The Search (5 page)

‘I wouldn’t be seen dead with that little weed,’ she’d said to Liz when they’d worked over Easter Monday. ‘No way. I reckon his mother wipes his nose for him every day. He’s such a creep.’

The morning teas were hectic, and Kay had only briefly managed to introduce Flick to Angela and Braden before the early lunch bus trundled round the bend, crammed with another twenty or so tourists.

By now Angela had finished chopping the onions and was bustling about looking sexy despite her large black-and-white checked apron, taking food to the outside tables. That was her favourite job because she could check out the surfers as well. She’d repaired her face in the bathroom and added extra curling mascara so that her eyes looked even bigger in her piquant face.

‘Hi, Nathan,’ she said brightly as Mr Universe came strolling up, wearing purple and green board shorts with blue whales cavorting all over them. On anyone else they’d look ridiculous but on Nathan they looked really sexy. His smooth tanned chest rippled as he flexed his muscles, pretending to yawn.

‘Sorry. Rough night.’ He winked. ‘How are you, Angela?’

‘Good. And you?’

She looked sideways at him with her lashes fluttering and gave him a suggestive smile.

Number twenty-seven? Nathan thought to himself, noting how the high-heeled sandals made her legs look even longer in their short shorts, which he could plainly see through the split at the back of her apron when she bent over. She was practically throwing herself at him, and had been last season too, when she’d had her regular boyfriend Scottie from Geelong in tow. Maybe she’d broken up with him.

But was she still only fifteen? He usually had chicks who were sixteen plus, because he didn’t want any trouble with minors. Once he’d taken a girl out to the point one moonlit night and was doing the bizzo when her father had come charging up waving a torch in one hand and a rifle in the other. It turned out that she was only thirteen, and the guy had been threatening to call the cops and have him arrested. Nasty scene. She’d been bawling and howling and saying that she was in love with him, which had been even worse.

Girls in lurve. They acted like stupid cows in heat when they decided that it was true love. He liked
uncomplicated chicks like Roxie. She wanted to mess around and have a good time. He was looking forward to her arrival so they could resume where they’d left off. She was
hot
! Nineteen and knew what she was doing. But did she count on his scorecard when he’d had her before?

He winked at Angela as he went into the store. Roxie would be great fun as usual, but there were heaps of attractive girls in the camping ground. It was like a smorgasbord. If she didn’t come across, who cared?

Flick was serving behind the counter and Kay was frantically making up the bus order. Flick looked at Nathan and gave him a dazzling smile.

‘Hi Nathan,’ she said in a low, sexy voice. ‘And what can I do for
you?
’

He gaped at her and recoiled as if she’d poked him with a cattle prod. She’d always treated him with disdain and now she was coming onto him with a full battery of charm. As far as he knew she hadn’t gone out with anyone since she’d been at Coolini Beach, so maybe he was going to get lucky.

Liz gaped too. She thought Flick hated Nathan’s guts, and here she was beaming out stronger than a halogen light. Flick and Nathan? Unbelievable!

‘I’ll have the usual,’ he said.

‘One chicken and salad roll, one sausage roll, and one chocolate milkshake coming right up,’ said Flick, making it sound like he’d asked for lobster, caviar and champagne.

She wrote it down and passed the order through to Kay.

‘What’s going on?’ hissed Liz when they met in the coolroom, Liz to get the chicken and Flick to find some more tomatoes for Kay’s ratatouille. ‘I thought you couldn’t stand Nathan!’

‘I can’t!’

‘Then why are you coming onto him?’

‘It’s my new religion.’

‘What?’

‘I saw this debate on TV last night, a sort of battle of the sexes, and Mark Thornton — you know, that chunk of muscle and no brain — was talking about success. To be really tops you need four things. So I thought, why not? I want to be successful. I want to reach the top. So I’m trying out a couple of these surefire things.’

‘What are they?’ Liz was curious. She was hoping to be successful in life too, as an interior designer. She loved matching colours and selecting furniture to create a great atmosphere, and she’d enjoyed helping her parents furnish the beach house.

‘Well now, there’s power.’ Flick was ticking them off on her fingers. ‘There’s money. And there’s sex appeal and charisma. And who better to practise the last two on than Nathan?’

‘You’re playing with fire,’ said Liz, just as Kay came into the coolroom and gave them both a frosty look.

‘You’re both playing with
icicles
if you stand in here chatting. How about doing some work?’

Liz blushed. She was clutching the dish of cooked chicken to her chest like it was a piece of medieval armour. Flick didn’t look at all concerned. She’d learned that Kay’s bark was worse than her bite, and anyway, they’d been fetching items that were needed for the kitchen and not just standing around gossiping. She shrugged.

‘I was telling Liz about power, money, sex appeal and charisma, and that I intend to practise the last two on Nathan as a sort of test case.’

Kay blinked.

‘Nathan? Can’t you find someone nicer than him?’

‘That’s the whole point. I wouldn’t try it on a nice guy, Kay. Nathan deserves whatever he gets.’

‘Well, he doesn’t deserve you. You’re too good for him,’ Kay said shortly, as they all came out of the coolroom.

‘He’s not going to get me. That’s the whole objective of the exercise. I want to see if I can get him interested and hook him in. I’m not going to actually have sex with him. That would be so gross. But if I succeed and get him mad about me, it means I can do this sex appeal and charisma thing with anyone I choose to. Get it?’

‘As long as
you
don’t get
it
, my girl. The best laid plans of mice and men, remember?’

Kay was forever quoting obscure sayings that didn’t usually make sense. Flick had studied the novel
Of Mice and Men
in Year 10, and she couldn’t for the life of her see how this had anything to do with her plans to entrap Nathan.

‘Think of this as an interesting experiment in human behaviour,’ she said to Kay, as she handed her the tomatoes.

‘Right now it sounds like an experiment in human dumbness.’

Kay wasn’t keen on the idea of ‘mucking about’ as
she called it, and she tended to turn a blind eye on Roxie’s sex life. She was always pointing out to Roxie that nice men didn’t marry shopsoiled goods, that men preferred virgins and all the other sayings she had been brainwashed to believe in when she herself was a teenager.

Roxie simply shrugged and said she didn’t want to get married, well not just yet anyway, and she planned to sleep with a thousand men before she tied the knot, then she’d stay faithful forever more.

‘Why a thousand?’ her horrified mother had asked.

‘It’s a nice round number.’

‘You could catch a thousand diseases, my girl. Or a thousand pregnancies. You be careful.’

‘I can’t catch a thousand diseases or have a thousand pregnancies. I’m already up to three hundred and eleven, so I can only get six hundred and eighty-nine,’ Roxie had rejoined pertly.

‘
You’ve slept with three hundred and eleven men
!’

‘Oh, Mum. I was only joking. I don’t count them like sheep, do I?’

Roxie was Kay and Cam’s only child, and at times Kay wondered if she’d made a big mistake not having produced some brothers and sisters for Roxie. She was a wild child and always had been, cheeky and defiant, with all the family’s attention showered on
her. Roxie knew what she wanted and went for it. She was shrewd and wilful, but everyone liked her infectious smile and happy-go-lucky nature.

Liz was secretly a little afraid of Roxie. She was so flamboyant. She did everything at the speed of light, and despite being easygoing most of the time, she could flare up like a tinderbox if she thought the shop assistants were being lazy or stupid. Or if she was nursing a giant-sized hangover, which she usually was at weekends.

‘Who are the other new ones starting?’ Flick asked Kay, as she gathered up Nathan’s food from the servery to take to him.

‘There’s only this chap called Sean now, because Sonia went and got a job in Geelong, and Darren, who I was going to use as a second chef, has cleared off with some girl he met when he was playing at a do in Melbourne. Sean can’t start until Monday, so it’s going to be hectic, but Roxie’ll be here tomorrow, so that’ll be a help.’

‘Darren’s cleared off? With another girl?’

Liz was dumbfounded. Darren and Di had been going with each other,
living
with each other, here at Coolini Beach for about seven years. They’d rented the Coombs’ old house. Di worked in the hot bread shop at the Bay and Darren had worked in pubs as a
barman when he wasn’t travelling to gigs as bass guitarist with his band, Deadly Nightshades.

‘That’s awful.’

‘It’s disgusting if you ask me.’

Kay slammed some beetroot into the food processor to grate it into thin strips for the salad platters. ‘Di’s shattered. But she showed some spunk. She got all his stuff and chucked it in the river!’

‘Well…’ Liz was lost for words. ‘Um … where’s she living now? She can’t afford to rent from the Coombs with only one wage coming in, can she?’

‘It’s been rented out for the summer season. New people called Fanchini. Di’s moved in with Denise, the one who does massages — you know, the white fibro house on the other ridge.’

‘The two Ds,’ said Liz. ‘First there was Darren and Di, and now there’s Denise and Di.’

‘It’s hard enough trying to get decent staff during the year let alone the holiday season,’ snapped Kay. ‘I just hope Roxie will pull her weight and not go gallivanting off all over the countryside. And Cam can’t help. He’s not due for holidays yet.’

‘Maybe Di can help at weekends,’ Liz suggested. ‘If she’s used to working in the hot bread shop, she’d probably be good in here. She’d know how to do the till and be pleasant to people.’

‘Hmm. We’ll see.’

It was time for a lunchbreak, but because it was so busy Kay could only let one of them off at a time.

Liz made herself a salad sandwich and grabbed a cool drink from the fridge. She decided to walk down to the beach and have her meal there while she watched the waves. Taking a short cut through the camping ground, she had her head down, thinking, and therefore wasn’t looking where she was going.

‘Liz!’

She jumped about a metre in the air with fright and nearly dropped her sandwich.

‘Josh! When did you get here?’

‘Last night.’

‘Oh.’

That meant he’d been here all morning and hadn’t bothered to come over to the store and check her out. Liz felt her heart plummet. Last Easter she’d messed about with Josh, another girl called Jane and a guy called Trent. It had been fun, nothing serious, but she was fifteen now, and had been hoping that Josh would realise that she’d grown up.

She looked at him. He’d obviously been surfing. His hair was damp and he had his wetsuit unzipped so that the top dangled down round his waist, with the arms practically trailing on the ground. His eyes
were even bluer than she’d remembered, and he gave her a quizzical look that sent shivers down her spine. Apart from a thick coating of pink zinc cream on his nose to stop it from getting sunburnt, his face was tanned from the hours he spent surfing.

‘I looked for you last night but there was another van in your spot,’ he said.

‘We’re in our own house now, up on the hill.’

‘Oh.’

‘You’ll have to come up,’ said Liz quickly, before she got embarrassed and changed her mind.

‘What, now?’

‘No. I’m just going to the beach to eat my lunch, then I have to go back to the store. I’ve got a summer job there.’

‘So that’s where you were hiding. I was looking everywhere for you because someone said they’d seen you walking down the road this morning.’

And you’ve obviously been searching for me out in the waves because you’ve been surfing all morning. Did you really think you’d find me there? Liz thought to herself, but she didn’t say anything. She’d read enough magazines to know that boys didn’t like possessive girls. She had to play this very cool, calm and collected.

‘I would’ve been coming down the hill to go to the
store,’ said Liz. ‘I worked there last Easter but you weren’t camping here then.’

‘Nah, the olds dragged me off to Mount Beauty to go bushwalking and stuff. It was cool, but not as good as here.’

‘I don’t suppose you want to go back to the beach for a while?’ Liz asked cautiously. She didn’t want to sound too eager, and anyway he’d obviously just come from there and mightn’t want to go again so soon. But she had to eat her lunch
somewhere
.

‘Sure. Hang on, I’ll just grab a drink from the fridge.’

He led the way across the grass to his family’s van and disappeared inside. When he came out he was clutching two cans of Coke and a salad roll that his mum must have left for his lunch. He’d also peeled off the wetsuit and pulled on some board shorts.

Together they walked across the main road to the beach, pausing while a car pulled into the only available space left in the parking area.

‘Place is pumping,’ said Josh, as they hurried down the path and onto the beach.

‘Omigod, it’s packed!’ Liz couldn’t believe her eyes. ‘And the sun is so hot!’

It looked like Bondi on a busy day. There were umbrellas everywhere, people sunbaking, kids tearing
about dragging boogie boards behind them or digging in the sand, some guys were tossing frisbees, another group were throwing tennis balls to each other, and there was the usual conglomeration of swimmers and surfers enjoying the waves.

‘Where are we going to sit? There isn’t any shade.’

‘I don’t mind. I love the sun. Have you got your sunscreen on?’

‘Yeah. I put some on in the store.’

‘What about over there?’ He pointed to the rocky outcrop which was uncovered at low tide. ‘We can put our feet in a rock pool to keep cool while we eat.’

‘Remember last summer when we were sitting in that deep pool round the corner and a crab bit you on the bum?’ Liz laughed.

‘I’ll never forget it. That’s why I’ve grown out of sitting in rock pools. But I don’t mind if my feet get a bit of a nip now and then.’

He grinned and the corners of his eyes crinkled. Liz’s heart did more flip-flops. He was just
so
nice!

They found a flat rock with a sandy pool where they could dangle their legs into the cool clear water.

‘No crabs?’ Liz peered intently into its rippling depths as she swirled her feet round and round.

‘No crabs!’

It was great munching her sandwich and listening
to Josh talk about his year, featuring mainly football, cricket, getting his learner’s permit, getting a new computer, going off to camp in the snow with his school, and taking on a job as editor of the school newspaper.

‘What about you, Liz?’

‘Well, I’ve been playing netball and our team reached the finals, then we got wiped out.’

‘Bad luck.’

‘Yeah, but it was a miracle that we made the finals. My brother’s in a band, grunge music, you know, and they’ve had a couple of gigs at the Barwon Club, mosh pit mania and all that stuff. What else? Oh, we’ve got a new computer too. Maybe we can chat to each other?’

Liz blushed again. Was that too eager? But Josh just nodded.

‘Yeah, that’d be cool. Do you have email?’

‘Sure.’

They chatted about computers, people they knew, commented on the beach action, admired some of the surfers catching some particularly good waves as the tide started to come in, and Liz felt the happiest she’d been for ages. They just clicked. It was so easy to talk to Josh. He listened and made encouraging comments, and when he talked about what he’d been
doing, she was able to understand and make some sensible comments as well. With Josh she didn’t go all shy and tongue-tied, and she’d blushed only once.

‘What time do you have to be back at the store?’ he asked as they finished the last of their drinks. Josh’s second can of Coke was swallowed in a couple of gulps.

‘Two. Flick has her lunchbreak then.’

‘Well, you’d better get a move on because it’s five past.’

‘Oh,
no
!’

Flick jumped to her feet as the rescue boat with Nathan at the helm surged past. He waved jauntily but Liz wasn’t in the mood for Nathan and his showing off, she had to get back to work and fast, or she’d get the sack before she’d even really settled into the job!

‘I’ll walk back with you,’ said Josh, picking up the empty cans and wrappers.

‘You mean, you’ll run back with me!’

They jogged across the hot sand and then across the road, Josh stopping briefly to put the rubbish in the bin. They were just charging across the last stretch of grass when…

‘Josh!’

This beautiful girl was running toward them, her
long black hair flying out in a soft shiny mane almost to her waist. She had creamy tanned skin and dark almond-shaped eyes. And although she was very petite, she had a large bust and a cute butt.

‘Jessica. When did you get here?’

‘Mum dropped me about half an hour ago.’

She flung her arms round his neck and kissed him full on the lips.

‘Jessica, this is my mate Liz. We’ve been over on the rocks eating our lunch. Liz, this is Jessica. She’s coming to stay with us for a few days.’

‘Nice to meet you, Jessica,’ said Liz, feeling a prickle of fear run down her spine.

Suddenly she was self-conscious about her skinny chest and legs, and her shabby shorts and top which had seemed so neat and trendy this morning when she’d first put them on. Beside this gorgeous girl she felt grotty and untidy. Jessica was wearing a white midriff top and white shorts. With her Eurasian looks the effect was stunning.

‘I’m glad you’ve been taking care of my Joshie for me,’ she said sweetly, running her fingers lightly and possessively across his arm.

‘Liz has to hurry back to work,’ explained Josh.

‘Work?’

The pretty face was marred by a quick frown.

‘Some of us do have to work, Jess.’

‘Oh, yes. I guess so.’

Liz scuffed one shoe in the gravel.

‘I think I’d better get going,’ she said in a small tight voice. ‘I’m already late.’

‘Okay. We might see you later. I’ll bring Jess in for a milkshake, okay? Then she can meet Kay and the gang.’

‘That’s what’s so good about being Josh’s girlfriend,’ said Jess brightly, but there was a warning hands-off-he’s-mine look in her eyes as she stared hard at Liz. ‘He knows so many people, don’t you, hon?’