Gradually the silence gave way to a low rumble of conversation as people came to their senses and resumed their conversations. Or pretended to. Witnessing the girl’s arrival had been an almost surreal moment and the crowd was waiting to see what might happen next. The band started up again, and so did the chat and the laughter, but it was quieter and more subdued than before. Glances constantly flickered over to where Josh was standing with the girl. When he held out his hand to her it was like the rest of us stopped breathing. We all watched as she smiled shyly, looked away and then after a few more moments turned back to him and took his hand. Together they glided into the middle of the dance floor and began to dance . . .
Do I need to tell you what happened next? Surely no one needs a picture of me running off to the toilet to sob? The world I’d built up in my head out there on the dance floor had come crashing down like a hastily built wall at a dodgy building site. I probably would have stayed in the toilet all night, except Reine stormed in and insisted I pull myself together.
‘These things happen!’ she hissed. ‘Get over it! He isn’t the only fish in the sea. A big part of being a success is acting like one! Get back out there now!’
So I washed my face and reapplied my makeup and then got out there again on the dance floor and tried to make the best of it. I made myself smile at the idiots I was dancing with and I made myself chatter like a maniac as I died inside. All the time, like everyone else, I was aware of the golden couple. Apart from their hands their bodies did not touch, but their eyes . . . their eyes! They had eyes only for each other. Nothing else existed.
Then, amazingly, it was over. The girl – whoever she was – picked up the front of her dress and began to run back through the main entrance. It was totally weird to watch! Taken by surprise, Josh was left looking after her, completely dumbfounded. I edged nearer and watched him try to gather his wits. Frowning, he shook his head a couple of times, folded his arms and half-laughed in disbelief. Then after the shock he made a wild dash through the crowd towards the door. A few of the guys looked at each other to shrug and grin as though to say, Well, that’s the last we’ll see of him for a while!
But he was back after ten minutes, looking decidedly crestfallen. Glee rose in me like bubbling froth. She was gone! I edged nearer and saw he was holding a lovely little red leather shoe with a low squash heel and a soft bow on the front. Joshua turned the shoe around in his hands for a few moments before slipping it into the pocket of his jacket. The party went on, but although I made sure I was in his line of vision, hoping that he’d suggest we resume dancing, he seemed not to even see me. Speeches were given and toasts made, but he didn’t dance with anyone else that night and nor did I.
{9}
Most of the way home in the taxi Reine tried to be positive, telling me about all the invites she’d got to parties and weekends. We both knew that most of them were spur-of-the-moment suggestions and that we’d be lucky if one or two come to anything. The nearer we got to that poxy suburb the lower our spirits fell. It was such a downer having to leave that beautiful house and all our old friends. By the time we let ourselves in through the front door we weren’t even bothering to talk. We just set about the business of getting ready for bed. I knew I wouldn’t sleep, though. I was still secretly fuming about that strange girl turning up to ruin my night. Who was she? I went to the kitchen, hoping perversely that it might have been left in a mess. I wanted to bang on Cinders’ door and scream in her face. But the place was as neat as a pin.
‘You have a good night, girls?’ Mum called sleepily.
‘Really great,’ Reine called back.
‘I want to hear about everything in the morning.’
‘Okay, Mum.’
I slammed into my room and slumped on the bed, hardly bothering to register that Cinders had cleaned up while I was at the party. Everything was so damned squeaky clean. Rather than feeling grateful, I wanted to kill her for daring to come into my room. Then I remembered that I’d ordered her to clean the whole house while we were out. Damn. I pulled at my hair in frustration. The hairpiece I’d been so happy with earlier had begun to feel like a nasty little animal clawing at my scalp. It was so hard to dismantle that I was almost crying by the time I’d pulled out all the pins and flowers and thrown them on the carpet. Then I dragged off the red costume and dumped it on the floor, consoling myself with the thought that Cinders would have to vacuum again the next day.
{10}
Reine and I were sitting around telling Mum about the party late the next morning when there was an unexpected knock at the door. Both of us were totally spent after our efforts, hungover and bleary-eyed, so we were in no mood for visitors. We’d sent Cinders out to buy chocolate croissants earlier and were sitting in the lounge room stuffing ourselves.
‘Ella!’ Mum yelled over the telly. ‘Get the door, will you.’
When there was no answer she sighed and shook her head. ‘Where the hell is that blasted girl?’ Reine and I shrugged and the doorbell rang again. Mum got up grumpily and we heard her talking to someone at the door but didn’t think anything of it until she came back with a rather strained smile on her face.
‘Someone to see you both!’ she said. Then, with no warning and to our complete mortification, Joshua walked into the room behind her. Oh my God! We both jerked to attention. He’d found us here in this awful poxy house looking like complete . . . hags! I looked at Reine, whose face had suddenly turned three shades paler. How were we ever going to live this down?
‘Hi there, you two.’ He seemed a little agitated. ‘Took a while to find you. It’s . . . a long way out.’
‘Well, hi Josh. Yeah, it is.’ Reine rallied valiantly and got up to turn off the telly. ‘Luckily we won’t be here for long, but . . . hey, what a great party last night!’
You have to give it to my sister. No matter what the situation, she puts her best foot forward. In her old clothes with no makeup and not enough sleep, she looked as terrible as I did and yet she acted cool, whereas I was simply so horrified that I couldn’t move, much less speak. It felt like the worst nightmare. My skin was blotchy, my hair wet from the shower and I was dressed in baggy grey trackpants and a truly grotty lime-green windcheater of Dad’s.
‘Yeah, it worked out okay, didn’t it?’ He smiled. ‘Glad you both had a good time.’
‘Sit down, why don’t you,’ Reine said, pointing to the battered old couch.
‘Thanks.’ He sat down on the arm of the couch and looked around with mild interest. ‘So you both live here now?’ He smiled at me and I tried to return it.
‘Just until our new place becomes vacant,’ Reine smiled gamely. ‘Sorry everything is . . . a mess.’
‘Oh,’ he waved at her and smiled again, ‘don’t worry about that.’ He slid off the arm and onto the seat and looked around again. My spirits lifted a little. Why did I get the feeling he wasn’t even seeing this horrible little room? A bizarre thought suddenly skidded into my brain and stayed there. What if he’d come to see me and ask me out dancing? Mum must have been thinking the same thing.
‘How about coffee?’ she simpered from the doorway.
‘Okay, thanks.’ Joshua smiled at her. Once Mum was out of the room I jammed up again. Josh didn’t help things by being so agitated. He was twiddling his thumbs, staring at the ceiling one moment then looking out the window behind Reine the next.
‘I need to ask you both something a little . . . crazy,’ he said eventually.
‘Okay.’ Reine tried to smile. ‘Fire away.’
He suddenly pulled the small red leather shoe out of his pocket.
‘Thing is, I don’t know what else to do.’ He blundered on. ‘This belongs to that girl I was dancing with at the party. I don’t even know her name. I’m contacting everyone who came to the party to see . . . if they have any idea who it might belong to. It’s my only clue.’
I took a deep breath and tried to swallow the bitterness in my throat. He’d come to our house to find anothe
r girl, the owner of a shoe!
I watched as Reine leaned across and took the shoe from him and put it up against her big foot.
‘Well, I don’t think so.’ She gave a fake laugh. ‘Your turn, Skye!’ I scowled as I took the beautiful little shoe and held it up next to my foot. Reine might be smart and tough but she could also be quite thick. Why draw attention to our huge ugly feet? She only had to look at that tiny thing to know it definitely wouldn’t fit.
Cinders suddenly came in carrying a basket full of washing. It had started to rain and her hair was dragging all around her face and she was in faded old jeans and thongs. She nodded but hardly looked at us as she hurried through to the kitchen, dumping the washing basket on the table before heading towards the back door again.
‘What about her?’ Josh asked as the door closed.
‘What about her?’ I said sourly.
‘Maybe she could try it.’
‘But why? She wasn’t even there.’
‘Just for the hell of it.’
‘Cinders!’ I shouted. ‘Come here.’
She came back immediately, her face still partially covered by her hair. There was a hole in her T-shirt, I noticed with satisfaction, and there was grime over her jeans. Mum had told her to clean the oven that morning. At least her beauty wasn’t quite as obvious as usual!
Josh held the shoe out to her.
‘Will you try this on?’ he asked. Without raising her head, Cinders took the shoe and simply held it in her hand, turning it this way and that as though unsure what to do next. Josh took a step towards her, staring intently at her lowered head, as though trying to work something out.
‘Quickly,’ I snarled, ‘he’s in a hurry.’
She sat down on the arm of the chair, slipped off her thong and, wouldn’t you know, the shoe fitted her foot perfectly! Joshua’s mouth fell open and he moved closer, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
‘I’ve visited so many people,’ he said quietly, ‘and not one other girl could get it on.’ Cinders blushed, but she didn’t raise her head, or smile or look at him. In fact, she looked distinctly uncomfortable. I glanced at Reine. Suddenly we both knew it was very important to get that girl out of the room.
‘Go and help Mum, will you,’ I ordered, ‘she’s making coffee.’ On cue, Mum appeared in the doorway holding the tray of coffee cups and a plate of the delicious biscuits that Cinders had made the day before.
‘Where have you been, Ella?’ she said unpleasantly. ‘I shouldn’t have to do this.’
‘I was cleaning the oven, then it started to rain . . .’ she protested softly and immediately slipped the shoe off.
‘Well, get back to it right now.’
Ella nodded and hurried from the room.
‘Hang on!’ Josh stood up. ‘Please . . . don’t go.’
But she had disappeared and Josh was left frowning deeply as he stared after her.
‘I guess she’s shy,’ he said quietly.
‘A personality bypass, more like it,’ Reine chuckled.
‘Okay.’ Joshua gulped down his tea and stood up. ‘Well, I’ll get going now. I’ll see you gals soon, eh?’ He had a distracted expression, as though his mind was already elsewhere.
‘Dancing,’ I said cheekily, ‘remember? You and me.’
‘Sure,’ he said, and squeezed my hand. ‘That would be fun, Skye.’ He smiled at Mum. ‘Your daughter is a fantastic dancer.’
‘Oh, I know.’ Mum swooned under his charm. ‘She’s always been a natural.’
Joshua looked at his watch again. ‘I’d better go.’
Once we’d closed the door on him, the three of us rushed back into the lounge to peer through the curtains and watch him leave. Out on the street he turned to the house and stood looking at it thoughtfully, hands deep in his pockets, then he shrugged and walked back to his car.
‘Just look at us,’ I wailed in despair.
‘And this place,’ Reine said furiously.
‘Doesn’t matter,’ Mum said smugly, ‘he likes you.’
Of course, we were really pissed off that he’d seen us at our worst. Still, Mum might be right, he was a nice guy and he’d been so friendly. With a bit of luck he wouldn’t find the girl who owned the shoe and he’d ask me out instead. We talked at length about the pros and cons of sending him a gentle reminder if I didn’t hear anything within the next week. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Every time the phone rang my heart rose. Perhaps he’d only been shy in front of Mum and Reine . . . maybe . . .
Reine seemed to grow increasingly uneasy as the afternoon continued, and when I tentatively suggested that things just might turn out okay, she wouldn’t meet my eyes.
‘What is it?’ I asked after a while. ‘What’s on your mind?’
‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this,’ was all she’d say.
‘Tell me.’
‘I need to think.’
There were no phone calls from him but we did get a few from girls who’d been at the party the night before.
Had we had a visit from Joshua yet?
Yes.
The shoe – did it fit either of us?
No.
So we began to make a few calls of our own.
Any idea who that chick was?
No, we thought you might know.
No.
Word got around that the shoe fitted no one who’d been at the party and no one knew anything about the mystery girl.
When there was no busy little Cinders getting the meal together at dinnertime, we were all puzzled.
‘Where is she?’ Mum snapped. ‘Go get her. I’m hungry.’
I went to bang on her door.
‘You planning to cook something for dinner?’
‘No,’ she called back.
The three of us looked at each other. Mum threw down the newspaper she’d been reading and stormed over to Cinders’ door. ‘Get yourself out here right now, girl!’
But just then Jack walked in looking harried and worn out and wanted to know why we were all standing outside his daughter’s room. Of course, we had to back off and make light of it.
‘I think she might be feeling unwell,’ Mum said quickly, changing her irate expression to one of concern. Jack pushed past her and gave a couple of sharp knocks.
‘Hey Ellie, are you coming out?’ he asked.
‘No,’ she said.
‘Are you ill?’
‘I’m tired,’ she said.
Our faces dropped in fake concern behind his back and we mouthed, ‘I’m tired,’ sarcastically and tried to suppress our giggles. He turned around and almost caught us out.
‘She’s tired,’ he said shortly.
‘Oh dear,’ Mum said lightly, ‘so are we all, I’m afraid.’
‘Leave her be,’ Jack said under his breath.
‘Of course, dear!’ Mum said, smoothly magnanimous as she sensed his mood. ‘Everyone is entitled to drop their bundle occasionally.’ She smiled. ‘What say we order in tonight?’
Jack gave a grunt before turning on the television.
We ate takeaway pizza and then watched a show. All the time I was thinking of Joshua. All those phone calls but not one from him. Oh, why didn’t I make myself look reasonable this morning? Perhaps I should have asked him out . . . Something was brewing in Reine, so I knew I couldn’t talk to her about it. I had to wait. Even so . . .
‘What is it?’ I said to her eventually.
‘Talk later,’ she muttered.
‘Give me a hint.’
‘No.’
{11}
She made me wait until Mum and Jack were in bed.
‘Okay, we need to see what was in that box,’ she said.
‘What box?’
‘The one that came yesterday, of course,’ she snapped.
I’d forgotten all about that stupid woman arriving yesterday afternoon. It seemed such a long time ago.
We crept together up the little hallway and stood outside Cinders’ room.<
br />
‘Are we going to wake her?’
Reign shook her head.
‘Not yet,’ she whispered. ‘Let’s just see.’ She put her hand on the door and gently pushed it open and tiptoed into the room.
I hesitated, my heart beating fast. If Cinders woke with a start and made a noise, then her father would be out for sure and we’d have to explain ourselves. I had a gut feeling that he’d begun to see through Mum by this stage, and I had no wish to cross him. So I waited, hardly daring to breathe, listening to the noises of my sister rustling about in the room. Suddenly the light went on. Oh no! She’ll wake Cinders. But when the door opened it was Reine.
‘She’s not here!’ she whispered furiously. ‘Quick, come in.’ We closed the door behind us and stood looking blankly at Cinders’ neat little empty bed.
‘So where is she?’ I said stupidly. ‘It’s nearly midnight.’
‘How would I know?’ Reine was searching frantically under the bed and on top of the cupboard.
‘What are you looking for?’
‘The box.’ She scrabbled through Cinders’ clothes drawers, dumping the contents out onto the floor any old way. But there was no sign of the box or anything else to give us a clue. We stood looking at each other, not knowing what to make of the girl’s disappearance. There was a sudden gust of wind from outside and a few leaves from the big gum tree fluttered in through the open window. As though suddenly deciding something, my sister pushed past me and climbed onto the sturdy little bookcase under the high window, peered through and gasped.
‘What?’
She turned back and held out her hand to me.
‘Come up.’
I scrambled up alongside her and we looked out Cinders’ small high window into the backyard.
It took a while for my eyes to adjust, but the almost full moon and the bright fluorescent streetlight in the side lane gave enough light. Enough to see the trees near the back fence and the markings Jack had made for the foundations of the bungalow. Over to the left was the big dark shape of the shed and . . . I looked to where Reine was pointing.
Something was moving near the big gum tree. I clutched my sister’s arm and held my breath as we watched the lone figure of a man walk out from behind the tree and stand in the exact place where we’d made the bonfire of all Cinders’ notebooks. I squinted into the darkness. He was tall and young and . . . oh no! The realisation hit me hard.
Tales from the Tower, Volume 2 Page 27
