The author gratefully acknowledges
Stephanie Calmenson
for her help
with this book.
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
1 A Surprise to Come
2 Big-House Barbecue
3 Swim Team
4 Dive Right In!
5 Water Wings
6 A New Friend
7 Kristin’s Secret
8 Three Good Friends
9 An Exciting Plan
10 Go, Team, Go!
11 Coach Meanie-mo
12 The Scolding
13 Coach Karen
14 Flip Turns
15 Red, White, and Blue
16 Mr. Nice Coach
17 Racing Dives
18 Rescued!
19 Apologies
20 Happy Fourth of July!
About the Author
Also Available
Copyright
A Surprise to Come
“Watch out, Karen!” said Hannie. “It is about to drip!”
I twirled my strawberry Popsicle around and licked the bottom just in time.
Then Nancy had to make an emergency rescue on hers. “These Popsicles are dripping really fast,” she said between slurps.
“That is because it is so hot out,” I replied.
It was unusually hot for a June day. Even sitting under a shady tree in the big-house backyard did not help much.
Wait. You do not know about my big house yet. I will tell you about that later. More important, you do not know about me yet. I will tell you about me right now.
My name is Karen Brewer. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles. (By the end of the summer, I will have a lot more freckles than I have now.) I am seven years old and wear glasses. I have two pairs. I wear the blue pair for reading. I wear the pink pair the rest of the time.
My two best friends are Hannie Papadakis and Nancy Dawes. We call ourselves the Three Musketeers. That is because we like to do everything together. I was happy we were together on the first day of our summer vacation.
“We have to think of exciting things to do this summer,” I said when we finished our Popsicles.
“I will have to wait until July,” said Hannie. “I just found out I am going on vacation with my family. We were on a waiting list for a cabin in the mountains and we got called last night. They have a cabin for us, so we are leaving the day after tomorrow.”
“I will have to wait too,” said Nancy. “I am not going away. But I will be very busy with my family. My cousins from Minnesota said they wanted to visit this summer. They are driving and will be here any day.”
I was surprised to hear this news from my friends. This was not a good surprise. It made me feel grouchy.
“Boo,” I said. “Now I have to think of something exciting to do all by myself.”
“I am sorry,” said Hannie.
“Me too,” said Nancy. “But it is only for a couple of weeks. We can do something exciting together in July.”
“Can we do something together on the Fourth of July?” I asked.
Both my friends said yes.
“Great!” I said. “I will plan a Fourth of July surprise for us!”
I was finished being grouchy. (I never stay grouchy very long.)
“What kind of surprise?” asked Hannie.
“If I tell you, it will not be a surprise anymore,” I replied. “But I promise it will be worth coming home for.”
“I will be coming home anyway. But it is nice to have something to look forward to,” said Hannie.
Just then a car pulled into the driveway. It was Nancy’s mother. She was going to drive Nancy home. Nancy’s house is right next door to my little house.
Oh. I have not told you about my houses. I will do that now.
Big-House Barbecue
Hannie went home after Nancy did. (She lives across the street and one house over from the big house.) I was alone in the yard. It was late in the afternoon and starting to cool off. I decided that under the tree in my big-house backyard was just the right place to be. I sat there thinking about my two yards, two houses, two families.
I did not always have two families. I used to have just one. That was a long time ago when I was little. Then my family was Mommy, Daddy, Andrew, and me. (Andrew is my little brother. He is four going on five.) We all lived together here in the big house in Stoneybrook, Connecticut.
Then things started changing. Mommy and Daddy were having trouble getting along. They argued all the time. They tried hard to work things out. But they just could not do it. They told Andrew and me that they loved us very much and always would. But they did not want to live with each other anymore.
So Mommy and Daddy got divorced. Mommy moved with Andrew and me to a little house not far away. She met a very nice man named Seth Engle. She and Seth got married and now Seth is my stepfather.
That means there are four of us at the little house when we are all together. We also have some pets. They are Emily Junior, my rat; Bob, Andrew’s hermit crab; Midgie, Seth’s dog; and Rocky, Seth’s cat.
Daddy stayed in the big house after he and Mommy got divorced. (It is the house he grew up in.) He met and married Elizabeth Thomas and now Elizabeth is my stepmother. She is really nice too. Elizabeth was married once before and has four children. They are my stepbrothers and stepsister. They are David Michael, who is seven like me; Kristy, who is thirteen and the best stepsister ever; and Sam and Charlie, who are so old they are in high school.
I also have a little sister, Emily Michelle, who is two and a half. I love her a lot, which is why I named my rat after her. Daddy and Elizabeth adopted her from a faraway country called Vietnam.
The other person living at the big house is Nannie. She is Elizabeth’s mother, which makes her my stepgrandmother. She came to live at the big house to help with Emily. But she helps everyone.
We have pets at the big house too. Lots of them. They are Shannon, David Michael’s big Bernese mountain dog puppy; Pumpkin, our little black kitten; Crystal Light the Second, my goldfish; and Goldfishie, Andrew’s flamingo. (Just kidding!) Emily Junior and Bob live at the big house whenever Andrew and I are there.
Andrew and I switch houses almost every month. We spend one month at the big house, then one month at the little house. I gave my brother and me special names. I call us Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two. (I thought of those names after my teacher read a book to our class. It was called Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.) I call us those names because we each have two of so many things. We have two families with two mommies and two daddies. We have two sets of toys and clothes and books. We have two bicycles, one at each house. And you already know about my two best friends, Hannie and Nancy. The three of us are in the same second-grade class at Stoneybrook Academy. We have a wonderful teacher named Ms. Colman.
I was thinking about my two families when I heard Elizabeth call my name.
“Karen, would you like to come help us? We are going to have a barbecue tonight,” she said.
I jumped up. I love barbecues! Especially big-house barbecues.
“I am on my way!” I replied.
My favorite barbecue job is helping with the corn. There are ten of us, so we buy two dozen ears. That meant I had a lot of work ahead of me. I was ready for it.
Swim Team
Our barbecue was delicious. Nannie had to remind me to stop eating. The last time we barbecued, I ate so much I got a bellyache.
I was listening to everyone talking about their summer plans. I would have been talking about my summer plans, only I did not have any. Then I heard something interesting.
“Ron Carson is back in town,” said Charlie. “I hear he is opening a sports store and
will be coaching a swim team.”
“I know who Ron Carson is!” I said. “Ms. Colman was friends with him in high school. He is a swimming star.”
“He sure is,” said Sam. “He was so good that he made it all the way to the Olympic trials. Some of his trophies are on display at the pool.”
“I bet you have to be a really good swimmer to join his team,” I said.
“That is not what I read in the paper,” said Daddy. “It said kids of all ages are welcome to join. They can be good swimmers or beginners.”
Hmm. I am a pretty good swimmer. Maybe I was going to have a summer plan after all. I felt a little nervous about joining without my friends. But I did not want to stay home and do nothing.
“Can we call tomorrow to find out about joining?” I asked.
“I will call first thing in the morning,” said Elizabeth.
* * *
When I came downstairs to breakfast the next morning, Elizabeth was already on the phone.
I came downstairs late because I had stayed in bed reading. I was reading a very good summertime book called Half Magic. It is about four kids who had nothing to do over the summer. Then one of them found a magic coin. I did not think I was going to find a magic coin in Stoneybrook. I hoped I could join the swim team instead.
“Yes, Mr. Carson, I have the hours all written down,” said Elizabeth. “Thank you for the information.”
“You talked to Ron Carson himself?” I said when she hung up the phone. “That is exciting! Was he nice? Does he want me on the team?”
“He sounded very nice. And he wants anyone interested in swimming to sign up,” Elizabeth replied.
Elizabeth told me that practices for my age group would be held every weekday morning at nine, before the pool opened to the public. That meant no more earlymorning reading in bed. But that was okay. I would still have plenty of time left over to do what I wanted after practice.
I took a deep breath. I was still a little nervous about signing up without knowing anyone. But being on a swim team with a famous coach sounded gigundoly cool. So I decided to be brave.
“How do I sign up?” I asked.
“All I have to do is call Mr. Carson back and tell him to add your name to his list,” Elizabeth replied.
“Go for it!” said Charlie, walking into the kitchen.
“All right,” I said. “Sign me up. Tell Mr. Carson that Karen Brewer is on the team!”
Dive Right In!
On Monday morning Daddy took me to the pool early. We arrived at ten to nine. I was nervous, so I had a little talk with myself.
“You can do this, Karen Brewer,” I said. “You can join this team all by yourself.”
While I was talking to myself, another car pulled up. Terri Barkan stepped out.
“Hi, Terri!” I said. “Are you going to be on the team? I did not know you were a swimmer.”
“I am not very good. But I needed something to do in the mornings because my mom started a new job. Plus, I thought being on the team would help me swim better,” said Terri.
“Where is Tammy?” I asked.
“She is taking tennis lessons,” Terri replied.
Terri and her twin sister, Tammy, are in my class at school. They are very nice.
It was easy saying good-bye to Daddy with Terri there. We walked to the pool together. Coach Carson was standing by the diving board. A whistle was hanging from his neck and a clipboard was in his hand. He got started right away.
“I want to give you the ground rules for the team,” he said. “Practice begins at nine o’clock sharp every weekday morning. Meets will be held in the evenings, one or two nights a week. We will compete against teams from neighboring towns. Please encourage your parents to come.”
Terri and I looked at each other. Mr. Carson seemed like a very serious person. I wished he would smile or make a joke or something. But he did not.
“I had my first real swimming lessons at summer camp,” he said. “As soon as I learned to swim properly, they could not keep me out of the water. I am a very competitive person and always do my best when someone is trying to beat me. I want to teach you to swim right and swim to win.”
Then he taught us a cheer to get us in the mood for our workout.
When Coach blows the whistle, we are ready to swim.
When Coach blows the whistle, we will dive right in.
Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, crawl.
When Coach blows the whistle, we will do them all!
“Okay, kids! Get ready for the freestyle,” called Coach Carson.
I took off my shorts and T-shirt. Then I stuffed my hair in my cap and put on my goggles. I already knew that freestyle and crawl are two names for the same stroke. I am good at it.
“Swim next to me,” whispered Terri.
I stood in the lane next to Terri’s and waited for the starting whistle.
“Fifteen seconds to go,” called our coach.
The whistle blew. I swam up the lane, then back. Up the lane, then back. I listened for the whistle again. But I did not hear it. I kept going. Up the lane, then back. I was swimming a long time and did not hear the whistle. I thought maybe I had water in my ears and could not hear it. But everyone else was still swimming too. Up the lane, then back. I swam back and forth so many times I lost count. Finally the whistle blew.
Terri was the last one to reach the wall again. She was huffing and puffing.
“We will rest for thirty seconds, then do the backstroke,” said Coach Carson.
Terri looked at me and made a face. I did not have a chance to say anything before the whistle blew again.
I am not very good at the backstroke. But I could keep up. We swam for a long time again. Then we did the breaststroke. Then we used kickboards. Finally practice was over.
“See you tomorrow. Nine o’clock sharp. Go, team, go!” said Coach Carson.
I was tired but excited about swimming.
“This was fun!” I said to Terri.
She did not think so. She looked at me and rolled her eyes.
Water Wings
“Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, crawl! When Coach blows the whistle, we will do them all! Yea!”
I had recited the cheer for Daddy when he came to pick me up. Now I was reciting it again for Elizabeth, Nannie, and Emily. (Daddy and Elizabeth were taking Mondays and Fridays off from work over the summer.)
“I guess that cheer means you enjoyed your swim practice,” said Nannie. “I am glad to hear it.”
“I remember when Ron Carson was winning swim meets for Stoneybrook years ago,” said Elizabeth. “He made our town proud.”
“Getting to the Olympic trials was quite an accomplishment,” replied Daddy. “Ron had to compete against the best swimmers in the country.”
“And now he is my coach!” I said. “I am a lucky swimmer.”
“Speaking of swimming, who would like to go for a swim in the Kormans’ pool?” asked Nannie. “It is very hot out.”
“Good idea,” said Daddy. “It was nice of the Kormans to invite us to use their pool while they are away. We should take advantage of it.”
We all went inside to get out bathing suits. Nannie made sure I hung up my wet one from practice. Then she gave me cookies and lemonade.
“You must be hungry after all your swimming,” she said.
“I am!” I replied.
Soon everyone was downstairs and ready to go.
“I have sunscreen. And I have water wings for Emily,” said Elizabeth when she came downstairs.
“I have towels and some fruit,” said Nannie.
“And I have Emily!” I said, holding up my little sister’s hand.
Daddy held Emily’s other hand and we walked across the street together. (The Kormans’ house is two houses down from Hannie’s. I waved to Hannie’s house as I went by.)
We did not waste a minute when we reached their house. We got right into the pool. Elizabeth carried Emily in her arms.
; I was paddling around them in circles when Emily started calling, “Emmie swim! Emmie fish!”
She started kicking her legs and waving her arms.
“I would like you to be a fish with water wings,” said Daddy.
He put them on Emily’s arms. Elizabeth took her by the hands and pulled her around the shallow end of the pool. Emily was kicking her legs like a real swimmer.
When Elizabeth stopped pulling her, Emily cried, “More! Swim more!”
“Emily, you really are swimming!” I said.
Usually when we go in the water, Emily is happy just to be in Elizabeth’s arms. This was the first time I had seen her try to swim on her own.
She could not get enough of it. We stayed at the pool for a long time.
At dinner I told everyone about practice and Ron Carson. Emily told everyone she was a fish.
“Emmie swim! Emmie fish!” she announced.
At bedtime, Emily was so excited she could not get to sleep. Elizabeth and I took turns reading One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to her. We had to read it six times.
I had trouble falling asleep too. I started thinking about swim practice and Coach Carson and Terri Barkan. Then I closed my eyes and pictured myself swimming back and forth in the water. Back and forth. Back and forth.
That did it. The next thing I knew it was morning.
A New Friend
At breakfast Sam said, “Look who is in the newspaper, Karen. Ron Carson. It tells how he grew up here in town. And it lists all the medals he has won.”
“Let me see, please!” I said.
I was gigundoly proud to have a superstar coach. Maybe he would help me turn into a superstar swimmer. I would swim laps faster than anyone. The coach would recommend me for the Olympic trials. There would be articles about me in the newspaper: “Karen Brewer, New Stoneybrook Swim Star.” My trophies would be on display at the pool. Then I, Karen Brewer, would take over Coach Carson’s job when he retired.
“Come on, Karen,” said Daddy. “It is time to go.”
Oops. I was so busy dreaming, I had stopped eating my breakfast. I stuffed a chunk of banana in my mouth and jumped up. I did not want to be late. We pulled up to the Community Center just as Terri and her mom did.