by L K Walker
“I can still taste vomit in the back of my throat.” Nevaeh made a tapping sound with her tongue on the roof of her mouth. “Did I make a massive scene? The last thing I remember is talking to—oh no, Matt.”
Ari didn’t want to enlighten her on the events alcohol had so conveniently blanked out.
“Am I going to have to hide my face on Monday?” Nevaeh asked.
“Monday is a long way off.”
three
“If I've marked you down as completing all three tasks, you can get out of your kayaks, stack them neatly on the trailer and spend the rest of the time in the lane pool or the dive pool,” Mr Bradley, Ari's PE teacher, yelled over the sound of a hundred voices echoing through the pool complex. “Don't go anywhere else.”
“The fun sucker’s back.” Lisa signalled over Ari's shoulder as she slipped into the dive pool. Ari followed Lisa's gaze. Her eyes stopped on a perfect figure standing on the pool’s edge. Hands on hips, designer togs defining the gap between the two, Michelle stood looking down her nose at them. Her long blonde hair, slicked back, lay perfectly down her spine. Her waterproof makeup, covering what seemed to be flawless skin, still faultlessly intact.
Ari screwed up her nose as if she’d smelt something decaying. Michelle was full of herself, which would have been easily ignored if she didn’t spend most of her time bullying half the kids at school, including Nevaeh. Until earlier this year, when she had interceded for some poor kid who’d just started at the school, Nevaeh had flown under Michelle’s radar. She had caught Michelle trying to force the boy to smash his own ice cream into his face. She had only meant to stop Michelle by grabbing the cone before it found its target. But she mistimed it. Somehow, she had grabbed the cone and then tripped up the concrete step. Subsequently, Michelle ended up with a lot of ice cream in her hair, screaming like a wild animal and carrying a permanent grudge.
While they were willing to laugh at the ice-cream saga behind her back, most kids at school still greased up to Michelle, generally from fear or, at the very least, in the hope she’d leave them alone.
“I heard her parents up and left again last week,” Lisa whispered. “I don’t think they’re ever home.”
“I wonder what they bought her this time to keep her happy,” Ari replied.
“Keep her happy or buy off guilt? They must realise they’re raising the devil incarnate.”
Ari's agitation took a back seat when a wave of water hit the back of her head. She looked around in time to see Lisa’s ex-boyfriend, Anthony, pop his head out of the water. The big grin on his face showed all his pearly whites, just like a grand piano. Behind him, his mate jumped off the low diving board and bombed into the pool, sending a second spray of water her way. Ari shied away hoping not to receive a mouthful.
“You have no form,” Lisa called out to Anthony, ending with a seductive giggle. They might not be going out anymore, but they still liked to flirt with each other.
“Come on Ari, let's show these guys up. Teach them how to dive.” Lisa was already at the side of the pool, heaving herself out.
“Yeah, come on Ari. Show us up,” Anthony mocked.
Ari followed Lisa out of the pool. To her disappointment, Lisa walked past the low board that sat a mere metre off the water and headed to the next one along. From the top of the ladder, three metres seemed like an awfully long way down. It felt a whole lot higher than when she had looked up at it from below.
Lisa didn’t hesitate as she walked down the board. “See you in the water.” She gave her friend a wink, before gracefully floating off the board, tumbling and entering the water, hands first, with a slight splash.
I should have known Lisa could dive. Ari glanced over the side as Lisa broke the surface, her hands waving in the air in a mocking acceptance of their class mates cheers. Their cat calls echoed in the large building. How did I manage to get myself talked into this?
Ari was stuck. Too embarrassed to walk back down the ladder, she edged her way to the end. Oh, to hell with it! She splashed down feet first with all the aerodynamic attributes of a large rock. It wasn't pretty, but she was back in the pool. Her ears drained of water in time to hear Anthony challenging Lisa to a jump from the high board, ten metres up.
“You two have got to go first,” Anthony said.
“You want a couple of girls to show you how it’s done?” Lisa teased.
“Just don't think Ari will do it.” His voice sounded defensive.
“She'll do it.” Lisa was confident.
Crap, Lisa was accepting the challenge for her.
“I'm not so sure.” Ari hated to sound pathetic, but she looked up at the board, and it was a long way up. The three-metre board looked like the height of a porch step by comparison. If she wasn’t already up to her neck in water, her palms would be sweating.
“You'll be fine. I'll walk you through it.” Lisa smiled reassuringly.
“Way you go then,” Anthony and his mate called out, practically in unison.
“What's the forfeit if you chicken out?” Anthony’s friend asked.
“Anyone who doesn’t do it will have to do an undie run on the last day of school,” Anthony offered.
“Deal.” Lisa was already swimming to the side of the pool.
“Wait, I haven't agreed to this.” Ari was treading water, not going anywhere.
“Harden up, Ari,” Lisa called out. “It’s way easier than it looks.”
From the top of the ten-metre board, the water looked hard and unforgiving. As she peered over the side, Ari’s grip on the railing was so tight her white knuckles glowed like small warning beacons.
“Remember…,” Lisa's voice sounded ethereal so high up, “…just how I told you—feet first, arms crossed over your chest, in straight, and try to relax. You can do this, Ari. It's easier when you’re on the way down. Just relax.”
“Stop telling me to relax. This is your worst idea yet.” Ari felt her eyes sliding into the back of her head. Even they were trying to escape. She was sure her legs were shaking but didn't want to look down and check in case she accidently caught another glimpse of the fall.
The sound of the boys having a laugh at her expense reverberated off the roof above her. It frustrated and angered her so much that, without considering the consequences, she let go of the rail, and looking straight ahead, stepped off the platform. Rational thought kicked in about half a second too late. She fell. Her stomach came up to meet her throat. Trying to find purchase on thin air, her legs scrambled frantically. Then, Lisa's words repeated in her head. Straight in. Feet together. Relax.
The water broke hard beneath her feet before enveloping her, the momentum forcing her down to the depths of the pool. Lisa had missed telling her one important thing. Take a deep breath before you hit the water. Ari went a long way down. Her lungs screamed for oxygen. She furiously kicked to the surface. It seemed to take an eternity to get there, but finally, the water parted. Taking a long draw of the moist air, she filled her lungs to excess. Everyone cheered. Everyone that is, except Michelle. “You looked like a flailing monkey,” she called out.
Ari didn't have the lung capacity to retaliate. Her arms were still shaky when she pulled herself up onto the side of the pool. Lisa, who had followed her into the pool with a lot more finesse, popped up next to her.
“It’s time you boys got your cute little butts up that big, tall ladder,” Lisa called to the two boys.
Their climb was punctuated with stops as they debated the consequences of failing the challenge. When they finally reached the top, they sheepishly peered over the rail, the distance making their heads appear smaller than usual. Ari gave them a big smile and a wave.
Mr Bradley strode past. “Get out and get dressed. Meet me at the van in fifteen,” he bellowed before heading towards the exit.
“Come on boys, you heard the man. It’s time to jump.” Lisa was enjoying herself. Now that Ari was safely in the water, she was starting to enjoy it too. “Jump. Jump.” A dozen more v
oices joined Lisa’s chant.
Lisa cheered as the first of them disappeared from view, only to appear seconds later, feet on the ladder, heading back down.
“We got ourselves a bit of entertainment coming. Don’t forget to wear your best tighty whiteys,” she yelled at them.
*****
“We’re one short,” Mr Bradley said after a quick head count. “Let me guess. Michelle?”
It was another five minutes before Michelle appeared, her hair blow-dried to its usual perfection and a fresh coating of makeup applied.
“Come on Michelle, you've already made us late,” Mr Bradley reprimanded her. There was no apology.
“Have you got a hickey, Michelle?” Lisa asked, pulling at the collar of Michelle’s shirt. While a hand flew to her neck to cover the red mark on her skin, Michelle’s smile suggested she had deliberately left the area untouched when she had redone her makeup.
“It was a great party, Friday, don't you think?” Michelle asked, her question not directed at anyone in particular; more of an explanation as to where she'd got the red mark. She raised her voice a notch. “Matt's such a hottie, and he just followed me around like a puppy all night.”
Ari sighed. She imagined Nevaeh’s reaction to the news that Michelle had scored her guy from the party. Michelle didn’t stop talking about him all the way back to school.
It felt like Mr Bradley’s driving was slower than his usual careful approach. As soon as the van stopped on school grounds, Ari jumped out and ran to Nevaeh’s biology class. She was too late; the class had already been let out. There were only a couple of dawdlers leaving the building. She didn’t register who they were until one called to her.
“Hey, Ari.” Luke waved her over, a big cheesy grin washing over his face. He slung his arm around her shoulders.
If Ari didn’t know better, she might have thought Luke was hitting on her. But flirting was what he did best.
“Hey, Niko.” Ari peered over Luke's arm at the guy standing next to her. “Did either of you see where Nevaeh went?”
“She took off after class. Wasn't looking too flash. I think she headed for the gates,” Luke replied.
“Ellie was trying to wind her up about something. Didn't hear what it was about,” Niko added.
“Damn it. I forgot she was in that class.” As Michelle’s number one drone, Ellie would have made a game out of rubbing Nevaeh’s face in her loss of Matt, not satisfied until the wound was raw.
“Speak of the devil,” Niko whispered in her ear. “And I mean that literally.”
Ellie wandering out of the classroom.
“Where did Nevaeh go? We were having such a nice heart to heart,” she smirked.
Ari didn't stick around to hear what came out of her mouth next. She took off out the front gates.
Come on Nevaeh. Which way did you go?
Looking left, Ari saw a teacher standing outside the coffee shop. Chances were she hadn’t headed that way. Turning right, she took off down the street. Nevaeh can’t have gone far. After a few minutes, at a slow jog, Ari still hadn’t caught sight of her. Running haphazardly through the streets wasn’t the answer, and there was no one around to ask. Ari decided to use what she always considered to be her last resort. Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to put herself in Nevaeh’s shoes. How would she be feeling right now? She could picture Nevaeh’s face, feel her agony; a hollow feeling in her heart that somehow radiated pain from her chest to every raw nerve ending in her body. Ari concentrated on that feeling. She could sense where it originated and followed her instincts.
Ari didn’t need to go far before glimpsing a park down one of the side streets. The feeling of sadness drew her towards it. There was a child’s play area in the middle, surrounded by a large field of freshly mown grass. The cuttings stuck to her shoes and their smell wafted up as they were crushed. Nevaeh sat on one seat of a twin swing set, which looked as if it might have originally been red. Most of the paint was gone now, and the tarnished metal was exposed to the elements. Head down, her friend rocked, gently kicking at the bark that covered the ground.
Hearing footfalls coming towards her, Nevaeh turned to look at Ari. The metal links of the swing groaned with the unnatural angle as they were forced to twist. Nevaeh’s eyes were red and puffy, just as Ari had expected they would be. There was no way she could try the 'I-got-something-in-my-eye' routine on this one. Her stare fixed on Ari’s before she released the tension in the chain links and let the swing rock itself back to the front, once again hiding Nevaeh’s face and her bloodshot eyes.
“How did you find me here? Did someone see me leaving?” Nevaeh asked as Ari sat down on the swing next to her.
“Luke may have mentioned that you were heading out of school,” Ari replied.
“But how did you find me here? I haven't been here before. I just stumbled on this place.” There was an unmistakable edge of irritation in her voice.
“I don't know. I did what I thought you would do, I guess.” Ari tried to shrug off the question.
“That doesn't explain it,” she snapped, “How can you always find me when I'm a mess? Sometimes, I just want to be alone.” She was near yelling. Regret crossed her face. “Sorry, it’s been a crappy morning.”
“I can go if you really want me to.” Ari wasn’t sure if she meant it. Nevaeh didn’t like anyone seeing her like this, not even Ari, but that didn’t mean she could walk away.
“But how did you find me?” Nevaeh asked again.
“It’s hard to explain it—I just can,” Ari replied.
“It's a little weird, Ari.” Nevaeh’s voice was a lot softer.
“I know.”
“I mean how …”
Ari cut her off mid-sentence. They had been over this before. “Please, just drop it. I don't really know how, I just do, okay?”
Ari knew not to talk about it. The memory of herself as a little girl was still vivid. Back then, she had been oblivious to her actions. Now she was older and had a better understanding of the world, she played it over in her head, a home movie that never faded; a reminder of the person hiding beneath her smile.
"Mummy!"
"I'm over here, Ari," her mother called back, not looking up as she laid plates out on the picnic table. "Hey, Karen, you need more forks," she shouted towards the kitchen.
The backyard was alive with children playing under the sprinkler while their parents stood about, drinks in hand, talking. A sudden roar of laughter from the three men manning the barbeque drowned out Karen’s reply. The laughter died down leaving a hum of chatter in its wake.
"Mummy!" Ari's high voice carried clearly over the din, commanding attention. "Mummy, why has Aunty Lizzie been naughty?"
Judith, Ari’s mum, spun around to stare at the four-year-old. “Arianna, no. Don't say...,” but her voice didn't have the power of a small, inquisitive child’s.
“Mummy, she's feeling really bad, like Daddy did when he broke the car, but even badder than that.”
Judith Taylor pushed her way through the gathered guests with the speed of a python having eyed its prey. Her eyes flicked to the reddening face of her sister, Lizzie. The women's voices had become muted, though the men continued their raucous banter.
“And Mr Watson, too. He's feeling bad, but not as bad as Aunty Lizzie.” Gerald Watson was standing near Ari and turned to face her when he heard his name. With the innocence of a child she turned to him. “Have you been very naughty? Did you ...” but before she could finish, her mother’s hand grabbed her forearm, dragging her away.
“Ouch. Mummy, you’re hurting me.”
Judith propelled her daughter towards the house, bending low to hiss in the child's ear, “Enough Ari, be quiet till we get inside.”
“And now you're cross and bad, Mummy. Have you done something too?” The child's tone changed to one of puzzlement. “Why are we going to the bathroom? I don't need to go to the bathroom, Mummy.”
Judith sighed in exasperation as she closed the bath
room door. “Ari, I've told you before. Don't say things like that out loud. You can't tell everyone you think Aunty Lizzie's been naughty. It's not nice. It's …”
The door swung open, interrupting her flow, and Lizzie slid inside, banging it behind her before leaning on it, sealing them in.
“Jeessuus, what is wrong with this kid? Why does she have to blurt out every thought in her head?”
“Lizzie, honey, I'm sorry. I don't know what makes her do it. She just seems to hone in on people’s feelings. Maybe kids are more sensitive to them but just don't say.”
“Most kids don't give a toss what adults are feeling. She enjoys making a scene. Like Mum used to.”
Lizzie turned her attention to Ari. “Did Nana teach you to do that? I bet she did. She used to get her kicks out of telling me how I felt, too. This family is nuts.”
“Lizzie,” Judith reprimanded her.
“Well, it’s true. We come from a long line of weirdos. Hell, they even named Mum after the one who lost it and jumped off a building. You better get this kid some help before she’s taken down by the family curse too.”
Judith’s face darkened, but it was nothing to the storm that crossed Lizzie’s face.
“And how did Ari know anyway? I told you I was going to end it with Gerald. You didn't need to talk about it with Dave. You promised you wouldn’t.”
“I didn't, honest. I haven't said anything to anyone.”
“Well, how did she know? You must have said something in front of her.”
“I swear, Liz. Ari picks these things up by herself.”
“And now everyone knows, don't they,” Lizzie spat back at her sister.
A small frightened voice brought their attention back to the little girl. “Mummy, Aunty Lizzie is scary-angry now.”
Judith dropped to her knees and clasped Ari to her, stroking the little girl's head. “It's okay, it's okay, sweetie. Aunty Lizzie got a fright, and she's really sorry.”
“Yeah, right.” Lizzie stormed out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
