Success at Silver Spires Read Free Page B

right the boat, though?”
    Ryan was looking around at us waiting to see if anyone knew the answer, when the shape of the upturned boat that was right before my eyes in the middle of our pool gave me an idea. But I didn’t think I dared to speak in case it was stupid. If only I could whisper it to Izzy first to see what she thought… So I leaned towards her – and Ryan spotted me straight away.
    â€œGirl with the blue eyes…what do you think?” He was smiling at me in a kind way, so I plucked up all my courage and decided to risk it.
    â€œEr…is it easier to cling to the boat when it’s upside down?”
    â€œAbsolutely! Well done…er?”
    He was waiting for me to say my name. “Sasha.”
    â€œGood answer, Sasha. And why might you cling to the boat rather than getting back in?”
    â€œBecause you might be too scared or hurt or something,” answered Kerry.
    â€œThat’s right,” said Ryan.
    â€œAnd if anyone was watching, they’d realize you were in trouble when they saw the upside-down boat,” added Rhianna.
    As Rhianna had been talking I was imagining how freezing cold and frightening it would be to be stuck clinging to your upturned boat far from the side of a lake, and I did a little shiver just at the thought of it.
    â€œGood!” said Ryan to Rhianna. “And if possible you should try to get out of the water and on top of the upturned boat. Why is that?” His eyes swept over us again, and I quickly answered before I had time to worry that I might not be right.
    â€œBecause the water would be so cold…I mean colder than the air.”
    â€œYes, absolutely. And it’s important to keep your body temperature up. Well done! Actually you can do a kind of surf paddle with your hands while you’re lying on top of the boat, but for now let’s just get you used to climbing onto it. Only before that , we need you all in the water.” He rubbed his hands. “You can jump in, if you’re feeling confident, or slither in, if you want the torture method!”
    We looked at each other and shivered, then every single one of us sat down on the side ready to slide ourselves in.
    â€œCome on, girls! Be brave!” said Celia, jumping in with a big splash to set a good example.
    No one took up her challenge, though, and I wondered whether Ryan and Celia thought we were a bit of a pathetic lot. They’d probably done this drill at loads of schools, and I didn’t want them going away thinking that Silver Spires was for wimps. If only Bryony had been with us, she would have jumped in and not even thought about it.
    The water seemed cold at first and it felt funny wearing clothes in the pool, so we all started treading water frantically, while we watched Celia demonstrating how to climb onto the upturned boat.
    â€œOkay, Sasha, you go first!” she said as she slithered off. “Don’t worry, Ryan will keep the boat steady if you need him, and I’m here to help too.”
    I felt quite nervous to start with, because I was certain I was going to wobble around or fall in, but surprisingly I managed to scramble on straight away without Ryan or Celia helping me, and the moment I was lying on my tummy on top of that boat, I felt a lovely thrill, as though something had clicked in place inside me.
    â€œFantastic!” said Ryan, giving me a friendly grin. “Who’s next?”
    So one at a time the other four did exactly what I’d just done, but I felt so proud because no one seemed to manage it quite so easily as I had.
    â€œYou were great,” said Izzy when she’d had her turn. “It took me loads longer than you!”
    â€œOkay, now I’m going to turn the boat the right way up and you can take turns towing it to the side,” said Ryan. “Listen to Celia.”
    â€œThe front of the scull is called the bow,” she said, pronouncing “bow” to rhyme with