SWIMMING POOL FEMALE CHANGE ROOM - MORNING
LISETTE has wet hair and is wearing a tracksuit. She is very disappointed in herself, having come third in a World Championship 400m freestyle swimming race last night. GINA (her Coach) enters, watches her for a moment, something ticking over in her mind. She goes over and gives LISETTE a hug. GINA: You OK? LISETTE: Yeah ... nuh ... not really ... GINA: I think we'll abandon training for the rest of the morning. It's obvious you're not really motivated. LISETTE nods. LISETTE: Are you really disappointed in me? GINA: No. LISETTE looks at her, challenging her to tell the truth. GINA: No I mean it. I'm not disappointed in you at all. LISETTE: But I haven't, like, lost a race for 2 years. And last night - out of the blue - I can't even get Silver - Silence. LISETTE: I mean, hello! Bronze. (looks directly at GINA) Bronze! Gina. I'm really scared. GINA: (wanting her to say it) Scared of what? LISETTE: (angry, edgy) That I've already peaked and I'm only 17. That l'll never be the best again. That I'm going to be one of those swimmers who are famous for, like, a couple of meets then forgotten. And if I don't win Gold at the Olympics - I won't get endorsements, sponsorships - I'll be humiliated - GINA: That's not going to happen. LISETTE: How do you know? Yvette and Sasha came from nowhere - I couldn't keep up in the back end of the race. And Sasha has always been a sprinter. When did she get so good at the 400 metres? GINA: I know ... LISETTE: I was leading outright at the half way mark. GINA: Yes, their splits just kept getting quicker and quicker. It was quite - LISETTE: (snaps) Quite what? Quite brilliant. I know. I was there, Gina. In Lane 4? The favourite? Remember? The fastest qualifier? With one of them on either side of me just steamrolling through the water. (teary) I couldn't keep up. GINA: I was going to say - it was quite - unbelievable. LISETTE: (sarcastic) Well, that makes me feel a whole heap better. GINA: No, I mean - unbelievable. As in I don't believe they were capable of it. Not on what I've seen of them over the past couple of years. LISETTE is still too caught up in her loss to cotton on to what GINA is suggesting. END OF FIRST PAGE |