7

Waking up at the crack of dawn was not my idea of fun at all. My eyes felt all groggy and heavy.

"Come on, Mol!" Grandad whispered, trying not to wake Nan. He turned my bedroom light on, which made my eyes sting even more. I groaned. It was six in the morning. Why on earth had I agreed to this?

I put my dressing gown on and went downstairs. Grandad poured me a bowl of rice crispies and made me a cup of tea.

"I thought I was going to the breakfast club with Ed afterwards?" I said, as he plodded around the kitchen with his stick.

"You can't go swimming on an empty stomach. You need all the energy you can get."

I wasn't in the mood to eat, but I ate the cereal and drank my tea anyway. Grandad had already packed my swimming kit for me the night before. I brushed my teeth and waited downstairs by the window for Mr Davidson to arrive.

Sure enough, Mr Davidson pulled up outside in his beaten-up blue car at six thirty on the dot. It was still a bit dark outside, with the glow of a few street lamps lighting up the pavement. I watched as a couple of people got into their cars to go to work. I wasn't used to the street being this silent.

"Molly!" Ed yelled from out of the car window and started waving his arms excitedly.

"Ssh, Ed!" said Mr Davidson. "People are still in bed."

I giggled. Ed always makes me laugh. For a boy, he's quite funny, I guess. At school he's the class clown and always does silly things to make us laugh, even the teachers. If he wasn't a boy, I'd much rather he was my best friend than Chloe.

Chloe isn't always nice to Ed. If he ever says hi to me in class she'll roll her eyes at him and pull me away. Neada and Jess think he's funny too, but Chloe says he's ridiculously immature so we're not allowed to talk to him.

Grandad gave me a kiss and I walked down the path towards the car. It felt a bit strange being in a car with a teacher. I handed Mr Davidson Grandad's permission slip and we drove off, Grandad waving goodbye from inside the doorway.

"Are you excited about swimming?" Ed asked, turning round to look at me and grinning. He always looks a bit scruffy, with brown hair that falls over his eyes, and oversized clothes. "I was so excited when Mr Davidson said you were coming."

"I can't wait," I replied, forcing a smile, though deep down I was very nervous about being seen in my costume again. Even though Ed had never said anything about my body, he was a boy. What if he secretly thought I was a whale too?

I went into the changing room and began to change into my costume. Even though I was on my own, I felt more exposed than ever.

Unlike Chloe's, my chest was as flat as an ironing board and my shoulders wide and broad. I wished I could just enjoy swimming again, without worrying about what I looked like. Just last week, I had no idea my body shape was so horrendous. I hated Chloe and Tom Beckett for making me feel this way.

I must've been sat in the changing room for a long time, because there was suddenly a loud knock on the door.

"Molly!" Mr Davidson yelled. "Are you in there? I'll send Alice to come and get you in a minute."

"Coming!" I yelled back, grabbing my stuff quickly and shoving it in an empty locker. I wrapped a towel round my waist, making sure I hid my tummy, and went outside to meet the others.

"There you are," he said. "You took your time. Get in the pool and start warming up with the others."

Everyone in the team was so happy to see me. They were already stretching in the water, looking like funny aliens in their tight swimming caps and goggles. No one looked at my body any differently as I hoisted myself slowly into the water.

"Hi, Molly!" yelled Alice from the water.

Alice is our club's captain and is by far the best swimmer I've ever seen. She's a few years older than us but helps out at our club because her dad says it will look good for when she applies to university. She always seems to be in our local paper and everybody knows who she is. She enters swimming competitions all across England and wins lots of medals and certificates, but has to get up really early every day to train - even at weekends.

If I could be like anyone, it would be Alice. I wish I could win competitions like her. I wish I was as popular as her. I even wish I could look like her. She has strong arms and strong legs, and people take notice of her when she's racing because she's so fast.

"Right, listen up, everyone," Mr Davidson said, and we all gathered round. "Regionals are in eight weeks' time. That may sound like a long way away, but it's not. You've all got great potential and we still have a lot of training to do, but I really want us to win some more medals for the club this year."

Ed leaned over. "I bet you'll win another medal," he whispered into my ear, and I smiled, crossing my fingers under the water in hope.

Mr Davidson put us into partners, ready for our first race. Thankfully I was teamed with Ed. I would've hated to have been paired up with someone I didn't know.

We were going to do a relay race, jumping from the platforms at the end of the pool, swimming as fast as we could to the other end and back before switching with the other swimmer.

It was Ed's turn first. He put his goggles on and stuck his thumb up at me. I stuck mine up in return. I so desperately wanted to win - I didn't want to let him or Mr Davidson down. I wanted to make a great first impression at my first proper practice session.

"Three . two . one!" Mr Davidson yelled.

SPLASH!!!

There was a sudden flurry of bodies throwing themselves into the water. Alice and Mr Davidson were clapping and cheering from the side.

"Faster!" yelled Alice.

"Come on!" yelled Mr Davidson.

Ed was in the lead. I cheered for him as he splashed his way down the pool, his arms whirling like turbines, occasionally coming up for air.

Before I knew it, Ed was quickly approaching me. My palms felt sweaty, ready to dive in past the red-headed girl next to me. I wasn't going to let Mr Davidson down, I wasn't going to let Mr Davidson down, I wasn't going to let Mr Davidson down.

Ed was still in first place. He kept swimming faster and faster towards me and I reached my hands up, ready to dive in as soon as he reached the platform.

But it was as though my body had turned to jelly. All of a sudden I wobbled on the platform, losing my balance, my hands flopping in the air, and before I knew it.

"Ahhh!" I squealed, and toppled into the water like a pancake. The redhead next to me was already on her way by this point, and I was left trying to catch up from what felt like miles behind.

I came last. I couldn't believe it. I'd always been the most confident swimmer and now it was like I'd never been in the pool in my life.

"Don't worry," Alice said, putting her arm round my shoulder. "It's only your first real practice session. You'll be a star, I'm sure of it."

By the weekend I was exhausted. I'd woken up at five thirty three mornings in a row, gone to school all day and been to my usual swimming class on Wednesday night. My calves felt heavy and swollen, as though there were bags of sugar in them, and my arms ached too much to pick anything up. All I wanted to do was sleep.

Chloe, Neada and Jess had no idea I'd been practising in secret. Keeping that from them was tiring in itself. I was pretty sure Neada and Jess wouldn't care about me swimming - they might have even been supportive - but I couldn't risk Chloe finding out.

Each morning I'd make sure my hair was bonedry before I went back to school. Before I saw anyone in class, I'd hide my swimming kit deep inside my locker so no one would smell the chlorine. As far as Chloe was concerned, I'd given swimming up for good.

If only she knew the fun I was having. Swimming was definitely tough but I was having the best time with Ed. He was a lot more fun than Chloe, that's for sure. He made me cry tears of laughter with his silly impressions and funny jokes, making me laugh until my tummy muscles hurt.

The only thing I didn't like was having to avoid him in school for fear of Chloe finding out my secret. I would quickly look away if he ever tried to make eye contact. Chloe said he was the uncoolest boy in the year, and I didn't want her thinking I was associating with him. I just wanted her to like me.

Over the next couple of weeks swimming practices gradually seemed to blur into one. All my efforts were going into making sure I was fast enough for regionals and trying to keep everyone around me happy. My life felt like one big balancing act.

Grandad was happy with me. Nan said he looked the brightest he had in a long time. He'd squeeze my arms...