Marked (7 page)

I passed my lunch hour in the music suite, getting organised for the house competitions. We spent most of the session choosing numbers, finally settling on two tracks from Auld Bob’s Slow Death album. Keyboard, two guitars, drums and a singer called Marlene with a really cool, sexy voice.

On my way to class after lunch, I stopped at the noticeboards to check the draw for the house competitions. A voice at my shoulder said, “Hell, Cully. He’ll murder you.”

It was Kat, and I looked where she was pointing. There were only four entrants for the boxing – one from each house. And competing in the first semifinal,
Brian King (South) v Cully Dalfour (East)
.

Burger … and me.

I echoed Kat. “Hell!”

It was a bit like seeing your own name in the death notices.

“Thank you for your vote of confidence.” I was trying to smile. All cool and nonchalant, but it was a struggle. I wasn’t frightened of Burger. Not really. No way did I want to fight him though – certainly not with half the school watching. And Kat was right. It wouldn’t just be a boxing match – he’d be out to inflict some serious carnage. But at least she was on my side, and even more importantly, she seemed to care.

“What are you gonna do? He’ll take you apart. You seem to have got right up his nose. What
did
you do to him?”

“Nothing much. I’ve hardly spoken to him. He roughed me up a bit when I first arrived, when we were having a few kicks out on the paddock. And I might’ve … sort of suggested he seemed to enjoy that side of things. You know, the touchy-feely stuff.”

“Oh, very clever. He’d love that.” She stared at me, shaking her head in disbelief. “So we’ve got a war on our hands.”

“Well, I was pretty wild with him.”

“And now you’re stuck with this.” She jerked her head at the noticeboard. “What’re you gonna do?”

I shrugged. “Fight him, I suppose. Can’t say I’m eager.” She deserved a bit of honesty. “But we only do four rounds. And they’re only a minute and a half. I mean, how much can he hurt me in six minutes – with a referee and all?”

“Have you done any boxing before?”

“No, not really.” This time I did manage a smile. “But I can run pretty quick. And I’ll do a bit of training. Get a bit fitter.”

“You might need to.”

I was enjoying the concern in her eyes, and I liked the way she’d said we had a war on our hands.
We
.

I couldn’t dwell on it though. If we didn’t make a move, we’d both be late for class.

Jed seemed to agree with Kat. “You’re going to fight that King creature? He’ll murder you. A right mongrel he is. And twice your size.”

I hadn’t realised they’d met, but then it’s a small town. I guess everybody knows everybody else. Clearly he was trying to boost my confidence.

“He’s not
that
big. And anyway, it’s mostly flab.”

“He
is
that big.” Kat spoke from beside me. What were they trying to do to me?

Jed was driving and he lifted his eyes from the road, glancing at us both. But he didn’t say anything.

There was a long silence, and then Kat changed the subject. “How did the practice go? With your violin?” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the ute deck where my guitar lay beside her bike.

“Pretty good. What about your choir?”

“Haven’t had a practice yet. Who’s in the performance group? Any talent?”

“Well …
I’m
in it.”

“Yeah right.” She gave me a wicked smile, and I could see Jed smirking. “I meant anyone
else
.”

“Yeah, course.” I could feel the firmness of her thigh against mine. This was the best part of the day and I was glad Jed hadn’t fixed his motorbike yet. “It’s a bit early to tell. The concert’s not till the end of term. We’re going to wait till the exams are over and then we’ll get into it.”

“Good thinking. Never put off till tomorrow what you can put off till the end of term. I could live with that approach,” she grinned, and Jed gave me a nudge of encouragement. We were almost at Kat’s place, and he was already slowing down to drop her at the gate.

“You done any boxing before?” he asked as we took off again.

“Had a few sparring sessions with Dad. He used to box a bit.”

“Did he?” Jed sounded surprised. “That mongrel you’re up against is going to be a handful though. You might need to come up with a strategy. Something devious.”

“Yeah.”

“And he’s not all flab. I know they call him Burger, but I’ve seen him playing rugby. Gets round the paddock pretty well.” He gave me a sly smile. “Reckon I’d take a sickie if I were you.”

“Oh, great idea. I can just see me living that one down – can’t you?”

“Depends how thick-skinned you are. You can live anything down if you try hard enough.” Wasn’t sure what to make of that and we drove in silence for a few moments while I looked out the window.

Then he spoke again, changing the subject. “You and Kat seem to be getting on a bit better.”

“Guess so, she’s a bit hard to get to know though. Never quite sure where I am with her.”

“She’s a good kid. And she seems to like you.”

“Good.”
Good? It was bloody wonderful
.

“Y’know she’s got a guitar?”

“Eh?”

“A guitar. Suppose that’s why she’s so interested in yours.” He jerked his head towards my guitar case on the back.

I looked at him in surprise. If she played the guitar, why the hell had she joined the choir? She’d told me she sang like a prairie dog. Why hadn’t she said anything?

“Have you heard her play?” I asked.

“No. I’ve just seen it in her room.” The ute came to a halt outside our cottage, and he turned to me. “See you tomorrow? Usual time?”

I nodded.

“What’s the story with your Dad’s car?”

“Don’t know.” I was thinking how good it would be if it had a nasty accident. Like falling into an acid bath. Riding home in Jed’s ute with Kat was a great way to end the school day – and that would stop as soon as Dad got his wheels back. Not much room for her bike in the boot of a tiny sports car.

Kat had been right on the mark when she suggested I might need to tone up my fitness. Every sad muscle was screaming for a rest. Running on empty – and I hadn’t even reached the top yet. The track was much rougher than I’d expected, and I kept tripping on tree roots. Almost there though and then it was downhill to the beach. If I had any sense, I’d take the long way home, around the coast. At least it was flat. I hadn’t played any sport all winter, but it was a real shock to discover how unfit I was.

Finally, I staggered to the top. A lookout had been built up there, and I flopped onto one of the benches. The view was fantastic, right out past the islands to the edge of the world. But I wasn’t admiring it. I was slumped forwards, elbows on my knees, gasping for breath. Coaches always say you should never stop during a training run. Keep moving … keep your heart in exercise mode.
Stuff
the coaches.

It was a worry. If I couldn’t get fitter than this, Burger
would
murder me – like everyone said. I waited till the sweat was cooling against my back and then heaved myself to my feet. Started jogging down the track to the beach. It was much easier downhill, and my lungs had kicked off their sense of panic. I caught the occasional glimpse of the shoreline through the trees and could see someone down on the sand bending over a boat. Jed. I couldn’t see his shack, but I knew it was tucked into the hillside above.

He glanced up as I slithered down the last part of the track onto the sand. The stream runs across it at that point, making the rocks slippery. “Gidday. You in training for the Iron Man?”

I flopped down on the sand. “Just about. I’m taking everyone’s advice. Trying to get a bit fitter. So Burger won’t have everything his own way. Not that I’d call him an iron man.”

He had his back to me, tanned shoulders in a work singlet, hair hanging forwards in a loose tangle. He was fiddling with something in the boat, and I could smell fish. “I seem to recall my advice was to take a sickie.”

“Yeah right.”

He lifted a cooler out of the dinghy and rested his spear gun against it. “If you’ve got time to stop and laze about, you can give me a hand with the boat.” He nodded across the beach towards his boatshed. “I was gonna wait for Kat. She’s somewhere down the beach there. But since you’re here …” He stooped to grab hold of the rail and waited for me to take the other side. “It’s easier with two. Saves dragging it.”

“What’s Kat up to?” I said, trying to sound super casual. He’d left the outboard on the stern so the dinghy was tail heavy, and I had to adjust my grip to get the balance right.

Jed grinned. “Same as you – out for a run. You know, healthy body and all that. Firm, taut muscles … nice bum.”

“Get knotted.”

His smile broadened, but he didn’t say anything.

“Which way did she go?” I asked at last. Didn’t want to appear too interested.

“Down to the point. Not that
you’ll
ever catch her. I’ve seen corpses with less lassitude than you. If you want to catch the damsels – you’ve gotta be as quick as they are.” He was laughing now, but I could take it from Jed. “You’d better wait till she comes back. Shouldn’t be long.”

He was right. We’d barely eased the dinghy into the shed before I saw her loping back along the beach. She was in her trackies, jogging just above the high-water mark where the sand was soft, and I could see each footstep sinking into it. Running in that stuff is hard. It would’ve killed me, but Kat made it look effortless.

She saw us watching her and waved. “Hi.” Coming to a stop beside us, she checked her watch and then stretched her back a couple of times. “That’s good. Eight forty-two from the point.” She didn’t even seem to be breathing heavily and started jogging again, gently on the spot. She’d obviously been listening to what
her
coaches said about hearts and exercise mode.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. She’d never shown the slightest interest in sport. “What are you training for?”

“Nothing really … just like to stay fit.” She tossed me a knowing grin. “What are
you
training for?”

“Um, survival, I suppose. Boxing … have to face Burger.”

“Good thinking.” She looked at Jed and nodded towards the dinghy. “Thought you wanted me to give you a hand with that.”

“Yeah. But Cully was here. And it’s a pretty light dinghy … didn’t need any real muscle.” They were both treating me as a figure of fun now. Somehow it didn’t matter – it’s what friends do.

Kat glanced at her watch again, still jogging on the spot. “Well, I’d better get going.” She raised her eyebrows. Like a dare. “Coming?”

“Uh … yeah … okay.”

As we started up the track, Jed was killing himself with laughter – he had pretty good cause too. My mouth, it runs away with itself. I’d nearly wasted myself getting up one side of the hill, and here I was racing Superwoman up the other.

Some race. I hit the wall long before we were halfway up. Air rasping through my throat, blood pounding in my ears, leg muscles flopping about like jelly. And a figure in black trackies waltzing effortlessly along in front. Me and my stupid bloody pride. But pride or not, I knew I’d be throwing in the towel.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to. Kat reached a bend in the track and suddenly sat down, turning to watch as I laboured up the slope. She glanced at her watch and then pressed the timer, switching it off. “If you keep that up, it’ll kill you,” she said seriously, and then smirked. “Probably better than being murdered by Burger, but it wouldn’t make me feel too flash.”

I didn’t answer. Couldn’t. I just stood there, lungs heaving. If I sat down, I knew I’d never get up.

She didn’t seem to think that was a problem. Patted the ground beside her. “Sit down. Take a break for a bit, then we’ll walk.” She was smiling. “The way you look though, I’ll probably have to carry you.”

“Yes, please. I’d really like that.” Grinning, I sank down beside her.

“Yeah, I’ll bet you would.” She flicked her hair away from her face and her eyes were sparkling. Dark, but sparkling.

“How come you’re so fit?” I asked.