Brilliant Besties

by Chrissie Perry

  ‘Lola?’ Tess said, sitting up in her bed. ‘What’s your favourite colour?’

  Lola got into bed and yawned. She felt like she’d been asked more questions in one day than in her entire life put together.

  ‘Ah, purple,’ she said.

  ‘Me too!’ Tess said enthusiastically.

  Lola snuggled under the doona and closed her eyes.

  ‘Lola?’ Tess’s voice ripped into her almost-sleep. ‘Which do you like better, big dogs or little dogs?’

  It was hard to roll her eyes while they were closed.

  ‘Little dogs,’ Lola said, letting the words drift out on another yawn.

  Suddenly, Lola felt her arm being yanked. She opened her eyes.

  ‘Me too!’ Tess exclaimed. ‘Because you can pick them up and cuddle them.’

  Lola tugged her arm back.

  ‘Night, Tess,’ she said hopefully.

  ‘Night, Lola,’ Tess replied.

  Lola rolled over and let the waves of sleep wash over her. It had been a long day, and it was a gorgeous feeling to let go and drift into a deep sleep. Down, down … ‘Lola?’

  Tess’s voice woke her up with a jolt.

  ‘What’s your favourite animal?’

  ‘Lola, let’s see whose legs are longer. Straighten yours out,’ said Tess.

  She and Tess were stuck in the tiny back seats of Rex’s car, facing the back window.

  It was time for the second dress fitting, and everyone was coming. Will and Beau were getting their suits from a shop a few doors down from the dressmaker’s.

  Rex was driving and Lola’s mum sat in the front. Will and Beau sat in the middle seats with Aunty Kay. And Lola and Tess were …

  ‘Lola!’,Tess said, nudging her, ‘straighten your legs out.’

  ‘We’re here, guys,’ Rex called from the driver’s seat.

  When he opened the door, Lola was glad to get out.

  ‘You girls are divine!’ Lola’s mum exclaimed. ‘Just take a look at yourselves.’

  Lola stood on Katya’s little stool, with Tess on the ground in front of her. She looked down at her purple dress. Lola could feel the fabric over her shoulders. She loved the way the skirt flared at the bottom. It was really gorgeous!

  She hopped off the stool and turned to look in the mirror. All she could see was her own head and a purple Tess spinning around to make herself dizzy.

  ‘You look really pretty, Tess,’ Lola said. ‘Like a little princess.’

  Lola’s mum rubbed Lola’s back in little circles. It was the sort of touch that said ‘well done’. It was the sort of touch that made Lola want to lean in and give her mum a big cuddle. A cuddle that would say how much Lola would miss her when she went away on her honeymoon.

  But before she was able to step close enough, Tess jumped in between them.

  ‘Actually, I look like a big princess,’ Tess corrected.

  Lola frowned as she looked over Tess’s head at her mum. She screwed up her face to show how annoying Tess was. Her mum gave her a half-smile. Lola knew that face. It was asking her to be patient. Lola took a deep breath.

  The purple fabric made a lovely swishing sound around Lola’s knees as she walked past Tess towards the mirror.

  ‘Do you mind if I take a look too, big princess?’ said Lola.

  Lola stood beside Tess in front of the mirror. Their reflections stared back.

  ‘We look exactly the same!’ Tess declared happily.

  ‘So, Mum,’ Lola said, lifting her hair up with her hands, ‘do you think I could have an ‘up’ hairstyle like this?’

  Tess copied her hand movements, lifting her black bob in the same way.

  ‘Or do you think it might be better to do this?’ Lola continued, holding her hair up in two pigtails. Next to her, Tess copied the second hairstyle – only one of her pigtails was very high, and the other was very low.

  When Lola swung around to look at her mum,Tess swung around too. It almost felt like she had a small, colourful shadow, especially when Lola crossed her arms and the colourful shadow crossed hers. But this shadow had a very loud voice!

  ‘Hey, look,’ Tess called suddenly. ‘Beau and Will are making silly window-squish faces.’

  Lola turned to the shop window. Beau and Will were standing out the front of the shop. They were wearing black suits with little black bow ties. Even with their faces squished to the window pane, they still looked really cool.

  Lola felt a little pang as she watched Beau and Will crack up laughing and run away. The two of them were like best friends. Which wasn’t the same thing as having a talkative shadow… ‘Come on, girls,’ Aunty Kay interrupted Lola’s thoughts. ‘It’s shoe time!’

  Lola had never been into such a beautiful shoe shop.

  There were pink shoes with butterfly clips on the front. And red shoes that looked like they might belong to Dorothy out of The Wizard of Oz. There were white shoes made from shiny satin.

  And, best of all, there were silver, sparkly shoes with a heel and little bows at the front.

  Lola could hardly breathe as she picked them up. ‘Mum?’ she said, holding the shoes out. ‘Pleeease?’

  Lola’s mum looked doubtful. ‘They are lovely, Loles,’ she said, ‘but I think the heels are a little bit high. I’m not sure they would be very comfortable.’ She gave Lola a funny look, with her head tilting towards Tess. ‘You know … for both of you,’ she added in a whisper.

  ‘Then maybe Tess can get these ones,’ Lola suggested, picking up a pair of silver ballet flats. They were quite similar to the ones she liked, except for the heels.

  ‘Nuh-uh!’ Tess declared. ‘I want to have exactly the same shoes as Lola!’

  Tess’s expression reminded Lola of a storm cloud. All dark and brooding and ready to rain. ‘Absolutely exactly the same,’ she added, just to make sure everyone understood her.

  ‘Look, sweetie,’ Lola’s mum said, ‘I think we’ll go with the ballet flats. They’ll be better for everyone. It’s a good compromise.’

  Lola reluctantly put the shoes with a heel back on the shelf. If it wasn’t for Tess, she was pretty sure that her mum would have let her have them.

  Honestly, it’s not fair, Lola thought as her mum paid for the two pairs of ballet flats.

  Lola walked quickly back to the car, hoping to lose Tess for a moment. But the shadow just ran to keep up with her.

  As Lola tucked herself into the tiny back seat, she turned around and saw Beau and Will laughing and chatting in the middle row.

  She knew what her mum meant by the word compromise. Compromising was when people changed what they wanted a little bit so it would suit everyone.

  Lola crossed her arms and stared out the back window, ignoring Tess’s chatter.

  Why am I the only one who has to compromise?

  The next morning, Lola got up very quietly so as not to wake Tess. She pulled on her green tracksuit pants and a grey T-shirt and went for a walk around the block.

  When she got back, Rex was in the kitchen making bacon and eggs. ‘Scrambled, poached or fried?’ Rex asked.

  ‘Poached, please,’ Lola said.

  ‘Me too,’ came Tess’s voice. ‘And where did you go without me?’

  Lola looked around. Tess was dressed in jeans and a shirt. Before Lola could answer, Tess had disappeared in the direction of Lola’s bedroom.

  ‘Did you have a nice walk, Loles?’ Rex asked, cracking eggs into some boiling water in a saucepan.

  ‘Yes, thanks,’ she said. ‘Freddie the dog barked at me. I think he wanted to come for a walk.’ Freddie lived a few doors down from Lola’s house. ‘So I just gave him a pat through the fence,’ Lola continued.

  Lola was going to keep talking, but Tess interrupted.

  ‘We’re going to visit Uncle Phil today. And stay the night,’ Tess said.

  Lola turned around. Tess had changed. Instead of jeans and a shirt, she was now wearing tracksuit pants and a T-shirt. And a giant smile.

  ‘See, Loles?�
� she said. ‘We’re practically exactly the same again. Don’t we both look cool?’

  Rex gave Lola a wink as he put a plate of poached eggs in front of her. It was as though he thought it was funny.

  Lola put her head between her hands. In a way, it was kind of funny that Tess was trying to look like her. And she had to admit that Tess looked pretty cute.

  But another part of her just felt over it all! The constant questions were one thing. Lola could almost handle that. And she was almost getting used to Tess following her around everywhere.

  Honestly though, Tess wasn’t just a shadow … She was a real copycat.

  ‘Hey Lola, do you want to play soccer?’ Will asked later that day.

  Will kicked the ball from foot to foot as he spoke. Then he kicked it up to his head and butted it towards the mantelpiece.

  ‘Yep,’ Lola replied, butting it back towards him before it could do any damage.

  It felt good to be walking to the park with Will. Just the two of them for once. Since Beau and Tess had arrived, she had hardly played with Will at all.

  Lola wasn’t sure it was very nice of her, but she had to admit she was glad that Tess and the others had gone to stay with Uncle Phil for the night.

  ‘Now, I’ll show you a trick that Beau taught me,’ Will said as they arrived at the park.

  Lola watched as Will kicked the ball upwards. As it rose, he leant forward. The ball rested behind his head, on the back of his shoulders. When he straightened up, he moved back very quickly, and it dropped down to his feet again.

  ‘That is seriously cool!’ Lola said.

  ‘I know!’ Will grinned. ‘It’s great hanging out with Beau. He’s taught me heaps of stuff like that.’

  Lola felt that strange, annoyed feeling rise through her. It wasn’t something she could talk to Will about.

  But the more she thought about it, the more unfair it seemed that Will got to hang out with someone his own age. Someone who could actually teach him stuff. Especially when Lola was stuck answering a gazillion questions!

  ‘Wanna have a go?’ Will asked, breaking into her thoughts.

  Lola nodded. She wasn’t going to let a silly feeling ruin time with Will on the soccer field.

  ‘OK. Kick up. Now lean forward … oh almost, Loles!’ said Will. ‘Kick up, lean forward …’

  Will was being really encouraging. Even when she caught the ball on her head instead of her back, he kept on trying to teach her.

  When Lola finished the trick properly for the first time, Will screamed and punched the air.

  ‘You did it! You’re a legend, Lola,’ he said.

  Lola grinned. She was happy that Rex and her mum were getting married. She was happy that Will was going to be her brother.

  Even if she did have to put up with copycat Tess.

  Lola put a bookmark in her book and laid it on her bedside table. She wriggled around under her doona to make her bed extra warm. Then she looked at her clock.

  It was ten minutes past her normal bedtime, and her mum still hadn’t come in for a goodnight kiss.

  Finally, Lola heard her mum’s footsteps down the hall.

  ‘Hey, sweetie,’ she said, coming in and sitting on Lola’s bed. ‘I’ve been trying to write some vows for the wedding ceremony. Rex has already written his, and he won’t show me. It’s really hard to come up with something special. Something that suits us and our family.’

  Lola nodded. ‘You’ll think of something, Mum,’ she said.

  Lola’s mum lifted up the doona and snuggled in next to Lola.

  ‘And what about you, Loles? What have you been up to this afternoon?’

  Lola loved this part of the day. The bit where she had her mum all to herself.

  First, she told her mum about Will teaching her the soccer trick at the park. She thrashed around under the doona, trying to demonstrate without getting out of bed.

  ‘So, Beau taught Will the trick. And then Will taught me, and it took ages but I finally got it,’ Lola explained.

  Lola’s mum pushed Lola’s hair behind her ears. ‘It’s really nice, having them stay, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘We’re lucky they can look after you while Rex and I are away.’

  Suddenly, Lola felt cross again. ‘Why can’t we come to Hawaii?’ she asked.‘I don’t want to stay here with Tess for a whole week.’

  Before she knew it, Lola was blurting everything out. She hadn’t had her mum to herself for days and it felt like there was a whole build-up of feelings that just wanted to rush out of her mouth.

  ‘Mum, Tess copies just about everything I do. If I want poached eggs, she wants poached eggs. If I wear my tracksuit pants, she changes into her tracksuit pants. If I say my favourite colour is purple, she says her favourite colour is purple. And she asks more questions than … well, more questions than any other person on this planet. And she won’t leave me alone. It’s driving me nuts!’

  ‘Hmm, I’ve noticed that Tess copies you a bit,’ her mum said with a nod. ‘But it’s only because she admires you, Loles. She wants to be just like you. Which, if you think about it, is kind of sweet. I guess you’ll just have to be patient with her.’

  ‘Patient?’ Lola repeated. ‘How come I have to be patient? Will doesn’t have to be! He just gets to have fun with Beau.’

  Lola’s mum had a knowing look on her face.‘So, Will wasn’t patient this afternoon when he taught you the soccer trick?’ she said slowly.

  Lola shrugged. She had to admit that there was at least a little bit of truth in what her mum was saying. Perhaps she could try to be a bit more patient with Tess.

  Really, part of her enjoyed the way Tess copied her. It was kind of flattering. And Tess was kind of cute, even with all her annoying ways.

  But as her mum stroked her hair, Lola realised that there was something else making her anxious. She felt a tear trickle down her cheek. She’d never been away from her mum for a whole week before . . .

  ‘Mum,’ she whispered, ‘I’m going to miss you so much when you go on your honeymoon. I wish you guys were taking me and Will.’

  Lola’s mum pulled her close. Her hug was tight and warm. ‘Loles, I love you more than the earth and the stars. I love Will, too. And Rex loves both of you. Even when we’re not with you, we are still thinking about you. We don’t have to be together all the time to be … together,’ she finished.

  Lola breathed into her mum’s chest. Suddenly she felt a tickle on her tummy.

  ‘Where do you live?’ her mum asked.

  Lola felt a giggle brewing inside her. It wasn’t just because of the tickle. It was also because she knew the game her mum was starting up. It was a game they’d played for as long as Lola could remember.

  ‘Ryrie Court,’ Lola played along.

  ‘And where else do you live?’ Lola’s mum egged her on.

  Lola struggled to keep her face straight.‘In my home. With my family.’

  ‘And where else do you live?’ Lola’s mum asked with an extra ticklish tickle.

  Lola let her answer out with a squeal and a laugh. ‘In your HEART!’

  Lola closed her eyes as a little puff of hairspray travelled towards her pigtails.

  It was great fun to be sitting at the hairdresser’s with her mum and Aunty Kay and Tess in a long row. Lola uncrossed her legs and leant closer to the mirror. Beside her, she could see Tess also uncrossing her legs, and looking in the mirror.

  ‘What do you think of Lola’s hair, Helen?’ the hairdresser asked, spinning Lola’s stool towards her.

  ‘I think it’s perfect,’ Lola’s mum said. ‘I think you’re perfect, Lola,’ she added in a whisper.

  ‘Especially with the tracksuit pants,’ Lola said with a grin. Even though everyone’s hair was done now, they still hadn’t put on their wedding outfits. Lola couldn’t wait for that moment.

  ‘Mum, I can’t believe we’re actually, honestly, truly getting married today!’ She giggled before she corrected herself, ‘I mean, that you and Rex are getting
married today.’

  Lola’s mum gave her a wink. She looked really pretty. Her hair was up in a loose bun, and wispy bits fell over her face. She looked back in the mirror, but she was looking at Lola, not at herself.

  Suddenly,Tess scrambled up onto Lola’s lap, and all Lola could see in the mirror was Tess’s pigtailed head.

  ‘Hey, Lola!’ she said. ‘We’re allowed to wear some lip gloss!’

  Back at home, Lola reached out a finger to fix up Tess’s lip gloss. There seemed to be more on Tess’s chin than on her lips.

  Lola tapped her foot on the lounge room carpet. Her mum and Aunty Kay had been in the bedroom for ages.

  ‘Loles, can you draw me a big wedding cake?’ Tess asked.

  Lola stared at the stack of paper on the coffee table. So far, she’d drawn a tiny cake, a medium sized cake, and a hundred flower girls, big and small.

  She picked up her pencil, but just then she heard the bedroom door open.

  As Aunty Kay and Lola’s mum entered the lounge room, Lola’s eyes grew wide. Her mouth seemed stuck in the shape of an ‘O’.

  Lola had always thought her mum was pretty. But the lady in front of her was beautiful! The sky-blue dress had a heartshaped neckline, with no straps. It came in at her mum’s waist, and flowed down to the floor. And peeping out from under her mum’s dress were a pair of dark blue shoes with diamanté buckles.

  Lola let her eyes wander back up to her mum’s face. Her cheeks were brushed lightly with rouge, and her eyelashes looked longer and darker than normal. With her hair up and wispy, she looked …

  ‘Mum …’ Lola breathed, ‘you look, you look …’

  ‘Like a princess. A big princess!’ Tess finished for her.

  They all cracked up laughing.

  Lola almost wished the day could be frozen right here, right now.

  Four girls. Laughing. In the lounge room. With a wedding ahead of them.