The Search (10 page)

Just as Flick was walking back into the store, a station wagon pulled into the parking lot. It seemed to be full of bodies, but when they emerged there were only three guys and the rest of the bodies turned out to be piles of surfing gear and boards.

‘G’day,’ said one of them to her, and it reminded her sharply of the day when Geoff Jansz had walked into the store.

This guy had the same dark hair and deep blue eyes, but he didn’t seem to be as sure of himself as Jansz. But then he was younger, maybe twenty-two or twenty-three. Another car pulled up beside them and a slim-looking woman got out and came over to them.

‘You forgot your rucksack,’ she said to one of them. ‘It’s on the back seat.’

‘You’d forget your head if it wasn’t screwed on,’ laughed the dark-haired guy as he lightly punched his mate on the shoulder. ‘You guys stopping long enough for eats or are you going straight away?’

‘Nah, we’ll push off,’ said the blond guy who’d been driving. ‘The set’s good at Kilcunda so that’s where we wanna be. But we’ll be back if the west coast gets a good westerly, okay?’

‘Yeah. See ya, then.’

The woman looked vaguely familiar, but then Flick saw so many people in the store that she couldn’t always remember who was who. They all knew her, of course, but most of their faces and names went past her in a sort of fuzzy blur.

‘Okay, Tim, let’s check on this sister of yours.’

The woman and man went into the store with Flick trailing after them.

‘Hi Liz.’

‘Oh, hi Mum. Hi Tim.’

Liz blushed as she always did when she was the centre of attention. ‘Um, this is Angela, I think you know her. You know Roxie and Kay. And this is Flick. Flick, this is my mum. And my brother, Tim.’

Tim looked at her again and as their eyes met something contracted deep in the pit of her stomach.

No, it’s too soon
, this little warning voice squeaked in her head. You don’t want to fall in love. You’ll only get hurt again. You can’t trust men. They’re all stupid and selfish and have only one thing on their mind. No, no,
no
!

‘Hi, Tim,’ said Flick, switching on her charisma and sex appeal to full strength, and wasn’t she glad she’d had a chance to practise on Nathan?

Tim looked like a laser beam had zapped him.

‘Would you like a shake or a coffee?’ Flick put a dimmer on the sex appeal and went for friendly charm. After all, she didn’t want to scare him off. He was too nice and potentially too important to use sneaky tricks.

Liz’s mother began exploring the shelves to stock up on groceries while Flick busied herself making Tim the best milkshake ever — extra ice-cream, extra malted milk and extra chocolate syrup. If the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, she was going to do her darndest.

‘Here you go.’ She passed him the brimming container.

‘Flick,’ called Kay. ‘Do you want to take your break now?’

Thank you, God, said Flick to herself as she grabbed a juice from the fridge and followed Tim
outside. She didn’t need to ask him if she could sit with him, it was an unspoken agreement.

‘How come I haven’t seen you in the store before?’ she asked as she sipped her juice.

‘I’ve been with my mates doing the search,’ he said, taking a pull at his drink. ‘This is the
best
shake!’

‘So now they’ve gone to Kilcunda and you’re here with no surf?’

‘Yeah, well a south-westerly’s supposed to come in later this afternoon, so I thought I’d hang about and wait for the waves.’

He was easy to talk to, and Flick found herself telling him about her first year at uni, though not about Todd. Some things were better left unsaid.

‘The first year’s a bummer,’ Tim said. ‘You know, you’re suddenly let loose and there’s never-ending parties and bumming about, then suddenly you realise you’re supposed to be studying and there’s the mad cram.’

‘I know what you mean.’

‘Maybe, if you stay here, or move to Melbourne, you could transfer,’ said Tim.

‘I’ve been thinking about it.’

‘Where are you staying? In one of the holiday houses?’

‘No, I’m in a bus in the camping ground.’

Tim stared into his milkshake. ‘Um, I thought I might go round to the pub tonight. Charni’s singing there and she’s good. Would you like to come?’

‘That’d be nice,’ said Flick, with her heart bouncing about so wildly she thought she’d choke.

‘Okay. I’ve gotta go back with Mum and mow the lawns, and she wants some tree branches lopped, but what say we go there and have dinner then stay on for the evening?’

‘I’ll have to see if I can get time off,’ said Flick, feeling a stab of disappointment. ‘I work here till nine tonight, but seeing as Roxie’s turned up, Kay might let me off early. Do you want me to ask now?’

‘Okay.’

They walked into the store together. Praying that she would be in a good mood, Flick went into the office where Kay was sorting out some paperwork and tentatively asked if it would be a hassle if she left early.

‘How early’s early?’

‘Um…sixish?’

Kay looked at Flick. For the first time since she’d come to Coolini Beach she looked really animated. Kay’d seen Tim look at Flick, and Flick’s response. Tim was a nice guy.

‘Sure,’ she said. ‘Roxie can cover, and I’ve got Cam
here too. You’ve worked really hard, Flick, and you deserve to have some fun.’

Flick hurried back to the counter feeling as if she was walking on air.

‘It’s okay, I can leave at six, but I’ll have to get dressed, so can you pick me up at, say, six-thirty?’

‘See you then,’ said Tim with a wink, and he strolled out with his mother carrying a heap of plastic bags full of groceries.

Flick let out a long sigh.

‘So, what’s happening?’ Liz brushed past to reach for a packet of cigarettes.

‘I’ve got a date with your brother tonight. I hope you don’t mind.’

‘Mind? I’m
rapt
!’ Liz handed over the cigarettes to the customer and collected the money.

Just then there was a commotion in the corner near the magazines as a tousled-headed, good-looking guy grabbed Angela. He was big, about two metres tall, with more muscles than Rambo.

‘Jonathan! What are you doing here?’

‘Hi, hon. Surprise, surprise. I’m here for the week. Brought my own tent and all.’

He gave her a bear hug, whirling her off her feet as he did so. Angela’s face was a picture of shock, horror and stunned disbelief.

‘Well, aren’t you going to introduce me?’ said Jonathan, holding Angela’s hand and leading her across to the counter.

‘Um…Flick, Liz, this is my boyfriend, Jonathan.’

‘
Boyfriend
?’ Liz blurted out before she could stop herself.

‘The one and only. Have been for six months. Can you get some time off to go for a walk with me?’

‘Er…’ said Angela. ‘Err … I just had a break. I’m not due for another till one.’

‘That’s okay, I can sit here and wait.’ Jonathan grinned cheerfully, then frowned when he saw the scratch on her face. ‘What happened?’ He traced it lightly with his finger.

‘Just an accident, you know how it is,’ she mumbled, not looking at him.

‘Excuse me, is there anyone out there who can take this food to the man and woman at table three?’ called Kay irritably from the servery.

‘What the hell is going on?’ murmured Liz to Flick as she reached for the food. ‘Since she got here Angela’s been behaving like the village siren. And all the time she’s had a steady boyfriend. Unbelievable!’

‘Well, I hope he doesn’t find out,’ Flick whispered. ‘See his muscles? I reckon he’ll
kill
any guy who’s been messing with his chick.’

Jonathan announced that he was going to put up his tent and would be back at one. He gave Angela a familiar pat on the butt and sauntered off, whistling cheerfully.

‘Oh,
hell!
’ Angela sagged against the counter looking pale. ‘
Now
what am I supposed to do?’

‘You could try being faithful,’ suggested Liz.

Angela shot her a dagger look.

‘Oops. Sorry.’ Liz decided it would be prudent not to open her big mouth again, so she darted into the coolroom for the chilled black coffee and some more milk to concoct an iced coffee.

When she came out, Josh was leaning rather sheepishly against the counter. Angela was pointedly ignoring him, and he was ignoring her, but still they looked like two dogs in stand-off position, bristling and alert.

‘Hi, Josh,’ she said coolly, though her heart was hammering against her ribs.

She calmly tipped the dark liquid into a tall glass, added a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, mashed it round with a spoon, then tipped in the milk. After adding a sprinkle of powdered chocolate, she popped in a straw and carried it outside to table three. Josh followed her, looking rather nervous.

‘Liz, I want to talk to you.’

‘Talk away.’ Liz started collecting mugs and plates from one of the tables.

‘Um … look, can you leave those dishes and sit down for a moment?’

Liz gave a dramatic sigh. ‘Okay, but only for a second or two because I’m busy!’

‘Look, um … about Jessica.’

‘Oh. Yes. Jessica. Where is she?’

‘Gone back on the bus this morning!’

Liz felt her heart lift but she stayed cool. ‘Oh. Right. She decided that Coolini Beach wasn’t for her?’

‘No. I decided Jessica wasn’t for
me
.’

Liz frowned. ‘That’s a bit sudden, isn’t it? Last night you were doing a remarkable interpretation of a human octopus, and today you’ve told her to get lost?’

‘Haven’t you heard?’

‘Heard what?’

‘About the bitch fight on the beach.’

Liz shrugged. ‘I heard something about two girls at the party getting hosed down to cool them off, but that’s all.’

‘Jessica was one of them.’

‘
Jessica
?’ Liz gaped at him. In her wildest dreams she couldn’t visualise the beautiful, fragile and rather haughty Jessica being involved in a bitch fight.

‘Who was she fighting with?’

‘Angela.’

‘Omigod!’

Suddenly it all clicked. Angela’s scratched face. Her horror when Jonathan had appeared.

‘So where were you in all this?’ asked Liz coldly. If Josh thought she was going to be impressed by two females scratching and clawing over him then he had another think coming!

‘Spewing up,’ he said dejectedly. ‘I’d had a couple of cans and I can’t take grog very well. I sort of made a fool of myself. Sorry.’

Liz looked at him. He looked so miserable that she couldn’t help reaching over and patting his hand.

‘I’ve been a real jerk,’ said Josh, stroking her arm. ‘I won’t do it again. Can we be mates again? Best friends?’

Mates? Friends? Was that all he wanted? But then she’d read somewhere that friends last longer than lovers. And maybe love would blossom and grow from this friendship. She loved Josh with all her heart. Maybe he’d learn to love her too. Then again, maybe not.

Liz sighed. People spent a lifetime searching for the love of their life, and she didn’t need to search any further. He was sitting right next to her! But he
seemed oblivious of her love. What should she do? Sometimes you have to take a risk, or nothing would ever happen, would it?

‘Okay,’ she said softly, squeezing his hand. The sea breeze swirled in from the ocean and ruffled her hair. ‘Friends.’

Margaret Clark is one of Australia’s funniest writers for young people. She has worked as a teacher and university lecturer and at the Geelong Centre for Alcohol and Drug Dependence.

Back on Track: Diary of a Street Kid
and
Care Factor Zero
, two searing novels for young adults, have become best sellers. The latest book in this series is the gripping
No Standing Zone
.

Her novels for older readers include
The Big Chocolate Bar, Fat Chance, Hot or What, Famous for Five Minutes
and a trilogy about the Studleys:
Hold My Hand — Or Else!, Living with Leanne
and
Pulling the Moves. Kiss and Make Up
continues the story of Lisa, begun in
Fat Chance
and
Hot or What
.

Margaret lives in Geelong and enjoys reading, sailing and walking with the family dog. She now writes full-time.