How to Get to Rio (17 page)

Izzy and Mia looked at each other for several moments and then turned to us. ‘You don’t,’ said Izzy.

‘What do you mean?’ I demanded, standing up straight before I remembered I was supposed to be injured. I slumped back on Persephone, almost knocking her off the rock we were sharing.

‘Looks like you’re really suffering with that ankle,’ Mia said.

I nodded. ‘It’s not too bad, but I think I was a bit ambitious trying to climb around this headland.’

Izzy rolled her eyes. ‘It’s insane,’ she said. ‘You should get it checked out and strapped up. You’ve probably made it worse trying to walk on it. It looks really puffy.’ Izzy bent down to inspect my ankle. ‘Mind you, the other one does, too. Probably because your ankles are a bit on the chunky side.’

‘Hey!’ I said. But I didn’t protest too much. Izzy was buying the sprained-ankle story, so I didn’t want to push it.

‘I feel bad now,’ Mia said, looking forlornly at my foot. ‘We actually thought you were lying about your ankle when we saw you sitting on the rocks. I mean who comes out here with a sprained ankle?’

‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘How dumb am I?’

‘Really dumb,’ Persephone said.

I frowned, but I couldn’t say anything. I knew I’d put Persephone in a really awkward position, expecting her to go along with my lie. I had to be grateful she was doing that, and just put up with any insults that came with it.

Persephone waved her finger at me. ‘I said it was a crazy idea. But you just wouldn’t listen.’

‘I feel bad about something else, too,’ Mia said, chewing her bottom lip. ‘We made up all those terrible camping stories. The Lost World
is
a really nice camping ground.’

‘Why would you do that?’ I said, hobbling after Persephone who seemed to be edging away from me.

‘We wanted to give you a nice surprise when you got there and saw how great it was,’ Mia explained. ‘You’d really like it over there.’

‘Really?’

Mia nodded.

I looked away, starting to feel guilty. I’d lied to my best friends to get out of a horror camping trip with them. But as it turned out, they had actually planned a nice surprise for me. I really couldn’t tell them the truth, because it would look like I changed my mind because I had a better offer. And I wasn’t going to improve things by sticking around chatting with Izzy and Mia. It was awkward, pretending to hobble and worrying what Persephone was going to say next. I just wanted to get away.

‘Shame about your ankle,’ Izzy said. ‘The Lost World is really cool. Anyway, looks like you’re going to have fun at the beach with … Per-se-phone.’

I gritted my teeth. Sometimes my friends could be so uncool. Izzy had nearly mangled Persephone’s name right in front of her. I needed to escape before things got worse. Izzy might decide to tell Persephone she was stuck-up or something.

‘Yeah, such a shame I couldn’t go camping,’ I said, trying to wrap things up. ‘But I’d be no fun with a sprained ankle anyway. I just wouldn’t be able to keep up with you two.’

Persephone glared at me, but thankfully didn’t say anything.

‘So, anyway, nice to see you,’ I said. ‘Better get going. We’re meeting Rio and Jordan for an ice-cream on the beach. And it’s going to take me forever to get back.’

Mia crossed her fingers. ‘Good luck with that, Kitty. Sounds really cool.’

‘Yeah, we better go, too,’ Izzy said. ‘We’ve got some boys to get back to as well. Sadly, they’re all under twelve and totally feral.’

‘And we’re related to them.’ Mia added.

‘How many brothers do you have?’ Persephone asked.

‘Seven between us,’ Izzy said.

Persephone laughed and gave Izzy and Mia a fist bump. ‘Respect, girlfriends. I’ve only got one brother and he drives me mad.’

I frowned at the impromptu bonding session. I should have been happy to see Izzy, Mia and Persephone laughing together. Instead I felt flat and suddenly wished I had a brother to complain about, too.

‘So, see you around,’ I said, hobbling off.

Mia shrugged. ‘Well, I don’t have a phone with me and Izzy’s is dead, so I guess we’ll just see you back at school.’

‘Hey!’ Persephone said excitedly. ‘Why don’t we meet you tomorrow at Paradise Point?’

Inside I was groaning. I loved to hang out with Mia and Izzy, but this was getting more awkward by the second. If we met them tomorrow I’d have to keep up the limping act. They were going to work it out eventually, and I’d look really bad.

Before I could think of a reason why we couldn’t meet up with them, Persephone had it all worked out. She gave Izzy and Mia the details of where and when to meet and waved them off.

‘I like your friends,’ Persephone said as I hobbled alongside her on our way back to the Paradise Point.

I glanced over my shoulder to see if Izzy and Mia could still see me. When they disappeared from view, I dropped my hand from Persephone’s shoulder and sighed. It was a relief to be able to walk without a limp again. ‘Glad that’s over.’

‘That was really scary,’ Persephone said.

‘Yeah,’ I agreed. ‘I was worried they’d work out what was going on.’

‘No, Kitty.’ Persephone stopped and stared at me. ‘I meant you. You’re such a good liar it’s scary. You could teach a class on lying and even Tori would have to take notes.’

I flinched at her words. Being told that I was a better liar than Tori was harsh. I had tried to do the right thing by lying about my ankle to protect my friends’ feelings. But Persephone had a point and now I was really feeling guilty.

‘I should have told the truth, huh?’ I asked Persephone.

She shrugged. ‘What do you think?’

I sighed. I’d really screwed things up now – not only with Izzy and Mia, but also with Persephone. She was too nice to get mad at me, but I could see she was looking at me differently.

‘I feel so, so bad,’ I said, looking out to sea. ‘I just panicked. I should have told them the truth. But, I don’t know, the wrong thing came out.’ I turned to Persephone. ‘Sorry I put you through that. Thanks for being, you know …’

‘A good liar?’

‘Yes. I mean, no. Not a good liar …’ I tried to think of the right words. ‘I mean someone who can keep a secret. Oh, it’s all coming out wrong.’ I put my hands over my face, taking a moment to get my thoughts in order. Then I looked at Persephone again. ‘Thank you for being a good friend. Sorry I lied, and sorry you had to lie, too. You’ve got to believe me. I feel terrible about that.’

Persephone was smiling. ‘I take it back,’ she said. ‘You’re not like Tori at all. Look how confused and remorseful you are! Tori would have me believing I started the lie. Then I’d be the one apologising and feeling bad.’

I smiled, relieved that Persephone had forgiven me. And I was really glad to hear that I was nothing like Tori, after all.

‘When we see Izzy and Mia tomorrow, I’ll tell them everything,’ I promised her as we continued our walk across the rocks.

Persephone nodded. ‘Yeah, we should do something nice to make it up to them. We could go to the new sushi train.’

‘I still can’t believe they told me I was going to have to dig my own toilet, just to surprise me,’ I said, shaking my head.

‘They were really sweet doing that for you,’ Persephone said. ‘I don’t know anyone who’d do that for me. I never get surprises.’

‘Not even from your brother?’

Persephone frowned. ‘What?’

‘He never comes around the corner and screams SURPRISE?’

My yell must have
really
surprised her because she lost her balance, slipped and fell onto me. Unfortunately, it happened just as I was trying to negotiate a tricky section on the rocks. I stumbled backwards and fell off a boulder. I howled. It felt like a shark had bitten off my leg! I looked down and realised my ankle was trapped in a crevice. Persephone helped me wriggle it free, but then the pain got worse.

‘Oh, no!’ Persephone said, peering at my foot. ‘It looks like you’ve sprained your ankle.’

‘I feel so bad,’ Persephone said when we finally made it off the rocks and back to the beach. It was about the fiftieth time she’d said it.

‘It’s not your fault,’ I said, also for the fiftieth time. ‘I shouldn’t have surprised you.’

‘I think you should go to the hospital,’ Persephone said.

I shook my head. ‘Come on, the guys are waiting for us.’ I wasn’t being a martyr, I just didn’t think it was that bad. I knew it wasn’t broken.

‘You sure?’ Persephone said, looking worried.

‘Well,’ I said, smiling. ‘I could do with a bit of help.’

Persephone waited while I put my arm around her neck. I instantly felt relief at getting some weight off my ankle. Maybe I really had sprained it. I’d have to find a doctor tomorrow if it hadn’t settled down by then.

In the meantime, I hobbled along, dreaming of Rio to keep my mind off the pain. I was trying to visualise him in the ice-cream shop, his hair all scruffy from surfing. He’d smile when he saw me and ask which flavour I liked.

I turned to Persephone. ‘Do you think it sounds corny to ask for a “single serve of Rio”?’

She laughed. ‘Kitty, I think the pain’s getting to you,’ she said. ‘
Do not
ask for a single serve of Rio. Just be yourself. Don’t try too hard.’

I nodded, exploring some other options in my mind. I needed to come up with an opening line for Rio – one that looked like I wasn’t trying too hard, but was actually going to knock him over. The name Rio seemed like a pretty obvious place to start. It meant ‘river’ in Spanish and Portuguese. It was the capital of Brazil – Rio de Janeiro, which meant the River of January. (Yes, I had done my research.) I was just about to run another idea by Persephone, when, out of nowhere, Rio and Jordan appeared.

‘What happened to your leg?’ Rio asked, pushing his hair away from his face.

I was all ready to explain about my sprained ankle when something happened. As I gazed into Rio’s concerned eyes, I forgot my injury and my worries about opening lines. Even the nerves that I’d been carrying from watching him on the bus for the past few months all drifted away with the sea breeze. It felt like Rio and I were the only people on the earth.

I opened my mouth but no words would come out. There was a sickening knot in my stomach. I dropped my eyes to the sand and froze.

We stood there not talking, until Persephone saved me from myself.

‘Kitty’s in a lot of pain!’ Persephone said. ‘She caught her ankle in the rocks.’

I glanced up at Rio. He was looking at me, with a slight smile on his face.

I dropped my eyes to the safety of the sand again and shuffled uncomfortably, still clinging to Persephone’s shoulder.

‘Maybe you should get that checked out,’ Rio said, bending down to inspect my ankle.

‘It’s nothing,’ I mumbled, staring down at his messy hair. I just wanted to get away. I didn’t need him poking around at my purple foot. ‘Really, I’m fine.’ I unwrapped my arm from Persephone’s neck and took a step sideways to prove my point. ‘See.’

Instantly, I toppled and landed in the sand, face first.

‘Ew!’ I groaned, spitting out gritty sand, but I was in no hurry to move. I just lay there with my eyes closed. Maybe if I stayed really still, the others might leave me to my humiliation and go for an ice-cream without me. I waited, hopefully, for a few moments. Then I heard Rio say, ‘Do you need some help?’

I rolled onto my side, wiping sand from my face. Rio was kneeling beside me, but I ignored his offer of help, and shuffled onto my bum. I just felt too embarrassed to even look at him.

‘All good, thanks,’ I said, managing a tiny smile.

Persephone rolled her eyes. ‘Kitty, I think you’re the most accident-prone person I’ve ever met,’ she said with a smile. ‘But, hey, it could have been worse. A seagull might have flown over and pooped on your –’

‘Please,’ I put my hand up to stop her finishing the sentence, ‘don’t even say it.’

I got up on my elbows to look at the sky and make sure it wasn’t actually going to happen. Seagulls were flapping all over the place, but thankfully none were flying over my head.

I wondered how I had turned a perfectly normal injury into the second-most embarrassing moment of my life. Or was it the most embarrassing? Either way, Rio must have thought I was a total idiot.

‘So, who’s for an ice-cream then?’ Persephone asked, getting to her feet. She was obviously trying to get things back on track. The guys both nodded. But I’d suddenly lost my appetite.

I wasn’t sure if it was the fall or the humiliation that came with it, but my ankle was throbbing.

‘I think I might need to see a doctor after all,’ I told Persephone. ‘But you go ahead. I’ll call you when I’m done.’

Persephone looked at me, worried. ‘Don’t be silly. I’ll take you. We can see the guys tomorrow.’

I saw Jordan’s face fall. He was probably hoping for a very different afternoon to the one that was playing out. ‘Yeah, tomorrow –’

‘I can take Kitty,’ Rio interrupted. He stood up and stretched out his hands to me. ‘There’s a medical clinic right across the road.’

I stared at his hands for a few seconds, before I felt brave enough to look at his face. ‘No, it’s fine. Thanks, Rio,’ I said. ‘I can go on my own.’

But Rio didn’t seem to hear. He grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet. Then, before I had time to work out what was happening, Rio had my arm around his neck and I was hobbling awkwardly towards the doctor’s office.