Cool Bananas (4 page)

‘M
e. I’m watching. I’m not blind yet,’ said Grandpa.

‘No, no. Someone else.’ Claudia looked across at a row of huge potted plants. There was a flash of colour.

‘Yep. Reckon you’re right,’ he said. ‘Sure as eggs come out of chook’s bottoms.’

I never want to eat eggs again,
thought Claudia.

A girl slipped out from behind the plants. She peeked at Claudia and Grandpa, then looked down.

Her face went red.

Claudia waved. ‘Hi.’

The girl came closer. ‘Hello.’

Claudia pushed her hat back so she could see the girl more clearly. She was shorter and chubbier than Claudia. Tanned and smooth, her skin was not marked by a single freckle. Her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail.

‘I’m thirsty. I’m going to get us a drink.’ Grandpa stood. ‘Don’t worry, ladies. Thirteen people a year die when vending machines fall on them. But I’ll be careful.’

The new girl giggled, then said her name was Tahlia.

‘You talk funny,’ Claudia said.

‘That’s because I’m from England, yeah? Mum and I are having a holiday with Nanna.’

‘I’m staying with my grandpa.’

‘I went to Spain last year.’

‘My mum’s in Italy,’ said Claudia.

‘Want to sit in the spa?’ asked Tahlia.

Claudia’s stomach tightened into knots.

She tried to keep her voice strong. ‘Maybe later.’

‘Come on,’ pleaded Tahlia. ‘It’s fun, yeah?’

‘Chlorine is bad for your hair.’

‘So what?’ Tahlia shrugged.

Claudia couldn’t think of another excuse. But if she got into the spa, water would cover her body up to her neck. It would splash on her face, get into her eyes and nose.

‘All right.’ Claudia’s legs trembled as she stood.

She never had baths, only showers. Even then, she wouldn’t put her head fully under the water. When she washed her hair, she tilted her head back as far as it would go. Water running over her face was the worst feeling in the world.

Claudia never told anyone. They would laugh. She looked across at the spa. Her stomach flutters turned into a full-on ache.

C
audia felt sick. There was a bitter taste at the back of her throat. Her hands were all pins and needles.

Slowly, her mouth dry with fear, she lowered herself into the spa. The water was warm, but she still shivered. She forced a smile. Tahlia leapt straight in.

Drops of water splashed up onto Claudia’s face. She sucked in her breath. She couldn’t see properly. Then she giggled. Pretended to be having fun.

‘I’ll press the button.’ Tahlia clambered out and raced towards the large round button on the pool fence.

‘It’s nice like this, without the bubbles.’ Claudia felt a little safer in smooth water.

‘You can’t have a spa without bubbles, yeah?’ Tahlia pressed the button.

Claudia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
I’m going to drown. It’ll be horrible. It’ll take a long time and I’ll have chlorine bubbles in my eyes. My ears. My lungs.

She wondered if her mother would cry at her funeral.

T
hen a thought sliced through Claudia’s fear.
I’m not dead.

She opened her eyes again.

Tahlia’s face was shiny red and covered with water drops. ‘Can I tell you a secret?’

Claudia nodded.

‘Sometimes I get scared of the bubbles.’ Tahlia looked embarrassed.

Claudia didn’t usually admit it when she was scared. She just put up with her stomach ache
and said nothing. People might laugh or tease.

But Tahlia told the truth and Claudia still liked her. Maybe Tahlia wouldn’t think she was a loser if she also told the truth.

‘I get scared too,’ said Claudia.

‘Really?’

Claudia giggled.

So did Tahlia.

The clang of the gate meant Grandpa had survived the vending machine. He was back with drinks.

‘My grandpa licked his teeth at the café,’ Claudia whispered to Tahlia.

‘I lick my teeth too.’

‘Yeah, but Grandpa took his out and waved them around first.’

‘Wish I had a grandpa like that.’ Tahlia shook her head. ‘My nanna’s so proper it drives me crazy. Her favourite word is “inappropriate”. When I grow up, I’m never going to use that word. It’s the worst word in the whole world.’

If Tahlia had been to other countries, like Spain, then she was an expert in worst words. She must be right.

‘Okay, girls,’ called Grandpa. ‘Let’s see you swim.’

Tahlia threw herself underwater and wriggled like a tadpole.

Claudia stood and clutched the side of the spa pool.
I’m not letting go.

C
laudia’s stomach ache got worse.

I’ll tell Grandpa I’m sick. I have to go.

Then she thought some more.
But Tahlia might guess that I’m really scared. Not just a little bit, like her. As-big-as-a-mountain scared. Grandpa will guess too.

Grandpa wasn’t scared of anything. He wore yellow-and-red shirts out to dinner and licked his false teeth in cafes.

He might be disappointed in a wimpy
granddaughter. She imagined him looking at her like she was a worm.

‘Swim like a carrot,’ called Grandpa.

Claudia glared at him. ‘That’s silly. Carrots can’t swim.’

‘How do you know?’ he said. ‘Ever asked one?’

Tahlia threw herself back under the water. She looked like a fish with broken fins. For sure, she didn’t look like a carrot.

‘Broccoli,’ called Grandpa.

Laughing, Tahlia curled herself into a round ball then bounced up and down in the spa. Her swimming outfit sagged with water. It hung down at the back like a funny sort of tail.

Tahlia’s having fun,
thought Claudia.
She doesn’t care how she looks. She doesn’t care about drowning.
Why can’t I be like that?

Slowly, Claudia sank into the water. Now the bubbles had stopped, it was warm and smooth.

One…two…three.
Claudia took a deep breath, but froze. She couldn’t do it.

‘Swim like a stick,’ said Grandpa.

Desperate not to stand out, not to look scared, Claudia bounced, her arms stiff at her sides.

‘That’s just like a stick, yeah,’ said Tahlia. ‘Your stick was better than my broccoli.’

Claudia grinned. Maybe she wasn’t going to drown after all.

She looked across at Grandpa.

He’s guessed my secret.