The Lodge

by Shaun Kitching

  “Well, don’t be a stranger Reed, take a seat,” smiled Amber sweetly, as she shoved Koby aside to make room for our new guest. Koby slowly shuffled sideways as Reed slid himself into the booth. A few awkward seconds passed as we all thought of a way to begin conversation.

  “Well, Reed, you’re one good looking rooster,” Seth said jokingly. “If I was a hen…”

  “Ok, ok, stop right there mister,” said Zoe laughing. The ice had now been broken and dialogue once again continued.

  “Haha thanks mate,” replied Reed. “Cock-a-doodle-do.” As we all let out a laugh, proper introductions were finally made to Reed.

  “I’m Seth.”

  “Koby, but my friends sometimes call me Kobes.”

  “Chad, but my friends sometimes call me Chad,” I said with a chuckle.

  “Zoe.”

  “Hi Reed, I’m Amber.”

  “Veronica,” said Veronica to finish off the formalities.

  “Ok, so we have Kobes, Chad – or should I say Chad, Zoe, Amber and Veronica; piece of cake,” Reed recited. We all laughed once again. It wasn’t hard to tell Reed was a good bloke.

  “Wow, you have the memory of a goldfish mate!” Hank said.

  “Err, Hank, you do realise goldfish apparently have a memory span of a few seconds,” informed Amber.

  “I thought it was the other way around?” he replied, turning a light pink as the rest of us giggled. “Well, let’s just pretend we all have a goldfish memory and forget I ever said that,” Hank continued grinning.

  “So, what brings you to Hollow Point Reed?” Amber asked, turning her body so she was facing him.

  “Well, my parents just decided that they had lived the city life long enough and it was time for a change,” Reed replied. “So after a few months of looking around they found a house in Hollow Point that suited us perfectly.”

  “So, you just packed up and moved in your senior year?” questioned Zoe.

  “Yep, I think my parents are going through a mid-life crisis,” Reed said with a chuckle.

  “Wow, the move must be tough for you,” Amber said in a soothing voice. “I mean, surely you have a lot of friends back in the city.”

  “Yeah sure, but I honestly don’t mind too much. Hollow Point seems like a nice, little town. Plus the rugby side here is way better!” Reed continued, reaching out his clenched fist to give Hank a touch on the knuckles.

  “I can’t believe you think Hollow Point is cool,” Seth muttered.

  “I can’t believe you moved away from all that retail shopping,” Veronica joined in.

  “I dunno,” Reed replied to them both. “Hollow Point looks beautiful to me.” He flashed Amber a purposeful smile as the words flowed from his lips. Out of the corner of my eye I could notice Koby shifting anxiously in the booth.

  “Anyway, enough about me,” Reed said. “Who wants a milkshake? My shout of course.” Everyone let out a cheer as Reed stood up to make his way to the counter. As he shuffled his way out of the booth, his right hand slightly touched Amber’s knee as he made his way past her. I soon noticed not everyone was cheering. Koby’s face had begun to turn a pale red, his jaw clenched shut like a triggered mousetrap. Reed seemed like a pretty cool guy and it was clear that his first impressions of Amber were all positives ones. I had known Koby for a long time but I had never seen this expression on his face before. It wasn’t just a look of anger or jealousy. This was a look of pure evil.

  Chapter 6: Koby

  “This is living!” I yelled, cupping my hands around my mouth. “Livvv-ing, livvv-ing, livvv-ing,” echoed from all sides, encircling us in its harmonious bubble.

  “This is living alright!” copied Seth, as he sat up and adjusted his aviator sunglasses.

  We had survived our first week as seniors and were now spending a beautiful Saturday relaxing at the lodge. Seth and I were soaking up a bit of sun by lying outside on the wicker sun beds that accompanied the large timber deck. It was so nice just chilling out with no interruptions. No school, no parents, no mobile phone reception. When we had first come to the lodge many years ago, the girls were all pretty bummed about the lack of reception. But they soon embraced the idea as it meant our parents couldn’t check up on us.

  “Chad, are you going to stop romancing the ladies and come out and join the men?” Seth bellowed in the direction of the partly opened, cedar bi-fold doors.

  Chad was inside helping the girls make pineapple smoothies. “Fellas, unless you want your smoothies with little pink umbrellas in them, I suggest you let me finish giving these drinks the manly touch they so desperately require!” Chad shot back with a heavy laugh.

  “Well, can you at least multitask and please turn up the radio for us bro,” Seth replied. Chad didn’t respond but a few seconds later the soothing voice of country singer, Kirby Paxton, increased in volume around us.

  “Yeah, love this song!” I exclaimed.

  “Yo! Kirby is da man!” Seth said in his gangster voice which he liked to use from time to time.

  “Grrrr Kirby,” we heard Chad mutter from inside.

  Chad was a big rap fan and was actually a pretty good rapper himself. Seth and I, however, liked music which was a bit more easy-going. Something with lyrics you could sing along to effortlessly. Kirby Paxton was an excellent example of this.

  “Eww, my dad likes Kirby,” Veronica said from inside.

  “The man has good taste,” I shot back.

  “And the boys kept singin’ cos they were winnin’, oh what a Saturday night,” Seth started to sing in his deep voice.

  “The girls go shoppin’ before they go boppin’, in that bright white light,” I continued on from Seth, taking in every word of Kirby’s wonderfully abrasive voice.

  “As the clock struck twelve in the middle of the night, they kept livin’ cos it felt just right,” we sang together, eventually breaking out in laughter like giggling school girls.

  “Nice singing boys,” laughed Amber, as she fully opened the bi-fold doors and joined us on the deck. “You should give Mr. Paxton a call; perhaps he’s chasing a few background singers for his next music video?” Wow, she really is beautiful; I suddenly started thinking to myself. Amber was dressed in a light, summery dress that swayed gently with every movement she made. As always, she was wearing no makeup and had on no jewellery. In my view, Amber’s natural appearance made her look even more stunning. Without meaning to, I let out a small smile as I checked out Amber. Her eyes suddenly locked on mine and I let out a fake cough as if to extinguish my wandering eyes.

  “Love the dress Amber,” I said, trying to play it cool. “It really...uh, suits you.” I heard Seth snigger under his breath but Amber seemed genuinely happy to receive my praise.

  “Thanks Koby! It’s just something cheap I picked up from the bargain bin,” she replied. “I like what you’re wearing too, very sexy,” she giggled.

  Obviously she was making a joke as Seth and I were tanning shirtless on the deck. Her comment pleased me though. Was there even a bit of flirtation in her voice? I stared down at my body. Although I was skinny and quite modest in physique, I was pretty content with my body. I was fairly toned and I had even gained a bit of definition in my chest over the past year.

  “Actually, I think you need a bit more sun cream,” Amber said, interrupting my vain self-inspection. “You can never be too careful, you know.”

  “Thanks mum,” I replied, instantly wishing I hadn’t said that. Amber then kneeled besides the sun lounger I was lying on and picked up the sun cream tube which lay on the deck besides me. She then proceeded to empty some of the thick white substance onto my stomach, her hands massaging the cream into my skin in small circular rotations. The coldness of the cream felt so good on the contrasting warmth of my skin. “Hey! I’m next!” Seth said brazenly. “I’ve even got a bit of chest hair for you to caress, not like mister baby skin over there.”

  “That’s not chest hair!” I yelled. “It’s more like a small ball of fluff.” Seth’s
chest was as smooth as mine, except for an insignificant patch right in the middle. It nearly looked like it was floating on his chest; a petite bird’s nest which had been blown onto his upper body by a passing breeze.

  Seth was about to respond, but Zoe’s voice interrupted him from inside the lodge. “Pineapple smoothies are readddy!” With a few quick pats on my torso, Amber rubbed in the last of the sun cream and stood up to give Zoe a hand.

  “Here you go princesses,” Chad said, finally joining us in man-land. He handed Seth and I a bright yellow drink each. I had a quick look at my beverage and then stared at Chad as he took a sip of his umbrella-less smoothie. I removed the six tiny umbrellas embedded in my pineapple mush and flung them at his face.

  *****

  “Then, Reed did this awesome dive to catch a wayward pass. Somehow, he fended off three of their players and did a sneaky flick pass to yours truly. I ran in under the posts and that my friends, is game, set and match!” Hank said animatedly, hardly taking a breath between words.

  “You play tennis?” Chad joked.

  “How many times are you going to tell us that story, Hank?” Veronica groaned.

  “All night baby, yeeeeyaaaahhh!” Hank replied, squealing in delight. “The Hank and Reed show was in full force this afternoon; our rugby team will be unbeatable this year!”

  “You must be quite the player, eh Reed?” asked Zoe.

  “I dunno. It’s a team game, everyone did their part,” replied Reed modestly. Hank and Reed had joined the rest of us at the lodge and Hank was telling us for the fourth time of how they had just sealed victory. I must admit, I was quite surprised when Reed had arrived with Hank. It was actually a surprise to all of us when we saw him enter the picturesque surrounds of Chad’s family lodge only a few hours ago. We had always been so select on who we invited to share the lodge with. Some of the guys at school had been bugging Chad for years to get an invite. I sighed. It was hard to not like Reed. I could understand why everyone was happy Hank had brought him along. He was a cool, easy-going guy and even I had shared a few laughs with him this afternoon. Maybe I should just give the guy a chance. We might actually turn out to be really good friends.

  “I can’t believe this place,” Reed said, admiring the surrounding views. “I mean, look at that lake, it’s unreal.” On cue, everyone’s gaze followed Reed’s to the lake. Yes, it truly was magnificent. The sun was nearly about to set and a range of luminous hues filtered across the top of the glass-like surface. Bright pinks, oranges and reds all glistened on the lakes façade, as if celebrating an end to a glorious day. Seth and Chad had setup a fire on a small plane of dirt and we were all circled around it merrily, like boy scouts on their first camping trip.

  “And I can definitely throw a kayak in the water tomorrow?” Reed asked nervously.

  “Of course!” replied Chad. “You can go kayaking right now if you really want to, although you’ll be hard seeing in about two minutes!”

  “You can teach me how to paddle if you want,” Amber said shyly.

  “Of course,” Reed replied, flashing his perfect pearly whites. I felt a stab of disappointment in the pit of my stomach.

  “But you hate water sports, Amber,” Veronica said. “All us girls hate water sports, besides swimming that is.”

  “Well, who says a girl can’t change,” Amber challenged. Did she smile timidly at Reed when she said that or was I just imagining things?

  “You know what time it is?” Chad blurted out suddenly.

  “Oh no,” we all moaned simultaneously. We all knew what was coming.

  “Uhh, six o’clock?” Reed said confused. Everyone let out a laugh as Reed rubbed his chin with a baffled look pasted across his face. It was obvious that Chad was about to perform one of his raps. For some reason the camp fire always got him in a performing mood. Chad stood up, cleared his lungs and let us have it:

  “My name isss….Chad, easy-as-can-be;

  However, my true friends call me ‘Infamous C’.

  Ree-eed, you’re the new kid on-the-block;

  Your lodge initiation is to smell my sock.

  Hankity Hank, you’re arms are like lead;

  But you should also know that you have a fat head.

  Ver-onnn-iccc-aaa, we are good-friends-n-nothin-more-than-that

  But that doesn’t mean I don’t stare at your rac-

  “Ok, ok, that’s enough rapping for one night Infamous C,” Veronica said, managing to cut him off mid sentence. I looked around the perimeter of the fire; everyone had gone bright red from laughter.

  “So, is that a fresh sock?” Reed asked amidst the laughter.

  This caused everyone to laugh even harder. I looked up towards the night sky with a smile on my face. The fresh smell of wood and campfire smoke engulfed the space around us, weaving its way through our circle like a game of duck-duck-goose. As the aromas dispersed into the night sky, the group of friends continued to enjoy each others company, feeling blessed that the lodge would tonight house their buoyant dreams. Great friends and the perfect location, I thought. Life couldn’t get any better.

  Chapter 7: Amber

  I let out a heavy yawn as I sluggishly sat up in bed. My eyes squinted in a spontaneous defence, protecting themselves from the early morning sun rays that sifted through the glass, bay window. Adjusting the pillows behind my back, I yawned for a second time. What a great nights sleep. We all ended up going to bed around midnight and I’m pretty sure I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Veronica, Zoe and I were occupying the second bedroom, which was made up of four bunk beds. The boys were in the master bedroom of the lodge. They usually had some sort of silly competition to see who slept in the master bed, with the losers all resorting to mattresses on the floor. I turned my head to inspect the neighbouring bunk beds. Zoe was still fast asleep on the bottom bunk, her left arm dangling over the side of the bed lifelessly. Her lips were tightly pursed as if she had just sucked on a lemon. I let out a giggle and Zoe unknowingly replied with a muffled grunt as she rolled over and faced the bedroom wall. Veronica was sleeping on the bunk bed above mine. She had always had a phobia of sleeping on the bottom. I could recall numerous conversations when Veronica had told us she would never sleep on the bottom bed because she was afraid the structure would collapse and the top bunk would land on top of her. “At least you would be asleep if this ever happened; you wouldn’t even see it coming,” I remember telling her once.

  “That’s the worst part though!” Veronica had replied. “You go to bed knowing you may never wake up!”

  A small shiver suddenly erupted through my body and I quickly wiggled my way out from underneath the warm sheets and forced my bare feet onto the cold floorboards. Now standing, I gave a quick peer at the top bunk, expecting to see Veronica snoozing away. Instead, I was greeted by a few ruffled bed sheets and a turned down quilt. Hmmm, not surprising really. Veronica usually liked to get up quite early. She was probably outside doing her morning yoga routine in front of the lake. Actually, that didn’t sound like a bad idea. I decided to grab a quick breakfast and join her. I quickly slipped into a pair of ankle socks and made my way into the kitchen. Chad’s parents had renovated the lodge’s kitchen into a culinary dream. A long, granite bench top was surrounded by quality, stainless steel appliances and there was enough cupboard space to hold all the cooking utensils one could want. I smiled as I examined the kitchen; perhaps I should be a real estate agent when I graduate from Hollow Point High? Taking care to be extra quiet, I plugged the toaster into the power point and placed in two pieces of bread. As the toaster warmed, I suddenly found myself thinking of Koby. It was quite obvious he had feelings towards me and I had actually had a crush on him for a few years now. So why had nothing happened between us? Maybe we were just destined to be friends and nothing more? Then, there was Reed. Cool, mysterious Reed. It was hard to not be attracted to Reed. He obviously took a lot of pride in his body and his face looked like it was fresh off the set of a toothpaste commercia
l. Was I just thinking about Reed because he was new to Hollow Point? Or was there a chance that Reed and I could actually grow closer? As I buttered my toast, the questions looped in my mind like a roller coaster.

  Koby. Reed.

  Reed. Koby.

  As I nibbled on my toast, the two names continued to swirl in my head. Popping the last bit of crust into my mouth, I returned to the bedroom and quickly changed out of my pyjamas into a plain white t-shirt and gym shorts. Zoe had changed positions once more and was now laying directly on her back; the crisp, white linen pulled up just short of her nostrils. I quickly slipped into my joggers and tied the laces into a lazy bow before making my way outside to join Veronica. As I anticipated, Veronica was on a nice, flat piece of grass near the edge of the lake. She had laid out a towel and was laying on her back, probably doing a few warm up stretches. The sun had only been up for a few hours and there was still an early morning chill in the air. I let out a small shiver as I approached the lake.

  “Hey, Veronica!”

  No response. She must have her earphones in, I realise. “Verr-onn-icc-a!” I yelled, emphasising the syllables in a louder voice. Nothing. Wow, she must really have the bass turned up on her music player. Hang on a second, was she still in her pyjamas? I took a step closer. Yes, Veronica was in her fluoro pink boxer shorts and matching singlet.

  I took another step towards her. “Missy, what are you…” I suddenly stopped midsentence. Veronica’s usually perfect straight hair was covered in a fine layer of dew. Her tanned complexion had been substituted with a pale glow. Those ripe lips, that so many boys admired, had started to crack around her mouth which was open in a perfect circle. But it was her eyes that made me freeze. They were wide open in a look of pure terror. Then I noticed the fishing line. It was wrapped around her throat over a layer of thin purple bruising. As I choked back tears, I noticed a flower had been purposely slipped in under the fishing line; the yellow petals lightly brushing her chin. It was a daisy.

  Chapter 8: Daisy

  Dear Diary,

  I did it. I told you I would.

  Daisy has killed. A bit of fishing line around her neck and presto. Game over.