My entry for the Grand Prix- 300 words

It was a race- myself against time. Neon lights kept track as the seconds ticked away on the board. I could feel it slipping past my fingers, trying to grasp for something; the past that had gone by too fast, the present which seemed to be filled with one mistake after another, or the future. I didn't know which, just that I couldn't hold on to it. It always passed by like the water that surrounded me; always pulling myself along but never getting anywhere.

Tilting my head to the side, I took a breath of air and heard the fans cheer before going back into my solitude. I knew there were others who swam along beside me, but they were in their own race with their own score to settle.

Tick, tick, tick...

The numbers seemed to speed on by, never slowing, never waiting. It was the enemy- one of which could never be beaten. Time was on no one's side. From the first cry of life to the last breath it continued to beat away like our hearts.

Tick, tick...

My heart thumped in my chest as nerves squeezed against my insides. There were others depending on me, needing me to beat the clock, to have time go faster for me than those I swam with. Funny, as it never mattered how fast you go, you could never go faster than the numbers.

Tick.

Touching the wall, I looked up, filling my lungs with air as I tried to calm down from the adrenaline. Hearing the buzzer go off I glanced at the board and smiled. Time had stopped, for now. The world came back into focus around me, and looking at the crowd I was content with knowing that being in the moment was the only way to trick time into slowing down.