Chapter 1: Jump In
“Only one more lap to go, Selena!” yelled Alicia. Selena swam gracefully with each stroke, finishing her last lap in the pool at the neighborhood community center. Coming up from the water, she removed her swimming goggles.
“How did I do?” she asked.
“You shaved three seconds off of your previous time!” Tyson replied, looking at his stopwatch. Selena gave him a thumbs-up. She walked over to Alicia, who was getting ready for her laps next.
“These off-season training exercises are really going to pay off for us before the swimming season starts. My turn!” Alicia said to Selena.
“Hey, everybody,” said Nate, entering the pool area. “Sorry I’m late. I was at the Super Outdoors Store with my dad, and I saw this!” Nate waved his phone, ushering everyone over. Once they had circled him, he showed everyone what he was excited about. “It’s a white water rafting race for kids!”
“White water rafting? I’ve seen that stuff on TV. It looks dangerous to me,” Tyson said.
“And I’m not sure we should take our attention away from swimming,” Alicia said.
Nate tried to reassure them that this would be a good idea. “The race isn’t for a few months, and it is free to anyone who can put a team together. And since we’re all swimmers, I thought it would be a lot of fun.”
“Well,” Selena said. “If we get free training, then maybe the race will be fun.”
Nate smiled. “And I promise that it won’t interfere with our off-season swim training,” he said.
Selena nodded her head. “OK, I’m in.”
“Me too!” said Alicia.
Tyson let out a very long sigh. “Well, I’m still unsure about this, but I trust you. Count me in.”
“All right!” cheered Nate. “I’ll get the training sessions scheduled, and we’ll take it from there. Now, I’m going to change into my swim clothes and break Selena’s lap record!”
“You wish!” Selena said as they all laughed.
The following day, Nate’s dad dropped the group off at River Park for white water rafting training. Selena, Tyson, and Alicia stared in awe at the massive bear statue in front of the main building before entering through the double doors. The place was small but filled with rafting gear—life jackets, helmets, paddles. There were even canoes and kayaks hanging on the walls.
A River Park employee at the center desk greeted the group. “Hey, kids,” he said. “How can I help you today?”
“We have a reservation for training,” Nate said. The other three were looking around at the gear in the store. “It should be under the name Nate Davis.”
“Here you are!” he said. “You and your friends can head out to station five. Just follow the trail outside the back door. Ms. Ayers will be working with you today.”
“Thanks!” yelled Nate. The group had already started making their way toward the back of the building.
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Adapted from River Race, by Jake Maddox, ©️ by Capstone. Reprinted with permission.
Why is the introduction important to understanding the setting of the passage?
The introduction explains that Selena is swimming at the community center pool.
The introduction describes Selena as a fast, strong, and graceful swimmer.
The introduction explains that Selena, Alicia, Tyson, and Nate are all friends.
The introduction describes white water rafting and how to enter a race.