Nowhere Boys (31 page)

They were sitting on their scraggly front lawn in front of their falling-down house, and Jake wouldn’t have swapped it for anywhere else in the world. It was no palace, but it was home, and it was just as he remembered. Nothing had changed, except the way he felt about it. He couldn’t imagine ever wanting anything other than what he had right now.

His mum was chatting away as she poured them drinks. ‘He’s actually a lovely man and he felt absolutely terrible about what happened.’

Jake turned to her. ‘Who?’

‘Brian Bates,’ said his mum. ‘He dropped around a few times while you were missing. Actually, we were thinking of taking you to the Bandicoots match on Saturday.’ Her lips kept moving but Jake couldn’t hear the words anymore.

Bates? Bates had been seeing his mum? His fists clenched and he slowly counted to ten in his head, trying to stay calm.

‘Oops, I forgot the mayo. Won’t be a sec.’ She stood up and headed towards the house.

As she walked away, Jake looked down at his plate. His BLT was shaking. In fact, his whole plate was shaking.

He heard a rumble coming from the earth and his plate toppled off his lap.

What the … ? The whole front yard seemed to be moving.

Slowly, Jake unclenched his fists and, just as his mum walked back outside, the ground shuddered to stillness.

A banquet had been laid out in honour of Andy’s homecoming. The lazy Susan was laden with steamed chicken feet, pigs’ trotters in vinegar and an array of his favourite dishes.

Andy leant back and patted his stomach. He couldn’t eat another thing.

His mum had been holding tightly onto his arm from the moment he’d sat down. ‘The thing that really worried me was when they found your supplies on the path.’

‘That’s right,’ said his dad. ‘We knew there was no way you would throw away your
nai nai’s xiaolongbao
dumplings.’

‘And my poncho!’ added Nai Nai. ‘Only crazy person do such thing.’

‘I thought a murderer had to have attacked you,’ said his mum, shuddering at the thought.

Andy patted her arm. ‘It was nothing like that, Mum.’

‘So what
was
it like?’ piped up Viv, who had been watching him intently. ‘You still haven’t told us exactly what happened.’

‘It was …’ How could he put it into words? ‘It was kind of amazing, actually.’ Now that he’d said it, he realised it was true. He loved his family, but a part of him missed fending for himself, tackling demons and – well, having a girl who liked him.

Nai Nai whacked him hard across the head with the back of her hand. ‘Amazing? You stupid boy. You nearly die. Your family nearly die from worry. Not amazing.’

Andy rubbed his head.

Nai Nai shook her finger at him. ‘From now on I walk you to school, I walk you home. You not leave my sight.’

Andy sighed. This lunch was too much. He pushed his chair back. ‘I’m going to the bathroom.’

Nai Nai’s chair screeched back as well. ‘I’m coming with you.’

‘Mum,’ his dad cautioned, shaking his head.

Andy burst into the restaurant’s toilets. He felt like he was suffocating. He turned on the tap and splashed his face and neck. That was better. What he wouldn’t give to dive into the cool water of the river right now. All the way in – not just up to his waist.

He reached over and turned the tap off, but the water kept flowing. It streamed out of the tap and then shot straight up towards the ceiling, where it swirled around in an elegant pattern. Andy stared at it in amazement before it fell back down with a splash, drenching him from head to foot.

Sam’s family stared at him in utter disbelief. He was sitting at the head of the table, shoving food in his mouth as he filled his family in on the previous two weeks.

‘And you had another son called Sammy who was a total tool, and get this – this is way weird …’ He turned to Mia, who was sitting beside him, a concerned expression on her face. ‘You were going out with him. And your best friend was that goth chick, Ellen.’

‘Yeah, right …’ said Mia slowly, pulling on her cardigan.

‘Honey,’ his mum said gently. ‘We think the trauma of what you’ve been through –’

‘It was trauma, all right. Starving to death, having no family, no girlfriend –’

‘Sam, what we’re thinking is that maybe you should see someone,’ said his dad.

Sam stopped mid-chew and looked at them. ‘You think I’m crazy?’

‘Nah,’ said Vince.

‘Just completely certifiable,’ said Pete.

‘I’m telling you the truth!’

‘Okay,’ his dad said calmly. ‘But maybe you should also tell your truth to someone else.’

Sam took a deep breath. The studio portrait of his family, which was hanging on the wall, caught his eye. There he was, smiling confidently, and surrounded by his brothers and his parents. There was no sign of Sammy anymore. This was Sam’s house.
He
belonged here.

So why were all the people he loved most in the world looking at him like he was crazy?

Mia stood up suddenly. ‘Thanks for lunch, Mr and Mrs Conte. But I have to go.’

Sam grabbed her hand. ‘Wait a minute. Where are you going?’

Mia looked around and then spoke quietly to Sam. ‘Maybe later you and I could meet somewhere private and have a chat?’

Sam took those words in.
A chat.
He knew what that meant in girl-speak. He wasn’t dumb.

Mia extracted her hand. ‘I’ve got to go.’

Sam watched her disappear down the steps. Through the window, he could see the Hills Hoist in the corner of the garden, spinning in the breeze.

All this time he’d been waiting, wanting to be with Mia, and now, just when he was ready to be the best boyfriend in the world, she was going to dump him.

The Hills Hoist picked up speed, spinning faster and faster. It was strange. There didn’t seem to be a wind outside, but the clothesline spun around in a frenzy, the sheets and towels on it flapping wildly, until they flew right up into the air and landed in a heap on the grass.

‘I can’t believe you dumped me for a jock, a nerd and a moron.’ Ellen shook her head in disbelief at Felix.

He grinned. ‘I know. What was I thinking?’

His mum banged out of the back door, carrying two salads. His dad was fiddling with the barbecue.

‘I don’t know how you could’ve possibly survived out there for two weeks,’ Felix’s mum said as she piled food onto his plate.

‘Oh, we ate berries, and Andy knew about weeds. And Sam had a Mars bar.’ He fiddled with the bottom of his shirt as he spoke.

‘Well, you’re as thin as a rake. Come on, eat up.’

Ellen looked at Felix carefully as he shovelled salad into his mouth. She leant over and whispered in his ear. ‘You always fiddle with your shirt when you’re not telling the truth.’

Did he? Felix put his fork down. Ellen knew him better than anyone. It was so good to see her again.

‘Well?’ she said. Her forehead crinkled up, the way it did when she was determined to get something out of him.

‘I missed you,’ Felix blurted out. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but there it was. Seeing Andy with Ellen had driven him nuts. And that hadn’t even been the real Ellen.
This
was the girl he’d really missed.

Ellen looked a bit taken aback. She looked down at the tablecloth. ‘Yeah. I missed you too.’

Felix looked around. His dad was busy with the barbecue and his mum was buttering bread rolls at the other end of the table. He reached under the table and grabbed Ellen’s hand. ‘No,’ he muttered. ‘I
really
missed you.’

For a moment, she didn’t react and then, to Felix’s enormous relief, she squeezed his hand back.

‘This thing’s empty,’ Felix’s dad declared, throwing the gas lighter down on the table. ‘I’ll get some matches,’ he said, and walked towards the house.

‘Give me a go,’ said Felix. He smiled at Ellen, who smiled shyly back.

Felix picked up the gas lighter and clicked it. His dad was right, it was empty. He walked towards the barbecue and a flame burst out from the grill.

What the –? Maybe his dad hadn’t realised he’d lit it?

But as he dropped his head, the flame disappeared. Felix stared at it. He lifted his head and the flame rose again. He dropped his head and the flame dropped. Felix grinned. This was mad. He could control fire?

His dad reappeared. ‘Thanks, mate. That’s great.’ He dumped a plate of sausages onto the grill.

‘Oscar?’ his mum called. ‘Lunch is nearly ready.’

‘I’ll go find him,’ said Felix.

Oscar was sitting in his wheelchair on the front porch, drawing in his sketchbook.

‘Mum says lunch is nearly ready.’

Oscar looked up. ‘Damn, I was hoping that now you’re back she’d only force-feed one of us.’

Felix sat down next to him.

Oscar looked sideways at him. ‘You know for two weeks, all they’ve talked about is you.’

‘That must’ve been hell.’

Oscar grinned. ‘Actually it was great. No-one could care less about me, for a change.’ His expression shifted. ‘They thought you might’ve run away because of … you know. What happened.’

‘That’s not why,’ Felix said quickly.

Oscar looked determinedly at the decking, as if he was trying not to cry. ‘None of that matters, Felix. ’Cause without you here … everything kind of sucked.’

Felix swallowed hard. ‘I’m sorry.’ He put his arm around his brother. ‘I won’t go away again, I promise.’

Oscar wiped his eyes and handed Felix his sketchbook. ‘Here. While you were away, I drew these. They sort of made me feel better.’ He wheeled his chair inside.

Felix smiled and opened the book. Inside was a hand-drawn comic, starring him, Jake, Sam and Andy. He turned the first page. There they were, running through the woods, battling aliens and other monsters. Felix laughed, and then something in the comic caught his eye. He looked closer. What was that around his neck? He stared at it.

Oscar had drawn an exact likeness of the talisman.

But that wasn’t possible. Oscar couldn’t have known what the talisman looked like.

‘It’s not over yet,’ a voice whispered.

Felix looked up. A breeze had blown up out of nowhere and the trees in the front garden were swaying gently. There was no-one there. He shook his head and went to go inside.

‘It’s not over yet,’ came the whisper again.

He turned around sharply. ‘Who’s there?’

A woman stepped out from behind the elm tree. Her eyes were as hollow as empty wells and her pale face was as set as a stone.

Felix stared at her. He knew that face. He would never forget it.

‘Felix,’ Alice whispered, and the sound of his name carried like a sigh on the wind.

Behind him the screen door creaked open.

‘Felix?’ He turned to see Ellen standing at the front door. ‘Are you okay?’

Felix looked back at the elm tree. There was no-one there. ‘Sure.’

Ellen grinned. ‘Come on. Your mum’s dying to propose a toast to her long-lost son.’

As Felix went to follow her, the voice came again, ‘Felix’.

Felix spun around. He waited for a moment, listening carefully, but the only sound was the murmuring of the wind. He must be imagining things.

He went inside, letting the screen door slam behind him. As if in response, the leaves shivered on the elm tree and the whispering wind danced its way up the branches until it reached the power lines, where it began to vibrate with a gentle hum.