Scattering Like Light (3 page)

We were all staying at the same hotel. It was really cool, and Josh and I loved it. Breakfast was served until late, there was a great pool, and then there was the beach: miles and miles of uninterrupted golden sand that wasn’t stuffed full of loud tourists and toddlers. It was perfect for surfing and was studded with beach bars: every day all the kite-surfers descended on the various
bars, each with its own unique appeal. One had huge beanbags on terraces overlooking the sea where you could watch the sun set, another had a huge selection of frozen fruit that they would juice into drinks, and our favourite had the beach volleyball court.

We were settled in one of the best seating areas, having kicked off our flip-flops and stretched out. On the other side of the table the boys were intently watching the action on the court.

Sabrina leaned over, checking that the boys weren’t listening. “So, Alex, come on, who is this mystery boyfriend?”

“Oh, he’s more of a penfriend really, I suppose. What’s Josh told you about him?”

“Not much at all, despite my prodding him. So what’s his name?”

“Callum,” I admitted.

“And where does he live?”

“Venezuela. We don’t get to see each other much.”

“Wow, that is a long way. How did you meet him?”

Although he was facing away from us I could see that Max was suddenly still, and I just knew he was listening. “Ah, well, sort of via a friend. It’s not been going on long so we haven’t, I mean, I’ve not travelled there, not yet.” I tried to sound as uninterested as possible, not wanting to get into a lengthy conversation about Callum. Keeping track of the lies was just too difficult. “So what about you? How’s your love life? Busy?”

“Ha! I wish. There’s no one right now,” she replied, giving me a knowing grin as the match finished and the boys turned back to face us. “But give me time!”

She picked up her freshly squeezed orange juice and sipped it through the straw as she looked at some of the other people sitting around. “This place doesn’t change, does it?”

There were some seriously beautiful people there: kite-surfers who were tall, bronzed and fit, girls with tiny shorts and legs that seemed to go on forever, and everyone had tousled, sun-kissed hair. I felt very pale and uninteresting in comparison, and looking around our little group it was obvious Sabrina felt the same. Neither of us had much of a tan and we were never going to be as cool as some of the others who looked like they spent their entire summers there. The boys looked rather more as if they fitted in.

“Do you think any of these guys ever go home?”

“Nah,” drawled Max. “I reckon they move from here to the ski slopes and back again. It’s a lifestyle I think I could get used to.”

“So how’s the kite-surfing?” Josh asked him. I knew he was keen to try it, as he had been a bit young the last time we had been to the beach, but he was worried about humiliating himself in front of a crowd of semi-professionals.

Max nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, it’s been good.”

“Have you been having lessons?”

“I’ve had a few,” he said. “I think it’s going quite well. I’m not sure how many more I’ll take though. Hiring those kites is expensive and you don’t get very long.”

Josh rubbed his hands together. “Oh, great, you can give me some tips. I’ve been dying to have a go at it, and it would be great to have someone I know teach me rather than one of those condescending instructors!”

“Ah, well, I’m not sure I’m good enough to do that.” Max coughed a little nervously. “You’d be far better getting a pro to teach you.”

Sabrina laughed. “Come on, Max, don’t be so modest! Why don’t you just tell them?”

Josh and I turned to look at Max, who was going a deep shade of red. “OK, OK, I suppose,” he mumbled. “I seem to be quite good at it, and the instructor has been great. He’s asked if I want to enter into some sort of competition for beginners next week, but I’m not sure. I just want to have some fun.”

“Really?” asked Josh, looking impressed. “That’s excellent. Do you think we could join your lesson? I’m going to need a really good instructor.”

“Do you fancy having a go, Alex?” asked Sabrina. “I’m thinking about trying it.”

“You must be mad!” I said. “There’s no way I’m going to do that; I’d maim someone. I’m going to work my way through the pile of books I’ve brought while I get a tan!”

“That’s very lazy of you,” laughed Max. “Aren’t you going to get any exercise at all?”

“I might take the odd stroll up the beach, but I’m on holiday.” I stretched out and dug my toes into the sand. “Eating and lounging around here is about as much exercise as I intend to take.”

“We’ll have to roll you back on the plane then,” teased Josh. “Maybe we should think about booking you an extra seat… Look out!”

We all made a quick grab for our drinks as a volleyball landed squarely on our table, but Max was too late. His glass went flying into his lap, the remains of the beer soaking his shorts. The player responsible came running over, apologising profusely in Spanish.

“No worries, mate,” said Max, smiling tightly as he handed back the ball. “It was nearly finished.” He sat back down, wincing as the cold cloth stuck to his skin.

“You need to change; that’s not a good look. You’ll never
pull like that.”

Max shot his sister a venomous glance. “Thanks for the advice, Sabrina.”

“You on the pull then, mate?” asked Josh. “What happened to the lovely Kate?”

“Ah, you know how it is,” replied Max. “We wanted different things. She’s history now.”

“Really? I thought you two were pretty serious.”

“Yeah, that was the problem. So did she. I just wanted a bit of a laugh.”

“Ah,” said Josh knowingly.

“Poor girl, she was gutted,” said Sabrina to me in an undertone. “She thought she had him nicely tucked up.”

I tried to make an appropriate noise, but as I didn’t know Kate it was difficult to get too worked up either way. “Obviously never heard of the ‘treat them mean, keep them keen’ rule,” I muttered back.

“What are you two whispering about over there?” asked Max, standing up and pulling uncomfortably at his soggy shorts.

“Nothing,” I laughed. “Max, you
really
need to go and change. Maybe we should all head back now? Mum and Dad want to take me and Josh out for an early dinner tonight.”

“Yeah, OK,” Max agreed. “Let’s all meet up on the beach tomorrow, then.” He looked at me and smiled. “Are you sure we can’t persuade you to give the kite-surfing a crack, Alex?”

“Not a chance,” I laughed, caught off guard for a second by the way his eyes crinkled up. I was still stunned by the change in him. His dark hair had dried into a perfectly dishevelled look, and in the last of the afternoon sun his eyes were glinting with amusement. I could see why the luckless Kate had been keen to
keep hold of him. Suddenly feeling a bit flustered, I fished under the low table for my flip-flops. “Come on, time to get back to the hotel.”

It wasn’t until much later that I realised I hadn’t given Callum a thought all afternoon. Not, in fact, since I had met Max on the beach. “It’s only because he’s an old friend, that’s all,” I muttered crossly to myself as I looked at the amulet. The stone flashed in the dim light, but its depths didn’t move or swirl. It looked like a perfectly ordinary stone and not a bit like the mysterious, powerful thing that I knew it was. Even the auras above people’s heads didn’t seem as vibrant this far from London. Callum seemed an impossibly long way away from me and I found myself clenching my fists and screwing my eyes tightly shut, recalling every detail I could of his exquisite features. But the details blurred in my mind. “I still love you, Callum, no matter how far away I am, remember that,” I whispered, and I wondered for a moment who I was trying to convince.

The next morning I found a quiet area on the beach where I could sunbathe and read while the others went off to surf. I still felt really guilty about forgetting Callum quite so quickly. As I settled down on my towel with my book, the sun caught on the golden flecks in the depths of the stone in the amulet and I wondered what he was doing at that exact moment. Was he stalking the cinemas, looking for happy people watching comedy films, gathering the sustenance he needed for the day? Or was he in the Whispering Gallery of St Paul’s Cathedral, where he and the others lived? But as I had those thoughts I knew exactly where he would be; up at the Golden Gallery above the top of the St Paul’s dome. It was our special place; the only place where he appeared to me to be real and
solid and – well, properly human. Over the last couple of months we had spent as much time as possible up there. And I would bet all the money in my savings account that he was leaning on the railings, looking at the view, thinking of me.

“I miss you, Callum. I’m not sure if you can hear me but, in case you can, I wanted to tell you again. I miss you horribly.”

I picked up my book and considered it, but the trials of Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy were not going to distract me. As I put it back down with a sigh the amulet glinted on my wrist, reminding me of the inscription on its underside. How weird that it should suddenly appear like that. Once I translated it, would it give me any clues? Would it confirm what I hoped about how Callum and I could be together forever?

I pulled my little rucksack towards me and rummaged around in it for my notebook. I had written the words there after Callum and I had looked at them in the airport. Flicking through the pages I came to where I had scribbled them down.

mor memoriae

Resolving to ask Josh about it as soon as I could, I picked up my book again and settled back on to the warm sand.

Later on I caught up with the others. The three of them were lounging by the pool looking completely exhausted.

“Honestly, Alex, you should come tomorrow; it’s really great fun,” said Sabrina, wincing as she reached to pick up her juice from the table.

“It looks like it! All three of you seem ready to expire! So, anyone but Max actually get on to the water today?” They all looked shiftily at each other. Finally both Sabrina and Josh spoke at once.

“It wasn’t really about that today…”

“You have to learn to control the kite first, you know, otherwise…”

I held up my hand. “It’s OK, I get the picture. No racing through the waves, clearly. I’m glad that I didn’t waste my time coming to watch you. How about tomorrow? Did the instructor say you could go in the sea then?” I tried not to smirk at Josh but failed utterly.

“Actually, he did say that they did really well and showed promise,” said Max.

I glanced over at him. He was sitting on the edge of his sunlounger, elbows on knees with his head dipped. His thick dark hair obscured his face. “Are you OK, Max?” I asked gently, touching him briefly on the shoulder. He flinched and glanced up at me, brushing the hair out of his face with his long fingers. I couldn’t help noticing how brown he had gone already, and the healthy pink glow to his cheeks.

“Uh, sorry. I’m just a bit wiped out. The instructor was keen to find out how much he could get me to do, and it was all a bit more energetic than yesterday. I’m not sure I can move.” He smiled briefly.

“Well, how about we give the bar a miss tonight, but meet here later and then go into town for a pizza?” asked Sabrina, wincing again. Max glanced over at his sister and a look that I didn’t understand passed between them.

“Perfect,” agreed Josh, stretching out. “In that case, I’m going to get some rest right here. Wake me twenty minutes before you want to leave, will you?”

As good as his word, Josh stayed on the sun lounger while the
pool closed around him, and gave himself the briefest of time to get ready before we met up at the bar. Tarifa town wasn’t too far away and the hotel had a minibus that ferried the guests to and fro in the evening. Our favourite pizza restaurant was the one we always described as being in a cave. We’d been there frequently as children, and the low arched ceiling in the old Spanish building along with the dim lighting, no windows and lots of dark wood made it feel very much as if you were underground. They also produced pizzas the size of wagon wheels, and I only ever ordered half a one. Josh, though, had a huge appetite and had been getting through a whole one for years.

We waited in a queue for a while before getting a table, and were soon tucking into the enormous platefuls of food. The others had worked up a considerable appetite and they attacked their pizzas with enthusiasm. Eventually, though, even Josh slowed down and we looked at the carnage on the table. My brother leaned back, fingers linked behind his head.

“Oh, I needed that. Do you think we’ll be as hungry after every lesson?”

Max was chasing his last piece of pizza around the vast plate. “I always am.” He chewed for a second then pushed the plate to one side. “You going to finish that, sis?”

“Help yourself.” Sabrina slid the plate towards him. “You need to start training yourself to eat less before you go to university or you’ll be broke within a week.”

“Very true,” mumbled Max through a large mouthful of pepperoni.

“Which ones have you applied to?” I asked.

“First choice Leeds, insurance Exeter.”

“I’ve got Leeds down too,” said Josh. “I didn’t know you
might be going there as well. That’d be good.”

“Depends on my grades,” Max replied gloomily. “The exams were harder than I expected. I’m not sure that I’ll get into either.”

“What subjects did you take?” I asked.

“History, English and Latin.”

Latin! Perfect. I could get Max to translate the inscription for me. He would know much more than Josh. I turned to him and smiled. “All of the subjects I gave up as soon as possible! I don’t know how you write all those dull essays.”

“You do sciences, don’t you?” he asked. I nodded. “Well, I’m clueless about any of that. So we make a good pair, don’t we?”

At this, a look passed between Max and Sabrina and, much to my annoyance, I found myself blushing.

“So what are your plans then, Alex?” Sabrina cupped her chin in her hand and leaned forward, a friendly, interested smile on her face. “Which universities are you going to apply for?”