How to Get to Rio

by Julie Fison

  I couldn’t believe it. Izzy lied to me? And she wasn’t even embarrassed to admit it?

  ‘Why?’ I demanded.

  ‘We wanted you to have low expectations and then surprise you with a nice place. We were thinking of you,’ Mia said. ‘We didn’t mean to freak you out.’

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about Mia and Izzy’s strategy. ‘Well, it kind of backfired, didn’t it?’ I said grumpily.

  Mia gave me a hug. ‘We weren’t trying to be mean.’

  ‘I know,’ I said. But it kind of felt like they had been mean, torturing me with all those camping horror stories. And, yet, now it was me who looked bad because I’d told the lie about spraining my ankle.

  At least Mia seemed to have moved on, but Izzy had a face like a cat’s bottom. She wasn’t the type to forgive and forget. And now Persephone was going to think I was a total loser for lying to my friends.

  ‘I’ve got an idea,’ Persephone said. ‘Why don’t we all get together for a sleepover at my place tonight?’

  I stared at Persephone. What a cool idea! Doing something fun together would help everyone forget about my stupid lie. And it would give Izzy, Mia and Persephone a chance to get to know each other. I knew Mia would be up for it, but I couldn’t tell with Izzy.

  ‘Gee, I don’t know,’ Izzy said, slowly. ‘I was really looking forward to sleeping on an air mattress that goes down five times during the night.’

  Mia chuckled. ‘And then there’s the boys,’ she added. ‘I really wanted to spend some quality time with my four little brothers. And I really do want to hang out with Izzy’s brothers some more, too. They’re so cute. Especially BB. I just loved the way he jumped on our tent right after we put it up. So adorable. I just wanted to strangle him.’

  ‘Well, if you can tear yourself away from all that,’ Persephone said with a grin, ‘come over at seven.’

  I was feeling slightly stunned. Somehow Persephone had turned the situation around. She must’ve been some kind of social genius. As I watched her explaining to the girls how to get to her apartment, I knew that she was going to fit into our group without any trouble at all.

  We were about to part ways with Izzy and Mia when I remembered that I hadn’t even told them the most exciting news of all.

  ‘Guess who we saw on the beach?’ I said.

  ‘Rio?’ That was Mia’s guess.

  I shook my head. ‘Way more famous. An actual celebrity.’

  ‘Nemo?’ That was Izzy’s guess.

  I sighed. ‘That’s not a celebrity. It’s a cartoon fish.’

  In seconds Izzy and Mia had turned the whole thing into a guessing game that was already driving me mad. I took a big dramatic breath to heighten the anticipation. ‘Kes and Pit!’ I shouted.

  Izzy and Mia looked at each other. ‘Who?’

  ‘Kes and Pit,’ I shrieked, ‘from The Lads! You really have been in the wilderness too long.’

  ‘Oh, I thought you were going to say someone really good,’ Mia said, looking disappointed.

  ‘They are good.’ I quickly corrected myself. ‘Well, they were, until we got to know them.’

  ‘They’re losers,’ Persephone said, pulling out her phone. She showed Izzy and Mia the photos from our encounter on the beach, including all the pictures of Kes’s underarm and the video of Pit’s nasal hair.

  ‘Gross!’ Izzy sneered.

  Persephone laughed. ‘Yeah, double gross.’

  I could still hear Mia and Izzy laughing about The Lads as they headed back across the rocks to The Lost World.

  Persephone and I hurried back to Paradise Point. It was almost time to meet Rio and Jordan.

  ‘Izzy and Mia are cool,’ Persephone said as we scrambled back over rocks. ‘It’s so cute that they tried to give you a nice camping surprise.’

  ‘Hmm, suppose so,’ I said, not totally convinced.

  I was relieved, though. That awkward situation with my sprained ankle lie had gone far better than I thought it would. Persephone had been a complete star.

  ‘So you think Izzy and Mia like me?’ she asked.

  ‘Yeah, I’d say they do,’ I said truthfully. My friends really did seem to like her.

  I sooo couldn’t wait until seven that night. It was going to be awesome! So fun to have all of us hanging out together.

  Persephone sent about ten texts to Jordan on our way to meeting him and Rio. It seemed like she was updating him every few steps with our expected arrival time. If I didn’t know her better, I would have thought she was texting because she was nervous. But when she started worrying about what she was wearing, I realised she really was freaking out.

  ‘Should I go back and change into my striped bikini?’ she asked. ‘I’m not really sure about this one. It makes my butt look big.’

  ‘You look great, Persephone,’ I said. ‘You’re just being paranoid.’

  She frowned. ‘I don’t know. I think I’ll just go back and change.’

  If it had been anyone else going on about their bikini and their butt, I would have been well and truly fed up by now. But coming from Persephone, it was actually a bit of a relief. It made her seem normal. It was like she was even more nervous than me about meeting the guys, if that was possible. Maybe we were just different like that. I was keeping all my worrying inside my head, but hers was pouring out of her mouth.

  ‘Yep,’ she said, firmly. ‘We’re going back. I have to change.’

  I grabbed her arm. ‘If we go back to the apartment, you’ll be there for another hour,’ I told her. ‘And we’re already late to meet the guys.’

  Persephone hesitated.

  ‘Come on,’ I said, slipping my arm in hers. ‘That’s the ice-cream place where we’re meeting them, isn’t it?’ I pointed just up ahead.

  Persephone nodded and managed a half smile.

  ‘All right. So let’s go,’ I told her, grinning.

  As we hurried towards the ice-cream shop, I realised we were passing the apartment block we’d seen The Lads heading back to earlier. I slowed down to take a look. Sure enough, there was Pit on the balcony, relaxing. I had to admit that he’d look hot if you didn’t know he was a total idiot.

  That’s when I noticed a group of girls gathered on the beach around the apartment block. It certainly looked like The Lads’ quiet holiday was already over.

  Persephone and I watched as Kes joined Pit on the balcony. We saw he was carrying an armful of colourful balls. He leant over the balcony.

  A moment later I worked out that Kes wasn’t holding balls. They were water bombs! Pit and Kes pelted the crowd, sending squealing girls running in every direction.

  ‘Nice guys,’ Persephone said, sarcastically.

  I couldn’t help staring. Kes and Pit were both so annoying, but it was Pit who was really bugging me. He was the one I’d swooned over. It was embarrassing to think of that now! I felt totally ridiculous for being so star-struck by such a stupid guy.

  I was still staring at Pit when he glanced over and saw me. Then, of all the things, he blew me a kiss!

  Gross, I thought. I blew his stupid kiss right back to him in a big, sarcastic way. What an arrogant loser!

  ‘Kitty! What are you doing?’ Persephone asked, looking shocked.

  ‘I’m being sarcastic,’ I said.

  ‘That’s funny, because, from where I’m standing, it looks like you blew him a kiss.’

  ‘Didn’t you see how exaggerated it was?’ I tried to explain. ‘That was mocking.’

  ‘Possibly a bit subtle for Pit,’ Persephone replied, ‘but whatevs. We need to find the guys.’

  It wasn’t hard. They were just behind us, wandering up from the beach. Jordan had a big smile on his face, but Rio looked really awkward.

  ‘So, who’s up for an ice-cream?’ Persephone said, clapping her hands.

  By the time we got our ice-creams, everyone seemed pretty relaxed, even Rio. I was surprised at how comfortable I felt with him, even though I’d been secretly terrified all day. I figured my
encounter with those stupid Lads had actually given me a confidence boost.

  Jordan and Persephone were so cool with each other that you’d never know how nervous she’d been. She even asked him to try her tiramisu ice-cream, and she tasted his butterscotch. It was totally cute. I thought I’d try the same thing with Rio, but he suddenly started to look sick.

  ‘Thanks, but I don’t really like chocolate. Or mint.’

  I thought everyone liked chocolate and mint. I began to wonder if it was me he didn’t like.

  As we headed to the point, Persephone and Jordan strolled ahead of us. They were nudging shoulders and sharing their ice-creams. Rio and I walked stiffly behind them. He’d gone all awkward again. I tried to get him talking about his plans for the holiday, but he just gave one-word answers to all my questions. It was the same with school and his family. I did find out his father was a graphic artist, though. That gave us something to talk about because I really liked art, too.

  ‘Yeah, that picture you did in class was really cool,’ Rio said. ‘That dragon, I …’ He clammed up again. ‘Let’s catch up with the others.’

  Rio walked off so quickly, I was left wondering what he’d done that he didn’t want me to know about, or what I’d done to annoy him. I just couldn’t work out why he was acting so strangely.

  It wasn’t until we got onto the subject of sport that he forgot whatever was bothering him and really came alive. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of talking about sport before.

  Soccer was clearly his passion. He told me he’d be happy to play it all day, every day. Apparently, when he wasn’t playing it, he was watching it. He was a massive supporter of Real Madrid, a Spanish team. Then I remembered the sticker on his folder. I kicked myself for not thinking about it earlier. Rio went on about a few other teams in the European competition and then stopped and looked embarrassed.

  ‘Am I boring you?’ he asked. ‘I’m half Argentinean. Soccer’s in my blood. What I can do?’ he said in a really thick accent and then laughed at himself. It was very cute. ‘So, what kind of stuff do you like?’

  I shrugged. I really wanted to tell him I liked sport, but I didn’t. I mean, I thought sport was all right, but I wasn’t into it like Izzy or Mia.

  ‘My friends really love water polo,’ I told him. ‘Maybe I’ll get into that one day.’

  ‘But what about drawing?’ Rio asked, with a smile. ‘I figured that was your thing.’

  ‘Oh, yeah,’ I said, distractedly. ‘That, too.’

  I could feel the hair on my neck standing on end as Rio smiled at me. His eyes creased up, just the way I remembered them.

  Imagine if he knew I liked drawing HIM, I thought. He’d probably run for cover!

  For a few glorious minutes, Rio seemed relaxed, which meant I was, too. We stood and watched some kids in the surf, and we talked and laughed about dumb, nothing stuff. At last, Rio seemed to be himself.

  Maybe he’s been nervous this whole time, I thought, and now, at last, we’re actually connecting.

  Rio even got out his phone to show me a picture of his dog, Pequeño. (He had to spell it out for me.)

  ‘Pequeño means “small” in Spanish,’ he explained. ‘But it’s a family joke because he’s a Rhodesian Ridgeback.’ Rio showed me a picture of the most enormous dog I’d ever seen.

  I told Rio about Sid, my cat. ‘He brings in dead things from the backyard and leaves them by my bed, so I stand on them in the morning.’

  I got out my phone, flicking past the dumb photo of Pit and me and loads of school ones until I found my favourite picture of Sid. It was a close-up of his face. He was smoky grey with a black patch around his eye, a bit like a pirate.

  ‘We should have known when we got him that he’d have attitude,’ I told Rio, laughing.

  I glanced up to see what Rio thought of Sid, but he’d suddenly got shy again. He looked at the picture and said, ‘We should catch up with the others.’

  I watched him stride off, wondering what had just happened, what I had said to upset him. Does he really hate cats? I wondered.

  By the time we reached the far end of the beach Persephone and Jordan were practically holding hands while Rio and I had fallen into a silent, single-file march.

  Something was definitely going on with him. Then it dawned on me. Rio didn’t have a thing about cats. He wasn’t nervous, or awkward. He didn’t have a problem with chocolate ice-cream or even mint. He has a girlfriend. The more I thought about it the more I knew it had to be true.

  Rio was only here to make up the numbers, so Jordan could hang out with Persephone. Rio wanted to be nice to me, because he was a nice guy. But he didn’t want to be too nice, because he didn’t want to give me the wrong impression. Maybe his girlfriend has a cat. And that’s what made him go all quiet, I thought.

  I sighed forlornly as I realised that the guy I’d been dreaming about for months was completely off limits. I’d been so excited about spending time with Rio and getting to know everything about him. Now none of that was going to happen. It couldn’t – not if he had a girlfriend. I felt crushed, like an elephant had knocked me to the sand and stamped all over my heart. I wanted to run away and hide, and maybe cry a little. But I couldn’t. What would Persephone think if I just bolted off without an explanation? All I could think to do was blink back my tears and traipse along after Rio.

  I knew I had to find an excuse to get away. I really didn’t want to be the one to spoil Persephone’s love-in, but I was dying a slow and painful death.

  ‘So, should we get back?’ I eventually managed to get out. ‘Persephone, don’t forget you invited Izzy and Mia over tonight,’ I said, trying to sound upbeat.

  Persephone looked at Rio and me. The huge gap between us should have made it pretty obvious what was going on.

  ‘I did, didn’t I?’ she said, smiling at me and then turning to Jordan. ‘Well, let’s make it a party. Are you guys free tonight?’

  Jordan and Rio both answered together, but with opposite replies. Jordan said yes, while Rio’s response was no.

  He looked so uncomfortable. I felt kind of sorry for him. ‘Remember, we’ve got that thing on tonight,’ Rio said to Jordan.

  ‘But that thing can wait,’ Jordan said, firmly. He turned to Persephone. ‘We’ll be there. What time?’

  Persephone made all the arrangements and outlined the plan for the night: fruit-punch cocktails by the pool, then pizzas and a DVD. I would have loved that plan at any other time, but right at that moment it sounded worse than a three-hour algebra test.

  ‘See you tonight,’ Persephone called out as the guys headed off the other way down the beach.

  Jordan grinned at her and waved at me. Rio could barely manage a nod.

  ‘What’s up with Rio?’ Persephone asked as we headed back to her apartment. ‘Did he swallow a bee or something? I used to think he was really nice, but he was being a total weirdo just now.’

  ‘Luckily, Jordan made up for it,’ I said, trying to hide my disappointment. ‘You two look really cute together.’

  Persephone smiled, but then looked at me seriously. ‘Sorry things were awkward with Rio. I don’t know what happened.’

  ‘Did Jordan say anything?’

  ‘Nothing about you and Rio,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Strange, hey? Unless … do you think there’s another girl involved?’

  I nodded. ‘That’s exactly what I think. He was actually starting to chill until I showed him a picture of my cat.’

  Persephone frowned. ‘Huh?’

  ‘His girlfriend probably has a cat,’ I explained. ‘Anyway, so I guess it’s all over for me.’

  ‘What? Really? You’re just giving up?’

  ‘Well, I’m not chasing after a guy who’s not into me,’ I told Persephone.

  ‘No, of course not. You don’t have to chase him,’ she said. ‘But maybe there’s something else you could try.’

  ‘You know how I said to be yourself and Rio will like you?’ Persephone said, ho
lding a pair of sparkly silver shorts up against me. ‘Well, forget all that. Let’s try something different.’

  ‘Hotpants aren’t going to change how Rio feels about me,’ I said flatly.

  Persephone threw the shorts on my bed and went through her wardrobe, looking for a top to go with them. ‘No, but I bet they’ll work on my brother.’

  ‘Aren’t I trying to impress Rio?’ I asked, feeling confused.

  Persephone shook her head. ‘The new plan is to make Rio jealous. So you’re going to ignore him all night and talk to my brother instead. Then, Rio will realise what a catch you are and swoop in!’

  ‘Have you tried this tactic before?’ I asked, doubtfully.

  ‘Sure. Tori does it all the time,’ Persephone said.

  ‘And how does it go?’

  Persephone thought for a moment. ‘Well, mixed results.’ She must have seen my frown, because suddenly she sounded way too enthusiastic. ‘More good than bad, actually. And I think we’ve got a great shot tonight, because we’re in control. It’ll be like starring in our own movie. We’ve got the venue, chosen the actors, designed the costumes, and we know how it’s all going to end. You and Rio together, just how it should be!’

  ‘And if it doesn’t work out like that?’ I said, holding up the hotpants.

  Persephone brushed the idea away as she threw a cute little top at me and then began to run a straightener over her hair. ‘It has to. Look, I don’t find acting that easy either. But if that’s what it takes for you and Rio to be together, it has to be done.’

  I could totally understand why Persephone was so keen to make things work between Rio and me. It wouldn’t be fun for anyone if we were moping around while she and Jordan were trying to have fun. I had reservations, though. I didn’t want to come between Rio and his girlfriend.

  But Persephone didn’t believe it could be anything serious. ‘If Rio had a proper girlfriend, I’d know about it,’ Persephone said. ‘Jordan would have said something. Even Rio would have said something. No, if Rio has a girlfriend, this is very new.’

  Persephone was convinced something had happened during the afternoon to change Rio’s mind about me. So we went back through Jordan’s texts. It seemed clear Rio had been keen to hang out when the texts came through, but then, a couple of hours later, something had changed. We figured he must have bumped into someone he knew on the beach – or met someone he wanted to get to know.