Butterfly Summer by Anne-Marie Conway Page A

to be fine. Trust me.”
    I went off by myself to the changing area, trying to understand how some random leisure centre in Farnsbury could feel so familiar. It wasn’t as if I knew where anything was, not specifically, it was just this strong feeling that I’d been here before. It was so weird, like I’d lived two completely separate lives and my other life was somehow leaking into this one. It was seriously beginning to freak me out.
    The changing rooms were packed with families. Little children learning to swim, some of them still babies. I changed into my new swimsuit as if I was on automatic pilot and made my way back out to Mack. He was leaning against the railings by the pool, wearing a pair of baggy black shorts. I shuffled over in my old pink flip-flops with my towel clutched round me, literally forcing myself to put one foot in front of the other.
    The pool looked huge behind him. Serious swimmers were racing up and down the lanes, their arms slicing through the water like those tools with rotating blades.
    “Stevie and Ajay have gone into the other pool to muck about but we can stay here if you want,” said Mack as I came over. “Just leave your towel with mine and follow me.”
    I shuffled after him around the edge of the pool, keeping as far away from the water as possible. The noise seemed to fill up my head until it was difficult to think. Shouting and shrieking and yelling. Even that was familiar, like something you recognize from a terrible dream.
    “I’m not actually going in,” I shouted over the din. “I’ll just watch for today.”
    Mack stopped at the far end and sat down, his feet dangling in the water. “Come on, sit here next to me.” He patted the space beside him. “That’s all you need to do for now.”
    I crouched down next to him, my legs tucked right up so that my feet could stay planted firmly on the side, rather than dangle in the water by his.
    “I’ll tell you a secret,” he said. “I was scared of swimming when I was little. I didn’t mind being in the pool so much, the problem was I didn’t like getting water in my eyes. My dad used to bring me here all the time and all the big boys used to jump in and splash me and I was terrified.”
    I glanced up at him. “You’re just saying that.”
    “No, I swear on my life, it’s true. They’d do these kamikaze dive-bombs, jumping off the side with their knees tucked up for maximum impact. I used to cry like a baby.”
    “And was your dad nice about it?”
    Mack made a face. “Not really. He said I needed to toughen up, act like a real man.”
    “He’s not here today, is he?” I looked around nervously, half expecting him to run up behind me and push me in – just to toughen me up.
    Mack shook his head, laughing, and then slid off the side of the pool, disappearing under the water and coming up again almost immediately.
    “I just wanted to show you that it’s not that deep,” he said, standing up. “Look, it barely reaches the top of my chest.”
    “I hope you don’t think I’m going to do that.”
    “Course not,” he said. “I told you, we’re going to take things very slowly. We’ve got all summer.”
    “What do you mean?” I said, my heart flipping over. But he gave me a cheeky grin and pushed away from the side, swimming up the lane, showing off like a real Olympic swimmer. I tried to imagine swimming like that, or even getting into the water, but it was impossible. I wasn’t even brave enough to dip my feet in.
    Mack spent the next half an hour or so swimming a few lengths and then coming back over to talk to me, leaning against the edge of the pool, his arms crossed in front of him. Very slowly I began to relax. It was fun chatting and I felt pretty safe sitting on the side. I’d almost forgotten why we were there in the first place when Mack pulled himself out of the water suddenly, squashing up next to me.
    “Listen, Becky. There’s one thing I want you to do today if you’re serious about