As soon as Susan heard the whistle, she dove into the large pool and swam for the other side. She quickly passed the other girls, taking long, graceful strokes on the surface. Lucy watched from the side, cheering when she saw how easily her sister swam past the competition. Susan easily reached the other side first and climbed out.
"Well done, Susan!" called her instructor. Lucy shivered with nervousness as she took her place at the edge of the pool. It was now her turn. Susan had wrapped herself in a towel and sat on a bench, ready to see how Lucy would do.
At the sound of the whistle, Lucy dove in, not as gracefully as Susan but not clumsily, either. Lucy swam as hard as she could for the opposite side. She had been practicing her swimming for several weeks now, but she was still nowhere near Susan's level of experience. She gasped for breath when she reached the other side, and only then did she realize that the other girls had beaten her with almost no effort. She climbed out and walked to Susan. "Hard luck, huh?" Lucy said, still breathing hard.
"It's okay, Lu. It's only your first competition," Susan said, smiling. "You actually did very well, considering you only learned how to swim this semester."
Lucy grinned. "I'm just glad that this is the last time I'll have to swim until after Christmas. Aren't you excited to see Peter and Edmund again?" The Christmas holidays were onlya few daysaway, and the girls were traveling with their brothers back to their home in London.
Susan nodded. "The only thing I'm not looking forward to is that little pest, Eustace." Eustace was their cousin, and he was staying with the Pevensies while his parents were on a business trip.
Lucy frowned. "At least he's only visiting for a few days. We can't let him ruin our Christmas, even if he is a beast."
The girls stood and walked to the showers. Lucy continued: "I'll sure be glad to see the boys again, though. The four of us can talk about old times in Nar..." She paused, and glanced uneasily at Susan. For a split second, she thought she saw a sad expression in Susan's eyes. But the next second it was gone, and Susan smiled again.
"Don't worry, Lu. I've gotten over it. Don't think that you have to walk on eggshells around me."
The two sisters smiled at each other and continued to the showers. Lucy didn't notice Susan's smile disappear.
A dark thought crossed Susan's mind. So, you still play that silly game? When are you going to grow up?