Friendship on Fire Read online

  The look he gave me with his speech made me feel like I’d played the guilt card for long enough. I gave in.

  ‘Fine, but I’m not giving you my number.’ I had to relinquish some pride.

  My ears rang. He thinks I’m interesting? Nate was intriguing me more than ever but I got the feeling he would be hard to pin down.

  ‘Fair enough, I can wear that. No number. We don’t need to talk on the phone. We live close to each other anyway. But, as a show of good faith, how about you let me walk you to school tomorrow, with my little sister? I’m seriously five minutes away. No strings attached.’

  He stood with his hands in his pockets now, looking boyish and charming. It wasn’t exactly an offer of casual sex, so I took it. Maybe I did misjudge him. In my quest to right all the wrongs in the world I often blew up at people too quickly. Frankly, I wanted an excuse to see him again. I was going to get a heap of crap from the Blonde Brigade at school, but who cares?

  And Roman. What about Roman? How do I tell him about this proposition? We had walked to school together since the start of high school. Not every day, but most. Surely he wouldn’t care. He’s always been magnanimous.

  So why did I feel uneasy telling him anything about Nate?

  I texted Roman early the next morning when I woke up to say I wouldn’t be walking with him to school. He wrote back straight away.

  No probs. Will you be late to school? Don’t forget we have leadership stuff on 2day.

  I didn’t think I would be late …

  No — just helping out a friend. See you in class.

  I wasn’t a very good liar, but it was technically true.

  At eight, I walked to the corner Nate and I agreed to meet on, half expecting him not to show up. And why would he? What did I have to offer that girls at his school didn’t already have in abundance? I bet those Grammar girls were much more interesting than I was, if you know what I mean.

  After scuffing my feet for a while, I looked up. He was already there, but without his little sister. Was this another one of his games? I frowned, putting my hands in my dress pockets.

  ‘Mum dropped Amelie off early; it’s just us this morning,’ he said, as if reading my mind.

  ‘Right.’ I stopped in front of him, shrugging under the shoulder straps of my backpack. He had to lead.

  ‘That’s all right, isn’t it?’ asking for my sake; he didn’t really look concerned.

  ‘Of course,’ I replied nonchalantly.

  ‘Let’s go then.’ He turned to go and I raced to catch up. We walked in silence under the trees on the footpath, both unsure how to start the conversation. It wasn’t until we started crossing the first intersection that Nate spoke.

  ‘So where’d you learn to play soccer so well?’ he asked. He was trying to be nice, but I knew I wasn’t that good at soccer.

  ‘Having older brothers helps, I guess. I love playing. Watching others play is good too,’ I smiled as I remembered him playing like he owned the field. The memory distracted me until I remembered where I actually was.

  ‘You’re lucky to have a family who are close and play games together. It’s only me and my sister in mine, and she’s not exactly stiff competition in sports,’ he joked.

  ‘I don’t think I am for my brothers either. Sometimes I think they only let me play to amuse me. But you’re right, it’s nice to play with Treston,’ I said, taking a deep breath. As we crossed a road, I added, ‘So how old is Amelie?’

  ‘Twelve,’ he said. ‘She’s packing it about starting high school, but she doesn’t have to worry. She’s shy, but real nice. Soon she’ll wonder why she ever worried about school.’

  ‘You’re right, it’s not that bad. I’ll look out for her from a distance, if you like? Until she gets settled,’ I offered.

  ‘That’d be good. Only if you have time,’ he said quickly.

  I didn’t, but I’d make time. I smiled back. We kept walking. I thought of other ways to break the ice.

  ‘Nate, why do you go to a different school to Amelie?’ I asked, then realised that might be forward. My curiosity baited me however, and I continued, ‘It seems odd, that’s all, having to sort out two different uniforms and stuff. Is there anything wrong with our school?’ I looked at him sidelong and watched him rifle through his responses.

  ‘Nothing’s wrong, exactly. I’ve heard your school is great; your principal is a bit strange,’ he said knowingly and I grinned in approval. His smile faded. ‘My father, however, is a businessman. He owns most of the shipping companies on the south coast, so we move around a lot to keep up with his work. I hate the shifting, but he works very hard for our family, to give us a future.’

  I nodded. ‘Go on.’

  ‘Dad wants me to take over the family business when I’m old enough. He says I need a great education to get into business at uni and it has to be the most expensive school in town,’ he said, with a bit of sarcasm. ‘I don’t buy it but there’s no point arguing with him. Amelie, she has it good. She has nothing on her shoulders and, honestly, I wish I was her.’

  He put his hands in his pockets, and stared at the pavement.

  ‘I can’t imagine what it’s like to be pushed by your parents. I don’t think mine have forced me to do anything I didn’t want to do in my whole life,’ I commented absent-mindedly.

  ‘Then you don’t know how good you’ve got it,’ he replied, broody.

  I felt sorry for him. Coming from rich parents didn’t necessarily mean you would have quality family life. To have to work in something I had no interest in, so I didn’t offend one person in my life, sounded ridiculous to me.

  ‘So … tell him you don’t want to be a businessman,’ I shrugged, trying to make it sound easy.

  Nate gave a bitter laugh. ‘Sure. Don’t you think I’ve thought of that? It didn’t get me very far. My father has a brilliant talent for guilt tripping. I got so tired of hearing it I agreed to take over as soon as I’m done studying.’

  I frowned. ‘But if that’s not what you want, don’t do it. You can’t let him bully you into something you don’t want to do.’

  He smiled. ‘Thanks Daisy, but it’s not that easy. It’s hard to get away from the things he wants me to be educated in.’

  I was seeing a different side of him and it made him all the more mysterious.

  ‘You don’t have to be like him, do you?’ I asked.

  He shook his head. ‘Not everyone has stability. When you’re immersed in these scenarios you learn the behaviour that you loathe. I’m going to enjoy getting to know you, Daisy. You seem free from all the crap my father creates. You may well end up being a good influence on me.’

  That was a massive assumption. ‘Where on earth did you get that idea from?’

  He shrugged. ‘It’s a feeling I get. You have a certain peace about you that I have been searching for lately. You have no idea the types of things that go through my brain.’

  We were a block from school now and I didn’t want this conversation to end so suddenly. What if he regretted opening up to me and went strange on me again the next time we met? I thought for a while. Where did this supposed inner strength of mine come from? How did I tell him that if it was real, it could only have come from my parents, when he clearly didn’t have a great relationship with his? I was conscious of rubbing it in his face, although he would have already picked up that I had a loving, supportive upbringing.

  Nate would surely laugh if I mentioned my parents came from a Christian background. My parents didn’t practise anymore, but Nanna wanted me to know about God. I felt half-hearted myself and I knew it was wrong to be. Maybe some of it rubbed off on me to give off this facade of peace. Yes, I was happy in life, but I definitely wasn’t at peace.

  How could I be giving Nate advice about his future when I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life? That bothered me.

  I decided we had to keep it light. ‘Oh I don’t know. Hang around me long enough and you’ll find out.’

  There
were quite a few Grammar and St Dominic’s students walking around us on the path, so Nate’s voice lowered.

  ‘You know, you’re unlike any girl I’ve ever met.’ I checked his eyes; they were dancing with mischief.

  My ears went hot; I didn’t take compliments well. ‘Really? How?’

  ‘First of all, you dyed your hair red on purpose,’ he chuckled. ‘That takes balls.’

  I feigned indignation. ‘Actually, it wasn’t my fault. It’s a long story, and I will change it back to normal as soon as I can, just for the record.’

  ‘No, no, don’t get me wrong Daisy, it looks … regal.’ He bit back a cheeky smile.

  Good-naturedly, I said, ‘Not exactly the response I was looking for, but I’ll take it.’

  He continued to smile at me, and my curiosity grew.

  ‘What else?’ I cocked my head at him.

  Nate pursed his lips. ‘I can’t tell you too much or you will get a big head.’

  My head went cloudy.

  ‘I’d be more worried about you than me. Tell me,’ I baited.

  Nate threw his hands up in the air. ‘Fine. Your temper is… well … cute. And endearing. And I’d like to see more of you to figure you out.’

  He was acting so cool; it amused me.

  ‘More of my temper? That’s real romantic Nate,’ I said, putting him on the spot again.

  He laughed. ‘Gosh you’re infuriating. And unpredictable. It’s one of the reasons you’re in my head so much.’

  His face now showed that he’d said too much, and his eyes diverted anywhere from mine. I decided to let him off the hook.

  ‘Is that so? I can fix that for you if you like,’ and I started to walk off the path into the school.

  Nate grabbed my school bag and pulled me to a halt. ‘I’ll go. But I can’t promise you won’t miss me.’

  He winked at me then let me keep walking. I smiled to myself when he couldn’t see.

  Roman found me at recess to take me to leadership training. He was eating an apple with salt and vinegar chips — one of his weird habits — and leant against the lockers watching me ransack my books. I asked him how his family was going. His parents had been so nice to me since we started our friendship in year six. They lived real close to my family so our parents were quite good friends too. The fact that my brothers were half nice to him when he came over said something about his character.

  ‘They’re good. Busy at work — I don’t see them much at the moment,’ he replied vaguely.

  Now was as good a time as any to give him my answer about Easter. I shut the locker and gave him my full attention, explaining my parents’ financial situation.

  ‘I really want to come, Roman, but we can’t afford it. Sorry,’ I said, looking up into his face.

  I thought he’d take it all right, but he became unusually quiet. I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong when Skye brushed past my shoulder and pushed me into my locker.

  I spun around and called out, ‘What’s your problem, Skye?’ My hair prickled hot with anger.

  She turned around slowly. ‘Oh sorry, I didn’t see you there. Although, I suppose I should have, with an arse the size of yours.’

  She winked at Roman as her following posse giggled on cue.

  My tongue sharpened. ‘Hmm. I’m sure everyone is grateful they can’t see mine hanging out of my skirt like a tart. It’s really not lady-like to show that much skin, Skye, and it’s also against school rules. I suggest you fix it, now.’ My added school captain threat interested her.

  ‘Why? Scared you will lose your new boyfriend to me once he sees how much better I am than you?’ she demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

  ‘Nah — what you have to offer is forgotten as soon as a guy has what he wants. Lower your skirt now or I’ll report you.’

  She mock gasped. ‘Wow. Daisy Brooks has turned into a power tripper. Didn’t think you had it in you, darl. This boy has taught you new tricks already. You should be so proud of her, Roman.’ She blew him a kiss and walked off, rolling the top of her skirt a little higher.

  I glared at Roman, fuming. ‘Thanks for your support. Didn’t you hear what she said to me?’

  ‘Yeah, Dais. You were both real classy. I’m off.’ He threw his bag over his shoulder and walked away.

  What was that about? Normally he would stick up for me with anyone, whether I was wrong or not. Had he seen me arrive at school with Nate too? Why would he care? Nothing was going on between us anyway. Maybe he didn’t like Skye’s insinuation that he was interested in me and it was such common knowledge. He should already know what Skye was like and ignore her. Making trouble between friends was her lifeline.

  I couldn’t find a seat next to Roman in our meetings. I tried to make eye contact with him but his head was down most of the time, busily writing notes. I should have been writing notes too, as the lecturer was giving tips for what makes good speeches and the best ways to work with people. How ironic, considering my conversations this morning.

  Instead of paying attention, I wrote a note on my lecture pad, ripped it off and folded it up. I passed it down the line of people until it got to Roman. He opened it, read it, and put it in his pocket. It was so like him to be too polite to do the sort of thing that might encourage rebellion. I climbed the walls at deathly boring presentations.

  About half an hour later I received the same scrunched up piece of paper. I raised my eyebrows in interest. A reply? I opened it.

  Talk after school. Walking home with me, or him?

  So he had seen us. Too bad. I wasn’t going to stop seeing Nate because Roman was funny about it. What was the big problem anyway? He didn’t own my time every morning. When we leave school for good we’ll have to learn to be flexible about whom we hang out with, so this was practice ‘til then. He’d have to get used to life without me one day.

  I churned over the last few days. Nate’s sudden appearance in my life had floored me; consequently, a niggling thought bugged me. I had realised early on that Nate liked the light witty banter I offered, and he liked my company, in private. He steered away from overly-serious conversations, but he touched lightly on serious parts of life when we were alone. However, I felt I couldn’t ask him certain questions. Like, is there anything more than friendship here? I didn’t want to appear impatient, but neither did I want to waste my time. We didn’t know each other very well, but I wanted to ask him what my purpose was to him. Would he use me until he finds this ‘inner peace’ he’s seeking, then take over his father’s business and forget I ever existed? I didn’t like the idea of that. I didn’t want to hear it.

  Hence I never brought it up, even though I should have.

  I waited for Roman in the common room after school. I forgot we couldn’t walk home together because I had a driving lesson straight away. Normally my lessons were on Monday but we couldn’t arrange a time to suit both of us, so it had to be today. The instructor would pick me up in the next ten minutes and I had to be prepared for him. He charged by the hour.

  Rach passed by me and wished me luck. I’d need it. Last time I drove, I backed into Rach’s neighbour’s letterbox.

  Roman walked in the moment I had to leave. I quickly explained the situation and he nodded and kept walking like he barely heard me. I didn’t have time to think about his reaction as I ran out the front to the car park.

  Terence the Terminator was impeccably punctual and fussy with absolutely everything. He would never let a student take off without going through a crazy long checklist beforehand. My anxiety levels while driving with him were very high, but I did my best to do everything he said. After all, he would decide whether I would become a permanent fixture on Twin Rocks’ roads.

  After bunny hopping all the way out on to the main road closest to the school and embarrassing myself to death, I got stuck at lights at the busiest intersection in the suburb. There were about four lanes of traffic on all sides and I felt nervous as I put the gear stick back into neutral and made sure ever
ything was perfect.

  Terry was quizzing me once again on the ‘things to remember before taking off’ when two men wearing only fluoro green Speedos came up to the car and threw water on it. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

  They started scrubbing the windscreen and calling out to us to find some money for their service. I froze. What does one do when hot, but seedy men rub themselves all over a car you don’t own?

  The cars around me started beeping as the lights went green. I pumped the clutch and tried to put it into first gear but it was getting stuck. A learner’s nightmare. Traffic backed up while I tried to ignore Speedo men begging for money. Terry was grunting in impatience yet refused to take over with his set of pedals to help me out. Flustered, I burnt a little rubber as I finally took off into the intersection. A Commodore with too many teenagers in it to be legal was trying to drag me while I concentrated on the road. They were cheering at my take off and making horse and jockey movements in their car.

  Bogans. I couldn’t wait for this lesson to be over. It felt like I’d never get the hang of driving.

  Our last painful exercise was to park the car in the exact centre of the highest hill in town, Snowdon Street. I would have to gently ease the handbrake and rev the car just enough to get it to move up the steepest part of the incline and park at the top of the hill. I was packing death. I was not at all certain I should ease the hand brake. It freaked me out purely sitting in a car that was parked diagonally. Terry went through the instructions three times.

  ‘And off we go.’ He sounded overly confident.

  Foot on clutch. Hand brake down. That’s as far as I got before I sent us whizzing backwards down Mount Everest, into oncoming traffic.

  ‘ Brake Daisy, brake, ‘ Terry screamed wildly, hands flailing around his fat little head.

  I heard him, but it didn’t register. My foot remained locked on the clutch and my hands wouldn’t move off the steering wheel for anything. I didn’t check my mirrors to make sure we weren’t careering into any houses, or worse, letterboxes.