by James Dawson
Alisha wondered what had happened after she’d left Katie and Ben alone on the beach. Katie had come to bed about half an hour later – plenty of time for her and Ben to have . . . Alisha pushed the idea from her head; for some reason it made her queasy. Instead she raised a glass of pineapple juice. ‘OK, here’s to Janey Bradshaw, then. She was the best.’
Everyone scrabbled for something to toast with. Coffees, teas and juices were raised. ‘To Janey.’
‘Don’t start without me,’ a new voice interrupted.
Six heads turned. Six faces fell.
Framed by the sliding doors stood a beautiful new arrival. A pastel headscarf held flowing, dirty-blonde waves off her face. The skin on her long, bare legs was the deepest gold tan. A stone gleamed in the hollow of her belly button. She smiled, but there was not a trace of kindness in it. ‘To Janey.’
It was Roxanne Dent.
SCENE 10 – RYAN
Ryan could only gawp, mouth hanging open. If this were the summer special, it was suddenly must-see TV. This was priceless. They’d renegotiated contracts, they’d signed on the dotted line and they’d brought back Roxanne. Of course they had.
The timing was perfect. Would this require a flashback? Roxanne Dent – high-school Lolita, boyfriend stealer and best friend turned arch-nemesis of Alisha Cole was in the building.
There was a moment of stillness, in which Ryan and, he assumed, the others, processed whether or not this apparition was real. She could be a mirage, a figment of a sun-frazzled mind.
But then Alisha spoke, breaking the spell, and it seemed all too real. Colour had drained from her face. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Hey, Alisha,’ Roxanne said with added sugar. ‘I know things were weird between us but—’
Alisha cut her off. ‘What the hell is she doing here? Is this a wind-up?’ Ryan could almost taste her anger. On the rage-o-meter she was flashing orange.
‘Oh, wow. Alisha, try not to—’ Katie began.
‘OK, I’m not kidding. Will someone please tell me what’s going on?’ Alisha’s face contorted and, through sheer frustration, it looked like she might cry. Roxanne, on the other hand, was as cool and serene as an iceberg. Man, she was good. Ryan memorised her poise for future stage use. She held her hands up peacefully.
Alisha pushed back her chair. The iron legs caught in a groove between the paving slabs and the chair toppled backwards.
Greg was quicker than his sister. In a single fluid move, he rose from the breakfast table and placed himself between the two girls. ‘Alisha, maybe we should take a walk on the beach or something . . .’
Roxanne remained tranquil, looking almost bored at how predictable Alisha’s reaction was. ‘Good to see you too, Alisha. Are you finished?’
Alisha took a deep breath. ‘Oh, my God, you have got some nerve coming here . . .’
‘Alisha, I really don’t want any trouble. I just came to chill for a few days.’
‘What? You’re kidding, right?’ Alisha’s voice was sounding more and more strained.
Next to Ryan, Ben stood and steered Roxanne into the lounge. A subtle move, but it put distance between her and the oncoming storm that was Alisha in full flow. Greg stayed with his sister, while Ryan and the others followed Ben. There was no way Ryan wanted to miss this. It was probably the most exciting thing that had happened all year.
Of course Roxanne Dent needed to be here. What would any story be without a villain? Ryan could tell Ben was trying to remain as polite as possible, but his friend had never been keen on her.
‘Roxanne, it’s great to see you, obviously, but what are you doing here?’ Ben asked.
Roxanne smiled. Ryan had forgotten just how gorgeous she was. The mass of blonde hair, the upward curve of her perpetually parted lips, the button nose – it was all delicious somehow. ‘What do you mean?’ she replied. ‘Katie invited me.’
Cue sitcom-style head-swivel. All eyes turned to the redhead.
Katie seemed about to deny it when her face went milk-bottle-white followed by pillar-box-red. ‘I did,’ Katie said, her wide eyes unblinking.
‘What?’ Ryan couldn’t keep the shrill horror out of his voice. Was she mad? Did she harbour some secret desire to see Alisha tear flesh from another human?
‘On Facebook.’ Katie could only manage random words. She looked like she was about to cry.
‘Again . . . what?’ he asked more gently. Katie was the ultimate go-to person for peacekeeper. This was an epic screw-up. Monumental. But also fabulous.
Roxanne raised an eyebrow – a mixture of genuine confusion and creeping annoyance. ‘I was chatting to Katie on Facebook a few weeks back, and she said you were all coming out for the last couple of weeks of July. I was in Morocco, but I told her I’d be coming to Spain, so she said, “Why don’t you drop by?” So I did!’
‘So you did,’ Ben repeated. He seemed to be in an even worse state of shock than Katie; his face was a sickly ashy grey.
‘I . . . I was being polite.’ Katie couldn’t even look at the others. Beyond the patio doors, Greg could clearly be heard telling Alisha to chill out.
Roxanne’s face fell. ‘Oh, God. Have I been the biggest remedial in the world? That wasn’t actually an invite, was it? This is so embarrassing. Am I a homewrecker?’
‘I think you mean party-crasher,’ Ryan muttered under his breath, ‘but, yes, that too.’
‘No.’ Katie snapped out of it, remembering her manners. ‘No, it’s fine.’
Ryan followed suit. More than wanting to reassure Roxanne, he felt bad for Katie. ‘It’s great to see you, Rox.’ He gave her air kisses. ‘You look fierce as ever.’
‘You too, babe. Have you been working out?’
‘Do you know, I have. Thank you for noticing.’ Ryan grinned back, although he wasn’t fooled by the compliments. Gay, straight, young, old – Roxanne thought she could wind any man around her finger, and he wasn’t falling for it for a second.
‘I’m really, sorry, Rox. It was my bad. I totally forgot about the Facebook chat. I only woke up ten minutes ago. You came as something of a shock! But, of course, you’re more than welcome.’ Katie gave her old friend a hug.
‘Hmm, I dunno about that, hon. I don’t want Alisha to have a fit,’ Roxanne replied.
‘She’ll calm down,’ Katie promised. ‘I’ll talk to her.’
Roxanne looked out to the terrace, where Alisha was angrily gesticulating at her brother. ‘This is really awkward. Maybe I should just go.’
‘No,’ Ryan said. ‘Don’t be silly. You’ve come all the way from Morocco or wherever. You can’t just leave straight away.’ If nothing else, he thought, life was certainly more colourful with Rox around. Also, having a common enemy might help to glue the rest of them back together.
‘Absolutely. We’re just having breakfast. Come join us.’ As Katie said it, Ryan observed Ben. Thinking no one was looking, he scowled into the shadows in the corner. Ben’s face looked all wrong without a smile. It was unnerving. Ben said nothing, but prowled out of the lounge to join Greg and Alisha on the terrace.
‘That’d be awesome,’ Roxanne smiled. ‘I could murder a coffee.’
Katie and Erin sprang into action, both falling over themselves to accommodate the newcomer.
Ryan brought Rox up to speed. ‘Oh, Roxanne, this is Erin, Greg’s girlfriend.’ Erin stepped forward to greet her properly.
A flicker of amusement flashed across Roxanne’s face. Just for the briefest of moments, but long enough for Ryan to register it. ‘Oh, hi. How are you?’ Roxanne gave her a lavish kiss. It was almost too lavish, like it was designed to make the smaller girl uncomfortable.
‘I’m good, thanks. Nice to meet you.’ Erin remained as sweet as ever. ‘Did you say you’d been travelling?’
‘I did. I started out in Bangkok, then went on to Goa, then flew up to Scandinavia to stay with my aunt. Since then I’ve been InterRailing around Europe, and been to Egypt and Morocco. It’s been a pretty sweet year.’
Taking a deep breath, Ryan opened the door to the terrace.
Alisha looked right at Roxanne, the fire in her eyes not fully extinguished. She sprung off the low wall she’d been perching on. ‘Don’t worry, Roxanne, I’m not gonna do anything. Enjoy your breakfast.’ Alisha turned to Katie. ‘I’m not staying here with that.’ Alisha stomped past Roxanne, creating a wind as she went, and marched right for the bedrooms.
‘OK. Well, this is going well.’ Roxanne sucked air through her teeth and sat down at the head of the breakfast table, bold and steady. The others all now stood around the table like they’d been stupefied, watching her tuck into a pain au chocolat.
‘What did you expect, Rox?’ Greg looked angry. Reclaiming control of the situation, he sat down opposite Roxanne. If this was a game of chess, here were the king and queen.
‘She can’t still be mad about Callum,’ Roxanne said through a mouthful of pastry. ‘That was years ago.’
Ryan joined them. I’m probably a knight, he decided. ‘Oh, come on, Rox, it was only last May.’
‘And I feel really bad about it, I do,’ Rox said, ‘but it’s all just high-school stuff. It was nothing then. It’s even less now.’
The muscles in Greg’s jaw tightened. They fought like cat and dog, but Ryan knew that under all the bravado and teasing he truly loved his sister. ‘Alisha was heartbroken.’
‘I’ve said I’m sorry about sixteen million times, Greg. P.S. you are looking hot.’
Greg was caught completely off guard and blushed rose pink. Ryan hid a smile at Roxanne’s audacity. He snuck a glance at Erin and saw the first hint of negativity on her face. Her right eyebrow twitched.
‘Well, thanks, but that’s not the point, Rox,’ Greg muttered.
Roxanne sighed, throwing her head back. ‘Can we not do the big post-mortem? I’m here now. I left my hostel at, like, six. I thought you all knew I was coming or I would have never ever, ever come!’
Greg threw Katie a deathly look.
‘I totally forgot. It’s my fault,’ she said, still looking flustered.
‘Brilliant.’ He shoved an entire croissant into his mouth.
‘Oh, Greg,’ Roxanne giggled. ‘I’m meant to be meeting a friend in Paris in a couple of days – I’ll be out of your hair before you know it. Am I OK to crash for a night or two?’
‘Of course,’ said Katie, who seemed to be grovelling.
‘I’ll go in with Ryan,’ Ben said quietly. ‘Rox can take the sofa-bed.’
‘I, for one, am fine with those sleeping arrangements.’ Ryan gave a cheeky wink, knowing Ben would get the joke. He and Ben had gone top-and-tail since first school. Ben took up a lot of room, but at least he didn’t snore. Ryan’s joke went some way to lighten the mood.
Roxanne smiled. ‘Do you think I should go talk to Alisha?’
‘No!’ Ryan, Katie and Greg all exclaimed, Greg almost choking on his breakfast.
‘I’ll go.’ Katie held up her hand to stop Roxanne from leaving the table. ‘You know Alisha – she needs to let off steam. It’ll be fine.’ Katie headed for the bedrooms and Erin followed.
Ryan stayed where he was, eager to hear about Roxanne’s World Exploits Tour, but secretly wishing he could be a fly on that bedroom wall. Alisha had never claimed her revenge over Callum. Ryan suspected she was far from finished.
SCENE 11 – ALISHA
Alisha pulled her suitcase out from under the bed. She flung open the lid and started throwing clothes from the wardrobe into the case. Wire hangers pinged off the rail and clattered to the tiles.
And then she stopped.
This was insane. She was acting like a crazy soap-opera person.
She plonked onto the bed with a thud, bouncing up and down a couple of times. Her rage-filled mood swings were getting fewer and further between, but when they hit it was like a hurricane in her head. On the news you saw those swirling, vivid weather fronts sweep over an island. It felt like that but, as with any tropical storm, they always blew over eventually.
Roxanne, though. She was such a bitch. Normally that would be a terrible thing to say but, in this case, Alisha felt, it was merely stating legitimate fact.
There was a timid tap on the bedroom door.
‘Who is it?’
‘It’s Katie and Erin,’ Katie called.
Alisha paused. She didn’t want them to see her looking demented, but a quick self-scan indicated the storm had passed. ‘OK, come in.’
Katie entered the room looking a lot like a lion tamer entering a circus ring. ‘Are you OK?’
‘No.’ Alisha flopped back on the bed.
‘Alisha, I’m so sorry. When I spoke to Rox on Facebook I never thought for a second she’d actually turn up.’
‘You invited her?’ Ooh, the cyclone was circling again.
‘She was in Morocco. I thought we were safe. I guess I felt guilty because I knew she’d find out about the trip somehow and feel left out.’
‘Oh, my God, is that bitch for real?’ Erin asked, checking they were out of earshot. Alisha couldn’t stifle a laugh – she hadn’t expected that from Erin at all.
Katie sighed. ‘I understand this is a bit of a reach but, once you get to know her, she’s really lovely.’
Alisha bit her tongue long enough to consider the fact that for a long time she and Roxanne had been as thick as thieves. Roxanne had this thing, this spotlight, and when she turned it on you, you felt like a star – invincible and special. But then Rox had worked her magic on Callum . . . God, when would she stop being angry about that?
Erin didn’t seem convinced. ‘I don’t know, Katie. I mean, that was all a bit dramatic, wasn’t it? The big entrance and all that.’
‘That’s pretty much her style. I guess she’s a little . . . high maintenance.’
‘You can say that again.’ Alisha grimaced.
Katie sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing Alisha’s calf in a comforting way. Erin perched on the chair, saying nothing more, but lending moral support.
‘You really need to have a word with your guilt complex, Grant.’ Alisha sat up, rubbing her eyes.
‘I know, I’m an idiot!’ Katie laughed. ‘Do you really think I would have deliberately put you two in the same room?’
Alisha managed a half-smile. ‘No. God, I could kill you, though. I’ll kill her, then you!’
‘What did she do?’ Erin asked the inevitable question.
‘She stole my boyfriend!’ Alisha blurted out, well aware of how ridiculous that sounded.
‘Alisha Cole . . .’ Katie warned.
‘OK, whatever. My boyfriend, Callum, dumped me and then, about twenty minutes later, he was with her.’
Erin nodded sagely. ‘Oh, I see.’
‘Yeah, pretty suspicious, right?’
Katie gave her a surprisingly good shoulder rub, massaging the Roxanne-shaped knot under her collar bone. ‘We don’t know if there was any overlap, Alisha. Rox swears there wasn’t.’
‘I don’t care,’ Alisha said. ‘It’s like there are rules – you don’t wear red and purple together; eyes or lips; tits out or legs out; you don’t sleep with your mates’ exes!’
‘They are very simple rules,’ agreed Erin.
Katie moved on to her neck, massaging the space under her ears. It was bliss. ‘Alisha, I am going to say something, and you have to promise not to punch me, OK?’
Alisha frowned. ‘I’m not promising.’
‘Callum is hardly blameless in all this. He knew you and Rox were friends. Let’s have just a little female solidarity, please.’
Alisha sighed. She had read How To Be a Woman twice, but girls like Rox Dent made sister
hood hard. ‘You know what it is? You know why I really wanna rip her eyes out?’
‘I really didn’t need that image, but go on,’ Katie said.
‘We were there for her, man. All that crap she went through and we were there for her.’ Alisha turned to Erin. ‘There was this big sad story – her mum died of cancer and then her dad died, like, a year later.’
‘In a freak scaffolding collapse,’ Katie added with a grimace. ‘It was awful, like something from Final Destination.’
‘So, anyway,’ Alisha went on, ‘Rox came to live with her uncle in Telscombe Cliffs. She was an orphan, and even though she was this massive slut—’
‘Alisha!’
‘Sorry. Even though half the school hated her, we properly looked out for that girl. And this is what you get in return – one thieved boyfriend, no waiting.’
Katie sighed. ‘What do you want me to do? She’s just said she’s only staying for a couple of days. Do you think you can cope? It’s totally your call, my love. One word from you and I’ll send her packing.’
Alisha thought for a second. ‘You know what? I’m gonna be the bigger person. I mean Callum Granger is such a loser anyway, they actually deserve each other. I’ll be mature and cool and sophisticated. Three things Roxanne Dent is not.’
‘You show her who’s boss,’ Erin smiled.
‘Thanks, you two, I feel less mental now.’ Alisha rolled off the mattress and brushed herself down. ‘Right. I’m gonna go find out if that shady bitch is still shagging my ex. Coming?’
SCENE 12 – RYAN
The sand was red hot under his feet. It was almost too intense to bear, burning like hot coals. Ryan had two choices – run forward to the cooler sand near the surf, or go back to the villa and get some flip-flops. As he was carrying one end of a pool lounger, he opted for option A and kept going.
‘Christ, this sand is hot!’ he yelped at Roxanne, who held the other end.
‘Run for it!’ Roxanne squealed with a giggle, and he was reminded that once upon a time it had all been fun and games. In TV terms, Roxanne had been introduced in the third season to spice up flagging ratings. She was a stunning blonde with a hedonistic streak to rival Alisha’s. That was sort of the problem – perhaps the two girls had been too similar, trying to occupy the same niche like red and grey squirrels. And look how well that had worked out for the red squirrel.