Page 30 of Oar Than Friends

‘Excellent balancing skills, Coach. Great at scheduling.’ I smiled, though not without confusion as to where this conversation was heading, and I had a train to catch so I could keep to said schedule. ‘Coach, is there a reason why you’re concerned about my schedule? I’ve not been late, I can do both.’

He pinned me with a stare, dark brown eyes boring through me until a chill zipped down my spine, making me hope I’d sounded more convincing than I felt.

‘Yes. You’ve impressed me over the past week. Coach Godwin told me your skills have been excellent in steering through the currents, and seeing you out this morning I’m inclined to agree. Weather wasn’t easy today.’

‘No, sir. Thank you.’

‘We have a race this weekend, against Durham. BeckaJones has moved up to cox Blue Boat, so we need a strong coxswain for Blondie. I’d like to see how you go in the stern.’ He pointed at me. ‘It’s hard work, requires a lot of dedication and hours, but I’m sure you can handle it.’

It was possible I blanked out for a nanosecond because one moment I was staring at my coach while he promoted me to leader of the number two women’s boat and the next he was sitting at his desk shuffling a pile of paperwork.

I might have a scholarship, but I hadn’t expected to be given such a prominent spot so soon.

‘Better get back to school, Astley. See you at the boathouse this afternoon.’

‘Yes, sir. Coach. Thank you.’

I’d completely forgotten the girls were still there, standing halfway down the corridor when I turned back, both their mouths hanging open, making it clear they’d heard everything. They swiftly grabbed me in a hug which lifted me off my feet.

‘Holy shit, Asters. Blondie! This is huge!’ Hannah squealed. ‘Well fucking done!’

‘Did that really just happen?’ I whispered, once my feet were touching the floor again. ‘He made me cox?’

‘Yes! That’s amazing!’ Imogen squeezed my shoulder. ‘Really amazing.’

As I looked over Hannah’s shoulder I spied the clock on the wall, and the time. ‘Shit, we’re going to miss the train. Come on.’

We all pulled our hoods up and took off. The rain had slowed down to a less thumping pace but it still wasn’t much fun to run in, having already been sitting in it for the past ninety minutes. You’d think after spending my lastfive falls and winters rowing, I’d be used to it, but I hated it. The only thing worse than rain was windandrain.

From the look on Hannah’s face as we made it to the station and took shelter under the platform awnings, along with every other C.U.B.C. squad member, she agreed.

‘Bloody hell, why didn’t I decide to go to Stanford instead? Bet Sophie Robson is loving the sunshine over there right now!’

‘Who’s that?’ I asked, pointlessly shaking off my raincoat, considering it would get wet again the second we stepped out from the shelter once the train arrived.

‘She was the cox for Blue Boat last year, but graduated and went back to California for a PhD.’

‘Oh! That’s why Becka Jones has moved up.’ I rubbed my hands together, attempting to get some warmth into them.

‘Yeah, we swapped one Yank for another,’ grinned Imogen as a raindrop dripped off her nose, then her eyes widened. ‘Oh, thank fuck. The train’s here.’

Aside from the lucky few who’d managed to grab a space on the bus taking students back to campus, everyone piled into the train carriage and immediately shook themselves dry. A couple of the boys removed towels from their backpacks to rub through their hair, and I made a mental note to make sure I packed a towel for tomorrow.

We found a spare set of six seats and I plonked myself down in the seat next to Hannah with Imogen sitting opposite us by the window. ‘Thank god we haven’t got our first class until ten a.m., we need to dry off, and I need food.’

I groaned, ‘You might want to rethink the food and keep an empty stomach, we meet our cadavers today.’

Hannah grimaced, and I swear her face took on a slightly green tinge, though it could have been the reflection of clouds outside. ‘Ew. I don’t know how you can spend the whole day with a dead person.’

Imogen shrugged. ‘It’s not all day, it’s just the morning. After lunch we have theory.’

The train jerked forward and began its journey, just as a second shower of rain hit me in the face, only it wasn’t rain and it was coming from inside the carriage. Three of the boys’ crew had decided to sit in our empty seats, shaking off their wet jackets as they did.

‘Norris, shove over, will you?’ the tallest of the boys grumbled.

Norris, a tall guy with a mop of red curls stuffed into a beanie, sat down with a thud next to me.

‘Hi ladies, how was your training session?’

---