Katy Read online

  The swimming lesson seemed to be going on forever. I was starting to get really anxious now. I couldn’t work out in my head just how many of Eva’s clothes I’d dunked in the pool. I hoped it was maybe just her underthings. Then she could put on her blouse and skirt and no one would really know. But try as I could to persuade myself, I knew deep down that I’d seized hold of everything.

  Perhaps they might somehow dry out in the cubicle. It was boiling hot here after all. I thought of Eva’s clothes and mentally ironed them until they were bone dry, without a crease. I was willing it so hard that I jumped when Mr Robinson blew his whistle at last to tell everyone to get out the pool.

  There was a bit of pandemonium when they did this. Three of the boys were jostling each other at the steps and one fell backwards into the water, making an almighty splash.

  He didn’t surface immediately and several of the girls started squealing that he was drowning. There was a great racket as people grabbed hold of him – and then Mr Robinson made an even louder racket when it transpired that the boy had been deliberately holding his breath under the water to tease his friends.

  ‘I don’t know what’s got into you today, Year Six,’ said Mr Robinson. ‘Well, don’t all stand there shivering and dripping wet. Go and get changed, and be quick about it. Katy, you help me store all the floats in the kit cupboard.’

  I went to help, praying that somehow everything would be all right after all. But then I heard screaming.

  ‘Oh dear Lord, what is it now?’ said Mr Robinson. He peered round and saw Eva standing outside her cubicle, holding her still sopping clothes, crying her eyes out.

  ‘What’s happened? What’s the matter, Eva?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s my clothes! Look! Just look at them! They’re all ruined! Someone’s thrown them in the pool, even my new skirt, and Mum’s going to be so angry because it’s designer and dry-clean only,’ Eva wailed.

  I waited for everyone to start laughing – but everyone looked shocked. It wasn’t funny. It was awful. Eva was distraught. And it was all my fault.

  Mr Robinson looked horrified. He whirled round.

  ‘Ryan? Was this you? Have you been up to your stupid pranks again?’ he thundered.

  Ryan put his head round his curtain.

  ‘Me, Mr Robinson?’ he said, his eyes open wide, acting innocent.

  ‘Yes, you! I’ve had just about enough of you. How dare you! Get changed and then go straight to Mrs Henry and tell her exactly what you’ve done,’ said Mr Robinson.

  ‘But I haven’t done anything!’ said Ryan.

  ‘Be quiet and do as you’re told!’ Mr Robinson said furiously.

  My heart was beating so fast I thought it might burst straight out of my chest and lie thumping bloodily at the poolside. I hadn’t wanted Ryan to get blamed!

  I told myself that I didn’t like Ryan any more because he’d been one of the first to laugh at me in my ridiculous costume – but that didn’t matter now. Oh, my trick had gone so horribly wrong. There was Ryan in serious trouble and Eva was still in hysterics.

  ‘Katy, go to the secretary’s room and see if she has any spare clothing for Eva,’ said Mr Robinson. ‘Go on, don’t just stand there!’

  I ran off. I wanted to run right out of the school, out of the town, run away forever because I felt so ashamed. As I hurried down the corridors I felt that all the passing kids were staring at me and pointing. Even the photos and pictures on the wall were peering at me. There goes Katy Carr, they were thinking. The mean girl who plays spiteful tricks and then gets other people into trouble.

  I knocked on Mrs Henry’s door and then blurted out that Eva Jenkins’ clothes had got soaked during our swimming lesson.

  Mrs Henry sighed and started piecing together an outfit from Lost Property. The knickers were easy enough. Mrs Henry kept several spare pairs in case any of the little ones wet themselves. She had a school blouse too, more or less the right size, but no skirt at all, big or small. She handed me a crumpled pair of boy’s trousers.

  ‘She’ll have to make do with these,’ she said.

  ‘But she’ll look silly,’ I said despairingly. I’d wanted her to look silly, but now I just felt terrible.

  ‘I can’t help it if she looks silly,’ said Mrs Henry. ‘She shouldn’t have dropped her clothes in the pool.’

  ‘But she didn’t,’ I mumbled.

  I took the odd assortment of clothes and trailed back to the pool. Eva was wrapped up in a towel, still in tears. They increased in volume when she saw the trousers.

  ‘I can’t possibly wear them! They’re boy’s trousers and they won’t fit properly. And they’re all creased and crumpled anyway!’ she wailed.

  ‘For goodness’ sake, Eva, you haven’t got any alternative,’ said Mr Robinson. He glared over at Ryan, who was standing in disgrace.

  ‘Do you feel happy now, Ryan? Does it make you feel great to see poor Eva so upset?’ he asked.

  ‘No, Mr Robinson! But I didn’t throw her clothes in the pool, I swear I didn’t,’ said Ryan.

  ‘You’re only making things worse for yourself by lying, Ryan, do you realize that?’ said Mr Robinson. ‘I’ve always known you were an idiotic prankster, but I didn’t think you were a downright liar too.’

  Ryan flinched as if he’d been hit. It was too much. I couldn’t bear it any more.

  ‘Ryan isn’t a liar, Mr Robinson,’ I said. ‘He didn’t dunk Eva’s clothes. I did. And I wish I hadn’t now. I’m so, so sorry.’

  ‘Katy Carr! Whatever’s got into you today? Ryan, I apologize. Katy, you go straight to Mrs Henry and tell her what you’ve done,’ said Mr Robinson. ‘I give up. I don’t understand you children. I think I’d have more success teaching a class of chimpanzees.’

  Some children giggled uneasily. I had to fight not to cry. I felt the tears pricking in my eyes and my chin starting to wobble. Eva was glaring at me, but it was Cecy’s expression of shock and sympathy that made the tears spill over. I ran out, away from the pool again, back down all the corridors, and forced myself to knock on Mrs Henry’s door.

  ‘Come in!’

  Oh dear, she sounded irritated already.

  I took a deep breath and shuffled into her room. She was at her desk, peering at me over her glasses in a frowny sort of way. She was wearing one of her bright suits, yellow today. They always looked rather too tight, and showed too much of Mrs Henry’s tummy and bottom.

  ‘Hello Katy. What is it? I’m very busy, as you can see,’ she said, shuffling paperwork.

  ‘Mr Robinson sent me, Mrs Henry,’ I mumbled.

  ‘About what?’

  ‘About … me.’

  Mrs Henry sighed and sat back, looking at me through her glasses now.

  ‘What have you done? I gather from your general demeanour Mr Robinson hasn’t sent you because you’ve completed an outstanding piece of work.’

  ‘No, I – I’ve done something dreadful,’ I said.

  ‘I see. Well. Spit it out then,’ said Mrs Henry calmly. ‘I don’t expect it’s as dreadful as all that.’

  ‘It is,’ I said, and I felt another tear slide down my cheek. ‘I dunked Eva Jenkins’ clothes in the pool.’

  ‘Oh goodness, yes, that’s very dreadful,’ said Mrs Henry, her face stern – though her lips twitched. ‘What is it with you children and the swimming pool? I had Ryan in here only last week for dunking someone else’s clothes.’

  ‘That was Martin – and it was only his pants – and I won’t tell tales, but Martin deserved it, believe you me,’ I said.

  ‘Did you feel Eva deserved it then?’ Mrs Henry asked.

  ‘Well, I was mad at her, because she said I looked like a giraffe in a thong.’

  ‘She said what?’

  ‘But I suppose I did look like that, because I was wearing my little sister’s swimming costume.’

  ‘You were wearing Elsie’s costume?’

  ‘No, Clover’s. But even that was far too small. I suppose I did look pretty ridiculou