So Feral! Read Free Page B

Finn’s taking forever.
    ‘Must have the runs!’ hollers Josh, clutching his bum and laughing.
    Finally, Finn turns up. ‘Sorry about that,’ he says. ‘I got sidetracked. Ready now.’ He looks Josh in the eye. ‘One lap. No stopping, no changing strokes. Butterfly all the way. Okay?’
    There’s something about Finn … He seems too confident.
    As he’s stepping up on the blocks, the loudspeaker comes on. It crackles a minute, then avoice booms out. ‘Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. May I have your attention.’ I frown. What’s going on?
    The voice over the loudspeaker continues. ‘Would you please clear the pool. Today, we are witness to a special event. A butterfly race between two boys — Josh Carruthers, in the pink, and Finn “The Sunshine Kid” Hartley. He’s the one wearing yellow.’
    People sitting around the pool applaud. Some are calling, ‘Go, Josh!’ Others, ‘Go, Sunshine Kid!’
    I walk over to the starting blocks. ‘What’s happening?’ I ask Finn.
    At the same time Josh hisses, ‘Yeah. What’s going on?’
    Finn shrugs and says, ‘It’ll be more interesting with an audience.’
    ‘The more people who see me cream you the better,’ is Josh’s reply. He’s good at the bluff.
    Everyone has cleared the pool. They’re lined up around the sides, sometimes two deep. I can’t believe it. Why would Finn want to embarrass himself in public like this?
    ‘Take your marks!’ calls the loudspeaker. ‘Ready …’
    Finn and Josh step up onto the block.
    ‘Set …’
    Josh bends down for a racing dive. He’s showing enough crack to get a job as a bicycle stand.
    ‘Go!’
    The boys leave the blocks together but Josh hitsthe water first. He’s gliding underwater, biding his time. Finn surfaces first. I hear him suck in some air. Metres ahead, up comes Josh. He starts his stroke, rearing out of the water. In two strokes he leaves Finn for dead. The crowd starts to cheer.
    I watch as powerful arms arc out of the water. Josh looks like a whale beaching. A bum starts to wiggle. The cheer turns into a roar.
    In the lane next-door only two hands, and maybe an elbow, manage to flap on the surface. Finn is making a complete idiot of himself. He moves like a dying sardine. I can’t bear to watch.
    The shouts from the crowd are deafening. Most are chanting, ‘Josh, Josh, Josh!’ Occasionally, there’s a, ‘Go, Sunshine!’
    This is the end of Finn. I’m crucified for him. I want to look away but I can’t.
    Suddenly, the atmosphere changes. The chanting falters. It stops. A gasp goes up.
    Finn’s drowning! I think to myself. I start pulling off my T-shirt when I hear, ‘Moon! Moon! Moon!’
    I falter, thinking, We’re talking Sunshine, you fools. Not Moon.
    More and more take up the cry. ‘Moon! Moon! Moon!’
    I scan the water. And then I know why.
    I see the Sunshine Kid … I burst out laughing. He’s with the Moonshine Kid!
    Josh is wiggling like crazy — up, down, up, down, up down. The perfect butterfly style.But fluoro pink is now fluoro white! Josh is mooning every person at the pool. His bum looks like one of those giant jelly-blubbers pulsing through the water. No, better make that an octopus — an octopus with an enormous dome-shaped head and a huge eye.
    I laugh from the toes up. I can’t stop laughing.
    As Josh moves, his bum is going blink, blink, blink.
    If that was me, I’d stop. Not Josh. He’ll do anything to win.
    Finn’s flailing about three metres behind. I don’t think he’s noticed. Guess you can’t see much when your whole body is underwater. Hang on a sec. A fist punches the air. He’s seen him! The fist gives a victory salute.
    I wet myself.
    The crowd cheers.
    And Josh goes wink, wink, wink.
    You’ve got to admire the guy!
    Josh comes in a good twenty seconds ahead of Finn. He taps the wall. He’s won! But instead of getting out, he snatches a breath then plunges deep.
    Probably going back for his strides, I think.
    When Finn comes in, the