Spiralling Out of the Shadow (The Spiralling Trilogy) (12 page)

‘He’
s here,’ I gasped when I saw Rhett as we walked onto the sand. He was sauntering towards the surf with Danny, both with boards under their arms.

‘Oh.
Danny rang Rhett in front of me.’ Priscilla linked her arm through mine and kept me moving forward. ‘I listened to the whole conversation on speakerphone. Rhett told Danny he had other plans and wouldn’t be coming.’

‘
It’ll be fine.’ Shelly spread out her towel on the sand a good distance away from the crew. ‘We’re here to protect you.’

‘
Yes. Let’s swim,’ Priscilla said.

With a
wave of hesitation, I lifted my gaze to the surfers paddling out to catch another wave. Priscilla stood on one side of me and Shelly on the other as we entered the water. They left their boogie boards behind and swam with me. Once we were past the wave break, I searched the deeper water to see if the boys were still there.

Shelly held imaginary binoculars to her eyes and two-way radio in the other hand.
‘Ksh. Yes, err, I have visual. Tabbie need not look. Relax and enjoy the water. I’m on to it. Over. Ksh.’

I giggled and splashed her.

After a swim, we returned to our towels. When I looked up, Rhett was leaving the surf with his board under his arm. Shelly and Priscilla ushered me back into the waves. He joined the others playing beach volley-ball. Shelly and Priscilla were quick to march me in a wide arc as Rhett and a few others raced towards the water for a swim. Before we had a chance to relax on our towels, Rhett came out of the water and made a beeline for me. Shelly and Priscilla packed up and rushed me off the beach quicker than he could reach us. We piled into the car and burst into laughter. The knots that had grown in my stomach during the morning began to unravel.

*~*~*~*

Good results at school needed to be my focus. I’d stuck to my planned schedule and worked every afternoon. I needed a break, so I took Shelly and Priscilla up on their offer to head to the beach again on Saturday. The laugh on the way home last week had been worth the torture of seeing Rhett again.

I released a breath of relief when I saw Danny surfing with some other guys. Not Rhett.

‘Next time you think about dating someone, take some of us as chaperones,’ Shelly said as we left the water for a game of volleyball.

I’
d never heard anyone in the group talk about dating. I wondered what that might actually look like—to have them come along. I hoped to find out one day.

Danny was on the other team. I fumbled the ball every time it came to me.
Such a klutz. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress him or anything. But it would be good to hold my head up and actually play the game with some skill. Perhaps another day. I gave up and left the court to lie on my towel.

*~*~*~*

I sat on the couch with books open around me and the TV on for some background noise. My mind wandered, wondering whether my best friend—the beautiful, sophisticated and usually intelligent one, had actually spent all of her savings on a car for her perfect boyfriend. She’d told me last night she wanted to blow his mind with an amazing present.

Just after I refocused on my schoolbooks, sniffling and breath-gasping hiccups interrupted me. I jumped up and
moved to the front door.

‘
Steph! Oh my goodness, you look like a train wreck! What’s happened? What’s he done to you?’

‘Nothing. Well, not nothing. He hasn’t done anything to me. He just ... doesn’t want to be with me. And it’s his birthday!’

‘
Slow down.’ I should have guessed—Jason. ‘Weren’t you going to look at cars with him?’ I placed a tissue into her hand.

‘
We did.’ She blew her nose. ‘And I bought him one.’

‘
And then he made you walk home? What a creep!’

‘
No, I just got so angry.’ She grabbed another tissue and blew her nose again. ‘I yelled at him and left.’

‘
Why? What were you so angry about?’

‘
He’s going clubbing.’

‘
And you can’t go? You’re way too young.’ Was she really thinking about going clubbing? Was that what this was all about?

‘
I know. I just wanted to celebrate with him. But he chose his friends over me.’

‘
Oh, Steph.’ I wrapped my arms around her. She wanted to be with her boyfriend on his birthday. I couldn’t blame her for falling apart. 

*~*~*~*

My best friend soon became an ugly person to live with. Miserable, bitter and angry. But I did my best to hide it from everyone. Afternoon visits to the library to avoid her helped me cope with the changes.

By Easter w
e needed a break from each other. Stephanie’s visit to see her family came just at the right time.

It would have been great to catch up with
Peter when he returned home for a couple of days, but he spent most of his time with his ex-girlfriend, Phoebe, and the rest of the time with his head in textbooks. I finally found a moment to chat to him as he made a sandwich before he left to see her again.

‘
I thought you said back at Christmas time that it was over.’

‘
Tabbie, it’s hard to explain.’ He picked up the sandwich and grabbed his keys.

‘
You could try.’

‘
She started ringing me. And well ... we’ve talked a lot over the past few weeks.’

‘
Didn’t you say, “Long distance relationships don’t work”?’

‘
Or maybe it’s just that … absence makes the heart grow fonder,’ he said over his shoulder and jogged to his car.

Maybe the whole situation would make more sense if Phoebe came around sometimes and I actually got to see them together.

*~*~*~*

‘
It’s your birthday next week isn’t it?’ Shelly asked as the regular Friday night crowd began to dissipate.

‘
Yeah, how did you know that?’

‘
You mentioned it when we were at the beach.’ She laughed pointing to her forehead. ‘I parked it in my very trusty memory bank.’

‘
Let’s do something,’ Priscilla said. ‘How about bowling?’

‘
Do you like tenpin bowling?’ Shelly asked.

‘
Sure. Sounds fun.’ I was relieved. With my best friend out of town for a couple of weeks, Susie’s parental restrictions and Janet’s idea of a party involving vomit, I welcomed Shelly and Priscilla’s plans. I’d still invite my school friends to join us.

‘
Sorry,’ Janet said. ‘Mum and Dad have split up again, and I’m being shipped off to Grandma’s at Penrith for the rest of the holidays.’

I
found it hard to keep up. Janet’s parents’ marriage had become a yoyo—on, off, apart, together, fighting, happy—gah!

‘
I’m sorry,’ Suzie said when I rang her. ‘You know I’d love to come. But Mum said I had to get these assignments done, clean out the garage, and wash all the windows and curtains before I can go anywhere. But I’m sure even when I’ve done all of that, she’ll find more for me to do. I miss you.’

I recalled the mental note I
’d made to make time to visit Suzie. She was even more isolated during holidays. ‘I’ll come over tomorrow and help you.’

The next day I swung by Suzie
’s home and knocked on the front door.

‘
Suzie said you might come by.’ Mrs Peter’s mouth straight-lined.

‘
I thought I might be able to help her do some chores.’

‘She won’
t be needing any help. I think it’s best you leave.’

She closed the door in my face.
I didn’t understand why they were so intent on isolating their daughter.  When Suzie didn’t return my calls, I made another mental note to ring her before the holidays were over. Hopefully she’d answer the phone and not her mother.

Shelly parked out the front and came to my door.
‘I hope you don’t mind, but I invited a couple of other friends.’

‘
Like who?’ My shoulders arced a little.

Please don’
t say Danny. It would ruin my birthday if I had to hang out with him or any of his lame friends. Really.

‘
Jacinta and Lucy. I hope it’s okay. I guess I should have checked with you first.’

‘
Oh, no, no. That’s fine. The more the merrier.’ I smiled in relief.

A girly day with bowling and drinking way too many bubbly sugar
-filled drinks was just what I needed.

Janet
sent me a text message, ‘You know I wish I was there. BTW Happy Birthday.’

When I arrived home Mum replayed a birthday message on the answering machine from Suzie
for me.

That night
Peter actually pulled himself away from Phoebe to eat with us.

‘
Where’s Phoebe?’ I raised my eyebrows.

‘
She’s catching up with friends.’

‘
She could have come too.’ I was wondering if she would ever join us for a meal.

‘
But—’

‘
Is she still scared of Mum and Dad?’ I laughed.

‘
You’re joking aren’t you?’ Dad raised his eyebrows.

‘
Who’d be scared of us?’ Mum laughed.

‘
My girlfriend.’ Peter smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I haven’t told her any nasty stories. She’s just quiet.’

We continued to laugh while Peter
’s cheeks flushed. 

‘
Perhaps I should invite her shopping sometime and get to know her a little.’ Mum poured a glass of water.

Peter shrugged.

Seriously, who’d be scared of my parents? If anything, they were too kind.

After dinner, they presented me with a new mobile phone and a
bling accessories pack. Later when I went to bed, I began programming in phone numbers and it hit me—my best friend, the beautiful, sophisticated, and mostly considerate one, didn’t call me. She’d never forgotten before. It wasn’t the first time we’d been separated on my birthday, but it was the first time she’d forgotten to call me. Guess her life really was self-centred at the moment.

The next day I went for a run and pulled out my phone to dial Suzie
’s number. Thankfully she answered. ‘Guess where I am.’

‘
Ah, it’s noisy … and you sound a little out of breath …’

‘
Yes! I’m on my brand new mobile phone! Way better than Mum’s old one.’

‘
Did you have a good birthday?’

‘
It was great. Wish you could have joined ...’ I could hear Suzie’s mother yelling in the background. ‘What’s she yelling at you for this time?’

‘
I’ve got a stack of jobs to do around here.’

‘Still?
Did your mum tell you I came to visit?’

‘
No. When was that?’

‘
When you were busy doing chores.’

‘
That’s life.’ Suzie’s voice was low and miserable. ‘See you next week at school.’

Was there anything that I could do? She was so isolated, almost imprisoned
—yet I was so free. It didn’t seem fair.

*~*~*~*

People rushed around us while we waited for Steph’s plane to arrive. I was still irritated that my best friend had forgotten my birthday. I couldn’t let it go. I had to ask why she hadn’t made time to wish me a happy birthday. Was I self-centred because it bothered me that she hadn’t remembered?

She emerged from the pool of people looking as glamorous as ever.

‘Have you forgotten something?’ I asked as we pushed our way through the swarming airport.

‘
No, I think I packed everything.’

‘
I mean—’

‘
You had your hair done or something?’

‘
No, it’s just—’

‘
What? Just tell me, Tabbie.’

‘Did you forget my birthday?’

‘No! No way.’ She stopped walking and the person behind her bumped into her back. ‘I’ve never forgotten your birthday. How could I have?’

‘
You really did forget it?’ I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me.

She shook her head and
strolled forward. ‘Yeah, sorry.’

‘
I thought you might have been planning to surprise me or something,’ I blurted.