Dark Water

by Cindy Jefferies

  Contents

  Chapter 1 Competition

  Chapter 2 If Only

  Chapter 3 Keeping Quiet

  Chapter 4 Telling the Truth

  Chapter 5 Let Down

  Chapter 6 Difficult Times

  Chapter 7 Standing Up

  Chapter 8 Picnic Time

  Chapter 9 A Very Bad Idea

  Chapter 10 Trapped

  Chapter 11 A Desperate Time

  Chapter 12 Exhaustion

  Chapter 1

  Competition

  Sarah filled her lungs with air and dived down. The music was pounding out their sound track as she swam into place. Abbey was turning on the surface of the water, with one leg held high in the air.

  Slowly Abbey sank down, hardly making a ripple in the water. For a few seconds the water was still. It was as if the two swimmers had never been there.

  Then, suddenly, Abbey shot out of the water, boosted by Sarah below. Abbey held her arms up high. She had a huge smile on her face and it looked as if she was going to leap right out of the pool. As their routine came to a perfect end, and the audience clapped, the girls swam quickly to the side, and got out.

  They walked to where their trainer, Mrs Collins, was waiting. She handed each girl a towel. Both girls were out of breath.

  The synchronised swimming routine had been very hard work, but they felt happy.

  “Well done!” said Mrs Collins. “That last lift was excellent. You are such a good team. I am sure you stand a chance to win a medal.”

  Sarah and Abbey looked at each other and grinned. If they did well in this competition, they could be picked to train for the Olympics! It was all the two girls had wanted since they had started doing synchro together a few years ago. They hadn’t known each other before that. They went to different schools, but Mrs Collins had taught them both synchro since they were little, and had put them in touch with each other.

  Two more pairs still had to do their routines. Sarah and Abbey watched closely as their rivals performed. But the other girls hadn’t been swimming together as long as Sarah and Abbey, and it showed.

  “It’s the two girls in the green swimsuits we need to beat,” said Abbey as the last pair got out of the pool. “Them and the sisters from York – Sally and Jane Moore. They were really good.”

  Sarah nodded. “Yes, although neither of them looked as relaxed as we did.”

  “How can you tell?” teased Abbey. “I might have been frowning during that last lift.”

  Sarah laughed. “If you were frowning, Mrs Collins would have told you off!”

  “That’s true.” Both girls giggled.

  Then everyone went silent as the judges began to announce the results. Suddenly, Sarah didn’t feel like laughing any more. If they weren’t in the top three they’d feel awful. They’d worked so hard for this, and Sarah wasn’t sure they had it in them to improve much more.

  Abbey grabbed Sarah’s arm, and Mrs Collins put her hands on the girls’ shoulders to calm them as they waited. Then the judge announced the top three places.

  “Third place goes to Kirsty Emerson and Beverly Hicks.”

  Abbey squeezed Sarah’s arm. “Maybe we’ve got second.”

  “Second place goes to Sally and Jenny Moore,” said the judge.

  Sarah let out a groan. She tried to think if there had been any other pairs who might have been good enough to take first prize. There was a pair from Preston who had been pretty good too.

  “And first place goes to… Sarah Plant and Abbey Kirk.”

  Abbey let out a huge squeal and hugged Sarah. Sarah hugged her back. She couldn’t believe it. First place! They’d hoped to come third, or possibly second, but first? That was fantastic!

  Chapter 2

  If Only

  After Sarah and Abbey had got changed, they hurried to meet Mrs Collins, who was waiting at the exit.

  “Well done,” she said again. “First place is a fantastic result. You have a real chance now of going forward to the Olympics, so we will need to have a meeting to discuss it.”

  “There’s a special training camp, isn’t there?” said Abbey.

  Mrs Collins nodded. “Yes. If you get picked to join the Olympic swimming team you’ll get extra help with training. And you’ll get money from sponsors to help cover the costs.”

  Sarah felt thrilled. None of her family had ever been sporty, or well off. If she had sponsors, it would be a big help. But they weren’t quite there yet.

  “We need to do really well at the next event, don’t we?” she said.

  “Yes,” said Mrs Collins. “But don’t worry. There’s plenty of time to prepare.”

  “I must go,” said Abbey. “My parents are waiting.”

  “Me too,” said Sarah, although no one was waiting for her. Her dad worked shifts, her brother never came to watch her, and her mum was at home with the twins, who were too little to come to swimming events in the evening.

  “Do you want a lift home?” said Mrs Collins.

  Sarah shook her head. “No thanks,” she said. “It’s not far.” She didn’t mind the walk. It would give her a chance to think about the Olympic training camp. Once she got home it would be too noisy to think about anything, with the twins having their bath and her brother’s loud music.

  On her way home, Sarah saw a boy from her school on the other side of the street. He was a bit ahead of her, and he didn’t notice Sarah. But she knew who he was, even from behind. His name was Tom, and he was in her year.

  She’d always liked him, even when they were in Year 7. Some of the kids were unkind, and teased people like Sarah, who was shy, but Tom never did. He didn’t speak much to her, but Sarah had never minded that.

  Sometimes she thought about what it would be like if she and Tom did talk. As she walked along she wondered what he’d say if she told him about her success in the competition. She hadn’t told anyone in her class about her swimming, not even the girls. She hadn’t wanted anyone to think she was showing off.

  Sarah wondered if Tom would go into one of the shops. If he did, she would go in too. They might meet at the check-out and she could at least say hello.

  But Tom didn’t stop. He crossed the road and went into his house. Sarah went on home, wishing she wasn’t so shy.

  Chapter 3

  Keeping Quiet

  The next day, Sarah got to the classroom door at the very same moment as Tom. Before she had time to think about it she smiled at him, and Tom smiled back.

  “Another day in the mad house,” he said. The classroom was almost full of students, and very noisy.

  “Yes,” said Sarah. “And we have to hand in our maths homework.”

  “Did you finish it?” said Tom. “I thought it was really hard.”

  “Me too,” said Sarah. “And I didn’t have much time to do it by the time I’d been to the gym.”

  Tom looked at her in surprise. “I didn’t know you went to the gym.” He sounded like he was impressed.

  Sarah felt happy. She was talking to Tom! And he wanted to hear what she had to say. They went into the classroom together. She was just about to explain why she spent time at the gym when there was a burst of loud laughter from a group of boys and girls.

  Holly was making a silly face and waving her arms around. “And they all dance around in a circle and wave their arms. That’s not a sport!”

  Everyone laughed again. Holly looked up and saw Tom and Sarah. “We’ve just decided that darts and synchronised swimming shouldn’t be called sports,” she said.

  “Fair enough,” said Tom. “I’ve never seen a darts player in a track suit.”

  “And synchronised swimming is just dancing in the water,” said another boy.

  “It’s not that easy,” said Sarah.

&
nbsp; “That’s true,” said Holly. “It must take ages to get those silly swimming caps on!”

  They all laughed again, including Tom. Sarah felt herself blush, and looked away. She had been about to tell Tom that she was a synchronised swimmer! She wanted to explain to the class that her sort of swimming was very difficult. She had to train for hours every week, not just in the pool, but at the gym too. It was a very tough sport, but she was afraid if she told the students that, they’d still laugh.

  Chapter 4

  Telling the Truth

  After school, Sarah headed to the gym as usual. Every morning she and Abbey trained together in the pool but after school they each went to their local gyms to work on power and strength training.

  It was hard, especially when she wore weights on her arms and legs while doing the exercises. But Sarah enjoyed it. She found that all her worries simply faded away while she worked out. She just thought about being as good as she possibly could.

  But at the end of her training, when she took the weights off and picked up her towel, she noticed a tall, slim boy, waiting at the desk. It was Tom! He looked as surprised to see her as she had been to see him.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked. She hoped he wouldn’t notice her sweaty clothes and pink face.

  Tom went red. “I thought I’d join the gym. I didn’t think that anyone in our class belonged until you told me this morning. Do you come every week?”

  Sarah thought quickly. If Tom joined he’d soon hear all about her. The man who managed the gym kept a record of her results on the notice board. He had even held a raffle to help raise money for her. There was no way she could pretend to Tom that she only came here once a week.

  She took a deep breath. She had to tell him the truth, and if that meant that he didn’t like her any more, well, that was just too bad.

  “I come here six days a week,” she told him. “I’m in training. I’m trying to get a place on the Olympic swimming team.”

  Tom’s mouth opened. “Really? I didn’t know that. What sort of swimming do you do?”

  Sarah pointed to the notice board behind him. There was a photo of her and Abbey standing by the pool in their swimming costumes. The gym manager had just put up the details of their most recent win. Tom went over to the board and studied it. After a few moments he turned round and grinned at her.

  “That’s fantastic, Sarah! Congratulations. You must have to train ever so hard if you come to the gym every afternoon.”

  “And I train in the pool every morning,” she said.

  Tom shook his head. “I thought I’d just come once or twice a week to build up my muscles a bit. You put me to shame!”

  “But synchronised swimming,” said Sarah. “You think it’s silly. Everyone in class was laughing about it, including you.”

  “I didn’t know what it involves,” he said. “But it’s different now you’ve explained about the training. I’m not laughing now, am I?”

  Sarah looked at him. He wasn’t laughing, but he was smiling at her, and her heart did a flip.

  “No,” she said with a smile. “You’re not laughing now.”

  Chapter 5

  Let Down

  The next few days were wonderful. Tom and Sarah spent as much time as possible together, although that wasn’t easy with all the training Sarah had to do. Mostly, they hung out at school.

  Soon everyone in the class had noticed that Sarah and Tom were good friends. He wanted her to tell them about her secret, but Sarah wasn’t sure.

  “If we get picked for the Olympics, then it’ll be different,” she said. “I won’t mind them knowing then.”

  “You’ll be famous,” said Tom. “In the local paper anyway.”

  “Maybe,” said Sarah. The idea was thrilling. “I just hope we make it through the next competition all right.”

  “I’m sure you will,” said Tom. “Can I come and watch?”

  “Of course!” said Sarah, feeling happy. It was wonderful knowing that Tom would be watching.

  Then Holly and Jaz walked past. “Hi, you two!” said Jaz.

  “Oh, don’t encourage them,” said Holly. “Tom’s no fun any more now Sarah’s got her hands on him.”

  Tom laughed. “Jealousy will get you nowhere,” he said to Holly and he put his arm around Sarah’s shoulders. Sarah felt as if she’d died and gone to heaven.

  But the very next morning something awful happened. Sarah had had a good training session at the pool, and her hair was still damp when she got to the classroom. Tom wasn’t there yet, but she knew he’d be there soon, and she went in with a smile on her face.

  “Here she is!” said Holly, with a grin. At first Sarah thought that Holly was trying to be more friendly, but then, Holly started pretending to be a synchronised swimmer, and making a silly face.

  “Oh, I’m so clever!” she giggled. “I can go round and round in the water with one leg in the air. Look at me!”

  “Careful,” said Matt. “Don’t forget that Sarah works out at the gym. She’s got bigger muscles than me. She might punch you.” He flexed his biceps. All the class laughed.

  Sarah was very upset. There was only one person who could have told them. It must have been Tom.

  “Look at her,” laughed Holly. “She’s going to cry now she’s been found out. What a loser! Fancy thinking she could get into the Olympics!”

  Sarah blinked hard, to stop her tears, but Holly gave her no chance to reply. “Wimps like you don’t get into the Olympics,” she said. “Even as a synchronised swimmer. So don’t think you can, you weirdo.”

  Chapter 6

  Difficult Times

  “How could you tell them about me?” said Sarah to Tom later. “I told you they’d all laugh. You’ve given Holly the perfect way to tease me.”

  “I didn’t tell Holly,” said Tom.

  “Well, you must have told someone,” said Sarah. “Because I haven’t.”

  Tom sighed. “I did tell Akram,” he said. “But he’s my mate. He swore he wouldn’t tell anyone else. I thought I could trust him, but he must have let it slip to someone, and then it leaked out. I’m sorry.”

  Sarah was really angry. “How dare you! I told you to keep it quiet. Now I’ve got Holly teasing me, and her mates laughing at me. And it’s all your fault.”

  Now Tom looked cross too. “Isn’t it about time you stood up for yourself?” he said. “They wouldn’t laugh if you explained how hard your training is.”

  “Oh, wouldn’t they?” Sarah spat back. “Why don’t you explain, if you’re so clever?” She flung the door open and almost walked straight into Holly and her friends.

  “Ooh! Here she is,” said Holly nastily. “Our very own Olympic star. Where are you swimming off to in such a hurry?”

  “Leave her alone,” said Tom.

  Holly laughed. “Now she can’t even speak for herself,” she told her friends. “What a total loser.”

  Sarah didn’t wait to hear any more. She rushed off to the cloakroom and sat on the bench.

  Everything had gone wrong.

  Holly was making her life a misery, and now she’d fallen out with Tom. No one understood.

  For the rest of that day, Holly carried on teasing Sarah. “I bet you wish you could wear your swimming cap all the time,” she said while they were waiting to go into the science lab.

  “Why?” asked Sarah.

  “Because your hair is so horrible it would be a relief to keep it covered up,” said Holly.

  Later on that day, a girl called Lucy who was in Sarah’s class came up to her and asked, “Do you do synchronised swimming in a team?”

  Sarah wasn’t sure what to say. Did Lucy really want to know or did she just want to tease her more? Sarah decided to tell Lucy the truth. “I don’t swim in a team,” she said, “just with one partner.”

  But before Lucy could say any more, Holly butted in.

  “I don’t suppose a group would have her,” she said. “She thinks she’s so good but she’s p
robably rubbish.”

  Sarah looked across to where Tom was talking to Akram. Either he hadn’t heard what Holly had said, or he didn’t care about sticking up for her any more.

  * * *

  Sarah kept seeing Tom at the gym and she wished they could still be friends. Then, one day she had to wait for one of the gym machines because Tom was still using it. She wasn’t supposed to rest much during her training and he was spoiling her session.

  “Sorry,” he said, moving out of her way. He stayed to watch as she put the weights on her arms.

  “You’re strong enough to stand up to Holly and the others,” he said.

  “What do you care?” said Sarah crossly.

  Tom lost his temper. “Of course I care!” he said. “But I can’t do it for you. You have to stand up for yourself. Holly is just jealous of you, that’s all.”

  “No she’s not. She thinks what I do is stupid.”

  “She only says that because she hasn’t a hope of being in the Olympics herself,” said Tom. “She wishes she was talented like you, Sarah. Can’t you see that?”

  “Really?” said Sarah.

  “Yes,” said Tom. He looked sad. “I’m sorry I let you in for this, but I only told Akram because I wanted to boast about you. What you’ve done is so brilliant.” He reached out and she let him take her hand. “I’m really proud of you, Sarah. Can I come to the pool one morning to see you train?”

  Chapter 7

  Standing Up

  Now that Sarah knew that Tom cared for her she felt brave enough to answer Holly back. So the next time Holly said that synchronised swimming was easy, Sarah said, “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Have you ever competed in a swimming event? Have you ever been in a team for anything?”

  That made Holly look stupid, and she soon stopped making fun of synchronised swimming, especially when Tom backed Sarah up. Instead Holly began to make fun of Sarah and Tom’s friendship. Sarah didn’t like that very much either, but it wasn’t so bad when there were two of them being picked on.