by Pam Harvey
Andrea Simpson was whipping her way down the final lap in a frenzy of arms and legs, leaving six swimmers in her wake as she gained on Gabby.
‘GAB-BY! GAB-BY!’ Hannah cried even louder, trying to bring the crowd with her again, but now all eyes were fixed on the erratic, yet powerfully effective stroke of the girl in lane six, suddenly drawing level with Gabby.
‘Oh no,’ Hannah muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.
‘C’mon, Gabby!’ Angus roared.
Gabby heard her name, heard Angus, heard someone…what was happening? She was swimming so evenly, so strongly. Concentrating on maintaining her form, she closed her eyes, putting on a burst of power. Was it a record? Or was it Andrea?
Gabby lifted her face for the last time, gulped in air, and stroked for the edge. Three, two, one—crash. Her arm slapped the side of the pool and a wave of water washed over her.
She spun around to look at the scoreboard. Lane one!
‘YES!’ she cried, slapping the water with a fist. She turned to look down the pool. Andrea was panting hard, and staring back at her. Gabby smiled. No hard feelings, she thought, as the other swimmers touched the wall to finish. Gabby duck-dived beneath the lane rope to go and shake Andrea’s hand.
After a few pats and handshakes from the other swimmers, Gabby finally reached lane six only to find that Andrea had already left. Only then did she take another look at the scoreboard. It was telling her that she’d missed a national record by just 0.06 of a second!
She looked up into the stands. Her mum and Pat, along with Angus and Hannah, were jumping, waving and cheering. She smiled and waved back. Then she looked again. A girl with long black hair was standing next to Angus.
‘Ling!’ she shouted, waving again.
Her cousin Ling smiled. Gabby felt an immense wave of satisfaction and pleasure as she left the pool arena. Ling’s come all the way from Sydney to watch me race, she thought. Uncle Rodney must have brought her down. So that means everyone’s here except Dad. At least Mum had the video camera.
She paused outside a closed door, suddenly hearing someone cry out between sobs.
‘B-but you s-said it was f-foolproof. You s-said I c-couldn’t lose.’
It was Andrea Simpson. Gabby paused, tying up her hair.
‘The kid’s almost swum a bloody national record. And we’re not going to risk your health by giving you something too strong for your body. Now get over it, Andrea.’
‘I hate her. I hate you all!’ Andrea cried. The door burst open. Andrea stopped dead when she saw Gabby.
‘Hey, great race, Andrea,’ Gabby said, thrusting out a hand to her.
For a moment it looked like Andrea would shake her hand, but then she burst into tears again and ran down the hall to the change rooms. Gabby shrugged and looked into the room.
She was surprised to see the man who’d opened Explore! standing there, going red in the face, along with Andrea’s mother. The door was kicked shut. Quickly.
Chapter 14
Gabby’s house: Saturday morning
Gabby woke up the following morning feeling remarkably fresh. It had been a late night, even with their early exit from the stadium. Mum had insisted that they stop to celebrate. It was great to see Ling, and although the conversation was dominated by Explore!, Gabby had felt an inner thrill that Hannah, Angus and Ling had been there to watch her swim her way into the nationals.
They’d sat at a table by a window, watching the traffic and pedestrians rushing by. Hannah and Angus were very curious about what Gabby had heard immediately after the race.
‘So, she wasn’t just upset,’ Hannah persisted, flicking the ice around in her glass.
‘No. She was angry,’ Gabby said, recalling the moment. ‘Like she had expected to win. Like it was her destiny or God-given right to win.’
‘Weird,’ Hannah said.
‘And the man said something about not hurting her by giving her something too strong for her body.’
‘What man?’ Hannah asked.
‘The guy who opened Explore!’
‘Mr Taylor? Our principal?’ said Hannah. ‘Why would he be with Andrea?’
‘What?’ Ling said, eyebrows raised. ‘What’s going on? Is this girl Andrea Simpson on steroids or something?’
‘No, I don’t think so.’ Gabby looked up. ‘But she’s got an ordinary swimming stroke. Pat’s always been amazed how well she does. I think she’d secretly love to coach Andrea and fix up her stroke. She’d be a world beater. She says Andrea must have a heart the size of Phar Lap’s.’
‘Or amazing willpower,’ Ling said.
‘Or both,’ added Angus.
‘Or neither,’ Hannah said softly. The others looked at her.
‘What do you mean?’ Gabby asked.
‘That she’s just an ordinary kid, who’s a pretty good swimmer, but not great. Something else is helping her. Maybe it’s something to do with Mr Taylor.’
The others let Hannah’s comments sink in before Gabby got the conversation back onto the race itself.
‘So, when did you think I had it won?’ she asked, as the oven-baked pizzas and salads arrived. The conversation stayed on Gabby’s race until they left, an hour later.
After dropping Hannah and Angus off, Gabby’s mum finally turned into their winding driveway just after midnight. Gabby fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
‘Phone, Gabby!’ her mum called from the kitchen, interrupting her reminiscing about the previous night. ‘Gabby?’
‘Coming!’ Gabby threw back the doona and hauled her weary legs out of bed. Probably Pat, she thought, throwing on a dressing gown and walking to the door. Or maybe Angus? Her pace quickened.
‘Hello?’
‘Gabby?’ a soft voice spoke into the phone.
‘Hello?’ Gabby called again, louder.
‘It’s me, Andrea Simpson.’
Gabby almost dropped the phone in surprise.
‘Andrea? Oh hi,’ she said.
‘I’ve got to tell you something.’ Andrea’s voice was tentative.
‘Sure, go ahead,’ Gabby said, suddenly curious. She settled into the big armchair in the lounge, nodding and smiling at her mum, who was pouring a glass of orange juice.
‘No, not on the phone. At Explore!’
‘At Explore!? Why? Just tell me now, Andrea.’
‘No, no. I can’t. I have to show you. At Explore! Can you make it? This morning?’
‘I guess,’ Gabby said, slightly disappointed. She took the glass of orange juice from her mum.
‘Meet you there in an hour,’ Andrea said breathlessly. The phone clicked. Gabby sat there for a moment, staring at the phone.
‘Everything okay, honey?’ her mum called.
‘Fine, Mum,’ Gabby said, taking a sip from her glass. She stared out the large bay window. What did Andrea have to say? Was this some sort of payback? Putting her glass down, she picked up her swimming bag from last night and headed back to her bedroom.
‘You eating, Gabby?’
‘Just going to get dressed, Mum,’ she called.
‘Hannah?’ she whispered into her mobile phone a moment later, having shut her bedroom door. ‘It’s Andrea.’
‘What about her?’ Hannah’s sleepy voice was suddenly sounding sharper.
‘She wants me down at Explore!’
‘Explore!?’
‘In an hour. Will you come too?’
‘She wants you at Explore!? Why?’
‘I don’t know. She wouldn’t say. Will you come?’
‘Of course,’ Hannah said, wide awake. ‘I’ll ring the others. Let’s meet in the car park on the other side of the road. Forty minutes, okay?’
‘Okay,’ Gabby said, feeling better. She dressed quickly, grabbed a slice of toast and set off, telling her mum she was heading over to Hannah’s.
‘I say we wait here and see what happens,’ Angus said once they’d all arrived at the car park.
‘Too right,’ E.D. agr
eed, jumping up and down, trying to keep warm. ‘That black ride was really spooky.’
‘They got you out, E.D. They’re not monsters, you know. You were in the wrong being there in the first place,’ said Hannah.
‘Hey! I was there because I was doing a job on Dave. I was keeping an eye on him.’
‘He didn’t go into the black tube, did he?’ Hannah said.
‘Of course he didn’t, he wouldn’t be game. But I was caught. It was my only escape.’
‘Shut up, you two. I’ve got my mobile. I’ll just go and see what Andrea has got to say. If there’s any trouble, I’ll ring, okay?’
‘Yes,’ Hannah said, nodding. ‘Be careful, Gab.’
They watched Gabby walk slowly towards the building. She waited outside the green door to the Kids’ Head Start room.
‘She’s going in,’ Hannah said softly. They watched Gabby disappear inside and the door closed.
‘Well?’ Gabby asked, suddenly feeling impatient and wanting to be back with her friends. Andrea looked pale. ‘Are you alright?’
Gabby hadn’t been inside the KHS room before; she’d only seen it from the pink tube above. She glanced about quickly, avoiding Andrea’s stare. One wall was taken up entirely by an enormous mirror. Banks of modern-looking flat-screen computers lined the other walls, along with numerous plastic boxes, full of expensive-looking computer games, jigsaws and mind games. There was a life-size robot sitting on a chair in front of a chessboard, its hand resting on a chess piece, as though waiting for someone to turn up and play.
‘Listen,’ Andrea whispered. ‘I don’t think he’s here yet.’ She took a step closer to Gabby.
‘Who? Who’s coming?’ Gabby asked, reaching into her pocket and feeling the phone there. Andrea glanced around again.
‘Uncle Richard,’ she breathed, so softly that Gabby barely heard the words. ‘The man you saw at the pool. After the race.’
‘Mr Taylor? The principal?’
Andrea nodded, tears brimming in her eyes. ‘He’s my uncle. He has never been around much—always overseas doing research. I’m not supposed to say anything. Just get you here then leave, but it’s wrong. It’s all wrong.’
‘What are you talking about?’
Andrea brushed away a tear then suddenly looked up.
‘Quick. He’s here.’ Andrea grabbed Gabby’s arms and dragged her towards the door. ‘Get in here,’ she hissed, sliding open a large wooden panel to a cupboard next to the door and pushing aside a stack of board games.
‘I’m not—’
‘Hurry!’ Andrea said sharply, half pushing Gabby in. ‘Trust me.’
‘Geez, Andrea. This is so dumb,’ Gabby said, struggling to get herself semi-comfortable in the wooden cupboard. Andrea slid the wooden panel almost closed and quickly walked back into the room.
A moment later Gabby heard a door open.
‘She’s late,’ a male voice spoke.
‘She’s coming,’ Gabby heard Andrea say quietly.
‘Do you think she’ll be interested?’ the man said.
‘I don’t know. Like I told you already, she’s different. Gabby’s smart, plus she’ll tell her parents and friends. I just don’t want them knowing about all of this.’
‘Don’t worry. Here, take your boosters—I’ve strengthened them.’
Gabby watched through a small gap as the man passed Andrea a plastic bag with four bright orange pills. They looked like lollies.
‘I want you to arrange a race against this girl. Here at the Teasdale Pool. For next weekend. I’ll keep you on this higher dose all week, for you to peak on Saturday. You’ll blow her out of the water. We’ll have you back in the nationals before you know it.’
‘I don’t want to blow her out of the water, Uncle Richard. I don’t deserve to be in the nationals. Gabby does.’
Gabby held her breath.
‘Don’t be stupid, Andrea. I haven’t spent five years on this research to have you suddenly start having doubts. You love coming first. You love being the best.’
‘But I’m not the best.’
‘Of course you are. It’s all a matter of balancing the natural ingredients into the correct dosage, that’s all.’
‘Why me? Why don’t you just stick to Dave Kelly and the green pills? You said yourself it was the brain ones that were going to be your fame and fortune.’
Gabby heard Mr Taylor sigh.
‘It’s one thing to have the pills. It’s another thing altogether to convince the parents that, one, they actually will make a difference, and two, that there are absolutely no side effects. That they simply allow people to realise their full potential.’
Gabby sat in the dark, her mind racing. It was all making sense. Andrea’s average swimming stroke. Pat barely believing she could achieve the times she did. Andrea’s confidence, bordering on arrogance. And now, her guilt. Gabby hadn’t been racing Andrea; she’d been racing Mr Taylor and those wonder pills that Andrea was staring at now. Then Gabby realised another thing. Dave Kelly. Poor Hannah had been up against the pills, not Dave.
Suddenly she wanted to get out of that cramped space, breathe fresh air and tell the others what she’d just found out.
‘Just imagine, Andrea. That girl’s talent and my orange power pills as well. Now go and see where she is. Probably snooping around the car park with the other children. I saw them as we drove in.’
Gabby pulled her head back as Andrea walked outside. She held her breath, hoping Andrea’s uncle would follow, or at least go back out the door he came through. Gabby heard some papers rustle. Peering through the small opening, she saw that the little plastic bag of pills was empty. Had Andrea taken them?
Gabby thought she heard a door handle turn, then there were voices outside. Hannah? Slowly she slid the cupboard door open, glancing around the room. It was empty.
Wriggling out of the cupboard, Gabby raced towards the outside door, pushing it open, then froze. Mr Taylor was staring out, his back to Gabby, talking to Hannah, E.D. and Angus. She caught Hannah’s eye.
Slowly Gabby eased back into the room. Now what? She wasn’t going back into the cupboard. Without thinking she raced across the room, flung open the door on the other side and ran through.
She was in an office. A series of coloured doors led in different directions. Were they the entrances to the tubes? Each one had the word MAINTENANCE written on it. From beyond she heard raised voices. Had the principal brought the others in?
Quickly Gabby opened the closest door to her—red—and went inside. The room glowed a deep scarlet. Perhaps her being in the room activated some sort of light, Gabby thought, walking over to the red tube.
The voices grew louder still. Gabby slid open the panel, stepped into the red tube, then took out her mobile phone and started typing a text message to Hannah.
Chapter 15
Teasdale Technology Centre: Saturday morning
The principal stared at the three children standing in front of him.
‘You really have taken a particular interest in Explore!, haven’t you?’ he said. Andrea stood to one side, looking down. Her uncle had told her to go and get the children skulking about in the car park. Reluctantly, she’d done as she was told. Andrea didn’t notice the door open, nor see Gabby standing there, looking aghast. The others spotted her, though, and did well to remain expressionless as Gabby darted back inside again.
‘It’s an awesome place, Mr Taylor,’ Angus said.
‘It is indeed, Angus. But some of you young people have seen a little more of it than you should have, am I right?’
He had turned to E.D.
‘Uncle Richard,’ Andrea said, embarrassed.
‘Uncle?’ Hannah blurted, unable to conceal her surprise. ‘He’s your uncle?’
‘Andrea, go home now,’ said Mr Taylor, trying to keep his voice steady.
‘But don’t we—’
‘I said NOW!’ he snapped, turning to glare at her. ‘The rest of you, follow me.’
&nbs
p; ‘So we’re not in trouble?’ E.D. asked, darting in front of the principal.
‘Not at all, Emilio,’ the principal smiled. Hannah caught Angus’s eye and frowned.
‘This is spooky,’ she hissed to Angus, hanging back a little. ‘I reckon he’s planning something.’
Angus looked at Andrea. ‘He won’t do anything while Andrea’s around. He’s just showing off, I reckon.’
‘But she’s not around. Look. She’s going.’ Hannah frowned.
They entered Kids’ Head Start.
‘I won’t bore you all with a tour of the learning centre,’ Mr Taylor said, sweeping his arms around. ‘Come and have a look at this.’ The children followed him across the room and through a side door marked ‘CONTROL ROOM’. ‘This is where I was when I saved you,’ the principal said, once again eyeing E.D. ‘We’re not fully operational yet, as you know, but we’re not far away. Just the black tube to go, really,’ he said, flicking switches on a massive glass and silver console that took up one side of the room. ‘Oh, and the red,’ he added, flicking a red switch.
They looked at a large screen in front of them. The five different-coloured tubes were lit up. E.D.’s gaze followed the black line, twisting and spiralling between the others. It was easily the longest of the tubes. The graphic was three-dimensional, and E.D., staring at the black one, recalled the gentle rise then plummeting fall as the line shot straight down to the bottom of the screen.
The red tube began to flash, tiny little lights flickering along its entire length. Suddenly the door behind them swung open.
‘Oh!’ the security guard said, seeing the children alongside the principal.
‘Ricky?’ said Mr Taylor, not looking up. ‘Yet another intruder?’
E.D. felt a wet nose nuzzle up against him. ‘And that’s another thing,’ the principal said, leaning back and looking at the dog sniffing E.D.’s hand. ‘That dog’s meant to keep people away, not encourage them in.’
E.D. smiled. He was enjoying this. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cabana stick. The dog licked his hand then took the treat.
‘Got sold a dud,’ Ricky grunted, eyeing the dog. ‘I’ll get rid of him and get us a real watchdog. I thought I heard someone in one of the tubes,’ he added, remembering why he’d come searching for his boss.