Immersed [0.5] Find Me Begins, a Prequel by Francesca Riley

Author:Francesca Riley [Riley, Francesca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult, Fantasy
Goodreads: 44138707
Publisher: Ocean Echo Books
Published: 2019-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

5. Testing the waters

At school, Skye struggled to focus. Her broken nights were beginning to take their toll. She could happily have put her head down on her desk to sleep, if she wasn’t so afraid of waking to yet another nightmare and undoubtedly a detention.

That afternoon might be an improvement though: not usually a fan a P.E., today they would travel by bus to the Olympic Pools in the city for kayak safety training. The whole class had to learn how to fall out of a kayak and save themselves. Thanks to Uncle Mike, she already had this down, having learned when she was seven, not long before…

She pulled her thoughts away from that summer, and the way it had ended, her shattered family going their separate ways. Instead she focused on recalling what Mike had taught her, hoping it would be like riding a bike, all coming back to her on the water.

On the water… It was a swimming pool, not the sea. It would be fine.

By the time the bus pulled into the swimming pool car park her stomach was fighting hyperactive butterflies. Brent was on a different bus, but the girls who had been friendly in art class had included her in their group. None of them had ever been in a kayak before, and Amy was terrified of the lesson. Skye’s nerves kicked into high gear as she changed into her swimsuit and headed out into the indoor complex of swimming pools.

On the concrete tiled edge of the pool where her class was gathered she hesitated, waiting for the distant roaring of waves in her head, for the sky to darken, and the sound of her blood pounding in her ears. But all she heard was the echoing splashes of water, and the squeals, shouts and laughter of her classmates. Slipping into the warm water she plunged below the surface, turning and spinning for pleasure. She loved to swim. On her next turn she almost collided with someone and surfaced. Brent minus his glasses smiled at her.

“Hey.”

“Hi Brent.” She rubbed the water out of her eyes, feeling self-conscious.

“Did you have a good time yesterday? At the exhibition,” he clarified when she looked at him blankly.

“Yeah, it was great. Amazing work.”

“Right? I’m glad you came with me.”

“Me too.”

“So, um… We have to pair up. Wanna…pair up?”

She looked around and realised that everyone else had formed into pairs. Once again she’d missed what was going on, lost in her own little world.

“Everyone have a partner?” the instructor called.

“Yes,” she chorused and grinned sheepishly at Brent. He beamed and turned to face the instructor. He looked boyish, younger without his glasses, and his enthusiasm at partnering with her for the exercise made her feel a little awkward. Guilty perhaps? Because she didn’t feel…what? Her thoughts darted away from unexpectedly confused emotions and she concentrated on instructions.

“How many of you have kayaked before? You’ll need to swap partners if one of you hasn’t been in a kayak before. Show of hands please.

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