Pictures of Lily (6 page)

I’m not getting paid much, but I’d work for free if they asked me to, so anything is a bonus. As it is, I’m doing five days a week until I start school at the end of January, which is about seven weeks away. I still can’t believe how lucky I am – many people would kill to be in my position.

‘Come on, darl. We’d better get to work,’ Michael says.

Trying to buck myself up, I follow him out of my bedroom door and immediately spy a sleepy-looking Josh in the corridor. He notes my shorts and sniggers.

‘Bugger off!’ I shout.

‘Language,’ Mum says, annoyed.

Michael tries to jolly me up on the way to work. ‘So, it’s your birthday tomorrow. What time are you doing your theory test?’

Since Sunday I’ve been religiously studying the
Drivers’ Handbook
– the Australian version of the
Highway Code
. The way it works here is I have to take a theory test before I can get behind the wheel, then I’ll have to use Learner plates until I can take my proper driving test. If I pass, I’ll switch to P – Provisional – plates for a year. I’ve wanted my licence for so long that I used to read the
Highway Code
just for fun, and the laws are not that different here.

‘Eleven o’clock,’ I reply to Michael’s question. ‘Will anyone mind me taking the day off?’

‘Of course not. Especially not with all the work you’ve done up until now. We’ve been lucky!’

Ben doesn’t even acknowledge my shorts when I see him, and I’m grateful. For him, it’s business as usual.

‘The vet’s coming shortly for his weekly check-up and I want him to take a look at one of the koalas.’

‘What’s wrong with it?’

‘He’s been losing weight for a few days. Can you grab the record sheets from the office?’

‘Yes, of course.’

When I get back, the vet has arrived. Ben introduces me. ‘Lily, this is Dave. Dave’s an old friend of mine from uni.’

‘Hi.’ I shake his hand. He’s taller and lankier than Ben, with brown hair and a crooked smile.

‘Ben told me you want to be a vet?’ He speaks softly so as not to disturb the koala, but the question still catches me off-guard.

‘She said her grades weren’t good enough,’ Ben chips in, adding, ‘Lily’s still at school. She’s only fifteen.’

‘Sixteen tomorrow,’ I remind him.

‘You’ve got time to turn them around,’ Dave says.

I shift on my feet awkwardly.

‘Birthday tomorrow?’ Ben changes the subject as Dave lifts the koala onto a bench and starts to check him over. I notice his ears are back, one of the signs of ill health, as Ben informed me on my second day here.

‘Yep.’

‘Do you know what you’re getting?’

I give him a cheeky look. ‘Do
you
know what I’m getting?’

‘No.’ He quickly averts his gaze.

‘You bloody do, don’t you,’ I whisper loudly. ‘Does everybody know I’m getting a car except for me?’

Ben glances at me in shock and then stifles a laugh.

‘Whoops,’ I say under my breath as Dave looks up at us.

‘Who told you?’ Ben persists.

‘Josh. But keep that quiet.’

‘That dimwit,’ he mutters, then speaks to Dave, who’s making a note on the record-sheet. ‘Her mum’s hooked up with Michael Fredrickson. She’s living in the same house as Josh.’

‘Sheesh.’ Dave does a sharp intake of breath and bends down to zip up his black veterinary bag.

Will somebody
please
change the record?

I don’t consider myself to be a particularly good actress, but I think I do a fine job the next morning of pretending to be surprised when Michael whooshes open the door to reveal a faded green Ford Fiesta sitting on the road in front of the house. My excitement, however, doesn’t have to be faked.

‘THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!’ I scream at the top of my voice, running down the veranda steps and onto the path. I barely register the sharp stones digging into the soles of my bare feet as I race towards the car and tug on the door handle.

‘WHEREARETHEKEYSWHEREARETHEKEYSWHERE-ARETHEKEYS?’

‘Here, here.’ Josh grins as he lopes down the path with a set of car keys dangling from a keyring. My mum and Michael beam at my reaction as they follow him. I hastily unlock the door and climb into the driver’s seat, sticking the keys into the ignition.

‘EEEEEEEEEEEEE!’ I squeal. ‘ILOVEITILOVEITILOVEIT!’

‘Do you think she likes it?’ Michael says to Mum and Josh.

‘I think she does,’ Mum replies, smiling.

‘Who’s going to take me for a test drive?’ I ask Michael hopefully.

‘Whoa,’ he says, leaning in and swiftly extracting the keys. ‘Not until you pass your theory test.’

‘Oh,’ I moan. ‘What time do they open?’

Mum drives me into the city to take my test. It’s easy. It’s multiple choice, so even if I hadn’t revised my bum off I would have stood a good chance of passing. Mum makes a snide comment about why I can’t apply myself to my education in the same fashion, and I make one back about it being hard when your mother has dragged you from school to school all your life in pursuit of men. That shuts her up. But I don’t want to have a go at my mum today. I have a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach that maybe, just maybe, it’s going to be okay living in Australia.

‘Piss off!’

‘Hurry up, would you. This is embarrassing.’

‘You are
such
a dickhead!’

Josh is teaching me how to drive. I know, I’m clearly not right in the head. Michael has been letting me get behind the wheel on the way to work over the last week and a half, but it’s Saturday now and he’s taken Mum on a weekend break to a town called Clare in the Barossa Valley to tour the wineries. I stupidly begged Josh to pick up where his dad had left off.

I wind down the window, but the hot air outside makes me feel like I’m in the direct airflow of a giant hairdryer so I put it back up again. Thankfully the car has air-conditioning, even if it’s not very powerful. I flip down the sun visor and instantly flinch as I remember Michael’s story about giant spiders hiding behind them. All clear.

Someone toots their horn behind me.

‘Yep, I know how you feel, mate!’ Josh calls out.

‘Stop winding me up!’ I snap, feeling the bite of the accelerator against the clutch. The car lurches forward and we fly through the traffic-lights.

‘Whoa! Who do you think you are?’ Josh says snidely. ‘Michael Schumacher?’

I’m so angry by the time we get home that I refuse to speak to him for the rest of the day. He finally comes to make amends.

‘Do you want to come to Stirling tonight?’ he asks, after finding me sulking in front of the telly at seven o’clock.

‘Not with you,’ is my blunt response.

‘Oh, don’t be mad.’

I glare at the television screen in silence.

‘It’s Saturday night . . .’ he carries on.

‘Who’s going?’ I ask, thinking that if the answer involves Lou, I’ll stay right where I am.

‘Just Alex, Shane and a few of the guys from work.’

‘No girls?’ I check, because I’m not risking it.

‘Nup. Not unless I get lucky later. I’m joking!’ he exclaims when he sees my face. ‘Come on,’ he adds. ‘You need a drink after all those near-crashes earlier.’

‘Go to hell!’

‘Hey, get a sense of humour. I’ll even let you get me back by picking on
my
driving.’

‘I’ll pick on it on the way there. But we’re catching a taxi home, geddit?’

‘Whatever.’

Stirling is a pretty town. The streets are lined with long rows of single-storey shops, set back under a shady canopy of trees. Some colonial-style buildings are built out of cream stone and have intricate wrought-iron balconies.

The pub we go to is packed, smoky and full of drinkers. I know the only way I’ll have a good time is if I join everyone else in their game, so when Josh goes off to play pool with one of his mates and Shane drags me to the bar to do a shot of tequila, I go gladly.

‘Another?’ he offers when I knock back the first.

‘No.’ I’m trying not to wince.

‘Pommie lightweight,’ he jokes.

‘I bet I could drink
you
under the table.’ As if!

‘Is that a challenge?’ He raises two dark eyebrows at me and flashes me a cheeky smile. He’s actually not bad-looking. I don’t think I’ve noticed before because it’s hard to notice anyone else when Josh is standing in front of you.

‘I wouldn’t want to embarrass you,’ I reply childishly and he laughs and pulls out a cigarette packet.

‘Want one?’

‘No, thanks. I didn’t know you smoked,’ I say as he lights up.

‘Only sometimes.’

‘Does Josh smoke?’

‘Nah. Too much of a cheapskate,’ Shane shrugs.

‘Right . . .’ Shane grins and I try not to smile. ‘How long have you two known each other?’ I ask.

He leans his elbow against the bar and manoeuvres himself closer to me. ‘About six years. We were at high school together.’

I wonder if Shane knows how Josh’s mum died. Before I can ask, Josh himself appears.

‘You’re not making my little sister drink shots, are you?’ he asks, wrapping his arm around my waist and giving me a squeeze.

‘Get off,’ I grumble, pushing him away, but secretly craving the contact. I haven’t been held like that for what feels like a very long time.

‘Can we get some more shots, here?’ Josh calls to the barman. He hands one to me a minute later and I find I don’t have the will to decline.

‘Cheers.’ The three of us chink glasses and knock back the booze, me trying hard not to cough.

‘You alright, little sis?’ Josh grins as he pats me on the back.

‘Bugger off.’

Someone vacates their bar stool beside us. Josh props himself against it and wraps both of his arms around me from behind. I curse myself for blushing as I meet Shane’s teasing eyes.

‘Where’s Lou tonight?’ Shane asks Josh.

‘Fuck knows,’ Josh replies. Another stool becomes available behind Shane and he pulls it up so I find myself sandwiched between the pair of them. I try to stay cool.

‘Oh man, you’re not doing shots, are you?’ Brian and Alex appear from out of nowhere. ‘How many have we missed out on?’ Alex whines.

‘Only one,’ Josh replies, not taking into account the shot that Shane and I did earlier.

‘Can we get a few more?’ Alex shouts to the barman.

Josh downs his shot left-handed and doesn’t remove his right hand from around my waist. The next thing I know, it has slid under my top and his thumb is stroking the lower part of my stomach. I suddenly feel light-headed.

Brian nudges Josh. ‘Karen’s just walked in.’

Josh’s hand whips out from under my top and my skin instantly feels cool from his lack of contact. I turn to see who this Karen person is and spy a slim, beautiful brunette wandering into the pool room.

‘Fancy a game of pool?’ Brian asks Josh mischievously.

‘Let’s go.’

Josh hops down from his stool and he and Brian stride purposefully after Karen, leaving me standing there with Shane and Alex.

‘What are you drinking?’ Alex asks me.

‘Um, cider, please,’ I reply, confused and disheartened by what has just happened.

‘Is it Mount Barker High School you’re starting at?’ Shane asks.

‘Er, yeah.’ Like I really want to talk about this now.

‘I’ll have to introduce you to my sister,’ he says.

‘Really? Is that where she goes?’

‘Yep. She’s sixteen too, so you’ll be in the same year.’

‘That’d be good.’ I mean it. I would love to walk into a new school and know someone. ‘What’s her name?’

‘Tammy. She just broke up with her boyfriend so she’s not too happy right now. You might be able to cheer her up.’

‘A new year makes everything seem a bit better too, doesn’t it?’ I say.

‘As long as the Millennium Bug doesn’t wipe us all out,’ Alex comments.

‘Bloody Millennium bug,’ I mutter. ‘That’s all anyone’s talked about for years. I bet nothing actually happens.’

‘I’ll be stocking up on extra cans of baked beans just in case,’ Shane comments, and I smirk at him.

‘What are you doing for New Year?’ I ask. I’m starting to forget the fact that Josh deserted me. At least these two aren’t making me feel left out. To think I liked it when he touched me! My face prickles with embarrassment. I won’t let him get away with that again.

‘We’re all going into the city to a club,’ Alex replies. ‘You should get your ticket soon if you want to join us – otherwise they’ll sell out.’

My heart sinks. ‘I’ll probably get asked for ID again.’

‘Oh, yeah,’ Shane comments. ‘That was a bit of a bummer.’

‘Hmm. I suppose I’ll think of something.’

At eleven thirty, Josh finally reappears –
sans
Karen.

‘Shall we head off?’ he asks me.

‘Yeah, why not.’ I slide off the stool and stumble slightly. Shane reaches in to grab me.

‘It’s alright, I’ve got her.’

Josh’s steady arms take over from Shane, and as he grins down at me, I’m annoyed to find myself feeling flustered. Calling for a taxi doesn’t even occur to me.

‘No Mum and Dad tonight,’ Josh comments a couple of minutes into the drive. TLC’s ‘No Scrubs’ is playing on the radio. He glances across at me and says meaningfully. ‘We’ve got the house all to ourselves . . .’

No, no, no, I tell myself sternly. He’s not sexy. Not sexy at all. He’s a wanker. And then I see the koala.

‘Shit!’ Josh exclaims as the weight of the animal thuds into our vehicle.

My senses violently kick into action. ‘YOU’VE JUST HIT A KOALA!’ I scream. ‘PULL OVER! PULL OVER!’

He screeches to a halt and I stumble out of the car and run back in the direction we just came.

‘Where are you going?’ Josh calls after me.

‘We’ve got to find it!’

‘It’ll be dead.’

‘Shut up!’ I don’t want to hear that.

I arrive at the place where we had the collision. There’s no sign of anything on the road so I squint down the slope into the darkness.

‘Lily, come back!’ Josh cries.

Just then, I hear a faint rustle in the undergrowth and, heart picking up pace, I carefully make my way down the steep incline, hoping and praying to find a living animal at the end of it. My feet hit something solid and I reach down to find my fingers sinking into thick, soft hair. It’s still. Silent. Warm. Dead.

‘No, please, no.’ My eyes adjust to the darkness and I collapse on the ground in despair as tears prick my eyes.

‘Where are you?’ Josh hisses into the darkness.

‘You idiot!’ I wail up the incline.

Again, a rustling in the undergrowth.

‘It wasn’t my fault!’ Josh whines back with the undertone of someone who knows, deep down, that it was exactly that.

More rustling . . .

‘Shhh!’ I say.

‘I didn’t see—’

‘SHUT UP!’ I stand up and follow the sound, stepping carefully through the dry leaves under my feet. And then I see it. The small furry bundle that was thrown off its mummy’s back.

My heart lifts.

‘Shhh,’ I murmur, this time to the tiny koala at my feet. I bend down and gather it up. ‘Shhh . . .’

‘What are you doing?’ Josh calls again.

I don’t answer as I climb back up the incline, past the baby’s dead mother.

‘What are you going to do with it?’ Guilt makes Josh’s voice tremble as he follows me back to the car, and it strikes me that he’d probably rather not have this live evidence of his dangerous driving.

My answer comes easily. ‘We’ve got to take him to Ben,’ I say. ‘Do you know where he lives?’ I look directly into Josh’s dark eyes and he knows not to mess with me.

‘Yes,’ he mumbles.

‘Then let’s go.’

Ben lives only a few miles away, but the journey seems to take forever because the last place I want to be is in a car with Josh behind the wheel. Finally he pulls up outside a single-storey stone house with an iron roof and a white picket fence out at the front. He makes no attempt to move as I get out of the car.

‘You not coming in?’ I ask him flatly.

‘No. He’ll give you a lift home, won’t he?’

‘I suppose so.’

‘See you in the morning then, yeah?’

‘Bye.’

I shut the car door firmly, wanting to slam it, but not enough to risk frightening the animal in my arms. It’s only when Josh drives off that I feel a prickle of regret for not wishing him a safe journey. But he didn’t screech away from the kerb so I can only hope that he’s learned his lesson, for tonight at least.

The house is dark as I walk up the footpath and only now does it occur to me that Ben might not be in. Then I see a thin ray of light peeking out from behind the curtains and relief surges through me. It’s close to midnight and he shouldn’t be awake, but perhaps I’m lucky. I press the doorbell. A moment later, the door opens and Ben is standing before me.

‘Sorry to bother you.’ The words tumble out of my mouth. ‘But I – we – I . . .’

A muffled squeak interrupts my speech and Ben’s attention is diverted by the package I’m carrying.

‘Come in, come in.’ He ushers me through the door and closes it before turning back to the bundle of fur in my arms. ‘Here,’ he says gently as I hand over the baby koala.

‘Shhh, it’s okay,’ he murmurs, as he quickly checks the animal over. I notice now in the light that it has a swollen eye and a couple of scratches. I feel so bad I could throw up. Ben looks up at me. ‘What happened?’

I swallow the bile in my throat. ‘Josh was driving . . .’

His stare hardens and I know I don’t need to say any more.

‘Come through to the living room.’

I follow him meekly, wishing I didn’t feel so helpless. He’s dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt so at least I know I didn’t get him out of bed.

‘I was scared you’d be asleep,’ I say, as he switches off the main light to darken the room. Two lamps on side-tables cast a glow across the space.

‘I’d just got off the phone,’ he replies. I wonder who he was talking to at this hour? ‘I need to get a heatpad and some blankets. Can you hold her?’