School Swimming

The untidy crocodile from Room 11 straggled across town on their way to the Municipal pool. Sonia and Alice dawdled past the boarding house, a dilapidated sprawling villa, pausing momentarily to reach up for the cherry blossom hanging in pink clusters from drooping branches that provided welcome shade for passers-by, and secluded parking for clientele. Alice tried not to stare at the building with its discreet lighting, the place where her mother went to work each evening. She hated staying home alone with Daddy. Mummy always arrived home before Alice caught the school bus … in time to cook breakfast and kiss her goodbye. Sonia, a dreamer, wished she had some silver paper to create a posy to pin on her jacket lapel, using the candy floss blossom and incorporating the delicate ferns peeping from a damp corner near the side door. Alice recalled the day they arrived at the farm shortly after her grandparents lost their lives in a motor accident. It was traumatic moving from life in the city to a farm and Alice tried to settle into her new home, although she no longer rode on the tractor. Once the man she was instructed to call Daddy, in a foul mood, had thrown her onto the ground badly damaging her hand, declaring he had no use for brats. Her hand never healed, it was wizened and slack, and useless for fastening buttons. Daddy was cruel; he kicked animals and she often witnessed him throwing puppies over the fence because they were in his way. She was thankful to be friends with Sonia who was always happy and cheerful.

Once again it was time for school swimming and although neither Alice nor Sonia could swim, Sonia, tossing her long golden pony-tail, told everyone that as long as they liked water, bathed often enough to smell nice, loved the beach whether or not the waves broke over their ankles, and enjoyed watching ducks on the pond in the park, the fact you couldn’t swim was inconsequential. The children reached the pool, branching right or left to cold and draughty changing rooms with jagged holes in the walls through which curious boys tried to peer. Alice followed Sonia down the steps into the shallow end, dodging splashes from accomplished swimmers who had dived in. Sonia hurried to a corner, and holding onto the edges, immersed herself up to her neck, while Alice waited shivering. Mr Thomson, insisting that the only way to gain water confidence was to push your boundaries, instructed them to line up at poolside and jump in. Alice watched as two others, and then Sonia, jumped. Sonia thought it a huge joke and emerged dripping wet, a grin on her face, shaking the water from her hair.

“Jump Alice … hurry up please, you are holding the others up!” Alice hurried to obey as she heard Mr Thomson’s voice. She felt her feet slipping and desperately flung out her hands to regain balance. Her weakened hand flailed and failed to function. She felt her head bobbing under the water. After rising to the surface she sunk again and as darkness threatened to overcome her she recalled last weekend when Mummy was at work. Daddy had ordered her to take a bath and stood supervising, a strange wild-eyed look on his face. Alice instinctively felt uneasy. When he reached forward to soap her body she froze in fear. She was a big girl. She knew how to bathe herself.

“It’s OK Daddy,” Alice had said. “I can manage without any help”. Daddy angrily grabbed her arm and yanked her from the water, roughly towelled her down and carried her to the bedroom where he threw her across the bed, her crippled hand twisted behind her back.

Horrified Sonia watched as Mr Thomson, his rimless spectacles thrown swiftly to the ground, dived into the pool and hauled a choking Alice out. Sonia gasped as the water spewed from Alice’s mouth. Ashen she watched, as Alice her wizened hand twisted behind her back, screamed in terror, “No Daddy, no! Please no!”