How to Get to Rio

by Julie Fison

  ‘Uh-huh.’ I knew exactly what she meant.

  ‘And you know what I did when you were in the shower?’

  I shook my head.

  She pulled out a notepad from under her pillow. ‘I wrote an acrostic poem about him. You know like the ones we did in primary school. The first letter of each line spells Jordan.’ She opened the notepad, showed me the poem and then read it out loud.

  ‘Jordan is the cutest

  Only guy for me

  Really like it when we talk

  Does something to my heart

  And one more thing

  No-one else is like him.’

  I smiled. ‘So sweet.’

  She handed me the notepad. She had decorated the borders around the poem with flowers and love hearts and then written Jordan’s name, probably a hundred times. Yep. She was definitely falling for him.

  ‘You know what I did while you were in the shower?’ I pulled my sketch pad out from under my pillow. I flipped through the pictures until I got to the most recent one. It was a drawing of Rio on a tiny boat, in a stormy sea. I was flying in to save him on a dragon, not so much because I was into fantasy, but just because I liked drawing dragons.

  ‘Wow! That’s amazing! You did all that while I was in the shower?’

  ‘You were in there a long time.’

  ‘Still.’ Persephone stared at the picture a while longer. ‘I think you’re falling for Rio, too.’

  ‘You think?’ I flipped through the pages of the sketch pad, revealing the many faces of Rio Sanchez.

  ‘Wow! Look at all those drawings of Rio!’

  I nodded. ‘Guilty as charged.’

  ‘You should give him one. He’d really love that.’

  I shook my head. ‘No way. Then I’d totally look like a weirdo stalker.’ I took my sketch pad, closed it and put it back under my pillow.

  ‘Your choice,’ Persephone said, resting back on her pillow.

  ‘Are you going to give Jordan that poem?’ I asked.

  Persephone rolled over. ‘Are you joking? He’d think I was into myself and a total weirdo stalker.’ She laughed. ‘I get your point. Some things are best kept between besties.’

  I felt my heart skip a beat at her calling us ‘besties’. My stupid sprained ankle lie could have ruined things between us, but she’d been really understanding.

  I wondered how Mia and Izzy would have dealt with my ankle. I knew they would have been nice to me, but they would have struggled to sit still because I was injured.

  ‘You know,’ Persephone began, propping herself on her elbow. ‘We’ve been coming here for ten years and we’ve never rented a catamaran. What do you think about sailing tomorrow morning?’

  ‘A catamaran?’ I repeated, trying not to get anxious. I seemed to be having an unlucky streak. I sprained my ankle just walking across the rocks. I could only imagine how much trouble I’d get into on a boat.

  ‘Yeah,’ Persephone said enthusiastically. ‘Tori never wanted to go sailing, but I think it’d be really cool.’ She looked at me seriously. ‘You’d just have to sit on the boat and look pretty. Of course, if you think you’re not up to it …’

  I didn’t know if Persephone threw in Tori’s name intentionally or whether it was just coincidental, but it went off like a mini bomb. If I said no to the sailing trip, I’d be just like Tori – no fun at all. And Tori was the last person I wanted to be like. I wanted to be lots of fun, even with a sprained ankle.

  ‘Sounds cool,’ I said, smiling.

  ‘Really?’ Persephone cried. ‘Even though you’ve got a sprained ankle, you still want to go?’

  ‘I’m very good at sitting.’

  ‘And looking pretty,’ Persephone added. ‘And it’ll be a lot easier than water-skiing or learning to stand up on a paddleboard.’

  I laughed. ‘That’s true.’

  We stayed up half of the night talking more about guys and love and everything in between. We wrote acrostic poems, and I drew a picture of Jordan in a blazing building and Persephone coming to save him on a water-spitting dragon. She tucked that under her pillow with her notebook.

  I told Persephone all about Izzy and Mia – and the more I talked about them, the more I missed them and wished that we could all be holidaying together. Persephone couldn’t wait to meet them for lunch at the sushi train tomorrow. I was excited too, but I was also nervous. I had to explain my lie to them. I wished I had just told them the truth in the first place, then maybe I wouldn’t have a sprained ankle for real!

  ‘I like how they wanted to surprise you about The Lost World. Only besties would do that,’ Persephone said.

  ‘It was sweet of them,’ I agreed. ‘But I’m glad I got to hang out with you, too.’

  By the time we finally fell asleep, I knew everything about Persephone and she knew all about me. We even had a secret handshake. And I knew I now had three besties.

  I was the luckiest girl in the world.

  There was a soft breeze blowing the next morning as we strapped ourselves into life vests at the catamaran rental place. I hobbled down to the water’s edge as Persephone, Jordan and Rio dragged the boat across the sand. I was a bit worried about going out with an injured ankle, but then I thought about how cool it was to be going sailing – on our own!

  Once the boat was in the water, I climbed on board and waited while the rental guy went through all the instructions about sailing. I didn’t listen too carefully because Persephone knew what she was doing.

  Captain Persephone had everything sorted, even the seating arrangements. ‘Rio, I need you on that side to start off with,’ she said, pointing to a space beside me. ‘I’m on the tiller, and Jordan, you can be on the headsail.’

  ‘The what?’ Jordan asked.

  ‘Sit next to me and I’ll explain as we go along,’ Persephone said, smiling.

  When the catamaran rental guy gave us the all-clear, Persephone grabbed the tiller thing that steers the boat, and handed Jordan a rope and told him to pull. Seconds later, we were flying over the swells. The beach was fast disappearing behind us, and the cloudless horizon was up ahead. It was just the four of us on the wide blue ocean. It was so exhilarating I almost forgot my ankle completely. All I could think of was Rio, sitting just a metre away, the wind blowing his hair and the sun on his face.

  ‘This is the life!’ Persephone yelled.

  I grinned at her and she smiled back. Even in a yellow life jacket, she managed to look cool and cute.

  ‘When did you learn to sail?’ I asked.

  ‘I did a two-day course last year,’ she explained. ‘I learnt all the basics. How to sail, what to do if you capsize and all that. But this is the first time I’ve actually been sailing since the course.’

  I smiled. ‘You make it look easy.’

  ‘This part is easy. Here, you have a go. Take the tiller.’

  I shook my head. ‘Oh, no. I can’t sail.’

  ‘Come on,’ Persephone urged.

  The guys watched anxiously as I shuffled over beside Persephone and took control.

  ‘See that headland,’ she said. ‘Just aim for it. Pull left to go right and right to go left.’

  I had a momentary panic working out my right and left. ‘What if I hit a reef, or a boat? Or a whale?’ I asked. I didn’t want to put everyone’s life in danger if I screwed up.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Persephone said with a laugh. ‘Just relax.’

  I scanned the bay anxiously. There were a few fishing boats, way out further, and a few guys on surf skis, closer to the beach, but we had clear water all the way to the headland.

  ‘Is it whale season?’ I asked.

  ‘Nope, that’s winter,’ Jordan answered.

  ‘What about reefs? Are there any out there?’

  Rio shook his head. ‘We’d see waves if there were any reefs.’

  ‘Looks all right then.’ I took a breath and felt myself relax.

  ‘It really is quite easy,’ I said a little later when I still hadn’
t hit anything, or ruined the boat. Maybe my luck was changing.

  We all took turns steering the boat as we soared towards the headland. While Persephone ran though some of the finer points of sailing with Jordan, Rio and I lay at the front of the boat. We were on the ‘tramp’, as Persephone called it, which was exactly like a real trampoline, slung from one side of the catamaran to the other. It was perfect for lazing on. We lay side by side, our hands trailing in the water, ‘like shark bait’, according to Jordan.

  ‘You know, I was worried about falling overboard and drowning with my stupid sprained ankle,’ I told Rio. ‘I was really nervous about coming out today.’

  For some reason I thought back to when I first saw The Lads on the beach. I’d been so excited, and they’d turned out to be such losers. Now I felt stupid for even thinking Pit was cute.

  Rio was so completely different to those guys. And the way I felt about him was totally different, too. I didn’t want to give the feeling a name in case I spoiled it, but I just knew it was really special.

  Rio looked at me, and I had to look away and stare at the sea for a moment. He was so cute that I couldn’t even look at him. Rio’s hand was trailing in the water and I had an overwhelming urge to be closer to him. I watched as my hand moved nearer to his. It was like seeing someone else’s hand move, until my fingertips touched his skin and an electric charge ran right through my body. I glanced up at Rio’s eyes. It looked like he felt it, too.

  ‘You have nice eyes,’ he said. ‘What colour would you say they are?’

  ‘Well, my little sister says they’re baby poo,’ I told him.

  Rio’s mouth smiled, but his eyes seemed to stay serious. ‘I think they’re sea green.’ He smiled again and this time his whole face lit up.

  And then I knew it. This was what it was like to be in love.

  Go back and choose all over again!

  ‘Truth,’ I said loudly, trying to sound confident.

  ‘Truth, hey?’ Persephone said, stroking her chin. ‘Now let me see …’

  I giggled nervously.

  ‘C’mon!’ Izzy coaxed. ‘You’re killing us here.’

  Persephone took a big dramatic breath. ‘So, you’re ready to tell the truth, Kitty?’

  I nodded, my heart thumping. I’d told enough white lies this holiday. Now I was ready to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I shot a glance at Rio. He smiled back at me.

  ‘We’ll know if you’re lying,’ Persephone warned me.

  ‘Okay,’ I said, wondering why I ever wanted to play Truth or Dare.

  ‘What’s … two plus two?’

  Everyone laughed, except me. TC even fell over backwards he thought it was so funny.

  ‘Four?’

  Persephone clapped. ‘Well done,’ she said. ‘That was just a practice round. Now for the real question. Are you ready?’

  If Persephone was trying to build tension, it was definitely working. I could feel a drop of sweat on my forehead.

  I nodded nervously. I was as ready as I was ever going to be.

  Persephone opened her mouth when Izzy jumped up and elbowed her aside.

  Izzy shined a torch in my face. ‘Tell us the truth. Do you always wear little girls’ knickers?’

  How embarrassing! I glared at Izzy, knowing the only way to play this was to roll with it.

  ‘Yeah, that’s right,’ I said. ‘Every day of the week. Monday is Snow White, Tuesday is Dora the Explorer, Wednesday’s Rapunzel, Thursday is … Minnie Mouse, Friday is Cinderella and on Saturdays I wear Barbie pants. On Sundays, I have the day off and wear saggy granny undies.’

  The whole circle was laughing at me – not really the way I had hoped the game would go.

  ‘Okay, my turn to ask a question,’ I said, reaching for Izzy’s torch.

  But Persephone got to it first. ‘Not so fast,’ she said, grabbing the torch. ‘That wasn’t a proper question and, Kitty, I don’t believe you told the truth.’

  Mia stood up. ‘Yeah, that’s right! I’ve seen her in her Dad’s leopard-print undies on Sundays.’

  Oh great! I thought. Suddenly everyone’s a comedian. I’m going to be in the spotlight all night!

  TC really loved Mia’s joke. ‘Good one,’ he laughed and Mia looked totally pleased with herself.

  ‘We need a proper truth question for Kitty,’ Persephone insisted. She paced around the outside of the circle shining the torch on her own face. It was serious, like she was in court about to cross-examine a witness. She was really starting to freak me out. What was Persephone going to ask me that would require such a dramatic build-up?

  Maybe she’d ask me about Tori – we had just been talking about her. I wondered if Persephone would ask if I liked her. That would be a totally awkward question to answer. Even though Persephone said I was more fun, Tori was still her friend. And I’d be lying if I said I liked her. Tori was cool and pretty, but she was too much of a princess and a bit on the mean side.

  Or maybe Persephone would ask why I told her we were at a rural retreat when we were actually camping. That would make me look like a total liar. It would be bad in front of my friends and really awkward in front of Rio. In fact, any question would be embarrassing in front of Rio. Persephone could ask me something really personal.

  I suddenly realised I’d made a big mistake choosing a truth question. ‘I’ve changed my mind. I’ll do a dare!’

  Persephone looked at me calmly. ‘Afraid I can’t permit that,’ she said seriously. ‘I’ve already decided on my line of questioning.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Kitty MacLean,’ she commanded, ‘tell us the truth …’

  ‘Uh-huh.’ I shuffled uncomfortably, accidentally bumping Rio’s elbow. He glanced at me and gave me a little nod. Was he trying to reassure me that everything was going to be all right?

  ‘Do you like Rio?’

  I gasped. I turned away from Rio to hide my face. For the second time that night, I’d gone bright red.

  My mind whirled. No matter how I answered the question I was in trouble. I was either going to embarrass myself with a yes or lie by saying no. And once the answer was out there, I wouldn’t be able to bring it back.

  I looked around the circle. Everyone had their eyes on me, waiting for a response. It felt like the whole world had stopped to listen.

  I couldn’t look at Rio, but I felt him squirming beside me. He must have been mortified, too.

  I stared up at Persephone. Did she want to screw things up between Rio and me? Was she punishing me for lying about camping at The Lost World? It was impossible to tell.

  Her face became all soft and perfect again. She raised her eyebrows, waiting for a response.

  Just as I opened my mouth, I snatched a sideways glance at Rio. He was staring right at me with those gorgeous eyes. In that fraction of a second I knew what my answer had to be.

  With my eyes lowered, I replied slowly in a whisper. ‘Yes.’

  My whole body tightened. The circle erupted into a ripple of oh-ing and ah-ing.

  When everyone settled down, I felt Rio’s shoulder pressing very lightly against mine. I sneaked a peek to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. There he was, right beside me.

  All of a sudden I understood what Persephone had been doing. She was kickstarting things between Rio and me. She really was very, very cool.

  And I was feeling pretty happy with myself, too. I’d made the right decision. Now the truth was out there, I didn’t want to take it back.

  I noted the time and the date. This was it. The start of my life.

  Go back and choose all over again!

  ‘Dare,’ I said, hesitantly.

  Persephone got to her feet and walked slowly around the outside of the circle, tapping her finger on her lip. Her face was serious, like she was a lawyer in a court or something. It didn’t do anything to ease my nerves. She was really putting some thought into my dare. I started to regret my decision.

  What if she dares me to kiss Rio? I thought. Of cours
e I wanted to kiss him, but not in front of everyone.

  I glanced sideways at Rio. His face looked tense, too. He was probably worried about the same thing. This dare was going to be a disaster!

  ‘I changed my mind. I want truth!’

  Persephone looked at me and shook her head. ‘Afraid I can’t permit that. If I’m not mistaken, you called dare.’

  ‘Dare!’ QC called. Then everyone joined in. ‘Dare! Dare! Dare!’

  I put my hands over my face. My friends had turned into the Rodent Tribe!

  ‘Okay, okay,’ Persephone said, putting her hand up for silence. Then she took a big deep breath and continued. ‘I need quiet so I can think.’

  She started walking around the circle again. ‘Let me see. What would be an appropriate dare for Kitty?’ She made it sound like I was about to be sentenced for murder.

  Izzy jumped to her feet and shone her torch in Persephone’s face. ‘Okay, time’s up.’ She nudged Persephone out of the way. ‘I’ve got one. I dare Kitty to run to the end of the beach shouting “I love leeches”. And every ten metres you have to do three star jumps and a push-up.’

  I shot to my feet. I was thrilled that I’d been let off the hook with a classic Izzy dare – more of a training session than a dare. It would be embarrassing to run around shouting dumb things, but I was sure it was going to be easier than any dare Persephone would have come up with.

  Izzy shone the torch in my face, shouting like a sports coach. ‘All the way to the end of the beach. And don’t forget the push-ups.’

  Before I had a chance to go anywhere, Persephone stepped in front of me. ‘That’s not a proper dare,’ she said, putting her hands on her hips. ‘It doesn’t even have a kiss in it.’

  I knew it was now or never. So I quickly ducked past Persephone, relieved that I’d dodged her dare. She really had been thinking of daring me to kiss Rio. What an escape!

  ‘I love leeches!’ I said. I then did a few half-hearted star jumps and a really pathetic push-up. I had always been bad at those.

  ‘Louder!’ Izzy called after me. ‘And you’re meant to be running. If you fail, you’ll have to do another dare!’