Dare You (9 page)

Dad left this morning, after driving Eliza and Maddie to school. He offered me a lift too, but I told him I had to meet Khaden and Ruby to talk about the trip to Torquay. It wasn’t a total lie. I did walk to school with Khaden, but we didn’t talk about the school trip. We talked about Ruby. At least, Khaden talked. I listened or I tried to, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Dad.

I don’t understand why he stayed at our place last night. Grace was out of hospital, and apart from the bandages, was back to her chirpy self. Mum and I had everything covered, just as we have since he left. If he really felt he had to be around, why didn’t he stay at Nona’s or Aunty Leta’s like he usually did?

At least he came on his own, I guess. It would have been awkward for Mum, for all of us, if he hadn’t.

The closest I came to talking to Dad was when he was making Milo last night. I formed the sentences in
my mind, but the words just wouldn’t come out. Then Eliza burst in and started crapping on and the moment was gone.

Before he left to go back to Anglesea, Dad put up the curtains and moved my bed against the feature wall. Instead of glad, that just made me feel bad. I had enough crappy feelings filling me after Grace and the thing with Ruby, without Dad piling more on me.

Ruby’s driving me insane and I don’t know why. Sure, the way she whinges all the time is annoying, but it’s more than that. Every time she speaks, laughs, moves or breathes, I pick at her. But why?

Yesterday at school I couldn’t stop myself from blaming her for everything that happened to Grace, and that was just cruel, and wrong. I know Khaden was the thirsty one, and I didn’t have to go to the supermarket with them.

Today when we were at The Fink’s car, Ruby was so jumpy you’d think we were stealing the car, not wrapping it in plastic. I wanted to whack her over the head with the cling wrap roll.

I can’t work out if she’s always been like this or if it’s new, caused by what’s happening with Khaden and me. It’s so confusing it makes my head hurt.

Grrrrr.

The good thing is we’ve been suspended, so no lame excursion to Torquay for us. It’s way too close to Anglesea for me.

Mum was grabbing her handbag from the bench and munching on toast when I staggered into the kitchen. I wiped sleep from my eyes.

‘What are you doing up so early?’ she asked.

‘Should have been up an hour ago if I’m going to finish all the jobs you and Dad expect me to do. It’s
so
not fair that I have to do Archie and Harrison’s jobs.’ I flung open the fridge and grabbed the orange juice and a tub of yoghurt.

‘Life isn’t fair, Ruby,’ said Mum, taking her car keys from the bowl by the back door. ‘Oh, can you make Archie’s lunch too, please?’

I stopped pouring juice. ‘Serious? I’m not a slave.’

‘Ruby—do the crime, serve the time.’ I didn’t hear Dad come up the hall to the kitchen.

‘See you tonight.’ Mum blew me a kiss.

Dad looked up from rummaging in his brief case. ‘Oh, Ginny, I might be late.’

‘Meeting?’ I said.

‘Mind your tone, Ruby,’ said Mum. ‘Text me when you know for sure.’

While I ate my muesli and yoghurt in silence, Dad slapped avocado onto the salad sandwich he was making for his lunch. I tried to remember if he’d made his lunch the morning of my Economics excursion.

If he did make it, did he chuck it out at work? Give it to one of those homeless guys in the city begging for money? Or did he eat it and still go out for ‘lunch’ anyway?

‘What are you frowning at?’ asked Dad.

My face flushed. ‘Nothing. Just wondering what to make Archie for lunch.’

Dad slipped his sandwich in a brown paper bag and into his brief case. ‘Doesn’t he always have Vegemite and cheese?’

‘Guess so.’

‘You could always make him something different—everyone needs a change.’

‘Yeah. You’d know.’ As soon as I said it I regretted how bitchy it sounded.

Dad sighed. ‘Ruby, it’s clear you don’t like me much at the minute. Want to tell me why?’

‘No.’ I rolled an almond with my spoon to avoid Dad’s stare.

‘So you don’t deny you don’t like me much.’

Here was my chance to tell him what I saw, what I knew—but I couldn’t. I picked up my bowl and stalked to the sink.

‘Can we just drop it?’

‘Make sure those jobs are done before I get home,’ said Dad, snatching his keys from the bowl.

I sucked in my cheeks to stop myself from making another smart comment.

As I reached the park entrance, separated from the footpath by a low log fence, the ground trembled, a train horn blasted and the roar of steel filled the air. I stood by the banksia bush, watching the train’s silver roof flash towards the city.

After it passed, I spotted Sas and Khaden on the climbing equipment. Their heads were close together and Khaden’s knee rested against Sas’s. A feeling of loneliness filled me.

Khaden looked up and waved. ‘Hey, Ruby—up here.’

Sas wriggled back a fraction and smoothed her hair. ‘Thought the “mountain” of jobs would take you all day.’

‘Hey, I’ve done more than a day’s work already. I washed the downstairs windows—inside and outside—vacuumed the family room, which is supposed to be Archie’s job, put three loads of washing on and hung them on the line, normally Harrison’s job, made Archie’s lunch, because he’s a spastic, AND I cleaned up after everyone else’s breakfast.’

‘That’s only ten,’ said Sas. She leaned back and gripped the bars behind her, her long legs dangling towards the tanbark.

‘What?’

She stared across the park to the main road.

‘You said you had a thousand jobs, but that’s only ten, unless you’re counting each window and each piece of clothing.’

‘Okay, so I exaggerated, but this sucks. Who has to get up at seven-thirty to
clean
when they are on holidays?’

‘Technically, we’re not on holidays, we’re on suspension,’ said Sas.

The air between us felt thick. I shifted positions on the bars.

Khaden laughed, and Sas smiled. ‘Laugh, Ruby. God, what’s wrong with you?’

‘Nothing—I was just wondering if I’d shut the back gate,’ I lied.

‘How awesome did The Fink’s car look?’ said Khaden. The bruise on his cheek was mottled purple now and his lip didn’t look as puffy.

‘Fantastic. Can’t believe the school thinks we’re being punished. That trip to Torquay will be lame. Can you imagine Penny strutting on the beach, all boobs and bum.’ Sas shuddered.

‘Has she got big boobs?’ said Khaden.

‘Are you serious? She’s
huge!
’

I held my hands in front of me to emphasis my point.

Khaden’s mouth turned down and his eyebrows rose. ‘School uniforms hide a lot, don’t they?’

Sas and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. We used to laugh like that all the time.

‘What?’ said Khaden.

‘Your face,’ I said when my laughter eased.

‘You looked so serious.’ Sas mimicked Khaden’s face. She slipped and squealed, which set us off again. This time Khaden laughed too.

‘What did your dad say?’ I asked.

Khaden stopped laughing and looked at his knees.

‘Dad started to go off, but Taj forgot it was his turn to cook and that pissed Dad off more.’

His expression made me want to reach out and hug him, but I didn’t.

‘Mum had classes, so she said she’d deal with it today.’ Sas wiggled her eyebrows and grinned. ‘But last night, while she was out, I cooked dinner for the girls, cleaned up everything, tidied the lounge and
ta dah
—instead of a lecture this morning, Mum raved about what a fantastic help I am. She even gave me money to buy more stuff for my room.’ Sas lowered herself through the bars and dropped to the tanbark. ‘So let’s shop.’

Khaden jumped and landed with a deep
whoomp.
Tanbark flew up from his feet.

‘Doesn’t that hurt?’ I asked, staring down at him.

‘What? Jumping?’ Khaden shrugged. ‘Nah.’

‘Yeah?’ I said. ‘Kills my ankles when I do it—actually, it kills everything.’

‘Wuss,’ said Sas.

‘So where were we going?’ Khaden asked Sas.

‘Tram or train to Camberwell or bus to Chaddy?’

Dad was working around Chadstone this month. ‘I hate catching the bus and anyway, Camberwell’s closer.’

‘Is it?’ Sas sucked on her bottom lip. ‘Yeah, I guess it is. Let’s tram it.’

‘Okay, but I have to, seriously HAVE to be back home by three-thirty,’ I said, rummaging in my bag for my phone. I’d diverted the home phone to my mobile, just in case
Mum or Dad called to check up on me. There weren’t any messages or missed calls, so I slipped my phone back in my bag.

Sas and Khaden strolled towards the railway line.

‘Hey, you’re going the wrong way. The crossing’s that way,’ I said, pointing up the street.

‘Short cut,’ said Sas.

They weren’t cutting across the train tracks, were they?

‘But—’

Sas turned, palms raised, ‘You’re the one with the time limit.’

I jogged to catch up to them.

‘What’s up with you today?’ asked Sas, studying my face.

‘Why?’

‘You look freaked out or something,’ said Khaden.

‘Nah, just thinking ... about what we could do, you know, for a laugh.’

We weaved through native shrubs up the hill, twigs and leaves snapping and crunching under our feet.

Sas stopped on the top of the hill. ‘So what do you have in mind?’

To avoid looking at the steel tracks glistening in the sun, I kept my gaze on the houses the other side of them.

‘I thought—’

‘Don’t think, Ruby, just do!’ She ran down the hill and over the tracks.

Khaden followed, his skate shoes skidding in the loose gravel.

Neither of them looked. I did, both ways, twice. Certain there were no trains coming, I tiptoed over the steel rails,
careful not to let my feet touch anything but rock and dirt. I was sure I’d heard somewhere that railway tracks could give you an electric shock. I was about to step off the stones onto the dry grass, when Khaden and Sas’s laughter blasted me.

‘What?’ I said, looking up.

They cackled like idiots.

‘What’s so funny?’ I asked, anger buzzing in my brain.

‘You!’ Sas pulled a terrified face and tiptoed through the trees, which made Khaden laugh harder.

‘I was
not
doing that.’

Khaden wiped his eyes. ‘Yeah, you were.’

‘I was just being cautious.’

‘Chicken is the word, Ruby,’ said Sas.

I gritted my teeth and stalked through the native shrubs, up the footpath to the tram stop.

As the tram rattled up Riversdale Road, Sas listed where she wanted to shop: Target, The Body Shop, Priceline, a new surf shop and Sanity.

‘What can you buy for your room at The Body Shop or Priceline? Or Sanity for that matter,’ I said, still burning after the way they’d laughed at me.

Sas raised her eyebrows. ‘Room perfume at The Body Shop, scarves to use as curtain tie-backs at Priceline and posters at Sanity.’

‘Oh.’ Now feeling stupid as well as mad, I jabbed the green ‘next stop’ button.

‘Sanity is for my sanity, too,’ said Khaden, jumping off the tram and walking down the lane to Target.

Christmas carols battered the air as the store’s automatic doors slid open. My mobile buzzed and ‘Home’ flashed on
my screen. Panic flared, until I remembered I’d diverted calls, so any call to our landline would come up as ‘Home’ on my mobile.

I took a deep breath before answering. ‘Ruby speaking.’

‘It’s Dad.’

‘Oh.’

Sas and Khaden pulled faces, trying to make me laugh.

‘How are the jobs?’ he asked.

‘Working through them.’ I waved my hand at Sas and Khaden and turned my back on them.

Chimes sounded over the store’s intercom, interrupting the Christmas carol. A woman’s voice announced a child wearing denim shorts and a Wiggles T-shirt was lost.

‘Ruby, where are you?’ snapped Dad.

‘Home. Where do you think?’

‘Who was speaking?’

‘An ad on the radio—seriously Dad, what else would it be?’

‘Radio? You only listen to your iPod.’

‘I listen to the radio too...’

There was a cracking and a muffled sound, as though Dad was covering his phone with his hand.

‘You’re early.’

He sounded different. Happy.

‘Be with you in two seconds.’ Dad cleared his throat. ‘I’ve got to go, Ruby. Remember the windows. See you tonight.’ He hung up before I could say bye. A sour taste burned the back of my throat.

Teeth clenched, I turned to look for Sas and Khaden, who were at the sunglasses display. Sas handed Khaden a pair of
aviator-style sunglasses. Khaden slipped them on and studied his reflection in the tiny mirror on the stand.

‘They suit you,’ I said, putting my phone back in my bag.

Khaden turn his head left then right. ‘You think?’

‘Absolutely,’ said Sas. ‘They make you look hot.’

Khaden blew her a kiss. Sas’s eyes sparkled.

‘So buy them,’ I said.

‘Can’t afford them.’ Khaden took the sunglasses off and placed them back on the stand.

‘I thought you said you had a job,’ said Sas.

‘What job?’ I looked from Sas to Khaden.

‘Nothing major. I’m helping out at a friend’s tiling business, a couple of hours a week.’

‘When did you start that?’ I tried not to show I was hurt he hadn’t told me.

He shrugged. ‘Week. It’s no big deal. My first pay is tomorrow.’

Sas took the sunglasses from him, reached under her hoodie and scratched her shoulder. When her hand dropped back to her side, the glasses were gone. I glanced at Khaden to see if he’d noticed. If he had, he didn’t show it.

Sas stopped by the Napolean Perdis make-up stand.

‘Sas,’ I whispered, peeking around me. ‘Did—’

Sas cut me off. ‘I love this lip-gloss.’ She tried the tester on the back of her hand, then stared straight into my eyes.

‘Great colour, isn’t it?’

She hadn’t spelt out the words, but she’d made it clear she wanted me to steal the lip-gloss.

‘Wonder if there’s a matching nail polish?’

Did she want me to steal both?

‘Come on, Khaden, let’s look at lamps. We’ll meet you out the front in fifteen, Ruby’ she said.

I watched them walk away. Sas was already blowing hot and cold; what would she be like if I didn’t steal the stuff? I clenched and unclenched my fists.

Calm. Natural. The words swam through my soupy brain. I tried the tester on the back of my hand, screwed up my nose and then tried a pinker one. At the same time, I peeked around me to look for staff, but there weren’t any staff or even customers near me, which seemed strange for this time of the year. I picked up two of the pinker glosses and strolled towards the belts. As I tried on a silver belt, I slipped one lip-gloss between my jeans and belly. With a frown, I put the belt back and headed to the checkouts. I held the other lip-gloss out for every one to see. I was sure anyone close to me would also have seen my heart thudding against my T-shirt.

At the checkout, a woman with a broad back waited while the guy scanned three of the biggest bras I’d ever seen.

The air became thick and hard to breath. I glanced up at the airconditioning vents to see if they were working. The vents moved left and right and the plastic strips over them fluttered.

To distract myself, I tried to imagine what it was like to have bazookas as big as the woman in front of me.

The guy shoved the bras into the woman’s shopping bag and handed her a receipt. She lumbered to the door.

‘Next.’

I uncurled my hand and showed him the lip-gloss. He
took it from my sweaty palm. I shifted my weight from foot to foot. What if he saw the lip-gloss hidden near my hip? What if there was a bulge? I pulled down my T-shirt and chewed my bottom lip.

‘That all?’ drawled the guy.

‘Yes.’ The word stuck in my dry throat.

‘Seventeen ninety-nine.’

I fumbled with my wallet.

‘You all right?’ he asked.

‘Gastro—thought I was over it.’ I thrust a twenty dollar note at him.

He stepped back and took the money with his finger and thumb, placing my change, lip-gloss and receipt on the bench.

My skin felt cold and sweaty and my legs shaky. Was I going to vomit, collapse, or die? I muttered thanks, snatched up the receipt and change and fled. Any minute a security guard would stop me and haul me to the police station on Camberwell Road, I knew it.