‘Raspberry Juiska.’
She passed me an open bottle and I propped myself up on my elbow. I didn’t usually drink, but this was the last day of exams. I swigged from the bottle. A mouthful of slightly warm, sweet liquid left a trail of fire as it ran down my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut and winced.
Megan took a cherry-flavoured bottle and clinked hers against mine. ‘Cheers!’
‘Beer or cider, Ryan?’ asked Matt.
Ryan shook his head. ‘Not for me. I’m driving.’
Matt passed him a bottle. ‘You can have one beer.’
Ryan passed it back. ‘Maybe later.’
I swigged again from my bottle, trying not to screw up my eyes as the liquid burned my throat. Ryan was sitting next to me, propped up against the tree trunk. I looked around. It was as if we were all paired up. Connor and Megan were sitting next to each other, tasting each other’s drinks. Amy was sitting in the shade, ensuring her milk-white skin didn’t curdle, while Matt ran his fingers through her blue-black hair.
‘I’m so glad it’s all over,’ said Connor.
‘This is only the beginning,’ Megan sighed. ‘It is going to be the best summer ever.’
The first bottle of Juiska was sweet, sour and sickly. The second one was sweet and sour. By the time I had reached the bottom of the third bottle, it was just sweet and I realised I liked the taste.
I stood up and wobbled. I could sense the edge of a headache floating in from somewhere in the distance. ‘The strange thing is,’ I said, ‘it doesn’t matter how much I drink, I’m still thirsty.’
‘Sit down and drink this,’ said Ryan. He twisted the top off a bottle of sparkling water.
‘I’m fine,’ I said. ‘I think I’ve acquired a taste for it.’
I stretched across for another bottle, but Ryan moved the bag out of reach.
‘You need to slow down.’ He put one hand on the back of my head. ‘Open your mouth.’ Gently, he spilled water on to my tongue.
Although afternoon was blending into evening, the air felt ever hotter and thicker. I padded across the soft cool grass to the fountain, a concrete construction of Poseidon holding a trident. I sat on the edge and swung my legs over. Dangling my legs in the pool, I shut my eyes, letting the spray shower over my face and body.
‘Come over here!’ I yelled to the others. ‘This feels so good.’
Ryan joined me at the edge of the fountain.
‘I’ve always liked the way you look in your school uniform,’ he said, a light smirk on his face. ‘But it’s never looked as great as it does right now.’
Looking down, I saw the hem of my skirt was soaked, and my white school shirt soaked through and transparent. I waited for my habitual blush, but it never came.
Megan and Amy jumped in next to me, closing their eyes against the spray.
‘Make a wish! Make a wish!’ Megan yelled.
‘It’s not a wishing well,’ said Amy, giggling.
‘I don’t care. I feel lucky. Make a wish.’
Connor climbed the fountain and straddled Poseidon’s shoulders and grabbed the trident with one hand while the other held a bottle of beer in a triumphant salute.
‘Here’s to the best days of our lives!’ he yelled. ‘Make a wish!’
‘I wish for a summer of hot, sunny days at the beach,’ said Megan.
‘I wish I had a cooler summer job than washing dishes at the Fisherman’s Arms,’ said Amy.
‘I wish I could lose ten pounds without dieting,’ said Megan.
‘I wish I hadn’t dyed my hair black,’ said Amy. She hiccupped.
‘I wish that Megan would . . . oh shit!’ Connor yelled with a nervous laugh, as he swayed dangerously atop Poseidon’s shoulders.
I squeezed my eyes shut and wished that Connor would get down from the statue before he fell and hurt himself. I wished that time would stand still and Ryan could stay with us for ever. And I wished that the world would stop spinning.
Ryan drove me back to the farmhouse with the windows down all the way. I rested my head on the door frame, gulping lungfuls of fresh air. Ryan had insisted that I go back to his house and sober up before heading home to Miranda.
We left town and drove along the coastal road, passing the sand dunes that lay between the road and Perran Towans, the golf course, and the fields of cauliflowers and potatoes. Overhead, the moon was a ghostly crescent in the bright blue sky.
‘It must be strange having three moons,’ I said.
‘Not when you’ve grown up with them,’ said Ryan ‘None of Eden’s moons are as big as Earth’s moon, but when all the moons are up, it is beautiful. And then there are the three suns. From Eden, the universe seems less lonely somehow.’
As we pulled into Ryan’s place, I noticed that Ben and Cassie’s cars were parked in the driveway.
‘I think I need to splash some cold water over my face,’ I said. ‘I’m burning up.’
Ryan smiled and ran one finger across my nose. ‘You’ve caught the sun. Your nose is all pink.’
‘Fantastic. That will look great in all the ball photographs.’
Ryan opened the door and ushered me inside. ‘I’ll make some strong coffee. The bathroom is the second door at the top of the stairs. I’ll meet you in the living room.’
I gripped the banister and dragged myself up the stairs. The fresh air had helped me feel better and I no longer felt sick, just hot and dehydrated. Just as I reached the door to the bathroom, it swung open and Cassie came out. She was dressed in green combats and a white T-shirt, her long blonde hair tumbling over her chest. Just below the sleeve of her T-shirt I could see the edge of a tattoo. It looked like the same tattoo I’d seen on Ryan a few weeks earlier at the beach.
‘Oh,’ she said, apparently surprised. ‘It’s you again.’
I said nothing. I refused to show how much she intimidated me.
Her eyes slid down to my school shoes and slowly back up to my eyes. ‘Apparently some guys like that look,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t have thought it was Ry’s thing.’
‘Maybe you don’t know him as well as you think,’ I said.
‘I think I know him pretty well.’ She raised her chin as if averting her face from a bad smell.
A surge of anger coursed through me. ‘What’s your problem with me?’
‘I don’t have a problem with you.’
‘You obviously don’t like me.’
She shrugged. ‘I don’t get why Ryan spends so much time with you.’
I leant against the door frame, wishing the squishy churning in my stomach would stop. ‘He likes me. And I like him.’
Cassie clutched her heart and batted her eyelashes at me. ‘That’s so touching. You like each other. Did you spend the afternoon at the beach making out? Has Ryan convinced you to sleep with him yet? Are you in love with him?’
‘It’s not like that with us,’ I said. ‘We’re just good friends.’
‘I’m sure you’re a fascinating person,’ she said, her tone serious again. ‘But I doubt he’s interested in you for your mind.’
I had a sudden moment of clarity.
‘We weren’t alone. We spent the afternoon with Connor and our other friends in the park. You see, Connor is my best friend. If it wasn’t for me, Ryan and Connor wouldn’t even be friends at all.’
Cassie nodded slowly. She opened her mouth as if to speak and then snapped it shut again. I smiled to myself. She had no comeback for that one.
‘So you see,’ I said. ‘He’s not wasting his time with me. I’m helping him.’
‘I understand,’ she said quietly.
I smiled smugly.
Cassie galloped down the stairs, leaving me free to freshen up in the bathroom.
