Something More (Girlfriend Fiction 11) (10 page)

I found my way back to the tiled corridor and had the front door in my sights when Sam spoke behind me.

‘Hey, Is-la.'

I flushed with embarrassment.

‘How are you feeling?'

I didn't trust myself to reply.

‘You're not leaving, are you? Why don't you come back with me? You can stay in the shallow end if you want to go in, it's no biggie. I'll take care of you.' He was holding his hand out.

Before I could take it, Jack appeared.

‘I'm sorry I pushed you. I didn't know you couldn't swim.'

I froze.

‘Don't go,' he pleaded.

‘That's what I'm trying to tell her,' said Sam.

‘I think Emma's calling for you, Sam.'

‘Is she?' He hesitated. They were locked in a staring competition.

‘Yeah, mate.'

I wanted to scream at Jack to get lost. He was wrecking everything, just when it was getting interesting again.

Sam shrugged. ‘I'll catch you at the beach tomorrow for our assignment, Is-la.' He gave Jack a grin and left.

Jack began another apology but I interrupted. ‘Look, I've had enough of you this week. Leave. Me. Alone.' Then I added just so he was clear, ‘I'm going home.'

He ignored my order. ‘How are you getting there?'

‘I'm staying in Cronulla,' I snapped, running my hands through my locks. The scarf came loose. Frizz attack.

His eyes fluttered as he took in the hair. He looked like he was reading my aura when he spoke.

‘I'll walk you back. It's the least I can do.'

I crammed my hair back under the scarf. I didn't want to fight anymore.

‘Fine,' I said huffily. ‘But don't expect me to speak to you.'

‘What?' he asked as we opened the door.

‘Just don't expect me to…' I stopped. He was sniggering.

We walked in silence until we were almost at Uncle Colin's, then he grabbed me by the arm.

‘I really am sorry. It was wrong of me to push you in, but I never thought for a minute that you'd drown.'

‘I did not drown. I just got a bit of a scare. It was unexpected, that's all.'

‘A bit of a scare? You swallowed half the pool and tore the flesh off Sam's neck.'

‘Is this an apology or not, Ferris?'

He raised both hands in a pacifying gesture.

‘Yes, it is. Anyway, I'm sure Molly will have attended to Sam's injuries by now.' He kicked a stone on the pavement.

We both watched it roll away.

‘What's the go with those two? Is he seeing her?'

‘On and off for a few months. It's not serious. Sam never gets serious,' he said.

We'd arrived at the house.

‘But they're a cute couple, don't you think?'

Right, that did it.

‘
No!
I don't think. Here's what I do think, Jack,' I hissed. ‘I think Molly Phillips tried to drown me in a pool, not to mention the fact that she actually kicked me the other day, and I think that you're a spectacular idiot. I wouldn't care if I didn't see you again.'

‘You won't, for a week anyway. I'm off to Queensland tomorrow…Why did Molly kick you?' He was suppressing laughter and it made me furious.

‘Oh, forget it! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to talk to my cousins. They like pushing people in pools too, only they're
preschoolers
!'

I stomped up the driveway. It was a cool exit, until I tripped over a Tonka truck.

‘Don't even think about laughing, Ferris,' I said into the darkness. There was no reply, but I heard a little snort.

‘Embarrassment is a state of mind,
Isla. Your state, lingering much
longer than you'd like it to in
other people's minds.'

(Gran McGonnigle)

I got up early the next morning and decided to get to the beach in plenty of time.

Backpack? Check.

Cameras? Check.

In the kitchen, I declined my aunt's invitation to breakfast and the boys' kind offer of a burping contest.

‘Isla?' Uncle Colin was coming down the stairs. ‘Are you still going to use my darkroom today?'

‘I think so. We'll probably decide once we've taken the photos.'

‘Take the spare key. We're heading into Sydney for the afternoon.' He chucked it at me. ‘
And McBay takes the catch!
' He bounced once on the spot and then raced to give me a high-five. He's so like Dad at times that it's freaky.

‘Lock up behind you and hang onto the key until next week.'

Simone, his wife, gave me a wave. ‘You sure you don't want me to pack some sandwiches?'

‘I'm fine,' I insisted.

‘Don't forget to eat lunch then,' she called as I slammed the door. She'd obviously been talking to Mum again. Terry reckons that if we develop an eating problem Mum will be so happy to have her suspicions confirmed, she'll get off our backs.

I was halfway to the beach when my mobile rang.

‘It's me.'

A vein pulsed in my left eye. ‘Did you do it?'

No reply.

‘Terry?'

‘No, I'm just about to.'

‘So you called me to tell me nothing?' I demanded.

‘Pretty much.'

‘Get a grip, Terry! Do it now and ring me right back.'

I hung up and then felt terrible. I contemplated re-dialling, but maybe she needed me to be bad cop this morning.

While I waited for her call, I crossed the sand and headed for the ocean pool. I can't believe how many beaches here have them. Some have formed naturally in the shallows and others, like this one, have been made right on the water's edge from concrete. I quite like them: deep layers of ever-sifting sand and the salty tide keep them germ-free.

I stretched out on the pool's wide stone wall. The sun fell on my face and I couldn't help enjoying it – until a shadow cut the rays.

‘Hello.'

My automatic smile froze when I saw it wasn't Sam. I jumped to attention.

‘What are you doing here, Ferris? Are you following me?' I didn't want him around when Sam arrived.

‘I live here, remember? I've just been for a surf. Couldn't help but notice you as I was passing.'

I suppose he did have a surfboard tucked under his arm.

‘Well, unnotice me and go away. Shouldn't you be in Queensland? Or wouldn't they let you in?'

‘The flight's at two. Feeling any better after your near-death experience last night?'

I refused to answer.

‘Sam not here yet?'

‘Don't let anyone tell you you're not special, Jack. The powers of observation you've got there are truly superhuman.'

I was certainly not going to admit that I was over forty minutes early.

‘Perhaps you're early,' he said.

I glared, betting Molly Phillips had told him exactly when I was meeting Sam today so he could spy on us. The penny dropped. That must have been what she was asking him to do. I couldn't believe he'd agreed to be her little slave. I had to get rid of him.

‘Do you want anything else, Jack? It's just that once I've finished listening to you I'll be able to do something heaps more interesting, like chew off this ragged fingernail.' I held my thumb up.

‘Actually, there is something.' His voice had changed, the light-hearted tone gone.

‘What?'

‘Sit down, just for a minute. I need to ask you a question.'

I sat. He remained standing. Good, perhaps he wasn't going to stay long after all. I shifted uncomfortably.

‘At the risk of you having a spaz attack again – and I certainly don't want to see that – I need to talk to you about your sister.'

He took me completely by surprise.

‘There's no easy way to say this, but Molly Phillips thinks her brother, Sean, and your sister, Terry, are…well…you know, seeing each other.'

What did he know?

There was no way he was getting any details from me. ‘So?'

He squirmed. ‘It's just that Molly thinks…that…her brother's girlfriend…er, Terry…'

‘Jack, get to the point.'

‘Is she pregnant?' he blurted out.

‘What?'

I couldn't work out how he knew. Terry was adamant that Sean hadn't told anyone.

When my brain caught up with my ears I realised that if Sean
had
told Molly, Jack wouldn't be here fishing for her. Obviously she had nothing concrete to go on.

I had no clue what to say next. It was one thing for Terry and me to suspect she might be pregnant, but to hear an outsider say it was scary. We were losing control of a situation that we'd barely had a handle on to begin with.

I slid down the pool wall to the sand on the other side. Jack dropped beside me. After a few moments he said, ‘Do you want to talk about it?'

‘Not really.'

We watched some kids heading to the surf.

‘Molly does.'

‘Like I care about Molly.'

‘You care about your sister, don't you?'

‘Of course I do, but that's got nothing to do with you.'

‘Hey, I'm only trying to help. Molly thinks you guys should meet. She's worried, Isla. So if you decide you want to help, give me a shout and I'll pass the info on, okay?'

‘Why not just ask me herself?'

‘You've got to be joking,' he spluttered. ‘She probably didn't fancy having her eyeballs torn from their sockets.'

‘She's mean to me, too.'

‘Yeah, yeah…the kick and the swimming pool.'

When he rose to go, the feeling of being abandoned was overwhelming. I didn't want him to leave me alone with the problem.

‘Terry might be pregnant,' I whispered.

He settled back down.

‘We aren't sure.'

‘Why not?'

‘She still hasn't taken a test.'

‘Oh.'

‘She's scared. Once you know something you can't unknow it. Until then she can hope it's not true. Does that make sense?'

‘Perfect non-sense,' he agreed with a smile.

‘She's supposed to be doing it now. She said she'd call me back soon.'

‘Why don't you call her now?'

‘Okay.'

I gave it a go, but her phone was switched off. I called the landline instead.

‘How was your party?' Dad said when he heard my voice.

‘My dad,' I mouthed to Jack. ‘Great. Is Terry around?' I said to Dad.

‘No, she's gone to the beach. Try her mobile.'

I cut Dad off and relayed the news to Jack. ‘I need to see her before I speak to Molly, so we can't meet today, okay?'

He shrugged.

‘If that doesn't suit you and your new best friend, too bad.'

‘She's not my new best friend. I've been hanging out with her for years.'

I sniffed. ‘I don't see you hanging around much in school.'

‘We do sometimes, but I mostly see her when I visit Dad. He's been spending some time down your way recently because he's—'

‘Yeah…the lobsters.'

He looked pleased. ‘So you do listen to me.'

I ignored him. ‘How did Molly find out about Sean and Terry?'

‘Last week, she was searching Sean's desk for a ruler and she came across an email from Terry, telling him she was…late.' He blushed.

‘So let me get this right, Molly was looking for a ruler…inside Sean's computer mailbox?'

A tiny smile played at the corner of his mouth.

‘What kind of ruler did she expect to find?'

He grinned.

‘Why didn't she just ask him?'

‘For a ruler?'

‘No, idiot, for an explanation.'

‘She says she doesn't want to get in his face yet, in case it's a false alarm.'

‘You mean she doesn't want to alert him to the fact that she's the world's biggest snooper because he'll change his password?'

‘Probably.' He smiled indulgently.

‘She's a nut,' I said.

‘No, it's her parents who are nuts.'

Again with the Molly defence! I took my irritation out on the sand, stabbing at it with a ragged shell.

‘They're really into study and qualifications. Molly and Sean have to do hours of homework at night and they've both got tutors.'

‘I'm glad my mum's not a uni professor.'

‘You'd think their mum would be worst, wouldn't you? But Molly reckons it's her dad. He's so hung up about being a builder who left school in Year 10 that Molly says he'll kill them both if they don't go to uni.'

‘What's so bad about being a builder? Builders make loads of money.'

‘It's not about the money. He's just got a big chip on his shoulder because he doesn't have any qualifications.'

‘You're right, he does sound crazy.'

‘I know, and can you imagine what he'll do if he finds out that Sean is going to be a dad before he gets to be a brain surgeon?'

‘He'll probably be just as disappointed as my parents when they discover Terry's going to be a mum before she gets to be a check-out chick.'

As soon as the words were out I felt bad. They weren't true; Terry has lots of plans for the future. She's really into science, and Australia has inspired her to consider marine biology.

‘What are you thinking?' Jack asked.

‘I don't know why I said that. It wasn't fair.'

‘Don't worry. I didn't believe you. It was just you being you.' Before I could decide whether that was a compliment or not he added, ‘Sure Terry's plans might have to be put on hold for a while, but she wouldn't have to abandon them, would she?' He had a reassuring knack for being optimistic.

I ran with it. ‘And I suppose even if she is pregnant, she doesn't have to keep it.'

His face clouded over. ‘Abortion?'

‘Termination, or adoption, I guess. There are options.'