thegoodwithluzura: awe tysm amity but dw that will not be necessary im sure!!
gus: maybe i should try befriending him too, mayhaps??? I can be persuasive if i want to be!!
willow: sounds like a good plan!! maybe we’ll see if we can all try!!
amity: as long as he isn’t being rude to you guys or talking about belos all the time then sure.
thegoodwitchluzura changed the chat name to: operation - befriend the emo blonde golden guard
thegoodwitchluzura: OH!! lemme do smt else rq
thegoodwitchluzura changed willow’s name to: breaststroke bestie
thegoodwitchluzura changed gus’s name to: backstroke boy
thegoodwitchluzura changed amity’s name to: butterfly batata
thegoodwitchluzura changed thegoodwitchluzura’s name to: freestyle funky
freestyle funky: i jus realized that we all make up the main strokes!!! we r so cool n epic
butterfly batata: Luz, what does batata mean?
freestyle funky: it means sweet potato cause youre so sweet <3
butterfly batata: .////. haha whoops uh,,,,my goldfish is dying be right back!!!
backstroke boy: amity you don’t even have a goldfish
[butterfly batata has gone offline.]
freestyle funky: shes so silly <33
backstroke boy: and very gay
breaststroke bestie: very true!!!
> so luz,,, i’m kinda curious…what made you like….wanna befriend hunter??
freestyle funky: he jus,,,looks so sad yk
> seems like hes been thru a lot n also jus,,,,i want more besties
breaststroke bestie: oooo!! that’s fair!! Well i hope it goes well <333
> i’m kind of excited to talk to him too but also if he’s mean then im Not gonna be happy about it :(
freestyle funky: dw i got u!!! If hes rude then ill have sum words w him dont u worry bestie
> right gus??
backstroke boy: of course!!!
> also what the actual heck im doing research on hunter and his swimming abilities right
freestyle funky: WHAT DID U FIND MY BELOVED AUGUSTUS
backstroke boy: this dude has done 800IM and 400 fly before.
breaststroke bestie: what??? but,,,aren’t those events not used here??
backstroke boy: i mean you gotta think about it though,,,belos probably made the meets he’s competed in have that,,, god and it seems like he’s competed in it a lot
freestyle funky: belos is so mean what the heck >:((( how is that man even alive
> like u guys have no idea what he looks like in class
> he looks like some1 ran him over w a truck
backstroke boy: sounds like the new golden guard needs some rest,,,
breaststroke bestie: definitely,,,, anyways guys, im gonna go eat some dinner and go study for my math test tomorrow so good night!! have a good rest and luz don’t stay up until 2am reading the good witch azura from start to finish
freestyle funky: i will try <3 have a good sleepy!!
backstroke boy: good night willow!!
breaststroke bestie: good night!!
[breaststroke bestie is offline.]
backstroke boy: so,,, do you think that hunter has any social media??
freestyle funky: hmmm maybe
> i dont think we should go searching for it,,,plus its not like hed let us follow him
> we r total strangers to him
> well…u r at least
> u dont share any classes w him do u??
backstroke boy: nope
> does he talk to you at all??
freestyle funky: no,,, he keeps 2 himself in both classes
> the teachers try 2 get him 2 talk n he does sometimes but not rlly
> i tried 2 talk 2 him once tho
backstroke boy: how did that go??
freestyle funky: he told me 2 leave him alone
> i did Not do that tho hehe
> i tried 2 get him 2 talk more but then he swatted at me angrily so i figured it was time 2 go
backstroke boy: he sounds very moody
freestyle funky: mhmmm he def is
> anyways gus m gonna go eat dinner n read, got a bit of a headache
> see u 4 morning practice tmr???
backstroke boy: you got it!!!
> night luz :D
freestyle funky: night!!!
[backstroke boy is offline.]
[freestyle funky is offline.]
Luz, just like about every swimmer on the Isles, heavily dislikes morning practice. Is it a good way to get up in the morning? Sure! Does it make her get better at swimming? Most definitely. But she still hates it. And as much as she appreciates Eda getting her up and taking her to go, she does not appreciate the style Eda chooses to wake her up.
Now, you may be asking, what does this entail? Well, Eda simply comes into the room, quiet and calm, and you’d think that maybe she’s going to wake Luz up gently, and that it would be totally alright and a good way to wake her up from slee-
“LUZ, IT’S TIME TO GET SWIMMING!” A cold splash hits Luz in the face, just like every morning, and she wakes up with a start, nearly falling out of her bed. Yawning, she looks at Eda, who has an empty bucket in her hands.
“ Eda , I thought you decided to stop doing that.” She frowns, glancing down at her soggy shirt. Eda simply grins, a small laugh coming out of her mouth.
“I changed my mind, kiddo! But nevermind that, it’s time to get up. You still wanted to have fruit before you went, yeah?” Luz nods, standing up and stretching.
“Yes please! Thank you, Eda.”
“No problem, kiddo. And sorry about the water.” She's not sorry, and Luz shakes her head, knowing that Saturday morning practice will start the exact same way. At least Eda's keeping her on her toes.
With that, Eda exits, shutting the door softly behind her, and Luz begins to pack up her bag. It’s an important practice today, and it’ll be mostly normal, except that Principal Bump had an announcement to make about the swim season. Luz assumes that it’s going to be about preparing for the meets this year and their general training throughout the season. They never got the meet schedule until a few weeks into the season, as the meets usually started around the middle of October.
Admittedly, Luz is a little nervous. After moving away from her mom to pursue her swimming career with Hexside last year, it’s been a little stressful, and the idea of competing in more intense meets and against the Emperor’s team more often sends a slight chill down her spine.
But, she’s improved a lot. And with more work (and more tips from Eda, despite her strange teachings, whether they're swimming together or she's rambling about elbow placement in freestyle while Luz is half asleep), she’s certain she can get better. She just had to keep practicing!
Which, she should be preparing for, shouldn’t she?
She stuffs her swimsuit into her bag, along with a towel, before dragging it out of the room with as little energy as possible. Entering the kitchen, she slumps into the chair at the table, glancing at the fruit bowl in front of her. It’s filled with cut up grapefruit, oranges, apple, and banana, and Luz smiles, grabbing her fork and slowly eating.
The sweet taste fills her mouth, and it helps take the edge off of the sleepiness she’s feeling. She quickly eats the fruit, before standing up. Eda is already back in her bed, presumably trying to get just a few more minutes to sleep (Luz can’t blame her one bit). Opening up her phone, she sees a message from Gus.
It’s normal, Gus messages her every morning due to how early he gets to practice. Yet, the panic in the text doesn’t seem like a good thing.
6:02AM
gustopher gusteban augustabeth gustonimo
gustopher gusteban augustabeth gustonimo: luz i don’t know if you wanna come to practice today,,,
luz: WHY WHAT IS GOING ON???
gustopher gusteban augustabeth gustonimo: belos is here,,,,
luz: WHAT
> WHAT
> WHAT
> WHAT
> WHAT
gustopher gusteban augustabeth gustonimo: yeah,,,,,,,
luz: WHAT
> WHAT
> ok m done now
> but genuinely what???? whats he saying
gustopher gusteban augustabeth gustonimo: smt abt how hes excited for the swim season n that he wanted to
> OMG
> HE’S ABOUT TO INTRODUCE US TO HUNTER?!?!?!?
luz: WHAT
> NAUUUUUR
gustopher gusteban augustabeth gustonimo: he’s not saying anything,,, BRUH HE JUST GLARED AT ME WHAT
> i gave him a quizzical look back
> HE’S WALKING UP TO ME
> LUZ HELP
luz: IDK UM??? MAYBE JUST PUT UR PHONE DOWN N CONVERSATE??? ILL GET TO PRACTICE AS QUICK AS OSSIBL
> *POSSIBL
> *PIOSSBLW
> U GET THE IDEA
gustopher gusteban augustabeth gustonimo: OKAY OKAY
> SEE YOU SOON
luz: BYE
“EDA! EDA, WE GOTTA GO!” Luz screams, running to Eda’s room and waving her arms rapidly, nearly dropping her phone in the process. Eda sits upright immediately, rubbing her eyes.
“What…? Kiddo, what’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you in the car! Let’s just go!” She disappears down the hall, earning a groan of protest from Eda. It doesn’t matter though. She’s gonna go help Gus socialize! And this gives her an excuse to begin the friendship attempt!
It’ll work, she hopes. She just has to have faith!
And pray that Hunter isn’t being a jerk to Gus right now, because he will catch these hands if he is.
Unless Belos is right there, then maybe that wouldn’t be such a good idea-
Right. Car time.
This morning was just going to be a normal morning practice, and as much as she’s sure Gus is freaking out right now, she’s really glad it isn’t.
What a way to start the season.