The lifeguard approached.
“She says she can’t breathe.”
“She’s talking.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s fine.”
Ellie wrapped her arms around herself.
Bryan lowered his voice.
“She does this when practice gets hard.”
The lifeguard crouched.
“Ellie, have you used an inhaler before?”
She shook her head.
“My mom said we’re seeing a doctor.”
Bryan sighed.
“Great. Now everybody’s a doctor.”
The lifeguard looked up.
“Practice is over for her.”
“You don’t make that call.”
“On deck safety, I do.”
The coach’s face hardened.
Parents had begun looking toward them.
Ellie’s mother arrived moments later.
She saw her daughter wrapped in a towel.
“What happened?”
Bryan answered first.
“Ellie refused to finish practice.”
The lifeguard said, “She had difficulty breathing.”
Her mother’s expression changed.
“She told you this has happened before.”
Bryan shrugged.
“She needs confidence.”
Ellie stared at him.
