Ocean Pearl

by J. C. Burke

  There were long lulls between the first couple of sets. We sat there for at least five minutes listening to Megan groan and swear before anything decent rolled through.

  Georgie wasn't speaking nor was she letting Megan's mouth get to her. She was quietly staring out at the horizon, waiting patiently for that wave.

  I felt like I had a clock in my head – tick tock tick tock – and time was running out. The third wave in the set had already passed. So I was doing my breathing and telling myself not to stress. Stressing was for the neurotics and I was not one of them.

  Then it came. Georgie swung around and started paddling. She had to work fast to pick it off as it chased her down the line. Georgie was up, turning and smacking it vertically off the top, all the way into shore, then ending with a close-out smash!

  Megan, I and then Micki weren't far behind. We were all pulling rabbits out of the hat.

  I was amped. Perfectly, I'd executed two tailside reos followed by a roundhouse, hitting it off the foam.

  Micki laughed as she paddled up next to me. 'Way to go! Where'd that come from?'

  'My new attitude,' I grinned. 'Take it as it comes.'

  'That's cool. Can I have a bit of that?'

  We were surfing under contest conditions so we were meant to be taking it seriously and we were trying to, but Megan sounded like a steam train as she tried to catch up with Georgie. The huffing and puffing was throwing us off our game.

  'I think I can. I think I can,' I said and giggled, as in front of us Megan worked her arms through the water like a couple of oars.

  'Shhh,' Micki whispered. 'She'll come and drown us if she hears.'

  Again Georgie was first at the take-off zone, just in time for one of the biggest sets of the morning. She paddled over the first two waves, then swung around to take the third.

  Megan looked like she was panicking in case there was nothing left for her to pick off.

  Suddenly she started waving her arms above her head.

  'What's Megan up to?' Micki said.

  'Is she laughing or . . .?'

  Megan was pointing at something on her left side. I looked behind to see Jake running towards the shoreline, giving us the signal to come in – now.

  'Shark!' Micki cried.

  'What! Where?'

  'Dunno but Megan's spotted it.'

  'Shark!' Megan started calling in a voice that was so hysterical you didn't know if she was laughing or crying. 'Shark!'

  Georgie had let the wave pass and was paddling towards us like a mechanical toy on overdrive. 'C'mon, c'mon,' she was shouting. 'C'mon, Micki! Kia? Hurry.'

  Together our arms dug through the water. We had to catch this wave or we'd end up being breakfast.

  'What's Megan doing?' Georgie was trying to look behind. 'What's she doing? Why isn't she . . .?'

  Too late. The water rose beneath us, propelling us towards the safety of the shore.

  Through the rush and hiss of the water I could hear Georgie shouting, 'Where's Megan?'

  'What the hell is Megan playing at?' was Jake's greeting as we stumbled and collapsed onto the sand, a big tangle of leg ropes and wild hair and puffing breath.

  'What is she doing?'

  Shyan had the binoculars glued to her face. 'I can't spot it, Jake,' she said. 'Can you?'

  We three sat up to see Megan stylishly bottom-turning about to draw out a long arcing cutback.

  'Where's – the – shark?' Georgie panted.

  'There obviously isn't one,' Jake growled. 'Megan?' Jake called through the loud hailer. 'Into the beach. Now!'

  Boy, was Megan busted!

  Jake went berserk. I'm talking a total psycho flip-out. I think he forgot we were there 'cause he used just about every swear word I'd ever heard.

  Megan stood there kicking at the sand and looking everywhere but at him.

  Jake's arms were locked behind his back. He took a step towards Megan and said something strange like, 'I think you have been lying to us, Megan.'

  Megan picked up her board and started walking back to camp.

  'Carla's office,' Jake said, jogging behind her. 'Leave your board here and follow me.'

  'I'll take the others up to the pool,' Shyan called. 'Come on, girls.'

  It took my legs about a minute before they could move. My voice? I think I'd swallowed that in the surf.

  MICKI

  Wednesday 17 June, 9.11 pm.

  In Starfish Bungalow with Kia and Georgie. NO MEGAN! Lucky Kia made me stick you back together coz today needs to be written down word 4 word. Kia and Georgie even ordered me to write it coz they reckon it's probably the weirdest day we'll eva have in our lives. Kia said they (whoever 'they' r???) might wanna make a movie about it some day. For about the first time eva Georgie agreed with her.

  OMG I don't even know where to start. The last 24 hours has been craaaaazy!!! I haven't even mentioned wat happened last night, telling Georgie about my dad, telling Kia about my mum!!!! That was big and I feel good. But that'll take up heaps of space so I'll write that lata coz Georgie keeps bugging me (yes I am writing this in bed with the light on and the others here) asking if I've written the bit about us accidentaly ON PURPOSE hearing what Jake said to Carla. There was lots of stuff they said, but this line is what we've been discussing all afternoon and night, trying to figure out what it means.

  'Megan's been doing it here. She's been doing it all over the place. Right under our noses.'

  'I just wrote what Jake said,' I told Georgie.

  'Did you say it word for word?'

  'Yeah.' I read out Jake's line the way I'd written it. '"Megan's been doing it here. She's been doing it all over the place. Right under our noses."'

  'That's perfect. But you don't need to read it out, Micki. It's your diary. It's private.'

  Georgie went back to the pile of bikini tops that she was threading strings through. Now I got why Kia and Georgie's Bikina business had been so quiet. It's 'cause they hadn't been talking to each other. But neither Kia nor Georgie had said a thing about it – until last night.

  Actually, last night I got the impression that they hadn't even really talked about it themselves. They were acting kind of awkward when it came up in conversation.

  Kia felt so bad about breaking the Starfish pact. She felt that she'd let us down. But I told her and Georgie my view that here, at camp, was like a different world. The outside world was so much harder that maybe the promises we made here weren't compatible with real life.

  I nearly told them that I was a totally different person at camp. I didn't because it would've sounded too weird and also it'd make me feel self-conscious. I wanted Miss Micki to be who they thought I was. When I was down, like the last couple of days, I wanted them to think that it was just Miss Micki being grumpy. But now they both knew about Dad, maybe it meant I didn't have to worry so much?

  'It's good to have Jake's line about Megan written down,' Kia said from behind a bikini catalogue she was engrossed in. 'In case we ever find out what he meant. "She's doing it all over the place,"' Kia repeated. 'But what is she doing?'

  The facts (which we don't have a clue about) and our theories.

  Theory 1: KIA thinks Jake was talking about Megan having sex but Georgie and I looked at her like, 'Yeah who with? A gorilla?'

  Theory 2: GEORGIE reckons she must've been stealing stuff.

  Theory 3: I think Megan's been taking drugs. What drugs I don't actually know, but I can tell. I even said it a couple of days ago. Georgie and Kia reckon my theory is ridiculous. Georgie said about a thousand times, 'Micki, Megan is an elite sportswoman.'

  So?

  Besides, how many drug addicts have she and Kia met?????

  Dad had a mate called Frank. I say 'had' 'cause Frank went to gaol. Which was the best place for him 'cause it meant he couldn't come anywhere near my dad. Frank was the reason Davo busted so many times. They were real drug buddies.

  It was a couple of nights ago, when I heard Megan pacing around outside in the m
iddle of the night, that I thought of Frank, 'cause that's what he used to do.

  For a couple of months he stayed at our place. He was so wired he never slept. He'd just walk around the house all night. I'd hear the floorboards creak as he moved from room to room.

  Some days he'd sit in the lounge room like a zombie and then other days he'd be talking so fast and jumping from one topic to another that you didn't have a clue what he was on about. He scared me the most when he was like that.

  But it was mainly two things that got me thinking. Megan chewing gum, her jaw going around and around in circles the same as Frank's did. And Megan's eyes. Big, crazy eyes that looked like they didn't belong to her face anymore, just like Frank's looked.

  'Do you reckon Carla and Jake'll tell us?' Georgie said. 'The truth, I mean, about what the hell has happened?'

  'Who knows?' Kia answered. 'I just want to know if Megan's coming back. Her clothes are gone but her boards are still here. I'd love to have a go of that green stripy one.'

  'Megan said she'll be back,' Georgie reminded her.

  'Yeah, but did she mean "I'll be back tomorrow" or "I'll be back to get my revenge."'

  'She meant "See you tomorrow."'

  'You think?'

  While Georgie and Kia pulled apart the three words 'I'll be back', I recorded the shark – or rather the no-shark – story. How over the top was that? As we paddled out this morning, none of us said anything about being scared, but I was conscious of the fact Shyan had seen a shark the day before. The others probably were too.

  That was one theory the three of us did agree on. Megan giving the shark signal wasn't for a practical joke. It was 'cause Georgie was winning out there and Megan couldn't play catch-up like she usually did. Psycho but true.

  'I just can't believe Megan,' Georgie said. 'Did she really think that Jake and Shyan were going to score her on that wave? She was meant to be paddling in with us, getting away from the supposed shark.'

  'She wasn't winning,' Kia replied. 'It was freaking her out. I don't know why you don't get that, Georgie.'

  'But Megan knows about good sportsmanship. I mean, she's an elite – '

  'Georgie!' Kia shouted. 'You keep saying that.'

  'But that would mean she was cheating.' Georgie was starting to do yawns that were so long they were turning into yodels. 'Megan wouldn't cheat.'

  'She did,' I said to Georgie. 'I reckon she was cheating in lots of ways.'

  Georgie growled and pulled the doona over her head.

  We were exhausted, which we had to expect 'cause we hadn't got to bed till three am. Plus, after the Megan incident Jake and Shyan hadn't let up on us, so we were double exhausted.

  We'd had pool activities, the longest gym session ever, another two surfs and Pilates. They'd even shoved us into the kitchen for a healthy cooking lesson with Brian, who was as unhappy about it as we were.

  I reckon they thought that if they kept us busy we wouldn't think about what'd happened.

  Wrong! Getting us out of the way just made us all the more curious. That's why Georgie had come up with the idea of sneaking around to the fire exit next to Carla's office.

  We chocked the door open, just enough to lean our heads out and just enough to pull them back in and disappear.

  The conversation between Carla and Jake was just a muffled 'mrrbermemrr ' through the wall. Except the odd time Jake raised his voice and we heard things like 'But the cleaner even said Megan was up in the bungalow then!' and 'Carla, none of us want to believe it. But being juniors doesn't make them exempt.'

  'What's exempt mean?' Kia had whispered.

  'I think he means that just because we're juniors doesn't make us innocent,' replied Georgie.

  I nodded in agreement. That sounded about right.

  'But innocent of what?' Kia asked.

  'Shut up and we'll find out!'

  That's when Georgie got braver. She crept out the door, got on her hands and knees and crawled along the carpet till she was about two metres from the entrance to Carla's office.

  She stayed a couple of minutes then scuttled back.

  'I just heard Carla say, "Does this become a police matter?" I think she's crying. She keeps going, "I can't believe this, Jake, I can't believe it."'

  'Is Megan in there?' I asked.

  'No,' Georgie reported. 'She's with Shyan. That's all I could get.'

  The three of us were sitting on the bottom step of the fire stairs. The cold, hard concrete was making my bum feel like a block of ice.

  'What are we going to do?' Georgie said and groaned. 'Whatever Megan's done, it's serious.'

  That was also about the tenth time today Georgie had said 'What are we going to do?' She was fully stressing out about what Megan had or hadn't done. As we'd made our manic escape from the 'shark', it was Georgie who kept calling out 'Is Megan okay?' Not me. Not Kia.

  Out of us, Georgie was the one who actually had a relationship with Megan. Most of the time it was sledging and fierce competition but under all of that Georgie respected Megan as a surfer. Now it seemed that Megan hadn't deserved Georgie's or anyone's respect.

  'We should go back.' Kia stood up. 'They've got to come out soon. I mean, they've been in there for yonks.'

  'Yeah but –' started Georgie.

  'Georgie?' I said, touching her hand and squeezing it. 'There's nothing we can do.'

  'I know. I know,' she sighed. 'Okay. Let's go.'

  We'd just snuck down the first flight of stairs when Jake's voice had suddenly boomed through the wall.

  'Megan's been doing it here. She's been doing it all over the place. Right under our noses.'

  'Run!' 'Hurry up!' Our voices echoed in the stairwell as three pairs of ugg boots hit the concrete at such a pace we were almost trampling on one another.

  I've caught the yawns from Georgie. I'm almost writing with my eyes closed. So I'll say goodnight but just one thing. Georgie and Kia are the BEST!!!

  They are fully pissed with Ace. Especially Georgie. Last night she was upset and saying things like 'You know Ace loves you' and 'Ace thinks of you like her little sister', but today WHOA . . . MASSIVE TURN AROUND . . . Georgie was totally spitting. She hasn't said it, but I think she feels used. Fair enough 2.

  I don't know what'll happen the next time one of us sees Ace. Thank goodness Megan's coming back. I never thought I'd say that. But at least I'll never have to be her friend. It's lucky for Georgie 2 coz if I know Georgie she'll make sure Megan never wins again, and that's gonna be a good thing for Georgie.

  But then how r we gonna surf with a cheat (and a druggie coz I'm soooo sure I'm right) and be in the same team! That doesn't make sense. Wouldn't Carla and Jake realise that wouldn't work??? But if Megan wazn't coming back they would've told us tonight and they didn't so that wouldn't mean that Ace is . . .

  I really needed to go to sleep 'cause I wasn't thinking straight.

  2 tired. Kia's already asleep.

  M M xx

  PS good to have u back

  When I was eleven, I'd got back from school one day to find Annie, our neighbour, sitting on the front steps of our house. That was not a good sign. In a really chirpy voice, she'd told me that Dad had 'made himself a bit sick' and had gone to hospital. But there was 'nothing to worry about'.

  Annie took me back to her place and made toast with honey. I remember trying to swallow the bread but I couldn't force it past the lump in my throat. So I rolled it around the sides of my mouth until it was squishy enough to slip through the gaps.

  All afternoon and into the night I watched the front door, waiting for my dad to walk in and take me home, while Annie chatted, nonstop. I wasn't listening to a thing she said, but I do remember the way her voice sounded – really, really fake, as though everything was fine and there wasn't this spun-out eleven-year-old sitting at her kitchen table wondering if she was ever going to see her dad again.

  Now I'm older, I understand that Annie didn't know how to handle it. Poor Annie. She's had to get better
at it.

  This morning was the same. It was a totally different situation but it was the same. The way Jake and Shyan sang 'Good morning, girls' and talked extra loud and laughed more than usual reminded me of Annie and that day.

  Georgie summed it up when she said, 'Why isn't anyone talking about the enormous elephant in the room?'

  'What elephant?' Kia said, scanning the dining room for one.

  'Kia! It's a thing you say, like why hasn't anyone mentioned . . .' Georgie waved her hands. 'Oh, forget it.'

  'What Georgie means – ' I started, trying really hard to keep a straight face. But I stopped 'cause Jake was walking towards our table.

  'Rec room in five minutes, girls,' he said. This time he sounded serious.

  Shyan, Jake and Carla were waiting there for us. But there was no Megan with them. Carla looked exhausted. She'd piled on extra make-up but it wasn't fooling anyone.

  Georgie, Kia and I curled up on the couch, waiting to hear whose theory was right.

  'Girls, before we begin,' Carla said while she played with the rings on her finger. 'I just want to say thank you for being so great yesterday. You all just rolled with whatever we threw at you. No questions. No whinging. You got on with it. So, thank you.'

  Kia started to give us a clap. Georgie nudged her and she stopped.

  Carla cleared her throat. 'Megan's gone and she won't be coming back.'

  The three of us sat bang upright on the couch. 'No!' Georgie gasped.

  Jake stared at his feet. Shyan looked like she was about to burst into tears.

  'Megan's been very foolish.' Carla's voice was trembling. 'She's broken the most important rule, not just a rule of this surf camp but also of fair play and good sportsmanship. Not to mention trust and integrity.'

  Kia's elbow was digging into my ribs.

  'Can – can we ask what she's done?' Georgie said. 'I think we have a right to know, especially if she was cheating. I mean, I've been competing against this girl for ages. If Megan's been using some kind of performance-enhancing drug then I think I've got a right to know what I've been trying to beat.'

  'I'm sorry, Georgie. I can't go into specifics,' Carla said.