‘Go, Lex!’ I shriek again, as the guys stare at each other in shock. They fumble around for a minute, blaming each other for being so stupid.
Then the four of them take off down the mountain after her.
Guess I better follow them to find out who gets back first.
Chapter 7
monday evening
‘Man, am I hungry,’ says Michi, heaping golden potato wedges onto her plate. ‘I could eat this whole pile I reckon. Yum yum.’
She pauses, the serving spoon suspended over the metal tub. ‘You want wedges, Leesh?’
Alysha makes a face, pulling her plate away before anything remotely related to fat can contaminate it. ‘Eeuw. No, thanks. Not after all those carbs they made us eat for lunch.’ She bypasses the grilled chicken platter as well and helps herself to a couple of sad-looking lettuce leaves and a tired wedge of tomato instead.
Lexi stares at her. ‘Is that all you’re having?’
‘A couple of wedges won’t hurt,’ I point out. Alysha seems to be eating less and less these days. ‘Especially after all those calories we burned up today on that mountain climb.’
Not to mention the obstacle course Makris and Hazy put us through this afternoon, or the game of frisbee golf Mrs Vella organised. I’m surprised we can still stand up.
Alysha tosses her hair. ‘But I heard you should never eat carbs after 3 p.m.’ She pats her nanobum. ‘And how am I supposed to get rid of this if I stuff myself full of greasy food?’
‘Who told you that?’ I say. ‘About the carbs. Paige?’
‘Uh-huh. She reckons that’s what that trainer off Fat Wars says.’
‘So how come she’s loading up her plate with fried food?’ I point to the next serving table, where Paige and Jayde are happily piling chicken wings and wedges onto their plates.
Lexi leans in close. ‘That’s because it never gets a chance to do any damage,’ she whispers.
‘How do you mean?’ Michi is wide-eyed.
Lexi pretends to stick her finger down her throat, then makes strangled gagging noises. ‘Haven’t you heard? Everyone in our class calls them the “chuck twins”.’
‘Gross,’ says Michi, pulling a face.
‘Come on, guys,’ I say, steering them away from the serving table. ‘We’re supposed to be celebrating.’
We find an empty table and plonk our plates down before anyone else grabs it. I pour us all some suss-looking orange cordial from the jug in the middle of the table and raise my glass. ‘To Team 12,’ I announce. ‘Especially you, Lex.’
‘Yeah, Lex, way to go,’ Michi says. ‘I still can’t believe you snatched that flag from right under their noses.’ She takes a sip of her drink. ‘Eeuw. That is disgusting. You’d think they could have at least given us fruit juice or something.’
‘We’ve got green cordial. Wanna swap?’
The husky voice makes us all jump. There’s only one guy on camp with a voice like that. Daniel. It has to be. I twist my head round slightly to make sure. Yep. It’s surfer boy all right, his golden hair damp from his pre-dinner shower. He’s looking more like Bailey’s Beach material by the minute.
‘Hi, Daniel,’ Alysha trills brightly. She pats the empty seat beside her. ‘Want to join us?’
‘Sure,’ he says. ‘I’ll just let the guys know I’m over here.’ He sends a quick signal to Seb, who’s still in the food queue, then slides his long legs under the table and sits down.
Next to Lexi.
Uh-oh. Cat-fight alert. I sneak a look over at Alysha to see how she’s taking this.
Not well. I can almost feel the crackle in the air from the hostile sparks she’s giving off. This could get ugly.
‘So.’ Daniel shovels a couple of wedges into his mouth, then fixes Lexi with his blue-eyed gaze. ‘Are you always that sneaky?’
She blushes, then looks down at her plate. ‘Umm …’ she says.
He grins at her. ‘I mean, technically, your team won the points today, sure. You did cross the finishing line with the flag before any of us did. But we found the flag first. And then you came along and stole it.’
‘So?’ Lexi’s all fired up now. ‘You should have looked after it better while you had the chance.’
Daniel puts his hands up in mock defeat. ‘Fair enough,’ he says, laughing. ‘I still reckon I could have beaten you though, if you hadn’t got that head start.’
‘Maybe we should have another race tomorrow,’ Lexi grins, her face turning a delicate shade of pink.
Go, Lex! I haven’t seen her get this flustered by a guy since she had that crush on Jack Moxham back in term one.
‘Maybe we should,’ Daniel says, smiling into her eyes.
I send Michi a knowing look and she grins back. Looks like someone’s got a major crush on our Lexigirl.
Alysha, on the other hand, looks like she’s about to explode. She runs her tongue over her lips a couple of times to moisten them, flicks her hair, then leans forward, trying to block Lexi out of the conversation.
‘So, Daniel,’ she says. ‘Which school did you go to before you came here?’
A tiny crease appears on Daniel’s tanned forehead. ‘Mariner High,’ he says politely, then starts to turn back to Lexi.
But Alysha’s not giving up that easily. ‘Don’t know it. Is that around somewhere? Or did your family move from another city?’
‘It’s up north,’ he says, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
‘Really? Did you live by the beach? That must have been awesome. I bet you went surfing every day.’
She waits for Daniel to nod, then starts up again, her voice all breathy.
‘I’ve always wanted to live near the beach. Michi’s got a friend with a holiday house at the beach, haven’t you, Mich?’
Michi grunts an answer that might or might not be a yes. I try to send Alysha a warning with my eyes to butt out before she makes a complete moron of herself. It’s obvious Daniel wants to talk to Lexi, not her. Well, it is to me, anyway. But she ignores me and keeps twittering on instead.
‘Her name’s Amira. Have you met her yet? Anyway, I bet if …’
Daniel catches Lexi’s eye and raises his eyebrows. Then he uncrosses his long legs, pushes his chair back and stands up.
‘Yeah, well, I better get going,’ he mumbles. ‘The guys’ll be wondering what happened to me.’
Alysha look puzzled. ‘But you haven’t eaten your dinner yet.’
Daniel pushes his laden plate towards her. ‘Here, you have it,’ he says, his eyes on the tiny serve of salad on her own. ‘Looks like you dipped out the first time round.’
It’s obvious he’s taking a swipe at her. Alysha’s mouth drops open, shocked that someone could be so rude to her. She turns to me, looking for support. But Lexi’s sending me anguished looks from the other side of the table as well. You can tell she’s mad as hell that Leesh has just driven Daniel away from the table with her endless chatter.
They’re both my friends. Which one am I supposed to stick up for?
I slip outside into the dark night. It’s so quiet out here after the chatter and chaos in the dining room. Quiet and peaceful. The sky has finally cleared and is sprinkled with stars. We never see this many at home in the city. Too many bright lights, I guess.
I collect some coins from our cabin and head for the phone before dinner finishes and the queue gets too long.
My timing’s perfect. I have it all to myself.
I read the instructions taped to the wall, then slip some coins into the slot on top of the phone. It’s such a clunky old thing. How did people ever manage before mobiles came in?
My call is picked up on the second ring.
‘Hello?’
The voice on the other end of the phone is abrupt. It doesn’t sound like Dad at all.
‘Is that you, Dad?’ I say.
‘Mia! It’s great to hear from you.’ There’s a short silence, then he’s back on the line again. ‘Just hold on a second, can you?’
&
nbsp; ‘Oh …’ I say, confused. ‘Sure.’
Why doesn’t he want to talk to me straight away? I can hear muffled voices in the background. One of them’s Mum’s for sure. It sounds like they’re arguing. Something must be wrong. Mum and Dad never argue. There are some echoey crackling sounds, then Dad’s back on the line again.
‘Mia?’ he says.
‘Yes?’
‘How’s camp going? Are you having a good time?’
‘Camp’s fine,’ I tell him. ‘Is something wrong?’
There’s a short pause. ‘No, darling. Everything’s fine. Why would anything be wrong?’
There is something wrong. His voice is too cheerful. Fake cheerful. Like he’s trying to hide something from me.
OMG. It’s Nonno. Something’s happened to Nonno. He’s dead. And they’re too scared to tell me.
‘H-how’s Nonno?’ I whisper, dreading Dad’s next words. They’re going to be bad, I just know it. I should never have come on this stupid camp.
‘Nonno’s fine,’ Dad says. There’s another pause, like he’s trying to decide whether or not to tell me something else. Was that what all the arguing was about? Whether he should tell me something or not? ‘It’s just –’
‘Just what?’ I say. ‘Dad, if there’s something wrong, I need to know about it, okay?’
‘Yes, darling, of course you do. We just don’t want you to worry unnecessarily, when you’re so far away. You know how Nonno was scheduled to have his operation today?’
‘Yeah …?’
‘Well, there’ve been some problems with his high blood pressure, so they’ve been working on bringing that down.’
I knew something was wrong.
‘So when will he have it?’
‘Well … they’re thinking probably tomorrow now, or maybe even the day after. It all depends on his blood pressure.’
‘But he’s going to be okay, isn’t he?’ I stammer. ‘You’d tell me if any … anything bad was going to happen? Cos … you know … after what happened with …’ But I can’t do it. I can’t bring myself to say the words.
‘Yes, of course, love.’ Dad’s voice is soft. Comforting. ‘But you mustn’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.’
There’s a crunching sound behind me and I suddenly realise I’m not alone. Several other kids have turned up, all waiting to use the phone. I turn my back to them, and press my mouth close against the mouthpiece.
‘Dad? I have to go. There’s other kids wanting the phone. Give Nonno a big kiss and a hug for me.’
‘Of course I will, darling.’
‘And Dad?’ I take a deep breath. ‘Tell him I’m looking forward to our first dance, okay? He’ll know what I mean.’
I can tell the crowd behind me is starting to get a bit restless. So I quickly send hugs to Mum and Nonna, then hang up, and head out into the cold night.
Chapter 8
monday night
Our cabin is empty when I arrive. Everyone must still be at dinner. I leave the light off and lie down on my bunk in the dark, my arms wrapped around my knees. Scary images from a long time ago chase each other around my brain. Hospitals and doctors and creepy machines and my mum, her arms tight around me, quietly sobbing. It’s not going to happen again. It can’t …
The door crashes open and Amira and the rest of her gang bounce into the room, laughing about some funny trick they played on Liam and Harry.
There’s a click as the switch is flicked, and the room fills with harsh light from the unshaded bulb hanging from the ceiling. I roll over so that I’m facing the wall, my arms shielding my eyes from the brightness.
Everyone suddenly stops talking. I guess they’ve discovered me. Then Tara comes over. ‘Sorry, Mia. I didn’t realise you were in here. Are you sick?’
‘N-no,’ I say, trying to keep my voice steady and failing big time. ‘Just … um … wanted a bit of time out, that’s all.’
I sit up, trying to put on a brave face. Big mistake. Jess takes one look at my red eyes and jumps to the wrong conclusion.
‘Awww,’ she drawls. ‘Is pwecious liddle Mia missing her mummy and daddikins?’
‘No,’ I snap, wishing they’d all just butt out and leave me alone.
Jane moves in closer. ‘You are, aren’t you. You’re homesick. I saw you on the phone before. Was it to your mummy and daddy? What were they doing? Checking to see if you’d eaten all your vegetables?’
‘Or that you had a clean hanky?’ says Jess. ‘You did bring a clean hanky with you, didn’t you, Mia? You never know when you might need it.’
‘Yeah,’ says Jane, pretending to dab at her eyes. ‘Looks like you might need it now.’
I sneak a look at Amira. She’s leaning against the door with her arms folded, smirking. She’s enjoying this, you can tell. Tara’s not, though. She just looks embarrassed. So she should. What have I ever done to her? What have I ever done to any of them, come to that, except stick up for my friend?
The door suddenly bangs open again. Great. Just what I need. More people making fun of me. Guys this time, probably. But it’s only Michi. I sink back down onto my bunk again. Good. Maybe she can stick up for me for a change.
‘Mia? So this is where you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Come on. We’re all waiting for you over in Lexi and Leesh’s cabin.’
‘You … you are?’
‘Yeah. We’re all supposed to be rehearsing for the concert. Mr C announced it in the dining room.’
So that’s why Amira and co. are back here so early. I thought for sure they’d be wanting to stick around where all the action was, instead of hanging out in the boring old cabin. I hastily wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and straighten my hair. ‘Sorry, Mich. I went to use the phone and …’
Michi stares at me. ‘Are you okay? How come your eyes are all red?’
But I don’t feel like giving her any lengthy explanations now. I just want to get out of here. Fast. I spring up from my bunk. ‘Yep. Fine,’ I fib. ‘Probably just allergic to all the dust in here. Let’s go.’
We trudge over to Lexi and Leesh’s cabin in silence, the moon casting eerie shadows through the trees. I’m longing to tell Michi about my phone call and the bad news about Nonno. It’s all I can think about. Mum always says a problem shared is a problem halved. Maybe if I tell Michi, it won’t be so bad. But how do I start? And should I tell her about …
Michi suddenly stops dead outside one of the cabins. She turns to me, her face ashen in the moonlight.
‘What am I going to do, Mia?’ she wails.
‘About what? What’s happened?’
She grabs my arm. ‘Can we stay out here for a minute? I don’t want to see the others just yet. Lexi and Alysha are sniping at each other over what happened at dinner with that Daniel guy and it’s all really awkward and uncomfortable. That’s why I came to find you.’
So I could sort everything out as usual, I think. But for once, I just don’t feel like it. I’ve got my own problems to deal with.
‘What makes you think I’d be any help?’
Michi blinks at me, incredulous. ‘Cos you always know the right thing to say. Look how you helped me through all that bad stuff last term. And Lexi, too, when her dad moved out …’
I sigh. Those had been major things all right. Especially the stuff with Lexi’s dad. It took me weeks to convince poor Lexi it hadn’t been her fault, and that her mum and dad just needed time out from each other. But this is different. It doesn’t even come close to being that big a deal.
I take a deep breath, wishing the old sensible, deepthinking Michi would come back from wherever she’s hiding herself and banish this silly soap opera one who doesn’t have a clue.
‘Well,’ I say carefully, ‘maybe this is something they’re going to have to sort out for themselves.’
‘Yeah, you’re probably right. Anyway, I need you,’ she sobs, her face suddenly crumpling.
‘Hey, Mich,’ I say gently. ‘What’s up?’
> The door of the cabin we’re standing outside suddenly swings open, and two guys shuffle out. I can see inside to where the rest of their group is sitting around playing cards.
‘Umm … can we sit down over there for a bit?’ Michi whispers, pointing to a log bench out of view of the cabins. ‘I don’t want anyone listening in.’
‘Sure,’ I say. We move across to the bench and sit down. The two guys wander off towards the toilet block and I wait till they’re out of earshot before firing up again.
‘So. Spill it.’
‘Well …’ Michi looks at her hands. ‘You’ll probably be really mad at me when I tell you, but …’
‘But what?’ I press her.
‘I rang Ben.’
‘You what?! When?’
Michi tilts her head towards the rec hut. ‘Just before. When I was supposed to be out looking for you. The queue was really long, and Gabby was next in line, so I bribed her to let me take her spot. I told her it was an emergency.’
Dad’s words from my own phone call crowd into my head and spiral around and around. High blood pressure. Problems. Everything’s going to be fine. But what if it isn’t? What if …
Michi grabs my arm and shakes it. ‘Meee-ah. You’re not listening to me. I just told you I rang Ben. Don’t you want to know what he said?’
I force myself out of my nightmare and back to the present.
‘Sure,’ I say dully. ‘What did he say?’
‘We-ell …’ Michi takes a deep breath. ‘Just normal stuff. You know. Like “Hello, Michi” and “How’s camp?” Everyday stuff like that.’
Hello, Michi? Is she serious? I really don’t need this right now. Can’t she see that I’m the one with the emergency here?
‘Well, that’s okay, then, isn’t it?’ I mutter. ‘I mean, he didn’t tell you to drop dead or call you a no-talent loser or hang up the phone on you or anything?’
Michi stares at me. ‘Why are you being so horrible? Of course he didn’t.’
A Year in Girl Hell Page 18