Free Learning to Breathe by J. C. McClean Page A

you okay? You look rather pale.”
    I began to gasp for air and quickly flopped down in an empty chair opposite Valerie’s desk. She threw me a worried look and went to get a cup of water from the water dispenser near the door. After filling a cup, she handed it to me and I gulped down the cold liquid to try to calm myself down.
    “Thanks. ” I told her a few minutes later when I thought I could manage to speak again.
    She nodded. “It’s no problem dear. Now, tell me what that was all about?”
    I took a few dee p breaths and glanced up at her. “I – I can’t swim.”
     
    There was silence for a few seconds while I watched Valerie piece together my reaction and this new-found information. Finally, she sat down in her chair and looked across at me.
    “Now , there’s no need to worry dear.” She told me in a gentle tone.
    I remained sil ent but gave her a half nod to let her know that I was okay.
    She smiled at me. “Well then dear, I’ll see what I can do.” I watched as she typed something into her computer again.
    She shook her head. “There really are no other classes available, but I’m sure that I could set up a meeting with Ms Greenly and you could explain the whole situation to her. Would that be okay?”
    I nodded my head silently and she set about organising an appointment for later that afternoon. Finally, Valerie handed me a little card with the time on it – 3.15pm. I nodded at her gratefully and quickly left the office; making a mental note to call the leisure centre to tell them that I’d be late.
    I felt incredibly stupid when I thought about how I had reacted. It appeared that my fear of swimming was steadily getting worse and that was not a good sign. I sighed heavily and glanced at my watch – 9.35am. I took a fleeting glance at my timetable and discovered that my first class – English Literature – had started five minutes ago. Great, there went my chance to make a good first impression!
     
    Just over an hour later and I had managed to survive my first class. My new English teacher – Mr Samson – had been pretty easy-going about my lateness and for that I was relieved. My first lesson turned out to be quite enjoyable as he informed us of what would be studying first – Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. I was actually quite happy about this as it was a favourite of mine.
    It was now break-time and I found Harriet waiting for me at the locker area.
    “Hey, you disappeared on me earlier. Where’d you go?”
    “Oh I just had to go to the office to get my timetable,” I explained while I packed my bag for my next classes, “Why? Did I miss anything important?”
    She shook her head. “Nah. So what’s your timetable like?”
    I handed the sheet to her and she scanned it intently.
    “Aw, we don’t have any classes together – that sucks!” She shot me a disappointed look before looking at the sheet again. “Ooh but we do have the same lunch Mondays and Thursdays!” she added excitedly.
    I laughed and took back the sheet. “Hey, what class you in for P.E.?”
    Harriet rolled her eyes. “Badminton. It’s the only thing I’m good at that fits in with my timetable. Why? What are you in?”
    “Oh just swimming. ” I said casually, trying my best to hide how terrified I actually was.
    “Jeez, you ’re lucky … not! Ms Mahon scares the crap outta everyone and she’s really tough on you when it comes to swimming.” She threw me a sympathetic look.
    Great, can this day possibly get any worse?
     

Chapter Ten
     
    Thankfully, the rest of the day passed without any further nasty surprises. I spent my study periods reading up on material for English and lunch was fairly uneventful. Sociology went by quite quickly and I even managed not to run into Danny all day.
    However, it was soon time for my meeting with Ms Greenly. I had become increasingly anxious about the meeting throughout the day and now I was as nervous as hell. What if I couldn’t change it? Could Ms