Ugh. And how was he so sure I was going to make mistakes?
‘OK, move back so your toes are at the bottom.’
I shuffled backwards.
‘Chin up. You need to see where you are going. OK, now practise the paddling.’
I could not have felt more stupid, pretending to swim on the sand. But I did what he said.
‘More wide. And this?’ Antoine grabbed my hand and covered the back of it with his. He squeezed it into a cup. ‘Like this. Not flat. But you know already? From swimming.’
‘Margot likes to swim a lot,’ said Wren. Correction: Ididlike to swim.
I did what he told me – cupped my hands and pulled them through the sand.
‘So it is like swimming, but you are pushing the board through the water, not just you. Do you see,les filles?’
‘Yes, Antoine!’ Rue and Wren said together.
The sun was hot on the back of my legs and neck, which was exposed by my high ponytail.
‘OK, now the pop-up.’
I’d show himmistakes.
‘Hands under your shoulders, like a push-up.’
Easy.
‘OK and now you want to push up with both arms and slide your foot in between them. Right here.’ Antoine tapped the space between my hands.
I took a deep breath and pushed myself up, sliding my foot in between my hands. I smiled, because I knew I’d got it right.
‘OK,Princesse, good job. But maybe that was lucky? Try again.’ He pointed back to the board, and I lay down again. Irepeated the same motion about five times, and I got it right five times. And on that last time, I lifted my head and stared out at the sparkling water. And I felt something. Like a rush of warm nostalgia. Of a past that felt so far gone that I thought it would always be a distant memory.
Rue and Wren clapped for me when I pulled myself back up to standing. Antoine just stood there, eyes blocked by his glasses, so I couldn’t even guess what he was thinking.
‘You can stop calling me Princess now.’ I brushed sand from my legs and tightened my ponytail.
‘But youarea princess.’ Wren smiled at me, then turned to Rue, like she was embarrassed she’d said the wrong thing. Which she had. But I forgave her.
Antoine just nodded towards Wren and shrugged, pulling a face and making her giggle.
‘Let us try again,les filles.’ Antoine clapped his hands and Rue and Wren lay down on a board each.
Then Antoine whispered something that made them laugh so hard that Rue almost fell off her board on to the sand.
At the end of the lesson, I watched as Antoine helped Rue put her splints back on. Both the girls went to the beach hut, where Sébastian was handing out little cups of water, and Antoine came over to talk to me.
‘Your sister Rue. The smaller one. She is determined. More than my adult students. Stubborn.La petite guerrière,’ he said. ‘That means warrior. And Wren, the bird,le petit oiseau, she watches everything. I noticed how she would not relax until her sister was comfortable. She is the peacekeeper between you two,non? She puts out the fire?’ Antoine said, a seriouslook on his face. I just stared into his black aviators, shocked that he’d picked up so much about the girls in so little time, and even more shocked by the state of my curly half ponytail hair in their reflection. I pushed rogue strands behind my ears.
‘Do you notice this much about all your students?’ I asked.
And by the way he looked down at me and smirked, I knew he knew what I was asking.
‘Not all of my students,non. Just the interesting ones. Do you want to know what I noticed about you,Princesse?’
‘That I’mnota princess?’ I said, without half the conviction I’d intended.
