Grandad felt frailer to me than usual. He didn’t have the round tummy he once had and was using a stick to walk with that the doctor had given him recently.
“What’s this about?” Nan asked, closing the door behind us and putting her bag on the side.
“Mr Davidson rang to ask if he can drive Molly to morning swimming practices,” Grandad told her. “I think it’s a great idea. He really thinks you can go far with this swimming, Molly. I’m so proud of you!”
It was the happiest I’d seen Grandad look in a long time. His cheeks were all rosy and his eyes shone brightly. At that moment, I didn’t care about impressing Chloe. I just wanted to make him happy.
“You’ll have to get up early,” he said. “Mr Davidson says you’ll feel exhausted from the training. It won’t be easy. Do you think you can do it?”
I nodded. “I really want to do it, Grandad,” I said. “Please let me go!”
“I’ve already told him you can. He’s picking you up at six thirty tomorrow morning. Then he’ll drop you and Ed off afterwards at the breakfast club in school.”
I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to see Ed and the others. I was going to make sure I won another medal if it was the last thing I did.
I was walking to the bathroom to brush my teeth that night when I heard Nan talking on the phone in her bedroom. No one ever rang this late. The door was ajar slightly, the gentle glow from her bedside lamp pouring out on to the carpet in the corridor. I peeped through the slit in the door, trying to be as quiet as a mouse, and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed.
“I don’t care, Angela,” I heard her say on the phone, fiddling with the phone cord. “Your father is very ill. It might be nice if you weren’t so selfish for once and came and saw him. Or your daughter, for that matter.”
Angela? There was only one Angela I knew.
“She has a big swimming competition in a few weeks,” Nan whispered. “It’s against other children from different schools in the county. Why don’t you come and watch her? She’s so good at it – a real water baby. Her PE teacher thinks she’ll do really well.”
I couldn’t stop myself. I swung open the door and jumped into the room excitedly.
“Mum!” I yelled, and went to grab the phone. I wanted to tell her about the swimming contest myself. Nan sighed, loosening her grip on the phone awkwardly, as though she didn’t want me speaking to her.
“Hello?” I said, hoping she was still there. I hadn’t spoken to my mum in the longest time. I bet she missed me a lot. She was probably a successful businesswoman, making millions across the world and too busy to chat on the phone or to write letters.
“Hi, Molly,” she replied.
Mum’s voice sounded more hoarse than I remembered. It didn’t match up with the photo I had of her in my room. She didn’t sound young and carefree. She didn’t sound very well at all.
“Are you ill, Mum?” I asked. I couldn’t think what else to say. What do you say to someone you don’t really know?
“I’m fine,” she said, although I could tell that she wasn’t. “So what’s this about swimming? Nan says you’re really good at it.”
I told her all about swimming classes and how much fun I had with my boy-friend-but-not-boyfriend Ed. I told her that I was going to start training in the mornings with Mr Davidson. I told her I wanted to be a famous swimmer and win competitions across the world. I didn’t tell her about Tom Beckett calling me a whale.
Mum didn’t seem that interested in my swimming. It was almost like she wasn’t listening at all.
“What year are you in again?” she asked croakily. “Do you have a boyfriend yet?”
“I’m in Year Six,” I said. Why didn’t she know that? I spotted Nan glance at me and then look away again. “And no, I don’t have one,” I said quietly. “Boys are soooo annoying.”
“Oh,” she said. There was a bit of a silence on the phone, and I didn’t know what else to say.
“Er … so do you think you can come to watch me compete?” I asked hopefully. “You can watch with Nan and Grandad in the audience. I’m going to train so hard for it.”
Nan reached over my shoulder and grabbed the phone from out of my hands.
“Angela, we’ll talk to you soon,” she said. “Do try coming. We’d all like to see you.”
And then she hung up.
I was so annoyed at Nan for doing that. I was trying to have a nice conversation with my mum and she’d completely spoiled it!
“What did you do that for?” I said crossly. “I can’t believe you hung up on her! She probably won’t come at all now!”
“Your mum is an adult, Molly,” she said. “It’s up to her whether she decides to come or not. Don’t get your hopes up. Your grandfather and I certainly don’t.”
I couldn’t believe Nan was being such a cow.
“Why do you have to ruin everything?” I yelled, and stormed into my room.
Nan walked across the landing to the bathroom. I could’ve been wrong, but it sounded to me like she was crying.
7
Waking up at the crack of dawn was not my idea of fun at all. My eyes felt all groggy and heavy.
“Come on, Mol!” Grandad whispered, trying not to wake Nan. He turned my bedroom light on, which made my eyes sting even more. I groaned. It was six in the morning. Why on earth had I agreed to this?
I put my dressing gown on and went downstairs. Grandad poured me a bowl of rice crispies and made me a cup of tea.
“I thought I was going to the breakfast club with Ed afterwards?” I said, as he plodded around the kitchen with his stick.
“You can’t go swimming on an empty stomach. You need all the energy you can get.”
I wasn’t in the mood to eat, but I ate the cereal and drank my tea anyway. Grandad had already packed my swimming kit for me the night before. I brushed my teeth and waited downstairs by the window for Mr Davidson to arrive.
Sure enough, Mr Davidson pulled up outside in his beaten-up blue car at six thirty on the dot. It was still a bit dark outside, with the glow of a few street lamps lighting up the pavement. I watched as a couple of people got into their cars to go to work. I wasn’t used to the street being this silent.
“Molly!” Ed yelled from out of the car window and started waving his arms excitedly.
“Ssh, Ed!” said Mr Davidson. “People are still in bed.”
I giggled. Ed always makes me laugh. For a boy, he’s quite funny, I guess. At school he’s the class clown and always does silly things to make us laugh, even the teachers. If he wasn’t a boy, I’d much rather he was my best friend than Chloe.
Chloe isn’t always nice to Ed. If he ever says hi to me in class she’ll roll her eyes at him and pull me away. Neada and Jess think he’s funny too, but Chloe says he’s ridiculously immature so we’re not allowed to talk to him.
Grandad gave me a kiss and I walked down the path towards the car. It felt a bit strange being in a car with a teacher. I handed Mr Davidson Grandad’s permission slip and we drove off, Grandad waving goodbye from inside the doorway.
“Are you excited about swimming?” Ed asked, turning round to look at me and grinning. He always looks a bit scruffy, with brown hair that falls over his eyes, and oversized clothes. “I was so excited when Mr Davidson said you were coming.”
“I can’t wait,” I replied, forcing a smile, though deep down I was very nervous about being seen in my costume again. Even though Ed had never said anything about my body, he was a boy. What if he secretly thought I was a whale too?
I went into the changing room and began to change into my costume. Even though I was on my own, I felt more exposed than ever.
Unlike Chloe’s, my chest was as flat as an ironing board and my shoulders wide and broad. I wished I could just enjoy swimming again, without worrying about what I looked like. Just last week, I had no idea my body shape was so horrendous. I hated Chloe and Tom Beckett for making me feel this way.
I must’ve been sat in t
he changing room for a long time, because there was suddenly a loud knock on the door.
“Molly!” Mr Davidson yelled. “Are you in there? I’ll send Alice to come and get you in a minute.”
“Coming!” I yelled back, grabbing my stuff quickly and shoving it in an empty locker. I wrapped a towel round my waist, making sure I hid my tummy, and went outside to meet the others.
“There you are,” he said. “You took your time. Get in the pool and start warming up with the others.”
Everyone in the team was so happy to see me. They were already stretching in the water, looking like funny aliens in their tight swimming caps and goggles. No one looked at my body any differently as I hoisted myself slowly into the water.
“Hi, Molly!” yelled Alice from the water.
Alice is our club’s captain and is by far the best swimmer I’ve ever seen. She’s a few years older than us but helps out at our club because her dad says it will look good for when she applies to university. She always seems to be in our local paper and everybody knows who she is. She enters swimming competitions all across England and wins lots of medals and certificates, but has to get up really early every day to train – even at weekends.
If I could be like anyone, it would be Alice. I wish I could win competitions like her. I wish I was as popular as her. I even wish I could look like her. She has strong arms and strong legs, and people take notice of her when she’s racing because she’s so fast.
“Right, listen up, everyone,” Mr Davidson said, and we all gathered round. “Regionals are in eight weeks’ time. That may sound like a long way away, but it’s not. You’ve all got great potential and we still have a lot of training to do, but I really want us to win some more medals for the club this year.”
Ed leaned over. “I bet you’ll win another medal,” he whispered into my ear, and I smiled, crossing my fingers under the water in hope.
Mr Davidson put us into partners, ready for our first race. Thankfully I was teamed with Ed. I would’ve hated to have been paired up with someone I didn’t know.
We were going to do a relay race, jumping from the platforms at the end of the pool, swimming as fast as we could to the other end and back before switching with the other swimmer.
It was Ed’s turn first. He put his goggles on and stuck his thumb up at me. I stuck mine up in return. I so desperately wanted to win – I didn’t want to let him or Mr Davidson down. I wanted to make a great first impression at my first proper practice session.
“Three … two … one!” Mr Davidson yelled.
SPLASH!!!
There was a sudden flurry of bodies throwing themselves into the water. Alice and Mr Davidson were clapping and cheering from the side.
“Faster!” yelled Alice.
“Come on!” yelled Mr Davidson.
Ed was in the lead. I cheered for him as he splashed his way down the pool, his arms whirling like turbines, occasionally coming up for air.
Before I knew it, Ed was quickly approaching me. My palms felt sweaty, ready to dive in past the red-headed girl next to me. I wasn’t going to let Mr Davidson down, I wasn’t going to let Mr Davidson down, I wasn’t going to let Mr Davidson down…
Ed was still in first place. He kept swimming faster and faster towards me and I reached my hands up, ready to dive in as soon as he reached the platform.
But it was as though my body had turned to jelly. All of a sudden I wobbled on the platform, losing my balance, my hands flopping in the air, and before I knew it…
“Ahhh!” I squealed, and toppled into the water like a pancake. The redhead next to me was already on her way by this point, and I was left trying to catch up from what felt like miles behind.
I came last. I couldn’t believe it. I’d always been the most confident swimmer and now it was like I’d never been in the pool in my life.
“Don’t worry,” Alice said, putting her arm round my shoulder. “It’s only your first real practice session. You’ll be a star, I’m sure of it.”
By the weekend I was exhausted. I’d woken up at five thirty three mornings in a row, gone to school all day and been to my usual swimming class on Wednesday night. My calves felt heavy and swollen, as though there were bags of sugar in them, and my arms ached too much to pick anything up. All I wanted to do was sleep.
Chloe, Neada and Jess had no idea I’d been practising in secret. Keeping that from them was tiring in itself. I was pretty sure Neada and Jess wouldn’t care about me swimming – they might have even been supportive – but I couldn’t risk Chloe finding out.
Each morning I’d make sure my hair was bonedry before I went back to school. Before I saw anyone in class, I’d hide my swimming kit deep inside my locker so no one would smell the chlorine. As far as Chloe was concerned, I’d given swimming up for good.
If only she knew the fun I was having. Swimming was definitely tough but I was having the best time with Ed. He was a lot more fun than Chloe, that’s for sure. He made me cry tears of laughter with his silly impressions and funny jokes, making me laugh until my tummy muscles hurt.
The only thing I didn’t like was having to avoid him in school for fear of Chloe finding out my secret. I would quickly look away if he ever tried to make eye contact. Chloe said he was the uncoolest boy in the year, and I didn’t want her thinking I was associating with him. I just wanted her to like me.
Over the next couple of weeks swimming practices gradually seemed to blur into one. All my efforts were going into making sure I was fast enough for regionals and trying to keep everyone around me happy. My life felt like one big balancing act.
Grandad was happy with me. Nan said he looked the brightest he had in a long time. He’d squeeze my arms and call me Popeye like the cartoon character, joking about how big my muscles were getting, and he would proudly mention my swimming competition whenever anyone called the house.
Mr Davidson seemed happy with me too. Although he said my swimming was improving after every practice, it sometimes felt that no matter how much I pushed myself, he’d yell at me to swim faster. Half of me would be annoyed at him for pushing me so much, yet the other half was desperate for him to tell me I’d done a good job.
There was only one person who didn’t seem that happy with me.
Despite the fact she’d seemed OK since I’d pretended to give up swimming, Chloe’s attitude towards me began changing again. I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong. I was trying my absolute best to fit in but Chloe always seemed irritated with me. Had she discovered my secret?
I’d make jokes and she wouldn’t laugh – just roll her eyes or stay quiet. She’d ask to sit next to Neada or Jess in class, when we’d always sat together. What was I doing wrong?
I wondered if my appearance had anything to do with it. I liked being in school because it meant we were all dressed in the same uniform. But at weekends it had become more awkward. Chloe told me I needed to change the way I dressed because I “looked like a five-year-old”, and that she wouldn’t be seen in public with me until I did.
Over the past few weeks Jess and Neada had both started buying fashionable new clothes. They looked like models, and I couldn’t help but feel jealous that their mums took them shopping at the weekends and spoiled them rotten. Nan never did that with me because she was too busy working all the time. I couldn’t help but feel left out when the three of them sat around chatting about the latest things they’d bought and the newest fashion trends.
I decided I needed to keep Chloe sweet. I persuaded Nan to drive me to Riverdale, the local shopping centre, to buy me some new clothes that I knew Chloe would approve of. If dressing better meant Chloe would be my friend, it was worth a shot.
We’d been wandering around the shopping centre for a while when I suddenly saw the most perfect dress on a hanger. It was short and red with stars all over. It looked so grown-up. Neada had something similar in her wardrobe and Chloe had said how cool it was. I was certain that if I bought a dress like that, Chloe would think I w
as cool too.
“It’s a bit skimpy,” Nan said in the changing room, frowning slightly. “I’m not sure I want you walking round the town like that.”
“But Chloe always wears stuff like this,” I said, frustrated. “Even Neada does, and you know what her mum is like.”
It just wasn’t fair. Chloe’s mum seemed to buy her new clothes every week. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d had anything new.
I begged Nan for the dress.
“Pleeaaasseeeeee!” I said, putting my hands together and batting my eyelashes at her. It was the prettiest dress I’d ever seen.
“It’s very expensive, Molly,” she said, looking at the label. “And I doubt your grandad would be happy if you wore that out. So it’s a no, I’m afraid.”
I was so disappointed as I watched the sales assistant take it away. I was sick of being the one person in our group who was dressed like a baby at weekends, like the stupid dungarees I was always made to wear. If everything was as expensive as she moaned about, why couldn’t Nan just get a better job?
We settled for two new tops and a skirt instead. It was better than nothing, but they weren’t as grown-up as I’d have liked.
I think Nan knew I was disappointed, because that night she went out and got us some fish and chips for dinner. It didn’t give me the same feeling that buying the beautiful dress would have, exactly, but it did cheer me up.
We had a really good time round the dinner table that night. Even Nan looked like she was having fun, joining in with my and Grandad’s jokes, and laughing. Grandad began telling us stories of when he’d been an athlete, using the ketchup bottle as a replica of him for effect. He told us all the naughty things he and his friends would get up to when they were young, like stealing apples from the vicar’s garden.
As we laughed, I felt bad for being a brat about the dress. I realised I really do love Nan and Grandad, even if they are a bit overprotective sometimes.
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