Six (19 page)

‘Are you going to Tamara’s?’ he asked.

‘We just have to detour to Sarah’s first,’ said Poppy. ‘Not many taxis around this time of night.’

‘We can do that. I’ve got room,’ said Cooper. ‘I seem to have lost my dates.’

He said it in a wistful sort of way, ducking his head, which pulled at my heartstrings, so I hopped in the back and waited for the others to follow. ‘Address, Madam?’ he asked.

AT HOME, DAD was asleep on the couch while the muted TV played its late-night rubbish. A woman was writhing around on the screen, a flashing phone number urging the viewer to ring now covering her modesty. Cooper waited in the car while I directed the other two boys to the bathroom to change. Poppy and I crept upstairs to my room.

I was searching for one shoe when Poppy, only half-dressed, lay down on my bed with a groan.

‘I feel awful,’ she said.

‘You need to hydrate,’ I said. ‘Come on. Get dressed and I’ll get you some water downstairs.’

‘But it’s so comfy here.’

I grabbed Poppy’s hand to help her up, but instead she pulled me down next to her.

‘Remember when I used to come for sleepovers and we’d talk all night?’ she said. ‘How come we don’t do that anymore?’ She positioned a pillow under her head.

‘I don’t know.’ I was impatient to get back down to Finn but Poppy moaned again. ‘How much did you have to drink?’ I asked.

‘I’m not sure. Not that much. I don’t remember.’ She pointed to my huddle of Beanie Bears on the shelf above my desk. ‘Do you remember that Beanie Bear catalogue? We spent so much time choosing our next bear. Your favourite was the Doctor Bear and mine was the Mermaid.’

‘Actually, my favourite was the Monkey Bear,’ I said. ‘I just pretended the Doctor Bear was my favourite.’

‘Really?’

‘Really.’

‘But, Sair, you never have to pretend with me.’

All was quiet for a moment, then Poppy said, ‘I’ve been thinking about Marley lately. Especially today.’

‘Who?’

‘Marley. The girl—’

‘Oh.’

‘You used to believe in ghosts,’ said Poppy. ‘What changed your mind?’

I shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’

‘So what do you believe in, Sarah? What do you think happens to us when we die?’

I was Sarah Lum. Dux of the school. The girl with all the answers. But for once I didn’t have one. ‘I don’t know, P. I haven’t worked that bit out yet. Ask me in ten years.’

Poppy yawned. ‘Okay. I’m so comfy here. Maybe you should go to Tamara’s without me.’

‘No. Come on. You’re the party girl. And this is the after-party to end all after-parties. I can’t go without you.’ I pulled Poppy up and helped her with her shoes while she finished dressing.

Downstairs the boys were waiting quietly for us near the front door. Dad stirred on the couch, but he didn’t wake, so I let him sleep. When we opened the door, a gust of cold air hit me in the face and for a moment I had second thoughts. It was so toasty warm inside. It would be easier not to go to Tamara’s. But the others were already at the car, so I pulled the door shut quietly and ran after them.

And hand in hand

on the edge of the sand

they danced by the light

of the moon

TAMARA LIVED IN Mansion Acres, not far from Virginia as it turned out. There was security on the front door to Tamara’s home and no one was getting past without an invitation. The guard, a muscled woman by the name of Joelene, was dressed in black and had a fearful grin that showed you didn’t want to mess with her. I watched a couple of people being turned away, no one I knew, and I waited for an outburst or scuffle, but they seemed to sense Joelene was on a short leash.

‘Have a good night, fellas,’ she chirped after their retreating backs. ‘Right, names,’ she said, checking her clipboard as we filed past.

Inside, the lights were dim and the music was loud. Cooper left us as soon as we arrived, but the rest of us huddled together.

‘First stop, the bar,’ said Finn, and we followed him through dancing bodies and tight huddles until we reached the back garden which was dark except for the fairy lights strung in a few trees and a couple of braziers filled with cheery fires.

I realised Finn had been here before, probably many times with Virginia, and then suddenly she was there, as if my thinking of her had made her appear.

‘Helllooo,’ she said, swaying a little on her feet. ‘Have you seen Cooper?’

Poppy moved forward to speak with her, but Finn pulled me away. We walked around to the left side of the house to find a spa bubbling away, steam rising into the cold night air and a couple of people already sitting in it.

‘Wait here,’ said Finn. ‘I’ll find us a drink.’

As Finn left, some person who could hardly walk straight bumped into him, apologised with a mumble, then moved on. Finn had walked away before I noticed his mobile on the ground, so I picked it up and waited for him to return.

I hadn’t dressed for warmth. My after-party dress was meant for inside heating, not the cold winter air that was seeping into my bones. I hadn’t meant to check Finn’s phone. Not really. I did want to look at the night’s photos, so I clicked onto his camera roll and scrolled through, smiling at some of the poses from the dance floor. Then suddenly there was a photo of Virginia. She was wearing a singlet that didn’t entirely cover her chest, and she was leaning back on a pillow, her hair all messed.

Of course he would have photos of Virginia, I reasoned with myself. They had been together for 18 months. I scrolled back through the photos, and there was Virginia, Virginia and Finn, Virginia and Loz. Then a cold ball of realisation hit me in the chest and sunk to the pit of my stomach as I scrolled back to the first photo of Virginia in her singlet. In the other photos, Virginia’s hair was darker. In this photo her hair was a light blonde. I remembered the commotion it had caused when she’d changed it not that long ago on her birthday.

Virginia and Finn. What was going on?

Then a text message appeared on the screen.

‘Where R U?’

It was from Virginia.

I sat down on a nearby rock, which was part of the water feature that led into the spa. I wasn’t sure what kind of game Virginia and Finn were playing, but I didn’t want to be part of it. Finn had used me. Probably laughed at my obvious crush on him. I wondered if Nico knew, and I felt disappointed.

I wanted to go home. I wondered whether to ring Dad, then thought of Cooper. It was obvious he was interested in Virginia. Maybe he would take me home. If Virginia was hooking up with Finn, there wasn’t anything here that Cooper would want to stay around for. The thought of going through the crowd inside to find him left me feeling tired. I pulled out my mobile and texted Cooper to meet me at the spa. I texted Poppy that I was leaving. Then Finn came back with a drink in each hand.

‘A hold-up at the bar,’ he said, handing me a bottle of raspberry and vodka.

I held up his phone. ‘You dropped it,’ I said.

‘Thanks.’ He held out his hand.

‘Virginia texted. She’s wondering where you were. Did you find each other?’ Inside I was suddenly bubbling with anger, but I managed to sound cool and in control as I dangled the phone out of his reach.

The beautiful, Prince Charming Finn that I knew disappeared in a puff of smoke. It was like a magic veil had been pulled away from my eyes. He looked nervous as he pulled a swig from his beer and shrugged as if he didn’t know what I was talking about.

‘Hey.’ It was Cooper jingling his keys in the air. ‘Did you need a lift home? ’Cause I’m out of here.’

I nodded as I noted with some satisfaction the confusion in Finn’s eyes. I decided not to make a scene. Finn wasn’t worth it. I was tired and suddenly I just wanted to be away from there. I checked my phone but there was no reply from Poppy. She’d probably shoved her phone into her bag and missed the call. I motioned for Cooper to follow me as I went in search of my friend, and as I moved through the house I thought I saw her in the dancing crowd near the kitchen. I kept going, stepping over people, squeezing past others, when a whirlwind of blond hair rushed towards me, pushing me aside and latching on to Cooper.

‘There you are,’ said Virginia. ‘What happened? The girls and I waited for you at the reception centre. We ended up having to get a cab. But I forgive you.’ Then she grabbed Cooper’s face in both hands and latched onto his mouth like there was no tomorrow. As she pushed away from him, I saw her glance over at Finn who had followed us, satisfaction in her eyes.

‘Nice show,’ said Cooper, wiping his mouth. ‘I saw you and Finn out behind the gazebo. What’s your game, Virginia?’

So Finn and Virginia had hooked up while I was waiting near the spa. I thought I might be sick. I pushed my way outside, past Joelene the guard, and past some people lining up to get in. I gulped at the cold air, a light mist of rain settling on my upturned face.

I realised I hadn’t come very far from that girl in Year 7. I thought I was an adult — in control of my life. But inside, all the while, I was still that tiny girl with the ribbons in her hair, wearing her school uniform while everyone else was cool and in free dress.

Then someone touched me on the shoulder and for one moment I thought it was Finn.

I swung around, ready to face his lies, but it was Poppy and she was crying.

‘What is it?’ I asked.

‘It’s Nico,’ she said. ‘He’s missing.’

Rain, rain, go away

come again another day

POPPY AND I sheltered under a tree as she told me what had happened. Nico had been acting strangely all night, she said, and it wasn’t just from too much beer. She finally confronted him and he told her about the prank texts and calls he’d been receiving.

‘I just got mad with him,’ said Poppy. ‘Why didn’t he tell me? Aren’t you supposed to share everything with the people you love?’

‘So then what happened?’ I asked.

‘Then he just stormed off. And he was really drunk. Sair, he’s been so on edge lately. I’m afraid. Afraid of what he might do. He won’t answer his phone.’

‘Then we have to find him.’

By now, the other three had followed me outside. Virginia and Finn stood together, murmuring in low, angry tones. Cooper stood alone, his eyes lost in the shadow of the night.

‘Cooper will take us,’ I said.

Poppy shook her head.

‘Poppy, it’s the quickest way. We can drive up and down the streets faster than walking.’

Cooper stepped towards us.

‘So what’s going on?’ he asked.

‘Where’s Nico?’ Finn and Virginia had nudged closer to us.

I could see Finn was worried about his friend and I wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but I was more worried about Nico than making Finn pay. I decided to tell the truth.

‘Nico’s gone off,’ I said. ‘He and Poppy have had a fight—’

Poppy confronted Finn. ‘Did you know about the phone calls?’

‘What?’ said Finn.

‘The calls. The prank texts. About the shirt. That shirt. That day in The Woods.’ She started to cry again.

‘I don’t understand. Tell me again.’ Finn looked at me so I asked Cooper to go and get the car, then I told Finn about the prank texts, which was why Nico had been on edge for months now, and how tonight he had seemed out of control, like someone had pushed him over the line.