Authors: Judi Curtin
Leave it to Eva (8 page)
O
n the last day of the trials, though, Ruby’s excitement had completely evaporated. When we walked into the hallway that morning, we noticed that someone had slipped an envelope through the letterbox.
‘Oh, look,’ I said. ‘It’s got your name on it.’
She ripped the envelope and pulled out a handmade card. She opened it and I read the caption inside –
Good Luck, Ruby. I know you can do it. Love from Andrea
.
‘That is so totally sweet,’ I said, but Ruby just shrugged.
‘Mmmm,’ she said vaguely, as she put the
card down on a shelf.
As we sat at the breakfast table, she was really uptight and nervous. She barely touched the cereal Jenny had left out for her, as she anxiously tapped her fingers on the table.
‘You’ve got to eat,’ I said. ‘You need the energy – especially today.’
So she took another spoonful and spent about ten minutes chewing it.
In the end I gave up.
‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Start getting your stuff ready, or you’ll be late.’
‘Oh,’ she said, almost like she’d forgotten where she was supposed to be going and what time she was supposed to be there.
I had no idea what was going on, but there was no time for a lengthy discussion. Ruby watched as I packed up her swimming bag for her, and then she followed me down to the bus stop. This time we sat downstairs on the bus. Unlike the other days, Ruby seemed bored and distracted
and the journey seemed to take forever.
At last we were outside the school. Ruby stood at the gate, almost like she’d been turned to stone.
‘Today is the swimming test,’ I said. ‘You’re amazing at swimming, Ruby. You could probably swim in your sleep. I don’t understand why you’re so nervous now.’
‘The interviews and fitness tests went really well,’ she said. ‘And I’m fairly sure I’ve passed those parts of the assessment. Now it’s all down to the swimming. What I do today could change my life forever.’
‘And that’s a good thing, isn’t it?’
Her face was pale and her eyes looked huge.
‘This is all too big and scary for me, Eva. I’m not sure I can do it.’
While we were talking, other girls and boys were walking past us into the school. Some of them smiled and said ‘hi’ to Ruby, but she barely glanced at them. She just pulled at the strap of
her swimming bag and looked like she’d rather be anywhere else in the whole wide world. I had a horrible feeling that if I walked away, she might never go into the school at all.
‘Would you like me to come in with you?’ I said in the end.
For the first time that morning she smiled; ‘Would you, Eva?’
‘Sure,’ I said. ‘Anything for a friend.’
The inside of the school was amazing – all stained glass and high ceilings and squeaky polished floors. I followed Ruby down a long corridor until she stopped at a huge green door.
‘This is the changing room,’ she said. ‘But only competitors are allowed in. You can go to the viewing gallery. I think it’s up those stairs there.’
I gave her a quick hug. ‘You’re going to be brilliant,’ I said. ‘I know it.’
She didn’t answer. She just pushed open the door, and for a second I could hear the sound of laughing, chatting girls, before Ruby slipped inside and the door slammed behind her.
I knew the swimming wouldn’t start for a while, so I took my time going up the stairs she’d pointed at. I spent a long time looking at scary pictures of ancient people, and then I walked down another wide corridor, peeping into any rooms that had open doors.
I had just come out of a huge dining area, when I thought I heard a noise from the room next door. The door was closed, and I was busy convincing myself that I’d been imagining things, when I heard the noise again. This time there was no mistaking it. It was a woman’s voice, and she didn’t sound happy. ‘Help,’ she said in a weak, scared voice. ‘Please, someone help me.’
I looked anxiously up and down the corridor, but it was completely empty. If anyone was
going to help her, then it had to be me.
But what if the poor woman was being murdered or something?
How could I possibly save her all on my own?
But how could I just go away and leave her?
I tapped on the door, suddenly feeling stupid. I was probably just hearing a TV, and I was going to look like a complete idiot when I rushed into the room trying to save someone from a movie.
But a voice answered my tapping, ‘Come in, quickly. Whoever you are. This is an emergency!’
I turned the big brass knob, and very slowly pushed the door open.
A small, skinny woman was crouched on top of huge wooden desk, like a bird getting ready to fly. She looked really funny, but I decided that this probably wasn’t a time for laughing.
‘Oh, thank goodness,’ she whispered, looking at me like I was her favourite person in the world.
There was no one else in the room, and I
couldn’t figure out what was going on. Maybe she was afraid of heights and couldn’t get down off the desk.
But if she was afraid of heights, why would she climb up on the desk in the first place?
‘Er, are you stuck up there?’ I asked, as I walked towards her. ‘Do you want me to help you down?’
‘No,’ she said, in a weird mixture of a scream and a whisper. ‘Don’t help me down. I’m afraid of …’ Instead of finishing the sentence, she pointed to the floor on the other side of the desk. ‘It’s down there,’ she said. ‘It’s watching me, and it won’t go away.’
I looked over towards the door, checking that I’d left it open. I wanted to be sure that I could make a quick escape if necessary. Then, not sure if I was being very brave or very stupid, I tiptoed ever so slowly around the desk.
As I got closer I saw that the woman was shaking. ‘Don’t make any sudden moves,’ she said.
I could feel my heart thumping madly as I took the last step around the desk, ready to turn and run if necessary.
Then I stopped.
And I laughed.
I was getting ready to laugh for a very long time, when I realised I was being a bit mean. The woman really was terrified.
‘It’s a mouse,’ I said. ‘It’s only a tiny little mouse.’
I’m not an expert on mice, but by the looks of things the poor creature was probably a baby. He was totally cute with a smooth grey coat, and bright black eyes. He’d backed himself into a corner, and was crouched there, looking just about as scared as the quivering woman on the desk.
Now the woman pointed to a brush in the corner of the room. ‘Get rid of him,’ she said. ‘Please.’
I knew she meant me to kill the mouse, but I
couldn’t do it. For one thing, he was totally cute – and for another, my summer with Kate had made the idea of killing a wild animal a very bad thing.
‘Just hang on there,’ I said. ‘I’ll be back in a sec.’
I raced around the nearby rooms and soon came back with a small wooden box, and a piece of cardboard. After a few scary minutes, I managed to get the mouse into the box, and fastened the lid shut.
The woman looked at the box like it contained a wild tiger who could escape any second, and eat her in two quick bites.
I put the box out in the corridor and went back into the room.
‘You’re safe now,’ I said.
The woman relaxed slightly, and climbed down from the desk. She fixed her hair and stood as tall as her tiny body would let her.
‘You must think I’m very foolish,’ she said.
‘Not at all,’ I said.
She stared at me with piercing eyes, and I knew that she knew I was lying.
‘It’s an irrational fear,’ she said. ‘My brain tells me the mouse can’t hurt me, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling absolutely terrified.’
Suddenly I felt sorry for her. Now that she wasn’t a helpless, shaking wreck any more, she looked like a woman who wasn’t scared of much. I realised she was embarrassed about me seeing her like that.
Luckily I knew exactly how to make her feel better.
‘My mum’s totally afraid of earwigs,’ I said. ‘She goes completely crazy when she sees one.’
The woman smiled gratefully, like I’d given her a present. ‘The mind is a funny place. I’d face a million earwigs before I could stand up to a single small mouse.’
I tried to block out a sudden picture of my mum in a room full of earwigs, as the woman
walked towards the door.
‘Thank you for rescuing me from the monster,’ she said. ‘Now I need to go. I have a job to do.’
I followed her to the door, and watched as she gingerly edged past the wooden box. As soon as she was gone, I picked up the box, and went to find a safe place to release the monster.
It was still only ten o’clock, and already it had been a very long day.
I
made my way to the viewing gallery and found a single empty seat in the front row. All around me were doting parents and grandparents, there to support their little darlings. There was an excited, nervous buzz in the air.
At last the swimmers came out through a side door. There were boys and girls of all ages from about ten up to sixteen. Ruby looked young and lost, kind of like she had wandered into the area by mistake, and didn’t really understand what was going on. Most of the swimmers were chatting and laughing together, but Ruby stood
on her own looking pale and worried. Two girls in front of her waved up to their parents in the gallery, like this was just any old swim on any old day.
Ruby saw me and came over.
‘I feel sick,’ she said.
I leaned over the barrier and gave her a hug. ‘That’s just nerves,’ I said. ‘You’ll be fine once you get into the water.’
Before she could answer, the side door opened again, and a hush spread across the room.
There were so many people milling around, at first I couldn’t see who had come through the door. Ruby had a better view though.
‘It’s Mrs Armitage,’ she said, with a note of fear in her voice.
I took a little step backwards. If this woman was half as scary as Ruby said, there was no way I wanted to meet her.
‘She’s coming this way,’ said Ruby, looking even more nervous than before.
Then the crowds parted, and for the first time I could see the great Mrs Armitage.
I gasped. ‘But that’s …’
‘You know her?’ asked Ruby.
But before I could answer, the woman was standing in front of me.
Ruby now looked scared and embarrassed, and for a minute no one said anything. Then Ruby found her voice – or a frightened squeaky version of her voice.
‘Er, Eva, this is Mrs Armitage,’ she said.
Mrs Armitage looked at me with piercing eyes, and I figured this wasn’t a good time to say –
but we know each other. Just a few minutes ago I rescued you from a vicious mouse
.
‘Oh … mice … I mean nice to meet you,’ I said.
Mrs Armitage gave me a funny look, and then she smiled, ‘Mice … I mean nice to meet you too.’
Then she walked quickly to the top of the room.
‘What was that all about?’ asked Ruby. ‘Did you notice that Mrs Armitage actually smiled at you? I didn’t know she even knew how to smile.’
I grinned. ‘I guess she just likes me,’ I said. ‘Some people do, you know.’
Ruby rolled her eyes, and then jumped to attention as Mrs Armitage blew a whistle. We had another quick hug.
‘Good luck,’ I said and then Ruby hurried to the edge of the pool with the other swimmers.
Mrs Armitage spoke into a microphone, explaining what was going to happen next.
‘Swimmers will be put into groups of six,’ she said. ‘When your turn comes, you must swim four lengths – one each of front crawl, back crawl, breast stroke and butterfly.
Remember these aren’t races. You’re all different ages, and have different experience. We’ll mostly be watching out for technique and potential. Now, first group to the blocks, and let’s get started.’
The first group lined up and bent forwards, ready to dive. Behind each swimmer stood a person holding a pen and a clipboard.
At the whistle, the first six swimmers dived into the pool, and the clipboard people stepped forwards and began furiously taking notes. By the time the swimmers were hauling themselves out of the water it seemed like their whole life stories had been written down.
Ruby was in the second group. She stepped forward reluctantly, like she was facing a firing squad. Then she slowly climbed onto the starting block, like she was climbing Mount Everest. Even under her swimming goggles, her eyes looked huge and terrified.
‘You can do it, Ruby,’ I screamed.
Everyone around me laughed, but Ruby didn’t even glance in my direction. She was only a few metres away from me, but I had a feeling she hadn’t even heard my words. It was like she’d escaped to another world that
didn’t include me.
The whistle blew and the six swimmers dived into the water. I got totally caught up in the excitement, and jumped up and down, like I was watching the Olympic final. I’d been to one of Ruby’s galas before and had watched her winning a gazillion medals. I was sure that once she got into the water, her nerves would vanish and she’d be amazing.
The swimmers swam to the surface and began to swim the front crawl. I’m no swimming expert, but by Ruby’s third stroke, I knew that something was terribly wrong.
It wasn’t just that she was already falling behind the other swimmers. It was that she looked like she was swimming with weights strapped to her arms and legs. Every stroke was heavy and awkward and she was splashing frantically like a scared child who’d fallen into the water by accident.
I could barely watch as she slowly and
awkwardly swam the next two lengths. By the time she turned for the last length, the other five swimmers had already finished. Ruby began her first few butterfly strokes, but by now she looked more like a drowning slug than a butterfly. The clipboard man on her lane had long since stopped writing. He was watching her with the horror of someone who can’t resist looking at a car accident.
When she finally finished her length, Ruby dragged herself out of the water like her bones were made of lead.
She ignored the other swimmers who were chatting excitedly.
She ignored Mrs Armitage who was giving her a very strange look.
‘Ruby!’ I called, but she ignored me too.
She picked up her towel and walked slowly back towards the changing rooms.
What on earth had just happened?