by Judi Curtin
At the whistle, the first six swimmers dived into the pool, and the clipboard people stepped forwards and began furiously taking notes. By the time the swimmers were hauling themselves out of the water it seemed like their whole life stories had been written down.
Ruby was in the second group. She stepped forward reluctantly, like she was facing a firing squad. Then she slowly climbed onto the starting block, like she was climbing Mount Everest. Even under her swimming goggles, her eyes looked huge and terrified.
‘You can do it, Ruby,’ I screamed.
Everyone around me laughed, but Ruby didn’t even glance in my direction. She was only a few metres away from me, but I had a feeling she hadn’t even heard my words. It was like she’d escaped to another world that didn’t include me.
The whistle blew and the six swimmers dived into the water. I got totally caught up in the excitement, and jumped up and down, like I was watching the Olympic final. I’d been to one of Ruby’s galas before and had watched her winning a gazillion medals. I was sure that once she got into the water, her nerves would vanish and she’d be amazing.
The swimmers swam to the surface and began to swim the front crawl. I’m no swimming expert, but by Ruby’s third stroke, I knew that something was terribly wrong.
It wasn’t just that she was already falling behind the other swimmers. It was that she looked like she was swimming with weights strapped to her arms and legs. Every stroke was heavy and awkward and she was splashing frantically like a scared child who’d fallen into the water by accident.
I could barely watch as she slowly and awkwardly swam the next two lengths. By the time she turned for the last length, the other five swimmers had already finished. Ruby began her first few butterfly strokes, but by now she looked more like a drowning slug than a butterfly. The clipboard man on her lane had long since stopped writing. He was watching her with the horror of someone who can’t resist looking at a car accident.
When she finally finished her length, Ruby dragged herself out of the water like her bones were made of lead.
She ignored the other swimmers who were chatting excitedly.
She ignored Mrs Armitage who was giving her a very strange look.
‘Ruby!’ I called, but she ignored me too.
She picked up her towel and walked slowly back towards the changing rooms.
What on earth had just happened?
Chapter Fourteen
Spectators were strictly forbidden from entering the changing rooms, but I decided it was time to ignore the rules. I glanced quickly around, making sure Mrs Armitage wasn’t anywhere nearby, and then I jumped over the small fence and raced after Ruby.
There was no one else in the changing rooms. Ruby was sitting on a bench, dripping water on the beautiful tiled floor.
‘Hey,’ I said, sitting down beside her.
‘Hey,’ she said back, without looking up.
‘Well?’ I asked.
‘Well what?’
Well, you’re a totally amazing swimmer and even the worst case of nerves in the history of the world couldn’t explain what just happened.
But I couldn’t say that of course, so I said nothing. I sat and looked at the puddle of water that was growing at Ruby’s feet.
Ruby stood up, and picked up her towel.
‘Well, that was a total disaster,’ she said. ‘I’m going to have a shower.’
Now I couldn’t stay quiet any more. ‘Hang on a second, Ruby,’ I said. ‘You sound like you don’t even care.’
‘I don’t.’
‘But what about your dream of being a champion swimmer? What about your dream of representing Ireland at the Olympics?’
‘They were just dreams. Dreams aren’t meant to come true.’
I felt like punching her. ‘Of course dreams are meant to come true. Didn’t you ever read fairy-tales when you were small?’
‘I’m not a fairy. I’m a human being – a cold wet human being, so if you don’t mind—’
She was pushing past me towards the showers, but I couldn’t just let her go. I grabbed her cold wet arm.
‘Please, Ruby,’ I said. ‘Tell me what’s going on. Why did you bother coming all this way, if you don’t even want to succeed?’
Ruby tried to walk away, but I was still holding her back. She shivered suddenly, and then sat down.
‘I never thought it was going to come to this,’ she said.
‘To what?’
She sighed. ‘It’s like I got onto a roller-coaster without thinking a whole lot where it was going to take me. But now I know, and I want to get off.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘You see, when my coach at home suggested applying for this scholarship, I didn’t really believe that I had any hope. I didn’t think I was as good as he said I was. I didn’t even think I’d get the chance of coming to London for these trials.’
‘But you did.’
She nodded grimly. ‘Yes, I did. And then when I got here, I never thought I’d do so well in the interviews and the fitness tests, but …’
‘… you did.’
She nodded again.
‘And that’s a good thing, isn’t it?’
She didn’t answer.
‘Isn’t that a good thing?’ I repeated.
Ruby gazed at me sadly, through the droplets of water that were dripping from her fringe.
‘I never thought it through properly,’ she said. ‘Of course coming here would be great, but …’
‘But …?’
‘Last night I couldn’t sleep.’
‘That’s just nerves,’ I said quickly. ‘I bet most of those other kids out there felt the same.’
She shook her head. ‘No, Eva, it wasn’t that. Actually, I wasn’t nervous at all. It’s just that …… I couldn’t stop thinking about Mum.’ At first I didn’t understand, and then Ruby went on talking. ‘You see, Mum needs me. I can’t leave her on her own. It wouldn’t be fair.’
And then, all of a sudden, everything became clear.
Of course Ruby wanted the scholarship.
Of course she wanted to become a champion swimmer.
Of course she wanted to break records and win medals as fast as some people make friends on Facebook.
But love for her mum was holding her back.
‘You deliberately swam badly, didn’t you?’
She didn’t answer.
‘You swam badly so you wouldn’t win the scholarship – so you wouldn’t have to leave home.’
Again, Ruby didn’t answer, but her hunched shoulders told me all I needed to know. At last Maggie’s words made sense to me.
‘Make sure that Ruby tries her best.’
Maggie had guessed what was going to happen, and she had relied on me to prevent it.
I knelt on the wet floor and gazed into Ruby’s eyes. ‘You’ve made a terrible, terrible mistake,’ I said.
She shook her head, sending a shower of water across the room. ‘No, I haven’t. If I won the scholarship and came here, Mum would miss me so much.’
‘Of course she’d miss you,’ I said. ‘But she wants you to do well. She’d be very, very sad if she thought you gave up this wonderful opportunity because of her. She …’
I stopped, not sure if I should tell the truth.
‘She what?’
‘In the airport, before we left … she told me to make sure you did your best. She knew you’d hold back.’
‘Who’d have thought it?’ said Ruby without smiling. ‘Madame Margarita really can tell the future.’
‘Yes, this time she really could,’ I said. ‘And she trusted me to make sure you wouldn’t do anything stupid. Can’t you see, Ruby? Maggie loves you to pieces, but having you at home with her would be totally spoiled if she thought you gave up this great opportunity for her.’
‘She’s my mum. She’s always taken care of me. So how could I turn my back and leave her on her own?’
‘Maggie will be fine. She’s well able to
look after herself, and if she needs help, she’s got heaps of friends, and Jenny will be back home in a few months time.’
Ruby shrugged. ‘Even if you’re right—’
‘I am right!’
‘Maybe – but it’s too late now. I swam like an elephant on tranquillisers. I’ve thrown away my chance, and I won’t get another one.
‘Do you want another chance?’
Ruby didn’t say anything, but I took the sudden sparkle in her eyes as her answer.
‘Then leave it to Eva!’ I said as I raced back to the pool area.
Mrs Armitage was barking instructions as she lined up a group of swimmers.
As soon as the swimmers had dived into the water, I took my opportunity and raced over.
‘You again?’ she said.
‘I need to talk to you, Mrs Armitage,’ I said. ‘It’s urgent.’
‘I’m ever so slightly busy,’ she said sarcastically, but then she smiled. ‘However, I think I might be a little in your debt. So talk to me.’
‘It’s about my friend Ruby – Ruby Miller.’
Mrs Armitage thought for a second, and then she started to flip through the pages on her clipboard.
‘Oh, yes,’ she said in the end. ‘Ruby Miller – her coach recommended that girl so highly, and she did very well on her first two days here. I thought she had incredible potential, but I was wrong. It just goes to show that there are no certainties in this business. I’m sorry about your friend but …’
She was already walking away, and I knew I had to do something.
‘Please,’ I said. ‘I’m begging you to listen to me. If you knew what I know, you’d definitely give Ruby another chance.’
‘Well now you have me interested,’ she said. ‘Just wait here while I watch this group of swimmers. When they finish their trial, I’ll give you one minute to convince me.’
One minute didn’t seem like a whole lot of time to change someone’s life.
I stood to one side and furiously racked my brains for the right words to convince Mrs Armitage. This was a huge responsibility, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it.
Ruby’s whole future was in my hands.
If I could think of the right words, maybe the scholarship could still be hers.
And at the back of my mind was a horrible thought – in years to come, when Maggie was missing her daughter, would she thank me or hate me? But I’d made my decision …
Much too soon, the swimmers were hauling themselves out of the water, and Mrs Armitage was walking towards me. She stopped in front of me and folded her arms.
‘One minute, remember,’ she said. ‘So make it good.’
One minute is very short so I didn’t waste any of it on breathing, and all my words came out in a rush.
‘Ruby’s coach was right – she is an amazing swimmer – like a fish or a dolphin or – well like anything that swims amazingly – but she didn’t swim her best this morning because – well, because she didn’t want to – well, she did want to – but she didn’t want to too – if that makes any sense – you see she’s afraid her mum couldn’t manage on her own – she’s disabled you see – but she’s much more independent than Ruby realises – so anyway, Ruby deliberately failed the swimming tests – but her mum had warned me about that – and now even though Ruby’s probably the best swimmer in the whole place – you’re going to send her away – and that would be such a big mistake and – if she got another chance – I know you wouldn’t be sorry – she’d show you how well she can swim and please, please, please ……’
Finally I ran out of breath. I stood there gasping like a swimmer who’d just swum four lengths of the pool. As I tried to catch my breath to say more, I felt like a contestant on a quiz show, and the precious seconds were ticking by much too fast.
Mrs Armitage said nothing. She consulted her clipboard, flipping backwards and forwards between the pages.
I wondered if she’d heard me at all.
Had she forgotten that I was even there?
Then she spoke without even looking up.
‘A girl has been taken ill, so there’s a gap in the second-next trial.’
I wasn’t sure I understood. ‘You’re giving Ruby another chance?’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘So go and tell her to get ready.’
I resisted the urge to hug her. Even though we were practically best friends by now, she really didn’t look like the huggy type.
As I turned to go, Mrs Armitage put one hand on my shoulder and spoke again.
‘If Ruby is as good at swimming as she is at choosing friends, then I think she’ll go a long way.’
When I got back to the changing room, Ruby was sitting in the same place, shivering.
‘You’re on,’ I said. ‘Mrs Armitage is giving you another chance. Get yourself ready.’
Ruby grabbed her swimming hat and goggles from the bench beside her and jumped up beaming. Then her smile vanished.
‘I’ve been sitting here for too long. I think I might be too cold to swim,’ she said.
There was no way I was letting her give up now.
‘Forget it,’ I said, as I pushed her towards the door to the pool. ‘Just think of the amazing sun holiday you’re going to bring me on when you’re rich and famous. That should make you warm. Now get into the water and swim like your life depends on it.’
A few minutes later, Ruby dived into the pool, and she swam like there were hundreds of sharks snapping at her heels. She raced up and down the pool, faster than everyone else. I jumped to my feet and screamed her name over and over again. Then it was like the last scene of a soppy film, as everyone in the crowd stood up too and stamped and whistled and shouted.
When Ruby got out of the water, and realised that all the cheering was for her, she went bright red. One more time I broke the rules and jumped over the fence. I raced over to Ruby and hugged her, not caring that my best clothes were getting soaked all over again.
Mrs Armitage came over and suddenly I didn’t care that she wasn’t a huggy kind of woman. I threw my arms around her and squeezed her tight, making the crowd scream wildly.
Mrs Armitage pulled away, smiling weakly. She patted Ruby on the back.
‘What an amazing transformation,’ she said. ‘I think it’s safe to say that we’re going to be seeing a lot of Ruby Miller over the next couple of years.’
‘So I’m getting a scholarship?’ said Ruby, going even redder than before.
‘We just need to sort out the paperwork, and we’ll send your family all the necessary documents next week. But basically, yes, you’re in.’
Then Ruby shrieked and grabbed me and hugged me one more time, and even though my best top was now forever ruined from chlorine and water, I didn’t care at all.
Chapter Fifteen
The next morning we got up really early.
‘It’s your last day in London,’ said Jenny, ‘so I’ve taken the day off. Now what are we going to do?’
For a minute I thought of all the things I did with my parents when we visited London the last time, back when we had lots of money.
But we couldn’t afford any of this now, and besides, I had another idea.
‘There is one thing. I’d kind of like to …’ I began, but then stopped. My idea was a bit crazy, and I wasn’t sure how to continue.
Jenny and Ruby stared at me, and I could feel my face going red.
‘This has got something to do with your secretive trips to the library, hasn’t it?’ asked Ruby.
I nodded, and then I took a deep breath and told them the whole story.
‘So basically, you’re trying to track down Kate’s dad and ask him to take care of her?’ said Jenny, when I’d finished. ‘That’s really kind of you, Eva, but isn’t it a bit risky? What if he says “no”? Won’t Kate be devastated?’
I sighed. ‘I’m not an idiot. I haven’t told Kate anything about my plan.’
‘But he’s been gone for years, hasn’t he?’ said Ruby
gently.
I nodded. ‘Yes. And I know I’m probably wasting my time. But for Kate’s sake, I have to give it a try. And if her dad doesn’t want to help her, well at least Kate will never know what happened.’
‘Right,’ said Jenny. ‘Tell us what you’ve discovered so far.’
I sighed.
‘Not a whole lot. I’ve spent hours on the internet, but I haven’t made any progress at all. Why couldn’t Kate’s dad have a helpful name like Nathaniel Chippenbottom or something? Do you have any idea how many Patrick Ryan’s there are in London?’
‘How many?’ asked Ruby.
I shrugged. ‘I can’t say for sure, but I know it’s a lot – hundreds.’
‘Well, that’s not going to be a help,’ said Jenny. ‘It’s a pity you don’t have a photograph of him.’
I grinned. ‘Actually I do.’
I ran and got the photo of Kate’s dad that I had ‘borrowed’ from her house the day I’d sneaked in there.
‘He looks nice,’ said Ruby, as she examined the photo. ‘He’s got a friendly smile.’
‘I know,’ I said. ‘And Kate has lots of happy memories of him. But if he’s so nice, why did he vanish from her life like that?’
‘You never know what’s going on in someone else’s life,’ said Jenny. ‘Maybe he had problems that Kate never knew about.’
‘Anyway,’ said Ruby. ‘None of this is helping us to find him. We have his name and a photograph, but he’s not a lost dog. We can hardly stick up “missing” posters all over London. Do you know anything else about him, Eva?’
I sighed. ‘Hardly anything. Kate never says a whole lot about him.’
‘Do you know what he does for a living?’ asked Jenny.
I shook my head. ‘No idea, I’m afraid. When Kate does mention him she usually just talks about all the time they spent together in their special field.’
‘When I met Kate last year, she told me that her dad was big into nature,’ said Ruby suddenly.
‘Yeah, but loads of people are big into nature,’ I said. ‘We can hardly wander around every park in London, hoping to find Kate’s dad hugging a tree, or reciting a love poem to a rose bush.’