A Hot Cold Summer

by Nova Weetman

  ‘It’ll be fine. Mum lets me go to parties like this all the time. She won’t care. It’s only your dad who is being a freak about it. Besides, don’t you want to see Luke?’ asked Ellie, raising an eyebrow.

  I shrugged. How did she know I thought he was cute? I wasn’t going to talk about boys with her yet. I’d only just met her. Maybe we’d become good friends, but it was too early to tell.

  ‘I’m going to walk into town,’ I said to Ellie, changing the subject. I put down my guitar.

  ‘Well, I’m going to have a nap,’ she said, stretching out on her bed.

  I was pleased she wasn’t coming. I felt like some time away from everyone.

  I grabbed my purse, phone, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and water. I didn’t want any more freckles this summer so I had to try to make sure I didn’t get too much sun. I left Dad a note and walked down onto the beach.

  Where the walking path came out on the beach, I kicked off my thongs and stuck them in the sand so I didn’t have to carry them with me. It was something Dad and I always did on our walks along the beach each summer.

  I didn’t know how long it would take to walk into town. Ellie had told me I could just walk along the beach, past the surf club and I’d get to town, so I figured it couldn’t be that far.

  I reached the surf club and instead of walking up the hill, I kept going along the sand. There were heaps of rocks and I had to climb over them, dodging the sharp bits with my bare feet. As I jumped back down onto the sand, I saw a man and a woman walking towards me, holding hands. I knew it was Dad and Jan, because he was wearing his funny old straw beach hat that he’d been wearing since I was a kid.

  There was something about watching them walking together that made me realise they were a real couple. I had no memories of Mum and Dad ever being like that.

  ‘Where’s Ellie?’ asked Jan as they got closer.

  ‘Sleeping,’ I said.

  ‘She should have come with you,’ said Jan.

  Or she should have gone walking with you because she’s your daughter, I wanted to say. But I didn’t.

  ‘Want some company, kiddo?’ asked Dad.

  Touched that he’d offered, even though he was out walking with Jan, I shook my head. ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘Righto. We’ll see you back at the house for dinner.’ Dad gave me a kiss and I wandered off towards town. I knew Ellie was wrong about Dad. He didn’t want to get rid of me. There was room for all of us in his life.

  Town was actually just eight shops, and a pub. No-one seemed to look at me strangely for walking around in bare feet. I guess it was a pretty relaxed little place.

  It took me about five minutes to look around. I bought some electric blue nail polish and a postcard for Mum. Even though she was away, I wanted to let her know I was missing her.

  I walked back along the beach and sat down on the warm sand to watch the surfers. The sun was starting to go down and it was beautiful.

  A surfer came out of the water and walked up the beach towards me, carrying his board. As he got closer, I realised it was Luke.

  ‘Hey,’ he said, as he dropped down on the sand next to me. He flicked his hair and sandy water hit me in the face.

  ‘Argh, thanks!’

  ‘Sorry,’ he said, grinning at me. He had such a cute smile. ‘Can you surf?’ he asked.

  ‘I wish. I want to learn.’

  ‘I can teach you,’ he said and I laughed. ‘What?’ he said, sounding offended.

  ‘Nothing, it’s just after Sarah said –’

  ‘Yeah, well, she has no balance. She doesn’t listen to the waves.’

  ‘Right,’ I said, wondering how you listen to waves.

  ‘It’s easy. You’d be fine,’ he said.

  I heard my phone beep and I rifled around in my bag. It was a text from Gen.

  I cannot believe your dad kept Jan’s daughter a secret! We must discuss!

  As much as I wanted to talk to her, I didn’t want to do it in front of Luke so I dropped my phone back into my bag.

  ‘You coming to our party?’ he asked.

  I shook my head. ‘Nope.’

  ‘You have to!’ he said, obviously surprised anyone would miss one of his parties.

  ‘Dad said no,’ I said, not bothering to make up an excuse. I figured that Ellie would tell him the truth anyway.

  ‘Is Ellie coming?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m not sure. She wants us to sneak out.’

  ‘Are you going to?’ he asked.

  Before I could answer, my phone rang.

  ‘Popular,’ said Luke.

  ‘Hey,’ I said. It was Dad.

  ‘We’re waiting for you, Frankie. Jan’s cooked dinner,’ said Dad.

  ‘Sorry, be there in a minute.’ I grabbed my bag. ‘Gotta go, Luke. Have a great party.’

  He started following me but I was in a hurry.

  ‘Make sure you come tomorrow night!’ yelled Luke after me.

  I smiled to myself as I wandered up the path. How often did cute surfer boys invite me to parties? It would be so cool to go. But I just didn’t know if I could risk sneaking out.

  Dinner was a bit weird. Maybe we’d all had too much sun, or maybe it was because of the argument at lunchtime, but nobody said much. We sort of ate dinner and then went off to do our own thing. I’d been hoping we could play some rowdy family board games because that’s what Dad and I usually liked doing on holidays, but Ellie slunk off to bed with her laptop and headphones, and Jan dragged Dad away to sit on the balcony.

  I was going to play my guitar but I didn’t want to annoy Ellie, so instead I messaged Gen.

  Sharing a room with Ellie Who Hates Me. But on plus side, have met cute surfer boy, and been invited to his party. No way I’m allowed to go but Ellie wants us to sneak out.

  Gen wrote back:

  OMG! Sounds amazing. Most exciting thing that has happened here is that one of my cousins was stung by a jellyfish and we had to get vinegar from fish and chip shop to pour on it. PS Am sure Ellie doesn’t hate you!

  I missed Gen. It was going to be a long holiday without her around.

  I woke up stupidly early because there were birds singing right outside the bedroom window. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn’t, so I grabbed my bathers and towel and went down to the beach for an early morning swim.

  The water was icy getting in, but I made myself dive through the waves. Out past the breakers, with early morning sunlight glinting off the water, I felt so alive and happy that none of yesterday’s weirdness with Jan and Ellie even seemed to matter.

  By the time I came back to the house I was starving. I made some toast, which I managed not to burn, and perched up at the bench to eat it. The house was quiet and I had no idea where everybody was.

  Ellie wandered out in her singlet and shorts as I was unloading the dishwasher.

  ‘Morning,’ she said sleepily.

  ‘The beach was gorgeous this morning,’ I said. I knew my hair was all salty and crunchy. Frizzy hair didn’t like salt water. It made it go even more matted and thick.

  ‘Too early for swimming,’ she said, even though it was nearly eleven.

  ‘Have you seen Dad?’ I asked. Just as I did, he and Jan wandered in, wearing very similar pyjamas.

  Dad gave me a bit of a hug.

  ‘Where’s my red tea cup?’ asked Jan, looking in the now-emptied dishwasher.

  ‘Oh, I put it in that cupboard,’ I said, pointing to the one behind her.

  She smiled. ‘Thanks, Frankie, but the cups go in that one over there,’ she said, pointing to another cupboard.

  ‘I was just trying to help,’ I said, sounding crankier than I’d meant to.

  Dad looked at me strangely. ‘Jan wasn’t telling you off, honey. She was just explaining which cupboard the cups go in.’

  I nodded. I knew that, but when I unloaded the dishwasher at Mum’s house, she never minded if I put things in the wrong cupboards. She was just happy that I’d helped.

  Maybe
I was just really missing Mum.

  Jan had made a booking for her and Dad to go to a winery for lunch so Ellie and I found ourselves alone in the house.

  I was planning on heading back to the beach, but Ellie suggested we sit outside on the balcony and do our nails. I painted hers pink and she did mine electric blue.

  ‘Awesome colour, Frankie,’ said Ellie, looking at my toes.

  ‘They look like little jellybeans,’ I said, wriggling them.

  Ellie wriggled her pink ones. ‘I want blue now,’ she said, and stuck her feet up onto the chair so I could repaint them.

  ‘Have you got a boyfriend?’ asked Ellie, as I finished one foot and she looked at it.

  ‘Nope. You?’ I asked, starting on her other foot.

  She shook her head.

  ‘But you do have cool blue toes,’ I said, as we both looked at her finished nails.

  ‘Yeah. I like them. Thanks,’ she said, smiling at me. ‘Swim?’

  ‘My favourite word!’ I said, jumping up to go and grab my stuff.

  But there was no need to hurry, because nothing was quick with Ellie. She moved as slowly as a sloth. First, she packed her bag, and then changed her mind about the bathers she was going to wear. Then she wanted to take some lunch with us, so she repacked her bag, but couldn’t find the book she wanted to read. But for some reason it didn’t irritate me at all. Maybe that meant I liked her company?

  Dad and Jan didn’t get back until nearly dinnertime, and even though Dad apologised for having been gone all day, I didn’t really get the sense that the rest of the holiday was going to be any different. I started wondering how much he had actually wanted me there, and how much I’d just been asked because Ellie was coming and Dad and Jan wanted someone to hang out with her so they could go off and do their thing.

  ‘Red or blue?’ asked Ellie, holding up two dresses.

  ‘Blue,’ I said, staring enviously at all the clothes she’d unpacked. I thought I’d brought heaps of stuff with me, but my stuff was boring compared to hers.

  ‘You can wear the red one if you like. It’d look great on you,’ said Ellie, tossing the other dress across to my bed.

  ‘I can’t go,’ I said, throwing the dress back.

  ‘Yes, you can,’ she answered as she threw it back again.

  I shook my head. ‘I can’t,’ I said, picking up the dress to throw it back. It was gorgeous. Soft, summery and light, and not like anything I had. I was a jeans girl. Or shorts. T-shirts. Comfortable easy clothes. This was much more glamorous than anything I’d usually put on, and I wished I could wear it.

  ‘Whatevs,’ said Ellie as she walked past and shut the ensuite door. I’m sure she thought I was acting like a little kid, just doing whatever Dad told me. And to be honest, the idea of hanging out alone while Ellie went to a party with Luke did make me feel like a loser.

  I unlocked the door that led out to the balcony. It was one of those hot summer nights where it felt even warmer than it had during the day. I could hear my Dad laughing and glasses clinking, and I realised that he and Jan were drinking wine on the balcony just above us.

  ‘How are the girls getting along, do you think?’ I heard Jan ask.

  ‘Really well,’ said Dad, and I wondered what he was basing that on, given he’d hardly spent any time with us. I heard Jan agree with him and then add, ‘I’m glad Frankie came. She can keep Ellie company. It gives us more time together.’

  I was almost holding my breath, waiting for Dad to disagree, but he didn’t. Instead he said, ‘Yeah, it’s perfect. We should go to that little restaurant on the beach tomorrow. The girls will be okay.’

  Hurt, I backed quietly inside and shut the door behind me. So I was right. I had just been brought along as a friend for Ellie. So much for Dad saying he’d been looking forward to spending time with me these holidays.

  As Ellie came out of the shower, I rifled around in my bag for my book. I didn’t particularly want to talk to anyone.

  ‘Can you zip me up?’ asked Ellie with her back to me. I reached over and zipped up her dress. She looked amazing. Her hair was hanging straight down and her dress was just slightly fitted. She was wearing thongs and she looked all brown and sun-kissed. I couldn’t see a single freckle.

  ‘You could come for an hour,’ she said. ‘Tell your Dad you’re going to bed because you’ve got a headache and then just sneak out through the balcony door.’

  I didn’t want to have this conversation again, so I said nothing.

  ‘Seriously, they won’t even notice we’re gone. They’re going to watch some boring movie and then they’ll go to bed,’ said Ellie lightly.

  She was probably right. Dad and Jan did just seem to want to be alone. It wasn’t like we’d be hanging out playing board games together.

  Ellie must have sensed I was wavering, because she pounced. ‘Just an hour. I promise. Please, Frankie. I hate going to parties on my own. And I told Luke you were coming.’

  She made it sound so simple. Dad wouldn’t know if I sneaked out for an hour. It was just down the street. And it would be heaps of fun. And Luke was really cute. Plus, if Dad had brought me along to keep Ellie company then shouldn’t I just do that?

  But if I did go to the party, I’d be deliberately ignoring Dad’s rules, sneaking out and lying to him. I would be in so much trouble if he ever found out.

  Should I go? Or not?

  ‘Where have you been? Have you seen Asha?’ asked Jack, walking towards me.

  This was my chance. I just had to blurt out what I’d seen, tell him so he knew what his girlfriend was really like. But he looked so pleased about the gig that I didn’t want to bring him down. Besides, what if I had got it wrong somehow? Then I’d just look like I was trying to break them up.

  ‘Think she’s somewhere backstage. Great gig,’ I said, knowing that would distract him.

  His eyes shone as he smiled back. ‘Yeah, it was brilliant. When you guys were backstage just now, the manager offered us a residency.’

  ‘That’s awesome!’ I said, totally understanding what it meant to him. I’d be pumped too if a band I played with was offered a regular gig.

  ‘What’s awesome?’ said a voice behind me. I knew it was Asha without even having to turn around.

  ‘We got a residency!’ said Jack, grinning at his girlfriend.

  ‘Hope they’re paying us a bit better than they did tonight,’ she said, causing Jack to look crushed. I couldn’t believe she didn’t understand what it meant to him. If she did understand, then why would she be so cruel?

  ‘Pity you won’t be around to sing, Frankie,’ she said coolly. Then she added, ‘Nice dress.’

  Jack looked from one of us to the other. ‘You two could be twins.’

  ‘Hardly. I’m not wearing trainers!’ said Asha.

  I stuck my foot out. ‘They’re Converse. My faves.’

  And they were. Bright purple. Comfy, cool. And Gen had some exactly the same. I didn’t care what Asha thought about my shoes. I liked them.

  I waited for the next sarcastic comment, but instead she surprised me by nodding. ‘Yeah, my feet are killing me. Wish I’d worn trainers.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, because I had nothing else to say. What do you say to the girl who’s dating the boy you like when you know she’s cheating on him?

  Feeling totally uncomfortable, I started looking around for Mum but the shop was almost empty and I couldn’t see her or Tina anywhere.

  ‘We’re going to our mate Sammy’s place for a bit of a party,’ Jack said to me. ‘If you want to come. His dad still plays in bands and he’s pretty relaxed - he doesn’t mind a bunch of kids turning up and playing loud music.’

  ‘Nah, I’m going home,’ I said, not wanting to be around either of them.

  ‘No, you’re not. I already cleared it with The Mums,’ said Jack, picking up his guitar and stand. ‘They said it was cool, as long as we’re home by ten-thirty.’

  ‘Maybe she wants to go home, Jack,’ said Asha, cle
arly wanting me to.

  ‘Don’t care. She played a song so she has to come. The whole band is coming,’ he argued.

  ‘The whole band?’ asked Asha, and I wondered if she was asking about Sean.

  The thought of seeing her have to deal with Jack and Sean at the same party was enough to change my mind. I grabbed Jack’s guitar stand from him. ‘Actually, maybe I will come for a bit.’

  It wasn’t far to walk to Sammy’s, but it was freezing. And it just confirmed the fact that I could never live in London permanently.

  At home I didn’t need to wear a hundred layers just to walk to a party at night.

  Asha had done her disappearing trick again so I was walking with Jack, who hadn’t stopped talking about how amazing the gig was. I agreed with everything he’d said, but I wished he’d stop thinking about music for two seconds and concentrate on his girlfriend a bit more. Maybe then I wouldn’t need to tell him that she was cheating on him. Maybe he’d just know.

  As we walked up the steps to Sammy’s dad’s house, music was already pumping loud enough to be heard on the street. I felt weird going to a party with Jack and Asha, but at least it sounded like it was going to be an awesome party. I might even get to dance.

  Inside there were kids everywhere. It was like the whole gig had just turned up. Jack seemed to know everyone, but he was pretty good about introducing me, so I felt totally comfortable. When a song came on that I loved, I grabbed his hand and told him he had to come and dance with me. Laughing, he shook his head and tried to escape. ‘I’m an awful dancer, Frankie.’

  ‘I don’t care. I can’t dance on my own,’ I said, pulling him further along the hall.

  Jack was right about the dancing. Awful with a capital A. But for some reason it just made me like him that little bit more. I was so used to seeing him being good at things that it was nice seeing him try something he wasn’t great at.

  A song came on that Gen and I had worked out dance moves to, and I was trying to teach them to Jack when he stopped dancing altogether.