How to Get to Rio (4 page)

That afternoon, I caught up with Persephone. Actually, she caught up with me. I’d been avoiding her since the Snow White incident. But at the end of the day, she cornered me at the lockers.

‘Hey,’ she said. ‘I’ve been worried about you. This morning must have been awful.’

I nodded, surprised how worried she looked and sounded. ‘Thanks. It really was awful.’

Persephone gave me a hug and then grinned. ‘So, do you want to know what happened after you left?’

‘I think I already know,’ I said with a sigh. ‘I could hear everyone laughing at me.’

‘No, no. I mean with that picture you drew.’

I frowned. The only picture I drew went in the bin.

‘Well, Rio’s got it,’ Persephone continued. ‘That picture? The girl on the bridge with the big eyes? Rio pulled it out of the bin, flattened it out and took it with him.’

‘What?’ It didn’t make any sense to me. ‘Why would he do that?’

‘He didn’t say. But I’m guessing he really liked it …’ Persephone gave me a sly smile. ‘Or maybe he likes the artist who created it.’

‘You’re joking, right?’

Persephone leant towards me. ‘Kitty, he was checking you out the whole time!’ she whispered. ‘He was watching you draw. I think you really made an impression.’

‘Yeah, a bad one!’ I groaned.

But Persephone shook her head. ‘You handled that knickers thing so well. If that were me, I would have been out of there. Actually, I’d still be blubbering in the toilets right now.’

Persephone was so cool and confident. I found it hard to believe what I was hearing.

‘Seriously. You were amazing. No wonder Rio likes you,’ she said. ‘You’re brave. Definitely braver than me.’

‘I’m not really,’ I said quietly.

I could feel myself blushing, so I looked away. That’s when I spotted Tori watching us, her hand on her hip. Persephone waved at her, but Tori didn’t wave back. She just waited a few seconds and then stalked off with some girls from her group.

Persephone didn’t seem bothered. ‘What do you think of Rio?’ she asked, after Tori was gone.

I shrugged. ‘He’s okay, I guess.’

‘Just okay?’ Persephone raised one eyebrow.

I knew she could see right through me. ‘All right,’ I confessed, ‘he’s totally cute. I see him on the bus. I’ve had a thing for him for ages.’

Persephone’s eyes widened. ‘Interesting! You know, he’s going to Paradise Point with Jordan these holidays. What do you think about coming to Paradise Point with me, and we can hang out with them?’

I honestly had no idea what I thought. I was totally confused. Not just about Rio – who must have thought I was the most clueless girl on earth and surely couldn’t be interested in me after this morning’s disaster – but also about Persephone. Why did she want me to go to Paradise Point with her after I flashed my knickers at the whole class? She must’ve had a million cooler friends than me who she could invite.

But before I had a chance to work all this out, I heard myself saying, ‘That sounds like the best idea ever – I’m so keen! I’ll just have to ask Mum.’

‘Yay!’ Persephone cheered.

‘So when are you going?’ I asked.

‘
On Saturday at nine. So we’ll be at Paradise Point by lunchtime. I’ll text Jordan and Rio and we can meet up there.’

As Persephone chattered away excitedly, I suddenly felt my heart sink.

I’d already made plans to go camping with Izzy and Mia on Saturday. I couldn’t let my friends down, but I didn’t want to disappoint Persephone either. I had no idea what to do.

Should I go camping with my besties and miss out on the chance to get to know Persephone – and my best shot with Rio? Or should I go to the beach with Persephone and risk falling out with my best friends?

It was a long drive to the camping ground, which gave me plenty of time to mull over my decision to go camping.

Izzy and Mia were sitting next to me. They spent most of the drive debating which bush food was more nutritious – plants or insects. They also put a lot of effort into explaining to me which leaves were best to use as toilet paper.

‘Watch out for stinging nettles,’ Mia said.

Izzy moaned. ‘Made that mistake before. I couldn’t sit down for a week!’

They can’t be serious
, I thought.
Surely we could use toilet paper?

‘Well, I can’t wait to build a big campfire and roast marshmallows,’ I said, trying to steer the conversation to a happier place.

‘Oh,’ said Mia, ‘about that. There’s a total fire ban, so we won’t be able to roast any marshmallows.’

I sighed.
Why exactly had I agreed to go camping with Izzy and Mia? Maybe I’d been too quick with my decision.

I’d had to tell Persephone that I couldn’t go to Paradise Point after all. She’d been totally cool about it and promised to give me more warning the next time.

I pulled out my phone and shot her a text. She would be just leaving for the beach now.

Don’t have too much fun without me. And say hi to Rio!

A reply came back a second later.

Wish you were coming, too. Next time! Where are you staying?

I wondered what Persephone would think of me going camping for the holidays. She probably wouldn’t be too impressed, so I kept my response vague.

A rural retreat.

Persephone replied:
Sounds cool! Hope it’s five-star!

I shot back:
Me too!
:)

‘Who’s that?’ Mia asked, trying to peer at my phone.

‘Mum,’ I lied, shoving the phone back in my bag. ‘Checking up on me already.’

I knew that at some stage I’d have to tell Mia and Izzy about Persephone’s invitation, but not today. I didn’t want to start the holiday with another fight about how stuck-up Persephone was. And I could just imagine how Izzy would go on and on about me wishing I was having a fancy-pants holiday with my new bestie.

‘How much longer?’ whined a voice behind me. It was BB, Izzy’s youngest brother. He was possibly the most annoying of Izzy’s three brothers, though there was stiff competition for that title.

The three boys were wedged in the very back seat of the car with all the camping gear. They’d been having a pillow fight almost the whole trip, with just a few breaks to throw tennis balls at each other. When one hit me in the back of the head it did nothing to improve my opinion of camping holidays.

‘We’re almost there,’ Izzy’s mum called back to us. ‘The Lost World is just up ahead.’

Izzy’s dad turned the car onto a tiny road that became a dusty dirt track.

The Lost World – how fitting
, I thought. I just hoped we’d be able to find our way back again.

‘Say goodbye to civilisation, kids,’ said Izzy’s dad, grinning.

When the car pulled up, Izzy opened the door, but before she even had a chance to get out, her brothers somersaulted right over us and scrambled out. I got out of the car feeling bruised and slightly sick.

Mia’s family was already there. They were busy setting up camp next to us. Her mum and dad were unpacking tents and boxes of food. Her four brothers were supposed to be helping, but they were screaming and chasing each other around the camping ground.

I stood out of the way and looked around, taking in my home for the next week. Ahead was a cluster of tents and, past them, a row of campervans were facing the sea. The Lost World was actually a gorgeous spot – there was a dramatic mountain range behind us and the sparkling blue ocean up ahead. It was almost as lovely as Paradise Point, just without the shops and restaurants.

On the very edges of the camping ground were a playground, a trampoline and a big pool bordered by palm trees – all very promising signs. And there was something else more amazing. A big brick building that looked like … I walked closer to get a better look.

‘Communal shower block,’ I gasped, reading the sign on the building.

By then Mia was grinning madly. ‘Surprise!’

‘You mean, I don’t really have to dig my own toilet?’ I asked, looking around at Izzy.

She just tossed me a sleeping bag and laughed. I felt like throwing it back at her – right in her laughing face! She and Mia had really got me this time. I’d got myself completely worked up about this trip for nothing.

‘You’re really funny, you two,’ I said, scowling, ‘telling me I’d have to dig my own toilet.’

‘Come on, Kitty,’ Izzy said. ‘We did it because we love you.’

‘Funny way to show it,’ I grumbled.

‘No, really,’ Mia said. ‘The camping ground is much better than you thought, isn’t it? That’s because we said it would be terrible. If we told you how great The Lost World was, you probably would have been disappointed. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.’

‘Hmm … great theory,’ I muttered. But really I was only half angry now. I had to admit that maybe Izzy and Mia had done me a favour. ‘So what about the campfire situation?’ I asked.

‘We can definitely do that!’ Mia said, pulling a double bag of marshmallows out of her backpack. ‘There isn’t really a fire ban.’

‘Enough chit chat, ladies,’ Izzy’s father said, passing Izzy a large bag. ‘The tents won’t put themselves up.’

Izzy took the tent bag to a flat piece of grass and emptied it onto the ground. I stared at the pile of poles, pegs, ropes and nylon.

We’re never going to make a tent out of that lot
, I thought.

But a surprisingly short time later, we were sitting inside a perfectly comfortable structure, admiring our work. We’d pitched our tent, blown up our air mattresses, rolled out our sleeping bags and had the whole place looking cosy. Mia had even found some fresh lavender and tied a few sprigs together to make our tent smell nice.

‘Camping is actually pretty cool,’ I announced, lying on my mattress.

Mia winked at Izzy. ‘I’d say our idea worked.’

I huffed. ‘Yeah, but it nearly backfired,’ I told them. ‘You told me so many horror stories that I nearly bailed on you.’

‘Really?’ asked Mia.

‘I’m glad I didn’t, though,’ I said. ‘It’s going to be beyond amazing spending the week here together.’

‘So you forgive us?’ Mia asked.

Before I could answer, yelling started up outside the tent.