Dark Water

by Cindy Jefferies

  “Don’t worry about it,” said Tom. “She’s only jealous that we’re friends.” Tom did seem to be able to shrug off anything Holly said, and Sarah tried to copy him.

  * * *

  “It’s almost the end of term,” said Akram one very hot day. “We should have a party or something.”

  “We could have a picnic,” said Holly.

  “Good idea!” said Tom.

  “I’ll make a cake,” said Lucy. “I’m good at that.”

  “And I’ll bring crisps,” said Akram. “I’m good at that.” Everyone laughed.

  Sarah smiled at Tom. The sun was shining, it was nearly the end of term, and Holly seemed to have forgotten to be horrible for the moment. Life was good.

  “Where shall we have the picnic?” said Tom.

  “Here!” said Holly. “We can still get on the school field, even when the school is locked up.”

  “Wouldn’t it be more fun to go somewhere that’s not school?” said Tom.

  “We could go to the park,” said Sarah. “It’s lovely by the lake this time of the year.”

  Holly was cross. “I think my idea is best,” she said, but the others liked Sarah’s idea about the park more.

  Sarah wondered if Holly was going to make a fuss, but the others changed the subject and soon they were chatting about picnic food. Sarah grinned at Tom. This was going to be fun.

  Chapter 8

  Picnic Time

  On the day of the picnic the sun was shining brightly. Sarah got home from her morning training and put together the food that she and Tom had decided to take. Soon the doorbell rang, and he was there, ready to go.

  “I’ll carry the basket,” he said, taking it from her. “Here, you take the Frisbee.”

  “It was a good idea to think of bringing something to do,” said Sarah.

  “Akram is bringing a football,” said Tom.

  “And I’ve got a rug,” said Sarah, slinging it over her shoulder. “After my workout I fancy relaxing in the sunshine.”

  It didn’t take long to get to the park. They walked past the playground where small children were having fun on the swings and slides. They came to a large area of flat grass, and beyond that they could see the big lake. Akram was already there with a couple of the other boys, kicking the ball to each other.

  “Let’s spread the rug out near the lake,” said Sarah. “Then we’ll be out of the way of the football.”

  “Good idea,” said Tom.

  They put the rug down, and soon other people had added their rugs so that there was a large area to sit on. When everyone had arrived they unpacked the food. There were loads of things to eat, but everyone was hungry, and soon most of it was gone.

  Tom lay back on the rug and rubbed his stomach. “I am so full.”

  “Here,” said Matt, passing him a bottle. “I’m sure you’ve got a bit of room for a drink.”

  “Well, maybe a sip,” said Tom. “To help all the food down.” He sat up again and took the bottle. “Oh!” he cried.

  “What is it?” said Sarah.

  Tom made a face. “It’s vodka or something…in a cola bottle. Hey, Matt, I thought you were giving me cola!”

  Matt laughed. “Well, we’re not supposed to drink in the park, so I thought I’d put it in this bottle.”

  Tom handed him the bottle back. “I’ll stick to lemonade, thanks.”

  “How about you, Sarah?” said Matt. “Fancy a drink?”

  Sarah shook her head. “No thanks.”

  “Sarah doesn’t drink,” said Tom. “Because of her training. It’s better for her not to.”

  “I’ll have some,” said Holly, grabbing the bottle out of Matt’s hand. “You should get a life, Sarah. You’re such a goody goody. It makes me sick.”

  She took a big gulp. Then she took another gulp and laughed in Sarah’s face.

  Chapter 9

  A Very Bad Idea

  The sun was hot, and Sarah was feeling sleepy. She lay back on the rug. Most people, including Tom went over to the open, grassy area. Sarah could hear that teams were being picked for football. It sounded fun, but Sarah was too sleepy to join in.

  Holly, Matt and a couple of others were drinking on a rug nearby. They had some cans of beer, and the cola bottle was still being passed around.

  Sarah wondered if the park attendant would notice what was going on. He probably wouldn’t come over to that corner of the park, but he might. She hoped they wouldn’t get into trouble. It would be a shame if the afternoon were spoiled.

  Sarah let her eyes close. She was falling asleep. Every now and then she could hear Tom’s voice, and that made her smile.

  Sarah didn’t know how long she had been asleep when a loud yell woke her.

  “No! Get off me!”

  It was Tom’s voice, and Sarah sat up quickly to see what was wrong. She saw Matt and a couple of other boys carrying Tom over the grass. At first Sarah thought they were just mucking around but then she realised that Holly was shouting at the boys, telling them what to do.

  “Throw him in the lake,” she said, laughing loudly. “Then we can watch his girlfriend rescue him.”

  Akram was trying to stop them. He ran in front and caught hold of Matt’s arm. “Don’t be stupid,” he said. “The lake might not be safe. There’s a notice that says no swimming.”

  Holly laughed at Akram. “Tom can swim, can’t he?” she said. Then she looked at Sarah. “And even if he couldn’t swim, Sarah would dive in and rescue him. Look at her. She’s already thinking of showing off and jumping in.”

  Chapter 10

  Trapped

  Sarah stood up. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to embarrass Tom. She was sure he wouldn’t want her to interfere. But it looked as if nothing was going to stop the boys from throwing him in the lake. Akram had given up, and was watching from the edge of the lake.

  Sarah knew that Tom was a good swimmer. So if the boys just dropped him, it would all be over in a few minutes. She watched as they pulled him further out. Soon they had to let him stand up, because the water was too deep to carry him. But they still didn’t let go. They seemed to have forgotten about throwing him in. It had become a splashing play-fight, with even Tom starting to laugh as they all got wetter and wetter.

  Sarah relaxed. She guessed that as soon as they were all tired of the play-fight they’d come out and lie on the grass to get dry. At least the sun was hot enough to dry their clothes.

  Tom had got an arm free, and was splashing Matt, who turned round and splashed Tom back. They both laughed. Then, suddenly, Matt vanished. One moment he was there, and the next moment he’d gone. Tom shouted out.

  “Matt!”

  Sarah started to run towards the lake, while Tom swam over to where Matt had been. Then he dived under the water.

  Sarah watched the water to see where Tom would come up again. She thought that Matt must have stepped into a deep part of the lake. He was probably just out of his depth. To her relief, Tom’s head soon bobbed up, and he was holding Matt.

  Sarah waited for Tom to begin to tow Matt in to the shore, but he didn’t. He seemed to be struggling to hold Matt up, and Matt wasn’t helping. He was in a terrible panic. Sarah could see Tom speaking to another boy in the water, and after a moment the boy swam quickly out of the lake. Akram helped him out. By now almost the whole class was there, wondering what was wrong.

  “He’s stuck!” said the boy. “Matt’s foot is caught in something, and he can’t keep himself afloat.”

  Chapter 11

  A Desperate Time

  Akram pulled his mobile from his pocket. “We need help.”

  But Sarah was looking at Tom. He was holding Matt’s head above the water, but Matt was still struggling.

  She wondered how much longer Tom could hold Matt. She knew it wasn’t safe to go to help. Matt had got caught, and she might too. There could be all sorts of hidden things, stuck in the mud at the bottom. She knew that the best way to rescue someone was not to ri
sk your own life, but she couldn’t see what else to do. The boys were too far out to rescue from the bank, Matt was trapped, and Tom couldn’t hold him up much longer.

  Sarah stepped into the lake.

  “What are you doing?” shouted Akram. “Wait for the rescue service. They’ll be here soon.”

  But Sarah knew that Tom and Matt might not be able to wait that long.

  As soon as it was deep enough to swim, Sarah swam towards the boys. She felt much safer swimming, with her feet away from the bottom of the lake. It only took a few minutes to reach them, but at once she could see they were both in real trouble. Tom was doing his best to hold Matt but because Matt was struggling, it was getting harder and harder. Tom looked worn out.

  Sarah took a deep breath and dived. The water was so churned up with mud that she could see hardly anything, but at least she was at home under water.

  She soon found Matt’s leg, and felt carefully for what had trapped him.

  She could feel a piece of wire twisted around his ankle. The wire had pulled tight as Matt had swum up to the surface. If she was going to free his leg he would have to go right down under the water, and Sarah was sure Matt was in too much of a panic to do that.

  She surfaced next to Tom. “There’s some wire around his ankle,” she said. “It’s cutting into him, and there’s no way I can get it off. You need to make sure the rescue service knows they’ll need wire cutters.”

  Tom looked very tired but he said to Sarah, “You go back. I’ll stay with Matt.”

  “Don’t be silly,” she said. “I’m fresh, but you’re worn out. Go on. I can do it.”

  Tom took one last look at Matt and then he swam to the edge of the lake.

  “Don’t leave me!” screamed Matt.

  “It’s all right,” said Sarah. “I won’t leave you. But you’re going to have to calm down.”

  Matt was hard to help. He was strong and he had been drinking. If she stayed on the surface with him he fought and struggled, and held onto her so hard that he almost strangled her. The best way was to dive, and hold him up from underneath.

  In synchro she was not allowed to touch the bottom of the pool, so her training was helpful in keeping her away from the tangled wire in the mud. And she could stay underwater for ages.

  But it was still tough. Although Sarah had trained hard and had good strong lungs, Abbey had never struggled against her, and the synchronised swimming routine was only a few minutes long.

  At first Sarah could stay underwater holding up Matt for nearly a minute before she needed to come up to take a breath but, as she became tired, she could only hold her breath for forty seconds and then for thirty. She knew that she would have to give up soon. But would anyone else be able to help? And how could she live with herself if she let Matt drown?

  Chapter 12

  Exhaustion

  Sarah was very near the end of her strength. Then she came up to the surface for yet another lungful of air and saw that the rescue boat was right next to her.

  “Have you got wire cutters?” she shouted to the rescuers.

  “Yes. Let’s get you on board,” they said.

  “No!” screamed Matt weakly. “Please don’t leave me. I’ll drown!”

  Sarah hung onto the side of the boat, trying to catch her breath. “Give me the cutters,” she said. “I know where the wire is. Keep him afloat while I’m doing it.”

  Sarah took the cutters and went down one last time. She cut the wire and at once Matt’s leg was free. As she headed for the surface Matt was being dragged into the boat. By accident, he kicked her head as he was pulled on the boat, and Sarah took a gulp of dirty water instead of air. Then she blacked out.

  * * *

  In the hospital, Sarah had lots of visitors. Tom came of course, and so did her family and Mrs Collins, as well as Abbey. And the local newspaper very soon made her into a heroine. Luckily, she had been pulled from the water very quickly, and was going to be fine. But she was kept in for a few tests before she was allowed to go home. Matt was fit to go home on the same day, and he came to see her, with his leg in a bandage.

  “Thanks for saving me,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry we were being so stupid with Tom.”

  “That’s all right,” said Sarah. “I’m just glad it all turned out okay.”

  “Will you be all right for the competition next week?” asked Abbey.

  Sarah wasn’t sure but she didn’t want to worry Abbey. “I’ll be fine,” she said.

  As soon as Sarah was out of hospital she and Abbey began training for the competition. They worked hard at their routine and everything seemed OK.

  On the day of the competition, Abbey travelled with her parents, while Sarah and Tom went with Mrs Collins. When Sarah and Abbey came out to the pool side, Sarah could see Tom sitting with Mrs Collins. It made her feel really happy to know he was there.

  The routine went well until the very end. Sarah had to give Abbey a huge boost out of the water. Sarah had been feeling much more tired than usual and when it came to that last lift she couldn’t get enough power behind it.

  It wasn’t a bad lift, but both she and Abbey knew that it hadn’t been up to their usual standard, and they both knew that if they were not in the top three then their Olympic hopes would be dashed.

  “I’m so sorry,” said Sarah to Abbey as they waited for the results with Mrs Collins. “I just couldn’t do the lift as well as I should have.”

  “You still aren’t back to normal after that rescue in the lake,” said Mrs Collins. “It’s not your fault.”

  “That’s right,” said Abbey. “It’s not your fault.”

  Then the judge read out the results. Sarah and Abbey came fourth. That wouldn’t be enough for a place in the Olympic team. They’d have to wait a whole four years to have another chance.

  The girls couldn’t help the tears that flowed down their cheeks.

  On the way home, Sarah was very quiet. It was nice that Tom was there, and she knew she’d done her best, but she couldn’t help thinking that she’d let everyone down.

  At least people at school were more friendly. After Sarah had saved Matt’s life, even Holly had stopped teasing her.

  But still Sarah felt sad.

  * * *

  Then, a few days later, when she and Tom were on their way home from school, she got a call on her mobile from Mrs Collins.

  “I’ve just heard from the judges,” said Mrs Collins. “Are you sitting down?”

  “No,” said Sarah. “Why?”

  “Because they’ve just given you and Abbey a place on the team after all!”

  “What?” Sarah couldn’t believe her ears.

  “One of the other pairs has pulled out,” said Mrs Collins. “And instead of holding another competition, the judges have decided to give the place to you and Abbey because of how well you’d done before. So you’ve got your chance at the Olympics!”

  Sarah closed her phone.

  “What is it?” said Tom, looking worried.

  Sarah flung her arms around him. “We’ve got onto the team after all!” she told him. “We’re going to be in the Olympics!”

  Tom held her close. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered into her ear. And then he kissed her.

  Copyright © 2012 Cindy Jefferies

  Illustrations copyright © 2012 Dave Shephard

  First published 2011 by A & C Black, an imprint of

  Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP

  This electronic edition published in February 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing

  The rights of Cindy Jefferies and Dave Shephard to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved

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  A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.

  eISBN 978-1-4081-9433-1 (e-book)

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