Surf School (19 page)

‘It's so good to get wet. I haven't surfed for over a week!' Marlee yelled as Tilly passed her.

‘Me neither.' Tilly swung her board around to catch up with Marlee. ‘I feel like someone's just put my battery back in. Let's go!'

Marlee paddled for a wave, a small steady roll that she caught backwards yelling to Tilly as she headed to shore, ‘Jordie's going to sponsor me.' She held up three fingers. ‘Three boards a year. I can't believe it!'

Tilly collected Marlee, grabbing her arm and hoisting her on board. ‘That's brilliant. Come and stay tonight. We can rewrite the plan. I feel like the summer's just come together.' She launched herself at Marlee, tumbling them both into the ocean. ‘I've missed you so much, Marlee.'

‘Same,' said Marlee, shoving Tilly's head under.

‘And I can cook now,' Tilly spluttered. ‘No pizza. No more fast food.'

Pink stepped outside for the first time in two weeks – not counting the quick trip to Tilly's. And even though the surf still rolled in with its bold reassuring rush and people sat in their
same old seats watching, Pink's world as she knew it had tilted slightly. Out of habit she scanned the car park for familiar cars then headed across the road to the beach, sitting on an empty bench down from the normal meeting spot.

Her clothes hung a little looser, but then worrying always made her lose her appetite, and even though her mum thought she looked great, inside she felt different, sort of end-of-summer faded – like it was all over but no-one had quite realised it yet. Party Pink, for one thing, had gone undercover. She'd made some promises to herself too: no more lies – that was the big one. After lying to the police and her parents to cover up for Kim, there could be no more lies. The only decent thing she'd done was tell her dad about Kim immediately, even though she got grilled at the police station and was grounded for another week. She was doubly glad she'd spoken up before Phil called because it would have all come out then anyway.

She took a deep breath and headed up the boardwalk, tugging at the hem of her skirt and keeping an eye out for people she knew. Everyone would've heard the story by now, news always travelled fast around the beach – though it was usually thanks to Pink. Being on the other end of it wasn't nearly as much fun and she felt uncomfortable, adjusting her glasses, changing her bag from hand to hand, having a quick gnaw at her Nervous Nail.

Pink hadn't reached the Club House when Jamie swung past on his skateboard. She smiled, reassured – no matter what, some things stay the same. She waited for Jamie to turn his graceful arc and skate back to her. But he kept going.

‘Jamie!' she called.

Jamie turned, looked at her for a few seconds, then skated away. Pink stopped walking, fighting the urge to go home. The girls had been right about Kim all along. She blinked back a wave of tears, sure that they all, especially Tilly, would think she was stupid. She forced herself to walk to Jellyfish, standing nervously across the road and watching Tilly, Marlee and Fran plough through a small mountain of toast, eggs and corn fritters, laughing. Pink wondered if they were laughing at her.

Marlee glanced towards the beach and spotted her.

‘Pinkie!'

She sprinted across the road, and threw her arms around Pink. Fran and Tilly followed.

‘You're free,' Fran said, noticing the sadness in Pink's eyes. ‘Come and eat.'

Pink looked at Tilly, tears welling up again. ‘Tilly, I'm so sorry. I would never have covered for him if I'd realised.'

‘I know that,' Tilly said simply.

‘You do?'

Tilly smiled, ‘Of course I do. They wouldn't have caught him without your help. Come and eat. We're celebrating something.'

Pink hesitated, still embarrassed. ‘I can't. I'm broke. My parents stopped my pocket money. And,' she added, ‘my shop account. And my DVD account. And my phone credit and anything else that requires money.'

‘Oh, well, at least you have a bit of back pay coming from the School,' said Tilly.

‘I do?' Pink brightened.

They hooked their arms with hers and took her back to the table.

‘Anyway, there's heaps here.'

Pink allowed herself to be led to the table. Fran gave her a plate and they piled it with food.

Pink pecked at her food. ‘What are we celebrating?'

They all laughed. Marlee stuck her chest out and Pink noticed her T-shirt for the first time. In fact they were all wearing them.

‘The launch of Bikini Warfare,' said Marlee, pointing to the lettering across her chest under the telltale frangipani insignia.

Fran tossed a shirt across to Pink. ‘We decided that if you can't beat them, you may as well join in.'

‘I've had more attention from being the bad girl than anything I've ever done,' Marlee said and nodded towards Fran. ‘Franipani's my sponsor.' Marlee slapped Pink playfully on the arm. ‘Thanks for your message, by the way. It really helped.'

Pink smiled gratefully at Marlee, and then the others, stopping at Tilly. ‘Tilly, I'm so thick I honestly didn't know about Kim until I came to see you. I'd never have helped him otherwise.'

‘I know you'd never hurt anyone deliberately, besides it can't have been easy calling the cops.'

Pink shrunk into her chair. ‘My dad did. I should've worked it out but Kim was so convincing. His life sounded really exciting. He said he was a healer but I'm so stupid. I should have realised he really meant “dealer”.'

‘Did you have to go down to the cop shop?' Fran asked.

Pink rolled her eyes, warming to the conversation. ‘Did I? I practically moved in for two days.' She paused. ‘Mind you, there are some really cute policemen down there.'

Fran, Tilly and Marlee burst out laughing and Marlee threw her bread roll at Pink.

‘She's back!' Fran said, shaking her head.

‘Just joking,' Pink said, a little shy.

‘Well, with your photos of the kombi and your testimony the police can prosecute. He was probably glad to get out of that van anyway.' Tilly giggled. ‘When the police compounded the car it absolutely stank. Jamie had filled the hubcaps with prawn shells and they'd been there for nearly two weeks!'

Pink remembered the smell and even now her stomach surged with nausea. She smiled guiltily, thinking about Jamie.

‘Jamie. I really have to make it up to him.' She glanced around the table. The girls were silent and Pink looked embarrassed. ‘I know, I've been really mean to him but I'm not like that anymore and I'm going to prove it to him.'

‘Great,' Tilly said quietly.

‘Well, I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news,' Pink said quietly, ‘is that my parents have pulled me out of that horrible school. They said they couldn't see the point of paying all that money for me to go shopping at the mall everyday.'

‘Great, so did they get you a job at the mall?' Fran joked.

‘Ha ha. No.' Pink was quiet for a moment, then took a deep breath and continued. ‘Umm, well that's the bad bit. They're
talking about sending me to boarding school. All girls. Some place up the coast. No shops, no boys and no distractions.' Her voice petered out.

‘No way,' said Tilly. ‘When would we see you?'

‘I think that's the idea.' Pink straightened her shoulders. ‘Anyway, it's not decided yet. Depends on whether they take loser girls from the beaches.'

Marlee raised her orange juice. ‘To the loser girls. Could be another T-shirt.'

For once the Surf School sign was not out on the pavement. Sam, Tilly, Marlee and Jamie opened up early and decorated the School with Christmas tinsel and coloured flags. Mitch and Christie arrived with an esky of prawns, oysters and sushi, Pink carried in the coloured tablecloths and chairs, Shane set up the barbecue, Evelyn and Fran put up the shade cloth, and Tilly and Jamie set out a table of salads, dips and potatoes to bake.

They were ready by late morning, and the barbecue coals were glowing, when Phil hobbled down the steps on his crutches. He carefully made his way along the temporary walkway Shane had erected, sticking his head into the School while Tilly took photos.

‘Woah, colour's bright,' he joked, hopping inside. The new boards were stacked neatly in rows along one wall, the rashies were folded into coloured plastic containers according to size, new wet suits swung on hangers, and Tilly's photos and Fran's jewellery were pinned neatly to display boards at the entrance.

Phil shoved the reservations book to one side, perched on
his desk and let out a long, low whistle. ‘Fantastic! I can't believe this is the same place! Tilly, my girl, Sam, Jamie, Shane, Marlee, Fran, Pink, Kyle … What can I say? This place looks a million bucks.'

‘Good. Are we done with the emotional speeches then?' Shane said dryly. ‘I'm going for a quick surf while the boys get the sausages on. Get your chair, didya?'

Phil hopped outside, keeping his leg out of the sand. Under the shade cloth, next to the esky, was a low comfy chair raised out of the sand on a wooden pallet. The chair had been decorated with tinsel and hibiscus flowers. Phil laughed.

‘I'm not sitting in that!'

Shane pointed at him. ‘Yes, you are, buddy. Now you know what it's like to have the home decorating squad on your case. And while you're up there, let's get a few embarrassing photos to put on the web. Welcome back, your Majesty.' He bowed, rolling his arm in a mock gesture of respect. ‘I'm going for one wave before we head to the airport.'

Mitch shook Phil's hand. ‘Good to have you back, Phil. I'm glad things have worked out. We feel terrible that Jasmine knew …'

Phil shook his head. ‘Without Pink we'd never have caught him. The police had an idea who he was but no evidence. In the end they nailed him half way up the coast – and with a bag of drugs he'd been selling.'

‘Hello, hello!' Phil called out to Kyle limping down the steps towards them. ‘All packed? Shame you have to fly out on Christmas Day, I was hoping for two lame ducks on the beach!'

Kyle smiled, nodding his head, and looked around for Marlee.

Marlee busied herself with the salads, doing her best to ignore Kyle. Everything she wanted to say to Kyle kept expanding into huge foam letters that stuck in her mouth. No matter how many times she rehearsed what she wanted to say, she only had to see him and the same thing happened. Instead of telling him she was sorry, how she felt, what she thought, she could only look on like a bystander while he seemed to hang around waiting. She struggled again to find a way to let the words free, to take away the fences that had sprung up between them, then hated herself more for failing so badly each time.

She glanced away as Kyle kissed Tilly goodbye, shook hands with Phil, Sam and Jamie, and fended off Pink as she threw her arms around him. Marlee examined the sand between her toes, waiting for him to leave so she could miss him in peace without the torment of seeing him daily.

Her heart dropped, almost hitting the tanned pair of size eleven feet standing directly in front of her, then threw itself back up to her throat where it lodged, expanding until she was desperate to take in a big lungful of air. She raised her head, forcing herself to look directly at Kyle, her words already trapped. His eyes were kind and soft. She could see that they willed for peace between them, especially now he'd be gone for a while. That message and her emotions swam in and out of her heart as though it were imploding. She wondered if Kyle would hug her goodbye. Wondered. Willed. Wanted. More than anything. And because of all of these confused feelings, she stuck her hand out before she realised what she'd done.

Kyle's smile faded. His handshake was vague, disappointed. ‘Well, Marls, Marlee, see you round.'

The phone rang inside the School and Marlee, relieved, called out, ‘I'll get it.' She rushed inside, grateful for the distraction. She didn't look back at Kyle, although she sensed him slowly turning away, heading up the beach and out of her life.