by J. C. Burke
‘Yeah. She survived,’ Evie murmurs. ‘But those around her didn’t.’
Nora is cold to Evie. She hardly even looks at her.
‘So, we’re using this board again, are we?’ Her gold bracelets jingle as she flicks her hand towards the board in disdain. ‘I hope my time won’t be wasted again. I’m a very busy woman. I have Ingy at home with Paris, helping with my BAS statement.’
Evie’s throat clamps tight. She tries to speak but her voice is being strangled inside. She parts her lips but there’s no sound. Instead, a pool of spit dribbles from the corner of her mouth.
Bang! It’s Evie’s fist on the table. The board jumps and Nora spins around on her chair. ‘What is it, Evie?’ Victoria is crouching next to her. ‘Is she here? Is Caz here?’
Evie can only nod. The tears are streaming down her cheeks, and her face feels as though it’s about to explode into a thousand pieces as every skerrick of air is squeezed out of her body.
‘Stand back,’ Victoria calls. ‘You’re too close. Move away, Caz. Stand back. Back to your space.’
A high-pitched whistle hisses from Evie’s throat. She begins to cough and splutter. ‘Uggh uggh. Agha agha. Haah haah.’ Victoria throws a cloth over her mouth. Evie grabs it, frantically wiping away the tears and spit. ‘She, she, uggh, uggh, wants to speak,’ Evie gasps. ‘Now. Right now.’
Victoria holds the pen, saying quickly, ‘Our beloved Caz. Speak to us with faith and good will. Your mother is here today, in the name of love.’
Evie’s finger rests on the pointer. Nora’s hands hold the edge of the table.
The planchette skids over to the letter I. ‘I,’ Victoria repeats, jotting it down on the paper. ‘I-G-I-V-E-Y-O-UN-O-R-A.’
‘I give you Nora,’ Victoria reads.
‘Yes, darling,’ Nora cries. ‘Mamma’s here. Speak to me, darling.’
Evie’s finger jerks onto the word ‘YES’.
‘Yes, darling. Yes, my darling,’ Nora says over and over.
The pointer circles the board before spelling the word ‘Nora’ again. Nora still mutters, ‘Yes, my darling. Yes, my darling.’
‘G-E-N-U-I-N-E-I-N-F-O-R-M-A-T-I-O-N-N-O-R-A-Y-E-S.’
For the second time, Evie feels the breath squeezing out of her. One hand creeps up towards her throat while the other is led around with the pointer.
Gradually, the spelling speeds up, faster and faster, so that the planchette is hitting the letters at such a pace Victoria can hardly keep up. Her writing scrawls all over the page as she shouts each letter Caz gives them.
‘I-M-M-O-R-A-L-N-A-S-T-Y-G-U-E-S-S-Y-E-S.’
The pointer reverses its cycle, spinning backwards on itself. It skids around the board towards Nora. Nora screams, throwing herself back in her chair. Victoria is still shouting, ‘I-N-N-O-C-E-N-T-G-I-R-L-Y-E-L-L-S-N-O-W-N-O-W-N-O-W-N-N-O-WNOWNOWNOW.’
Nora jumps up. The planchette flies off the table, hitting her on the leg. She falls back against the wall and starts to scream. ‘You are not reading my daughter! You are a fake.’ She regains her balance and lunges at Evie. Victoria tries to hold her back but her arms lash out and her legs kick. ‘You know nothing about my daughter. Nothing! Who are you? Who are you? Fire-ai al dracului! Fire-ai al dracului!’
Evie runs to the bathroom and locks the door behind her. She sits on the floor, her chest heaving up and down as she tries to find some air. Outside, she can hear Victoria trying to calm Nora down. Muffled voices mixed with the odd shout drift beneath the bathroom door. Evie catches snippets.
‘She’s wasted my time again!’
‘Nora, calm down.’
‘Don’t tell me to calm down. I’m not giving you a penny for that, that rubbish girl and her –’
‘Nora, I don’t want any money.’
‘What do you want, then? You must want something.’
‘Do you want me to call Ingy to pick you up?’
‘You’re not getting my money!’ Evie hears Nora’s stiletto heels click along the floorboards. ‘I don’t want you to do anything for me …’ The front door opens then closes with a slam. Amidst the vibration, a silence descends upon the flat.
‘She’s gone,’ Victoria calls.
Evie walks out. One foot in front of the other takes all the energy she has.
‘You look exhausted,’ Victoria says, bringing over a glass of water.
Evie gulps it down.
‘Do you want me to call Nick?’
‘In a minute,’ nods Evie. ‘What did she say?’
‘I thought you would’ve heard it all, she was screaming so loud. She completely –’ Victoria begins.
‘Not Nora, Caz. What did Caz say? I don’t care about Nora.’ Evie folds herself onto the couch. ‘I couldn’t keep up with the letters. It’s a big blur.’
Victoria takes the paper out from under the board. ‘Again, it’s pretty cryptic.’ She begins to read the messages to Evie.
‘“I give you Nora. Genuine Information Nora Yes. Immoral Nasty Guess Yes. Innocent Girl Yells Now Now” and then it was now, now over and over again.’
Evie scans the paper, searching for a clue. ‘What does it mean?’
‘I have no idea. But I’ll tell you what – Nora knows. It makes me …’ Victoria stops. Evie feels her eyes settle on her. She looks up at Victoria. ‘What?’
‘It makes me think what a destructive relationship they must’ve had. Nora and Caz. And how sad it was they never resolved whatever it was between them.’
‘Do you think that has something to do with it?’
‘I’m sure of it.’
‘Yeah. She’s hiding something. I sensed it the first time I met her. She’s so cold, so –’
‘Self-centred?’
‘Yes. Self-centred.’
‘Well, whatever it’s about is in these messages,’ Victoria says. ‘You just have to find out what exactly it is.’
‘But why? Why can’t she just tell me straight?’
‘That was a very angry spirit in the room today,’ explains Victoria. ‘But more than that, Evie, I think she’s afraid. Sometimes fear gets in the way, even in their world. Perhaps this is the only way she can communicate her secrets.’
‘That’s it, isn’t it? It’s something no one else knows.’ Evie stops for a second. ‘Except … Paris. Everything seems to get back to Paris.’
Evie rings her dad to come and get her. She tries to make her voice sound light. There are only so many things she can manage at a time.
‘How do you feel?’ Victoria asks her. ‘Caz gets so close. It was pretty intense there.’
‘I think it looks worse than it is for me. I’m so deeply – I don’t know – like, in a trance or something that I’m not really aware what’s going on around me.’
‘That’s your body protecting you.’
Evie fans her face with the piece of paper. Caz’s words hide and retreat with each flick of her wrist. ‘That’s cool, isn’t it? Your body looking after you like that.
‘Back to reality,’ she says, hearing her father honk the horn outside. ‘I’ll call you this week. Promise.’
‘Take care, Evie.’
And Evie walks out the door, leaving the bit of paper on Victoria’s table.
On Monday morning Seb is on the bus. Poppy isn’t. Evie’s sure he looks away when she gets on.
At first, Evie stands up the front, pretending she hasn’t seen him, but when she takes a peek he’s looking at her. She waves a bit too enthusiastically. In return, he gives a half-smile.
Down the aisle, Evie pushes her way to him. He pulls at his collar and sits up straight.
‘Hey,’ he says.
‘Hi.’ Evie feels her face flush red.
‘Good weekend?’ he asks.
‘Sort of. Not really. You?’
‘Yeah. Great thanks.’
An awkward silence follows and Evie can think of nothing to fill it with.
‘I had a family do,’ Seb says. ‘How was Luna Park?’
‘
Oh, you know. Average.’
Seb turns away, staring out the window.
‘I didn’t really want to go to Luna Park,’ Evie says to him. ‘But you know how pushy Alex gets about things. She kind of makes your mind up for you.’
‘I wouldn’t know,’ replies Seb, his gaze still turned away.
‘Well, she does,’ Evie sighs, taking the seat behind him.
His shoulders lift with a shrug.
First period is an art practical. Alex, Evie’s subject, sits there with her mouth turned down while Evie works on her portrait. ‘Alex: the ever-changing profile’ is the name of Evie’s major work.
Mr Powell stands behind her, peering over at her work. ‘You’re not capturing her expression,’ he says. ‘If this is meant to be a face of reflection then it’s not looking like one.’
Even Alex can’t help turning up the corners of her mouth in a little smile.
Powell looks over at her notes. ‘What profile are you working on?’ he says.
‘Um, suspicion,’ Evie answers. ‘I’ve already done reflection. This is suspicion.’
‘Oh?’ he mutters. ‘Well, then it’s you, Alex. Your expression’s too flat. A bit of movement in the eyebrows will help.’
He moves on to the next desk and Evie says, ‘You’re confusing him, Alex.’
‘I’m still cranky with you,’ she complains. ‘You made me look like an idiot and now Zac’s got the shits with me.’
‘That’s … pathetic.’
‘Well, he thinks Anton was set up.’
‘Anton didn’t care. Anyway, he told Poppy I’m not his type.’
Alex opens her mouth then closes it with a frown.
‘Maybe he’d go for Roxy?’ Evie says, rubbing out Alex’s eyebrows.
‘It’s Roxy and Seb. Not Roxy and Anton. As if Anton’d go for Roxy.’
‘Why not?’
‘Duh, she’s not pretty enough, not like her sister, Dana. Now she’s pretty.’
‘But how do you know if Seb likes Roxy?’
‘They’re perfect together, Evie.’ Alex’s voice is tinged with irritation. ‘You can’t decide you like Seb now just ’cause someone else does.’
‘I wasn’t saying that,’ Evie mutters.
The rest of the practical is spent in silence.
The afternoon delivers an improvement. When Seb gets on the bus he waves and even manages a smile.
‘Hey,’ he says to Poppy and Evie.
‘Squeeze in,’ Poppy tells him. ‘You’re lucky we don’t take up much room.’
‘Oh yes, we’re so slim and fabulous,’ Evie smirks, passing Poppy’s doughnut back to her.
‘Oh yes, we eat like birds,’ Poppy says with a mouthful.
‘Yeah, yeah,’ Seb laughs, squashing into the seat. ‘Give us a bite.’
‘What’s that?’ Poppy points to the black case on his lap. ‘A gun?’
‘How did you know? It’s my AK 47.’ He opens the lid. ‘But it looks suspiciously like a trumpet.’
‘It’s cool.’
‘They’re letting us use one of the studios at school to practise in,’ Seb tells them. ‘We had an awesome session today. All of us. A real jam.’ He smiles at Evie and she knows what he’s really telling her. Her smile says a thousand things back.
‘How come you never have your double bass any more?’ Poppy asks him. ‘It used to be so funny. You’d sit there on the bus and it’d cover your whole face except the tip of your nose.’
The girls are nodding and laughing together. Now Evie’s started she can’t stop. It makes her feel alive, real, normal. Seb’s laughing too. ‘Hey, I like my hooter.’
Leaning over, Poppy tweaks his nose. ‘Ah, you were so cute.’
Evie’s almost sad to get off the bus when her stop comes around. Dragging her bag out from under the seat, she realises this is the lightest she’s felt in ages.
‘Hang on, I’m coming too,’ Poppy reminds her.
‘Yeah.’
The girls have arranged for Poppy to get off at Evie’s stop. There’s much to discuss, and outside in the park across the road is their safest bet.
‘What are you two evil women up to?’ Seb says to them. ‘Plotting and scheming more love matches?’
‘Hey!’ Poppy laughs.
As Evie pushes her way down the aisle she turns around and mouths to Seb, ‘Anton had nothing to do with me.’
‘Oh yeah,’ he mouths back. But his eyes are smiling.
‘You first,’ Poppy says. ‘I have been dying to know what happened yesterday. I was so going to ring you but I resisted.’
‘Good girl.’ Evie and Poppy settle themselves under a tree. Evie hitches up her uniform. ‘I need some colour on these legs. I’m almost tempted to go to that Fantasy Tan place.’
‘Alex is going there tomorrow after school!’ Poppy tells her.
‘That must be why I’ve been thinking about it. I s’pose that was Zac’s idea.’
‘Right again, girlfriend,’ Poppy winks. ‘So come on, tell us what happened. Did Caz turn up?’
‘And how.’
Evie explains Sunday afternoon’s events. Poppy sits there saying nothing, nodding every now and then, her mouth wide open.
‘And the mum went for you?’ is Poppy’s first comment. ‘Scary.’
‘She went psycho,’ Evie tells her. ‘I hid in the bathroom.’
‘And you reckon she’s hiding something.’
‘Definitely.’
‘Well, listen to this.’ Poppy sits up straight on the grass. She looks excited. ‘My turn now. I have masterminded the best thing.’
‘What?’
‘You know how I do ancient history with Roxy? Well, we had to get into pairs because we’re doing this re-enactment play thing. I swear I almost pounced on Roxy when Miss Tobin said, “Pick your partners, girls.”’
‘So, she’s your partner.’
‘Yes, and wait for this. Roxy said, “Come to my house tomorrow arvo ’cause my sister, Dana, will be home and she’s really good with make-up.” I felt like saying “She should be, she wears enough”, but I resisted,’ Poppy chuckles. ‘Didn’t want to stuff up the opportunity. I couldn’t believe it. It’s perfect, Evie. It’s just what we wanted.’
Evie’s heart has started up in her chest. Light, quick flutters. ‘Okay, okay,’ she says. ‘So what are you going to ask her? Oh my god, this is fantastic, Pop. See if you can find out anything about the mother or Paris. Especially Paris. Anything.’
‘As soon as I get home tomorrow, I’ll call you. In fact, I’ll call you before I get home.’
Evie squeezes Poppy’s hand. ‘Thanks Pop, this is … awesome. Really awesome.’
‘We’ll be working on this ancient history thing for a couple of weeks so I’ll have plenty more opportunities to pump her for info.’
‘Did you really mean it when you said let’s do another séance?’ Evie asks her. ‘I mean, it’s completely up to you. Only if …’
‘I’m keen,’ Poppy butts in. ‘I really want to do another one.’
Evie’s mind is racing. This is an opportunity not to be missed. ‘I’ve got a proposition for you. My mum teaches at uni all day Thursday. Sometimes she gets home just after me, sometimes later. I can never be sure. If we skipped the last double-period and went to my place then we’d have time to do one. Night-time’s better, but we can’t risk it.’
‘Let’s do it, Evie.’
‘Okay. So tomorrow you get as much info as you can and –’
‘And Thursday,’ Poppy adds, ‘we’ll do the séance.’
Tuesday afternoon, Evie takes the phone up to her bedroom. ‘I’m expecting a call from Poppy,’ Evie tells her mum. ‘We’re doing an English thing together.’
‘That’s good,’ Robin says. ‘Hey, you feel like a stir-fry tonight? I got that sesame oil you really like.’
‘Great,’ Evie calls. ‘Thanks.’
Evie sits on her bed, the phone in her lap. For about the first time ever, she wishes she had a
mobile. Then Poppy could text her and it’d be foolproof.
When the phone rings, Evie presses the button so fast.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi.’
‘Alex?’
‘Don’t sound so pleased.’
‘Oh, sorry.’
‘I am sitting here looking at the most beautiful honey-coloured skin you have ever seen. Mine.’
‘Really.’
‘I went to that Fantasy Tan place this arvo,’ Alex explains. ‘Dana goes there all the time and you should see her. Zac’s always raving on about her perfect tan and everything, and now I’ve got one too.’
‘Really.’
‘And it makes me look at least five kilos lighter. Zac is going to die when he sees me!’
‘Really.’
‘Is that all you can say, “really”.’
‘Oh, sorry. That’s great. I’m sure Zac loves you any way you are.’
‘Yes, well, guess whose parents are going away for the weekend? Zac’s, and I’m going to spend Saturday night at his place. It is going to be the –’
Evie hears the beeps signalling call-waiting. ‘I’ve got to go, Al. It’s probably, um –’?
‘Better offer, eh?’
‘No, but … my mum’s expecting someone to ring and, well … got to go, bye.’ She hangs up. ‘Hello?’
‘Can you talk?’ Poppy asks. ‘I got the call-waiting ring.’
‘It’s fine. It was Alex. So, anything?’
‘Oh yeah. Wait for it. Guess who was good friends with Caz.’
‘Who?’
‘Dana.’
‘Shit.’
‘We’re sitting there while she’s caking all this shit on my face and she says to Roxy, “Roo Roo, get me some water”.’
‘Roo Roo?’
‘Hang on, Evie!’ Poppy squeals. ‘I said to Dana, “Is that what you call Roxy?” And she started telling me this long boring story of how Roxy got the nickname Roo Roo. Then she started going on about all these other nicknames her friends had and I was just about falling asleep when she said, “I had a really good friend whose name was Carmen Cuza so we all called her Caz. But she died.” I just about fell off the chair.’
‘Oh my god. That’s … that’s –’
‘I haven’t finished. It gets better,’ Poppy tells her. ‘Without me even having to open my mouth, Dana said, “It was so weird. As Caz got older she started having all these asthma attacks. Really bad ones, too. Her mum was always driving her to the hospital at night. It only seemed to happen then, never in the day. But the night she died she didn’t wake her Mum or sister like she usually did.” Then Dana whispered so softly I could hardly hear, but I’m positive she said Caz’s mum found her inside the cupboard, dead, one morning. How spooky is that?’ Poppy is almost panting. ‘That’s pretty much word for word what she said. I swear it was like I had to scrape my bottom lip off the floor. Dana just came out with it. I didn’t even have to pump out the info. Talk about easy.’
