Author: Penelope Huber
Illustrator: Ana Terry
Publisher: Longacre $14.95
Age Group: 11+ years
'Only once. He came to do our swimming sports with the camera club.' I hoped I wasn't blushing again. I remembered how, after Polly had introduced us, I'd glanced around as I loosened up before mar ace to see Gus's camera
lens zooming in on me. I'd frowned at him when he congratulated my win later, but he's just turned on the big Grant smile that gave me goosebumps for days.
But later, when Polly and I walked him to the gate, Gus had been as silent and awkward as me.
'So, Gus photographs girls in swimsuits? Of course he's only shown us his nature collection. I'll have to ask to see his portraits. I hear you're a pretty fast swimmer, Anna? Beat the socks off Polly every time, she wrote.'
'Not by much,' I said. 'Polly's fast.'
But I'm faster, I thought, because I'm so scared. When I shot over the water it was because I was petrified that if I ever slowed up I'd sink. You'd think sharks were after me the way I sped the two lengths of the pool, never more. Fifty metres was all I could manage on the four breaths I gave myself. And so far our vacant P.E. teacher hadn't twigged that I never dived under-water, never did breaststroke. Only overarm, where I could torpedo across the surface.
Continued on P11 of Three's a Crowd
