The Tail of Emily Windsnap - Liz Kessler [13]
I walked to the gym like a zombie. We were supposed to catch the bus right outside to the Brightport Community Center, where the pool was. It crossed my mind just to keep walking and not stop at all. I’d gotten as far as the double doors when Philip North called me back. “Oy — teacher’s pet!” he yelled. Everyone turned to see who he was talking to.
“Teacher’s pet? What are you talking about?”
“Come on, we all saw you showing off last week in the pool. Bob couldn’t stop going on about how amazing you were and how we should all try and be like you.”
“Yeah. We all heard what he said.” Mandy Rushton came up behind Philip. “And we saw you.”
I glared at her, speechless. She saw me? Saw what? My tail? She couldn’t have! It hadn’t even formed — had it?
“I can’t help it,” I said eventually.
“Yeah, right. Showoff,” Mandy sneered.
“Shut up.”
Mr. Bird, the P.E. teacher, showed up then. “All right, break it up. Come on, you guys.”
I found a seat on my own. Julia sat across the aisle from me. “Philip is such a pig,” she said, putting her bag on her knee. I smiled at her. “He’s only jealous because he doesn’t know how to swim.”
“Thanks, Ju —”
“Move over, Jules.” Mandy plonked herself down next to Julia and flashed me a smarmy smile. “Unless you want to sit with fish girl.”
Julia went red, and I turned to look out of the window as the bus bumped and bounced down the road. Mandy’s words swirled around and around in my head as if they were in a cement mixer. Fish girl? What did she know?
The bus stopped in the community center parking lot. “You coming?” Julia hung back while Mandy pushed and shoved to the front with the rest.
“In a sec. I’ll catch up with you.” I pretended to be tying my shoelaces. Maybe I could hide under the seat until everyone came back, then say I’d fainted or fallen over or something.
I could hear chattering outside the window, then it went quiet. A moment later, there was a huge groan, and people were shouting.
“But sir, that’s not fair,” I heard Philip whine. I snuck a quick peek out of the window. Bob was standing there, talking to Mr. Bird. The kids in the class were just milling around; some had thrown their bags on the ground.
Next thing I knew, somebody had gotten back on the bus. I ducked down again and held my breath. But the footsteps came all the way to the back.
“You’re not still tying your shoelaces, are you?” It was Julia.
“Huh?” I looked up.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m just —”
“Doesn’t matter anyway.” She sat down. “Swimming’s canceled.”
“What?”
“The pool’s closed. Budget cuts. They forgot to tell the school.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Do I look like I’m kidding?”
I looked at her face; she was totally miserable. I stared down at my lap and shook my head. “God, it’s just not fair, is it?” I said, trying hard not to grin. “Wonder what they’ll make us do instead.”
“That’s what Mr. Bird’s talking about now with Bob. They’re going to send us on a nature trail, apparently.”
“Duh — boring.” I folded my arms, hoping I looked in as much of a huff as Julia. Bob soon turned back toward the building, and Mr. Bird announced with a smile that we were going to Macefin Wood.
Mandy glared at me as she sat down across the aisle. I had to sit on my hands to stop myself from punching the air and shouting, “YES!”
I went to bed really early so I could get a few hours’ sleep before sneaking out to meet Shona. I easily found my way to the rocks again and was there first this time. A familiar flick of a tail spreading rainbow droplets over the water soon told me she’d arrived.
“Hello!” I called, waving, as soon as she surfaced.
“Hi!” She waved back. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” She splashed rainbow water in my face with her tail as she dove under.
We seemed to swim for ages. The water reminded me of those advertisements where they pour a ton of melted chocolate into a bar. Warm, and silky smooth. I felt as if I were melting with it as we swam.
Shona was ahead of me, gliding through the water and glancing back from