The Last Spot on the Team
13UNITED STATESSHORT STORY
Tomás
10/2/20251 min read
Tomás had trained all year for a place on the regional climbing team.
There were twelve students at the final trial and only six spots. Tomás completed the speed wall faster than ever. He crossed the overhang without falling and reached the final hold with two seconds remaining.
Coach Valdés posted five names immediately.
The sixth spot would be decided by one final climb between Tomás and a younger student named Benjamín.
The route was difficult, with small holds and a section where climbers had to swing sideways beneath an angled wall.
Tomás went first.
Halfway up, his left foot slipped. He recovered, reached the final section, and touched the top hold.
The crowd applauded.
Benjamín began next. He climbed slowly but steadily until he reached the sideways swing. He tried once and missed. He tried again, but his hand slipped.
From the ground, Tomás could see the problem. Benjamín was reaching for the obvious hold, but a smaller grip was hidden around the corner.
Tomás stayed quiet.
If Benjamín fell, Tomás would make the team.
Benjamín tried again. His arms began shaking.
Tomás remembered his first competition, when an older climber had quietly told him to trust his left foot. That advice had not guaranteed victory, but it had helped him finish.
“Look behind the yellow hold!” Tomás shouted.
Coach Valdés turned toward him.
Benjamín found the hidden grip. He completed the swing and reached the top three seconds faster than Tomás.
The sixth spot went to Benjamín.
Tomás congratulated him, then went to the equipment room before anyone could see how disappointed he was.
Coach Valdés found him coiling ropes.
“You helped your competitor.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Tomás shrugged. “I wanted to win because I climbed better, not because he missed something I could see.”
The following week, Coach Valdés asked Tomás to join the team as the alternate. He would train with them and compete if another climber was unavailable.
It was not the position he had wanted.
Three months later, one teammate injured an ankle, and Tomás entered the regional competition. Benjamín stood below the wall shouting advice.
Tomás finished fourth.
On the bus home, he realised something surprising.
Helping Benjamín had cost him a place for a while.
It had not cost him the team.