Trolled

by Steven Sandor

  ***

  After two days of staying in the house, Andy was about to go crazy. His parents agreed that he could go to Earnscliffe Pool — but only because Coach Ocampo had called.

  “He said he absolutely needed to see you,” his mom said.

  Andy put his swim gear in his bag. He hadn’t been in the water since Hamilton.

  “You come right home after you meet the coach,” said his mother.

  “Mom, that’s the second time you’ve said it. I will, I will.”

  “And stay off your phone.”

  “Mom, I deleted all my accounts. My phone is just a phone now. But can I ask how long am I going to be grounded for?”

  His mom scrunched up her face; a line of wrinkles appeared on her forehead. “Oh, András. You think this is a grounding? What we’re trying to do is protect you! Look, we have received some pretty scary e-mails. There are people who tell us that they’re going to find you and hurt you. So once you get on the bike, you don’t stop. Just go up the street to the pool.”

  “People are sending us threats?”

  “András, don’t worry about it. We just need to wait until the next Internet sensation and everyone out there forgets about you.”

  “But, Mom, what I did . . . I mean, I didn’t mean any harm.”

  “András, it used to be that if you did something bad, you could make up for it. You could say sorry. Even criminals, well, they go to jail for what they do and then they get let out. But now, it just snowballs. People aren’t happy unless they bury you. They get their pounds of flesh, and they want more! More! They want to kick you when you’re down. So take your bike. Go out through the backyard and cut across the playground. Head through the parks, not the main streets.”

  “Okay.”

  Andy did as he was told, rolling through the courtyard’s playground and across to the back end of the Darras Court townhouse complex. He took an access path to the park that didn’t take him close to the main street. He rode through a series of greenbelts to the rec centre.

  As he entered the building, he was greeted by the smell of fries and doughnuts from the concession stand. There was a showcase filled with trophies from previous COBRA swim teams.

  Andy walked toward the COBRA office and knocked on the door.

  “Coach?”

  He opened the door and saw Coach Ocampo sitting at his desk.

  “So, Andy, why did you do it?” he asked as Andy sat down across from him.

  “I screwed up. A couple of other swimmers dared me to do it. I didn’t think it’d become a big thing.”

  “Well, no matter who dared you to do what, Andy, it has become a big thing. A real big thing.” Coach Ocampo turned his computer screen so Andy could see it. “This here is our Facebook page. Look at some of the posts.”

  Lundmark

  Don’t ever let that jerk swim for your crap club ever again!

  Melanie Yaremchuk

  I was thinking about enrolling my son in your program. But I won’t, now. What do you teach those kids?

  Jason The Jason

  Someone needs to smack that Andy kid hard.

  Nola Jenkinson

  Everyone. Please follow this change.org link. These are a list of Brampton businesses that sponsor the swim club. Let’s let these businesses know that if Andy Kovacs, the “Tiger Shark,” continues to swim for COBRA, we won’t support them. Boycott!

  Andy saw that the link had been shared 598 times.

  “I could keep scrolling down, but I won’t,” said Coach Ocampo. “Look, I understand you didn’t mean to screw up. But we need the money from our sponsors. The local bank branch. The coffee shop. That restaurant down the street. And they’re all up in arms about this. A couple of sponsors have told me that if the club keeps you, they’re out. No more money.”

  “Because of me.”

  “Not because of you, but because of what you did.”

  “Coach, are you telling me I can’t swim for COBRA anymore?”

  “I’m really sorry, Andy. I wish there was another way. You’re the best swimmer I’ve ever coached. But I have to put the needs of the club first. And the club needs its sponsors.”

  Andy rose from his chair. “Well, Coach, then write a Facebook post that I’m no longer with the team. You should also tweet it out. Make a sign and put it on the door of the rec centre. But please, do me one favour. Tell them I quit. Tell them that for the good of the club, I decided I wasn’t going to swim anymore. Tell them that they’ve won.”

  16

  Alone in the Lane

  www.MiriamSaid.blogspot.ca

  I have just been informed that TIGER SHARK has quit his swim club.

  To most of my followers, I know this must feel like justice has been served. But to me, I’m not sure.

  I want to make this clear: the swimmer Andy Kovacs has not contacted me since the incident. He has not apologized for his actions. But I find that all of the attention paid to this incident is an unnecessary distraction.

  Swimming changed my life. I come from a family of Egyptian immigrants — and swimming gave me a chance to express myself. It gave me a chance to learn about myself. It allowed me to feel confident. I can’t imagine where my life would have gone if that was taken away from me.

  As some of you know, last year I applied to Swim Canada to see if I could get an exception to the rule that doesn’t allow for swimsuits that cover the arms and legs. That was unsuccessful, because the ruling was that such a suit would give me a competitive advantage.

  While I remain dedicated to my faith, I made the decision to keep swimming. Without a swim hijab, and in a regulation suit. But I try to be as humble, as modest as possible.

  So I feel that what Andy Kovacs did to me was inappropriate and wrong. But knowing that he’s quit his swim team also feels wrong. Why? I have uncles and aunts who were involved in the Arab Spring back in Cairo. They protested because we should all have freedom of expression. They protested because they didn’t want to live in a place where people could be punished over and over and over again. I feel that if I condemn Andy Kovacs for his actions, I’ll be betraying those ideals. I think he has suffered enough for what he’s done wrong. That’s all I wanted to say.

  COMMENTS

  SaidFan4Life

  Miriam! What he did to you was horrible! He should never swim again!

  Flipper23

  Nooooooo!!! It’s not wrong that he’s banned! You gotta stand up! Too many women deal with this kinda CRAP! Be STRONG!

  WaterOnTheBrain

  Miss Said, it’s not your fault. He did what he did, and he’s being punished for it. It’s not enough, if you ask me. He should have been charged!

  DragonBoat

  We can’t forget, why should we forgive!

  ***

  The sun had set, but the sky wasn’t completely dark. There were traces of orange and dark blue as Andy locked up his bike and walked into the rec centre.

  The sign on the door said that the pool would close at 11:00 p.m. Andy looked at his watch. It was 9:45. The pool would be close to empty.

  He walked into an empty change room and breathed a sigh of relief. He changed into his swim shorts, showered and opened up the door to the pool deck just a crack. He could see that there was one other swimmer in the pool — an old guy in the slow lane.

  Andy pushed open the door wide and walked toward the pool.

  “Well, look what the cat dragged in,” came a voice from high atop the lifeguard’s chair.

  Andy turned. “Um, hi, Enalyn.”

  “Bet you were hoping not to see me.”

  “I called ahead and they said you weren’t gonna be working tonight.”

  “Ha, someone called in sick and I got the shift.”

  “I just wanted to swim in peace. I haven’t been in the pool for weeks.”

 
“From what I’ve seen said about you on Twitter, I’m surprised you can go out at all.”

  “I’m taking a break from everything. Twitter. Facebook. My mom and dad are going through my e-mail before they let me see it. I had to beg and beg them to let me come here tonight.”

  “So tell me why I should be talking to you, Andy. I was really mad at you for dragging me into this mess. I am still getting a few tweets a day about how terrible it must be to be the Tiger Shark’s girlfriend.”

  Girlfriend? thought Andy.

  “You’re thinking, what does she mean by girlfriend? Well, all it took was someone to post that they saw me cheering you on at provincials, and I’ve been taking some real grief.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I’m almost over it. I’m collateral damage. I get it. But you still shoulda called me to apologize. Again.”

  “But after the meet, the van, you didn’t want to talk to me.”

  “And for good reason! You really pissed me off with that stunt! But you think just wallowing away in your pool of self-pity, without telling the people around you that you’re sorry, that’s better? Huh?”

  Andy stood quietly on the deck. The senior splashed by on the outside lane, either deaf or ignoring the dressing-down Andy was getting.

  “Um, Andy,” said Enalyn, putting a finger to her chin. “This is the part where you say, ‘Sorry, you’re right Enalyn.’ And, ‘Once again, please forgive me, Enalyn.’ And, once we get past that, we can get to, ‘Is there any way you can help me, Enalyn?’”

  Andy tapped his foot on the deck. He tapped it some more. He looked at his feet until it struck him how ugly and misshaped his big toes were. Why haven’t I noticed that before?

  Finally, he exhaled, hard — as if he’d just finished a 100-metre front crawl in less than 55 seconds. “Okay, Enalyn, the reason I didn’t call was because I was embarrassed. And, since I’m apologizing, I should also mention you were right about the math thing, too. I got a 51. That’s a big topic of discussion in the Kovacs household. And so, I’m sorry.”

  Enalyn climbed down from the chair, then walked over to Andy.

  “Andy, get in the pool. Clear your head. And maybe I’ll think a bit on something that can help you.”

  “You don’t think I’m a racist sexist pig that deserves to never swim again or have a job or have a life?”

  “Well, you may be the most clueless guy in the world, but I know you’re not a racist. The jury is out on the sexist pig thing, after that performance you gave. Mostly, I don’t believe anyone deserves to be punished forever.”

  Andy walked to the far lane and plunged into the water. The cool blast of water gave him goosebumps. It made him feel like weeks of dirt was being washed from his body. He glided forward, kicking softly. He wasn’t trying to go fast; he just needed to be back in the water. He wasn’t Tiger Shark anymore. He felt like a leaf floating on the water.

  Back and forth he went. He remembered the joy of feeling as light as a feather in the water. He dove deep so he could touch the bottom of the pool with his outstretched fingertips.

  And then he heard a voice.

  “Andy!” said Enalyn. “It’s almost eleven. Pool’s closing!”

  He’d been in the water for a little more than an hour, but it had only felt like a couple of minutes.

  He hauled himself out of the pool. The old guy had left. It was just Andy and Enalyn.

  “I wish you didn’t have to close the pool,” said Andy. “That’s the best I’ve felt in weeks.”

  “But, Andy, you weren’t trying to go that fast or anything,” said Enalyn. “It wasn’t very Tiger Shark–like. You were . . .”

  “Enjoying myself. I guess I forgot just how much I like to be in the water.”

  “I’m doing the late shift again tomorrow,” said Enalyn. “It’s never busy, so you should come back again.”

  ***

  And Andy did come back. The next night, he got to the pool and dove in. He splashed and flipped. He tried to see how long he could hold his breath. And, finally, he got out, tossed a flutterboard into the pool and then made a run for the rope. He swung out and landed. But he hit the flutterboard all wrong. The board shot up in the air as Andy flopped into the water.

  Enalyn laughed. “Oh, I wish I’d had my camera on! Tiger Shark flutterboard surfing, part two!”

  Then Andy did something he hadn’t done in weeks. He laughed. And laughed. He laughed so hard that he started to cough.

  “I think I’ve got to come out of the pool now.” He forced the words through a series of hacks.

  Enalyn came down from her chair and sat across from Andy, with just her feet in the water.

  “Andy, I’ve got an idea. For you. To help you. It might work, it might not. But I’m not sure if I should tell you, considering your past history . . .”

  “Of making bad decisions and ignoring your advice?”

  “Well look at the new Andy! This new self-awareness suits you. Too bad it took you having to do the dumbest thing in the world to take a hard look at yourself.”

  “Over the last few weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time alone. In my room. Reading old comics. Listening to music. No Internet.”

  “Well, I could be a lousy friend and tell you it’s all going to be okay, but that would be a lie. But I do have an idea that might help you pull out of this dive. I have to tell you, though. It’ll require you to do the thing that you don’t want to do the most.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “You have to go back on social media.”

  “Oh no.” Andy shook his head. “No way. No!”

  “Okay, forget about it then.” Enalyn got up. “Gotta close the pool, Andy.”

  Andy headed for the change room. He remembered what it was like to be in there with the Eel and the rest of his COBRA teammates. Even Zach. The jokes. The laughs. Now all he heard was a loud, ringing echo when he closed a locker door.

  He headed outside to the bike rack. Enalyn’s bike was next to his. He waited for her to come out. After a few minutes, she emerged from the side entrance, black bike helmet on.

  “Enalyn,” Andy said. “I think I changed my mind. Tell me about this plan of yours.”

  17

  The Video

  Andy logged into his reactivated YouTube account and found the unpublished video, which he’d called “TIGER SHARK 2 — ANOTHER CRAZY STUNT FROM ANDY KOVACS!”

  He added some search terms to the post. He cringed when he entered “Miriam Said,” “swimming” and “prank” to the search-term bar.

  He hit the play icon. There he was on the screen, wearing a track jacket and swim shorts. He was standing next to a pool. The light shimmering off the water cast a blue-green glow on his face. From the windows in the background, it was clear that it was dark outside.

  “Hi, my name is Andy,” he watched himself say. “Of course, a lot of you know that. Yes, I am the guy from that Miriam Said video. And that flutterboard surfing video, too. Well, I wanted to do something even more crazy this time!”

  On screen, Andy unzipped his track jacket.

  “And what embarrassing thing will I do next? I am going to do something that’s a lot tougher than winning a race or surfing on a board. I am going to talk about me.

  “You see this pool? It’s Earnscliffe Pool, in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. I grew up just a couple of blocks from here, in a townhouse. I went to Cardinal Newman School just down the street. I now go to St. Thomas Aquinas High School.

  “My parents put me in swimming lessons when I was little. And within a year, I was taking advanced lessons with kids way older than me. I knew then, well, that in the pool was where I was meant to be. Some people still call me Tiger Shark. It’s a cheesy nickname, I know.”

  The onscreen Andy began to rotate each of his arms.

  “Excuse me, I am going to warm u
p while I talk. Where was I? Oh. Tiger Shark. Well, a long time has gone by. I’m in high school, and swimming is what I love best. I’m in control. No one to depend on. Just me in the water, trying to go as fast as I can. I dreamed that one day I might be in the Olympics.

  “And then, as you already know, I did something really stupid. I pranked Miriam Said. You all saw it. And it wasn’t funny at all. I found out that it isn’t all about me. I wasn’t in control. And I don’t have any excuses.

  “So I wanted to say to Ms. Miriam Said, I am sorry. I really am.

  “Because you all saw it, you all think I am, like, the WORST person in the world. I couldn’t go to nationals. I got kicked off the local swim team. I lost my job at the comic shop. And I couldn’t even turn on my phone without seeing hundreds, no, thousands of messages from people who want to remind me over and over what a stupid thing I did.”

  Onscreen Andy crouched down, and most of his body disappeared from the frame. When he rose, he was pulling a set of goggles over his eyes.

  “So,” Andy said. “Now I am, like, totally humiliated, and maybe I deserve that. But what’s worse is that the only time I can do what I love to do is at night, right before the rec centre closes. I can come here and swim. Alone. Not to race. Just to get away from it all. I just wanted to show you who I am. I’m not the guy who went nuts during that interview on the pool deck. This is me.”

  The camera followed Andy as he walked toward a block at one end of the pool. He got up onto it, and then dropped into the water. The camera then focused near the middle of the pool, where Andy surfaced, arms reaching forward. Andy sped forward in the water, arms pushing through the water. His feet kicked rhythmically. He disappeared again and then flipped as he got close to the wall. His feet sprung off the wall and he was headed the other way, toward the camera.

  “Pretty quick,” came the voice from the person holding the camera. “Everyone, I’m Andy’s friend, Enalyn. I just wanted to say that I’ve known Andy for a long time. He’s not that jerk you all saw from that Miriam Said video. He can be a real pain sometimes, sure. And he’s as clueless as the next guy. But the reaction to what he did, it’s out of control. He’s down, and everyone out there just keeps kicking him.”