The Lifeguard Test

Hector had practiced all spring for the lifeguard swim test. The summer job at the town pool needed three hundred meters in under six minutes. In training, he had done it easily. On the day of the test, he wanted to start strong. When the whistle blew, he pushed off the wall like a rocket.

Hector berlatih sepanjang musim semi untuk tes renang penjaga kolam. Pekerjaan musim panas di kolam renang kota itu mensyaratkan tiga ratus meter dalam waktu kurang dari enam menit. Saat latihan, ia bisa melakukannya dengan mudah. Pada hari tes, ia ingin memulai dengan kuat. Begitu peluit berbunyi, ia mendorong diri dari dinding seperti roket.

The first lap felt great. By the second, his arms were heavy. By the last one, he was barely moving, and his breath burned in his chest. He touched the wall and looked up at the instructor.

Putaran pertama terasa luar biasa. Pada putaran kedua, lengannya mulai berat. Pada putaran terakhir, ia nyaris tak bergerak, dan napasnya terasa panas membakar dadanya. Ia menyentuh dinding dan mendongak menatap instrukturnya.

"Six minutes and two seconds," she said, holding up her stopwatch. "Two seconds too slow. You can try again in three weeks."

"Enam menit dua detik," kata sang instruktur sambil mengangkat stopwatch-nya. "Terlambat dua detik. Kamu boleh mencoba lagi tiga minggu lagi."

His friends had all passed. They left for the snack stand, laughing. Hector sat on a bench with a wet towel over his shoulders. He felt like he had lost the whole summer because of two seconds.

Semua temannya lulus. Mereka pergi ke kios makanan ringan sambil tertawa. Hector duduk di bangku dengan handuk basah di bahunya. Ia merasa telah kehilangan seluruh musim panas hanya karena dua detik.

"You swam the first lap like someone was chasing you," said a voice behind him. It was Signe, one of the older lifeguards, who was putting away the pool ropes. "Then you spent the last lap holding on for dear life."

"Kamu berenang di putaran pertama seperti dikejar orang," kata sebuah suara di belakangnya. Itu Signe, salah satu penjaga kolam yang lebih senior, yang sedang membereskan tali pembatas kolam. "Lalu kamu menghabiskan putaran terakhir dengan berjuang mati-matian."

"I wanted a good start," Hector said.

"Aku ingin memulai dengan bagus," kata Hector.

"A good start is the easy part. Pace is a skill, and nobody ever teaches it." She sat down next to him. "Split the swim into three equal parts. Breathe every third stroke. And if the first lap feels too easy, it means you are doing it right."

"Awal yang bagus itu bagian yang mudah. Mengatur kecepatan itu keterampilan, dan tak ada yang pernah mengajarkannya." Ia duduk di samping Hector. "Bagi renangmu menjadi tiga bagian yang sama. Ambil napas setiap tiga kayuhan. Dan kalau putaran pertama terasa terlalu mudah, itu tandanya kamu melakukannya dengan benar."

For the next three weeks, Hector came to the pool at seven every morning. He borrowed a cheap stopwatch from his father's drawer. At first, he hated the new method. Swimming slowly felt like losing on purpose, and he had to fight the urge to speed up.

Selama tiga minggu berikutnya, Hector datang ke kolam renang pukul tujuh setiap pagi. Ia meminjam stopwatch murah dari laci ayahnya. Awalnya, ia benci cara baru itu. Berenang pelan terasa seperti sengaja kalah, dan ia harus melawan dorongan untuk mempercepat.

Signe watched from the lifeguard chair and called out his times. By the second week, his laps were almost the same. By the third, they were within three seconds of each other. He wrote his target times on his wrist with a pen. That way, he could check them at every wall.

Signe mengawasi dari kursi penjaga dan menyebutkan waktunya. Pada minggu kedua, putaran-putarannya hampir sama. Pada minggu ketiga, selisihnya kurang dari tiga detik. Ia menulis waktu targetnya di pergelangan tangan dengan pulpen. Dengan begitu, ia bisa memeriksanya di setiap dinding.

On the day of the second test, the first lap felt too easy again. His arms wanted to go faster. He looked at his wrist, took a breath, and stayed calm. In the final lap, he still had energy left. He used all of it in the last fifty meters.

Pada hari tes kedua, putaran pertama terasa terlalu mudah lagi. Lengannya ingin bergerak lebih cepat. Ia melihat pergelangan tangannya, menarik napas, dan tetap tenang. Di putaran terakhir, tenaganya masih tersisa. Ia menghabiskan semuanya di lima puluh meter terakhir.

"Five minutes and forty-one seconds," the instructor said.

"Lima menit empat puluh satu detik," kata sang instruktur.

Hector climbed out of the water, shaking. High up in the chair, Signe held up a thumb. Later, she threw him a red whistle. "Welcome to the chair," she said.

Hector memanjat keluar dari air dengan tubuh gemetar. Di atas kursi yang tinggi, Signe mengacungkan jempol. Kemudian, ia melemparkan sebuah peluit merah kepadanya. "Selamat datang di kursi penjaga," katanya.