Friendship on Fire (32 page)

I stuck my nose in the air and revved the accelerator perfectly. The clutch engaged and we were off into the great unknown.

I arrived home to a warm reception of congratulations. Everyone could tell by my face that I'd passed. I couldn't stay and chat for long. I had to get a move on or I'd be late for school.

I was ungracefully bending over in Dad's car, trying to find my maths book, when I heard footsteps behind me.

‘Happy birthday gorgeous.'

My heart leapt as I turned around to see Nate leaning against the back end of the car, a bunch of red roses in one hand.

‘I would have come earlier but your parents said you were doing your driving test. How'd you go?' He looked wildly amused.

‘I failed.' I put my head down in mock sadness and waited for a flood of sympathy.

‘Oh. That's too bad. I can't say I'm surprised, what with your atrocious reversing skills.' He was already laughing as I launched at him, trying to push him.

‘Of course I passed,' I grinned, pulling a pair of P-plates from my pocket and waving them in front of my face. ‘Just,' I added, pinching my thumb and forefinger together.

He raised an eyebrow.

‘Let's just say if there had been one more pedestrian on the road this morning I might have been in trouble.' I ducked my head.

Nate looked a little disturbed at my cryptic answer but gave me a kiss to congratulate me. ‘You're strange, Daisy Brooks, you know that?'

‘That's why you're with me.'

I hugged him tight, feeling from around his backside to his front pockets, searching for my present like a horse would search for an apple.

‘Hey. What are you … watch it Daisy.'

He trapped my hands at his pockets and held them still.

He was intrigued by my brazen game, none the less, so he wasn't holding too tightly.

‘Don't start something you can't finish,' he whispered, all but daring me.

‘Are we still talking about my birthday presents here?'

My hands started to roam in his pockets again. Nate wriggled under my prying hands; eventually he gave up the niceties and tripped me in one swift move on to the grass. We wrestled some more, me losing terribly and squealing to prove it.

Josh came out of the house and glared at us in disgust. ‘Get a room,' he said as he got into his car and pretended to aim for us as he backed out.

‘Your brother really doesn't like me does he?'

Nate frowned after his car, propping himself on his elbows in the grass.

‘It's not you. He doesn't like any of my boyfriends,' I lied. Normally he didn't particularly care about my boyfriends, unless they had a gay name. He had something against Nate that I couldn't put my finger on.

‘Very funny. Anyone could tell he doesn't like me, Dais.' He stared at me with uncertainty.

‘Who cares about him? Even if he hates your guts, he doesn't have to date you. I am. And I like you. So he can't have you,' I giggled.

‘Gross. Too far.'

We sat up and Nate pulled a small box out of a pocket on his thigh. He was hiding something. It was blue velvet, and incredibly pretty.

I so badly wanted to snatch it off him. My fingers itched with rebellion.
It will only give him an excuse to prolong the
agony
, my sensible voice said. So I sat patiently, waiting for permission to open it.

‘Now, apologise for your behaviour or I won't let you open your present,' he teased, holding the box away so that I couldn't grab it.

I still tried and it was his fault that I lost my resolve. I flung myself wildly over his body. Over and over I tried, until I finally sighed.

‘What were the rules?' He used a teacher voice on me.

I figured a kiss counted as an apology. I covered his lips with mine and gave him an, ‘I'm sorry, but not really' kiss.

‘You're a cheater. Happy birthday,' he said, as he handed me the box.

I slowly opened the lid and peeked inside. I gasped. Inside was a perfect set; a silver necklace with a sapphire blue stone inside a love heart setting and matching earrings. It was absolutely gorgeous. The roses with the jewellery set would have cost a fortune, even for a rich student. I squealed with delight and pulled the necklace out immediately.

‘Put it on,' I ordered.

He chuckled and drew the necklace around my neck. Doing up the clasp was tricky, but I waited patiently as the cool metal soothed and tickled my neck.

‘Show me.' He turned my shoulders back to face him.

I kissed him again, harder this time.

‘Looks awesome, Dais. Just how I imagined it. Now for the earrings.'

He went to pull them out of the box and I panicked. This was going to be awkward. I gently put my hand over his.

‘Wait.' He stopped what he was doing, confusion sweeping across his face. ‘I love the earrings. I really do. But I can't wear them.'

‘What? I don't understand. They are a set Daisy. You can wear them together.'

‘I haven't pierced my ears,' I told him softly. Surely I felt 

more stupid than him right now. He started picking at grass stems in the ground.

‘How could I have missed that?' he said, more to himself than anyone else. ‘How could I be so stupid?'

‘Don't worry about it. I'll still keep them. And one day if I do get my ears pierced I'll wear them,' I assured him.

‘Thanks, but you don't have to say that. Even I know if you haven't got your ears pierced at eighteen you aren't likely to. I'll return them for something better.'

He went to take the necklace off. If my neck could have squealed, it would have.

‘No. Nate, seriously, it doesn't matter. Leave it.'

His hands dropped in defeat. ‘I'll make it up to you. Promise.'

‘You won't need to. I like my presents as they are. Let's go to school.'

He groaned. ‘It's your birthday. I think we should take the day off. Stuff school.'

Tempting, but I wanted to see my friends and rub it in that I had my licence and they didn't. Whether I had a car to drive or not was irrelevant.

We reached the pedestrian crossing before my school and we kissed. As we got to the front gate Nate stopped me.

‘I hope you haven't made any plans for the holidays, Dais. I've kind of gone ahead and booked us a couple of days up north at Portsmouth. I know it's short notice but … everything's paid for … and, well, I need you to say yes.'

He gave me a piercing look, his hands on my hips. I bit my lip. I didn't want to make his plans any worse. He'd already been upset about the earrings. How could I say no to the trip?

‘Uh. Wow. I don't … think my family are doing anything for … Easter or school holidays.' I was stumbling over my words with shock. What was he planning for a weekend away? Both of us? Surely my parents wouldn't go for it.

He saw me floundering. ‘If you don't want to, let me know and I'll cancel it. No sweat,' he said, shifting from foot to foot.

My hands became clammy. ‘No, no it's not that. I, uh, I didn't see it coming.' I took a deep breath and added, ‘Nate, I've never gone away with a guy before. I don't know what to expect. What should I expect?'

He smiled crookedly at me. ‘Don't worry, I'll look after you. Leave it up to me. You'd better get in those gates. We're already late.'

‘Now who wants to go to school?' I teased. ‘Right let's go then. I nearly forgot why I was here,' I giggled, walking on to the grass.

Calling back over my shoulder, I said, ‘See you tonight? We always have a family dinner for birthdays. I'd love it if you came.'

‘Oh, OK, sure. What time?'

‘About six?' I asked hopefully.

‘No worries.'

He ran up to me and gave me a bear hug and pushed me gently through the grounds. I walked to admin first to get a late note from the cranky office ladies and headed off to what was left of first period. It took me a while to realise what I had just done. Not only had I agreed to go away alone with a guy for the first time, but I had said no to Roman's family and they had invited me away before Nate had.

There was no way I could say no to Nate. Hell, I didn't want to stay at home the whole holidays, and I'd already disappointed him by not being able to accept his present fully.

Still, a part of me felt like a really bad friend for not going with Roman when he asked. OK, so I wasn't intimately connected with him, but he was still important to me and I should have either gone with him, or said no to Nate. If I can't afford one trip, I certainly couldn't afford another offer. I didn't want Nate to pay for the whole trip.
He has spent so
much on me already
, I thought, as my fingers slid over the necklace burning into my throat. I would take some of my savings with me and pay for food or something. Then we would be even and I wouldn't feel like I was stinging off him.

Another part of me argued that Roman would have done the same thing for me if I'd thought of that compromise, but I squashed it down. Life was getting so complicated.

I didn't see Roman at school all day. Was he sick? Or avoiding me? He didn't usually do either. I texted him at recess.

Where are you?

But I did not get a reply. It was my
birthday
. Roman didn't miss birthdays. He made a fuss of me and got every class we were in together to sing
Happy Birthday
while I silently planned his murder. It was definitely weird.
Oh well, he'll
contact me when he's ready
.

Skye couldn't resist saying ‘happy birthday'. She strutted in front of me and tossed her wispy blonde hair over her shoulder. ‘Someone should have donated you a trip to the hairdresser. Oh, they did. It looks worse than before. But what do you know about fashion?' she laughed.

‘You're right,' I replied curtly. ‘But have you heard of another colour besides skank?' Grinning widely, I left her to consider my question and headed to the lockers.

It'd been a while since Rach and I had done our usual routine to the canteen to pick up our lunches. I was glad to have her company today. The weather was sunny, but fresh. My lunch was simple; a vegie pastie with sauce squirted into the middle of it and a cold mocha. We dodged the hordes of juniors on the oval to claim a shady tree to sit under and observe everyone in their natural habitat.

She completely surprised me and pulled a square wrapped parcel out of her pocket, handing it to me.

‘Rach. What's this?' I asked, pleased she had remembered me.

‘Something small. Open it,' she urged.

I eagerly ripped it open to find a DVD. Turning it over, I saw the back chapter contents. All the names looked familiar. What was it? I turned to the front cover, and it had a picture of her and me on it. It said,
Happy 18th Birthday, Daisy. Here are some of our memories. Love, Rach.

‘How did you do this?' I gasped, clutching the DVD safely in my hands. ‘I can't wait to watch it.'

‘Easy. I got my brother to help. All I had to do was get him pictures and silly footage of us from my digital camera and laptop. It's good to have a record of the crazy things we've done. Hope you like it,' she said, giving me a hug around the shoulders.

‘I do. Heaps. Thank you.'

She shrugged and looked down. ‘Is that the time? Let's get ready for class. Sucks that you have to do work on your birthday, doesn't it?'

Nodding and pursing my lips, I said, ‘Sure does. Oh well. I've got heaps to look forward to tonight so I don't mind so much.'

‘Lucky you — having a boyfriend that is. Sometimes I miss having one. They make life more interesting.'

‘Yeah but they bring their own stress with them. Being responsible for someone else's feelings is a big commitment. Enjoy being single while you can.'

‘Says the girl who has the boyfriend,' she replied. ‘We always want what someone else has, don't we?'