Red (11 page)

The fish was out of the water and on the bank. Red was nodding. ‘We don't have much choice. Why don't we get a bit of sleep and then leave before it gets light.'

Peri shook his head. ‘If we fall asleep we won't wake up in time. We have to stay awake and when it starts to get light, we take off.'

CHAPTER NINE

‘ THISIS N'T GOING TO WORK. I CAN HARDLY KEEP MY
eyes open.' Red rolled onto her side and looked across at Peri.

He was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling.

‘Maybe I should tell you another story, like I did at the school. “The Three Bears”, or “Three Billy Goats Gruff ”.'

‘That's for little kids.'

‘If you don't like it, you tell me one.'

‘I don't know any.'

‘Make something up. Or tell me a true one.'

‘Like what?'

Red took a deep breath. ‘Well, it's not fair. You know as much about me as I know myself. I tell you everything that I remember. I don't keep anything a secret. But I don't know anything about you. Not really. Where is your family? Why don't you live with them? What happened?'

The steady rhythm of Jazz's breathing hung in the silent room. Would he tell her something?
Anything?

‘It's complicated. I don't tell anyone.'

‘You said at dinnertime that you lived on a farm. Tell me about that.'

‘Not much to tell.' He was whispering. ‘It was up till I was about ten. It wasn't a big place, not like round here. Dad managed it for some other bloke.'

‘And that's when you had your own horse.'

‘Yeah.'

‘And why did you leave?'

‘It's a long story.' Peri lifted himself up onto his elbow. ‘The farm wasn't making any money. It was in the drought years and …'

Red waited.

Peri dropped back, his hands tucked under his head. He wouldn't look at her.

‘… and then Mum died.'

‘That's terrible. I'm sorry.'

‘There was an accident. She was driving and we never knew what happened, not really, but the car ended up rolling and it was in a kind of gully and it wasn't found for hours and hours. She was dead and so was Kelly.'

‘Who was Kelly?'

‘My sister.'

Red wanted to reach out and touch him, to say something. She lay still and silent.

‘Was she younger than you?'

‘She was little, only two. And that's when we moved into town, Dad and me. We came up to Sydney to stay with my auntie for a while. That was good. She hasn't got any kids and she really spoiled me a bit. But it didn't last long 'cos she and Dad had a big fight about him drinking too much and then he got a girlfriend and Auntie May didn't like her much, even though she was the one who introduced them at the club. So we got our own place after that.'

He was quiet for a bit. Red felt wide awake. Would he go on? Would he say why he had left?

‘It was all right for a while, sort of. And then she moved in with us, the girlfriend I mean.'

‘Didn't you like her?'

‘I hated her. They were always clearing out to the club or off with her friends. Dad and I used to do stuff before. When she came, no way.' He paused, ‘I couldn't hack it. In the end I just took off.'

‘Where did you go?'

‘Just around.'

‘But you have to sleep somewhere. You have to find food to eat.'

Peri chuckled.

‘Did you steal things?'

‘There's always a way. You can find places that'll feed you and there are places where you can get a bed.'

‘Like the palace.'

‘No. Before everything got wrecked. Before the cyclone. Churches and stuff. People on the street tell you. They can be real friendly and they look out for you.'

‘But didn't you miss your dad? Didn't he come looking for you?'

‘At first. A couple of times I got picked up by the cops. Once when they took me home he was there and so was she. He was all right but she just yelled and yelled at me. She said I'd done all this stuff that I hadn't done. She reckoned I should be put in a special place for bad kids and he just sat there and let her say all that. I wasn't going to stay there. No way. I took off again.'

‘Don't you miss him?'

‘Kind of. I miss Mum more.'

They lay silent again. What's he thinking? Is he glad he told me? I'm glad I know. Should I say something?

• • • • •

Peri was nudging her. ‘Wake up, Red. We have to go.'

Tiny slivers of golden light slid through the vertical blinds. Jazz stirred. ‘What's going on? Why are you …' ‘Shh. We're leaving.' Jazz pushed herself up on her elbows. ‘What are you talking about?'

‘We're going to leave,' said Peri. ‘Red and I reckon we should get a bus this morning. If we wait, Kate's mum will dob us in.'

‘We have to go, Jazz,' said Red. ‘The sooner we get to Melbourne, the sooner we can go back to Sydney and life can be normal again.' She took the notebook that Peri had passed her and scribbled.

Kate,
Sorry to leave this way and for taking your money
but we have to get to Melbourne and the
Commission as soon as we can. Please, please don't
tell anyone where we've gone. We will definitely pay
you back.
Red

She tore the page from the book and left it on the pillow.

She glanced at that last sentence. How would she ever pay anyone back?

• • • • •

The street was quiet.

‘Do you know where we're going?' hissed Jazz.

‘Back to the railway station. That's where the buses go from.'

‘It's still night-time. You're crazy.'

‘Shove it, Jazz,' said Peri. ‘We've just nicked money from someone. We think there might be police after us – or at least there will be by late this morning. Our plan is to get on a bus and get out of here. If you want to go home, fine. Go.'

‘You're always picking on me.' Jazz looked to Red for support. She shook her head. Melbourne, that was all she could think of. If Peri and Jazz wanted to argue, that was their business.

The faint light between the trees grew deeper. All was quiet, then suddenly screeching, raucous white cockatoos swept low over them. Other birds joined in a chorus that marked the sun's rising. They saw their first cars and then a truck moving slowly along the street.

‘I don't like this,' whispered Red. ‘What if one of those cars is the police and they're looking for us?'

‘Don't be stupid. We'll be at the station in a few minutes.' Peri quickened his pace. ‘We can check the bus timetable and then if we have long to wait we'll just go down to the river or somewhere where no one can see us for a while.'

They turned a corner. The lights of the station were ahead of them. As they came towards a small shop, the truck that had been moving slowly stopped and a figure jumped out and tossed a couple of piles of papers on the step. The truck revved its engine and sped away.

Red reached down and grabbed a paper from the top of each pile. The first one was only a couple of pages and the banner headline read
Your Local News
. She glanced at the photo that almost filled the front page.

She stopped. She and Jazz were grinning, staring out from the verandah back in Burwood, their arms around each other. The headline:

Three Teenagers Missing: Parents'
Desperate Search
Sydney Police Inspector Andrew Lucas and his wife
Margaret are in a desperate search for their only
daughter Jazz. She is believed to be travelling with two
other young people, Rhiannon Chalmers and a young
male who has not been identified. Police believe that
Rhiannon Chalmers is suffering from a severe mental
condition brought on by the loss of her family in the
cyclone that devastated parts of Sydney last week. The
young man is known to the police. The trio was last
seen on the Sydney to Melbourne train yesterday. It is
believed that they left the train in Goulburn, Junee or
Wagga. They may still be in the area. Anyone seeing
these young people is urged to contact their local police
as soon as possible
.
A reward has been offered.

• • • • •

‘They've got our names. We have to split up.' Red waved the paper at the others. ‘It'll be in the city papers and on TV.' She was almost crying now. ‘Someone could connect me to Dad, to Melbourne and the Commission. Some crooks … and everyone else will be looking for us. They'll want that reward.'

‘Hang on,' said Peri. ‘Calm down. Hardly anyone here will have read their paper yet. Let's get to the bus station and check the timetable. Maybe we will have to split but let's check out that bit first.'

• • • • •

At the station a woman was sweeping leaves from around the entrance and a man lounged on a seat under the window. Newspapers were piled on the footpath.

‘You go and look,' said Red. ‘Jazz and I'll stay back.' They sat on the grass behind a clump of oleander bushes and watched as Peri studied the timetable posted just outside the door. They saw him run his finger down a column then place his hands in his back pockets and rock backwards and forwards. Lights had come on inside the building and Peri went in.

He joined them fifteen minutes later and held a piece of paper out to Red.

‘You're in luck. A ticket for you for today and the twenty bucks change. I've kept enough for Jazz and me, for later. I reckon you're right, we have to split up. You should go first and then we'll come on another bus, late this afternoon or worst case, tomorrow. Your bus will be here in about an hour. You should wait for us at the bus station in Melbourne. If something happens and we aren't on the next bus, you'll have to find the Commission yourself.'

Red glanced at the ticket in her hand. ‘This says I'm sixteen. I'm not, at least, I don't think I am.'

‘You are today.' Peri grinned. ‘Otherwise you need all these forms with your parents' permission. And your name is still Rose Walker.'

Red looked from Peri to Jazz. ‘Thanks, you two. Be careful. Kate's mum must be up now and she'll know we're gone. This is where they'll come looking.'

‘We'll go down near the river,' said Peri. ‘You should stay out of sight till just before the bus goes.' He waited while Jazz stepped out onto the footpath ahead of him. He turned to Red and brushed her shoulder with his hand. ‘You'll be all right.'

She nodded. ‘You too.'

• • • • •

Red watched as more people arrived at the station. Cars and utes pulled up and men, women and children spilled out. Gathering up their bags, they crowded into the waiting room of the station. Then a huge silver coach with red and green kangaroos painted along its side came slowly through a gate beyond the station and parked less than fifty metres from Red. People pushed forward. Red scanned the crowd for Kate and her mother. They must be up by now. They must have realised that this is where she, Peri and Jazz would go. She felt alone, exposed, even though the huge shrubs hid her from view.

A four-wheel drive swept up to the station and screeched to a stop. Kate, her hair loose over her face and dressed in a long T-shirt and jeans, jumped from the driver's seat and ran into the waiting room. In a few minutes she was back. She pressed her face to the passenger window. ‘They aren't here. No one has seen them.' She put her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun and stared down the street.

Red held her breath. Part of her wanted to leap out, to tell Kate not to worry, they were fine and they would get to Melbourne and they would pay the money back. She clutched her ticket, willing Kate to get back into her car and leave. Half an hour must have passed since Peri and Jazz left. The people would soon be getting on the bus. ‘Leave,' she whispered under her breath. ‘Leave, leave, leave.'

Kate kept talking to her mother. Finally she moved to the driver's door, got in and the vehicle sped off.

Red counted slowly to fifty and stood up. She hitched her backpack over her shoulder and headed for the coach.

‘No bags, love?' The coach driver grinned at her as he checked her ticket.

• • • • •

Red shook her head.

‘You just going down for the day?'

‘Kind of,' she nodded.

‘Your seat's second from the back on the right-hand side. Window seat.'

‘Thanks.'

Red fell into her seat and breathed out slowly. So far, so good. She pulled the locket from beneath her T-shirt and pressed it to her lips. Maybe this afternoon or this time tomorrow she would be handing it over to the Commission.

‘Hi there.' A young woman dropped into the seat beside her. ‘I'm Cassie.'

‘Rose.'

‘Nice to meet you, Rose. You going all the way to Melbourne?'

Red nodded.

‘I haven't seen you on this coach before. D'you live around here?'

‘No, I'm from Sydney.' As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn't. She should have made up a different story, distanced herself from anything to do with Sydney and what had happened there. ‘Actually,' she said, ‘I was born in Sydney but my family has moved to Melbourne. I've been in Wagga with an auntie.' It was so easy to make up stuff. She could spin a long and complicated yarn. She could make up relations, homes and lives. Did other people do that? Kate? Jazz? Peri? Especially Peri. Was everything he said last night true? Maybe he really had done stuff that got him into serious trouble with the police. Maybe …

Cassie pulled a book out of her bag and turned to Red, ‘I hope you don't mind if I read most of this trip. I've got an exam in a week and I have to finish this and write an essay on it. I'm already running late with it.'