A Hot Cold Summer

by Nova Weetman

  ‘The beach is just down the end of the street,’ said Ellie. ‘Can you surf?’

  ‘Nope. But Dad said I could learn while I was here.’

  ‘Good luck with that,’ said Ellie, smiling. Then she shrugged. ‘Maybe you’re not as unco as I am. I can’t even stand up on a board!’

  ‘I always wanted to learn with my best friend, Gen,’ I said, wishing I could be sharing a room with Gen instead of this girl I hardly knew. I sighed, following Ellie down some stairs.

  ‘We’re sharing this room,’ said Ellie as we came to an enormous bedroom. Actually, it was more like a whole wing than a bedroom. Two huge beds, a sliding door that opened onto a balcony, and our own bathroom!

  ‘Wow!’ I couldn’t help saying.

  ‘Yeah, I guess. Mum bought it after she and Dad split. We don’t come down here that much during the year, but we always try and use it over summer. Usually my best friend comes with us.’

  Obviously she’d rather be sharing the room with her best friend too. That was fine. I knew how she felt.

  ‘Have you got friends here?’ I asked, suddenly imagining that she’d be off with a whole bunch of people and I’d be hanging out on my own in surf school every day.

  ‘Yeah. We meet up on the beach,’ she said, sitting on the bed under the window. ‘And there are heaps of parties.’

  I groaned. Dad would never let me go to a party if he didn’t know the family or he hadn’t already checked there would be a parent present. He was even more full-on about that stuff than Mum was. I wondered if Jan was very strict with Ellie. It didn’t sound like it.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Ellie asked.

  I shrugged. ‘Dad has rules.’

  ‘You can always get around rules,’ she said.

  ‘Not my Dad’s.’ I spoke from experience. Gen and I had tried in the past, but no amount of begging ever seemed to work. It was easier to just accept that his rules were his rules.

  ‘Just don’t tell him,’ said Ellie. ‘My dad has no idea what I get up to.’

  ‘Really?’ I asked, not being able to imagine what that was like.

  ‘He lives in Sydney with his new girlfriend so I hardly see him. To be honest, I think he prefers me not taking up too much of his time.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, feeling kind of lucky that both my parents always wanted me around.

  ‘You wait. It’ll happen to you too. Now that your dad has my mum he won’t want you around as much,’ she said, like it was a matter of fact.

  Was she right? I guess I’d never known Dad to have a girlfriend since he and Mum split up, so I suppose anything was possible. But I didn’t like how confident Ellie sounded about it. She didn’t even know my dad.

  Then, as if she didn’t want to talk about it anymore, Ellie suddenly jumped up off the bed. ‘Beach?’

  The beach was just down the end of the street. It was one of those sprawling beaches that seem to go on forever.

  We chose a spot on the sand and I dropped my things and spread out my towel. I really wanted to just run straight into the water but I wasn’t sure if I should wait for Ellie or not.

  She was wearing a green patterned bikini that I instantly wished I owned. Mum told me I could get a bikini when I could buy one myself, but since I’d just had to spend my busking savings on a new bike, it would be ages before I’d have enough money saved.

  ‘Are you going in?’ I asked Ellie, assuming she’d say no because she’d just pulled a book out of her bag.

  But she surprised me by standing up and tossing her sunglasses onto the sand. ‘Yeah, why not?’

  As we walked down to the water, I could see a bunch of kids further along the beach. One of them yelled out to Ellie and she waved.

  ‘Actually, I’m just going to go and say hi,’ she said and started walking off towards them, leaving me on my own.

  I loved swimming in the sea so I didn’t care that I was alone, but I thought it was weird that she didn’t even ask me to go with her.

  Maybe she really didn’t plan on hanging out with me at all this holiday.

  I guess, from her perspective, it must have been pretty hard to find out about me. It was bad enough having to share my dad, but Ellie had to share her mum, her room, her holiday house and her friends.

  Still, I hoped things would be okay. If this holiday got all messy, I couldn’t just ring Mum to come and get me. She was in London, so I was stuck here. And that meant I had to find a way to enjoy myself. I figured the sea was a pretty good place to start.

  I ran straight into the water and dived under a wave. I came up, then dived straight under another. I’d always loved being in water. Even though I’d given up squad, I still loved swimming, so I went a bit further out to avoid all the little kids on their boogie boards. A big wave came and I duck-dived under it, trying not to get sucked up and tumbled round. When I surfaced, another wave was headed towards me.

  ‘Hey!’ someone yelled. I looked up just in time to see a surfer flying past, right next to my head.

  I dived under the wave and a cute boy about my age paddled up next to me on his surfboard. ‘You’re too far out. I almost hit you,’ he said. ‘Swimmers should be that side of the flags.’

  ‘Sorry,’ I said, feeling embarrassed. I turned to see where the flags were and realised how far I’d drifted.

  ‘Are you okay to get back in?’ he said.

  ‘Yeah, I’ll be fine,’ I said.

  ‘Okay, see ya round.’

  I watched him paddling out further. He looked really confident in the water, like he knew exactly what he was doing. I wondered if Ellie knew who he was. He disappeared over a wave and then bobbed up again on the other side. Then I saw him catch a wave all the way into shore. It looked so fun. I decided that if Ellie was going to leave me on my own, then at least I could learn how to ride a board. I’d talk to Dad later about booking me into lessons.

  Walking back along the beach, the sun was shining in my eyes so I didn’t see Ellie waving until I was right up close. She was sitting with three other kids.

  ‘Frankie!’ she called out. I felt a bit shy walking over to a group I didn’t know. ‘This is Luke and Richie, and Sarah. This is Frankie,’ said Ellie, introducing us.

  ‘Hi,’ I said, squinting into the sun. I couldn’t really see their faces, just a bunch of outlines. Then one of the boys stood up and starting shaking his towel.

  ‘Luke!’ yelled the girl. ‘You’re getting sand in my eyes.’

  ‘So close them,’ he said, laughing.

  As he stepped closer to me, I could see his face. He was cute, and wearing a wetsuit unzipped to his waist. His hair was curly and blond and he had amazing blue eyes. It was the surfer boy! He must have realised I was the swimmer at about the same time, because he said, ‘Oh, it’s you.’

  ‘Do you guys know each other?’ asked Ellie, sounding surprised.

  ‘Yeah. Well, no. I almost knocked her out on my board before,’ he said.

  The girl called Sarah groaned and stood up. ‘You’re a pain, Luke. You think you own the beach.’

  ‘No, I don’t. Swimmers just think they can go anywhere,’ he said, sounding cross.

  ‘Ice-cream?’ said Ellie loudly, obviously trying to change the subject. It worked. Suddenly everyone got up and started grabbing their stuff.

  I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. Nobody had actually asked me to come so I started heading back to the path, when I heard Luke call out behind me, ‘The surf club’s this way.’

  I looked around and they were all waiting for me. ‘Oh. Okay,’ I said, feeling like the new kid.

  It was pretty weird walking along with a group of kids I didn’t know. It wasn’t like Ellie and I were friends either. I felt like I’d just crashed a party. They all talked over each other, especially Luke and Sarah. I couldn’t work out what their deal was. Maybe they were going out, but they seemed to argue all the time.

  As we walked into the surf club, I realised with a panic that I had no money with me. The oth
ers were all ordering ice-creams, and I was going to have to pretend that I didn’t want one.

  ‘Frankie? What are you having?’ asked Ellie.

  ‘Um. I’m fine,’ I said softly.

  ‘Nah, it’s tradition,’ Luke said.

  I stepped close to Ellie. ‘I didn’t bring any cash,’ I said quietly.

  She shrugged. ‘I’ve got money. My shout. Quick,’ she said, getting ready to order.

  ‘Whatever. I don’t mind.’ I said, pleased she wasn’t making a big deal of it. It made me like her just a bit more.

  She handed me a cone. ‘Chocolate and strawberry.’

  I smiled as I took it. Weird. They were the two flavours I would have ordered. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘No worries,’ she said and started to walk outside. The others were sitting on the balcony in metal chairs, looking out across the beach. Nobody was talking much, they were too busy trying to eat their ice-cream before it melted.

  Then Luke jumped up and yelled, ‘Look. Dolphins!’ He pointed out to sea and a big drip of his ice-cream landed on Sarah’s shoulder.

  ‘Urgh! Luke!’ she yelled loudly, causing other people to turn and stare.

  ‘Sorry. Accident. As if I’d waste my ice-cream on you!’

  He tried to wipe it all off her shoulder with a towel, but just smeared it everywhere. She handed him her cone. ‘I’m going to go and clean myself up. Don’t eat mine!’

  He nodded, but as soon as she’d left, he started licking madly.

  ‘Luke,’ said Ellie.

  ‘I have to. It’s melting. Did anyone see the dolphins?’

  I was trying to, but all I could see were sets of waves breaking.

  Luke led me across to the railing at the edge of the balcony and pointed. ‘There. See?’

  ‘Nope.’ I said. He touched the side of my head and turned it a bit so I was looking in a different direction. ‘There.’

  And just as he said it, a dolphin jumped out of the water and into the air.

  I squealed. ‘Yes! Oh, it’s beautiful.’ I’d only ever seen dolphins once and it was years ago. Behind it, a whole pod of dolphins breached the waves. It was like they were performing just for us.

  ‘Give it, Luke,’ said Sarah as she walked up behind us. Luke spun round and guiltily handed over what was left of her ice-cream. She stared at it and then at him. ‘You ate it all!’

  ‘Not all. And it was dripping. I saved it for you.’

  She took the almost-empty cone from him and looked at me. ‘Have you got any brothers or sisters?’ she asked.

  ‘Oh, you guys are …’ I trailed off. So they were brother and sister. It sort of explained how they were with each other. ‘Nope, there’s just me.’

  ‘You’re so lucky!’ she said. ‘I have three brothers. They drive me mad. All of them. I can’t stand it sometimes.’

  I thought about Gen and her brothers. As much as they could annoy her, she also loved them. All that fun. Sometimes when my mum and dad were both super busy with work, I really envied her. It could get lonely being an only child with single parents.

  Luke pretended to look offended. ‘I’m an awesome big brother! I taught you to surf.’

  Sarah laughed. ‘Oh yeah! You paddled off and left me, remember?’

  Luke rolled his eyes at her. ‘You can’t blame the teacher if you’re lame.’

  I smiled. I liked the banter between them.

  ‘See what I mean, Frankie?’ said Sarah as she ate the last of her cone.

  I sort of did. But actually Luke seemed pretty fun. We walked back to the chairs and sat down with Ellie and Richie. She was laughing and playing with her hair, and I got the feeling she liked him.

  ‘Hey, I’m having a party tomorrow night. You guys should come,’ said Luke, nodding towards me and Ellie.

  ‘Actually, we are having a party,’ said Sarah, glaring at her brother.

  ‘Cool. We’ll be there,’ said Ellie straight away.

  I didn’t say anything, but I knew it was unlikely I’d be there.

  Dad was lying in the hammock when we came back from the beach. I gave him a push as I went past and he opened an eye to look at me.

  Making sure I was alone, he said quietly, ‘You and Ellie seem to be getting along.’

  ‘Yeah. She’s nice,’ I said, watching her go into the house. ‘But why didn’t you tell me about her?’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I thought it was for the best. I didn’t want you to feel strange about coming on holidays with us.’

  I was never very good at staying cross with Dad, but this time I think I was allowed to. ‘You don’t like it when I don’t tell you the truth. It’s a bit rough, Dad.’

  ‘It’s not like I lied, Frankie. It’s more an omission of fact,’ he said with a smile.

  ‘You should have told me the truth,’ I said, hurt that he wasn’t taking it seriously.

  ‘Sorry. It’s all new, Frankie. There are no rules about how to do this,’ he said. And then he asked, like it was really important to him that I said yes, ‘Do you like Jan?’

  ‘I don’t really know her yet,’ I said, and then regretted it because he looked really disappointed. ‘Dad. It’s just early, that’s all.’

  ‘I know. But I want you guys …’ he said and then stopped. ‘You’re right, it’s early. But it’ll be good for all of us to get to know each other some more. And for you and me to spend some quality time together, won’t it?’

  I wondered how it was going to work. Would Jan and Ellie like doing the things Dad and I did together, like singing and playing guitar, or watching bad horror movies and listening to old vinyl? Or would Jan and Ellie do their own thing?

  Then Jan called out from the house. ‘Lunch is ready!’

  Dad and I looked at each other. I was starving. And obviously, so was he, because he was in such a hurry to get out of the hammock he sort of threw himself onto the ground.

  ‘Ow,’ he said as I helped him up. Then he half pushed me out of the way and yelled, ‘Race you.’

  Jan looked a bit surprised as we chased each other in through the front door, letting it bang behind us. I made it to the table first, sliding my way into the seat.

  The table was full of food. There were salads, sandwiches, platters of fruit and cheese. I was impressed. Neither of my parents was a good cook so I was sort of used to getting my own lunch and sometimes even my dinner, which was usually just pasta and cheese.

  ‘Yum! Thanks, Jan. This looks amazing,’ I said.

  Jan laughed. ‘It wasn’t me!’

  Surprised, I looked at Dad. He nodded. ‘She’s a worse cook than I am,’ he said and earned himself a light whack on the arm.

  ‘At least I don’t burn toast!’ said Jan, smiling. ‘Ellie did it, Frankie. She’s a great cook.’

  I looked at Ellie to check her reaction. ‘What can I say? I’m awesome,’ she said, smiling.

  Dad was piling his plate so high I couldn’t imagine how he was going to get through it all.

  ‘This is delicious,’ I said a few moments later, through a mouthful of salad.

  ‘So, Frankie and I have been invited to a party tomorrow night,’ Ellie dropped, while everyone was focused on eating.

  Dad looked up sharply. ‘I don’t think so, Ellie.’

  I rolled my eyes at Ellie as if to say, I told you.

  ‘Why?’ she asked Dad, ignoring me.

  ‘Not unless there’s a parent present and I know the family,’ said Dad. ‘That’s just house rules.’

  ‘Well, not this house,’ argued Ellie. I was impressed. She wasn’t being rude, just honest.

  Dad looked across at Jan to get her opinion.

  ‘Where’s the party, El?’ asked Jan.

  ‘At Sarah and Luke Mackinnon’s,’ she answered.

  Jan turned back to Dad. ‘It’s at the end of the street. I know the family and they’ve been coming down here longer than us. They’re lovely kids.’

  Dad must have felt like he was losing because he frowned. ‘But
I don’t know them,’ he said softly.

  As much as I wanted him to say yes, I sort of felt sorry for him. It was like he was being outsmarted and he was running out of arguments.

  ‘Please, Dad. We’ll take our phones,’ I said, actually using my pleading voice.

  He was obviously thinking hard about it, but then he shook his head. ‘Sorry, girls. I’m sure there will be other parties. Just not tomorrow.’

  Even though I always knew he’d say no, I was really disappointed. But Ellie’s jaw dropped, like she was stunned that something like this could happen.

  ‘Mum?’ said Ellie, obviously thinking she could get Jan to override Dad’s decision. ‘You always let me go to parties at Luke’s.’

  ‘I know, honey, but if John doesn’t want Frankie to go, I can’t very well let you go. Why don’t we all have a movie night together?’

  ‘But Mum! That’s so unfair!’ cried Ellie. ‘You just said you know the family, and that they’re lovely kids.’ She turned to Dad. ‘Why don’t you trust Mum’s judgement?’

  ‘Ellie, that’s enough!’ said Jan.

  ‘Are you going to let your boyfriend make all the decisions for us from now on? He’s not my father! I don’t have to put up with this!’ She stormed out of the kitchen and raced downstairs, slamming our bedroom door dramatically.

  None of us said anything for a minute because I don’t think anyone knew what to say. I just sat, staring down at my plate.

  ‘I’ll go talk to her,’ said Jan finally, getting up from the table.

  When she had left the room, Dad started clearing the plates away. ‘None of this is easy, is it, Frankie?’ he said, and sighed.

  ‘So, let’s just sneak out,’ said Ellie later that afternoon, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulders.

  I was sitting on my bed strumming my guitar. ‘Nah,’ I said, not looking up.

  ‘Go on. They won’t know. Trust me, they won’t have any idea that we’re not just asleep.’

  I looked up at Ellie, with her tanned skin and long hair. She acted like she was much older than me. I’d never sneaked out. I sort of just accepted that my parents had strict rules about parties and pierced ears because they let me do most of the things I wanted to do, like playing guitar or hanging out with Gen.