Chapter 5: The Unveiling

The silence after Coach Evans left was heavier than any I’d ever known. It was the silence of twenty girls holding their breath, of a shared nightmare with no end in sight. Ann’s quiet sniffles were the only sound, punctuating the low, constant hum of the pool filter. I stared at the calm, blue water, the same water that had always been my sanctuary, and now felt like a sentencing judge.

What now? The question screamed in my head. Is she coming back with more bad news? A schedule for our public undressing?

Symone sat rigid beside me, her jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle twitching. Allan paced in front of the bleachers, a caged animal. The rest of the team were statues of misery and anger.

Then, the door at the far end of the natatorium swung open.

But it wasn’t just Coach Evans.

It was a river of people. Coach Evans led them, and behind her flowed the entire female varsity swimming team—juniors and seniors from Wilson High—along with their female coaches. And they were all, unmistakably, completely naked.

My brain short-circuited. It simply refused to process the information. It was like looking at a photograph where the sky was green and the grass was blue. Every rule of how bodies were supposed to be in public, every instinct of modesty I’d ever known, was being violated with a casual, breathtaking audacity.

They didn’t slink in. They didn’t hunch over or try to cover themselves with their hands. They walked. They strode. They moved to the pool deck and simply ... stopped. Some stood, arms crossed or resting on their hips. Some knelt at the water’s edge, trailing fingers in the pool. Others sat on the deck, legs crossed or stretched out, as if they were lounging in their own living rooms.