Scream Louder

01

My number one top tip before you read this book is to scream louder until your voice is heard. 

It was a cold brisque night. I just opened my window to give my room some air when I heard idiots on the road. They were zooming past the house at a ridiculous speed. One day they are going to get themselves injured. My mum always told me that if I'm stupid on the roads then she'll have to get me done for. But I'm sensible enough. Yes, I don't have a car. I'm only sixteen. But as soon as I turn seventeen, I'm going to get my driver's license and get a car. I always had big plans for my future. That's why I never really use a fixed mindset. It'll just slow me down if I do. But with all that said, my life changed. So the first sentence of this book isn't to draw you in. It's to warn you.

***

"Brianna! You need to get up! We're going to watch your brother swim today! It's his tournament!" my mother screamed up the stairs. My brother, Benjamin, has been doing swimming lessons for ten years from the age of three. He is now fourteen and is ready to be in competitions and tournaments. He is really fast. His dream is to become the fastest swimmer in the world but I don't think he can beat Michel Phelps. Don't ask me why I know that name. He just goes on and on about this guy that I barely know anything about. That's a lie. I know that he swam two hundred meters in one minute and forty-two seconds. Didn't I tell you Benjamin goes on about him a lot?

"Yeah, I'm getting up!" I shout back. I just had a quick shower, got into some clothes, and put my shoulder-length mousy brown hair into dutch braids. As I went down the stairs, my mother shoved a brioche into my mouth. 

"You need to eat up!" my mum said.

"Yeah, just don't shove a brioche into my gob!" I say, taking the brioche out of my mouth.

"Attitude. Anyway, you slept into half nine when you know we needed you up at quarter to nine!" My mum complained in my face.

"Sorry. Forgot to set my alarm," I lied. Of course, I knew I had to set my alarm, I just didn't want to. I quickly ate my brioche, did my teeth and by the time I got ready, we were all out the house.

"Oh Brianna. I'm really nervous. I only have to swim one hundred metres but it wouldn't look good if I got to one hundred metres in the time Michel Phelps did two," Benjamin said. I sighed and just simply said, "You'll do great." He just nods and goes to the car. I feel bad for him. If he doesn't win this, all his hard work wouldn't be worth it. But I believe in him.

The car journey was very long and slow but by the time we got there, Benjamin zoomed into the changing rooms and started swimming in the space of five minutes. I didn't know when the tournament was starting and I wondered why Benjamin was already swimming. Probably a warm up. 

The only thing that I'm looking forward to during this tournament is that my best friend Mona is coming to watch her sister swim. It would also be really nice if Angela could come too, but she doesn't have any siblings, her dad quitted swimming four years ago after having a concussion by hitting his head on the side from doing backstroke at full speed and she is doing a college thing in Birmingham. I'll see her during the summer holidays though which is in one and a half weeks. 

I was broken from my thoughts when a familiar tap on the shoulder told me that Mona was here.

"Mona! Hey," I say, turning around.

"Hey! Brianna, I have a serious question to ask you," says Mona, turning serious.

"What? What is it?" I ask.

"Brianna, did your brother talk to you about Michel Phelps today?" she joked. We burst out laughing.

"How did you know?" I say, after calming down.