21. Eighteen Candles
Nick and I step out of the cab in front of the club and walk straight to the front of the line.
‘Hey, I’m Elsie,’ I say to the bouncer. ‘It’s my birthday party tonight.’
‘Ah, happy birthday, darling,’ he says, handing me a stack of drink cards. ‘You and anyone on your guest list are allowed admission to the entire second floor.’
‘Thank you.’ I smile and enter, Nick following close behind me.
People all start piling in pretty quickly and I’m happy almost everyone I know is in the one room. They keep coming up to me and giving me hugs and kisses and drinks.
‘Happy birthday Elsie!’ Bonnie calls out, hugging me and giving me a glass of something pink and toxic-smelling.
See?
Sam, Nick and I are sitting in a booth, drinking and surveying the room. Electro music is playing extremely loudly and aside from these beams of green light, the second floor of this club is completely dark.
‘Having fun, Els?’ Sam asks me over the music, looking down at his phone again.
I nod.
Finn suddenly runs over to us. ‘Elsie,’ he exhales, leaning down to kiss me. ‘I’m sorry I’m late. I had to wait for my parents to go to sleep so I could sneak out.’
Finn’s been grounded since his birthday party. His dad isn’t doing a very good job of reinforcing it though; Finn’s probably been out more in the past month than he has, well, ever.
‘Oh, and I’m sorry I couldn’t get you the ballroom for tonight.’
I shake my head. ‘Don’t worry about it.’
‘Looks like this party’s better than it could’ve been at the Wakefield, anyway,’ Nick comments. ‘No offence,’ he adds to Finn.
Sam stands up and walks away.
I down the rest of my drink and move on to the free champagne the club has given me for my birthday, trying not to look at him.
Bren comes over to our booth and leans on the wall, resting her arm on Nick’s shoulder.
‘Happy birthday, Elsie,’ she says, smiling. ‘Great party.’ Then she pulls Nick onto the dance floor.
I turn to look at Finn, but he’s staring at something on the other side of the club.
‘Carolyn Warner is looking awfully lonely tonight,’ he muses.
‘No, Finn,’ I scold, grabbing his arm. ‘You can not leave me alone on my birthday.’
He glances at me. ‘I’m not leaving you alone. Sam’s around. And I’m sure Kristyna’s here too… Besides, everyone here is here just for you.’
I glare at him as he starts to walk over to Carolyn, who is sitting by herself in another booth.
‘Elsie, come dance with us!’ Tayla calls out to me.
I go over to her and Bonnie. We’re jumping up and down and for a split second, when I spin around, I see two people making out next to a speaker.
I can’t see the girl, but the guy looks an awful lot like…
‘Sam.’
‘What?’ Tayla yells at me.
I nod over at the couple in the corner.
‘What the hell?’ Bonnie asks.
I walk over to them and tap Sam on the shoulder.
He pulls himself away from Kristyna and stares at me.
‘Elsie,’ Kristyna’s lips say beyond the music.
Sam turns away from her to look at me. ‘I’m so –’
It’s like someone else’s hand is colliding with his face, but somehow, that hand is connected to me. I don’t even feel my skin making contact with his cheek. The music seems to be thumping louder now, but no one’s dancing any more.
‘Holy shit,’ I hear Nick mutter.
Sam steps forward. ‘Look –’
‘Get out.’
‘What?’
‘Both of you. Get out. Now.’
Sam stares at me, shocked.
I fold my arms. ‘This is my birthday party. And I’m not going to have people who lied to me and betrayed me on my birthday here. So get out.’
I follow them out of the club and watch them get in a cab together, my arms still folded over my chest.
Outside a bunch of people are loitering around, a few from my party. Two guys from my Music class are sitting on the kerb, smoking up and holding hands.
Finn’s fingers reach for mine and Nick puts his arm around my shoulders.
He sighs. ‘Why do these things always happen at birthday parties?’
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Eyelash Wishes - Chapter 20
20. Evil Stepfather
When I wake up to find Sam sleeping next to me in the car, I realise that this falls under the category of aforementioned “fucking bad mornings-after”. But before I have time to properly think things through, my phone starts ringing.
Kristyna Thomas
Oh crap.
I sit up in the car and hold the phone tentatively to my ear. ‘Hey, Kris, what’s up?’
‘Hey,’ she says slowly. ‘Okay…um… I kind of have a problem…’
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Okay…this is kind of awkward…’ she mutters. ‘Okay, it’s Sam.’
I frown. ‘… What’s…? What’s wrong?’ I ask again.
‘Okay, we’re not officially going out, but we’re…we’re supposed to be. Um, we wanted to sort things out at Finn’s last night, but I couldn’t find him when I got there and then I ran into you and… I guess I got kind of scared – I’m so sorry – but I think he left, and when I called him last night, his phone went straight to voicemail. He’s just been really distant – really hard to reach – lately and I’m so sorry for calling you, but I don’t know what to do and I couldn’t tell anyone else because I was afraid they’d judge me too much because…you know…because you’re my best friend you’re Sam’s ex.’
I look over at Sam, sleeping with his pants open and singlet pushed up to his chest, limbs splayed.
‘Elsie? You there?’
I blink. ‘Yeah. So.’ I pull my dress on awkwardly. ‘So Sam and you are…together.’
‘Yes.’ Pause. ‘I’m so sorry we didn’t tell you. But we were just seeing each other, and he said he wanted to talk to me, so I think we’re kind of…getting serious, I suppose.’
‘Mm-hm…’
‘But now I don’t know.’
‘Mm-hm…’
‘Are you mad?’
Am I mad? I shouldn’t be. I sort of gave them permission to date each other anyway. But last night… Sam never even mentioned it. ‘Um, no. I don’t think I’ve got any real defence for being angry about it.’
‘Elsie, I know you. This isn’t something you would let go –’
‘If you guys are starting to get serious then I’ve got nothing to hold on to,’ I interrupt her. ‘Now, are you okay?’
‘Okay, I am a bit worried.’ Pause. ‘But I really like Sam and I think things could go somewhere and… So what should I do?’
I fiddle with the spaghetti straps of my dress, adjusting them on my shoulders. ‘I’m sure he has a reasonable explanation. I mean, it’s Sam. He doesn’t…’ I look over at him again, as he starts to stir in his sleep. ‘He doesn’t normally do things like that.’
Kristyna sighs. ‘Okay, yeah. I’m sure everything’s fine. I’ll just call him again. And… Elsie… Thanks for being so cool and all that.’
I bite my lip. ‘Yeah… It’s okay. I’ll talk to you later.’
She hangs up. I sit, staring at the screen of my phone.
‘Hey.’ Sam rubs his eyes and stretches. ‘Who was that?’
I stare out the window. ‘Kristyna.’
He sits up suddenly. ‘Elsie, I –’
‘You haven’t actually talked to her, have you?’
He sighs. ‘No.’
‘I can’t believe this,’ I say, opening the door and getting out of the car.
‘Elsie, what are you doing?’
‘Going home.’ I slam it shut.
He gets out of the other side. ‘Elsie!’ He grabs my arm. ‘Look, it’s only because I haven’t had a chance to tell her. And I wanted to be with you right away. I can’t stand not being with you. I love you.’
It starts to feel really cold as he says that, and I get goose bumps, which is odd considering the sun is shining so brightly.
‘But… Then…why did you dump me for Kristyna?’
‘I didn’t dump you for her –’
‘You asked her out during summer. One month after we’d broken up.’
‘Look, I never liked Kristyna,’ he says.
I turn to look at him.
‘My mother forced me into dumping you for her,’ he says with a sigh. ‘You know what my mum and my stepdad are like – he will never let her give up on anything she wants. And she really wanted me and Kristyna to end up together. So I had to break up with you. It’s the same reason I didn’t do the Deb with you.’
I narrow my eyes at him. ‘Why the hell would you do that?’
He sighs. ‘My…mother threatened to cut me off.’
‘I can not believe how materialistic you are.’
He scoffs. ‘You can’t judge me. You know you would have done the same thing if Daddy Dickson had threatened to take away your car, your credit card, and any other privilege you had or could ever have.’
‘No,’ I say bluntly, shaking my head. ‘No. I wouldn’t have.’
He folds his arms. ‘Alright. What would you have done, then?’
‘If I were you? I would’ve gone to my father. Remember your father?’
Sam’s father has always treated him like royalty, giving him an endless amount of money and buying him whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He never told us the number, but we always assumed that Sam’s trust fund would exceed all of ours, maybe even Finn the Hotel Heir’s.
The thing is, money is the only way Sam’s dad communicates with him. He grew up in London and moved back there after the divorce. Since then he hardly sees Sam, except for the occasional birthday or Christmas when one of them visits the other, but Sam’s mum hardly allows it. Really the only fatherly duty he’s ever done is given Sam money.
‘Dad is in a whole other country. Sixteen thousand kilometres away, remember?’ he asks mockingly.
‘Sam, I –’
‘Look, I had no choice.’
‘But you do have feelings for her.’
‘But I love you.’
I shake my head. ‘I don’t think that’s enough any more, Sam. You can’t just say you love me and expect it all to be peachy. You lied to me. You traded me in for money, for fuck’s sake –’
‘You don’t understand, Elsie. I’m not… I’m not smart like you or Nick, and I don’t have my father’s reputation to fall back on like Finn. Money is all I have. If I don’t have money I won’t be able to survive in the world.’ He sighs. ‘When we graduate, I know I’m not going to get into any good uni without paying full-fee. Like I said, I didn’t –’
‘Stop.’
He stares at me, his eyebrow dinted, mouth half-open.
‘I do love you,’ I say slowly. ‘But I can’t…do…this. If you want to be supported by your mum and your “evil stepfather”, it’s okay, I mean, it makes sense. But it’s too complicated for us to be together.’
He just blinks.
‘You went out with me for more than a year. You dumped me for Kristyna so your mother would keep giving you money. Things weren’t official with Kristyna and you let her think they were. You hadn’t cleared things up with her and then you cheated on her with me.’
I wait for his reaction: a slow hand running through his hair.
‘I love you,’ I say, trying my hardest not to take all of this back and throw myself into his arms. ‘But you have to admit things are kind of fucked up.’
He nods. ‘So…where does that leave us?’
I shrug, looking straight at him. His eyes are kind of glazed over, and I’m guessing mine probably are too. ‘Just sort yourself out first.’
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close, holding me against his chest, my cheek rubbing against the cotton of his singlet, his arms tensing for just a second. He’s warm and he smells faintly of the cologne he was wearing last night, mingled with sweat. Then, touching the side of my face, he leans down and kisses me softly. And we let go.
When I wake up to find Sam sleeping next to me in the car, I realise that this falls under the category of aforementioned “fucking bad mornings-after”. But before I have time to properly think things through, my phone starts ringing.
Kristyna Thomas
Oh crap.
I sit up in the car and hold the phone tentatively to my ear. ‘Hey, Kris, what’s up?’
‘Hey,’ she says slowly. ‘Okay…um… I kind of have a problem…’
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Okay…this is kind of awkward…’ she mutters. ‘Okay, it’s Sam.’
I frown. ‘… What’s…? What’s wrong?’ I ask again.
‘Okay, we’re not officially going out, but we’re…we’re supposed to be. Um, we wanted to sort things out at Finn’s last night, but I couldn’t find him when I got there and then I ran into you and… I guess I got kind of scared – I’m so sorry – but I think he left, and when I called him last night, his phone went straight to voicemail. He’s just been really distant – really hard to reach – lately and I’m so sorry for calling you, but I don’t know what to do and I couldn’t tell anyone else because I was afraid they’d judge me too much because…you know…because you’re my best friend you’re Sam’s ex.’
I look over at Sam, sleeping with his pants open and singlet pushed up to his chest, limbs splayed.
‘Elsie? You there?’
I blink. ‘Yeah. So.’ I pull my dress on awkwardly. ‘So Sam and you are…together.’
‘Yes.’ Pause. ‘I’m so sorry we didn’t tell you. But we were just seeing each other, and he said he wanted to talk to me, so I think we’re kind of…getting serious, I suppose.’
‘Mm-hm…’
‘But now I don’t know.’
‘Mm-hm…’
‘Are you mad?’
Am I mad? I shouldn’t be. I sort of gave them permission to date each other anyway. But last night… Sam never even mentioned it. ‘Um, no. I don’t think I’ve got any real defence for being angry about it.’
‘Elsie, I know you. This isn’t something you would let go –’
‘If you guys are starting to get serious then I’ve got nothing to hold on to,’ I interrupt her. ‘Now, are you okay?’
‘Okay, I am a bit worried.’ Pause. ‘But I really like Sam and I think things could go somewhere and… So what should I do?’
I fiddle with the spaghetti straps of my dress, adjusting them on my shoulders. ‘I’m sure he has a reasonable explanation. I mean, it’s Sam. He doesn’t…’ I look over at him again, as he starts to stir in his sleep. ‘He doesn’t normally do things like that.’
Kristyna sighs. ‘Okay, yeah. I’m sure everything’s fine. I’ll just call him again. And… Elsie… Thanks for being so cool and all that.’
I bite my lip. ‘Yeah… It’s okay. I’ll talk to you later.’
She hangs up. I sit, staring at the screen of my phone.
‘Hey.’ Sam rubs his eyes and stretches. ‘Who was that?’
I stare out the window. ‘Kristyna.’
He sits up suddenly. ‘Elsie, I –’
‘You haven’t actually talked to her, have you?’
He sighs. ‘No.’
‘I can’t believe this,’ I say, opening the door and getting out of the car.
‘Elsie, what are you doing?’
‘Going home.’ I slam it shut.
He gets out of the other side. ‘Elsie!’ He grabs my arm. ‘Look, it’s only because I haven’t had a chance to tell her. And I wanted to be with you right away. I can’t stand not being with you. I love you.’
It starts to feel really cold as he says that, and I get goose bumps, which is odd considering the sun is shining so brightly.
‘But… Then…why did you dump me for Kristyna?’
‘I didn’t dump you for her –’
‘You asked her out during summer. One month after we’d broken up.’
‘Look, I never liked Kristyna,’ he says.
I turn to look at him.
‘My mother forced me into dumping you for her,’ he says with a sigh. ‘You know what my mum and my stepdad are like – he will never let her give up on anything she wants. And she really wanted me and Kristyna to end up together. So I had to break up with you. It’s the same reason I didn’t do the Deb with you.’
I narrow my eyes at him. ‘Why the hell would you do that?’
He sighs. ‘My…mother threatened to cut me off.’
‘I can not believe how materialistic you are.’
He scoffs. ‘You can’t judge me. You know you would have done the same thing if Daddy Dickson had threatened to take away your car, your credit card, and any other privilege you had or could ever have.’
‘No,’ I say bluntly, shaking my head. ‘No. I wouldn’t have.’
He folds his arms. ‘Alright. What would you have done, then?’
‘If I were you? I would’ve gone to my father. Remember your father?’
Sam’s father has always treated him like royalty, giving him an endless amount of money and buying him whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He never told us the number, but we always assumed that Sam’s trust fund would exceed all of ours, maybe even Finn the Hotel Heir’s.
The thing is, money is the only way Sam’s dad communicates with him. He grew up in London and moved back there after the divorce. Since then he hardly sees Sam, except for the occasional birthday or Christmas when one of them visits the other, but Sam’s mum hardly allows it. Really the only fatherly duty he’s ever done is given Sam money.
‘Dad is in a whole other country. Sixteen thousand kilometres away, remember?’ he asks mockingly.
‘Sam, I –’
‘Look, I had no choice.’
‘But you do have feelings for her.’
‘But I love you.’
I shake my head. ‘I don’t think that’s enough any more, Sam. You can’t just say you love me and expect it all to be peachy. You lied to me. You traded me in for money, for fuck’s sake –’
‘You don’t understand, Elsie. I’m not… I’m not smart like you or Nick, and I don’t have my father’s reputation to fall back on like Finn. Money is all I have. If I don’t have money I won’t be able to survive in the world.’ He sighs. ‘When we graduate, I know I’m not going to get into any good uni without paying full-fee. Like I said, I didn’t –’
‘Stop.’
He stares at me, his eyebrow dinted, mouth half-open.
‘I do love you,’ I say slowly. ‘But I can’t…do…this. If you want to be supported by your mum and your “evil stepfather”, it’s okay, I mean, it makes sense. But it’s too complicated for us to be together.’
He just blinks.
‘You went out with me for more than a year. You dumped me for Kristyna so your mother would keep giving you money. Things weren’t official with Kristyna and you let her think they were. You hadn’t cleared things up with her and then you cheated on her with me.’
I wait for his reaction: a slow hand running through his hair.
‘I love you,’ I say, trying my hardest not to take all of this back and throw myself into his arms. ‘But you have to admit things are kind of fucked up.’
He nods. ‘So…where does that leave us?’
I shrug, looking straight at him. His eyes are kind of glazed over, and I’m guessing mine probably are too. ‘Just sort yourself out first.’
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close, holding me against his chest, my cheek rubbing against the cotton of his singlet, his arms tensing for just a second. He’s warm and he smells faintly of the cologne he was wearing last night, mingled with sweat. Then, touching the side of my face, he leans down and kisses me softly. And we let go.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Eyelash Wishes - Chapter 19
19. Eyelash Wishes
‘I can’t believe he did that!’ I say, laughing loudly.
Sam throws his head back, gasping in his laughter.
Sam’s got the now-lukewarm champagne bottle in between his legs, and we’re laughing at a story about some dude from one of Sam’s classes but I can’t remember who or what so I guess I can’t tell you, even though I know it was really funny. My body is feeling very warm from the champagne and everything’s a little fuzzy, and I think Sam and I are sitting closer together than we were before.
Sam hands me the champagne bottle and I take a gulp, leaving a few sips in the bottom for him.
He swallows, staring at me. ‘Elsie? I need to tell you something,’ he whispers, fiddling with the label of the bottle.
I smile, lean against him. ‘Yeah?’
‘Sometimes… Well, all the time, actually…’ He sighs and looks right at me. ‘I miss you.’
I stare at him, starting to pull myself away. ‘Sam…’
‘Please don’t be mad. I –’
I groan. ‘Kristyna…like, she likes you so much.’
‘But I don’t want to be with her! We. Are. Not. Together.’
I roll my eyes. ‘Jesus, Sam, you don’t have to talk to me like I’m retarded.’
He stares at me.
I sigh.
‘I got your present,’ he says, sitting up.
‘What?’
‘That shirt I was wearing on the night of Deb… The one that I gave to you the next morning? Don’t act like you don’t remember giving it back to me – as a present for my birthday?’
I stare at the floor of his car.
‘You love that shirt. And I gave it to you to keep,’ he continues. ‘And now that you’re telling me to give it to some other girl I’m… I’m finally realising that I’ve lost you.’
I raise an eyebrow at him.
‘And I can’t take it. I still love you.’ He leans in, not taking his eyes off me.
I’m shivering, and I don’t want to look at him but I can’t do it, I can’t –
He reaches up to my face. ‘You have an eyelash,’ he whispers, touching my cheek. ‘Make a wish.’
Then he kisses me – controlled, comfortable, familiar kisses – his fingers tangled in my hair. I can taste the champagne in his mouth but this feels too right to worry about that. I hold onto him tightly, breathe in the smell of his Ralph Lauren cologne. I’m pulling myself closer to him and gripping his waist. He gently lifts me up onto his lap, still kissing me, breathing in deeply through his nose, and he starts to slowly run his hand up my leg.
‘I can’t believe he did that!’ I say, laughing loudly.
Sam throws his head back, gasping in his laughter.
Sam’s got the now-lukewarm champagne bottle in between his legs, and we’re laughing at a story about some dude from one of Sam’s classes but I can’t remember who or what so I guess I can’t tell you, even though I know it was really funny. My body is feeling very warm from the champagne and everything’s a little fuzzy, and I think Sam and I are sitting closer together than we were before.
Sam hands me the champagne bottle and I take a gulp, leaving a few sips in the bottom for him.
He swallows, staring at me. ‘Elsie? I need to tell you something,’ he whispers, fiddling with the label of the bottle.
I smile, lean against him. ‘Yeah?’
‘Sometimes… Well, all the time, actually…’ He sighs and looks right at me. ‘I miss you.’
I stare at him, starting to pull myself away. ‘Sam…’
‘Please don’t be mad. I –’
I groan. ‘Kristyna…like, she likes you so much.’
‘But I don’t want to be with her! We. Are. Not. Together.’
I roll my eyes. ‘Jesus, Sam, you don’t have to talk to me like I’m retarded.’
He stares at me.
I sigh.
‘I got your present,’ he says, sitting up.
‘What?’
‘That shirt I was wearing on the night of Deb… The one that I gave to you the next morning? Don’t act like you don’t remember giving it back to me – as a present for my birthday?’
I stare at the floor of his car.
‘You love that shirt. And I gave it to you to keep,’ he continues. ‘And now that you’re telling me to give it to some other girl I’m… I’m finally realising that I’ve lost you.’
I raise an eyebrow at him.
‘And I can’t take it. I still love you.’ He leans in, not taking his eyes off me.
I’m shivering, and I don’t want to look at him but I can’t do it, I can’t –
He reaches up to my face. ‘You have an eyelash,’ he whispers, touching my cheek. ‘Make a wish.’
Then he kisses me – controlled, comfortable, familiar kisses – his fingers tangled in my hair. I can taste the champagne in his mouth but this feels too right to worry about that. I hold onto him tightly, breathe in the smell of his Ralph Lauren cologne. I’m pulling myself closer to him and gripping his waist. He gently lifts me up onto his lap, still kissing me, breathing in deeply through his nose, and he starts to slowly run his hand up my leg.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Eyelash Wishes - Chapter 18
18. No Heir
Sam pulls into the back parking lot of the Wakefield, right next to a shiny new Lexus.
‘See, this is exactly what your mum was always talking about,’ I say.
‘What?’
‘You’re parked right next to Chase; your car looks like a pile of scrap metal next to his Lexus.’
‘Hey, don’t bag the car!’ he jokes.
‘Sorry,’ I say, holding up my hand. ‘Just thought you ought to know that your car looks like crap.’
‘Oi!’ he yells. ‘I drove you here and I am forgoing my will drink so that you don’t have to take a greasy cab home –’
‘But you’re drinking tonight,’ I say, laughing.
He laughs.
I guess in all the drama of Sam and Kristyna hooking up, and everything being complete chaos, I’d forgotten how much fun I used to have with Sam, and exactly what it was about him that I missed – just this stuff, teasing each other, laughing. Without any of the drama in between.
‘So…’ he says slowly, ‘are we okay?’
I nod. ‘We’re okay.’
-
It is exactly nine when we walk in, and some random guy runs right into me.
‘Jesus Christ!’ I yell out.
‘Hey, man, get off of her!’ Sam yells, pulling him off.
The guy seems to forget the whole incident pretty quickly, and stumbles out into the lobby.
The ballroom is completely dark, except for these bright flashing lights scattered about everywhere. There’s only one row of tables, against the wall, covered in bottles of champagne and confetti.
It’s already pretty crowded but we can see Finn jumping up and down in the middle of the dance floor, on account of the fact that he is the only one wearing a white suit – a white suit that glows under UV lights.
‘Finn!’ I call out to him as we weave our way through the crowd.
‘Hey!’ he practically screams, running at us and hugging us both. ‘You guys having fun?’
Sam nods.
‘Great turnout,’ I say, staring around at all the strangers.
‘Let’s get drunk!’ he urges, pulling us towards the tables.
‘Seems like he’s pretty wasted already,’ I comment to Sam.
He laughs. ‘Well, it is his eighteenth.’
Finn grabs a bottle of champagne and smashes it against the wall.
‘Yeah baby!’ he yells, holding up the jagged top half of the bottle.
‘Drink?’ Sam asks, holding up two glasses.
‘Oh yeah.’
Bonnie, from my music class, appears next to me, pouring herself some champagne and talking to Tayla Anderson, one of her friends.
‘Hey, Bonnie,’ I say.
‘Oh hi Elsie! You guys having fun?’
I nod.
‘Do you want another drink?’ she asks.
‘Okay.’ I hold out my glass. ‘Hey, have you seen Nick tonight? Nick Lonsdale?’
She nods and points to the dance floor, where Nick is already dancing with some brunette chick.
I laugh. ‘Who’s the girl?’
‘Um, she’s from our Chem class. I totally can’t remember her name,’ Tayla says, readjusting her strapless dress.
Bonnie finishes her drink and says something to Tayla. ‘We’re going to go dance, you coming?’
I look over at Sam, who grins and nods at me, taking my hand.
The dance floor has become really crowded, forcing us to dance uncomfortably close to each other.
Sam’s hand is on my waist and I’m shivering as I move in closer to him.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around to see Nick standing behind me.
‘Hey, you guys want to…get some fresh air?’
We all move off the dance floor. Nick grabs a bottle of champagne before we walk towards the balcony.
‘Hey, look,’ Nick mutters.
We all turn to see Finn stepping into an elevator with two girls. He’s kissing one of them, and the other is draped over his shoulders.
Sam laughs. ‘Looks like he’s having a good birthday.’
The air outside is cool and the balcony looks out over the back of the hotel, where the pool is illuminated by lights inside it.
Nick starts rolling himself a joint. ‘Carter gave me this stuff last night; I haven’t tried it yet.’ He hands it to Sam, who lights it and takes a drag.
‘Hmm… Not bad.’
‘Yeah?’ Nick asks, as Sam passes it to me.
‘So Nick… Who’s the girl?’ I ask, giving him the joint.
‘Bren Baxter,’ he says. ‘She’s in Chem. She’s been in love with me for forever.’
Sam laughs and drinks from the champagne bottle.
‘Actually, I wonder what she’s doing now…’ Nick peers inside.
Sam smiles at me over the bottle and I take another drag from the joint.
‘Oh shit!’ Nick yells.
‘What?’
‘Finn’s dad!’
I lean over to see that Finnegan Wakefield II, whose face we always see on television during business reports, has stepped into the ballroom.
I hastily stab the joint out on the ledge of the balcony and follow the boys inside.
‘Hello, Mr Wakefield,’ Sam greets Finn’s dad.
‘Hello, Samuel. Nicholas, Elsie,’ he adds.
‘Hello, sir,’ we murmur.
He stares out across the ballroom. ‘I came to oversee Finnegan’s birthday celebrations. It is quite a party he’s having…’
‘Yeah, sir…’ Sam mutters. ‘But, er, we –’
A blonde girl, completely off her face, comes running at Sam, grabbing onto him and giggling.
He laughs nervously and glances at Mr Wakefield.
‘Oh my god,’ she says, still giggling. ‘I’m so sorry.’
Sam tries to steady her, but as he does, her face contorts and she throws up a little on his chest. ‘For fuck’s sake!’ he yells.
‘I’m so sorry…’ she moans, walking away. ‘I am so sorry.’
Mr Wakefield stares at Sam.
‘Er… I’m going to go to the bathroom,’ he says.
Finn’s dad nods and then turns to us. His left eye is twitching. ‘Does either of you two know where Finnegan is?’
I glance at Nick.
‘No sir,’ Nick replies.
There’s a whole lot of yelling and we turn around to find that a couple of guys are shoving each other, the dance floor clearing around them.
Mr Wakefield just watches on.
Then, from the kitchen, a huge cake is brought out on a trolley.
‘Dude,’ Nick mutters. ‘That thing is huge enough to hold…’
The cake opens and two girls in underwear stride out of it, causing the fighting guys to stop and stare.
There are whispers of ‘where’s Finn?’ and suddenly the lights turn on and a deep voice is heard over the speakers:
‘Attention: the ballroom is now closing. Please exit immediately.’
‘What the fuck?’
‘Finn’s dad,’ I mutter, staring at the exit, where the senior Wakefield is standing and talking to a staff member.
‘Where the hell is Finn?’ Nick asks.
At that moment, the birthday boy himself steps into the ballroom, grinning happily at the two girls that are following close behind him.
He takes one look at the people slowly shifting out of the ballroom and storms up to us.
‘What the fuck is going on?’ he demands.
I shake my head and roll my eyes.
‘Your dad dropped in,’ Nick tells him.
‘What?!’ he exclaims.
I touch his arm. ‘Finn… We –’
‘Finnegan!’ a voice booms.
‘Mr Wakefield, please,’ I say, stepping between them. ‘Finn was just –’
‘Please leave,’ he interrupts me, not taking his eyes off his son.
Nick takes a deep breath. ‘But sir –’
‘Leave, or I will call your parents!’
‘Okay, we’re leaving,’ Nick says, taking my arm. ‘Bye Finn!’
Finn waves sarcastically as he follows his father into the elevator.
‘Hey,’ a voice says. ‘I’ve been looking for you.’
I turn to see that Bren chick sidling up to Nick.
‘Els,’ he says, leaning down to kiss my cheek. ‘We’re going to go. I’ll see you later.’ He slings his arm around her and they walk away.
As everyone is leaving, one girl walks into the hotel lobby. She’s wearing a light pink dress that hugs her slim body and is holding a box wrapped in shiny paper. Her light blonde hair is pulled back into a perfect French twist and her skin has a fresh golden tan.
‘Kristyna,’ I say.
‘Elsie, hi,’ she says softly. ‘What’s going on?’
I groan. ‘Finn’s dad kind of crashed the party. He’s throwing us all out.’
She gasps, her eyes wide. ‘What? I only just got here!’
I touch her arm. ‘Oh shit… Are you… Is everything okay…?’
‘Yeah, yeah, I’m fine…’ She’s walking away, not looking at me. ‘I think I’m just going to go home. Good thing I drove.’
‘Okay… You have a good night though!’
‘Yeah…’ She laughs nervously and turns away, disappearing into the crowd.
I sigh and grip my clutch.
‘Hey,’ a voice says from behind me.
‘Sam.’
He smells intensely of cologne and is only wearing his jacket over a singlet, his shirt balled up in his hands. ‘I have some good news and some bad news.’
I frown apprehensively.
‘The good news is that I stole this unopened bottle of champagne when no one was looking.’ He grins, unveiling the bottle from beneath his crumpled shirt.
‘What’s the bad news?’ I ask.
He sighs. ‘Finn just texted me saying that his dad doesn’t want anyone sleeping in the penthouse tonight.’ He pauses. ‘And I’m… I shouldn’t be driving.’
‘Uh-huh…’
‘So either: we take cabs home and I’ll come back tomorrow morning and get my car or…’
I look at him. ‘Or…?’
‘Or we sleep in my car.’
I roll my eyes.
‘I don’t mind cabbing home,’ he says, ‘it’s just that it’d be a hassle for me to have to cab back here tomorrow morning just to get my car.’
I flick my hair over my shoulder. ‘Fine,’ I mutter.
‘Fine…what?’
‘Fine, we’ll sleep in your car. At least it’s…kind of clean.’
He laughs. ‘Come on then.’
Sam pulls into the back parking lot of the Wakefield, right next to a shiny new Lexus.
‘See, this is exactly what your mum was always talking about,’ I say.
‘What?’
‘You’re parked right next to Chase; your car looks like a pile of scrap metal next to his Lexus.’
‘Hey, don’t bag the car!’ he jokes.
‘Sorry,’ I say, holding up my hand. ‘Just thought you ought to know that your car looks like crap.’
‘Oi!’ he yells. ‘I drove you here and I am forgoing my will drink so that you don’t have to take a greasy cab home –’
‘But you’re drinking tonight,’ I say, laughing.
He laughs.
I guess in all the drama of Sam and Kristyna hooking up, and everything being complete chaos, I’d forgotten how much fun I used to have with Sam, and exactly what it was about him that I missed – just this stuff, teasing each other, laughing. Without any of the drama in between.
‘So…’ he says slowly, ‘are we okay?’
I nod. ‘We’re okay.’
-
It is exactly nine when we walk in, and some random guy runs right into me.
‘Jesus Christ!’ I yell out.
‘Hey, man, get off of her!’ Sam yells, pulling him off.
The guy seems to forget the whole incident pretty quickly, and stumbles out into the lobby.
The ballroom is completely dark, except for these bright flashing lights scattered about everywhere. There’s only one row of tables, against the wall, covered in bottles of champagne and confetti.
It’s already pretty crowded but we can see Finn jumping up and down in the middle of the dance floor, on account of the fact that he is the only one wearing a white suit – a white suit that glows under UV lights.
‘Finn!’ I call out to him as we weave our way through the crowd.
‘Hey!’ he practically screams, running at us and hugging us both. ‘You guys having fun?’
Sam nods.
‘Great turnout,’ I say, staring around at all the strangers.
‘Let’s get drunk!’ he urges, pulling us towards the tables.
‘Seems like he’s pretty wasted already,’ I comment to Sam.
He laughs. ‘Well, it is his eighteenth.’
Finn grabs a bottle of champagne and smashes it against the wall.
‘Yeah baby!’ he yells, holding up the jagged top half of the bottle.
‘Drink?’ Sam asks, holding up two glasses.
‘Oh yeah.’
Bonnie, from my music class, appears next to me, pouring herself some champagne and talking to Tayla Anderson, one of her friends.
‘Hey, Bonnie,’ I say.
‘Oh hi Elsie! You guys having fun?’
I nod.
‘Do you want another drink?’ she asks.
‘Okay.’ I hold out my glass. ‘Hey, have you seen Nick tonight? Nick Lonsdale?’
She nods and points to the dance floor, where Nick is already dancing with some brunette chick.
I laugh. ‘Who’s the girl?’
‘Um, she’s from our Chem class. I totally can’t remember her name,’ Tayla says, readjusting her strapless dress.
Bonnie finishes her drink and says something to Tayla. ‘We’re going to go dance, you coming?’
I look over at Sam, who grins and nods at me, taking my hand.
The dance floor has become really crowded, forcing us to dance uncomfortably close to each other.
Sam’s hand is on my waist and I’m shivering as I move in closer to him.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around to see Nick standing behind me.
‘Hey, you guys want to…get some fresh air?’
We all move off the dance floor. Nick grabs a bottle of champagne before we walk towards the balcony.
‘Hey, look,’ Nick mutters.
We all turn to see Finn stepping into an elevator with two girls. He’s kissing one of them, and the other is draped over his shoulders.
Sam laughs. ‘Looks like he’s having a good birthday.’
The air outside is cool and the balcony looks out over the back of the hotel, where the pool is illuminated by lights inside it.
Nick starts rolling himself a joint. ‘Carter gave me this stuff last night; I haven’t tried it yet.’ He hands it to Sam, who lights it and takes a drag.
‘Hmm… Not bad.’
‘Yeah?’ Nick asks, as Sam passes it to me.
‘So Nick… Who’s the girl?’ I ask, giving him the joint.
‘Bren Baxter,’ he says. ‘She’s in Chem. She’s been in love with me for forever.’
Sam laughs and drinks from the champagne bottle.
‘Actually, I wonder what she’s doing now…’ Nick peers inside.
Sam smiles at me over the bottle and I take another drag from the joint.
‘Oh shit!’ Nick yells.
‘What?’
‘Finn’s dad!’
I lean over to see that Finnegan Wakefield II, whose face we always see on television during business reports, has stepped into the ballroom.
I hastily stab the joint out on the ledge of the balcony and follow the boys inside.
‘Hello, Mr Wakefield,’ Sam greets Finn’s dad.
‘Hello, Samuel. Nicholas, Elsie,’ he adds.
‘Hello, sir,’ we murmur.
He stares out across the ballroom. ‘I came to oversee Finnegan’s birthday celebrations. It is quite a party he’s having…’
‘Yeah, sir…’ Sam mutters. ‘But, er, we –’
A blonde girl, completely off her face, comes running at Sam, grabbing onto him and giggling.
He laughs nervously and glances at Mr Wakefield.
‘Oh my god,’ she says, still giggling. ‘I’m so sorry.’
Sam tries to steady her, but as he does, her face contorts and she throws up a little on his chest. ‘For fuck’s sake!’ he yells.
‘I’m so sorry…’ she moans, walking away. ‘I am so sorry.’
Mr Wakefield stares at Sam.
‘Er… I’m going to go to the bathroom,’ he says.
Finn’s dad nods and then turns to us. His left eye is twitching. ‘Does either of you two know where Finnegan is?’
I glance at Nick.
‘No sir,’ Nick replies.
There’s a whole lot of yelling and we turn around to find that a couple of guys are shoving each other, the dance floor clearing around them.
Mr Wakefield just watches on.
Then, from the kitchen, a huge cake is brought out on a trolley.
‘Dude,’ Nick mutters. ‘That thing is huge enough to hold…’
The cake opens and two girls in underwear stride out of it, causing the fighting guys to stop and stare.
There are whispers of ‘where’s Finn?’ and suddenly the lights turn on and a deep voice is heard over the speakers:
‘Attention: the ballroom is now closing. Please exit immediately.’
‘What the fuck?’
‘Finn’s dad,’ I mutter, staring at the exit, where the senior Wakefield is standing and talking to a staff member.
‘Where the hell is Finn?’ Nick asks.
At that moment, the birthday boy himself steps into the ballroom, grinning happily at the two girls that are following close behind him.
He takes one look at the people slowly shifting out of the ballroom and storms up to us.
‘What the fuck is going on?’ he demands.
I shake my head and roll my eyes.
‘Your dad dropped in,’ Nick tells him.
‘What?!’ he exclaims.
I touch his arm. ‘Finn… We –’
‘Finnegan!’ a voice booms.
‘Mr Wakefield, please,’ I say, stepping between them. ‘Finn was just –’
‘Please leave,’ he interrupts me, not taking his eyes off his son.
Nick takes a deep breath. ‘But sir –’
‘Leave, or I will call your parents!’
‘Okay, we’re leaving,’ Nick says, taking my arm. ‘Bye Finn!’
Finn waves sarcastically as he follows his father into the elevator.
‘Hey,’ a voice says. ‘I’ve been looking for you.’
I turn to see that Bren chick sidling up to Nick.
‘Els,’ he says, leaning down to kiss my cheek. ‘We’re going to go. I’ll see you later.’ He slings his arm around her and they walk away.
As everyone is leaving, one girl walks into the hotel lobby. She’s wearing a light pink dress that hugs her slim body and is holding a box wrapped in shiny paper. Her light blonde hair is pulled back into a perfect French twist and her skin has a fresh golden tan.
‘Kristyna,’ I say.
‘Elsie, hi,’ she says softly. ‘What’s going on?’
I groan. ‘Finn’s dad kind of crashed the party. He’s throwing us all out.’
She gasps, her eyes wide. ‘What? I only just got here!’
I touch her arm. ‘Oh shit… Are you… Is everything okay…?’
‘Yeah, yeah, I’m fine…’ She’s walking away, not looking at me. ‘I think I’m just going to go home. Good thing I drove.’
‘Okay… You have a good night though!’
‘Yeah…’ She laughs nervously and turns away, disappearing into the crowd.
I sigh and grip my clutch.
‘Hey,’ a voice says from behind me.
‘Sam.’
He smells intensely of cologne and is only wearing his jacket over a singlet, his shirt balled up in his hands. ‘I have some good news and some bad news.’
I frown apprehensively.
‘The good news is that I stole this unopened bottle of champagne when no one was looking.’ He grins, unveiling the bottle from beneath his crumpled shirt.
‘What’s the bad news?’ I ask.
He sighs. ‘Finn just texted me saying that his dad doesn’t want anyone sleeping in the penthouse tonight.’ He pauses. ‘And I’m… I shouldn’t be driving.’
‘Uh-huh…’
‘So either: we take cabs home and I’ll come back tomorrow morning and get my car or…’
I look at him. ‘Or…?’
‘Or we sleep in my car.’
I roll my eyes.
‘I don’t mind cabbing home,’ he says, ‘it’s just that it’d be a hassle for me to have to cab back here tomorrow morning just to get my car.’
I flick my hair over my shoulder. ‘Fine,’ I mutter.
‘Fine…what?’
‘Fine, we’ll sleep in your car. At least it’s…kind of clean.’
He laughs. ‘Come on then.’
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Eyelash Wishes - Chapters 14 - 17
14. E and N
I close my MacBook and sink back into my pillows, turning up the volume on MTV. I reach over to my nightstand and take another sip from my spiked orange juice. It’s been five days since the fight with Kristyna and I haven’t left the second floor of my house, mostly because I look terrible. I’ve just been lying around, a little less than sober, watching television and occasionally checking Facebook, although there are no updates because everyone I know is at school, where non-educational use of the internet is totally and completely banned. We can’t even access the wireless network with our phones.
It’s been cold outside lately so I’m reluctant to open the windows. As a result, my room smells like hash and sweat, with a hint of Viva La Juicy. I know it’s disgusting, but I’m so not in the mood to do anything about it.
Justin Timberlake and Ciara are dry-humping each other on the television when Nick appears at my door.
He’s dressed in full school uniform, with his bag still on his back.
‘Nick,’ I croak, slowly sitting up and muting the television. ‘What are you doing here?’
He frowns. ‘I could ask you the same thing.’
I raise an eyebrow at him. ‘Not really, considering this is my room.’
‘No, I mean, what are you doing not at school?’
I sigh. ‘I’ve decided to take a few days off school, because I have a gash on my face and a bald patch at the back of my head.’
He stares right at me. ‘Is that really why?’
‘Yes,’ I say impatiently. ‘Now what are you doing here?’
He takes his bag off and drops it on the ground, bending down to take some papers out of it. ‘Here,’ he says, holding them out to me. ‘Thought you might want to keep up with your schoolwork.’
‘Oh,’ I say softly, taking them from him and moving over in my bed. ‘Thanks. Sit down.’
He takes off his blazer and drops onto the other side of the double bed, putting his arm around me.
‘I see the “great” Edmund has come home,’ I remark in a mocking voice. ‘Your folks must be pretty happy.’
‘Yeah… Hey, how’d you know that?’
‘I see a lot from my window, Nicholas.’
He nods. ‘Fair enough.’
Edmund – Eddie – is Nick’s extreme leftist elder brother, who left home after he graduated to live off the welfare and devote his time to protesting for…various under-represented issues (think gay rights, student rights, supporting the Palestinians, convincing the Australian government to do something about the War on Terror, etc.). Basically, he’s part of one of those annoying groups that set up tables with petitions and jump out at you, all over the city. The last time Nick heard from him, Eddie had spent a large percentage of his trust going to Africa to help starving children. Dr Lonsdale went insane. It’s not that their parents disagree with anything Eddie does, because, to be frank, he does more than anyone else with a family like that would, but they just think he could do it from the comfort of his multi-million dollar custom-made home, rather than a tent in a war-torn country.
I saw him get out of a cab a few days ago, accessorised with one of those gigantic backpacks and a full-grown beard.
‘Yeah, uh, they are happy,’ Nick says.
‘What happened? Did he run out of money or something?’ I tease.
‘Nah… Actually, he’s getting married.’
‘What?!’ I exclaim.
‘Yeah, I know…’
‘I thought he was opposed to that.’
‘He…met this woman, in Somalia. She’s, like, a nurse or something.’
‘Wow,’ I say, blinking. ‘What do your parents think?’
‘They say he’s too young…’ he pauses, staring at the television. ‘And, er, he talked to me about it. Like, when they weren’t at home. He thinks he might be rushing into things with Gwen, but she’s turning thirty and she just really wants to get married.’
‘Are you okay?’ I ask, staring at him.
He shakes his head vigorously. ‘I’ve never been close with my brother – you know that. It feels weird for him to be talking to me about this stuff, and I don’t really think he should get married right now. And she’s thirty. Thirty is old.’
I laugh.
He turns to look at me. ‘I actually came here to ask you if you were coming on Saturday.’
‘To Sam’s birthday? Um… I don’t think so.’
‘Why not? I thought you said you were okay with…everything.’
‘Yeah, but… I just think him and Kristyna should have some space, away from me.’
Nick stares down at the floral-printed doona. ‘You know, you seemed really upset about everything that happened. You yelled at both of them, and you and Kristy got into that catfight –’
‘Ugh,’ I say, ducking under the covers. ‘Don’t remind me.’
‘Oh, come on, two girls in bikinis rolling around on the floor?’ He laughs. ‘It was actually really fucking hot.’
I roll my eyes. ‘Nick!’
He laughs again and hugs me tighter, through the sheets. ‘I just want to know why, after all that…you decided to let them be.’
I sigh and sit up. ‘Kristy said that she gave up Sam the first time because of me. If her and Sam really want… I couldn’t let her do that again.’
Nick releases me and leans back against the pillows. ‘I get what you’re saying.’
I bite my lip and fiddle with the corner of one of the homework sheets he just gave me.
He suddenly jumps off the bed, clearing his throat. ‘Right. Um, I have to go. We’re going out to dinner with Gwen tonight so I have to get ready. But, er, do me a few favours?’
‘Yeah, sure,’ I say lightly.
He walks over to the side of my room, opening the door to my balcony. ‘Let me air this room…get out of bed…stop behaving like a bum…’ He slips into his blazer and picks up his bag. ‘Come to school – Finn misses you, I miss you – and come to Sam’s!’ he finishes, pointing at me as he walks backwards out my bedroom door.
15. Sam’s Town
I take a deep breath and step into Sam’s house, the way I’ve done a million times before, although, of course, this time is different.
Loud music emanates from his back room and when I enter, it’s clear his party owns the whole back room, plus the porch and entire backyard.
‘Els!’ Finn calls out. He has a surprised expression on his face and a beer in his hand. ‘You came!’
He moves away from the two guys – whom I think are from his Art class – to hug me.
‘How are you?’ Finn asks.
‘Good,’ I mumble into his shirt.
‘Come, stand with us.’
‘Hey guys.’
They nod at me in greeting. ‘’Sup, Elsie?’
‘Do you know where Sam is?’ I ask tentatively.
‘He… He’s with Kristyna,’ Finn explains, not looking at me. ‘They’re outside, I think.’
I nod. ‘Um… I’m going to go give this to him.’ I hold up the present in my hand.
I walk over to the glass door leading outside. I can see Sam sitting on one of these benches in his backyard, his arm around Kristyna, the two of them sharing a blanket. Their faces are kind of glowing, and I’m guessing that there’s a bonfire, though people are in the way and I can’t see it from inside.
I bite my lip and turn around to go to Sam’s room. I place the present on a space on his floor, amongst all the other gifts there. Then I drop onto the armchair against the wall and pull out my flask and a couple of pills I’ve been saving for a special occasion, such as this one.
I hold them both in a loose fist, jiggling them about, listening to them rattle in my hand. I take a few sips of vodka, relishing the burning feeling in my chest as it goes down.
It’s actually cold in here, I tell myself, that’s why I’m drinking this. Not because of him. Not because of them.
Then I hear footsteps in the hall, close by, and I push both the pills into my mouth.
The door bursts open and Finn enters, dragging a girl with him.
I blink.
‘Hi Elsie,’ Finn says lightly. ‘You know Bron, right?’
I push the pills to one side of my mouth, mumbling, ‘I think so…’
‘Hi…’ she mutters. ‘Maybe we should go back to the party,’ she whispers to Finn.
‘No, it’s okay.’ I stand, trying to steady myself, and leave the room, my long necklace rattling against my stomach.
‘Come on, it’s alright,’ I hear Finn whisper to the girl as I close the door behind me.
I stagger through the backroom and grip a table for balance, grabbing a bottle of something and one of the plastic cups from the stack.
‘Elsie, hey!’ Nick says, appearing out of nowhere.
‘Oh, hey… Hey…’
‘Are you okay? You look really… What’d you take?’ he asks.
I shake my head slowly. ‘Those pills… The pills you got from Carter, like, months…months ago.’
‘Okay. Maybe you should slow down…’ He reaches for the bottle.
I snatch it away from him. ‘Uh, no. I’m fine.’ I lift the bottle to my lips.
16. Drugged and Disorderly
‘Is she okay?’
‘Christ… I told her…’
‘Just try to keep her awake, keep talking to her…’
‘What the fuck was she on?’
‘I don’t… Shit!’
My head hits something cold and hard. I feel something coming up out of my stomach and start coughing.
‘Lay her on her side!’
‘Look, I got it…’
‘She’s gonna chuck!’
‘On her side!’
‘Here… I’ve got her…’
I am lifted up and something warm and strong presses against my stomach.
‘Here, in the toilet, Elsie…’ Sam’s voice whispers in my ear.
I reach out and grip the plastic lid, coughing and retching the whole time he presses his arms against my stomach.
‘That’s it… Get it all out…’
I wipe my mouth and reach out instinctively for the flush.
‘You guys can go – I think we’ll be alright.’
‘Okay…’
‘If you’re sure…’
‘Not the birthday you imagined, eh, Sam?’
He laughs. ‘Not quite…’
I try to stand, breathing heavily. ‘Sam,’ I manage to croak. ‘… Sorry.’
‘Oh, nah… Sshh… Can you stand? It’s okay. I’ve got you.’ He pulls my arm over his shoulder and drags me out.
‘Here…’ his voice strains and he gently lifts me up. ‘Bed…’
As soon as I am wrapped up beneath the quilt on one side of the double bed, he runs out of the room, the door banging closed behind him.
I can hear him laughing with some people just outside.
I lay there, quietly staring at the various items on his nightstand – radio alarm clock, iPod, his ancient car key – so old, it looks like a giant house key – and a photo of me. I guess he must’ve forgotten it was there, or was too lazy to throw it out.
The photo was taken sometime last year, when we’d gone to the State Library to study, and were taking a two-hour lunch break. It was freezing that day, but you can hardly tell now, except for the fact that I’m wearing a coat and scarf. We’d been taking photos, and then he tried to take one of me eating. In the photo, I’m laughing and reaching out to him over a half-eaten burger.
-
‘Hey, how’re you doing?’
Sam, Nick and Finn are all standing in the doorway.
I sit up slowly. ‘Yeah… I’m okay…’
Nick jumps on the bed next to me and Finn hands me a glass of water.
‘Thanks…’ I say softly, taking it.
‘Look, Finn and I were going to leave now,’ Nick tells me, fiddling with the corner of the quilt. ‘Do you want to come?’
‘I…uh…’
‘You don’t have to,’ Sam puts in. ‘You can sleep here.’
‘I don’t want to wreck your night,’ I tell him.
Sam shakes his head. ‘It’s okay. Party’s kind of coming to an end anyway.’
‘Really? What time is it?’ I glance at the clock radio.
‘Two AM,’ Finn says, looking at his watch.
I blink. ‘How long was I out for?’
‘Oh, you weren’t out,’ Finn explains.
‘No…’ Nick agrees. ‘Just running around and yelling things and trying to get in my pants.’ He winks at me.
I push him.
‘I’m not joking!’
‘Okay, guys, weren’t you leaving just a minute ago?’ Sam asks, giving them a look.
Nick reluctantly starts to get up. ‘Sam, will you tell her –’
‘Come on, get out… I’ll see you guys on Monday.’
Finn hugs me tightly. ‘Bye, Els.’
Nick leans down and kisses my cheek. ‘Get better.’
‘Bye guys!’
Sam closes the door behind them and wonders over to the bed, jumping on it, Nick-style. He grins at me.
‘How drunk are you?’ I ask.
He shakes his head. ‘I’m not drunk. I’ve sobered up now.’
‘Oh god,’ I groan, grabbing my hair. ‘I missed your whole birthday party; I’m so sorry!’
He chuckles. ‘You didn’t really miss it. You were there, dancing and such with everyone else. Guess you just weren’t aware.’
I stare at him.
‘Don’t worry; it wasn’t as good as last year’s, anyway.’ He reaches down to take off his shoes. ‘How are you feeling?’ he asks, lying back on the headboard.
I shake my head. ‘Fine.’ I take another sip of water and then sink down on the bed, lying on his familiar pillows.
There’s a knock at the door and Sam goes to answer it. I hear some muffled girls’ voices saying goodbye and then the front door slams shut.
‘That’s it,’ Sam says, sitting back on his bed. ‘It’s over. I’m eighteen.’
I lift my arm out of the quilt. ‘Sam?’
He looks at me.
‘I’m sorry.’
He shrugs. ‘So I left my birthday party to help you throw up. I was happy to do it.’
‘No,’ I say. ‘I’m sorry about… About everything else. Kristyna and you…’
‘Oh no,’ he says, suddenly looking extremely worried. ‘No, no. I don’t… It doesn’t really bother me. Just don’t… Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. At all.’
I push my hair behind my ears. ‘I notice you still have that picture of me,’ I say, looking at the photo.
‘Hmm? Oh, yeah… I wanted you to be the last person I saw before I went to sleep,’ he mutters. ‘Jesus, it’s cold.’ He slips under the quilt next to me, his leg touching mine. ‘Oh, don’t move over,’ he says.
I shift back, closer to the middle.
‘Hey, uh, remember the first time I kissed you?’ he asks.
‘Yes,’ I scoff. ‘You used the “you have an eyelash” line.’
He looks at me. ‘Well, it worked, didn’t it?’
‘Unfortunately, yes.’
He smiles at me and I have to look away.
‘Hey, did you mean what you just said?’ I ask. ‘About being happy to help me out tonight?’
‘Yeah,’ he says, still laughing. ‘I have to admit, my party was fun…but… Really there was no place I’d rather have been.’
I laugh. ‘You say the corniest things when you’re drunk.’
‘I told you, I’m not drunk.’
17. Invitation
‘Here you go, guys,’ Finn says, handing us each a small envelope as we’re leaving English class. ‘Invitations to the annual Finnegan Wakefield III birthday party.’
‘Ooh, yay!’ I say, taking mine.
‘This year I didn’t have to try to convince my dad to let them serve us alcohol.’
We all laugh.
‘So long, folks; I’ve got Bio,’ Nick calls out, waving to us.
‘Bye Nick!’
‘Hey, did you give Kristyna one?’ Sam asks.
Finn holds up an envelope with her name on it. ‘I’ll see her in History.’ He glances at me awkwardly.
People still haven’t stopped pitying me about the whole best-friend-ex-boyfriend situation, which I suppose, is nice, but it’s getting kind of annoying. I mean, I can look after myself, although recent events seem to have disproven that fact.
‘Yeah… This is me,’ Finn says, standing in front of a classroom.
‘’Kay… We’ll see you later!’
I turn back around and realise that I’m walking alone with Sam.
‘You know, I’ll be driving to Finn’s.’
‘Why?’ I ask. ‘You’re not drinking?’
‘I am,’ he answers. ‘I’m just staying in the penthouse with him overnight.’
‘Oh okay.’
‘Um… Do you need a lift there? You can stay the night with us if you want. I think Nick probably will too.’
‘What about Kristyna?’
‘Oh yeah, if she wants to stay too, she can.’
I raise an eyebrow at him. ‘No. I mean…’
‘Oh…right…’ He scratches his head. ‘I was going to wait for a better moment to tell you this, but… I’m not going out with Kristyna.’
‘What?’
‘Kristyna and I,’ he says, slower this time, ‘are not dating.’
‘What?’
‘Look, I don’t… It turns out I don’t like her as much as she likes me. And I don’t want to end up hurting her because I’m never going to feel that way about her.’
‘Wait… What?’ I ask.
‘Look, I have to go to Legal now… But, er… We’ll go together?’ he asks.
I nod. ‘Guess so.’
‘And you’re not just using me because of my car?’
I scoff. ‘You can hardly call it a car.’
I close my MacBook and sink back into my pillows, turning up the volume on MTV. I reach over to my nightstand and take another sip from my spiked orange juice. It’s been five days since the fight with Kristyna and I haven’t left the second floor of my house, mostly because I look terrible. I’ve just been lying around, a little less than sober, watching television and occasionally checking Facebook, although there are no updates because everyone I know is at school, where non-educational use of the internet is totally and completely banned. We can’t even access the wireless network with our phones.
It’s been cold outside lately so I’m reluctant to open the windows. As a result, my room smells like hash and sweat, with a hint of Viva La Juicy. I know it’s disgusting, but I’m so not in the mood to do anything about it.
Justin Timberlake and Ciara are dry-humping each other on the television when Nick appears at my door.
He’s dressed in full school uniform, with his bag still on his back.
‘Nick,’ I croak, slowly sitting up and muting the television. ‘What are you doing here?’
He frowns. ‘I could ask you the same thing.’
I raise an eyebrow at him. ‘Not really, considering this is my room.’
‘No, I mean, what are you doing not at school?’
I sigh. ‘I’ve decided to take a few days off school, because I have a gash on my face and a bald patch at the back of my head.’
He stares right at me. ‘Is that really why?’
‘Yes,’ I say impatiently. ‘Now what are you doing here?’
He takes his bag off and drops it on the ground, bending down to take some papers out of it. ‘Here,’ he says, holding them out to me. ‘Thought you might want to keep up with your schoolwork.’
‘Oh,’ I say softly, taking them from him and moving over in my bed. ‘Thanks. Sit down.’
He takes off his blazer and drops onto the other side of the double bed, putting his arm around me.
‘I see the “great” Edmund has come home,’ I remark in a mocking voice. ‘Your folks must be pretty happy.’
‘Yeah… Hey, how’d you know that?’
‘I see a lot from my window, Nicholas.’
He nods. ‘Fair enough.’
Edmund – Eddie – is Nick’s extreme leftist elder brother, who left home after he graduated to live off the welfare and devote his time to protesting for…various under-represented issues (think gay rights, student rights, supporting the Palestinians, convincing the Australian government to do something about the War on Terror, etc.). Basically, he’s part of one of those annoying groups that set up tables with petitions and jump out at you, all over the city. The last time Nick heard from him, Eddie had spent a large percentage of his trust going to Africa to help starving children. Dr Lonsdale went insane. It’s not that their parents disagree with anything Eddie does, because, to be frank, he does more than anyone else with a family like that would, but they just think he could do it from the comfort of his multi-million dollar custom-made home, rather than a tent in a war-torn country.
I saw him get out of a cab a few days ago, accessorised with one of those gigantic backpacks and a full-grown beard.
‘Yeah, uh, they are happy,’ Nick says.
‘What happened? Did he run out of money or something?’ I tease.
‘Nah… Actually, he’s getting married.’
‘What?!’ I exclaim.
‘Yeah, I know…’
‘I thought he was opposed to that.’
‘He…met this woman, in Somalia. She’s, like, a nurse or something.’
‘Wow,’ I say, blinking. ‘What do your parents think?’
‘They say he’s too young…’ he pauses, staring at the television. ‘And, er, he talked to me about it. Like, when they weren’t at home. He thinks he might be rushing into things with Gwen, but she’s turning thirty and she just really wants to get married.’
‘Are you okay?’ I ask, staring at him.
He shakes his head vigorously. ‘I’ve never been close with my brother – you know that. It feels weird for him to be talking to me about this stuff, and I don’t really think he should get married right now. And she’s thirty. Thirty is old.’
I laugh.
He turns to look at me. ‘I actually came here to ask you if you were coming on Saturday.’
‘To Sam’s birthday? Um… I don’t think so.’
‘Why not? I thought you said you were okay with…everything.’
‘Yeah, but… I just think him and Kristyna should have some space, away from me.’
Nick stares down at the floral-printed doona. ‘You know, you seemed really upset about everything that happened. You yelled at both of them, and you and Kristy got into that catfight –’
‘Ugh,’ I say, ducking under the covers. ‘Don’t remind me.’
‘Oh, come on, two girls in bikinis rolling around on the floor?’ He laughs. ‘It was actually really fucking hot.’
I roll my eyes. ‘Nick!’
He laughs again and hugs me tighter, through the sheets. ‘I just want to know why, after all that…you decided to let them be.’
I sigh and sit up. ‘Kristy said that she gave up Sam the first time because of me. If her and Sam really want… I couldn’t let her do that again.’
Nick releases me and leans back against the pillows. ‘I get what you’re saying.’
I bite my lip and fiddle with the corner of one of the homework sheets he just gave me.
He suddenly jumps off the bed, clearing his throat. ‘Right. Um, I have to go. We’re going out to dinner with Gwen tonight so I have to get ready. But, er, do me a few favours?’
‘Yeah, sure,’ I say lightly.
He walks over to the side of my room, opening the door to my balcony. ‘Let me air this room…get out of bed…stop behaving like a bum…’ He slips into his blazer and picks up his bag. ‘Come to school – Finn misses you, I miss you – and come to Sam’s!’ he finishes, pointing at me as he walks backwards out my bedroom door.
15. Sam’s Town
I take a deep breath and step into Sam’s house, the way I’ve done a million times before, although, of course, this time is different.
Loud music emanates from his back room and when I enter, it’s clear his party owns the whole back room, plus the porch and entire backyard.
‘Els!’ Finn calls out. He has a surprised expression on his face and a beer in his hand. ‘You came!’
He moves away from the two guys – whom I think are from his Art class – to hug me.
‘How are you?’ Finn asks.
‘Good,’ I mumble into his shirt.
‘Come, stand with us.’
‘Hey guys.’
They nod at me in greeting. ‘’Sup, Elsie?’
‘Do you know where Sam is?’ I ask tentatively.
‘He… He’s with Kristyna,’ Finn explains, not looking at me. ‘They’re outside, I think.’
I nod. ‘Um… I’m going to go give this to him.’ I hold up the present in my hand.
I walk over to the glass door leading outside. I can see Sam sitting on one of these benches in his backyard, his arm around Kristyna, the two of them sharing a blanket. Their faces are kind of glowing, and I’m guessing that there’s a bonfire, though people are in the way and I can’t see it from inside.
I bite my lip and turn around to go to Sam’s room. I place the present on a space on his floor, amongst all the other gifts there. Then I drop onto the armchair against the wall and pull out my flask and a couple of pills I’ve been saving for a special occasion, such as this one.
I hold them both in a loose fist, jiggling them about, listening to them rattle in my hand. I take a few sips of vodka, relishing the burning feeling in my chest as it goes down.
It’s actually cold in here, I tell myself, that’s why I’m drinking this. Not because of him. Not because of them.
Then I hear footsteps in the hall, close by, and I push both the pills into my mouth.
The door bursts open and Finn enters, dragging a girl with him.
I blink.
‘Hi Elsie,’ Finn says lightly. ‘You know Bron, right?’
I push the pills to one side of my mouth, mumbling, ‘I think so…’
‘Hi…’ she mutters. ‘Maybe we should go back to the party,’ she whispers to Finn.
‘No, it’s okay.’ I stand, trying to steady myself, and leave the room, my long necklace rattling against my stomach.
‘Come on, it’s alright,’ I hear Finn whisper to the girl as I close the door behind me.
I stagger through the backroom and grip a table for balance, grabbing a bottle of something and one of the plastic cups from the stack.
‘Elsie, hey!’ Nick says, appearing out of nowhere.
‘Oh, hey… Hey…’
‘Are you okay? You look really… What’d you take?’ he asks.
I shake my head slowly. ‘Those pills… The pills you got from Carter, like, months…months ago.’
‘Okay. Maybe you should slow down…’ He reaches for the bottle.
I snatch it away from him. ‘Uh, no. I’m fine.’ I lift the bottle to my lips.
16. Drugged and Disorderly
‘Is she okay?’
‘Christ… I told her…’
‘Just try to keep her awake, keep talking to her…’
‘What the fuck was she on?’
‘I don’t… Shit!’
My head hits something cold and hard. I feel something coming up out of my stomach and start coughing.
‘Lay her on her side!’
‘Look, I got it…’
‘She’s gonna chuck!’
‘On her side!’
‘Here… I’ve got her…’
I am lifted up and something warm and strong presses against my stomach.
‘Here, in the toilet, Elsie…’ Sam’s voice whispers in my ear.
I reach out and grip the plastic lid, coughing and retching the whole time he presses his arms against my stomach.
‘That’s it… Get it all out…’
I wipe my mouth and reach out instinctively for the flush.
‘You guys can go – I think we’ll be alright.’
‘Okay…’
‘If you’re sure…’
‘Not the birthday you imagined, eh, Sam?’
He laughs. ‘Not quite…’
I try to stand, breathing heavily. ‘Sam,’ I manage to croak. ‘… Sorry.’
‘Oh, nah… Sshh… Can you stand? It’s okay. I’ve got you.’ He pulls my arm over his shoulder and drags me out.
‘Here…’ his voice strains and he gently lifts me up. ‘Bed…’
As soon as I am wrapped up beneath the quilt on one side of the double bed, he runs out of the room, the door banging closed behind him.
I can hear him laughing with some people just outside.
I lay there, quietly staring at the various items on his nightstand – radio alarm clock, iPod, his ancient car key – so old, it looks like a giant house key – and a photo of me. I guess he must’ve forgotten it was there, or was too lazy to throw it out.
The photo was taken sometime last year, when we’d gone to the State Library to study, and were taking a two-hour lunch break. It was freezing that day, but you can hardly tell now, except for the fact that I’m wearing a coat and scarf. We’d been taking photos, and then he tried to take one of me eating. In the photo, I’m laughing and reaching out to him over a half-eaten burger.
-
‘Hey, how’re you doing?’
Sam, Nick and Finn are all standing in the doorway.
I sit up slowly. ‘Yeah… I’m okay…’
Nick jumps on the bed next to me and Finn hands me a glass of water.
‘Thanks…’ I say softly, taking it.
‘Look, Finn and I were going to leave now,’ Nick tells me, fiddling with the corner of the quilt. ‘Do you want to come?’
‘I…uh…’
‘You don’t have to,’ Sam puts in. ‘You can sleep here.’
‘I don’t want to wreck your night,’ I tell him.
Sam shakes his head. ‘It’s okay. Party’s kind of coming to an end anyway.’
‘Really? What time is it?’ I glance at the clock radio.
‘Two AM,’ Finn says, looking at his watch.
I blink. ‘How long was I out for?’
‘Oh, you weren’t out,’ Finn explains.
‘No…’ Nick agrees. ‘Just running around and yelling things and trying to get in my pants.’ He winks at me.
I push him.
‘I’m not joking!’
‘Okay, guys, weren’t you leaving just a minute ago?’ Sam asks, giving them a look.
Nick reluctantly starts to get up. ‘Sam, will you tell her –’
‘Come on, get out… I’ll see you guys on Monday.’
Finn hugs me tightly. ‘Bye, Els.’
Nick leans down and kisses my cheek. ‘Get better.’
‘Bye guys!’
Sam closes the door behind them and wonders over to the bed, jumping on it, Nick-style. He grins at me.
‘How drunk are you?’ I ask.
He shakes his head. ‘I’m not drunk. I’ve sobered up now.’
‘Oh god,’ I groan, grabbing my hair. ‘I missed your whole birthday party; I’m so sorry!’
He chuckles. ‘You didn’t really miss it. You were there, dancing and such with everyone else. Guess you just weren’t aware.’
I stare at him.
‘Don’t worry; it wasn’t as good as last year’s, anyway.’ He reaches down to take off his shoes. ‘How are you feeling?’ he asks, lying back on the headboard.
I shake my head. ‘Fine.’ I take another sip of water and then sink down on the bed, lying on his familiar pillows.
There’s a knock at the door and Sam goes to answer it. I hear some muffled girls’ voices saying goodbye and then the front door slams shut.
‘That’s it,’ Sam says, sitting back on his bed. ‘It’s over. I’m eighteen.’
I lift my arm out of the quilt. ‘Sam?’
He looks at me.
‘I’m sorry.’
He shrugs. ‘So I left my birthday party to help you throw up. I was happy to do it.’
‘No,’ I say. ‘I’m sorry about… About everything else. Kristyna and you…’
‘Oh no,’ he says, suddenly looking extremely worried. ‘No, no. I don’t… It doesn’t really bother me. Just don’t… Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. At all.’
I push my hair behind my ears. ‘I notice you still have that picture of me,’ I say, looking at the photo.
‘Hmm? Oh, yeah… I wanted you to be the last person I saw before I went to sleep,’ he mutters. ‘Jesus, it’s cold.’ He slips under the quilt next to me, his leg touching mine. ‘Oh, don’t move over,’ he says.
I shift back, closer to the middle.
‘Hey, uh, remember the first time I kissed you?’ he asks.
‘Yes,’ I scoff. ‘You used the “you have an eyelash” line.’
He looks at me. ‘Well, it worked, didn’t it?’
‘Unfortunately, yes.’
He smiles at me and I have to look away.
‘Hey, did you mean what you just said?’ I ask. ‘About being happy to help me out tonight?’
‘Yeah,’ he says, still laughing. ‘I have to admit, my party was fun…but… Really there was no place I’d rather have been.’
I laugh. ‘You say the corniest things when you’re drunk.’
‘I told you, I’m not drunk.’
17. Invitation
‘Here you go, guys,’ Finn says, handing us each a small envelope as we’re leaving English class. ‘Invitations to the annual Finnegan Wakefield III birthday party.’
‘Ooh, yay!’ I say, taking mine.
‘This year I didn’t have to try to convince my dad to let them serve us alcohol.’
We all laugh.
‘So long, folks; I’ve got Bio,’ Nick calls out, waving to us.
‘Bye Nick!’
‘Hey, did you give Kristyna one?’ Sam asks.
Finn holds up an envelope with her name on it. ‘I’ll see her in History.’ He glances at me awkwardly.
People still haven’t stopped pitying me about the whole best-friend-ex-boyfriend situation, which I suppose, is nice, but it’s getting kind of annoying. I mean, I can look after myself, although recent events seem to have disproven that fact.
‘Yeah… This is me,’ Finn says, standing in front of a classroom.
‘’Kay… We’ll see you later!’
I turn back around and realise that I’m walking alone with Sam.
‘You know, I’ll be driving to Finn’s.’
‘Why?’ I ask. ‘You’re not drinking?’
‘I am,’ he answers. ‘I’m just staying in the penthouse with him overnight.’
‘Oh okay.’
‘Um… Do you need a lift there? You can stay the night with us if you want. I think Nick probably will too.’
‘What about Kristyna?’
‘Oh yeah, if she wants to stay too, she can.’
I raise an eyebrow at him. ‘No. I mean…’
‘Oh…right…’ He scratches his head. ‘I was going to wait for a better moment to tell you this, but… I’m not going out with Kristyna.’
‘What?’
‘Kristyna and I,’ he says, slower this time, ‘are not dating.’
‘What?’
‘Look, I don’t… It turns out I don’t like her as much as she likes me. And I don’t want to end up hurting her because I’m never going to feel that way about her.’
‘Wait… What?’ I ask.
‘Look, I have to go to Legal now… But, er… We’ll go together?’ he asks.
I nod. ‘Guess so.’
‘And you’re not just using me because of my car?’
I scoff. ‘You can hardly call it a car.’
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Eyelash Wishes - Chapter 13
13. Dr Nick and Judge Finn
When I wake up, my face in buried in a pile of duck-down pillows. I turn over to find I’m in an almost completely dark room, but for the slivers of light coming from behind some curtains. The back of my scalp stings and my right arm feels severely bruised. There are muffled voices coming from somewhere beyond the room, and I would like to know what’s going on but I don’t know if I can be bothered getting up.
After what can only be described as the Bikini Fight last night, Finn brought me up to his suite so I could sleep and sober up. But after he went back down to the party all I did was lie awake and contemplate sending ten pepperoni pizzas with extra olives to Kristyna’s house – they’re her greatest weakness – but it probably wouldn’t have done anything anyway, she’s barely ever gained any weight from overeating. Then I fell asleep, still wearing my bikini and heels.
The door opens, making me flinch.
‘Shit!’ I yell.
‘Hey, you’re up,’ Nick’s voice says.
‘Sort of,’ I mutter.
He comes around to my side of the bed and helps me up. ‘How’re you feeling?’
‘Fine.’ I undo the straps of my shoes.
‘Oh, I got you this,’ he says, holding out a Wakefield bathrobe, of course.
‘Thanks,’ I say, pulling it on.
‘Why don’t you come out? We’re just about to order room service.’
We walk out of the room into the blinding light to see Finn and Kristyna sitting on a couch.
‘What the hell is she doing here?’ I yell.
She rolls her eyes. ‘Oh my god, I’m around, get used to it,’ she says.
‘Okay, listen, guys,’ Finn says loudly. ‘I know you two hate each other right now, but I just need you to come here, sit down and order some breakfast with me. Eggs?’
‘No.’ I fold my arms.
‘Come on, Els,’ Nick says. ‘We just want you guys to try and sort this thing out.’
I frown at him. ‘Since when did you two become Dr Phil and Judge Judy? And where’s Sam?’
‘Sam doesn’t know what’s going on,’ Finn answers. ‘We thought it would be better if we got things sorted out between the two of you first.’
‘But I don’t want to.’
‘But you’ll just have to,’ Nick says. ‘Look, Elsie, I know you’re angry and hurt and all that –’
‘Oh I’m not hurt,’ I say. ‘The only thing that’s hurting is my scalp where she ripped my hair out!’
‘Try using a better shampoo. Home brand is really just liquid soap.’
‘Excuse me, I use a Frederic Fekkai shampoo –’
‘Which apparently doesn’t work very well –’
‘– And what do you think gives you the right to tell me what to do with my life, which, by the way, you’ve already completely screwed up!’
Kristyna stands up. ‘Oh, I’ve screwed your life up?’
‘Ladies!’ Nick says, moving between us. ‘Please. No repeats of last night.’
Kristyna starts to sit down.
‘That’s right, whore,’ I mutter.
‘What did you just call me?’ she yells.
‘I said,’ Nick booms, ‘no repeats of last night.’
I glare at Kristyna as I go to sit down.
‘Okay,’ Nick says, his voice a lot softer now. ‘Now, I know you guys are feeling whatever it is you’re feeling towards each other now…’
‘Hey, she –’
‘But,’ he presses on, despite my interruption, ‘I also know you’re both probably pretty hungry.’
‘I’m not,’ Kristyna protests, folding her arms.
‘Oh sure you are, Kris,’ I say. ‘You must be, after starving yourself to be that thin.’
She laughs. ‘Poor Elsie. You think anyone that’s thinner than you must be starving themselves. Hate to break it to you, but I don’t actually have to try to be this thin – it’s my natural figure.’
I look at her sympathetically. ‘Oh, I’m sorry –’
‘That’s okay, I –’
‘– It must be awful for you to put up with people asking you if you’re sick all the time.’
Her eyes widen. ‘Well it must be awful for you to put up with people asking when you start filming for your Jenny Craig ad. You know, with a before and after shot?’
‘Looks like we’re going to be here a while…’ Finn mutters.
‘Yup. Even though we’ve all got better things to do…’ Nick adds.
‘Well then let’s just all go home,’ I say quickly.
‘Shut up, Elsie,’ Kristyna says.
‘You shut up!’
She picks up the menu before her. ‘The waffles sound good.’
I glare at her.
-
‘Okay, let’s begin. Finn and I will mediate,’ Nick says once we’ve ordered.
Finn and Kristyna are sitting on one long couch. She’s sitting fully upright, in jeans and a perfect singlet, looking clean and not at all tired. Nick and I are on the couch opposite them, on the other side of the table. I’m still wearing the bathrobe over my bathers, slouching on the velvet and staring at the chipped polished on my toes.
Finn clears his throat. ‘I get the sense that if we ask who wants to go first, you’re both just going to start yelling, so… Kristyna, why don’t you go first?’
I scoff.
Finn gives me a look so I bite my lip.
‘Okay…’ Kristyna says. ‘Right…’
‘Hmm… Finally given a chance to talk and she doesn’t know what to say,’ I quip.
‘Sshh,’ Nick hisses.
Kristyna looks right at me. ‘First of all I just want to say that I tried to explain this to her, I did. Sam and I honestly did not mean to hook up that night.’ She takes a breath. ‘Sam and I do have feelings for each other. He did ask me out during the summer, but I didn’t really like him then, and besides, you guys had just broken up, and I didn’t want to do that to you then. So I turned him down. But we’ve been spending a lot of time together during the summer – because our parents are friends. Now I’ve developed feelings for him and…and I thought you would have been over it by now… I would really like to go out with him.’
I narrow my eyes at her. ‘Why are your answers always so diplomatic? It’s not an actual mediation session.’
‘Elsie, I am trying to be mature about this. Why can’t you just –’
‘Hey hey,’ Nick says, putting his hands out. ‘None of this…bickering stuff.’
I jiggle my bare foot. ‘Fine.’
The air is really thick in the hotel room, and for a while, all you can hear is the buzzing of the AC, and the faint sounds of traffic on the streets outside.
‘Elsie, your turn,’ Finn says.
I sigh and sit up, staring straight at her perfect, blemish-free face. ‘Do you really like Sam that much?’
‘I like him a lot, yeah.’
‘More than you care about me?’
‘Elsie, that’s not fair, I –’
‘It’s just that,’ I interrupt her, ‘you like him so much that you made out with him, even though you knew I wouldn’t be okay with it. And you’ve been my best friend for five years or something.’
She relaxes her seating pose.
‘Either you really, really like him, or…or…you don’t see me as a “best friend” any more.’
There’s a knock at the door.
‘Room service!’
When I wake up, my face in buried in a pile of duck-down pillows. I turn over to find I’m in an almost completely dark room, but for the slivers of light coming from behind some curtains. The back of my scalp stings and my right arm feels severely bruised. There are muffled voices coming from somewhere beyond the room, and I would like to know what’s going on but I don’t know if I can be bothered getting up.
After what can only be described as the Bikini Fight last night, Finn brought me up to his suite so I could sleep and sober up. But after he went back down to the party all I did was lie awake and contemplate sending ten pepperoni pizzas with extra olives to Kristyna’s house – they’re her greatest weakness – but it probably wouldn’t have done anything anyway, she’s barely ever gained any weight from overeating. Then I fell asleep, still wearing my bikini and heels.
The door opens, making me flinch.
‘Shit!’ I yell.
‘Hey, you’re up,’ Nick’s voice says.
‘Sort of,’ I mutter.
He comes around to my side of the bed and helps me up. ‘How’re you feeling?’
‘Fine.’ I undo the straps of my shoes.
‘Oh, I got you this,’ he says, holding out a Wakefield bathrobe, of course.
‘Thanks,’ I say, pulling it on.
‘Why don’t you come out? We’re just about to order room service.’
We walk out of the room into the blinding light to see Finn and Kristyna sitting on a couch.
‘What the hell is she doing here?’ I yell.
She rolls her eyes. ‘Oh my god, I’m around, get used to it,’ she says.
‘Okay, listen, guys,’ Finn says loudly. ‘I know you two hate each other right now, but I just need you to come here, sit down and order some breakfast with me. Eggs?’
‘No.’ I fold my arms.
‘Come on, Els,’ Nick says. ‘We just want you guys to try and sort this thing out.’
I frown at him. ‘Since when did you two become Dr Phil and Judge Judy? And where’s Sam?’
‘Sam doesn’t know what’s going on,’ Finn answers. ‘We thought it would be better if we got things sorted out between the two of you first.’
‘But I don’t want to.’
‘But you’ll just have to,’ Nick says. ‘Look, Elsie, I know you’re angry and hurt and all that –’
‘Oh I’m not hurt,’ I say. ‘The only thing that’s hurting is my scalp where she ripped my hair out!’
‘Try using a better shampoo. Home brand is really just liquid soap.’
‘Excuse me, I use a Frederic Fekkai shampoo –’
‘Which apparently doesn’t work very well –’
‘– And what do you think gives you the right to tell me what to do with my life, which, by the way, you’ve already completely screwed up!’
Kristyna stands up. ‘Oh, I’ve screwed your life up?’
‘Ladies!’ Nick says, moving between us. ‘Please. No repeats of last night.’
Kristyna starts to sit down.
‘That’s right, whore,’ I mutter.
‘What did you just call me?’ she yells.
‘I said,’ Nick booms, ‘no repeats of last night.’
I glare at Kristyna as I go to sit down.
‘Okay,’ Nick says, his voice a lot softer now. ‘Now, I know you guys are feeling whatever it is you’re feeling towards each other now…’
‘Hey, she –’
‘But,’ he presses on, despite my interruption, ‘I also know you’re both probably pretty hungry.’
‘I’m not,’ Kristyna protests, folding her arms.
‘Oh sure you are, Kris,’ I say. ‘You must be, after starving yourself to be that thin.’
She laughs. ‘Poor Elsie. You think anyone that’s thinner than you must be starving themselves. Hate to break it to you, but I don’t actually have to try to be this thin – it’s my natural figure.’
I look at her sympathetically. ‘Oh, I’m sorry –’
‘That’s okay, I –’
‘– It must be awful for you to put up with people asking you if you’re sick all the time.’
Her eyes widen. ‘Well it must be awful for you to put up with people asking when you start filming for your Jenny Craig ad. You know, with a before and after shot?’
‘Looks like we’re going to be here a while…’ Finn mutters.
‘Yup. Even though we’ve all got better things to do…’ Nick adds.
‘Well then let’s just all go home,’ I say quickly.
‘Shut up, Elsie,’ Kristyna says.
‘You shut up!’
She picks up the menu before her. ‘The waffles sound good.’
I glare at her.
-
‘Okay, let’s begin. Finn and I will mediate,’ Nick says once we’ve ordered.
Finn and Kristyna are sitting on one long couch. She’s sitting fully upright, in jeans and a perfect singlet, looking clean and not at all tired. Nick and I are on the couch opposite them, on the other side of the table. I’m still wearing the bathrobe over my bathers, slouching on the velvet and staring at the chipped polished on my toes.
Finn clears his throat. ‘I get the sense that if we ask who wants to go first, you’re both just going to start yelling, so… Kristyna, why don’t you go first?’
I scoff.
Finn gives me a look so I bite my lip.
‘Okay…’ Kristyna says. ‘Right…’
‘Hmm… Finally given a chance to talk and she doesn’t know what to say,’ I quip.
‘Sshh,’ Nick hisses.
Kristyna looks right at me. ‘First of all I just want to say that I tried to explain this to her, I did. Sam and I honestly did not mean to hook up that night.’ She takes a breath. ‘Sam and I do have feelings for each other. He did ask me out during the summer, but I didn’t really like him then, and besides, you guys had just broken up, and I didn’t want to do that to you then. So I turned him down. But we’ve been spending a lot of time together during the summer – because our parents are friends. Now I’ve developed feelings for him and…and I thought you would have been over it by now… I would really like to go out with him.’
I narrow my eyes at her. ‘Why are your answers always so diplomatic? It’s not an actual mediation session.’
‘Elsie, I am trying to be mature about this. Why can’t you just –’
‘Hey hey,’ Nick says, putting his hands out. ‘None of this…bickering stuff.’
I jiggle my bare foot. ‘Fine.’
The air is really thick in the hotel room, and for a while, all you can hear is the buzzing of the AC, and the faint sounds of traffic on the streets outside.
‘Elsie, your turn,’ Finn says.
I sigh and sit up, staring straight at her perfect, blemish-free face. ‘Do you really like Sam that much?’
‘I like him a lot, yeah.’
‘More than you care about me?’
‘Elsie, that’s not fair, I –’
‘It’s just that,’ I interrupt her, ‘you like him so much that you made out with him, even though you knew I wouldn’t be okay with it. And you’ve been my best friend for five years or something.’
She relaxes her seating pose.
‘Either you really, really like him, or…or…you don’t see me as a “best friend” any more.’
There’s a knock at the door.
‘Room service!’
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Eyelash Wishes - Chapters 10 - 12
10. Kitchen Nightmares
I swipe my employee card into the Wakefield punch machine in the kitchen.
Finn got a bunch of us jobs here for Work Experience in Year 10, and he, Kristyna and I stayed on after that. I guess mostly it just proves to my parents that I’m capable of doing something other than partying, but it’d also look good on a résumé, and it can be kind of fun.
When you don’t totally hate the people you’re working with.
‘… I’m thinking I should just get out of here before she stabs me with a meat cleaver,’ Kristyna is saying to Finn as she ties up her apron.
‘Yeah, you should do that,’ I’m saying.
She whips around, her sparkly blonde hair dancing around her face. ‘Oh… Elsie… I…’
‘Didn’t see me here? Didn’t see me ever? Even when you decided to make out with my ex-boyfriend, who you said you didn’t even like?’
Finn walks away slowly, to talk to the pastry chefs. Subtle.
‘Elsie, if you don’t want me to go out with Sam, then I won’t, but –’
‘It’s not a matter of what I want now. What you’ve done, you’ve done.’
She stares at me, her bright blue eyes wide and all fucking innocent.
‘What bothers me is that you… You’re supposed to be my best friend. I mean, I can imagine Sam not thinking things through, but you…’ I’m picturing them again – the hazy outline of the bathroom, the faint singing and yelling coming from outside, and Kris…and Sam. ‘How could you not think of me?’ I ask, water welling up in my eyes.
‘Elsie, you know what it’s like when you’re in the moment,’ she pleads. ‘You just…don’t think!’
‘So you’re saying you and Sam were “in the moment” together?’
‘No, I… That is not what I meant. You’re not even giving me a chance here.’
‘I just don’t understand.’ I sniff. ‘I should have been there, present in your mind while you were doing that. No matter how drunk I could ever have been, I would never, ever do something like this to you.’ I wipe my eyes.
‘Elsie, I think you’re being a bit selfish here. Sam and I –’
‘Girls!’ the head chef calls over to us. ‘Enough chit-chat! Lunch rush is about to start!’
Kristyna starts again. ‘Sam and I –’
‘Did you just call me selfish?’
‘Um, yeah,’ she says, like it was obvious. ‘That’s how you’re acting.’
I feel like ripping her perfect blonde hair out of her fucking dandruff-free scalp. ‘You –’
‘Okay, seriously, Kristyna and Elsie! Come on, get to work!’
I pull on my apron. ‘You’d better watch yourself.’
‘Or…?’ she says, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow.
‘Or you might just have a meat cleaver in your back today.’
11. How To Hurt A Guy In Ten Fingernails
‘I’m so fucking bored,’ Nick mutters, loosening his tie and lying back on the chair.
It’s 35 degrees outside today, which is weird, considering it’s the end of May. Okay, it’s not really that weird, considering we live in Melbourne.
The boys all have their shirt sleeves rolled up and everyone’s blazers are stored away in our lockers. The fans are on and the windows are all open, but that’s not doing much except making our papers fly off the desks.
Mr Peterson has given us a worksheet to do, but he’s gone out of the room, like he does every single Business lesson, so we do whatever we want to.
Finn is lying with his head on the desk – we’re wondering if he’s died of heatstroke – and I am playing with an old emery board.
I sigh, looking at Nick’s sweat-spotted brow. ‘Nick, I’m in Business class, filing my nails. Do I look like I’m having the time of my life?’ I ask, waving my emery board at him.
‘I mean, I’m bored in general. We haven’t been out for ages.’ He stares at me for a second.
‘Where did you get that thing, anyway?’
‘I don’t know,’ I answer. ‘It was in my pencil case. Probably Kristyna’s.’
He’s still staring at me.
‘What?’
‘How are…you and Kristyna and Sam and the whole…thing…?’ he trails off.
I shake my head. ‘I…don’t really want to talk about it.’
After I threatened to drive a meat cleaver into her back last weekend, Kristyna chopped shallots and whipped butter better and faster than I did, and she didn’t say anything more to me, because she’s just so mature about emotional issues. Thus, I don’t really feel like thinking about her any more.
‘You know what, girlie girl?’ Nick says, in a surprising, fake-camp voice.
I blink.
‘You should, like, totally do my nails, y’know, while you’re at it!’
‘Okay,’ I say slowly, reaching for his hand.
‘Oh, Finnegan!’ Nick warbles as I start filing his nails.
Finn lifts his head.
‘I think we need to have a party!’
‘What do you propose?’ Finn asks, sitting up.
‘I’m thinking something loud and fun, with lots of girls.’
‘And a pool,’ I add.
‘The weather’s not going to be like this forever,’ Finn points out.
‘That’s why we’re having the party tonight.’ I turn around and wink at him.
‘Ah,’ Finn says slowly, stroking the tiny goatee that he finds irritating but grows just to spite his father.
‘See, you can tell he’s onto something when he – ow! What the fuck are you doing?’
‘Pushing down your cuticles,’ I answer.
A couple of lame-ass girls in the back – long skirts, glasses, bad hair, no make-up – look at Nick and start giggling. I shoot them a look and they immediately stop.
‘Can you book one of the pools at the Wakefield?’ I ask Finn, putting down the emery board.
‘Hmm… I reckon we could get the Ground floor. There’s a bar there, too. But it won’t hold that many people.’ He pulls out his iPhone.
Nick shakes his head. ‘Nah, it’s all good. Just us three, Sam and Kris –’
I groan.
‘You going to be okay?’ Finn asks, looking up from the touch screen.
Nick looks at me too, worriedly.
It’s one of those silences, and while I enjoy the attention, I’m not sure it’s a good idea to start crying in the middle of class so I just nod.
‘Don’t worry,’ I say. ‘They didn’t betray you.’
‘– and whoever else we can gather at short notice,’ Nick continues, ‘so, yeah, not many people.’
Finn checks his phone again. ‘Dad says it’s fine for us to take over the Ground pool, spa, plus the outdoor and indoor bars, with the little lounge there too.’
‘Wow,’ I remark. ‘You can get all that, at less than twenty-four hours notice?’
‘It’s Finnegan the second,’ Finn says smoothly. ‘What do you think?’
12. Pool Party
I am lying down on half a beach chair, a fancy cocktail in my hand and a hot stranger lying next to me.
The party has turned out to be a very big success, and even though only a few people from Ashton showed up, kids from schools all over the city have shown up, so there are a lot of strangers here. The more the merrier, right?
This pool party has been the perfect opportunity for me to wear this white Roberto Cavalli bikini I only just bought. It fits me perfectly, without me having to readjust it all the time, and gives my boobs a little bit of a boost without being obvious or making it look like I got a breast augmentation in the time that I changed my clothes.
I’m thinking that everyone I know has simply disappeared when I see Finn sneaking inside with one of the St. Alexander’s girls. She’s not bad-looking – blonde hair, belly piercing, a little too tan – but she’s kind of flabby, for a pool party. I’ve seen Finn do better.
The guy I’m with right now is from Crompton, I think. He’s got that surfer kind of hair going on, which isn’t bad, but I do wish he was a little more toned, for a pool party, you know – he’s kind of flabby. I’ve seen myself do better. Well, whoever we can get at short notice, I suppose.
He leans over and kisses me again.
‘Ew, get a room, Elsie,’ a voice says from above me.
‘Oh, right, I forgot you were invited,’ I mutter, sitting up and steadying my drink on the table next to me.
‘Wow, how could you forget that?’ Kristyna asks sarcastically. ‘Is it because you’re so selfish that you only ever think of yourself, or because you’ve had about fifty of those shitty little cocktails tonight?’ She’s wearing a dark blue bikini I’ve never seen before, and it matches her eyes perfectly. It’s a dark colour and yet somehow doesn’t detract from her tan. A new pair of Gucci sunglasses rests on top of her head and I swear her stomach was not that toned the last time we went to the beach.
I feel my perfectly-plucked eyebrow twitch. ‘Neither,’ I say. ‘It’s because Finn doesn’t think you’re worth anything. You’re just a space-filler at this party.’
‘Finn is one of my best friends,’ she says defensively.
‘Finn’s only your friend because he’s Sam’s friend. Finn and Nick and…Sam… Those guys worship me.’
‘They used to. Before Sam and I decided to…get to know each other a little better.’
I turn to the guy. ‘Hey, I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,’ I tell him, kissing him.
‘Don’t fall in!’ Kristyna calls after me.
I flip her off.
The toilet stall feels way too small and I drop my drink as I’m trying to find my balance in heels. Glass, crushed ice and white liquor splatter on the tiled floor. I fall onto the closed toilet seat and drop my head in my hands, trying to massage my temples. My throat feels like it’s closing over and there is an extreme lack of oxygen in here so I just keep my head down, trying to regulate my breathing. My hair, I notice, has become all dry because of the chlorine but it’s still got its dark chestnut colour, which I love, so I guess not everything totally sucks.
I open the door and check myself over in the mirror. My make-up has smudged a little but other than that, I look a lot better than I feel.
I lean over on the sink, trying to regain my balance, although part of me just wants to die, right here.
‘You should know to wear a better bikini when you’re going to a pool party – you know, one that actually covers your ass.’
I turn around to face Kristyna. I’ve got goose bumps growing over my skin and I suddenly feel really naked. ‘Haven’t you had enough?’ I sigh.
‘No,’ she says indignantly.
I shake my head, my throat hurting again. ‘Why?’
She laughs. ‘Why? Why? You’re asking me? Elsie, you started this whole thing.’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Yes, you did. You didn’t have to go around screaming at people or threatening to kill them with kitchen utensils, but you did.’
‘Kristyna,’ I say slowly. ‘You have no idea… You have no idea what you’ve done to me. You’ve always been better than me – don’t you know that? And now you’ve got the guy, too.’
‘Um, this is not my fault. If it had been any other guy, you’d be happy for me. We wouldn’t be fighting, right? Right.’
She answered that question herself.
‘So what makes things with Sam so different?’
‘I…’
‘Sam and I are just two people who happened to realise they have real feelings for each other. I don’t get why you can’t get that.’
‘The only thing Sam and you are, is an asshole and a slut,’ I say darkly, turning away.
I walk out of the bathroom, but I feel something pull very strongly on my hair from behind.
I turn around to see Kristyna standing very close behind me, her face red and a whole lot of chestnut hair dangling from her hand.
‘You…’ I reach out and slap her across the face.
She runs at me and knocks me to the floor on the inside of the bar, screaming the whole time. I thrust my palm upwards into her face, making her yelp, and then roll over so I’m on top of her. We struggle for a moment, limbs flailing. I’m trying my hardest to gain control of this fight, but whenever I push at her, she uses the exact same amount of force to push back. She grabs me by my hair again and shoves my face against the floorboards. I can’t breathe and I’m thinking I should just give up when suddenly, all the pressure above me is lifted and people are yelling everywhere.
‘Get her off!’
‘What’s going on?’
‘Oh my god!’
‘Okay, you two, get out,’ says a bouncer, pushing us both out of the bar.
I collapse in a heap on the floor in the lobby, wailing.
I swipe my employee card into the Wakefield punch machine in the kitchen.
Finn got a bunch of us jobs here for Work Experience in Year 10, and he, Kristyna and I stayed on after that. I guess mostly it just proves to my parents that I’m capable of doing something other than partying, but it’d also look good on a résumé, and it can be kind of fun.
When you don’t totally hate the people you’re working with.
‘… I’m thinking I should just get out of here before she stabs me with a meat cleaver,’ Kristyna is saying to Finn as she ties up her apron.
‘Yeah, you should do that,’ I’m saying.
She whips around, her sparkly blonde hair dancing around her face. ‘Oh… Elsie… I…’
‘Didn’t see me here? Didn’t see me ever? Even when you decided to make out with my ex-boyfriend, who you said you didn’t even like?’
Finn walks away slowly, to talk to the pastry chefs. Subtle.
‘Elsie, if you don’t want me to go out with Sam, then I won’t, but –’
‘It’s not a matter of what I want now. What you’ve done, you’ve done.’
She stares at me, her bright blue eyes wide and all fucking innocent.
‘What bothers me is that you… You’re supposed to be my best friend. I mean, I can imagine Sam not thinking things through, but you…’ I’m picturing them again – the hazy outline of the bathroom, the faint singing and yelling coming from outside, and Kris…and Sam. ‘How could you not think of me?’ I ask, water welling up in my eyes.
‘Elsie, you know what it’s like when you’re in the moment,’ she pleads. ‘You just…don’t think!’
‘So you’re saying you and Sam were “in the moment” together?’
‘No, I… That is not what I meant. You’re not even giving me a chance here.’
‘I just don’t understand.’ I sniff. ‘I should have been there, present in your mind while you were doing that. No matter how drunk I could ever have been, I would never, ever do something like this to you.’ I wipe my eyes.
‘Elsie, I think you’re being a bit selfish here. Sam and I –’
‘Girls!’ the head chef calls over to us. ‘Enough chit-chat! Lunch rush is about to start!’
Kristyna starts again. ‘Sam and I –’
‘Did you just call me selfish?’
‘Um, yeah,’ she says, like it was obvious. ‘That’s how you’re acting.’
I feel like ripping her perfect blonde hair out of her fucking dandruff-free scalp. ‘You –’
‘Okay, seriously, Kristyna and Elsie! Come on, get to work!’
I pull on my apron. ‘You’d better watch yourself.’
‘Or…?’ she says, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow.
‘Or you might just have a meat cleaver in your back today.’
11. How To Hurt A Guy In Ten Fingernails
‘I’m so fucking bored,’ Nick mutters, loosening his tie and lying back on the chair.
It’s 35 degrees outside today, which is weird, considering it’s the end of May. Okay, it’s not really that weird, considering we live in Melbourne.
The boys all have their shirt sleeves rolled up and everyone’s blazers are stored away in our lockers. The fans are on and the windows are all open, but that’s not doing much except making our papers fly off the desks.
Mr Peterson has given us a worksheet to do, but he’s gone out of the room, like he does every single Business lesson, so we do whatever we want to.
Finn is lying with his head on the desk – we’re wondering if he’s died of heatstroke – and I am playing with an old emery board.
I sigh, looking at Nick’s sweat-spotted brow. ‘Nick, I’m in Business class, filing my nails. Do I look like I’m having the time of my life?’ I ask, waving my emery board at him.
‘I mean, I’m bored in general. We haven’t been out for ages.’ He stares at me for a second.
‘Where did you get that thing, anyway?’
‘I don’t know,’ I answer. ‘It was in my pencil case. Probably Kristyna’s.’
He’s still staring at me.
‘What?’
‘How are…you and Kristyna and Sam and the whole…thing…?’ he trails off.
I shake my head. ‘I…don’t really want to talk about it.’
After I threatened to drive a meat cleaver into her back last weekend, Kristyna chopped shallots and whipped butter better and faster than I did, and she didn’t say anything more to me, because she’s just so mature about emotional issues. Thus, I don’t really feel like thinking about her any more.
‘You know what, girlie girl?’ Nick says, in a surprising, fake-camp voice.
I blink.
‘You should, like, totally do my nails, y’know, while you’re at it!’
‘Okay,’ I say slowly, reaching for his hand.
‘Oh, Finnegan!’ Nick warbles as I start filing his nails.
Finn lifts his head.
‘I think we need to have a party!’
‘What do you propose?’ Finn asks, sitting up.
‘I’m thinking something loud and fun, with lots of girls.’
‘And a pool,’ I add.
‘The weather’s not going to be like this forever,’ Finn points out.
‘That’s why we’re having the party tonight.’ I turn around and wink at him.
‘Ah,’ Finn says slowly, stroking the tiny goatee that he finds irritating but grows just to spite his father.
‘See, you can tell he’s onto something when he – ow! What the fuck are you doing?’
‘Pushing down your cuticles,’ I answer.
A couple of lame-ass girls in the back – long skirts, glasses, bad hair, no make-up – look at Nick and start giggling. I shoot them a look and they immediately stop.
‘Can you book one of the pools at the Wakefield?’ I ask Finn, putting down the emery board.
‘Hmm… I reckon we could get the Ground floor. There’s a bar there, too. But it won’t hold that many people.’ He pulls out his iPhone.
Nick shakes his head. ‘Nah, it’s all good. Just us three, Sam and Kris –’
I groan.
‘You going to be okay?’ Finn asks, looking up from the touch screen.
Nick looks at me too, worriedly.
It’s one of those silences, and while I enjoy the attention, I’m not sure it’s a good idea to start crying in the middle of class so I just nod.
‘Don’t worry,’ I say. ‘They didn’t betray you.’
‘– and whoever else we can gather at short notice,’ Nick continues, ‘so, yeah, not many people.’
Finn checks his phone again. ‘Dad says it’s fine for us to take over the Ground pool, spa, plus the outdoor and indoor bars, with the little lounge there too.’
‘Wow,’ I remark. ‘You can get all that, at less than twenty-four hours notice?’
‘It’s Finnegan the second,’ Finn says smoothly. ‘What do you think?’
12. Pool Party
I am lying down on half a beach chair, a fancy cocktail in my hand and a hot stranger lying next to me.
The party has turned out to be a very big success, and even though only a few people from Ashton showed up, kids from schools all over the city have shown up, so there are a lot of strangers here. The more the merrier, right?
This pool party has been the perfect opportunity for me to wear this white Roberto Cavalli bikini I only just bought. It fits me perfectly, without me having to readjust it all the time, and gives my boobs a little bit of a boost without being obvious or making it look like I got a breast augmentation in the time that I changed my clothes.
I’m thinking that everyone I know has simply disappeared when I see Finn sneaking inside with one of the St. Alexander’s girls. She’s not bad-looking – blonde hair, belly piercing, a little too tan – but she’s kind of flabby, for a pool party. I’ve seen Finn do better.
The guy I’m with right now is from Crompton, I think. He’s got that surfer kind of hair going on, which isn’t bad, but I do wish he was a little more toned, for a pool party, you know – he’s kind of flabby. I’ve seen myself do better. Well, whoever we can get at short notice, I suppose.
He leans over and kisses me again.
‘Ew, get a room, Elsie,’ a voice says from above me.
‘Oh, right, I forgot you were invited,’ I mutter, sitting up and steadying my drink on the table next to me.
‘Wow, how could you forget that?’ Kristyna asks sarcastically. ‘Is it because you’re so selfish that you only ever think of yourself, or because you’ve had about fifty of those shitty little cocktails tonight?’ She’s wearing a dark blue bikini I’ve never seen before, and it matches her eyes perfectly. It’s a dark colour and yet somehow doesn’t detract from her tan. A new pair of Gucci sunglasses rests on top of her head and I swear her stomach was not that toned the last time we went to the beach.
I feel my perfectly-plucked eyebrow twitch. ‘Neither,’ I say. ‘It’s because Finn doesn’t think you’re worth anything. You’re just a space-filler at this party.’
‘Finn is one of my best friends,’ she says defensively.
‘Finn’s only your friend because he’s Sam’s friend. Finn and Nick and…Sam… Those guys worship me.’
‘They used to. Before Sam and I decided to…get to know each other a little better.’
I turn to the guy. ‘Hey, I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,’ I tell him, kissing him.
‘Don’t fall in!’ Kristyna calls after me.
I flip her off.
The toilet stall feels way too small and I drop my drink as I’m trying to find my balance in heels. Glass, crushed ice and white liquor splatter on the tiled floor. I fall onto the closed toilet seat and drop my head in my hands, trying to massage my temples. My throat feels like it’s closing over and there is an extreme lack of oxygen in here so I just keep my head down, trying to regulate my breathing. My hair, I notice, has become all dry because of the chlorine but it’s still got its dark chestnut colour, which I love, so I guess not everything totally sucks.
I open the door and check myself over in the mirror. My make-up has smudged a little but other than that, I look a lot better than I feel.
I lean over on the sink, trying to regain my balance, although part of me just wants to die, right here.
‘You should know to wear a better bikini when you’re going to a pool party – you know, one that actually covers your ass.’
I turn around to face Kristyna. I’ve got goose bumps growing over my skin and I suddenly feel really naked. ‘Haven’t you had enough?’ I sigh.
‘No,’ she says indignantly.
I shake my head, my throat hurting again. ‘Why?’
She laughs. ‘Why? Why? You’re asking me? Elsie, you started this whole thing.’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Yes, you did. You didn’t have to go around screaming at people or threatening to kill them with kitchen utensils, but you did.’
‘Kristyna,’ I say slowly. ‘You have no idea… You have no idea what you’ve done to me. You’ve always been better than me – don’t you know that? And now you’ve got the guy, too.’
‘Um, this is not my fault. If it had been any other guy, you’d be happy for me. We wouldn’t be fighting, right? Right.’
She answered that question herself.
‘So what makes things with Sam so different?’
‘I…’
‘Sam and I are just two people who happened to realise they have real feelings for each other. I don’t get why you can’t get that.’
‘The only thing Sam and you are, is an asshole and a slut,’ I say darkly, turning away.
I walk out of the bathroom, but I feel something pull very strongly on my hair from behind.
I turn around to see Kristyna standing very close behind me, her face red and a whole lot of chestnut hair dangling from her hand.
‘You…’ I reach out and slap her across the face.
She runs at me and knocks me to the floor on the inside of the bar, screaming the whole time. I thrust my palm upwards into her face, making her yelp, and then roll over so I’m on top of her. We struggle for a moment, limbs flailing. I’m trying my hardest to gain control of this fight, but whenever I push at her, she uses the exact same amount of force to push back. She grabs me by my hair again and shoves my face against the floorboards. I can’t breathe and I’m thinking I should just give up when suddenly, all the pressure above me is lifted and people are yelling everywhere.
‘Get her off!’
‘What’s going on?’
‘Oh my god!’
‘Okay, you two, get out,’ says a bouncer, pushing us both out of the bar.
I collapse in a heap on the floor in the lobby, wailing.
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