Sara’s face began to light up. I don’t think she had anticipated my positive reaction and rather than fighting over ideas, we began to discuss possible alternatives to improve the suggestions even further.
“My mom goes to aerobics classes at the gym all the time,” Lucy said. “I could ask her to teach me some of their workouts.”
“But what about the boys,” Millie queried with a frown. “Do you think they’d want to take part in this?”
“Perhaps we could make it like a competition,” Lucy suggested. “You know what boys are like. If there’s a competition involved, then they’re always interested.”
“Great idea!” I responded, becoming more and more excited about our plan. “And as long as we include some of the music they like, they’re sure to enjoy it even more!”
The other girls nodded in agreement and we grabbed a fresh sheet of paper so we could record all our ideas. Before we knew it, thirty minutes had passed by and Miss Watson was calling us all back to our seats.
As I sat down at my desk, I thought with amazement at what had just happened. Millie and I had actually sat down with Sara and Lucy and come up with an awesome plan. One that I thought was sure to be a success.
We’d overheard other groups discussing their ideas and they all seemed to have the same old suggestions. There were ideas for running around the school oval every morning before school or having a competition for the healthiest lunch box. However, these were all standard activities that had happened in the school before.
No one had thought of anything close to what we had brainstormed and we decided to keep it quiet so that they weren’t able to copy our idea. It was almost a miracle that our group of four had been able to sit down together and work it out. It was definitely something that I would not have previously thought possible. Shaking my head at the wonder of it all, I focused my attention on the next lesson.
But just as I was about to begin my work, an image flashed into my mind. It was of me, talking on the phone and I had a huge grin on my face.
I was convinced that it was a vision of the future, my future. And I looked so happy!
The most peculiar thing was though, that it was Sara’s voice on the other end.
A tingle of intense curiosity ran right through me…I felt excited about what lay ahead.
Routines…
The next afternoon, Millie hopped off the bus at my stop. We had decided to have a go at working out some exercise routines ourselves and raced each other up to my room, keen to get started.
“We have to come up with some good routines of our own,” Millie had said at school earlier, when it appeared that Sara was beginning to take over the entire project.
“We can’t let her be in total control. This is a group project and I don’t want her to claim credit for doing all the work!”
I had to admit that Millie had a point. Although I forced myself to maintain a friendly attitude with Sara, I could see that the change I was hoping for was not going to happen overnight. But I was determined to focus on the outcome I wanted to achieve.
Meanwhile though, I certainly wanted to make sure we had some input. As Millie had said, it was a group project and we wanted our ideas to be included.
To our delight, we discovered some awesome exercise routines on YouTube. They were being done to really cool music and I quickly made some room on my bedroom floor so that we could follow the steps.
I laughed as I watched Millie, dressed in her exercise gear, trying to keep up with the girl on the video. It actually wasn’t as easy as it looked and she had me in hysterics as she tried to stay in time with the music.
“I must be so uncoordinated!” Millie gasped, when the routine ended. “I couldn’t keep up with that girl!”
“Me neither!” I admitted, also struggling for breath. “Maybe we should look for something easier!”
Scanning through the endless list of videos available took up most of the afternoon and before we knew it, Millie’s dad had arrived to pick her up.
By that time, though, we thought that we had chosen some great workouts. All we had to do next was to combine different exercises into a routine of our own and learn them all.
“If we’re going to be teaching these to the other kids, then we at least need to know how to do them ourselves!” Millie had stressed before she left.
We agreed to continue practicing on our own, so that we were comfortable with the exercises we wanted to include.
“If nothing else, we’re certainly going to get fit!” I laughed as I walked with Millie to the front door.
“At least it’s better than doing a heap of writing or math homework for a change!” Millie replied with a grin.
I waved goodbye to her as she drove off in the car with her dad. Then as I climbed the stairs back up to my room, I thought of Sara once more. But rather than seeing her in my mind as being jealous of our suggestions with that all too familiar nasty stare of hers, I pictured her in a completely different way. She was nodding her head with excitement as she watched us demonstrate our routine, completely impressed with our ideas. And I raced into my bedroom so I could continue to practice, eager to be as good as possible when we showed Sara and Lucy the following day, what we’d been working on.
What’s going on...
Sara’s reaction was not at all what I had anticipated. The vision I had so clearly formed in my mind was nothing like the image staring back at me.
Millie and I had demonstrated the workout that we’d put together and all Sara could do was to raise her eyebrows mockingly.
How could she not be impressed?
“That’s ok, I suppose. I mean if that’s all you could come up with!” Her sarcastic response had me lost for words.
This was not how it was supposed to be! And besides that, how could she humiliate us after all the effort we’d put in.
I’d stayed up so late the night before, using my iPod and earphones, so I wouldn’t disturb anyone else in the house.
Eventually though, the thumping of my feet as I jumped through some of the routines, had my mom running into my room to see what on earth I was up to. It was then that I’d been forced to put my iPod away and go to bed.
Millie’s angry response came next. “Just who do you think you are, Sara Hamilton? Isn’t this supposed to be a group project with an emphasis on teamwork and cooperation?”
Sara had just rolled her eyes then as if Millie’s comment had no significance at all.
“Whatever!” her reply was dripping with attitude and she did not say another word.
She simply packed up her things and walked off, Lucy trailing along behind her.
“Ooohhh, that girl!!!” Millie exclaimed in frustration. “How are we meant to work together when she behaves like that?”
I shrugged my shoulders, feeling just as frustrated as Millie.
Not only did I want to get a good mark for our efforts, but more than that, I had hoped that I could actually use my thoughts to turn Sara’s strange behavior around. I was sick to death of the ongoing problems and I desperately wanted it to end.
“Maybe it’s impossible!” I thought to myself miserably. “She will never change and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
The bell rang just then to signal the end of our lunch break and Millie and I walked back to our classroom, all the while Millie complaining about Sara and suggesting that we speak to Miss Watson to explain that she was refusing to cooperate.
For some reason though, I was unable to ignore the familiar phrase that kept racing through my mind…You get what you focus on! You get what you focus on! You get what you focus on!
But the real shock came when we entered the classroom and Miss Watson called us over to her desk.
“Girls, I need to talk to you both!” she said with a frown. “I’ve heard that you’re not cooperating with the other girls in your group and that you’re not allowing Sara and Lucy to share their ideas.”
If I’d been speechless at Sara
’s reaction earlier, this comment from our teacher had me totally lost for words.
I stood there in shock, staring at her disbelievingly but when Millie opened her mouth to speak, Miss Watson simply told us that we needed to work harder at being a team and that the main idea was for everyone to cooperate with each other.
It seemed that she wasn’t interested in hearing our side of the story and I didn’t think she would believe us anyway.
In disgust, we turned around and headed back to our desks and just as I was about to sit down, I glanced in Sara’s direction. The look of triumph was evident on her face. I could read her thoughts clearly. “This time, I’m the winner!”
But surely she could see that she was not only hurting us but herself and Lucy as well. What was she gaining from this behavior?
The question stayed on my mind throughout the remainder of the day, but I was determined not to give up.
I knew deep down in my heart that if I put my mind to it and really believed, then anything was possible!
A narrow escape…
The next day dawned bright and clear. Although the forecast had been for wet weather, there was definitely no sign of it and I was out of bed early in preparation for the day ahead.
Mr. Thompson, our physical education teacher, had been keen to enter a school team in the regional swimming carnival. It had been a last minute nomination and he was eager for our school to take part.
There were a few really good swimmers in our grade who had all been invited to attend. Unfortunately though, one girl had become ill and Mr. Thompson had asked if I could take her place.
Reluctantly, I had agreed. However, the problem wasn’t the fact that I would have to compete. I was actually a pretty good swimmer and quite enjoyed swimming but I had no close friends who were involved. And I would much rather have spent the afternoon at school with Millie, Blake and Jack. The four of us had become really close and were always together. I really couldn’t imagine a day spent without them!
In addition, was the fact that Sara was included in the team. “What are the chances of that?” I had thought to myself when I’d found out. If I had known sooner, I would most likely have thought twice before agreeing to become involved.
Thankfully though, there were a few other girls in the group, so I planned to mainly hang out with them between races. I just hoped that I would swim well and not let the team down. But as Mr. Thompson had said, he just wanted us to do our best.
As it turned out, our school blitzed many of the events. While I didn’t actually win any individual races, several other kids did and there were also a few team relays where we claimed a first and a second place.
Because both our girls’ and boys’ teams had scored so highly throughout the day, we made it through to the championship races. This was a great achievement, but to my dismay, it meant that rather than head back to school, we’d have to remain at the carnival, as these events were going to be held in the early evening.
By this stage, I was feeling pretty exhausted. Most of the other swimmers in our team were members of the swimming club at our local pool and trained every day. Although I was a naturally good swimmer, I did not do any training and was certainly not as fit or as good a swimmer as the others.
Before too long though, it was time for the final event, which was the girls’ championship 200 meter medley. This race consisted of 4 swimmers per team and each team member had to swim one length of the pool using a different stroke. The first was backstroke. When the swimmer touched the end of the pool, the next dived in and swam a lap of breaststroke. This was my best stroke and the one I had been chosen for in this event. After that, it was butterfly, the most difficult stroke of all and lastly, a lap of freestyle.
As I waited on the edge of the pool for my turn to dive into the water, I anxiously adjusted my swimming goggles. I could see Hannah, the first swimmer in our team making very quick time towards me and I leaned over in position, ready to dive in.
As soon as she touched the side of the pool, I thrust myself forwards, skimming the surface of the water in what I knew was quite a good dive. Raising my head for a gulp of air, I glanced quickly to my left and right and could see that I was neck and neck with the swimmer in the lane next to me. Forcing myself on, I pulled my arms through the water. I could hear cheering from the sides of the pool, but ignored the voices and focused on my stroke. When I passed the half way mark, I could feel myself beginning to tire, but I took a deep breath every time my head left the water and pushed myself on.
Using every last bit of energy, I kept going…on and on. Surely, I would soon reach the wall. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the swimmer alongside me pull forward and within a few strokes, she was ahead.
“Just keep going, Julia!” the voice inside my head filtered through my brain. “You’re nearly there!”
And with a final burst of power, I felt my fingers touch the wall.
Gasping for air, I turned to look behind me where I saw the next swimmer in our team already speeding back down the lane. Butterfly was what she excelled in and I knew that she would not let us down.
Standing ready on the edge of the pool at the other end, I could see Sara completely focused as she concentrated on the swimmer speeding towards her. Sara was the fastest in our team, which made her the obvious choice for the final lap.
My heart was thumping as I stood there watching. The roaring from the crowd at this stage was deafening and it was impossible not to get caught up in the excitement.
I stood alongside Mr. Thompson and when Sara hit the water in a perfect dive, our voices could be heard above everyone else’s.
“Go, Sara! Go!” we yelled, louder than ever.
Even though it was Sara who we were cheering for, I found myself jumping up and down in frenzy. I still wanted our team to win and we were all relying on her to make it happen. It was clear that the championship cup was within our reach, if only she could maintain her speed.
Then, unexpectedly, it seemed that the girl next to her managed a burst of adrenalin and suddenly inched forward. Closer and closer the pair came to the wall and I watched, unable to breathe as their hands reached out to touch it.
A fraction of a millisecond was all the difference between them; the hand of one girl, followed so incredibly closely by the hand of Sara.
Looking down into the pool, I could see Sara’s disappointed face as she stood there, breathless and unwilling to leave the water. She had known that the final lap was the one that would win the race and although it was a team effort, I knew that she would feel responsible for our loss.
If only she had been a fraction of a second faster, the championship cup would be ours. Or perhaps the fault lay with me. Obviously it would have been a completely different result if I had managed a faster pace.
These thoughts played in my mind as I wandered over to the other side of the pool to find my towel. I knew that Mr. Thompson had his heart set on the championship, but neither the girls nor the boys had been able to achieve this. However, second place was certainly not something to be ashamed of!
I looked around in the darkened area where all our gear was scattered and laying all over the grass. I was sure I had left my towel there, but could not see it anywhere. The loud speaker then crackled with voices and I realized that the presentations had begun. Looking across to the crowd of people on the other side, I decided to give up on my search or I would miss the announcements.
As I hurried quickly towards the group, I spotted my towel laying on the edge of the pool and with a sigh of relief, bent down to retrieve it. Just then an abrupt movement in the water caught my attention.
That particular area of the pool had previously been sectioned off with some heavy rope netting but it appeared to have somehow come loose and there was a mass of thick rope floating on the surface. The area was poorly lit though, and I could not tell what was causing the jostling beneath it.
A second later, however, an involuntary scream left my throa
t and I was abruptly filled with dread. Caught amongst the heavy mesh was a pair of hands, frantically trying to push the weight aside in order to rise to the surface. I realized fearfully that someone had become tangled in the netting and was unable to get free.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I reached down and grabbed at the matted mess. But it was so heavily water-logged that it was almost impossible to lift out.
Wildly I pulled at the weight, straining with all my might.
“Help!! Help Me!!!”
My screams sounded out across the water and as I raised my head, desperately hoping that someone had heard my voice, all I could see was the huge crowd with their backs turned, oblivious to the chaos going on across the pool behind them. The sound of their cheering and clapping as awards were presented completely drowned out my cries for help.
I knew that there were only moments to spare, but the harder I tugged, it seemed the more tangled and tired the person beneath the water became.
In a last ditch effort, with strength I never even knew I had, I managed to drag the heavy netting slightly to one side and create the gap I needed. Reaching into the water, I felt for the pair of hands but they suddenly disappeared into the depths.
“Nooo!” I screamed, worried that if I jumped in, I would be sure to get caught up in the netting as well.
It was a split second decision but I had no other choice. Jumping in was the only option.
I plunged towards the bottom of the pool and grabbed hold of an arm, then furiously kicked my way to the surface, dragging the swimmer to the top with me.
Lunging clear of the water, I could hear the desperate gasp for air as the swimmer sucked in huge, hungry gulps of the life-giving oxygen she had just been deprived of.
I’d previously had no idea who the swimmer was until she turned to face me. The vision of Sara in front of me right then, filled me with more shock than the incident itself.
Julia Jones' Diary - Boxed Set - Books 2 to 6 Page 22