Nowhere Boys (6 page)

Sam followed his gaze. The woman was wearing a smart suit and high heels. She zapped open a black BMW as she walked towards it.

‘Mum!’ called Jake.

Sam did a double take. That was Jake’s mum? Sam had only ever seen her driving a beaten-up Nissan and wearing a tracksuit or her fish-and-chip shop uniform.

The woman opened her car door and got in.

Jake pedalled across the street to reach her car. ‘Mum! Wait!’

The woman ignored him.

The BMW pulled out onto the road and Jake set off after it.

Andy shook his head. ‘That’s not going to end well.’

Sam felt ill. Jake’s mum clearly didn’t recognise him. So that was three of them.

He turned to Andy. ‘We need to find Felix.’

felix:
it’s a miracle right?

Felix’s mum came out of the house, the screen door banging behind her. She was carrying a tray of fairy bread. ‘Here you are, boys.’ She placed the tray in front of Felix. ‘Would you like something to drink? Fergus, wasn’t it?’

Felix smiled uncertainly. ‘Felix, actually.’

‘It’s so nice for Oscar to have a friend over for a play date.’

‘Mum,’ Oscar growled. ‘Play dates are for two-year-olds. And we don’t even know each other.’

‘I didn’t think I’d seen you before,’ said Felix’s mum. ‘Are you at Bremin High?’

Felix took a deep breath. As soon as his mum had seen him in the driveway she’d demanded he come and ‘play’ with Oscar. That was weird enough, but it was even weirder when she introduced herself as Mrs Ferne. And now here she was, feeding him and smiling at him. Clearly, she had
absolutely
no idea who he was, which was seriously freaky. But it was better than her hating him, right?

Felix figured the safest route for now was just to play along. ‘Not yet. We’ve just moved here.’

‘Oh really? Where fro–’ She suddenly sneezed. ‘Goodness me, my hayfever’s starting early!’ She held a hand up to her nose. ‘Excuse me a mo’.’ She opened the screen door and disappeared inside.

‘Mum’s a bit intense,’ Oscar said apologetically. He looked at Felix for a moment, as if trying to work him out. ‘So, what’s your story? Do you normally just appear in people’s front yards wanting to hang out with kids you don’t know?’

Man, Oscar was defensive. Felix picked up a piece of fairy bread. He suddenly realised how starving he was. ‘I only do it for the food.’ He shoved the fairy bread in his mouth. It tasted delicious.

Oscar picked up a piece and looked at it with disdain. ‘How old does she think I am?’

‘Yeah, well, she does like to baby you,’ said Felix, shoving a second piece in his mouth.

Oscar looked at him strangely. ‘How would you know that?’

Felix stopped himself. He had to be careful. If he said too much, Oscar would think he was utterly nuts and his mum would probably throw him out on the street. ‘Oh. I don’t. It’s just, that’s what mums do with the youngest. I mean … with kids.’

‘I guess.’ Oscar shrugged and stood up. ‘Well, if you’re not gonna tell me anything, do you at least know how to play chess?’

‘Sure,’ said Felix, taking a third piece of fairy bread.

He watched Oscar walk across the porch. A warm feeling went through him. His brother wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life trapped in a metal chair with two wheels. He was going to walk to school and play sport and get a girlfriend like everybody else. He wasn’t going to have to wear the ‘disabled’ tag, and his parents weren’t going to have to spend their rest of their lives stressed about money and how they were going to care for him.

Okay, so his family didn’t know who he was, but he could live with that if it meant that Oscar had a second chance. That’s what he’d wanted, after all. Maybe it was like in those fairytales where you get what you want but lose something else. Like that mermaid who got to have legs, but whenever she walked it felt like she was walking on knives. He’d do that for Oscar. He’d pretty much do anything.

Oscar came back with the board and started to set up the pieces.

The screen door opened again and Felix’s mum put her head out. ‘Oscie, you’ve got some more friends over. Mr Popular.’

Oscar cringed.

Felix looked up to see Sam and Andy come out the back door. His mum ducked back inside. What were they doing here? How did they even know where he lived?

‘Ah, Oscar. This is Sam and Andy.’

‘Are they friends of yours?’

‘Er, yeah. Kind of.’

‘We need to talk,’ Sam said to Felix. He looked pale.

Getting the message, Oscar stood up. ‘I’ll go get drinks.’

Sam and Andy stared in disbelief as Oscar walked to the door and opened it.

Andy turned to Felix. ‘Your brother can
walk
?’

Felix wasn’t sure what to say. Maybe now would be a good time to tell them. Thank them. After all, he couldn’t have done it without them. But all that came out was feigned surprise. ‘It’s incredible, right?’

His mum popped her head out of the door. She was holding a handkerchief to her nose. ‘Fergus?’

‘Felix, actually.’

‘Sorry. Felix.’

Felix felt Sam and Andy’s eyes on him.

‘I was just wondering if you’d like to stay for tea? It’s so nice for Oscar to have a new friend.’

‘Sure, that’d be great,’ he said.

She sneezed again and the door banged behind her.

Sam stared at him. ‘Your mum doesn’t know your name?’

Felix shrugged and looked away. Oscar walking was one thing, but how was he supposed to explain that his family didn’t have a clue who he was?

‘She just asked you to stay for dinner,’ said Andy.

Felix took a deep breath. ‘Okay, they don’t know who I am yet, that’s all. But Oscar can walk. It’s a miracle, right?’

Felix looked hopefully at Sam and Andy. How could he make them understand that even though this family didn’t know who he was, it kind of didn’t matter right now? In fact, things were a lot better than the way they were before. Not only could Oscar walk, but his mum actually seemed to
want
Felix around. He felt like a human being in her presence again, not the loser son who’d ruined everybody’s lives.

‘Yeah, Felix, it’s a real miracle that none of our families have a clue who we are,’ said Sam bitterly.

Felix took a moment to process what Sam had just said.
None
of their families?

Sam was struggling to keep it together. ‘My parents think I’m a nut job, Andy’s grandma chased him with a meat cleaver and Jake’s mum is
nothing
like Jake’s mum.’

Felix stared at him.

‘And your mum thinks you’re called Fergus,’ added Andy.

‘So that means the same thing has happened to all four of us,’ continued Sam.

‘Which means it has to be connected to what happened in the forest,’ said Andy.

Felix felt a wave of panic. Oh God. What had he done?

He was saved by Oscar reappearing with a jug of cordial and some cups. ‘We’ve only got low joule, so you have to drink three times as much.’

‘Sam and Andy were actually just leaving,’ said Felix. He had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was, he couldn’t discuss it now. Not in front of Oscar.

Sam leant in. ‘Something happened out there, Felix. We need to work out what it was. Find out how to fix it.’

‘What happened out where?’ asked Oscar curiously.

Felix shook his head at Sam. Couldn’t he get the hint? ‘I’ll catch up with you guys later, okay?’

Sam was looking more and more upset. ‘Dude, this can’t wait. We need to be together. Work out –’

‘Later. Okay?’

Sam shook his head in disgust. ‘You really are a freak.’

Felix watched Sam and Andy walk down the back steps and away from the house. He knew he was acting like a jerk but he didn’t know what else to do. He needed to buy some time. Think things through.

Oscar looked at him sympathetically. ‘Don’t worry, I get called a freak all the time. It’s your move.’

Felix smiled at him. Oscar could walk. That was what mattered.

Felix made an arbitrary move. His thoughts couldn’t have been further from the game. None of their families knew who they were? How could that be? That was never part of the plan.

Oscar looked at Felix’s move in disbelief. ‘That’s just opening your left field up to –’ He stopped himself. Something over Felix’s shoulder had caught his eye. ‘Oh no. Quick, we’ve got to hide.’

Felix turned. ‘What?’

‘Come on. Quick.’

Felix looked behind him again. Walking down the path at the side of the house was a girl in a pink-and-white sundress. A small dog cantered at her heels.

Oscar had slid off his chair and was inching across the porch on his behind. Reaching the back door, he opened it and slipped inside.

Felix watched the girl getting closer.

Was that … ? No. It couldn’t be. And yet …

He jumped off his chair, letting it land with a bang. He raced down the steps of the porch. ‘Ellen!’

The girl stopped. She looked him up and down. ‘Who are you?’

Felix froze. It felt like his insides were rearranging themselves. It wasn’t just their families that had forgotten them, then. It was everybody. That wasn’t good.

‘Sorry, my mistake. I just thought you were a friend.’

Ellen frowned. ‘You knew my name?’

‘Did I?’ Felix thought fast. ‘I was just saying ’
ello
.’

Ellen screwed up her nose. ‘You’re freaky.’

Felix couldn’t help himself. ‘And you’re not?’ Seeing Ellen dressed like an extra from a Disney movie was out of control. Grey was normally too cheery for Ellen.

‘That’s rich coming from a wannabee emo.’

Felix looked away. That hurt.

‘Is Oscar home?’ asked Ellen.

‘Ah, I think he’s busy.’

‘What? Playing Ninja Turtles?’

‘Actually, no, he’s more into chess these days …’

Ellen rolled her eyes. ‘Whatever. Just tell him he brought in the wrong bin
again
and he needs to return ours, pronto.’

Felix stared at her. How could this be Ellen? His best friend?

She turned on her heel and flounced off.

On impulse, Felix called out, ‘Here, Wikileaks.’

Ellen’s Jack Russell turned immediately and bounded back towards Felix.

Ellen stopped and stared at him. ‘How did you know my dog’s name?’

Felix shrugged. ‘Just a guess.’

Ellen took Felix in. For an instant, he thought he saw a glimmer of recognition. But just as quickly as it was there, it was gone.

‘Come on, Wiki. Walkies.’

The little dog turned and ran after her.

Felix watched his best friend walk away. This seriously wasn’t good. With everything that was going down right now, the one person he really wanted to talk to was Ellen.
Real
Ellen.

Oscar resurfaced. ‘Has she gone?’

Felix sighed. ‘Yep. Well and truly.’ He turned back to the house. ‘Come on. Whose turn is it?’

‘Oh. Mum wanted me to tell you she’s not feeling that great so we’ll have to cancel dinner.’

Felix felt gutted. ‘Really? Well we can still play, yeah?’

Oscar shrugged. ‘Actually, I have to do my homework.’

Felix looked away. ‘Right.’

‘Sorry. It was really nice to meet you.’

Meet you?
Those words stung, but Felix put on a brave face. ‘Yeah, you too.’

Felix watched the rickety screen door slam behind Oscar. There was a finality to that slam. It was definitely keeping Felix out.

He walked down the side of the house and stood in the driveway, feeling utterly alone.

Oscar could walk. That was good, right? The spell had worked – kind of. Nothing else really mattered. Except …

He stood there, uncertain.

Except now what was he supposed to do?

He couldn’t open that door and walk inside like he did every day of his life. He didn’t belong there anymore. He thought about the others. Were they all feeling this way? Wanting desperately to enter a door that they couldn’t?

The wind picked up and started shaking the branches of the old elm tree. Felix looked up. He hated that stupid tree. He fought back an urge to kick it and shout
This is all your fault!
But it wasn’t true. It was his fault. Everything was. First Oscar’s accident, and now this.

Felix made his way down the driveway to the street. He had to find the others. Find out what was going on. He reached the street and turned left into town. The wind gathered force and he heard a strange noise above him. He looked up and saw the powerlines vibrating, like bars of music come to life. He listened carefully. Were they singing to him?

He looked back at the street. It was strangely empty. No people. No cars. He started to feel uneasy. He needed to be with people, not here alone. He began to run towards town.

He wondered where the others would be. He scanned the main street. Up ahead was a tall guy, riding a tiny bike. Jake.

‘Hey Jake! Wait up!’

The bike stopped and Jake turned.

When Felix caught up, he saw the defeated expression on Jake’s face. ‘You okay?’

‘Not really.’

Jake looked as if the air had been completely punched out of him. Felix almost wished he would throw a ball at his head.

Jake gestured to the skate park. ‘They’re probably there.’