The Space Between the Stars by Indira Naidoo

Author:Indira Naidoo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2022-02-25T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Peas in a Pod

0500 hours.

Getting ready for school is a military operation requiring obedience, discipline and stamina. I didn’t know the word ‘dawdle’ existed until years later. I’m not saying we always met these key performance indicators. All I can say in our defence is that we had a lot to pack in for little kids. We were overscheduled before the term was even invented.

Mum too easily slips into the role of Siegfried from Get Smart: You vill be on zime! Whitey, our tenant’s cat (guess what colour she is?), plays the role of Kaos agent Chief Distraction, curling her tail between our legs, purring enticingly and then rolling on her back, demanding a tummy rub while we’re trying to brush our teeth. Stargirl is particularly susceptible to Whitey’s sophisticated tactics.

Each weekday morning begins with an hour of swimming training with the school squad. We’re almost always the last in the pool, even though we live across the road. The coach makes a point of embarrassing us each time. Ah, the Naidoo girls! Honoured you could grace us with your presence. You live just 30 metres away but are always late. An extra lap for you.

We slip off our insulating tracksuits and ugg boots (back when they were a daggy thing to wear outdoors), pull on our caps and goggles and dive into the watery bootcamp. The biting Tassie air combined with the sub-zero water temperature sends our bodies into thermal shock. It will be hours before we can feel our toes again.

We have a future Commonwealth Games medallist on the team so it’s a cracking pace. Stroke, stroke, breathe. Stroke, stroke, breathe. Stroke, stroke, breathe. We suck in the icy air through our teeth and feel the oxygen expand our lungs. It’s like a giddy shot of pseudoephedrine.

Soon the conga line of swimmers falls into a steady rhythm. Our heartbeat becomes a drum pushing us through the pain barrier. Fingertips to the toes of the swimmer in front, the robotic splashes punctuated by yells from the coach. Push! Push harder! Keep those arms high. I want those muscles to burn.

Up and down we go, slicing through the chill. Lap after lap, focusing on the lines of black tiles on the bottom of the pool and the churn from the kicks of the swimmer ahead of us. Slacken your pace ever so slightly and a tap on your feet from the swimmer behind will jolt you back into formation.

Your order in this amphibious chorus line is determined by your best lap time. As the youngest and slowest members of the team, the three of us are the ‘tail end of the dog’, so to speak. All the other swimmers are fair-skinned, so … ha ha! … it’s a white dog with a brown tail.

Stargirl is on the cusp of being too small and too young to do this, but the grown-ups think it will be good for her. And besides – she always wants to keep up with the big girls.

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