Chapter 1
pool. He laughed, devilishly. "Of course I dare! Look out!" He said,
pushing me in using all his strength. I went in with a huge splash.
Spluttering and gasping for breath, I came up.
"Idiot!" I said, grabbing his leg and pulling him in as well. He laughed
as he went in. Gasping, he came up and smiled his cheeky, lopsided grin at
me. "Want to race me?" He asked. "Of course I do. You're the one who is
going to lose!". I said, perching myself on the edge of the pool.
Mark Feehily was my best friend. At 19, he was the most mature person I
knew and definitely the nicest. Despite the fact that he had a million
girls screaming behind him, a million journalists who would have loved to
get a scoop on him, a million photographers who'd stay up for nights to get
a picture of him, he was the most down to earth person and still loved to
clown around with me at our local swimming club where I trained 5 hours
every day.
"I'm racing, too." Rowen, Mark's best friend of many years, said. "No!" I
said quickly. Mark was a lousy swimmer, but Rowen was a different story. As
good as I was, Ro still could beat me. And if anything, I hated defeat.
"Come on, Ari-Sari. It's not going to hurt. The worst that could happen
is for you to lose pathetically." Rowen said, sitting down beside me. Mark
laughed. "Exactly. See, Ro is much more of a sportsman than you are." He said.
I stuck my tongue out at him. Even after 6 hours of training, I was still
up to a race in the pool, which never ceased to amaze Mark and Ro. They
always said that if they had been me, they would have given up swimming a
long time ago. "All right then, just 4 laps." I said, sliding back in.
"Deal. And I won't let you win." Rowen said, sticking his hand out. "Deal."
I said, shaking it.
Well, of course I won. But I hate to admit that it was a close race, and
that Ro did let me win, even though he said he wouldn't.
Mark pulled me out of the pool. "Are you tired?" He asked me. I nodded. I
was. 5 hours of extensive swimming could tire anyone out, but I hadn't had
a good day with my timing, anyway. I was used to all that by now, though. I
had been going through it for so many years. My main aim was the Olympics
next year, and I was hoping to bring Ireland at least a bronze medal in the
200m and 400m free style events.
"Do you want a back rub? We could go into the sauna." Rowen suggested. I
smiled. The two lads were the best friends I had. They were so supportive
of me, and treated me like a princess. "I can't say no to a Rowen-special
back rub, can I?" I said, smiling. Ro smiled at me. I had only gotten to
know Rowen through Mark, and we hadn't been friends for too long, but I
could already sense a very strong friendship growing between us.
This was our daily routine. Whenever Mark was home, we would come to the
Sligo Sports and Swimming Club, the only club in little Sligo with an
Olympic size pool, which had central heating, and all the other
requirements of a pool approved by the IOC. I normally came early. My
coach, Ray Shoran, would put me through 2 hours in the gym and 5 hours in
the pool, after which the guys would drop in, take a dip in the pool and
then head for the sauna. A routine round of tennis followed and then we'd
head out for a drink and then home.
That night, Amma, (the Sinhalese term, which I called my mother,) had
called Mark and asked him to drop me off early. So, after a game of tennis
doubles with a girl who had come by the courts, Mark and Ro dropped me off.
"Bye, Ari." Mark said, as I got out. "You guys don't want to come in for
a coffee?" I asked. Mark shook his head regretfully. "I have to head in
early tonight, as well. Shane, Kian and I have got to go down to Dublin to
meet Bryan and Nicky tomorrow. Louis has some suggestions for the new
single and we're supposed to check it out." He said.
"Ro?". "Some other time, Ari?" He said. I smiled. "No worries, lads. I'll
see you later." I said, taking my bags out and waving goodbye.
"Ariana! Finally. You're late." Amma said as she opened the door. I
glanced at my watch. She had asked me to be home by 7:00 and it was 4
minutes past. Sighing, I went inside and bounced up the stairs to my room.
My 13-year-old sister, Anika, was singing along to Westlife in the
adjoining room.
"Would you cut out the awful racket, Anikashka?" I called. "Anikashka?
You haven't called me that in years. What do you want now?" She asked,
coming into my room. "Stop singing along. You're ruining the song." I said,
giggling.
"That rhymes. Did Mark drop you off?" Anika asked, sitting on my bed.
"Get off the bed, Anika. You're spoiling the sheets." I scolded. Rolling
her eyes, she sat down on the floor. "You didn't answer my question, did
Mark drop you off?" She asked again. "Yes! Who else does? I can't help it
that you've suddenly developed a crush on Mark." I said, exasperatedly. She
blushed. "I have not developed a crush on Mark!" She protested. "Of course
not. And I'm Alexander Popov." I said.
"You might be the next Popov. Or should that be Popovette." Anika
corrected herself. I laughed. As annoying as she sometimes was, my sister
was also the person I loved most. Only 3 years my junior, she was great fun
to talk to, and a very good listener.
"Don't you have any school work to finish?" I asked her. "You just want
to get rid of me, don't you?" She said, grumpily, getting up from the
floor. "No, really, that's not it. I just want to be alone. Tough day
today." I told her.
She understood. If I have a bad day of training, I normally lapsed into a
mood till the next day. "Shall I bring you some chicken? Amma made some of
that really nice Chinese kind that Thaththa (Sinhalese term which meant
father) likes." Anika asked.
"No thanks, Anix. I'll skip tonight." I said. She frowned. "Fruit, then."
She said. I nodded. She soon returned with a large platter of fruit, which
I began to polish off piece by piece. She gave me a hug and left me alone
to some Math.
I tried to concentrate on my work, but my thoughts kept returning to my
bad day at training, to my stroke efficiency, to my aching muscles, to Mark
and his trip down to Dublin the next day….. And especially to the back rub
that Rowen gave me while we were lazing about in the sauna… and to that
secret smile that he had managed to put on my face...