Robyn loathed sports. She had tried sports. Honestly, she gave it her all. There was just so much about team sports that clashed with her personality. For one, people got upset when she talked. Robyn talked a lot. And why not? You're supposed to communicate with your team, right? You're supposed to be sociable during sporting events, right? Wrong.

Apparently Robyn was so wrong, so often every organized sporting club she participated in from elementary school and middle school kindly asked her to leave the team. No loss to her. She'd go somewhere people could talk and catch a ball at the same time. She didn't need to be on a team to go outside and run or a coach to order her around either. She could multitask all on her own. She was a free spirit. She'd teach herself whatever new skill caught her interest. Luckily, this summer going into her freshman year of high school presented the perfect opportunity.

Robyn, Katrina, Luna, and Lane had all gone to the community pool one afternoon on an ungodly hot Friday in June. Only a handful of other swimmers were swimming laps, Lane being one of them. Katrina had little interest swimming, choosing instead to rebuild an FM Radio she'd found in the trash. Luna brought her bathing suit, but mostly chose to sunbathe. Robyn had been determined to keep pace with Lane during his morning workout.

Right after he graduated High School, Lane had moved to Huntington Beach, California to become a coast guard rescue diver. He'd always fly back during his time off even if it were only for a few days. Having parents that traveled all over the globe for a living meant airfare wasn't typically a major concern. So, when afforded the opportunity to come back home to his family, it was only a matter of finding an open flight and a ride to and from the airport.

More often than not, coming home to the family usually meant his adopted sisters. His parents had recently accepted a position with the International Justice Bureau of the UN. Instead of a handful of trips to New York or the sporadic month-long overseas assignment, Abigail and Dorian had been living out of their flat in Geneva. There was always the comfort of knowing that in a dire emergency, no force on earth could stop either of them from reaching any of their children in a moment's notice. Barring any life threatening emergency however the Woods Siblings enjoyed their autonomy.

Katrina had described their family relationship like an atom; they were all electrons, often far from the nucleus of their family unit, but remained securely bonded. Robyn thought that analogy was way too nerdy. Luna as usual saw the poetry in that particular sentiment. Lane was simply grateful an obscene amount of Frequent Flier Miles and cell phones made long distance relationships possible.

While regular visits from Lane may have simply been convenient for the rest of her sisters, Robyn was ecstatic. Of her two older sisters, she was the one who spent the least amount of time with Lane. That would change this summer. Luna and Lane had their adventures overseas with mom and dad. Katrina shared her love for auto repair and all that other geek stuff with Lane. Robyn had always wanted to share something unique with her adopted brother. Having been kicked out of every other sports program in Santa Fe, she was determined to join the Trigon High swim team.

They may not have had a lot in common to begin with, but Robyn was sure that after Hell Week on Monday, she'd always have at least one special connection with Lane. So it was that on his first day back from California, Lane drove the girls over to the community YMCA pool for a morning workout. Robyn had nearly driven Luna insane trying to find the perfect racing swimsuit, the right color, the right style. She'd spend the last three weeks pouring over articles online, calling up the school swim coaches for their opinions on technique and training regiments. It didn't take too many calls for the coaches to collectively plead Robyn to, "Stop calling their number."

Robyn couldn't help it. That's how her mind operated. She wanted, no, needed to have the whole and complete picture for every situation before diving into anything. After Abigail and Dorian had rescued her from the London Foster Care System, she'd spent almost forty-eight hours straight studying to pass the US Citizenship Test. She was nearly heartbroken to find out that six year olds didn't actually need to take a written test.

Robyn loved tests. She liked knowing that with enough research, preparation, and determination, she usually ended up passing whatever challenge came her way. Not today though. After months of researching proper swimming techniques and twice daily practices, Robyn felt like death was moments away. There were steel anchors in her lungs. Her heart was about to burst free from its ribcage. Robyn's arms and legs were nothing more than lifeless noodles.

Panting for breath, Robyn barely managed to wheeze out, "What lap was that? Did we hit twelve yet? I feel like we've done more than twelve."

Lane casually reclined his back against the ledge of the deep end, "That was six."

Robyn's jaw hit the surface of the water. She almost drowned all over again; "SIX? How was that only six? Why do I feel like death?"

With a warm laugh, Lane explained, probably for the fourth time, "There and back counts as one complete lap. You probably feel like death cause you've been keeping race pace with me. You don't have to swim as fast as I do, Robyn. It's only the warm up laps."

Robyn protested, "If I wanna make the team, I need to at least swim as fast as you do. Or, faster."

Lane smiled and moved his goggles back to look Robyn in the eyes; "You know, I like hanging out with you even if you don't make the team, right?"

Robyn's heat sank all the way to the concrete base of the deep end. Did Lane not believe she could even qualify for the frosh-Soph team? Lane and Robyn may have been the least connected of the Woods Family, but surely he had a little faith in her abilities? Maybe with more practice she could keep up? Sure, Hell Week was Monday. Instead of two a day workouts, she'd push herself to do three a day. She could alter her diet, or fast altogether. What else? Why did Robyn still feel like she was sinking?

Was this another panic attack?

Robyn felt Lane grab a hold of her armpits lifting her head above water. Gently maneuvering her over to the ledge, Lane waited until she grabbed hold of the hot tile.

Lane offered a concerned smile, "Do you really love swimming?"

Robyn swallowed all of her doubt back into the pit of her stomach and thought for a moment; "I don't hate swimming. I find it really relaxing actually. It helps me gather my thoughts and I've read like, seven audio books with my waterproof headphones. Have you read 'Beneath the Surface'? Did you know Michael Phelps had been training since he was eleven? Maybe if I trained hard enough..."

Lane chuckled, "If you trained everyday until you were eighteen, you still wouldn't be a six foot four, genetically engineered flying fish human hybrid with twenty-eight olympic gold medals."

Robyn sank down onto the ledge, forlorn; "I could still try though?"

Lane placed a hand on Robyn's back and added, "Of course, and I'm sure you'd be an incredible athlete too, cause you already are. But, you still didn't answer; do you love swimming? Really love it?"

With a heavy sigh, Robyn's breath rippled the pool of water in between the tiles, "I guess?"

Lane pulled himself up on the deck and swung his feet over the side to face his little sister. She didn't see what he was driving at. Even though he'd spent more time bonding with Luna, repairing the family Jeep with Katrina, Lane had come to admire Robyn the most. She was always eager to solve whatever obstacle was in her path with such joy and fervor. Even at her age, nothing ever seemed impossible to overcome. Even when thrown into a situation cold without any previous knowledge about it at all, Robyn would consume nearly every detail, analyze its weakness, and be qualified to teach a class on the subject within twenty-four hours.

Trying once more to encourage his sister, Lane came from another angle; "Do you see academics as a sport? Like, if you could compete with your classmates? Maybe Mathletes might be your thing?"

Katrina tilted her head slightly, "Seriously?"

Lane pushed himself up out of the water and stood back on the pool deck; "There's gotta be a club that you'd actually fall in love with, instead one where you'd feel like you're gonna die."

Robyn looked up at Lane as he put his goggles back on. A wash with anger and betrayal, she choked out, "An academic club? That's nerd stuff. I'm not a nerd like Katrina. I'm an athlete!"

Shrugging off her protests, Lane replied, "Well, then I guess you better learn to love swimming then. You ready for six more warm up laps?"

Robyn swallowed the lump in her throat. Did Lane just say 'warm up laps?' She watched as Lane dove back into the pool and powered forward, hand over hand, leaving a massive wake behind him. She stayed at the ledge. Robyn was still completely out of breath and now without hope that she'd ever be able to catch up to her brother. All that research? All that training? All of it gone to waste.

Voices approaching the deep end shook Robyn from her downward mental spiral; "I heard this year he won't even turn on the heaters for morning practice."

A second voice chimed in; "Yeah, sounds like Coach Tala alright. Cold heart, freezing pool."

Robyn looked up to the girls approaching the lap lanes. They wore the same racing singlets that she had picked. She also recognized the name of Coach Tala. He was the girls varsity swimming and water polo coach at Trigon High. He was one of the first coaches to actually offer any helpful advice in her research... to a certain point at least.

Trying to infuse some joy into her voice, Robyn asked the pair of blonde girls standing on the deck above her, "You're Sun Devils, right? You're both going to Trigon High's Hell Week?"

In a bubbly voice, the first blonde wearing the dark blue suit answered, "Heck yeah! How about you? Freshman? Sophomore?"

Robyn pushed back from the wall and began treading water. With all the confidence she could muster she admitted, "Freshman. But, I'm gonna make varsity by my sophomore year. How about you?"

Both girls looked at each other, smiled, and answered in unison, "Varsity."

The second girl with the white and gold version of the suit dove into the lap lane next to Robyn. When she resurfaced, the older girl introduced herself in a smoky voice, "I'm Naomi." The girl extended her hand out to Robyn.

Eagerly accepting the older classman's hand, Robyn replied; "Robyn Woods."

Jumping in after Namoi, the other girl kept her head above water, "Robyn, it's a pleasure. I'm Sydney. Glad to hear you'll be joining us Monday. You wanna keep pace with us? We're gonna do a set of 400 meter ladders after we do our warm up laps. How 'bout it?"

Robyn swallowed hard and lied, "I'd love to, but my brother and I just finished our set."

The girls both exchanged devious grins. Sydney spoke up first, "Brother?"

Nodding, Robyn again made her way to the wall to pull herself up and out, "Yeah, he just got back from Huntington Beach. He's a Coast Guard Rescue Diver."

Excitedly, Naomi's eyes lit up, "Coast Guard, huh? A single Coast Guard Diver?"

Robyn pulled herself up onto the ledge and flopped out on the tile like a beached baby seal, "No, he's gotta like a captain, co-pilot and a couple other divers that fly with him, I think."

Sydney laughed, "I think she means, is your brother dating anyone?"

Embarrassed, Robyn turned back to look at the girls. Before she could answer, Lane resurfaced from underwater and touched the edge of the pool deck. He didn't even look winded. Robyn was not so naive not to notice the varsity girls ogling her older brother.

Lane looked up to Robyn then followed her line of sight to the Varsity Girls, "Morning."

Sydney giggled. She actually, unironically, giggled.

Naomi replied softly with a mouthful of, "Hey."

Lane nodded and turned back to Robyn, "Making new friends?"

Robyn looked to the girls who nodded fervently behind Lane's back; "Yup," Robyn agreed, "Naomi and Sydney, they're seniors at Trigon. They're going to hell week too."

With a satisfied smile Lane turned to the two girls with bright red faces, "Great. I hope you'll watch over my little sister. She can be a handful, but always fun to be around."

Sydney almost tripped over her words, "Oh, Absolutely!"

Naomi agreed, "Yeah, we'll make sure we keep her off Coach Tala's radar. No problem."

Confused, Robyn tilted her head slightly, "Wait, wouldn't I want to be on Coach Tala's radar if I wanna jump to varsity early?"

Sydney shook her head, "Nah, not Tala. You wanna steer clear of him. Trust us, better to be under the waters' surface with that one if you know what we mean."

Robyn did not know what Sydney meant, but nodded anyway.

Fortunately Lane piped up, "Coach Tala? What happened to Pierson?"

Sydney rolled her eyes, "Boy, I wish I had Pierson. She was a beauty. Tala was hired after Pierson got prego. That year, Varsity qualified for state championships. I guess the school didn't bother asking Pierson if she wanted her job back with their new star coach Tala at the helm."

Robyn frowned, "That's awful."

Naomi shrugged and shivered, "Not as awful as coach Tala."

Lane leaned back up against the wall, intrigued, "What degree of awful are we talking about?"

Sydney took the opportunity to swim a little closer to Lane. Still treading water and in a hushed tone, she explained, "The man's a pervert. 'S' Class professional lewd." Robyn positioned herself closer to listen in as both Varsity Girls circled her brother. Sydney continued in a whisper, "Rumor has it, the coach installed cameras in the girl's locker room and shower."

Naomi, agreed, "I've heard it too. Won't catch me showering after practice, I don't care how bleached and ratchet my hair gets. He's even propositioned some of the girls for a spot on varsity and one on one practice sessions in his olympic pool at his private ranch."

Robyn watched Lane's face harden. He didn't say anything at first. She could tell his brother was chewing on their words. After a moment of mentally examining all the angles, he shrugged, "If that were true I'm sure it's only a matter of time until the team comes forward and exposes him, right?"

Naomi scoffed, "As if. A bunch of high school girls' testimony over a guy that makes the school money in advertising with a winning swim team? How do you think that'd play out in real life?"

Sydney agreed and solemnly dropped her head down, "Even if all the girls were on the same page and quit the team, he'd just recruit the next gals chompin' at the bit to get on the team."

Appalled, Robyn balled her fists. It wasn't that her dreams of becoming a varsity athlete were dashed, anger had rapidly overcome Robyn's senses. She was pissed out how easily these girls had given up. After all that she'd heard and seen her parents accomplish; corruption exposed, abusers expelled, dictators ejected from their thrones, this high school swim coach was supposed to be untouchable?

Unbelievable.

Impossible!

Robyn jumped to her feet, "That's fucking unacceptable! Who does this guy think he is preying on underage girls? Athletes! Somebody's gonna take that creep to the cleaners and make him pay!"

Both of the varsity girls were shocked at the outrage of the slender, pearl white girl with the dark faded crew cut. All five foot and two inches of her seemed to bristle with rage. Naomi actually gave an earnest, tiny applause, "I'm with you, little sister. But, that's just not how things are done. We're high schoolers, they're in charge, and the status quo just keeps rolling."

Lane had lifted himself out of the water, both girls' attention now diverted to a furious Robyn. Casually lifting the goggles off his eyes, he looked down at his enraged sister; "If only there was someone who wouldn't mind doing hours and hours of research and could write an article at a college level exposing that guy? Oh well. I'm sorry there's no one brave enough to help." Robyn swiveled around to face her brother. Like Luna, Lane also had shimmering green eyes. He gave her a wink and addressed the varsity girls in the pool, "You all have a good day and good luck during hell week. Stay safe." Shifting his attention back to Robyn, Lane added loud enough for the girls in the water to hear, "I'm gonna sit these next laps out, Robyn. You're too fast for me."

The girls in the water swooned as Lane strolled back to the patio chairs on the deck. Robyn however was left with the cogs in her head spinning in overdrive. What did he mean, 'If only there was someone who didn't mind research?' Lane knew full well that Robyn LOVED research. She loved pouring over books. She loved hunting for clues and stringing evidence together in a well curated and logical order. In fact, if it were true that this coach Tala were half the creep those girls claimed, there's no possible way he could outsmart or out maneuver Robyn.

She'd made up her mind. Robyn was going to get to the bottom of those rumors. It wouldn't take her long either. By her best estimate, they'd have this creep behind bars inside a month easy. Speed walking across the deck, Robyn managed to overtake Lane on his way back to their deck chairs in the grass.

Luna lifted up the large straw hat that sat over her face as Robyn approached; "Someone's in a fury-hurry. What's lit a fire under you today, Robyn?"

Digging into her backpack, Robyn pulled out a notepad and pen; "Injustice."

Without another word, Robyn pushed past Lane as he approached and hurried back to the lap lanes. Luna and Lane shared a look as the former sat up.

Throwing a towel at her brother, Luna asked, "Okay, Ursa Major, what'd you do?"

Lane shrugged as he caught the towel and wrapped it around his waist, "I might have encouraged our youngest into a new hobby? Not sure yet. I'm excited to see what the results are though."

Luna pushed the straw hat over her eyes, "So long as I don't have to take her shopping ever again."

Robyn approached the deep end as the girls breached the water on the way back from their first lap. Sitting down on the edge of the deck, Robyn opened to a fresh page in her pocket notepad; "Okay girls, let's start from the top. Tell me everything you know about coach Tala. This is going on the record by the way. Okay? You've got my undivided attention."