by J. C. Burke
‘No.’
‘No.’ Evie shakes her head. ‘Me neither.’
‘Well, I bet Alex’s bitchy little antics faded into insignificance after that.’
‘You could say that.’
The girls chuckle. ‘And yet,’ Poppy says, ‘you ended up telling your old girl what was going on, anyway. Well, what they think is going on. My dad’d call that divine justice.’
‘Coincidence, you mean.’
‘And look who’s coming.’
Alex is walking across the lawn towards them. She stops at the bin to unpeel an orange.
‘Was she revolting on the weekend?’ Evie asks Poppy.
‘Foul!’ Poppy answers. ‘All over him. I think that’s why he escaped to the bottle shop with Dana.’
‘What was Dana doing at Zac’s?’
‘She dropped Roxy off. Really she just wanted to see Zac’s old man about some money she’s trying to pump out of him for a business or something. Anyway, he wasn’t home, obviously, so she went up to the bottle shop for us. She and Zac took forever. Like an hour and a half to buy some beers and UDLs! Alex was pacing the floor. She seemed way pissed off,’ Poppy relates. ‘Hey, I still can’t believe you met Dana the other day!’
‘I didn’t meet her,’ Evie answers. ‘She completely ignored me.’
‘You should’ve seen her look Alex up and down the other night like she was a piece of poo, then she said “Your tan’s uneven”. What a bitch!’
‘But she talks to you?’
‘Well, so far she has.’
‘’Cause I need you to find out from Dana if Caz was ever pregnant.’ The girls wave to Alex. ‘I reckon that’s what the message could mean. Caz must’ve had a boyfriend.’
‘Okay.’
‘I’m sure we’re on the right track,’ Evie tells her. ‘We have to be. All these things tying together, like Roxy, Dana –’
‘What about Dana?’ Alex says, sitting on the grass with them. The girls look at her but don’t answer. ‘Eh? What about Dana?’
‘We were just talking about,’ Poppy begins, ‘about –’
‘I know what you’re talking about,’ answers Alex. ‘I’m not stupid.’
‘Eh?’ they reply.
‘Poppy, I heard you on Saturday night saying to Dana something or other about her friend Caz – the one that died.’ Alex’s fingers pull at the grass. ‘I was there that night we did the séance too. If you haven’t forgotten.’
‘Alex!’
‘Look, Evie, I don’t even want to know what you and Poppy are up to. But please don’t use my boyfriend and his friends to try and figure out whatever it is you’re doing. I told Zac about the séance. He started flipping out, saying it was evil and stuff like that. Dana and Roxy’s families are very old friends. Zac’s very protective of his friends. If he thinks you’re snooping around he’ll be so angry. I didn’t tell him what actually happened during the séance and if he finds out what –’
‘Settle, Alex!’ Poppy yells. ‘As if Evie and I give a shit about what Zac thinks!’
‘Well, I just think you should be careful, Poppy.’ Alex is still pulling at the lawn. The tufts of grass are piling up against her shoe. ‘It sounds like Evie’s got you very caught up in whatever it is. And it’s not like the Athena thing where she virtually overtook Evie’s body. It’s not like that. It’s not like it’s real –’
‘You bitch,’ Poppy spits. ‘I thought you were meant to be Evie’s friend. Are you one of those girls that sell their best friend for a boyfriend? Hey, ’cause that’s what it’s sounding like.’
‘Now who’s being the bitch!’
Tongue-tied, Evie sits there, watching the girls go for it. She’s never fought with Alex before. She’s not sure how to handle the situation. Her head turns with each new sling.
‘The other night I said two words to Dana.’
‘Bullshit! You said heaps more. I heard you.’
‘How could’ve I, Alex? She was hardly there. She and Zac were at the bottlo most of the time. Maybe you should be thinking about that!’
‘How dare you say that? You know nothing about Zac. Zac is everything to me!’ Alex yells. ‘I … I love him.’
‘I’d be careful if I were you.’ The words spill before Evie has a chance to stop them. She slaps her hand over her mouth.
‘What?’ Alex snaps. ‘Be careful? What, what would you know, Evie?’
‘Just,’ Evie swallows, ‘be careful.’
‘You don’t know anything about him either. You’re so caught up with thinking everything’s like, like a sign meant for you and your –’
‘Alex!’ Poppy butts in. ‘Shut up. You don’t know what Evie’s going through.’
Alex jumps up and leans over to Evie. ‘Get over yourself, Evie. Not everything’s about you.’
And she walks away, leaving a small hole in the lawn where she sat.
Art is unbearable that afternoon. For the first time ever, the girls go to opposite ends of the classroom. Even Powell, their teacher, makes a crack about them getting a divorce. Although Evie can’t see Alex from where she’s sitting, she feels her like a burning sensation on her back. Evie wraps her hand around the back of her neck but not even that deflects the heat. She slides down low in the chair. For a while, the feeling eases and her limbs relax until she realises Powell is asking her something.
‘Sorry … Sir?’
‘Sit up, Evie, and get with it!’
Evie wriggles up in the chair.
‘Your next essay question is on this.’
‘Yes, sir.’
He turns to the whiteboard, the black pen poised in the air. ‘So another avant-garde influence, please.’
Evie scans the already-existing list of words.
‘Um, um …’
‘I’m waiting, Evie.’
‘Oh, pop art.’
‘Thank you.’
Powell’s hand scribbles, ‘4. Pop art.’
Evie gazes at the board. The numbers and letters have started to shrink and spiral into each other like pieces of glass in a kaleidoscope. She watches them fade then reappear and twist like a helix, then fade again and re-emerge as one long line, just long enough for Evie to read, ‘I need Paris to speak careful afraid and helpless.’
‘Hahhh!’ Evie gasps. The class turns to look at her. Quickly she masks the sound as a sneeze. ‘Choo.’ She smiles. The girls turn away and Evie pretends to busy herself with her notes as the sick bobs at the back of her throat.
Seb pushes his way down the bus to the girls. He’s hardly squeezed in next to them when he’s saying, ‘They’re not anagrams. They can’t be. I’ve been mucking around with –’ He looks over at Evie. ‘What’s up with you?’
‘She got another message,’ Poppy tells him. ‘This time in art class.’
‘Art class?’
Evie shrugs. ‘She’s finding it harder to get to me. Either that or it’s her way of getting me to see Paris.’
‘Yeah?’
‘I don’t feel her around as much.’ What she really means is how Caz’s scent has faded to barely a whiff. ‘Anyway, this is what I got.’ Evie hands him a slip of paper.
Out loud, Seb reads, ‘I need Paris to speak careful afraid and helpless.’ Seb shakes his head. ‘Shit, eh! So she does want you to go and see her.’
The girls nod.
‘You know, that’s the third time she says the word “careful”.’
‘Is it?’ Poppy and Evie echo.
‘Yep.’ Seb unfolds a piece of paper from his back pocket. ‘See,’ he points, ‘I’ve underlined them. She keeps saying words like “careful” and “scared” and “help”.’
Again, they nod with his observation.
‘And those are plain words, not anagrams. There’s no extra meaning or puzzle in them.’
Slumping into the seat, Evie sighs. ‘We’re never going to get this, are we?’
‘Come on,’ Poppy says. ‘Let’s go through every single message so far. There has to be a
clue. We must be missing something really simple.’
They crowd around Seb’s bit of paper. A guy from the seat behind leans over, trying to get a look for himself.
‘Do you mind?’ Poppy’s indignation comes as a shock. Quickly she winks at Seb and Evie then turns back to the boy and says in a lowered voice. ‘Hey, I’m sorry but you can’t look at this. We’re involved in a really … special initiative to help prevent … the spread of drug trafficking among … students in the playground. You could be really jeopardising our project by trying to sneak a look like this.’
‘As if,’ the kid mutters, retreating back into his seat.
Evie sits there, wondering how Poppy manages to think of such things.
Poppy suppresses a giggle. ‘So, where were we, team?’
Evie runs her finger along the list of messages Seb holds and begins to read them one by one.
‘Look the door scared –’
‘Look the door?’ Poppy interrupts. ‘Are you sure it wasn’t “lock the door”?’
‘No, it’s definitely look the door,’ Evie explains. ‘That’s what I had to do the first time I went to the Penis Abuser to see Paris. Even the man painting the new sign told me to wait and watch the door – something like that.’
‘Okay,’ Poppy nods. ‘Well, that’s clear.’
‘That’s “scared”, number one,’ counts Seb.
Evie continues to read. ‘Scared Paris talk careful I need assistance and help.’
‘And the first “careful”,’ Seb adds.
‘It’s all self-explanatory, this stuff,’ Evie sighs. ‘We know Caz won’t speak to the grown-ups and that she’s scared for Paris and wants me to try and talk to her.’
‘But you haven’t spoken to her since you slipped the envelope under the door,’ Poppy says. ‘You really need to see her again, Evie. I know you don’t want to. But she must be the one to know –’
‘Look, I’m trying to convince myself I’ll be fine. You know that. But, out of it all, Paris is what freaks me out the most.’
‘So these are the names you gave Paris in the letter ’cause that was the next message.’ Seb runs his finger along the line that reads. ‘Say to her Cosmin, Petar, Irina, Nistor.”
Evie nods. ‘Victoria reckons they’re definitely Romanian names.’
‘Maybe they’re rellies or something,’ Poppy adds.
‘Then the horrible one,’ Evie murmurs. ‘Nails asleep scratches armpits pants torn hands cold ice.’
‘I looked at those words for ages in class today,’ Seb says. ‘I thought if any of the words were anagrams, they’d be these, but I just can’t get anything. Well, anything that makes sense.’
‘Then she said,’ Evie continues. ‘“Ask Nora Ask Her Secrets True Paris Identity Curva, Curva …” which is like saying “slut, slut”.’
‘The message I wrote was the next one,’ Poppy says. ‘That’s when she told us it was a puzzle and that Seb could crack it.’
‘She didn’t say I’d crack it; she said I’d help,’ Seb replies.
‘Shoosh,’ Evie tells them. “Cryptic Name Puzzle Trace All Spell Anagram Identity Help”. Then she gave us, “Please I Trapped Now Awful Consequences Ask Seb Help”. That was the last message she gave me through the board. The next two have been in different forms.’
‘Why do you think that is?’ Seb asks.
‘I don’t know.’ Evie’s fingers play with the corners of the page. ‘But I feel like the awful consequences are things happening here in our world, not where she’s from.’
The three of them look at one another and Evie wonders if they feel the same darkness.
‘Next,’ Poppy continues. ‘“Careful Tiptoe His Seed Is Planted and No One Aware”.’
‘And you’re going to find out if Caz could’ve been pregnant,’ Evie says.
‘Yep.’
‘Oh, I’m so glad you’re the one doing that,’ Seb groans.
‘Then there’s the one you got today,’ Poppy says. ‘“I Need Paris to Speak Careful Afraid And Helpless”. Well, we know what she’s saying there.’
‘I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it,’ Evie repeats. ‘This weekend. She’ll be at the Penis Abuser and I’m going to make sure she talks to me.’
‘Go girl!’ Poppy pats her on the back. ‘That’s the way.’
‘I know what I wanted to ask you!’ Seb suddenly blurts. ‘Have you tried doing any pictures or drawings? Anything, like last time with … Athena?’
‘It’s so different this time. I can’t communicate with Caz like I did with Athena. Drawing just came so naturally with her. Every time I drew a clue, it was like she controlled the pencil, not me, and …’ Evie stops. ‘Hang on. I did do a sketch one morning when I was talking to Alex on the phone. Shit, I probably threw it out but I remember thinking at the time that it was a weird thing to draw and it made me feel kind of odd too. Why don’t I take more notice when I feel like that? I never learn!’
‘What was the picture of?’
‘Cubes. A row of cubes, then they turned into cages and I remember I couldn’t stop thinking about those really sad circus bears.’
‘Cages?’ Poppy shakes her head. ‘Trapped!’
‘Hmm.’ Seb’s shaking his head.
‘Look, she even says “trapped” in here.’ Poppy is flicking through the book. ‘Something has to make sense in here.’
‘This is hopeless,’ Evie says. ‘Hopeless.’
‘Hang on!’ Seb raises one hand while the other runs along the messages, word by word. ‘I think … I’m not sure but I may have something.’
‘What?’ Eve and Poppy say in unison.
Seb turns to them, his voice fast in its whisper. ‘These messages are all nine words. Look.’
They count together. ‘One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight … nine.’
‘So it is an anagram,’ he nods. ‘But I’ve been looking at it the wrong way. Maybe it’s just one word. One word, nine letters long.’
‘And that’s the message?’ Evie asks.
‘It has to be,’ Seb answers. ‘It just has to be.’
The week crawls by. Evie almost counts the minutes while the apprehension jiggles in the pit of her stomach. Some of the time she feels they are no closer to finding what they needed to know and yet at other times she feels they are almost there. But time is running out. Evie senses the urgency around her. Sometimes she hears it like a clock ticking above her head – tick, tock, tick, tock.
One thing has to be done – she has to see Paris. She has to make her speak. Yet what will she say? How will she do it? Maybe she’s left it too long. Maybe she should’ve seen her earlier.
These are the thoughts that occupy Evie’s mind. She can think of nothing else.
Thursday evening finally arrives and Evie paces the house like a caged tiger. Poppy is at Roxy’s place tonight preparing their Ancient History presentation. Poppy will be asking Dana all the questions they’ve agreed on. Evie hopes she’ll bring back some answers.
‘Have you got ants in your pants?’ her father asks. ‘Sit down. You’re giving me motion sickness.’
‘Oh? Oh, sorry.’ She sits next to him on the couch.
‘Stop tapping your foot, Evie!’
‘Oh? Sorry.’
Nick sighs and shakes his head.
‘Have you got the phone, Dad?’
He passes her the hand-held. Evie presses the on button, checking for a dial tone. Just in case.
‘Out!’ Nick says to her. ‘Go and pace somewhere else. You’re driving me crazy.’
Evie sits on the front doorstep. A mild November breeze carries the smell of the nearby barbeques. Another year almost over.
The phone rings. Evie jumps to her feet.
‘Hello?’
‘It’s me.’ Poppy sounds breathless.
‘I was getting worried.’
‘Sorry. I stayed for dinner and Dad picked me up so I couldn’t use my mobile. Then the stupid lifts weren’t working so I
had to run up four flights of stairs to get to the phone,’ Poppy puffs. ‘Hang on, just let me get my breath.’
Evie walks up and down the drive, waiting for Poppy to recover. ‘So?’
‘So. Mission accomplished.’
‘And?’
‘According to Dana, Caz was the “big v”.’
‘A virgin? Are you sure?’
‘Dana said she was a real prude.’
‘It doesn’t make sense.’
‘Well, Dana said she was really shy. She didn’t even like talking about sex. Wouldn’t even let her girlfriends see her boobs and stuff. Would never get changed in front of them.’
‘Really?’ A thought has been turning in Evie’s head. ‘Because … I didn’t say anything at first ’cause I didn’t think it was important, but you know that time Seb and I saw her in the cafe, I spewed.’
‘You spewed.’
‘Yeah. It just came up from nowhere.’
‘And you think it had something to do with Caz being pregnant?’ Poppy asks. ‘That’s kind of a long shot, Evie.’
‘How come I spewed, then? It came over me so quickly. Just out of nowhere …’
‘It was probably the sight of Dana,’ Poppy chuckles. ‘Look, Evie, you were probably just freaked out at seeing her. Remember, she doesn’t know anything about what you’re going through.’
‘You’re right,’ answers Evie, yet the thought still sits in her head.
‘Anyway, it was lucky I got the info out of her when I did ’cause guess who dropped over?’
‘Who?’
‘Zac.’
‘You’re kidding.’
‘Nope,’ Poppy says. ‘He and Dana disappeared for ages. God knows what they were doing. Zac acts all different in front of Dana, you know.’
‘Different how?’
‘Different nice. He’s all sweet and softly spoken around her.’
‘Weird.’
‘Yeah. Come to think of it, it was a pretty weird night.’
‘But you got the info, love.’
‘I got the info.’ Poppy chuckles. ‘I should be on CSI.’
‘Well, it blows my theory on Caz being pregnant.’
‘Sorry. I guess we’re back to step one?’