They’d decided that the racers would have to go in order of power. Meaning the first laps would be done by Jason, Zack, and Trini, followed by Rocky, Adam, and Aisha, and lastly Conner, Tommy, and Kira. Billy swam to the opposite end of the pool, while Trent, Ethan, and Kimberly took their places behind the teams of three.

“On your mark; get set; GO!” Billy yelled across the pool once everyone was in position, and immediately there was a huge splash emitted from the pool. Many of the other patrons didn’t seem too happy about it.

When the wave had disappeared, Zack had the lead, only because he was a bit of a faster swimmer than Trini, and because Jason had managed to swim into the middle of a kids game of catch in the pool. By the time they reached the far wall, though, Jason had caught up to Trini and Zack, the later getting a crap, and slowing, causing Adam and Tommy to groan. “What were you saying about the other teams having a disadvantage? We have Zack!” Adam growled at Tommy. This was all his fault after all.“It’s the exact same shirt I’m wearing!” Zack insisted.

“Where is Billy?” Trini asked, ignoring their squabble entirely.

“He went to go borrow clothes from Ethan,” Tommy said. “Look at these shirts. They don’t look alike, do they?”

“Zack’s right, man,” Jason said. “Wear a different color.”

“Maybe I’ll wear red,” Tommy said, narrowing his eyes.

“Whatever,” Jason said, plopping down on Zack’s bed. “Ready to go?”She thanked her lucky stars for Tommy, who, although annoying, was genuinely interested in the project. He had more experience than she did with remodeling and assured her he was enjoying the diversion. It irked her a bit that the grid ignored her in favor of him. She was, after all, the heir to the property, but she was more than grateful for his help. It also kept him interested in the project and off her back about leadership responsibilities in the Rangers.

Tommy was eager to hand over some of the more mundane aspects he was in charge of. Unfortunately, he had a limited number of people he could delegate to. The more she proved herself capable, the more he handed over. Kimberly had her own duties to take care of and resented the added burdens. It was either confide in Tommy about who she was working with and why or simply shut up and accept the extra duties. She’d found herself tempted to drop the ball on more than one occasion, just to get him to stop, but she never did.