Status: slowly progressing
London Love
Chapter 3
When Catherine awoke early the next morning she decided to take her laptop down to the hotel lobby where they had breakfast laid out for the guests. Throwing her laptop into its bag she quickly dressed in some sweats and grabbed her phone and room key and headed for the elevator. After filling a plate with a few chocolate chip pancakes, some scrambled eggs, and a few pieces of bacon, she poured herself a glass of milk and headed to an empty table to turn her computer on and browse while she ate. She checked into Facebook and read all the comments on her photos replying to some. Then she sent her mom a message, just to check in. After scanning down the walls of all her favorite sites she logged onto her blog and read the few comments that were there.
By the time she had done all this she was finished with breakfast and ready to shower before heading to her two interviews of the day. She disposed of her trash and packed her computer back into her bag. As she got onto the elevator she saw the women from the pool out of the corner of her eye. Her brain did not recall the connection it had made the night before. After a long shower, she threw on a flowing black skirt and a baby blue shirt which brought out the color of her eyes. She slid on some simple black sandals and packed everything she would need into her bag. Looking into the mirror she thought 'Well hopefully this is professional enough'. She then left her room and hailed a taxi outside to take her to the athlete’s village where she was conducting her interviews. She and the athletes decided it would be easier for her to come to them rather than the other way around.
A few blocks from the hotel they hit some major traffic. She told the driver it was fine, but inside she was worried that she would be late and miss her interviews. She had always hated being late to anything. As they neared the village, she checked her phone and knew she was running a bit late. Hitting more traffic she told the driver that she would just walk from there and thanked him for getting her this close. Grateful she wore sandals and not heels she quickly walked toward the village nearly running into a small group of guys who were leaving. She quickly sped by them, not even bothering to turn her head and see who they were. If she had, she may have noticed that it was Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte as well as a few other male swimmers.
Having arrived to find she was not the only one running a bit late she settled into a chair in the lounge and took a deep breath. She quickly fixed her hair and began jotting a few notes onto the pad of paper she had gotten out of her bag. Her first interview was with a young woman named Petra who was also a current student at the university. She had seen Petra a few times coming in to see the SID over the years. After greeting her she began to ask the questions that she had prepared. Most were about the Olympics: how she felt to be representing her country, how it felt to know that her university was behind her, etcetera. Then she asked a few questions about how she felt about the next year’s season with the university and how it felt to have her family here to support her.
Once the interview was over, she thanked Petra for her time and headed back to the hotel. Her other interview had texted her earlier saying that they would have to reschedule and apologizing. Catherine decided not to change before going to watch one of the events after grabbing a quick lunch. She found a small café that didn’t look too busy and entered, waiting to be seated. After deciding on what to eat and drink, she scanned the restaurant noticing the tv tuned into a prelim soccer match. Deciding that even though she had no interest in soccer, it was better than staring at the wall she watched it until her food arrived. Once she was full she paid the bill and left heading to Horse Guards Parade to watch some volleyball.
After watching two different matches she looked at her phone and saw that it was nearly five o’clock. She decided to stop for dinner someplace on the way to the natatorium. After eating at another small café, she settled into a seat near the front, at the starting end of the pool. She took a few pictures of the Nat and settled in to wait for the evenings events. Multiple prelims later, including some with some of the most prominent faces of US Swimming, she left and walked back to the hotel to get some sleep.
By the time she had done all this she was finished with breakfast and ready to shower before heading to her two interviews of the day. She disposed of her trash and packed her computer back into her bag. As she got onto the elevator she saw the women from the pool out of the corner of her eye. Her brain did not recall the connection it had made the night before. After a long shower, she threw on a flowing black skirt and a baby blue shirt which brought out the color of her eyes. She slid on some simple black sandals and packed everything she would need into her bag. Looking into the mirror she thought 'Well hopefully this is professional enough'. She then left her room and hailed a taxi outside to take her to the athlete’s village where she was conducting her interviews. She and the athletes decided it would be easier for her to come to them rather than the other way around.
A few blocks from the hotel they hit some major traffic. She told the driver it was fine, but inside she was worried that she would be late and miss her interviews. She had always hated being late to anything. As they neared the village, she checked her phone and knew she was running a bit late. Hitting more traffic she told the driver that she would just walk from there and thanked him for getting her this close. Grateful she wore sandals and not heels she quickly walked toward the village nearly running into a small group of guys who were leaving. She quickly sped by them, not even bothering to turn her head and see who they were. If she had, she may have noticed that it was Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte as well as a few other male swimmers.
Having arrived to find she was not the only one running a bit late she settled into a chair in the lounge and took a deep breath. She quickly fixed her hair and began jotting a few notes onto the pad of paper she had gotten out of her bag. Her first interview was with a young woman named Petra who was also a current student at the university. She had seen Petra a few times coming in to see the SID over the years. After greeting her she began to ask the questions that she had prepared. Most were about the Olympics: how she felt to be representing her country, how it felt to know that her university was behind her, etcetera. Then she asked a few questions about how she felt about the next year’s season with the university and how it felt to have her family here to support her.
Once the interview was over, she thanked Petra for her time and headed back to the hotel. Her other interview had texted her earlier saying that they would have to reschedule and apologizing. Catherine decided not to change before going to watch one of the events after grabbing a quick lunch. She found a small café that didn’t look too busy and entered, waiting to be seated. After deciding on what to eat and drink, she scanned the restaurant noticing the tv tuned into a prelim soccer match. Deciding that even though she had no interest in soccer, it was better than staring at the wall she watched it until her food arrived. Once she was full she paid the bill and left heading to Horse Guards Parade to watch some volleyball.
After watching two different matches she looked at her phone and saw that it was nearly five o’clock. She decided to stop for dinner someplace on the way to the natatorium. After eating at another small café, she settled into a seat near the front, at the starting end of the pool. She took a few pictures of the Nat and settled in to wait for the evenings events. Multiple prelims later, including some with some of the most prominent faces of US Swimming, she left and walked back to the hotel to get some sleep.
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Not super happy with this chapter but it will have to do.