Learning to Breathe (34 page)

I ignored the other swimmers and focused on my breathing. Danny had told me to do this when I felt the flashbacks threatening to take over and, amazingly, it seemed to work.

The horn blared again and our times were noted down. I was pleased to find that I had been the second fastest swimmer. Kimmy was obviously first but I couldn’t help but feel proud of what I had achieved.

I dragged myself out of the pool and watched the remaining girls compete. When they had finished and their times had been noted down, we were then sorted out into our heats.

Unsurprisingly, Kimmy was the fastest out of us all. She was put into Group 1 and, to my astonishment, so was I. It turned out that I had been the second fastest overall. Grinning like a lunatic, I made my way to the starting position again and focused on doing the same again.

The horn blared and I really pushed myself this time.
I forced my aching muscles to work harder and focused on finishing in the top four. I succeeded and went through to the next heat.

The next heat was tougher but I managed to come second, right behind Kimmy. Then the last heat was close. All four of us were neck and neck but, at the last second, I managed to push myself ahead. In the end, Kimmy and I qualified for the top two with only one second of difference between our times – Kimmy being the fastest.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I realised that I had qualified for the Finals on Friday. It didn’t matter the outcome of the other races, I had qualified for one style so I was through.

It was then time for the backstroke. Amazingly, I made it
into the overall top two as well. Kimmy and I were both the only two through to the Finals and, judging by her angry expression, she wasn’t too pleased. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was time to take a break for lunch.

I met my mother and Danny in the canteen and found myself engulfed in a massive hug by both of them.

“Darcie! I’m so proud of you
!” my mother exclaimed loudly, squeezing me tightly.

“I told you you’d be great!” Danny chipped in.

I rolled my eyes. “Hey, the competition’s not over yet.”

My mother shook her head. “You’re through to the Finals! If that’s not a big deal then what is?”

Danny chuckled. “She’s right you know. You should be proud!”

I nodded and
reluctantly grinned. “I know – I am.”

My mother beamed at me and then disappeared to get another coffee.

“So,” I began, leaning over to talk to Danny. “Kimmy’s a lovely girl! We had a blazing row before the competition.”

Danny’s face fell. “What! What did she do? What did she say?”

I shrugged. “She just started goading me about the competition and then things turned nasty.”

Danny frowned. “I don’
t believe it! Are you okay?”

I smirked. “Oh don’t worry, I told her a few home truths and she backed off.”

Danny looked at me curiously. “What did you say to her?”

I grinned. “Nothing that wasn’t true.”

Danny shook his head and laughed.

“
Oh and I bet she hates me even more now.” I added when he stopped laughing.

“Why?” asked Danny,
looking quite serious.

“Because I’m through to the Finals.”

Danny nodded and smirked. “Yeah, you’re kicking her ass!”

I laughed. “Let’s hope it stays that way!”

After lunch, it was th
e butterfly stroke. Spurred on by my talk with Danny, I exceeded my own expectations and ended up beating Kimmy. She didn’t look best pleased when she came second in all three of the heats. To be honest, even
I
couldn’t believe how well I was doing.

That said, I had a feeling that it wouldn’t last for the final race. It was freestyle and I was pretty tired. I hoped that I could keep up my winning streak and make the top two.

Once we were lined up, the horn blared and we were off. Kimmy was the fastest and made the first group. I managed to make it too but this time I came third. It wasn’t great but it was okay.

However, I really wanted to make it into the top two
for the last three heats so I vowed to push myself harder than ever. The first heat was when the trouble started.

I started off strongly, keeping up with Kimmy but then disaster struck on the last lap of the pool. M
y right leg started to burn ferociously and I could feel myself slowing down. Gritting my teeth, I angrily pushed through the pain and succeeded in making the top four. Now all I had to do was make it through another two heats (both making the top two) and I would qualify for the Finals on Friday. I was less than optimistic that my leg would hold out but I was determined to finish.

After I pulled myself out of the pool, I stretched out my leg and winced at the pain. Breathing heavily, I took a seat and tried not to focus on the dull throbbing in my leg. I watched the other group race and clapped along with everyone else as the other top four swimmers were decided.

It was then my turn to compete again. This time I would have to be in the top two or I wouldn’t qualify for the final heat. Standing up, I noticed that my right leg was shaking slightly. Grimacing, I made my way to my starting position and focused on winning.

The horn blared and I started slowly. However, as soon as I started to pick up the pace, the pain started to get worse. Determined to power through, I
forced myself to keep going and was amazed when I made it into the top two.

The other group raced and the top two were named. For the final heat, my competitors were Kimmy, Rachel Hillman and Elsie Jackson. I felt sick but I had to make the top two.
I just had to.

We lined up and glanced at the announcer.

“On your marks … get set … go!”

I summoned up all of my remaining energy and willed myself to finish the race. My leg was burning now; it felt like it was on fire. I let out a gasp as a particularly strong wave of pain washed over me but I didn’t stop.

Glancing over, I
could see that Kimmy was in the lead and Rachel was second. Determined, I focused on my breathing and tried to ignore the burning sensation in my leg. It seemed to work since I quickly overtook Rachel and was soon neck and neck with Kimmy.

With one last burst of strength, I propelled myself with such force that, at the very last second, I passed Kimmy and won. I did it! I was through to the Finals and had succeeded in making the top two in all four styles of swimming.

Exhausted, I cried in relief as I hauled myself out of the pool. One glance at Kimmy and it was easy to see that she furious. She gave me daggers, mouthed the words ‘watch your back bitch’, and then stormed off into the changing rooms. I smiled to myself and limped after her; the pain in my leg hadn’t totally subsided but at least I could walk.

After a quick change, I met my mother and Danny in the front foyer. After hobbling over to them, Danny looked at me in concern.

“Your leg’s hurting again, isn’t it?” He said, looking at me sternly.

I avoided his eyes. “No, it’s just a bit stiff.” I lied.

He sighed heavily. “Why didn’t you stop?”

I shrugged. “I wanted to win.”

Danny shook his head wearily and my mother frowned at me.

“Darcie, you’re going to seriously injure yourself if you’re not careful.”
My mother scolded, looking worried.

“I’ll be fine!” I exclaimed, rather annoyed at how both Danny and my mother were treating me like a disobedient child.

Danny, sensing my anger, gently curled his arm around my waist. “Hey, we just don’t want to see you hurt yourself, okay?”

I glanced up into those hazel eyes and found my irritation melting away.

“I know. I just don’t want her to win.” I admitted.

Danny chuckled. “Hey, you kicked her ass today … she’ll not know what’s hit her on Friday.”

My mother looked confused. “Who are you talking about honey?”

I waved off her question. “No one Mum … just one of the competitors.”

She frowned. “Are you talking about the Barbie Doll? I didn’t quite catch her name but she didn’t seem very nice.”

I roared with laughter and Danny started chuckling.

“What?” My mother asked, totally confused by our reactions.

“The Barbie Doll!” I repeated, let
ting out another chuckle. “Oh that’s good!”

My mother glanced at me and then Danny – who was still laughing – and shook her head, totally mystified.

“Come on you two – let’s get out of here. I think those chlorine fumes have addled your brains!”

On Wednesday and Thursday, Danny and I watched the rest of the competitors fight their way into securing a place in the Finals on Friday. Strangely, we never ran into Kimmy once. I was sure that she would be there since it would give her a chance to flirt with Danny but she never showed.

Her threat on Tuesday still bugged me and it was for that reason that I convinced Danny to have one last training session. He reluctantly agreed
and managed to convince Ms Greenly to let us use the school pool again. However, once we were in the water, he warned me to take it easy and not aggravate my leg.

“Oi!”
Danny yelled. “Take it easy Darcie!”

I nodded obediently. “I am!” I called back, finishing off my lap of the pool.

He quickly swam over to me and stopped me from going any further. “I mean it Darcie!” he warned.

I rolled my eyes. “You worry too much.”

Danny shook his head wearily. “Don’t let her get to you. It’s what she wants.”

I sighed heavily. “I know
. It’s just she makes me so mad. I really wanna win just to spite her.”

Danny smiled. “
Easy Gilmore! Let’s do one more lap and then we’re done for the night.”

Reluctantly, I nodded. “Okay but you have to choose a good song to help motivate me for tomorrow.”

Danny laughed. “Okay, it’s a deal.” He then quickly pulled himself out of the water and made his way towards the iPod dock. A few seconds later and ‘Go’ by Livingston blared to life. It was a perfect choice.

Friday morning arrived and I woke up feeling unusually calm. Even though I found this to be quite bizarre, I decided not to question it. I got up, took a leisurely shower, and then dressed in my comfiest tracksuit bottoms and t-shirt.

When I eventually made my way downstairs, I found my mother freaking out in the kitchen.

“Oh Darcie!” she cried. “How are you feeling? Are you nervous? Don’t be! You’re gonna be fine! You’re okay, aren’t you? You’re not gonna be sick, are you?”

I laughed and gave my mother a hug. “Calm down! I’m actually feeling okay.”

My mother breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. That’s good. Have you packed yet? What time do you want to leave?”

“Yes, I’ve packed and I dunno … maybe in about five minutes or so.”

My mother nodded and quickly rushed about the kitchen, trying to find her car keys. She eventually found them in the fridge and didn’t calm down until we arrived at the leisure centre and met up with Danny.

“Well Gilmore, today’s the day!” Danny said, flashing me a killer grin.

I nodded. “Yeah and I’m actually feeling pretty calm.”

Danny nodded. “The same can’t be said for your mother though.” He glanced over at my mother – who was now looking a little green – and chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. “Hopefully your parents will make her chill out.”

Danny laughed. “Come on … let’s escape while they’re not looking. Do you wanna go to the canteen?”

Nodding, I grabbed his hand and we bolted down the corridor before any of our parents noticed.

The canteen was quiet. However, the first person to look our way as we walked through the door was Kimmy. She was sitting with Lance and looked really happy about something. In fact, when her gaze fell on us, she looked positively gleeful. Lance, however, just looked rather miserable.

I threw Danny a curious look but he merely shrugged and dragged me to the table furthest away from them.

“What was with that?” I asked, genuinely bewildered by Kimmy’s strange behaviour.

Danny sighed. “Trust me, sometimes it’s better not knowing.”

I was still curious but I decided to let it go for once and just nodded. “Fair enough. So, how are you feeling?”

“Confident
.” Danny replied cockily.

I rolled my eyes. “Of course you are.”

Danny chuckled. “How are you feeling? How’s your leg?” He glanced at me worriedly.

I gave a small shrug. “Okay, I guess.
My leg will be fine.”

He frowned. “I hope so. Just don’t let Kimmy goad you into pushing yourself too hard. It’s not worth it if you hurt yourself. Win or lose, it doesn’t matter to me.”