Set the Sky on Fire (Fire Trilogy Book 1) (2 page)

The soft peach tones of dawn settled through the curtains, when Ari teased her eyelids open, just enough to check her watch. Her eyes burned from lack of sleep, so she let them close again. Flutters of emotion were back, but muted, dancing around the edge of her consciousness. There was no way she was going to fall back to sleep with her mind buzzing again. Grudgingly, she dragged herself out of bed. Her body felt agitated and her nerves raw. She threw the curtains open and looked out at the garden. Now, the pillar-like streaks of daylight made her fears seem ridiculous. Still, they persisted.

Well, as long as I'm up
, she thought,
Nevaeh might as well be too.

She crept into Nevaeh’s room. A wall of vaporised alcohol drenched her nose as she stepped through the doorway. Her friend looked comfortable and she was still snoring, although the sound was less
discordant
than last night. Her dark brown curls peppered the pillow, and her face looked peaceful and serene. Ari grabbed hold of a thick curl and tickled Nevaeh’s face with it.

“Don't be a dick,” came a muffled voice from the pillow.

“Come on, get up. You'll need the extra hour to shake the booze off before work.”

Lucky for Nevaeh, her job at the garden centre wasn’t as taxing as Ari’s gig at the supermarket. Still, work hadn’t been her reason for taking it easy on the booze last night. Being polite to customers while hungover didn’t come easy, but saving money on alcohol and taxis was the real motivator. If it hadn’t had been her eighteenth birthday, Nevaeh would have been penny pinching too. They were saving up for a two-week holiday in Thailand at the end of the school term—it was going to be epic.

Ari gave Nevaeh a gentle dig in the ribs. She jerked, as if she had been electrocuted.

“I'll make us a hearty, hangover breakfast. Got any eggs?”

“You're an egg,” Nevaeh shot back before pushing herself up onto her knees. In one fluid motion, she grabbed her pillow and
clobbered
Ari with it. The smirk of satisfaction disappeared as she let out a low moan, her hands flying to her head, holding it still.

“Oh, God. I've got the fiercest little gremlin ramming a steel spike into my brain.”

“Yep, if you weren't hungover after all that booze, you would be the next step in the evolution of humans,” Ari said in a voice louder than it needed to be.

“Oh,
jeez
Ari, it hurts like crap. So, did I make a huge dick of myself? Please tell me I didn't end up dancing topless like Kate did that time.”

“Well, you did show off your ...” Nevaeh’s eyes widened in horror. “…dinner to a few people.”

“I can still taste vomit in the back of my throat.” Nevaeh made a tapping sound with her tongue on the roof of her mouth. “Did I make a massive scene? The last thing I remember is talking to—oh no, Matt.”

Ari didn’t want to enlighten her on the events alcohol had so conveniently blanked out.

“Am I going to have to hide my face on Monday?” Nevaeh asked.

“Monday is a long way off.”

“If I've marked you down as completing all three tasks, you can get out of your kayaks, stack them
neatly
on the trailer and spend the rest of the time in the lane pool or the dive pool,” Mr Bradley, Ari's PE teacher, yelled over the sound of a hundred voices echoing through the pool complex. “Don't go anywhere else.”

“The fun sucker’s back.” Lisa signalled over Ari's shoulder as she slipped into the dive pool. Ari followed Lisa's gaze. Her eyes stopped on a perfect figure standing
on the pool’s edge
. Hands on hips, designer togs defining the gap between the two, Michelle stood looking down her nose at them. Her long blonde hair, slicked back, lay perfectly down her spine. Her waterproof makeup, covering what seemed to be flawless skin, still faultlessly intact.

Ari screwed up her nose as if she’d smelt something decaying. Michelle was full of herself, which would have been easily ignored if she didn’t spend most of her time bullying half the kids at school, including Nevaeh. Until earlier this year, when she had interceded for some poor kid who’d just started at the school, Nevaeh had flown under Michelle’s radar. She had caught Michelle trying to force the boy to smash his own ice cream into his face. She had only meant to stop Michelle by grabbing the cone before it found its target. But she mistimed it. Somehow, she had grabbed the cone and then tripped up the concrete step. Subsequently, Michelle ended up with a lot of ice cream in her hair, screaming like a wild animal and carrying a permanent grudge.

While they were willing to laugh at the ice-cream saga behind her back, most kids at school still greased up to Michelle, generally from fear or, at the very least, in the hope she’d leave them alone.

“I heard her parents up and left again last week,” Lisa whispered. “I don’t think they’re ever home.”

“I wonder what they bought her this time to keep her happy,” Ari replied.

“Keep her happy or buy off guilt? They must realise they’re raising the devil incarnate.”

Ari's agitation took a back seat when a wave of water hit the back of her head. She looked around in time to see Lisa’s ex-boyfriend, Anthony, pop his head out of the water. The big grin on his face showed all his pearly whites, just like a grand piano. Behind him, his mate jumped off the low diving board and bombed into the pool, sending a second spray of water her way. Ari shied away hoping not to receive a mouthful.

“You have no form,” Lisa called out to Anthony, ending with a seductive giggle. They might not be going out anymore, but they still liked to flirt with each other.

“Come on Ari, let's show these guys up. Teach them how to dive.” Lisa was already at the side of the pool, heaving herself out.

“Yeah, come on Ari. Show us up,” Anthony mocked.

Ari followed Lisa out of the pool. To her disappointment, Lisa walked past the low board that sat a mere metre off the water and headed to the next one along. From the top of the ladder, three metres seemed like an awfully long way down. It felt a whole lot higher than when she had looked up at it from below.

Lisa didn’t hesitate as she walked down the board. “See you in the water.” She gave her friend a wink, before gracefully floating off the board, tumbling and entering the water, hands first, with a slight splash.

I should have known Lisa could dive.
Ari glanced over the side as Lisa broke the surface, her hands waving in the air in a mocking acceptance of their class mates cheers. Their cat calls echoed in the large building.
How did I manage to get myself talked into this?

Ari was stuck. Too embarrassed to walk back down the ladder, she edged her way to the end.
Oh, to hell with it!
She splashed down feet first with all the aerodynamic attributes of a large rock. It wasn't pretty, but she was back in the pool. Her ears drained of water in time to hear Anthony challenging Lisa to a jump from the high board, ten metres up.

“You two have got to go first,” Anthony said.

“You want a couple of girls to show you how it’s done?” Lisa teased.

“Just don't think Ari will do it.” His voice sounded defensive.

“She'll do it.” Lisa was confident.

Crap,
Lisa was accepting the challenge for her.

“I'm not so sure.” Ari hated to sound pathetic, but she looked up at the board, and it was a long way up. The three-metre board looked like the height of a porch step by comparison. If she wasn’t already up to her neck in water, her palms would be sweating.

“You'll be fine. I'll walk you through it.” Lisa smiled reassuringly.

“Way you go then,” Anthony and his mate
called out, practically in unison.

“What's the forfeit if you chicken out?” Anthony’s friend
asked.

“
Anyone
who doesn’t do it will have to do an undie run on the last day of school,” Anthony
offered.

“Deal.” Lisa was already swimming to the side of the pool.

“Wait, I haven't agreed to this.” Ari was
treading
water, not going anywhere.

“Harden up, Ari,” Lisa called out. “It’s way easier than it looks.”

From the top of the ten-metre board, the water looked hard and unforgiving. As she peered over the side, Ari’s grip on the railing was so tight her white knuckles glowed like small warning beacons.

“Remember…,” Lisa's voice sounded ethereal so high up, “…just how I told you—feet first, arms crossed over your chest, in straight, and try to relax. You can do this, Ari. It's easier when you’re on the way down. Just relax.”

“Stop telling me to relax. This is your worst idea yet.” Ari felt her eyes sliding into the back of her head. Even they were trying to escape. She was sure her legs were shaking but didn't want to look down and check in case she accidently caught another glimpse of the fall.

The sound of the boys having a laugh at her expense reverberated off the roof above her. It frustrated and angered her so much that, without considering the consequences, she let go of the rail, and looking straight ahead, stepped off the platform. Rational thought kicked in about half a second too late. She fell. Her stomach came up to meet her throat. Trying to find purchase on thin air, her legs scrambled frantically. Then, Lisa's words repeated in her head. Straight in. Feet together. Relax.

The water broke hard beneath her feet before enveloping her, the momentum forcing her down to the depths of the pool. Lisa had missed telling her one important thing. Take a deep breath before you hit the water. Ari went a long way down. Her lungs screamed for oxygen. She furiously kicked to the surface. It seemed to take an eternity to get there, but finally, the water parted. Taking a long draw of the moist air, she filled her lungs to excess. Everyone cheered. Everyone that is, except Michelle. “You looked like a flailing monkey,” she called out.

Ari didn't have the lung capacity to retaliate. Her arms were still shaky when she pulled herself up onto the side of the pool. Lisa, who had followed her into the pool with a lot more finesse, popped up
next to
her.

“It’s time you boys got your cute little butts up that big, tall ladder,” Lisa called to the two boys.

Their climb was punctuated with stops as they debated the consequences of failing the challenge. When they finally reached the top, they
sheepishly peered over the rail, the distance making their heads appear smaller than usual. Ari gave them a big smile and a wave.

Mr Bradley strode past. “Get out and get dressed. Meet me at the van in fifteen,” he bellowed before heading towards the exit.

“Come on boys, you heard the man. It’s time to jump.” Lisa was enjoying herself. Now that Ari was safely in the water, she was starting to enjoy it too. “Jump. Jump.” A dozen more voices joined Lisa’s chant.

Lisa cheered as the first of them disappeared from view, only to appear seconds later, feet on the ladder, heading back down.

“We got ou
r
selves a bit of entertainment coming. Don’t forget to wear your best tighty whiteys,” she yelled at
them.

*****

“We’re one short,” Mr Bradley said after a quick head count. “Let me guess. Michelle?”

It was another five minutes before Michelle appeared, her hair blow-dried to its usual perfection and a fresh coating of makeup applied.

“Come on Michelle, you've already made us late,” Mr Bradley reprimanded her. There was no apology.

“Have you got a hickey, Michelle?” Lisa asked, pulling at the collar of Michelle’s shirt.
While a hand flew to her neck to cover the red mark on her skin, Michelle’s smile suggested she had deliberately left the area untouched when she had redone her makeup.

“It was a great party, Friday, don't you think?” Michelle asked, her question not directed at anyone in particular; more of an explanation as to where she'd got the red mark. She raised her voice a notc
h. “Matt
's such a hottie, and he just followed me around like a puppy all night.”

Ari sighed. She imagined Nevaeh’s reaction to the news that Michelle had scored her guy from the party. Michelle didn’t stop talking about him all the way back to school.

It felt like Mr Bradley’s driving was slower than his usual careful approach. As soon as the van stopped on school grounds, Ari jumped out and ran to Nevaeh’s biology class. She was too late; the class had already been let out. There were only a couple of dawdlers leaving the building.
She didn’t register who they were until one called to her.

“Hey, Ari.” Luke waved her over, a big cheesy grin washing over his face. He slung his arm around her shoulders.

If Ari didn’t know better, she might have thought Luke was hitting on her. But flirting was what he did best.

“Hey, Niko.” Ari peered over Luke's arm at
the guy
standing next to her. “Did either of you see where Nevaeh went?”

“She took off after class.
W
asn't looking too flash. I think she headed for the gates,” Luke replied.

“Ellie was trying to wind her up about something. Didn't hear what it was about,” Niko added.

“Damn it. I forgot she was in that class.” As Michelle’s number one drone, Ellie would have made a game out of rubbing Nevaeh’s face in her loss of Matt, not satisfied until the wound was raw.

“Speak of the devil,” Niko whispered in her ear. “And I mean that literally.”

Ellie wandering out of the classroom.

“Where did Nevaeh go? We were having such a nice heart to heart,” she smirked.

Ari didn't stick around to hear what came out of her mouth next. She took off out the front gates.

Come on Nevaeh. Which way did you go?

Looking left, Ari saw a teacher standing outside the coffee shop. Chances were she hadn’t headed that way. Turning right, she took off down the street. Nevaeh can’t have gone far. After a few minutes, at a slow jog, Ari still hadn’t caught sight of her. Running haphazardly through the streets wasn’t the answer, and there was no one around to ask. Ari decided to use what she always considered to be her last resort. C
losing her eyes tightly, she tried to put herself in Nevaeh’s shoes. How would she be feeling right now? She could
picture Nevaeh’s face, feel her agony
; a hollow feeling in her heart that somehow radiated pain
from her chest to every raw nerve ending in her body
. Ari concentrated on that feeling. She could sense where it originated and followed her instincts.

Ari didn’t need to go far before glimpsing a park down one of the side streets. The feeling of sadness drew her towards it.
There was a child’s play area in the middle, surrounded by a large field of freshly mown grass. The cuttings stuck to her shoes and their smell wafted up as they were crushed.
Nevaeh sat on one seat of a twin swing set, which looked as if it might have originally been red. Most of the paint was gone now, and the tarnished metal was exposed to the elements. Head down, her friend rocked, gently kicking at the bark that covered the ground.

Hearing footfalls coming towards her, Nevaeh turned to look at Ari. The metal links of the swing groaned with the unnatural angle as they were forced to twist. Nevaeh’s eyes were red and puffy, just as Ari had expected they would be. There was no way she could try the 'I-got-something-in-my-eye' routine on this one. Her stare fixed on Ari’s before she released the tension in the chain links and let the swing rock itself back to the front, once again hiding Nevaeh’s face and
her bloodshot eyes
.

“How did you find me here? Did someone see me leaving?” Nevaeh asked as Ari sat down on the swing next to her.

“Luke may have mentioned that you were heading out of school,” Ari replied.

“But how did you find me
here
? I haven't been here before. I just stumbled on this place.” There was an unmistakable edge of irritation in her voice.

“I don't know. I did what I thought you would do, I guess.” Ari tried to shrug off the question.

“That doesn't explain it,” she snapped, “How can you always find me when I'm a mess? Sometimes, I just want to be alone.” She was near yelling.
Regret crossed her face. “Sorry, it’s been a crappy morning.”