Fifteen minutes later, a horn beeped and Aisley shouted goodbye to her mum and dashed out to the car. Aasha was sitting behind the wheel, as gorgeous as ever with her long, black hair and big brown eyes.
Aisley hadn't seen her since she'd left school and because Aasha was in a higher year level they'd never had that much to do with each other. Nonetheless, she was so down-to-earth that Aisley couldn't help but like her.
'We're going to have the house to ourselves,' Aasha said, turning the car around and driving down Loch Hill. 'So I say we grab that packet of Tim Tams my mum stashed in the back of the pantry, and go and do makeovers.'
Aisley grinned. Yep. She liked Aasha a lot.
Masquerade
Stewart Thomas sat in an armchair in Willa Fry's lounge room. He was fiddling with his phone and waiting for Willa. She'd gone to brush her hair a quarter of an hour ago. Surely it didn't take fifteen minutes to brush your hair? If she took much longer they were going to miss the start of the movie and the others would be wondering where they were. He fired off a quick text to Chandra.
On way
They weren't, but hey.
There was a sudden clatter of running feet and Willa's younger sister Rosie bolted into the room. Rosie was thirteen and she screeched to a halt at the sight of a high school senior in her lounge.
'Hi,' Stewart said, smiling. He sat up straighter in the chair.
Rosie muttered something incoherent, her face going approximately the same shade as beetroot, and then she turned and fled before he could utter another word. Stewart leaned back in the chair again, laughing silently to himself. Rosie had known him for ages but just lately he'd been having this effect on her.
The minutes ticked by. To pass the time he let his gaze drift lazily over the photos on the wall above the fireplace. He'd seen them all a hundred times before. Stewart had been a regular at the Fry household for almost two years now and sometimes he felt like he'd been coming here forever.
His interest was taken by a framed picture on the shelf above the telly and he stood up and wandered over for a closer inspection. It was of him with Willa. Her mum had taken it the first time he'd ever come here for dinner in an official boyfriend capacity.
The two of them were barely fifteen in the photo. They'd been in year nine and Willa's hair was much longer back then. She was wearing a blue dress that matched her eyes and she was sitting on his lap in the same armchair he'd just climbed out of. She was really pretty, her face literally glowing as they sat there cheek to cheek while Mrs Fry took the photograph. Stewart looked at his own likeness and gave a loud snort. What an absolute wanker!
'Could I possibly have made my hair any spikier?' he muttered out loud. 'Jeezus! There must be half a tub of freakin' wax in there!'
'Stewart?' Willa's voice from behind him made him jump. She was standing in the doorway wearing skinny jeans and an off-the-shoulder top. 'Who are you talking to?'
He glanced down at the picture in his hands and then up at her again. She's still the same person. So what's her problem?
Up until Wednesday, things had been great but yesterday she was extra moody. She said she had a migraine and maybe that was true, but he didn't think so. He could hear the lie in her voice. He insisted that they go to the movies tonight though. When she got like this, she didn't even want to get out of bed and he was determined to drag her out into the world. She needed to spend time with her friends. Maybe it would help her shake it off… this problem she had.
'Nobody,' he said. 'Just myself. Can you get your mum to put this photo away? I look pathetic in it.'
She walked gracefully across the room and took the picture from his hands. 'Don't be silly. You're cute in it.' She put it back on the shelf again. 'Just ask Rosie. I think she has a massive crush on you.'
'Really?' Stewart raised one eyebrow innocently. 'Hadn't noticed.'
Despite her smile, she had dark shadows under her eyes like she hadn't been sleeping well. 'Shall we get going?' she asked.
Stewart felt like he was outside of himself, watching this scene play out. Her smile is really fake and she seems … I dunno. She really should go see someone who knows about mood swings and stuff like that. No point me even mentioning it coz all she does is get pissed off …
'Earth to Stewart,' she sang, waving her hand in front of his face.
'Huh?'
'I said shall we get going? They'll be wondering where we are.'
He thought about saying that if they were late, it would be down to her, because she took so bloody long to get ready, but she wasn't having a great day and if he had a go at her she'd cry … then they'd fight … then he'd leave and feel guilty … same old crazy shit just like last time and the time before …
So in the end he said nothing at all and just followed her out the front door, pulling it firmly shut behind him.
A day later and it was time to go to Freya's party.
Aisley was in her bedroom pulling faces at herself in the full-length mirror. It was scary how different she looked since Aasha had popped over earlier and worked her magic.
'You wear a sari well, Ais,' she'd said. 'You sure you haven't got Hindi blood in you somewhere?'
With its flowing sash over one shoulder, the sari was beautiful but it was indeed risqué, just as Aasha had warned. The pretty top plunged alarmingly in the front and the tight skirt sat on her hips leaving her midriff bare. To begin with, Aisley kept pulling at the top in a vain effort to make the skimpy thing cover more skin.
Aasha had pulled her hands away. 'Leave it!' she'd scolded gently. 'It's supposed to fit like that.'
'My boobs are going to fall out,' Aisley had wailed.
'No, they're not,' Aasha had laughed. 'You'll be fine.' Aisley wasn't convinced, but she decided to take her word for it because Aasha knew her stuff.
She'd straightened Aisley's long hair so it hung down her back in a glossy, chestnut curtain. The pretty hair ornament she'd attached was the crowning glory, a web of silver chains looped across Aisley's head ending in a single faux diamond lying against her forehead. It was quite lovely.
'Wow,' Aisley had said as she gazed at the hair ornament in the mirror. 'That looks amazing!' Lots of black mascara and green kohl surrounded her eyes and she hardly recognised herself anymore.
Now with her moral support gone, she wondered if she'd gone overboard. There was a sudden babble of voices below. Everyone had arrived. Oh well, it was too late to get changed now. Aisley took a deep breath and gave her reflection a thumbs-up.
As she tiptoed across the mezzanine bridge in the ballet flats she'd decided to wear, she peeked over the railing at the hall below.
Cate was there in her vintage eighties costume. She'd managed to achieve big hair after all and her makeup was outrageous … false eyelashes and black lipstick. Her stiletto heels made her long legs longer.
Archie was reasonably intimidating as Darth Vader. Wearing his black-on-black outfit, he towered over Wade, beckoning him over to the dark side of the force. Instead of cowering in fear, Wade just begged for a go at the light sabre. Archie instantly dropped the tyrant façade and showed him how to use it.
As Aisley had anticipated, Chandra looked hot. The whole pirate outfit from the bandanna down to the boots suited him faultlessly and she could tell he knew it too. She realised she might have to put up with him being checked out by numerous females at the party.
As she went downstairs, Cate saw her first and gasped, 'Ais! You look seriously sexy, babe.'
Chandra, Archie and Wade turned to look at the same time. 'Whoa,' was all Archie could manage, his respirator getting alarmingly loud. Chandra just stared.
'Pfft!' Wade smirked. 'Who are you supposed to be? Princess Jasmine in Aladdin had black hair, you know? Not red!'
Aisley ignored her brother's opinion and did a twirl, making the silver bracelets she was wearing jingle prettily.
'Bollywood!' Cate laughed and clapped her hands. 'Omigod, it's fabulous!'
'No way did I
expect this,' Chandra said eyes wide.
'Oh, you don't like it then?' Aisley wilfully misunderstood. 'Damn! I'll go and get changed.' She made to climb the stairs but he grabbed her hand and reeled her in.
'Nuh uh! You look awesome!'
'Are you sure you don't want me to wear my nun costume instead?'
'Positive.' He kissed her, making Wade squirm with embarrassment.
'Awkward!' he yelped before disappearing upstairs. Archie activated his light sabre and waved it dangerously in the air.
'Cool it with the hot stuff,' he wheezed through his respirator. 'It's time to go aboard the Death Star and set a course for the Mistmoss sector. Let's move our arses before the rebels ambush us.'
'Death Star?' Chandra let Aisley go. 'Really?'
'Dad's car, then,' said Archie. He pointed at the kitchen. 'Onward!'
Archie's dad was designated taxi-driver for the evening. He'd parked at the top of the gravel road and was standing next to his car, talking with Shay and Grant.
'You look amazing,' Aisley told Cate taking her hand as they walked together to the car.
'You can talk,' Cate said. 'If I was gay I'd do you right here, right now!'
'Turn for me then,' Aisley breathed in her ear, making them both laugh.
'Trust you to come up with such a great idea and not tell anyone about it.' Cate lifted Aisley's sash to see how it was attached.
'I've always wanted to wear a sari,' Aisley said. 'They're so pretty. I thought it would be fun for Chandra to see me in one and it was too good a chance to miss.'
'He could've gone Bollywood too,' Cate remarked. 'Then you two could have done a dance routine together.' She chuckled at the thought of it.
'I dunno,' Aisley said. Chandra had stopped to wait for them to catch up and she narrowed her eyes at him. 'I think he makes a sexy pirate.'
'He does do it well,' Cate agreed.
'What do I do well?' Chandra wanted to know. He fell into step beside them.
'Oh, everything,' Aisley assured him, making him grin.
He followed her in to the back seat of the car and snuggled up to her. 'You look so good,' he muttered in her ear as he linked his fingers between hers. 'I'm almost too scared to touch you, Ais.'
'I'm sure you'll get over that!'
'Gonna do my best.'
'Oh puh-leez!' grumbled Cate arranging her ruffled skirt. 'You two want to keep it clean while I'm here?'
'Sorry Madonna,' said Chandra.
'Oh hey! Yeah…' Archie in the front seat pushed a disc into the player. 'Mum loaned me this vintage CD,' he told them. 'It's got heaps of old stuff on it.'
'This is from my day!' protested Mr Evans. 'It's hardly vintage.'
Everyone laughed him down, so he gave up and drove down Loch Hill, turned right and headed for Jarvis and the Sally May.
At night, Mistmoss Heritage Village was closed to the general public. All the tourists and the school excursion groups packed up and went home. The blacksmith, schoolhouse, and stables stood darkly deserted, and the cobbled streets were silent and spooky. But down on the dock, the Sally May was lit up like a veritable Chinese lantern. The sound of loud music thumped out into the night and the atmosphere was electric.
Archie's dad dropped his passengers off on the dock.
'I'll, um, pick you all up later,' he told Archie, averting his eyes and looking cagey. 'Yes. Later, just like normal. Nothing strange about that at all.'
'What the hell, dad?' Archie rasped through his voice synthesizer.
'Nothing!' Mr Evans held his hands up like he was stopping a runaway train. 'I didn't say nothing. Anything, I mean! I didn't say anything! You didn't hear anything from me and don't say you did!'
With that, he dived back into his car and took off before Archie could say anything else.
'Did that seem odd to you?' Archie asked Aisley.
'Very strange,' she agreed. 'I think your dad knows something we don't.'
Another car pulled up and Stewart, dressed like an old-time American gangster, emerged from it, followed by Willa. Stewart immediately guessed that Darth Vader was Archie.
'How goes it, Archibald?' he greeted him. With a stripy suit and a hat tipped low over his eyes, Stewart looked devastatingly sinister. He leaned his fake machine gun against his shoulder like a baseball bat.
'It goes well, thank you Mr Capone,' Archie said. Cate sashayed past him at that moment, hips swinging and ruffles floating and Archie's rasping cranked up a notch. 'It goes very well, in fact. Now, if only Mr King would decide not put in an appearance tonight, it would go even better than you could possibly imagine!'
'You wan' I should put out a contract on him?' Stewart drawled in a passable gangster voice.
'Nah.' Archie flapped his hand. 'I don't want him dead. Just living as far away as possible is all. Siberia, perhaps. Can you arrange that?'
'Sorry. Not in my line of work.'
'Too bad. Oh well.' Archie followed Cate onto the Sally May.
Willa's costume was a French maid. She clicked across the wooden floor of the lower deck in high heels, her short black dress and frilly apron drawing attention from more than a few guys in the place.
'Willa looks … inspiring,' Archie told Stewart approvingly.
Stewart laughed. 'Inspiring?'
'Well, you know what I mean.'
'No. Tell me?' Stewart let Archie squirm for a moment before letting him off the hook. He turned around to talk to two girls from their year. They were both wearing Lady GaGa outfits. When Willa noticed him chatting with them, she went over and grabbed his hand possessively.
Cate leaned over to Aisley.
'It seems like Willa and Stewart's on-again is still on-again,' she murmured. 'Who knew? I think this might be a record for them.'
Aisley nodded. Willa's relationship with Stewart was erratic, to say the least and Aisley couldn't help but feel sorry for Stewart. He always seemed to try so hard but Willa never seemed happy. Still, like Cate said, they'd been together for a few weeks this time so maybe things were looking up. She wandered over to where the two of them were now talking to Chandra. The Lady GaGa's had disappeared into the crowd on the dance floor.
'Surfing,' said Willa to Aisley. 'Do they ever talk about anything else?'
'Not these two,' Aisley replied. 'Especially with six months to catch up on. You look beautiful, Willa.'
'No. You're beautiful. I look like a hooker.'
'Hardly!'
Willa wasn't convinced. 'If I was even half as beautiful as you, I'd think myself lucky.'
'Pfft!' Aisley rolled her eyes. 'What are we? The mutual admiration society?' She managed to drag a smile out of Willa with that comment and was quite pleased with herself.
'It was Stewart's idea,' said Willa her eyes wandering around the room. She seemed tense. 'Do you think this thing will go on very late?'
'It said eight till late on the invitations.' Aisley shrugged. 'Knowing Freya, we'll be here all night.'
Willa groaned. 'Oh, I sincerely hope not.'
'Don't you feel well?'
'Not really. I have… I have a headache. I wish I hadn't come.'
It was on the tip of Aisley's tongue to ask her why she did come then, if she felt that unenthusiastic about it, but she managed to stay quiet. Willa had a headache and that was probably killing the fun for her, is all. Nonetheless, Aisley was quite relieved when Chandra, Stewart, Archie and Cate joined the conversation.
Finding herself in the middle of a crowd, Willa got even twitchier. She clutched Stewart's arm fiercely. 'I was just telling Aisley how you picked this costume,' she said a bit too loudly.
Stewart looked confused. 'I did?'
'Yes!' Willa pouted. 'Remember what you said?'
He pushed his gangster hat back on his head. 'I remember saying you looked sexy when you modelled it for me.' He grinned and spread his hands. 'And was I wrong?'
'Nope!' said Archie, happy to give his opinion.
'You did,' Willa said adamantly, tr
ying too hard. 'You wouldn't take no for an answer.' She shook her head at Cate. 'Men!' she cried.
Cate fidgeted uneasily until Chandra unwittingly saving the day.
'Gotta love the suit,' he told Stewart. 'Looks good on you, man. Very Godfather.'
'I'll second that,' Aisley said. 'You look cool, Stewart.'
'Cheers, Ais.' Stewart smiled at her and then inadvertently noticed her low-cut top. He did a classic double-take and unfortunately for him, Willa saw. Her face fell.
'Do you wanna not stare at Aisley's boobs,' she grumbled.
'I didn't …' He spread his hands to protest.
'You did!' Her voice rose sharply.
'Give me a chance to answer,' Stewart said dropping his tone because several people nearby had stopped talking to see what was going on. 'I was going to say, I didn't mean too.'
'Oh and that makes it alright!' Willa laughed like she didn't really care … but Aisley could tell she was serious. Willa was genuinely upset.
Archie punched Stewart lightly on the arm. 'She got you, dude,' he said. 'Better confess.'
'Hey, it's no biggie,' Stewart muttered his voice still subdued. Awkwardness hung heavy in the air.
Willa's temper snapped, taking everyone by surprise. 'Maybe not to you!' she replied fiercely and then promptly burst into tears.
Cate and Chandra shuffled their feet and Archie was no doubt glad he had his mask to hide behind. Aisley felt she should do something but wasn't sure how to react. A moment later, when Stewart tried to put his arm around Willa's shoulders she shrugged him off.
'Hey babe…' he began.
'Don't!' she sobbed. Tears ran down her face in streaks of black mascara.
'Willa…' Stewart wailed but before he could say another word, she hurried off towards the spiral staircase. She disappeared up it in a whirl of white lace petticoats and frilly garters and he watched her go, his shoulders slumping.
'Ah crap,' he growled. 'Not tonight. And we were going so well, too.'
The moment passed, and others who'd stopped to stare lost interest and went back to their own conversations.
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