The Call of the Wild (7 page)

‘So you definitely like him more than Liam?’

I frowned, trying to work it out. ‘It’s totally different. I get a warm, fuzzy, calm feeling when I think of Liam. And with Saia my insides start bouncing up and down. I’m excited to see him tonight, but …’

‘You’re still worried you’re too different?’ Kimmi asked.

‘What if I get to the party and I really have nothing to say to him?’

Kimmi nudged me. ‘You know what they say: opposites attract. And if you run out of things to talk about, you can just dance. Or kiss him!’

I laughed. ‘Is that your plan?’

‘Totes,’ Kimmi said, smiling.

I glanced at the kitchen clock. Annabel would be here any minute to help us with our hair and make-up. She was the closest Kimmi and I were going to get to a stylist. But we were meant to take the banner to the school before she got here. We were running really late. I touched the corner of the banner. It felt almost dry.

‘Annabel’s going to freak when she finds us still covered in paint,’ Kimmi said, touching her hair. It was flecked with orange and she had green smudges across her forehead.

‘How about you have a shower while I take the banner to school?’ I suggested. ‘Then I’ll get changed when I get back.’

Kimmi nodded and headed to her room while I carefully rolled up the banner. I couldn’t wait to see the guys’ expressions when they saw it. But just as I called my mum to ask for a lift, the doorbell rang. I opened the front door to find Annabel in her brand-new white dress, her hair bouncing around her shoulders like she’d just walked off the red carpet.

‘Wow,’ I said. ‘Ryan is going to pass out when he sees you.’

‘Thanks. But I’m not sure that’s the effect I’m going for.’ She looked at my shorts and top, frowning.

‘I’m not ready to go yet,’ I said.

‘I can see that.’

‘I’m just taking the banner down to the slushie stall.’

‘But you don’t have time!’ Annabel frowned. ‘They’ll just have to live without a banner.’

I shook my head. There was no way I was leaving the banner when we’d spent the whole afternoon on it. ‘I’ll be back in a minute, promise.’

Annabel sighed. ‘No, you won’t. You’ll be ages. And then we’ll be late for the party.’ She looked me up and down. ‘How about you just put on your dress now, and we’ll pick you up from school on our way to the party, It’ll be much quicker.’

I sighed, realising I didn’t really have a choice.

‘Fine, but what about my hair? Don’t I need to wash it? Aren’t you going to do something with it?’

‘It actually looks really nice as it is. You’re lucky your hair is just naturally gorgeous.’

Annabel sat on the bed as I slipped on my new orange dress. I put on my ballet flats and then turned around to face her. ‘What do you think?’

‘On fire,’ she said, fluffing up my hair. ‘You look amazing. You don’t need anything, except …’ She reached into her clutch and pulled out a lipgloss and some perfume. She sprayed some fragrance at me and then smeared some gloss across my lips. ‘Perfect.’ She spun me around to face the mirror. ‘A bit overdressed for a banner-delivery girl, but you’re gonna rock the party tonight.’

‘Thanks!’ I grabbed the banner and headed off for the slushie stall.

‘I’ll message you when we’re on our way,’ Annabel called. ‘Don’t dawdle.’

A smattering of kids were spread out across the oval, marking out their patches of turf with blankets and towels as I picked my way across the grass, clutching the banner. I felt a bit self-conscious arriving in a bright-orange dress when everyone else was in T-shirts, but there was no way I was leaving the banner at Kimmi’s after all the work we’d put into it.

As I reached the top of the grassy slope at the edge of the oval, I could see the slushie trailer already in position.

I walked over and found Liam on his own in there. He had his back to me and was mixing up a slushie, even though he had no customers at all – probably testing the flavours.

‘I’ll have seven hundred Borneo Sunsets please,’ I called, tapping my fingernails on the counter.

He turned, and seemed to do a double-take, looking me up and down. ‘Phoebe, hey! I almost didn’t recognise you.’ He came outside to greet me. ‘You look like a Borneo Sunset yourself.’

I think I blushed like a sunset, too. I wasn’t used to getting compliments from Liam, and I guess he wasn’t used to seeing me out of school uniform.

‘Er, right. I’m not really dressed for a slushie trailer,’ I said. ‘I just came to drop off the banner.’

His smile fell. ‘Oh … I thought maybe you’d changed your mind and decided to come and help.’

I shook my head, feeling really guilty about going to the party when Liam needed me here. ‘Are you on your own?’

‘Jack’s just gone to the toilet. He’ll be back in a sec.’

Liam looked at me intently for a moment, as if there was something important he needed to tell me. Goosebumps sprang up on my arms, and I rubbed them.

‘You cold?’ Liam said.

‘I’ll be fine once I’m at Ryan’s par–’ I stopped mid-sentence as I saw Liam’s expression change. He looked hurt. It seemed he really did have a problem with me going to the party.

‘So, you want to help me with this banner then?’ I said, quickly changing the subject. ‘We’ll surprise Jack with it.’

Liam’s face brightened and his mood changed completely as we hung the banner from the front of the trailer. It looked even better up than it had on Kimmi’s floor. A sunset stretched from one side of the stall to the other, and little orangutans hung from palm fronds on either side of the words
Slushies in Paradise
.

‘Unreal,’ said Liam, nodding approvingly. ‘You sure you’re not a professional artist?’

‘Not much to do with me,’ I said. ‘Kimmi’s the artist. I just did what I was told.’

‘It
is
you,’ came a voice from behind.

I turned to see Jack striding towards us.

‘Hey, Phoebs, what’s it like to have your work in front of the public?’

‘Well, only Liam’s seen it so far. And now you.’

Jack motioned towards the oval, where a large crowd had gathered while we were fussing with the banner. ‘Not the banner!’ he said, laughing.

It was only then that I saw what was playing on the big screen. ‘Oh my god!’ I said excitedly. ‘It’s my film.’

‘Polly said she was going to put it to good use.’ Liam turned back to me, spread his arms wide and hugged me. ‘Congratulations! Your debut as a film director.’

I felt my body stiffen as he held me, and then the warm fuzzy feeling that I normally got around Liam started going haywire. My heart leapt, and I couldn’t tell if it was the excitement of seeing my video or Liam’s hug that had caused it. I didn’t think he was the hugging type. Where had that come from?

‘I’m hardly a film director.’ I laughed awkwardly. ‘But I’m glad I could be of some use.’

‘I’m glad you decided the Wild Club needs you more than the Highgrove guys,’ Jack said. ‘And you’re here just in time.’ He nodded to a gang of kids that were heading up the slope towards the trailer.

‘Well, actually, I was just …’ I began.

But by then Jack was climbing into the trailer and serving a customer. The queue for slushies was growing quickly.

‘It’d be great if you could stay,’ Liam said. ‘We could really use your help.’

I felt a lump in my throat as he looked at me, waiting for a reply. Did Liam want me to stay just because he needed help, or was there more to it? The girls would be on their way to collect me by now. My phone had already gone off with a bunch of messages, no doubt from Annabel, telling me to hurry up.

‘Liam, give us a hand,’ Jack called from the trailer.

‘Coming,’ Liam called back, his eyes not leaving my face. He looked at me for a moment longer, and then raced off. My insides were in knots as I watched him, wondering what would happen if I stayed. Maybe we would end up on a blanket together under the stars, watching the end of the movie.

I pulled out my phone, checking my messages. There were three from Annabel.

We’re coming now.

Almost there.

Waiting out the front of the school!

There was also a message from Saia. My tummy started cramping up as I read it.

Thanks for bringing me good luck at the game today. Can’t wait to see you at the party. S xx