by Jo Cotterill
“What do you want to do?” Alice asked.
Hani sighed. “I don’t know. Nothing, really. Eat cake.”
“And throw it up,” added Daisy. “You can’t go on doing that. You’ll end up with bulimia. And did you know that if you’re sick a lot, the acid from your stomach can burn your throat?”
The other three went, “Yuck!”
“That’s horrible,” said Alice, looking faintly sick herself. Her breath started to get faster, and she put a hand on her chest. “Just the thought of it…”
“Bag!” shouted Daisy. “Bag!” Alice sometimes had panic attacks, and the rest of the girls knew what signs to look for.
Breathing into a paper bag was the only thing that helped calm her down.
Alice said, “Oh, stop it, I’m not about to go into one. Daisy, that was disgusting. You say too much of what’s in your head!”
“Well, Hani needs to stop saying no to everything and start saying yes!” Daisy replied.
“I need cake,” Hani said sadly.
Alice put her arm around Hani. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll help. You guys have been there for me. We’ll be here for you too. That’s what friends do.”
“Thanks.” Hani tried to smile. “Sorry I’m being such a pain.”
“What are you going to do about training tomorrow?” asked Samira.
“I suppose I’ll have to tell Mr Okombe,” Hani said. “I don’t think he’ll take it very well.”
*
He didn’t. Mr Okombe stared at her as if Hani had just grown an extra head. “You don’t want to train today?”
“I don’t want to train at all. Ever,” Hani said, in a very small voice. “I don’t like it any more.”
“But…” Mr Okombe tried to understand. “But you love running.”
“I don’t. I did, but now I don’t.” said Hani.
He took a breath. “Hani, this is a natural feeling, all athletes have it every now and then. When it’s hot, or raining, or you’re tired, you don’t feel like getting on the track and—”
“No!” Hani replied. “No, that’s not it! I just don’t want to run any more. I don’t care about winning. It doesn’t make me happy.”
Mr Okombe smiled at her. “It’ll come back. The way you feel right now won’t be how you feel tomorrow, I’m sure of it.”
Hani felt angry. He wasn’t listening to her!
“Take a week off,” Mr Okombe went on. “Get your head together. I know it’s hard when you have friends and you want to do things with them. But those are the sacrifices a champion has to make.”
Hani wanted to scream at him, “I don’t want to be a champion!” but she didn’t dare.
“I’ll tell your Sunday coach.” Mr Okombe patted her on the shoulder. “You have great talent, Hani. You were born to run. Don’t throw it all away.”
*
Hani went to find Daisy, who was in the library. “What did Mr Okombe say?” asked Daisy in a low voice.
“It’s no use,” Hani whispered back. “He won’t let me stop.”
“You’ve got to stand up for yourself more,” Daisy said, annoyed. “Honestly, Hani, you’re too nice. Just tell him you’re giving up, once and for all.”
“I tried!” said Hani.
“Well, try harder.” Daisy saw her face. “Oh, look, I’m sorry. I know I’m a bit blunt. But you don’t get anywhere in this life without going out and getting what you want. No one can make you run. What are they going to do, strap rockets to your feet?”
Hani laughed.
The librarian said, “Shhh!”
Daisy smiled at Hani and whispered, “You just have to find something else you want to do, that’s all. Find your passion.”
Hani nodded. Find her passion. It sounded so simple.
But what if your only passion was eating cake?
Chapter Five
Over the next week, the girls tried hard to find a new passion for Hani. “Horse riding,” said Alice.
“I’m allergic,” said Hani.
“Badminton,” said Daisy.
“Boring,” said Hani.
“Cooking,” said Samira.
Hani rolled her eyes. “In a boarding school?”
Alice pulled out a leaflet from the local leisure centre. “Swimming?”
Hani hesitated. The other three looked at each other in hope. “It’s just going up and down,” Hani said, with a sigh. “I like being in the water, but I don’t want to swim from one end to the other and back again. That’s just like running, only in the water.”
“Er… water polo?” asked Daisy, reading the leaflet.
“What even is that?” asked Hani.
“I dunno. Let’s go down to the pool and find out.”
So on Saturday they got permission to go to the leisure centre. Hani felt nervous. Her friends were so kind. But she felt like she was under pressure to choose, and that made it difficult. She didn’t really think she’d like water polo.
“Oh, that’s the old timetable,” said the woman on the desk. “Sorry. They’re not doing polo at this time now; it’s the synchro group.”
Hani was puzzled. “The what?”
“Synchronised swimming,” the receptionist said. She pointed. “You can go and have a look, if you like.”
The four girls headed over to the big glass windows that looked out over the swimming pools. The children’s pool was full of families, but in another pool was a group of swimmers. They weren’t swimming up and down in straight lines.
“Whoa…” breathed Daisy, her face up against the glass. “Look at that!”
The swimmers had formed a circle. At the same time, they all vanished under the water, and eight pairs of legs stuck straight up at the ceiling. One, two, three, four – the legs kicked, and then sank, causing hardly a ripple.
“Wow!” whispered Alice. “How do they do that?”
Hani watched, unable to take her eyes of the synchronised swimmers. They were all girls, wearing identical swimming costumes. She couldn’t tell how old they were, but surely they weren’t grown-ups? On the side was their coach, speaking instructions into a microphone. Hani could see the wire from it led to a speaker under the water.
The swimmers formed pattern after pattern in the water, and dived under again and again. How did they hold their breath that long?
The swimmers vanished once more under the water. All four watching girls gasped as one of the swimmers suddenly leaped right up into the air, pushed by the rest of them. Hani, Daisy, Alice and Samira clapped loudly. The coach looked over towards the window and smiled at them. Then she said something to the team in the water, and the girls swam to the side, reaching for bottles of water. The coach waved at Hani and the others.
“She’s saying we can go in!” Daisy said. “Come on!”
The coach met them on the side of the pool. She was a young woman with an afro. “Hey,” she said with a smile. “What did you think?”
Hani burst out, “That was AMAZING!” and the others agreed. “I don’t even know how they all did that,” Hani went on. “They make it look so easy.”
The coach turned to the swimmers, bobbing at the side of the pool. “Hear that? You made it look easy!”
The girls in the pool grinned. “It’s so not!” replied one of them, panting.
“Are you girls good at swimming?” asked the coach. “We’re always looking for new people to join.”
Daisy, Alice and Samira all looked at Hani.
“Oh,” said Hani. “Well… um… I wouldn’t mind having a go. You know. Just to see.”
Her friends cheered. “Go on, Hani!”
The coach smiled and held out her hand for Hani to shake. “I’m Pearl. Go and get your costume on, Hani. Let’s see what you can do.”
Chapter Six
Daisy, Alice and Samira sat down in the viewing area, excited. “I can’t believe she’s going to try this out right here and now!” Samira whispered to the other two.
“She’s go
t that look in her eye,” Daisy whispered back. “You know, like the look Alice gets when she’s about to go on stage.”
“Terrified?” Alice asked.
Daisy giggled. “No. Like she’s full of energy.”
“Like she used to look before running a race,” Samira agreed.
“When did she last look like that?” Alice wondered.
“Ages ago,” said Daisy. She shook her head. “We’ve been bad friends. How did we not notice sooner?”
“Shhh.” Samira nudged her. “She’s coming out.”
Hani walked out onto the pool side. She was very nervous. She hadn’t expected to be doing this! She’d only brought her swimming costume because the girls had thought they might swim together after watching the polo. And now… the eight girls in the water were smiling at her and nodding.
“Don’t panic,” said Pearl in a kind voice. “You look pretty fit. Do you play a lot of sport?”
Hani swallowed. “I’m… I was… a runner.”
Pearl smiled. “Excellent!” she said “Then you’ll be used to controlling your breath. Hop into the water and we’ll teach you a few moves.”
Hani was taught how to float on her back, perfectly straight. “Now lift one leg,” Pearl said. “Point your toes to the ceiling.” The rest of the synchro team did the same.
Hani tried, and immediately sank under the water. “Keep yourself straight,” Pearl advised. Hani tried again, and managed not to sink. “Good!” said Pearl, sounding pleased. “Now try the other leg.”
It was very, very hard work. Hani gasped and spluttered as she tried to stop herself sinking. But she was determined to do it somehow.
“Much better!” cried Pearl, and Hani felt really proud of herself.
“What next?” she asked, and the girls on the team laughed.
“How do you feel about being upside down in the water?” asked Pearl with a smile.
Hani’s friends watched in delight as she learned how to do a handstand, and then how to push herself up out of the water using just her arms.
By the time the session was over, Hani was exhausted but smiling wider than she had for months. “That was amazing!” she said to Pearl as she got out. “Can I come again next week?”
“Three times a week,” Pearl said. She put her head on one side. “Did you say you were at Hopewell High? Will you get permission to come and train here three times a week?”
Hani imagined Mr Okombe’s face. He would be disappointed she was turning her back on athletics. But he would be pleased she had found a passion for a new sport. “I don’t think there’ll be a problem,” she said.
Hani’s friends were waiting in reception for her. “You did AMAZING!” cried Daisy, throwing her arms around Hani. “When you did that thing where you went underwater for ages… I couldn’t hold my breath that long!”
“It’s all the running,” Hani said. “It makes your lungs stronger.”
Alice squeezed her hand. “You look like the old Hani. It’s good to have you back.”
“Thanks.” Hani smiled at her.
Samira said, “Hani… do you think your grandmother will mind that you’ve given up running?”
Hani thought for a moment. “No,” she said. “I don’t think so. Grandma always says that a love of running comes from inside you. I think she will understand if I now have a love of something different. It’s the same passion, just a different sport. And maybe one day she can come and see me.”
“Or maybe you could visit her,” said Samira. She held up her phone. “I did some searching online. The national synchro team sometimes practises in Africa. If they go to Ethiopia or somewhere that isn’t too far away from your grandma, you might get to see her.”
Hani felt very, very happy. She linked arms with her friends as they walked out into the sunshine. “I have the best friends any girl could have,” she said. “How can I thank you?”
“Well…” said Daisy slowly, “you could give us some of that cake and chocolate you’ve been hiding under your bed…”
Alice looked shocked. “Daisy!” she said. “You shouldn’t say that!”
Hani laughed. “It’s OK. Tell you what, Daisy – you guys can have ALL of it. I don’t want it.”
“Not even one?” asked Samira.
“All right,” said Hani, with a smile. “Just the one.”
Bonus Bits!
WHAT NEXT?
Have a think about these questions after reading this story:
• Why do you think Hani got fed up with running?
• Do you think Hani felt happy with the pressure that she felt from running?
• Would you like to try a different sport or hobby? If so, why don’t you pluck up the courage to have a go – like Hani you might really enjoy it!
If you enjoyed reading this story and haven’t already read Hopewell High – Like and Share, grab yourself a copy and curl up somewhere to read it!
INTERESTING SPORTS
In the story Hani finds out about synchronized swimming… but that’s quite common compared to these other unusual sports!
• Oil Wrestling – Events are held all around the world but one of the oldest competitions is in Turkey in June each year. The contestants are covered in olive oil and have to try to wrestle each other to the ground!
• Bed Racing – This sport takes place in the North Yorkshire town of Knaresborough. Each team of five people has to provide and decorate their own bed. The bed has wheels but also needs to be able to float. The contestants take part in a 5km run to a river that they have to cross.
• Extreme Ironing – This involves the contestants (known as ‘ironists’) taking their ironing board, unplugged iron and wrinkly clothes to extreme places (e.g. mountain tops) and photographing themselves ironing.
WHAT IS BULIMIA?
Bulimia is an eating disorder where people binge eat and then feel guilty or depressed about having eaten so much. They then want to get rid of the food and so make themselves sick or use laxatives to go to the toilet. People with this condition often keep it secret because they feel like they have to make themselves sick to stay in control.
WHERE TO GET HELP
Hani used to love running but she feels pressure to live up to her grandmother and struggles to cope with her feelings about this. She uses food to try to feel better but then overeats, and feels worse.
If you have concerns and worries about things, there are people outside of your immediate family and friends who can help.
www.youngminds.org.uk
This website is full of useful information about different conditions as well as ways to help yourself and others. There are lots of useful links to organisations that can help you.
Childline
Childline is a free, 24-hour counselling service for everyone under 18. Childline says, “You can talk to us about anything. No problem is too big or too small. We’re on the phone and online. However you choose to contact us, you’re in control. It’s free, confidential and you don’t have to give your name if you don’t want to.”
www.childline.org.uk / telephone: 0800 1111
Mind
Mind is a charity for people with mental health problems. It can provide help and information if you or someone you know is making themselves sick, like Hani. It is for adults and children.
www.mind.org.uk / telephone: 0300 123 3393 / text: 86463
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First published in 2018 by Bloomsbury Education
This electronic edition published in 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Copyright © Jo Cotterill, 2018
Illustratio
ns copyright © Maria Garcia Borrego, 2018
Jo Cotteril and Maria Garcia Borrego have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author and Illustrator of this work.
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eISBN 978 1 4729 3484 0
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