by SR Silcox
“We’ll be starting the festival preparations tomorrow,” Tess said, leaning on the door. “If you’re up for it, you’re welcome to come over.”
“I haven’t got any plans,” Maddie replied. “But I should probably check with Jo.”
“Okay,” Tess said. “See you later.”
“See you,” Maddie smiled. She turned and hobbled off in the direction of the post office. She was still struggling to get used to the crutches and had managed to make it a few metres without falling over when she stumbled.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Tess called. “Just in case you need me to catch you if you fall?”
Maddie stopped and turned and poked out her tongue. Tess waved and went back inside. Maddie couldn’t help but smile.
EIGHT
That afternoon, Tess was raking the leaves from under the mango tree in the Big Yard, wondering how she could have embarrassed herself so badly in front of Maddie that morning. Telling her she’s fit? God, how cliché. She thought Maddie was pretty good looking, especially with her new short hair style, but it wasn’t something you just came out and told a girl was it? Especially not when you’d just met them.
Then again, Tess was pretty sure Maddie was flirting with her with the whole cream bun thing. She wondered if she liked cupcakes. She said she had a sweet tooth.
Tess’s thoughts were interrupted by someone calling her name. She looked up to see Will striding across the yard.
“Got you doing the easy stuff,” Will said, wrapping Tess in a hug.
“The boring stuff,” Tess said, leaning the rake against the wheelbarrow. “I didn’t think you were going to be here until Thursday.”
Will shrugged. “They cancelled my interview.”
“Wow. Really?” Will had applied for an entry level conservation job on the Coast. He’d wanted to be a ranger ever since he'd met Ranger Stacey in third grade. Tess thought he still secretly crushed on her. “What happened?”
“They said they’re not filling it yet.”
“Can they do that?”
“I guess so. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’ll get to interview for it later hopefully. Besides, it means I get a few extra days at home with you and Lizzie.” He was smiling, but Tess could tell he was disappointed. “Hey, speaking of Lizzie, did you hear the concert’s been cancelled?” he asked.
Tess hadn’t heard from Lizzie since her text last night. “No. What happened?”
“No idea,” Will said. “Lizzie’s crushed. She called me just before and had a bit of a spack about it.”
“I can imagine. She’s been waiting all year for it. Are they rescheduling?”
“No idea. I’m sure Lizzie will tell us all about it when she gets home.”
Tess nodded.
“How’s the prep going?” Will asked.
Tess shrugged. “Just cleaning up at the moment. Pop hasn’t given me anything else to do yet, but Gran’s started the baking. I think she's doing the coconut ice this morning and then cupcakes this afternoon.”
“I might go see if she wants me to taste test for her,” Will said.
“Ha! Good luck with that,” Tess laughed.
“Hey, I saw a car in the drive way at McGregor’s. Is someone staying there?” Will asked.
“Yeah. They’ve been there a couple of days I think.”
“Renters?”
“Holidayers. There’s a girl, our age, called Maddie. And a woman who isn’t her mother called Jo.”
“Sounds curious. I wonder what their story is.”
“No idea,” Tess replied. “But Maddie seems alright.”
“Mm hhm,” Will said.
“I’ve run into her a couple of times in the last few days,” Tess said. “Literally.”
“What do you mean?”
“She ran out in front of me yesterday when I was on my way up the farm. I almost hit her on the bike.”
“You didn’t hurt her did you?” Will asked.
“She’s okay,” Tess said. “Just a sprained ankle and a bit of a graze.”
Will shook his head. “You know there are better ways to meet girls, don’t you?”
“You should’ve seen her this morning trying to work out how to use the crutches. She almost fell over in the shop. It was just lucky I was there to catch her.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Tess said, laughing. “It was so funny.”
Will narrowed his eyes. Tess said, “What?”
Will shook his head. “Nothing. Is Pop around?”
“In the tractor shed I think.”
“Cool. I’ll go and see if he needs a hand with anything.” He turned to leave and then turned back and said, “Just so you know, I’ve entered the comp tonight.”
Tess rolled her eyes. “Again? Don’t you want to give someone else a chance to win best belly flop?”
“No way. That free ice cream is all mine.” Will rubbed his hands together. “You’re coming to watch me win, right?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No.”
“Fine.”
“Great. It’s a date. You should ask Maddie if she wants to come.”
Before Tess could answer, he wandered off toward the old tractor shed, hands shoved into his pockets, his thongs flipping up against the bottom of his feet. Pop would make him change into joggers before he’d let him start helping with anything. In fact, Will would be lucky if Pop even let him into the shed with thongs on.
As Tess picked up the rake to continue clearing up the leaves, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She dug it out and swiped the screen. She smiled when she saw it was a text from Maddie.
Thanks for dropping the cream bun off
Tess text back.
No worries Hope it was worth the wait
Sure was :)
Tess thought about what Will said. She sent
Belly flop comp at the pool tonight Tragic but funny Ur welcome to come
There was a bit of a wait and then Maddie replied.
Sure Meet you there What time?
6?
It’s a date :)
Tess wondered what she should reply and before she could decide, her phone buzzed with another text. This one was from Lizzie.
My life sux Concert cancelled :( Heading home See u tomorrow
Tess replied.
I’ll be here
Might need comfort food
Gran’s big breakfast?
Perfect Ur gran is awsum :)
I know See u tomorrow
Tess shoved her phone back into her pocket. She smiled at the thought of seeing Maddie again and getting to see Lizzie tomorrow and continued raking.
NINE
It was so hot that being in the pool was a welcome relief. The coolness of the water also seemed to be taking the edge off the pain in Maddie’s ankle. The swelling had gone down but the bruising had come out so it looked worse than it actually was. Plus, Jo had caught her hobbling around the house without her crutches, which was probably a stupid idea, but it was so hard to move around the furniture without bumping into things or knocking things over. Jo was this close to not letting Maddie go out, but in the end, she’d been invited to meet up with some of her family at the pub just up the road from the pool, so they came to a compromise. Since Jo and her family in Chesterfield didn’t exactly get on the best, Maddie could stay at the pool for as long as Jo managed to stay at the pub.
“I can’t believe your parents didn’t take you to Europe with them,” Maddie said.
“I wanted to stay,” Tess said.
“You willingly chose summer in Chesterfield over winter in Europe?” Maddie asked.
Tess shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with Chesterfield,” she said.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Maddie said. She hadn’t meant to offend Tess. “I just mean that I thought it would’ve been a no-brainer.”
“You would’ve gone to Europe?” Tess asked.
“If my parents were paying? Sure,” Ma
ddie nodded.
“Yeah, well, it took mum and dad five years to save up and if I’d gone, they wouldn’t have been able to go to all the places they're going to.”
“So you gave up a white Christmas just so your parents could have one?”
“Sure,” Tess shrugged. “Why not? Anyway, I love summer. Don’t you?”
Maddie drooped lower into the water and said, “I like the less extreme seasons a lot better. You don’t feel like you’re going to melt.”
“That’s why swimming was invented.”
Maddie smiled. She brought her knees up to her chest and prodded at her graze.
“I’m glad your knee’s clearing up okay,” Tess said, waving her hands under the water causing little ripples on the surface.
“That paw paw ointment worked a treat,” Maddie replied.
“Told you,” Tess said.
Maddie had been a bit dubious about the ointment but when Jo had agreed on its apparent magical graze-healing properties, Maddie figured it couldn’t hurt to try it out. “Pity it doesn’t work on sprained ankles,” she said.
Tess laughed and replied, “There’s only so much a paw paw can do.”
Maddie splashed Tess, and Tess splashed her back.
“Hey, watch it,” Will said, as he slipped into the water. Tess and Maddie both splashed him and he laughed. “All registered,” he said. “They said they’re starting in about ten minutes. And you’re straight after me, Maddie. Lucky last.”
“Wait a minute,” Tess said. “You registered?”
“Uhuh,” Maddie nodded.
“How are you going to get up onto the diving board with your ankle?”
“I’ll be fine,” Maddie said. “But I might need someone to stand up there with me, just to steady me before I dive.”
She smiled sweetly at Tess, who shook her head. “Not me. No way.”
“Come on, Tess. Help an invalid out,” Will said.
“Yeah, Tess, help an invalid out,” Maddie said. “I’ll share my ice cream with you when I win.”
“My ice cream, you mean,” Will said.
“Okay, Will will share his ice cream with you when I win,” Maddie said, and Tess laughed.
“Wait a minute, that’s not what I meant,” Will said.
“Doesn’t this fall into the ‘doing something stupid’ thing Jo was talking about?” Tess asked.
“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” Maddie replied.
Tess sighed. “Fine. I’ll help you out.”
Maddie turned to Will and asked, “Any tips on impressing the judges?”
“Well,” Will said, “the bigger the splash, the more points they give you.”
Maddie considered that and said, “Front or back?”
“Technically, you should hit with your stomach. It is a belly flop comp remember?”
“Right.”
“Though last year, Travis Eastman came in second and he flipped over onto his back at the last minute and almost caused a tidal wave when he hit.”
Maddie laughed.
“Of course,” Will said, leaning in closer to Maddie. “Travis is about three times my size.”
Tess slapped Will’s arm and said, “Don’t’ be nasty.”
Will shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
Tess stood up on the step she was sitting on and said, “If you two are going to talk tactics, I’m going to get a drink. Anyone else want one?”
Will shook his head, and Maddie said, “I’ll have a water.”
“I’ll be back,” Tess said. She stepped out of the pool and walked toward the kiosk.
As Maddie watched Tess leave, she noticed how dark Tess’s legs looked against her light blue board shorts, and guessed her athletic build came from spending so much time outside and on a farm. It kind of sucked that Maddie had to exercise so much to keep her figure and yet Tess could just go about her business and still have a great body.
Will slid over beside her and said, “She’s a good catch.”
“What?”
“Tess. She’s the best girl I know.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Maddie asked.
Will shrugged. “You two just seem to be hitting it off. That’s all.”
“She’s nice,” Maddie said.
“Funny,” Will said, smiling. “That’s exactly what she said about you.”
“You were talking about me?” Maddie asked. “When?”
“Today,” Will said. “Couldn’t shut her up.”
“Really?” Maddie said.
Will grinned and nodded. Maddie looked over toward the kiosk. Tess turned around and waved. Maddie and Will waved back.
The PA crackled to life and asked everyone to clear the pool for the start of the Annual Chesterfield Community Pool Belly Flop Competition. Will helped Maddie out of the pool and back to their bags. Tess handed Maddie her water.
“Are you ready to see how it’s done?” Will asked, stretching his back and arms.
“Bring it on,” Maddie said.
∞
Maddie followed Tess up the stairs of the diving board. It was slow going having to try to hop up each rung, and it was hard for Maddie to stop herself from catching a glimpse of Tess’?s butt as she climbed up the stairs above her. When she reached the top, Maddie took the hand Tess offered to her, pulled herself up onto the platform and steadied herself. She wasn't afraid of heights but five metres was still higher than she’d thought.
“Ready?” Tess asked, and Maddie nodded.
Tess wrapped her arm around Maddie’s waist to take the weight off her left foot and Maddie put her arm over Tess’s shoulder. Slowly, they made their way to the end of the diving board. Maddie took a deep breath, smiled at Tess and said, “Let’s do this.”
“Wait a minute—” But before Tess could say anymore, Maddie had leapt off the diving board pulling Tess with her. Tess’s screams were cut off as they hit the water together with a monumental splash. Maddie surfaced first and wiped the water off her face. She looked around for Tess, who surfaced behind her. When Maddie turned to apologise, Tess pushed a wall of water at Maddie with her hands. Maddie shook it off and laughed. They swam to the edge of the pool where Will helped them both out and handed them their towels.
“A tandem jump?” Will said. “I’m not sure that's legal.”
“How was it?” Maddie asked, drying her hair off with her towel.
“It was pretty spectacular,” Will said. He turned to Tess. “All this time I’ve known you, and I never knew you were a screamer.”
Tess punched him on the arm.
“Scores are up,” Will said. They all turned to the side of the pool where the judges sat on the tall lifesaver chairs. One by one, they revealed their scores. Two fours and a five. The announcement over the loud speaker confirmed Will's win. Will lifted his arms in the air in triumph and said, “Thank you, thank you. I’ll be signing autographs at the gate later.”
Then there was another announcement. “The judges have awarded an honourable mention to Maddie and Tess, for their spectacular tandem jump. Would the winners please come to the kiosk?”
∞
“A chocolate Paddle Pop tastes so much better when you’ve won it,” Will said, licking a drip from his finger.
“I second that,” Maddie said, taking a bite from hers.
Tess crunched on her Cornetto cone. “I can’t believe they only had two of them left,” she said.
“I told you you could have it,” Maddie said.
“It’s fine. My Cornetto’s just as good.”
“Always the martyr,” Will said.
Maddie’s phone buzzed. “That’s Jo,” she said. “She’ll be here in ten minutes.” She finished off her ice cream and stood up, throwing her bag over her shoulder. “I should go and get changed. She won’t let me in the car in wet clothes.” Maddie pulled a crutch under each arm and as she turned to go, Tess said, “Do you need a hand?”
Maddie turned, her eyes narrowed and a smile playing on
her lips. “I’ll be fine, thanks,” she said, and hobbled off.
When Maddie had disappeared into the change rooms, Will gave Tess a shove and said, “What was that?”
“What?” Tess asked, crunching the chocolate tip of her ice cream and scrunching up the empty wrapper.
Will mimicked Tess’s voice and said, “Do you need a hand?”
“What are you talking about?” Tess asked.
“Think about it,” Will said. “Imagine if it was me that had the hots for Maddie—”
“I don’t have the hots for Maddie,” Tess said.
Will raised his eyebrows but continued. “Imagine if I had the hots for some girl and she was going off to get changed and I asked her if she needed a hand.”
Tess considered it for a moment and then burst out laughing. “I see what you mean,” she said. She dropped her head onto the table. “Oh God. I must've sounded like an idiot.”
Will patted her on the back. “It’s okay. We all say stupid things when we’re in love.”
Tess whacked him on the leg and he laughed. If the number of times you made a fool of yourself in front of a person was dependent on how much you liked them, then it seemed like Tess really liked Maddie.
∞
When Maddie returned from the change rooms, she said, “Jo’s out in the car park, so I guess I’?ll see you later.”
“Don’t forget to ask Jo about tomorrow,” Tess said.
“I’ll let you know,” Maddie replied.
“About what?” Will asked.
“The preparations for the festival,” Tess said.
“Right,” Will said. “There’ll be plenty to do, even for an invalid.”
Tess punched him on the arm. To Maddie, she said, “We’ll be starting early though.”
“How early?” Maddie asked.
“Lizzie and I will be there for breakfast,” Will said. “You should come over then.”
“Oh I wouldn’t want to impose,” Maddie said.
“You wouldn’t be. Gran loves cooking for heaps of people,” Will said. “Doesn’t she Tess?”
“Yeah. Will turns up unannounced for food all the time,” Tess said and laughed when Will slapped her playfully on the leg. “It'll be fine. I’ll just let her know to expect you, that’s all.”