let’s see if we can talk to our correspondent, Chuck, who is down at the poolside now. Chuck, what is the situation down there?”
The cameraman again took his eyes off the two in front of him to watch the monitor. Chuck’s face filled the screen. The camera guy downstairs was doing a good job of keeping the activity of the divers in the camera’s view without letting it get too distracting.
“Well, John, Susan, I had it confirmed. On her fifth dive Talia did break two of her fingers, I believe the first two on her right hand, as well as dislocated the other two fingers at the knuckles. I got a quick glance at her hand before her coach covered it up with a towel and it’s already starting to swell pretty badly. They’re not letting reporters in the locker room, but I’ve been told they’re going to try to pop the two fingers back into place and wrap the other two with tape. I’m also told that she will be executing her final dive. I’ll let you know when I have more. Back to you, John.”
Upon Chuck’s lead-in the cameraman quickly checked to see that the heads were centered in the monitor.
“That’s amazing.”
“Why do you say that, Susan?”
“First that she had the will to dive in the first place knowing what it was going to feel like when she entered the water. And second that she was able to change the order of her hands, something that’s probably routine for her, without really blowing it. I’ve never seen a diver able to switch technique midcompetition and be successful. Like I said before, Talia is a gritty competitor and she is obviously not going to give up without a fight.”
“Here is Chu Lau up on the platform now. She can secure the gold with a total score of eighty-four-point-two points.”
“Which, given her difficulty level, means she’s looking for sevens and eights. But I do want to comment here, John. You can really see the difference in maturity between these two divers. Chu Lau is only fourteen compared to Talia, who is almost ten years older. She doesn’t walk with any real confidence. I would like to see those shoulders back a little more. But when it comes to diving there is no one more precise with her positioning. This dive is an inward twisting two-and-a-half tuck somersault. There she goes. Man, she’s quick in the air.”
“Whoa. That’s going to be tough to beat, isn’t it, Susan?”
“That’s going to be very tough to beat, John. She was really perfect, in the air, in the water and…there it is. She’s gotten what she needs. The gold is hers. Given the degree of difficulty on Talia’s next dive there is no way she can overtake Chu Lau. Not even with tens.”
“Do you think Talia will even bother at this point?”
“If I was her coach, I would tell her to sit it out and take a no dive. She actually has enough points that, even without the last dive and given her competition’s next dive, she will probably still come in third. Bronze is a very respectable finish. She can’t win gold, but she could do some real damage to her hand by going for the silver.”
“Isn’t that her coming out of the locker room?”
“She’s probably just checking the scores. Figuring out what the situation is. That’s her coach talking to her now. Telling her it’s over.”
“Is it my imagination, Susan, or do they look like they’re fighting?”
“She’s definitely shaking him off. And—I don’t believe it—she’s heading for the steps. I can see the tape around the first two fingers. She’s climbing up. John, I’m shocked. She’s going to dive.”
“This is amazing. She knows she can’t win. Her fingers are broken.”
“Forgive me, but I’m actually getting a little choked up at this. I happen to know that this is Talia’s last competition. She’s waited to go to college, felt she couldn’t focus on school and diving at the same time. She told me she would be attending Tulane in Louisiana this fall. I think she wants to finish this out. It’s really a remarkable display of courage.”
“You don’t think she’s looking to win silver?”
“I don’t think she cares about the medals at this point, John. I think she simply wants to dive her last dive. She’s on the platform. Her scheduled dive was going to be a backward three— Wait, I can see she’s changed that. She’s facing forward on the platform. She’s not doing her listed dive…and look at that. She’s going with the swan. The original dive, really…and perfect. Just perfect, John. Beautiful takeoff, absolutely elegant in the air, no splash at all. That’s what a ten looks like, John. Only that wasn’t for points. That was for her. I think we just saw Talia Mooney say goodbye to diving.”
The cameraman watched as the girl climbed out of the pool. The guy downstairs was using the shoulder camera to follow her progress and once again he was getting the call from upstairs to tell the two announcers to cut to Chuck. He made the motion with his hand for them to stop talking and watched the monitor as Chuck raced to try and catch the girl. He knew the business was all about catching the right moment, but he couldn’t help but think that they should just leave her alone.
“Talia, can you talk to us for a second?”
She turned around and everyone watching was able to see her reluctance, her pain and her strength in keeping it all together as she evidently struggled to hold back tears. It was a great shot. And it was going to make for some fabulous TV.
“Let me start with…how’s the hand?”
“Uh…it hurts. I’m going to go get some X rays taken and see what the damage is.”
“Talia, you were so close to gold. What were you thinking when you knew it had slipped from your grasp? And what prompted you to make that last dive?”
“I wanted to go out on my terms. And it’s my favorite dive.”
“You can see the scores, tens, but of course without the difficulty it’s not a lot of points. Wait, I’m just now hearing in my earpiece that you did earn enough to win silver. Talia, you’re an Olympic silver-medal winner. Congratulations.”
“Silver’s great,” she smiled genuinely, brushing a tear from her cheek.
“And will this be your last competition?”
“Absolutely. No offense, Chuck, but I hope I never have to have a camera shoved in my face again.”
The cameraman in the booth upstairs smiled.
Chapter 1
“Hello! My name is Evan Aiken and I am your host for what is going to be the adventure of a lifetime for eight lucky contestants. This is a game for the strong and for the determined. This show will go beyond survival and challenge each of these contestants’ ultimate endurance. Okay, Joe, cut. That works.”
Joe, the cameraman, whose large frame had been perched somewhat precariously on the bow of the boat, lowered the large battery-powered shoulder camera to his lap.
Talia Mooney was curious what would happen if she picked it up and tossed it over the side of the skiff into the Pacific Ocean. She had a hunch Evan wouldn’t be pleased.
How the
