I’m a bit unsure at first, trying to work out what to say, but she asks enough questions to make it all okay. I can tell she’s trying. So I ask what she did yesterday and she tells me that her mum just came out of hospital.
Her mum just came out of hospital.
Wow. All her talk about mascara and boys, and she’s holding in a bomb like that? I’m not sure what to say, or how much she’s willing to share, but I ask what was wrong. Phoebe admits that they don’t know, and I get the sense that she doesn’t like talking about it.
I don’t press her to talk now either, but I promise myself to cut Phoebe a bit of slack when she goes on about nothing. Mascara and boys are way easier to talk about than tests and hospitals.
I’ve only just hung up when I hear a familiar voice in the hall.
‘Moved into enemy territory, I see.’
My heart rises in my chest as I turn. George is leaning against the doorframe.
‘Ah, yeah …’ I stand up from my bed.
‘Do you have any spare USBs?’ he asks. ‘I need to back up your dad’s gazillion files.’
‘Oh …’ Of course. Dad’s laptop. My heart sinks. For a moment, I actually thought George popped round to see me.
I find a USB with an old project about Egypt and a new one that’s completely blank.
‘Thanks.’ George disappears, and I stand in the middle of my new room feeling as if I’ve stepped off a rollercoaster ride.
Lucy and Josh turn up late in the afternoon, carrying another bag of washing. It’s good seeing them back to normal. Happy again.
Dad suggests pizza for dinner, and asks George to stay as thanks for helping with the laptop. When it arrives in warm, steaming boxes, we crowd around the kitchen table, eating from napkins and pulling strings of cheese off with our teeth.
Dad cracks a beer and offers one to Josh. I stop chewing and watch because Dad’s never done that before. Josh nods seriously as if accepting a business proposal, and takes the can.
The pizza’s almost all gone when Lucy picks up Josh’s beer and absent-mindedly takes a swig. I can tell from the way she does it that they share drinks all the time. It’s sweet, a reminder of how close they are.
Lucy’s only just swallowed when she blinks and her hand slowly lowers, as if she worked out what she just did. It’s not so much drinking beer as the fact that she did it in front of Mum and Dad.
There’s a pause in the talking and then Mum leans over and picks up a pizza box. ‘C’mon, who’s eating the last piece? George? Don’t let it go to waste.’
It’s late by now. Lucy and Josh pack up in two seconds because it’s really only napkins and boxes. They say bye and carry the pizza boxes out for the recycling bin. Mum and Dad follow, so I stay in the kitchen with George.
‘So how’d it go with Dad’s laptop?’ I ask.
‘Fine.’ George leans back. ‘I updated the operating system, so it should be faster than ever.’
‘Cool.’
‘He might have trouble with the firewall.’ George lifts his eyebrows. ‘I can show you a couple of fixes, if you want?’
‘But then he’d have no reason to drag you round all the time,’ I laugh. It was just meant as a joke, but something flashes across George’s face and I have to glance away.
‘Do you want more water?’ I ask, standing quickly.
‘Nah, thanks, I’m right.’ George pauses. ‘But what was that new drink like? Cherry something? The one you bought at the train station yesterday.’
‘Cherry lime.’ I shrug, hands on the back of the chair. ‘It’s still in my bag. Weird combination, hey?’
‘Sometimes weird combinations work well,’ says George with a grin.
Our eyes meet, and I feel my cheeks flush. To cover, I say, ‘You can have it if you want.’
George jerks his shoulders. ‘Wouldn’t mind a try.’
‘Sure.’
I almost scoot past Lucy’s … my room, but realise just in time. A few steps in, I find my bag lying beside my desk. In the dim light I pull out a couple of things and grab the can from the bottom. Holding it up, I spin around and almost crash into George.
He’s right in front of me. I jolt in surprise and this weird noise comes from my throat. Wasn’t expecting him to follow. I haven’t even turned on the light.
Awkwardly, I hold out the drink. ‘Here you go.’
‘Thanks,’ he says, just an outline with the moonlight behind him.
Slowly my eyes adjust to take in his features as George accepts the can, pausing to consider me out of the corner of his eye.
‘It’s not cold,’ I say.
‘Let’s give it a try.’ The can fizzes slightly as George opens it. He lifts it to his lips and swallows. ‘Not bad, actually. Better than it sounds.’
George holds out the can so I take it and immediately taste it from the rim, super sweet with the cut of lime. I sip, thinking about my lips touching the exact place that George’s did only moments ago.
I focus on George, seeing a kink at the corner of his lips and something more in his eyes. I get the sense that he’s watching me. Like, really watching.
It makes me breathe in, almost daring to wonder. Does sharing a drink mean something to him too? We stand in my new room, staring at each other, everyone else outside.
‘Want another taste?’ I murmur.
‘Yeah,’ he says, but his eyes don’t move to the can.
My lips part. Is he thinking the same as me?
I don’t hold out the can. Instead I lift it to my mouth, turning slightly as I tip so that I don’t have to break the focus between us.
It’s the smallest of sips. I swallow and whisper, ‘Okay.’
Does he realise?
George steps forward and …
He does, he does, he does. As if I’m a mouse he doesn’t want to scare, he slowly leans toward me. Our foreheads are so close, I can smell sweet citrus on his breath.
For the longest moment we stay like that, not moving, barely daring to breathe. What is he waiting for? Is he checking to see how I’ll react?
I don’t wait to find out. Shutting my eyes I lean forwards, feeling the press of his arm around my waist as our lips touch.
I Heart You, Archie de Souza
Edi lives a weird double life. At school it seems like everyone loves her, but at home her parents barely notice she exists — except when her marks aren’t good enough.
So when Edi hooks up with her crush Archie, she can hardly believe her luck. Archie is super cute, and his family are warm and welcoming. Edi wants to spend every waking minute with Archie, even if it means letting her friends and schoolwork slide. But does Archie feel the same way?
Waiting For It
When the boys at school put up a list of the hottest girls in her year, Hazel is ranked halfway down. It figures. Even on something as stupid as a hot list, Hazel is stuck in the middle.
She’s sick of being nearly-but-not-quite grown-up, kind-of popular, almost good-looking. And she’s sick of waiting for things to change. It’s time to take matters into her own hands!
It’s Not Me, It’s You
Erin doesn’t know exactly when it happened, but it happened. Boys started being boyfriends. Girls started wearing make-up to school. And her big sister started keeping secrets about her love-life.
It seems like everyone is changing around Erin, and yet she’s still the same. She’s fine doing her own thing, but she never thought she’d be deliberately left out. How can Erin grow up and just be herself?
It’s Not Me, It’s You
published in 2012 by
Hardie Grant Egmont
Ground Floor, Building 1, 658 Church Street
Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia
www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au
This ebook is also available as a print edition in all good bookstores.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means witho
ut the prior permission of the publishers and copyright owner.
A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia
eISBN 9781742739304
Text copyright © 2012 Thalia Kalkipsakis
Illustration and design copyright © 2012 Hardie Grant Egmont
Design by Michelle Mackintosh
Text design and typesetting by Ektavo
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