by Julie Fison
‘Not a bad place to live,’ I said, watching a ferry make its way across the river. I could definitely handle waking up to this view every day.
‘Hey, you made it!’ came a voice from behind us.
I turned around to see Saia. He had a gash above his right eye – from the rugby game, I guessed. It just made him look even cuter than ever. And his shirt was almost the same colour as my dress. I felt my legs quiver when he smiled at me and said hello to the others.
‘Have you just arrived?’ he asked.
‘Pretty much,’ I said.
‘Any idea where Ryan is?’ Annabel asked.
‘And Marco?’ Kimmi added.
Saia looked around. ‘They were right behind me. Must have gone inside.’
Annabel and Kimmi looked at each other, and before I had a chance to decide if I wanted to hang out with Saia on my own, they had disappeared, to look for the guys.
I smiled at Saia shyly, silently cursing Annabel and Kimmi. I would have liked a bit of notice before being abandoned. What was I going to talk to him about? I could hardly think.
‘So, looks like a great party,’ Saia said fidgeting with a button on his shirt. Surprisingly, he looked almost as nervous as I felt.
‘Yeah,’ I nodded. ‘Hard not to have a great party in a house like this, though. It’s amazing. How many people actually live here?’
‘Just Ryan and his brother – oh, and their parents, of course.’
‘Seriously?’ I said. ‘It’s so big. Wow!’
Saia laughed and I quickly shut my mouth, realising that I had just done exactly what Annabel had told me not to do. I was acting really surprised about everything. It was so much easier talking to someone via text. I looked at Saia, wondering what he thought of me. He was still smiling, so that was a good sign.
‘I think my house would fit in that shed,’ Saia said, pointing to a small structure at the end of the yard. Surely that wasn’t true, but it was sweet of him to say. Annabel was right – I did have to chill out more.
‘That big? What luxury!’ I laughed, until I realised he might have thought I was mocking him. ‘Great game, today,’ I said, quickly changing the subject. ‘We didn’t see the whole thing. But that try you scored at the end? You smashed it.’
Saia beamed. ‘Just a lucky break,’ he said modestly.
‘Come on,’ I gave him a nudge. ‘You left that other guy for dead. You were a total star.’
Saia couldn’t help smiling, a broad grin spreading over his face. ‘Thanks. It’s not like that every week. But it’s kind of good when it is. What sport do you play?’
‘Ah,’ I said, trying to think of something I did that passed as sport, and coming up with nothing. ‘I do debating. Does that count?’
‘You must be really smart.’
‘No, not at all,’ I laughed. ‘I’m just weird. Instead of playing sport at lunchtime like normal people, I go to debating meetings. I’m also in a club that raises money for endangered animals. Actually, there’s a movie-night fundraiser for orangutans at our school tonight.’
I told Saia all about what we’d been doing in the Wild Club. Once I got started, it was hard to stop. I’d been going on about logging and habitat destruction for ages before I suddenly realised what I was doing. ‘Sorry, I’m probably boring you senseless.’
Saia shook his head. ‘It’s cool. Honestly. It sounds like you really care about this stuff. So why aren’t you at the movie night, instead of here?’
I shrugged, suddenly feeling awkward. ‘We had already made plans to come to this party when I found out about the movie night. So … here I am,’ I said.
Saia smiled. ‘Well, I’m glad you came.’ He edged closer and I thought he might be about to kiss me, when suddenly he stiffened. Something behind me had distracted him.
I turned to look. In the shadows, beneath a big, sprawling tree, I could see a couple. From a distance, it looked like Marco and Kimmi. But when I looked more closely I could tell from the clothes that it wasn’t Kimmi. I was almost certain the guy was Marco, though. He and the girl were so close, it definitely looked like something was going on. As I watched, she leant towards Marco and kissed him.
‘Oh, no,’ I groaned. ‘That’s not good.’
The tension that had built up between me and Saia unravelled completely. He looked down, like he was embarrassed. I didn’t know where to look either. I couldn’t stand the thought of Kimmi coming out here and seeing this.
‘Who’s that girl?’ I asked.
‘She’s from Fairmount.’
I looked at the girl again and recognised her from the rugby game. And she’d been standing at the top of the driveway when we arrived.
‘You know her?’ I asked.
Saia nodded. ‘Marco’s been after her for ages.’
‘Oh,’ I said, glumly. ‘Poor Kimmi. She thought she’d be hanging out with Marco tonight.’
‘Yeah, that’s kind of awkward.’ Saia frowned.
‘Really awkward. What am I going to say to Kimmi?’
Saia shrugged. ‘It’s probably kinder if you don’t say anything.’
Maybe Saia was right. If I told Kimmi about the Fairmount girl, she’d have a total meltdown and want to go straight home. But then again, if I said nothing, she’d spend the whole night looking for Marco, wondering what was going on. I couldn’t do that to her – it just seemed cruel.
‘I think I should find Kimmi and make sure she doesn’t see this,’ I said. I turned to go and walked straight into Annabel and Kimmi.
‘Oh, hey!’ said Annabel. ‘Here you are. Look who we found!’ She nodded at Ryan, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.
Kimmi looked slightly lost. ‘Still can’t find Marco,’ she said. ‘Maybe he’s gone home.’
I stared at Kimmi, wondering what to say. If she found out the truth, she’d be so upset she’d want to leave right away. Should I lie and tell her I didn’t know where Marco was to protect her feelings? Or should I tell her the truth?
‘Phoebs, what about Liam?’ Annabel asked again, staring at me.
I looked at my feet. I felt my throat constricting, but I knew I had to tell her what was bothering me.
‘Liam texted me today,’ I said, my voice croaking. I cleared my throat. ‘He thinks I’ve got a boyfriend at Highgrove and I’m too involved with him to care about the Wild Club.’
Annabel raised her eyebrows. ‘Why does he think that?’
‘He said … you told him.’
Annabel gasped. ‘I did not! Why would I do that?’
‘I’m not saying you did,’ I said quickly. ‘I’m just repeating what he told me.’
‘I didn’t say that. Why would I say you’re not interested in the Wild Club, or that you’ve got a boyfriend?’
I looked at her carefully. She seemed genuine. ‘I know, right?’ Annabel might have been a bit boy-crazy, but she was still my friend. ‘It doesn’t make sense.’
Annabel shook her head. ‘I really don’t know where Liam got that from.’
‘Me neither,’ I sighed. ‘Sorry, Annabel.’ I hugged her, remembering for the first time all week what a good friend she was. This whole thing with Liam had really caused a rift. I felt stupid for getting so jealous. ‘Friends?’ I smiled.
‘Best friends,’ Annabel said, smiling.
We both looked at Kimmi and put our arms out so she could join our hug, but she didn’t move.
‘Come on, Kimmi,’ Annabel called. ‘Group hug.’
‘There’s something else Phoebe has to tell you,’ Kimmi said, still not moving. ‘About Liam.’
I glared at Kimmi. We’d sorted things out. It was time to move on, not reveal my feelings for Liam.
‘If you don’t tell her, I will,’ said Kimmi to me firmly.
I shook my head.
‘Phoebe’s in love with Liam,’ Kimmi announced.
‘I am not!’ I shrieked.
Annabel stared at me.
‘I’m not!’ I said. ‘We’re friends. Ju
st friends. That’s all.’
‘Phoebs,’ Kimmi said. ‘Time for a full confession.’
‘There’s nothing to confess,’ I insisted, smiling insanely at Annabel.
‘Really?’ Annabel asked. ‘You promise there’s nothing between you two?’
I coughed, my throat getting tight again. I couldn’t lie to her anymore. ‘Okay, the truth.’ I took a deep breath. ‘We were just friends. Well, that’s what I thought. But after that day when we all went to the mall, I started to feel differently about him. And then things started going really well between you two … I got jealous. I mean, of course he likes you. Why wouldn’t he?’ I looked at my feet. ‘I’m not proud of it. But I was jealous because he likes you and not me. And that’s why I didn’t go to any of the meetings last week. I couldn’t cope with seeing you and Liam together. Stupid, huh?’
I looked at Annabel, waiting for her reaction. She didn’t say anything for a minute, but something seemed to soften in her expression. ‘Listen,’ I went on. ‘Just forget all about it. You and Liam should get together. I can just be his friend, like always. It’s no big deal. I’ve been jealous and stupid.’
‘Oh, Phoebe,’ Annabel cried, squeezing my hands. There were tears in her eyes. ‘I feel awful. I never would have gone after Liam if I knew you really liked him.’
I shrugged. ‘It’s not your fault. I didn’t even know myself, at first.’ I gave Annabel a hug. ‘What a mess.’
‘Yeah, it is,’ Annabel nodded.
‘It’s going to feel really small in that slushie stand tonight,’ Kimmi said. ‘Maybe I’ll go to the party after all.’ She laughed, but nothing seemed funny.
‘It’ll be fine,’ Annabel said. She looked at me and smiled, then grabbed her things.
‘It will?’ I asked. ‘How?’
‘I won’t go to the movie night.’
I stared at her, hardly able to believe what I was hearing.
‘You and Kimmi go,’ Annabel went on. ‘I’ll just go home.’
‘No!’ I cried. ‘You should go. I’ll just be in the way. I’ll go home.’
But Annabel pulled free of me and walked towards the bedroom door. ‘I’m not interested in Liam, if he’s going to come between you and me, Phoebs. I’m really sorry. I know how much the Wild Club means to you. You go.’
‘Wait!’ I said, trying to grab Annabel’s hand, but she stepped out of my reach and rushed down the hall.
‘It’s fine!’ she called over her shoulder. ‘Have fun! Go Wild Club!’ Then I heard the front door slam. She was gone.
‘O-kay,’ I sighed, falling backwards onto Kimmi’s bed. ‘I didn’t see that one coming. I feel really terrible now. Do you think I should run after her?’
Kimmi shrugged. ‘Weird, huh?’ She stared at the doorway where Annabel had disappeared. ‘But I don’t think there’s any point chasing after her. You know what she’s like when she’s made up her mind.’
I nodded. ‘She’s so determined.’
Kimmi fluffed up her hair and then packed the banner that she’d made with Jack. I checked the time. It was getting late. It seemed like the only thing we could do was get to school to help the guys with the slushie stall and let Annabel go. I felt sorry for her. I knew exactly how it felt to have your best friend like the guy you’re crushing on. There was no point ruining our friendship over a guy. I could only be Liam’s friend.
I was glad we’d cleared things up. But something was still playing on the back of my mind. If Annabel didn’t tell Liam I had a boyfriend, why did he say she had? One thing was for sure – I was going to find out tonight.
People were already starting to trickle onto the oval when we arrived. Groups of girls and guys gathered on the grass near the big screen. Couples spread blankets and unpacked their picnics. And on the bank above the oval, I could see the slushie trailer, with Jack and Liam already serving a customer. We’d missed the set-up completely.
‘So, when did you forget all about Marco?’ I asked Kimmi as we walked towards the trailer.
Kimmi shrugged. ‘I’ve just been hanging out with Jack a lot, and it kind of crept up on me. Jack’s much quieter than Marco, but he’s got swag – he’s so cool on a skateboard. He’s also arty and interesting. And I think he likes me too.’
I smiled. ‘Jack’s a great guy. I really hope it all works out for you.’ It was good to see Kimmi move on from her obsession with Marco. It probably wasn’t good for her confidence to be chasing a guy who didn’t seem to notice her.
‘Nice timing,’ Liam smiled when we climbed into the trailer. ‘All the hard work’s done.’
‘Didn’t want to get in the way,’ I joked. I watched him carefully. I’d expected Liam to be uptight, since he’d lied to me that afternoon, but he seemed completely relaxed. He was looking cuter than ever in his aqua shirt. His hair was pushed back off his face for a change, and his eyes seemed to stand out even more. Friends, I kept thinking to myself, determined to believe it. We’re just good friends.
‘What happened to Annabel?’ Liam asked.
‘Family crisis,’ Kimmi said. ‘She’s really sorry she can’t come.’
I glanced at Liam to check his reaction, but he just shrugged. ‘Oh, well.’
He seemed surprisingly chilled about it, given how much time they’d spent together in the past week. He must have been good at covering up his feelings.
Beside me, Kimmi and Jack were looking very relaxed, too, as they unfurled the Slushies in Paradise banner. They chatted and laughed as they hung it over the counter. I could already see that they were going to make a great couple.
‘What d’you think?’ Kimmi said when the banner was in place.
I went outside to take a look. The sign was painted with trees. There were little orangutans hanging from the branches, and a sun setting over the whole scene.
‘Really great,’ I said, admiring Jack and Kimmi’s work.
‘Beautiful,’ Liam agreed, joining me in front of the trailer.
But I noticed he wasn’t looking at the artwork – he had his eyes on me. Awkward. Or maybe I was just imagining things.
‘So, are you planning to do some actual work?’ Liam said. ‘Or are you just here for show?’
I laughed. Liam was obviously mocking me. But I wasn’t sure if it was because I was being lazy or because I was overdressed for the slushie trailer. Annabel’s top and wedges were a big mistake. Luckily Kimmi had thought to grab aprons before we left her house. I went back into the trailer and tied one on to protect Annabel’s top. I felt a pang of guilt. I was wearing her stuff and hanging out with the boy she liked while she was at home on her own. What kind of friend did that make me?
By then a queue had formed outside the trailer. I had to get to work.
It didn’t take long to work out that the trailer was only designed for two. Once it got busy, it was ridiculously crazy with four of us taking money, pouring slushies, leaning over each other and getting in each other’s way. Even after we divided up the jobs so we didn’t all need to be on the slushie machines, it was still chaos. Jack poured slushie all down my arm as I tried to fill a cup, and then I bumped into Liam with two full slushies, and one ended up going all over his shirt. Luckily he just laughed about it. Then he accidentally slopped slushie down my leg. That made me laugh at first, until it dripped onto Annabel’s wedges.
‘I think we need to work in shifts,’ I suggested.
‘Love the plan,’ Jack said, wiping his hands on his shorts. ‘How ’bout you guys stay here, and we’ll come back at intermission?’ We all agreed, and Jack turned to Kimmi. ‘Coming?’
The movie, a romantic comedy, had just started on the big screen. Kimmi shrugged casually and smiled, but I could tell she was jumping up and down on the inside. She’d be happy to snuggle up with Jack on the grass.
She hung up her grubby apron and smoothed out her dress, then followed Jack out of the trailer, turning to give me a big smile before she left. I felt so happy for her. I was glad things were working ou
t with her and Jack.
I sighed. ‘Such a cute couple.’
Liam nodded, but he wasn’t looking. He was watching me again. I started thinking about how much I wanted to be snuggling up with Liam under the stars right now. But I didn’t want to ruin my friendship with Annabel. If only I’d realised how gorgeous he was before Annabel joined the Wild Club.
‘Five Borneo Sunsets,’ came a voice from the other side of the counter. I looked out to find the queue growing again.
‘I’ll take the till, you can make the slushies, if you like,’ I said to Liam.
‘Sure, whatever you want,’ he said and started pouring slushies.
I sighed to myself as we got back to work. What I wanted was never going to happen.
I was totally wrecked by the time Kimmi and Jack returned to take over the slushie stall. The movie had been paused for an intermission, which meant we were crazy busy in the trailer. Kids were shouting, money was going everywhere and so were the slushies. Kimmi and Jack squeezed in beside us.
‘I have to tell you something,’ Kimmi whispered.
‘Three Rainforest Greens and two Blue Lagoons,’ Liam said, sliding a stack of slushies onto the bench beside me.
Kimmi pursed her lips until Liam had his back turned again. It seemed like she had something important to share, but she wasn’t going to get a chance while we were crushed in a trailer like this.
‘Just need to go outside for a sec,’ I said loudly as I climbed out of the trailer.
I nodded to Kimmi to follow, but before she had a chance, Liam came after me.
‘Looks like it’s our turn to enjoy the movie,’ he said.
‘Oh yeah, right,’ I nodded, a wave of excitement sweeping over me, despite myself. I glanced over Liam’s shoulder to see Kimmi at the slushie machine. She was mouthing something to me, but I had no hope of working out what she was saying. I guessed she had exciting news about her and Jack, but whatever it was, it would have to wait. For now, I had issues of my own to work out. I was just about to watch a movie with Liam. How was I going to act normally when I felt like I’d swallowed a packet of jumping beans?