by Mandy Martin
With practised ease, Willow cupped her hand under Charlie’s chin and began towing him towards the shore. Once she was near, Jack and Mitchell waded in and helped her pull him out.
“Go and get a teacher!” Willow gasped, as she stared at Charlie. He wasn’t breathing.
Her mind raced as she tried to remember what she’d been taught. Willow interlaced her fingers and found the right spot on Charlie’s chest. She pushed sharp with her arms straight, three, four, five times. Then, trying to pretend it was just a doll, she leaned over, held Charlie’s nose, tilted his chin, and blew two sharp breaths into his mouth.
Over and over she repeated it. Five, two, five two. Footsteps were pounding along the path when Charlie finally coughed and spat out water.
He was alive!
Willow slumped back against the ground, exhausted. She barely heard Miss Brice’s urgent voice, asking what had happened. The teacher pulled a phone from her pocket and tapped out three numbers.
As she explained to the ambulance crew where they were, Chloe came over to Willow and hugged her tight.
“You were amazing!”
Willow gave a tired chuckle. “I told you water is dangerous,” she said, and then she slumped to the ground.
Chapter Twelve
Willow’s wet clothes clung to her and the foil sheet around her shoulders rustled as she walked. She felt like she’d opened a dozen locks, one after the other. On top of the exhaustion she was worried what Mum would say. She shouldn’t have gone in the water – she should have waited for a teacher. Miss Brice had said as much. They could have had two people needing to go to hospital, she’d said.
An ambulance stood in the middle of the car park, its blue lights flashing against the white of the coach. Charlie gave a weak wave and grinned at Mitchell and Jack as he was lifted into the back of the vehicle on a trolley. He had a bandage around his head where he’d struck the branch. Willow rolled her eyes. Trust him to milk the moment for all it was worth.
As she trudged towards the front of the coach, wondering if she could borrow some spare clothes, Willow heard a man call her name. She turned and saw one of the people in uniform was walking towards her.
“Willow Irvine?” the man said again.
She nodded.
“I just wanted to come and say thank you and well done. That was an impressive thing you did. You saved that boy’s life.”
Hot blood rushed to Willow’s cheeks and she ducked her head.
“Not many children your age are strong enough to swim fully dressed, especially in a chilly weed-clogged lake. None I know could have done life-saving resuscitation like that. Bravo.”
Willow shrugged, embarrassed. “I live on a boat,” she said. “My parents taught me to swim almost before I could walk.”
The ambulance man nodded. “Good for them. I wish all parents – and children,” he added, glancing back at Charlie,” – were as sensible.”
Grace came over and hooked her arm through Willow’s. Her dark eyes glinted mischievously. Tilting her head to one side she smiled at the ambulance man. “Water is dangerous,” she said.
“Will! Thank goodness you’re okay,” Mum rushed towards Willow at the school gate. “The school told me what had happened, and that you didn’t want to come home early.”
Mum looked like she didn’t know whether to be proud or furious.
“Sorry, Mum,” Willow said wearily. “I know I’m not supposed to go in the water.” She clutched the bag of soggy uniform behind her back. “I’ll do my own laundry, I promise.”
That decided it for Mum. “Oh, Willow, I’m so proud of you.” She wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close.
Timothy and Patience trotted over from opposite directions.
“Is it true?” Timothy asked. “They’re saying you pulled Charlie Marshall’s dead body from a lake.”
“He wasn’t dead,” Willow protested.
“Only because of you, that’s what our teacher said,” Patience squeaked. She gazed in awe at her cousin.
“I didn’t know you were such a great swimmer,” Timothy continued. “Why don’t you join our swimming team? You’d ace it at the next gala.”
“Wait until Zander hears about this,” Patience laughed. “He’s going to be soooooo jealous!”
Willow looked around at her family and smiled. Perhaps they had the same plumage after all.
Just then, Chloe and Grace ran over, their parents trailing behind.
“Willow! Wait. Mum, this is the girl who saved Charlie.” Grace tugged Willow’s arm and pulled her over to a tall woman with ebony skin and a wide white smile.
“Well, hello, Willow, I am delighted to meet you,” she said in a rich voice.
Willow smiled shyly and looked at the ground. Grace’s mum was wearing flip-flops covered in crystals.
“Ask her, Mum, please!” Grace whispered.
Her mum gave a deep chuckle. “Mrs Irvine, Grace would like to know if Willow can come to tea next week? Chloe is coming also.”
Willow looked up at her mum with hopeful eyes.
“I don’t see why not,” Mum said. The two women exchanged phone numbers, while Grace, Chloe and Willow skipped round in a circle. Willow looked gratefully at her friends. She had found her flock.