Dismissed (13 page)

‘OK. Hang on a minute.’ Lizzie went over and looked at the different brands. There was one that had a digital read-out on the stick. She decided it would be the easiest to interpret, so she grabbed the box.

‘Let’s go,’ she said a moment later. ‘Do you want me to pay for it too?’

‘No, that’s fine. I’ll take it from here.’ Taylor snatched the package off her and tucked it behind the magazine, holding them both close to her chest.

‘We’re not going to see anyone we know,’ Lizzie reasoned. ‘They’re all still at school.’

‘But there are parents, and maybe even teachers who’ve left early.’

‘I don’t see anyone I recognise.’

Taylor surreptitiously scanned the two items at the checkout and jammed them into a bag. ‘Can you drop me at home?’

‘Sure.’

Lizzie drove Taylor over to Bardon and pulled up in the driveway.

‘Are you sure you don’t want any moral support?’

‘Yes. Thanks anyway.’

‘Will you call or text when you find out?’

‘Yes.’

‘Promise?’

‘Yes! Now go back to school. You might still make Music class.’

‘As long as you’re sure.’

‘I am! Leave!’

Lizzie looked at Taylor one last time to make sure, and then drove back to school. She parked in the car park and checked her watch. It was already halfway through Music. She didn’t think it would be worth going in so late, so she went to her locker to collect some books and prepared to head home early.

She belatedly realised that she had abandoned Gabe at lunch, so she quickly texted him to let him know that everything was fine.

She’d just started walking back to her car when she heard someone coming up behind her.

‘Lizzie?’

Shit. Again?

She turned around. ‘Hi Mr Thomas.’

‘Do you have a free lesson now?’

‘Uh, sort of.’

‘What do you mean
sort of
?’

Lizzie mentally groaned. Why couldn’t she have just said yes?

‘I was… um…’

‘Don’t tell me you’re cutting class? Didn’t you just promise me that you were going to make more of an effort?’

‘I had something important to do.’

‘So important that you’d risk detention and a note home to your father?’

‘Yes.’

‘You better fill me in then.’

‘I can’t. I’m sorry.’

‘Well then I guess we’re just going to have to go see Mr Jenkins.’

‘No! Please don’t.’

‘You have five seconds to explain, before I go to the office and report you.’

Lizzie panicked.

‘I was helping Taylor.’

As soon as she said the words, she regretted them.

He narrowed his eyes.

‘With what? Where is she?’

‘At home.’

‘Why?’

‘She’s sick.’

‘Then why didn’t she go to the sick bay?’

‘Because Taylor doesn’t do things by the book.’

‘OK, I’ll give you that. So, what? You drove her home?’

‘Yes. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.’

‘Is she alright?’

‘I don’t know. I hope so.’

‘What’s wrong with her?’

‘Girl stuff.’

He wrinkled his nose. ‘Say no more.’ And then he frowned. ‘Hang on, is that just your way of getting me to stop asking questions?’

‘No! But I would rather not talk about Taylor’s personal problems if that’s OK.’

‘Personal problems? I thought you said she was sick.’

‘She is.’

Lizzie’s phone rang. She ignored it.

‘Aren’t you going to get that?’ he asked.

‘No.’

‘What if it’s Taylor?’

‘She can wait.’

‘You should answer it. It might be important.’

‘She can leave a message.’

‘What if she needs you?’

Lizzie shakily pulled the phone out of her bag and pressed the answer key.

‘Hello?’

Brandon snatched the phone out of her hand and pressed the speaker button just as Taylor shouted through the receiver, ‘I’M NOT PREGNANT!’

Lizzie grabbed the phone back and stabbed the button to turn off the speaker, and then held it back up to her ear while glaring at Brandon.

‘That’s great, Taylor. Can I call you back in a second? A teacher is coming.’

‘No rush. Yay! I’m so happy!’

Lizzie hung up the phone and stared at Brandon, who had a strange expression on his face.

‘What the hell was that?’ Lizzie demanded. ‘You’re lucky I don’t report
you
to the office. That was highly inappropriate.’

He didn’t say anything for a minute. But eventually he managed to ask what he was thinking.

‘Lizzie, is Taylor still sleeping with my brother?’

‘No,’ she said unconvincingly.

‘Tell me the truth.’

‘It’s not my place to say.’

‘I need to know.’

‘I don’t really talk to Taylor that much anymore.’

‘That’s bullshit. You just drove her home so she could do a pregnancy test.’

‘Um, Brandon. You do realise you’re not acting like a teacher right now, don’t you?’

‘Fuck! I can’t believe he’s still having sex with her, after I warned him off months ago.’

‘He probably kept doing it because you told him not to.’

‘Probably,’ he admitted. ‘But he’s done it now for the last time.’ He stalked off to this van.

‘What are you going to do?’ Lizzie asked, worried. ‘Please don’t tell him about any of this.’

‘That brother of mine needs a wake-up call,’ he said determinedly. ‘And I’m going to give it to him.’

Lizzie watched him drive off.

She didn’t like the sound of that one little bit.

CHAPTER 16

Lizzie braced herself for the fallout, but it never seemed to come. She saw Taylor at school the following week and tried to casually ask if anything had happened with Jason.

‘Did you talk to him?’

‘No. Why?’

‘I just wasn’t sure whether you would tell him what happened.’

‘Why would I do that? Nothing
did
happen.’

‘But you’re supposed to be a couple and he should be supporting you if you need it.’

‘Lizzie, I don’t know if you’ve met Jason, but telling him that I might be pregnant would be the absolute last thing he’d want to hear.’

‘Doesn’t that tell you something?’

‘No.’

‘So you haven’t heard from him at all since Friday?’

‘Only a text to say he was going to Byron Bay for a few days and he’d call me when he got back.’

Lizzie wondered if Brandon had anything to do with that, and if Jason was in fact in Byron Bay.

‘Will he be back for your birthday?’

‘No, which is a bit of a shame. But he should be back for the celebration on the weekend.’

‘You’re not upset he’ll be away on your actual birthday?’

‘Lizzie, we’re not married. And I’ll be at school most of the day anyway.’

‘It’s your eighteenth though.’

‘I know. Which is why this weekend is going to be epic! You’re still coming out, aren’t you?’

‘Maybe for a while. I assume you’ll want to head out clubbing after dinner?’

‘Yeah, but that won’t be until late. And you can always try sneaking in with us.’

‘No thanks. I don’t mind waiting a few weeks until I can finally do it legally.’

‘I’m so excited for both of us! Is everything sorted for your birthday too?’

‘Kind of. Except I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go out after dinner, because no one else is going to be eighteen.’

‘But I will be! And Jason is old enough!’

‘I do not want Jason at my birthday.’

‘Well not at the dinner, obviously. But after.’

‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘I don’t want to hang out with him. Ever.’

Besides the fact that he was a tool, he was a constant physical reminder of Brandon that she didn’t need.

Taylor looked slightly hurt. ‘You just don’t get him.’

‘I think it’s you that doesn’t get him Taylor.’

‘How could you say something like that?’

‘If he was a good guy, he’d be here for your birthday.’

‘Hey, he can’t help it that he had a trip planned before we even met.’

‘Fine. I don’t want to talk about him anymore, OK?’

Brandon walked past at that moment. ‘Hi girls. How’s everything this morning?’

‘Fine thanks,’ Taylor answered for both of them. Lizzie was still angry at him for snatching her phone and invading her privacy.

‘Are you two sorted with your assignments?’ he asked.

‘Yep,’ Taylor replied.

‘Almost,’ Lizzie added.

‘Good. I’ll see you a bit later.’

Taylor watched him walk away.

‘He’s such a douchebag.’

Lizzie raised any eyebrow in surprise. ‘Do you really think that?’

‘I just hear stuff from Jason and he sounds like such a dick. For example, he always has to have the final say in the band when they’re recording. Jason never gets to make suggestions.’

‘I find that hard to believe.’

‘It’s true. And if Jason has an important meeting that runs over into a band practice, Brandon gets super mad without even listening to the reason why.’

Lizzie hid a smile. She imagined Jason would consider having sex with Taylor or getting stoned an important meeting, and Brandon would see right through it.

‘Jason also wants to record his own stuff, but Brandon won’t let him,’ she continued.

‘What do you mean he won’t
let
him?’

‘He said Brandon wants him to dedicate all his energy to Orion’s Head. I mean, I get it from Brandon’s perspective. He wouldn’t want to have to compete with his brother, especially if it turned out he was better solo than him. But it’s a bit selfish.’

Lizzie gaped. Did Taylor really believe that? She was sure it would be hard enough trying to motivate someone like Jason to pull his weight in a group situation without adding solo ambitions into the mix. She didn’t blame Brandon if he did ask him to contribute all his creative efforts to the band.

‘Well, I guess that’s something they need to sort out themselves. Why are you trying to impress Brandon in English then if you don’t like him?’

‘I’m not. I’m just ripping off all this stuff I found online. I google the questions just before we go into class. He doesn’t even realise. He’s so dumb.’

‘Maybe he just trusts his students to actually do the work.’

‘Pfft. Why bother? None of this will matter next year anyway.’

Lizzie didn’t agree, and she found that her views were becoming more and more opposite to Taylor’s. She knew it was only a matter of time before they no longer had anything in common. And she suspected it would be sooner, rather than later.

***

On Saturday night, Lizzie found herself out at the Kwan Brothers restaurant with Taylor, Heather, Zoe and Cara. She wanted to be supportive of Taylor for her birthday, but she wasn’t feeling very tolerant towards Heather and Cara.

Tonight they were hyperactive because Cara had borrowed her older sister’s ID and was going to use it to try and get into a club with Taylor. Heather had gone one better and actually gotten a fake ID. So that just left Zoe and Lizzie to fend for themselves afterwards.

Taylor had repeated her final year of primary school, which was why she was already turning eighteen. And Lizzie had moved up from Victoria halfway through Year Four, so she’d been kept in that grade in Queensland rather than put in the class above with kids her own age. Which was why she was about to turn eighteen too. Even Gabe wasn’t going to turn eighteen until March next year. He’d recently started making jokes about Lizzie being a cougar, and he mentioned it every time he saw her driving. ‘The cougar in the Kuga,’ he laughed. Lizzie had found it amusing at first, but now she was getting a bit sick of his teasing.

When Heather and Cara weren’t paying attention, Lizzie whispered in Taylor’s ear.

‘If the girls are going out with you, won’t they see Jason?’

‘He’s not coming clubbing.’

‘Why not?’

‘I’m going to meet him after.’

‘Won’t it be really late by then?’

‘Probably.’

‘Was that always the plan?’

‘Sort of. Brandon wanted to do some recording first or something.’

‘Oh, OK.’

‘It would have been weird trying to explain everything to the girls anyway. I don’t trust Heather not to spread it around the school.’

‘Are you guys talking about me?’ Heather interrupted.

‘We were just saying how much we liked your hair tonight,’ Taylor said, lying smoothly.

Heather beamed. ‘Thanks. I did it myself.’

Heather’s hair looked the same as it always did. She had it styled in a messy fishtail braid, with her fringe loose and swept to one side. She was a pretty girl, but her personality made her ugly to Lizzie.

The girls ordered Peking duck spring rolls, crispy pork belly and chicken skewers with satay sauce (the latter being Lizzie’s request). Taylor also asked for a Geisha Colada, but the other girls stuck to water. It seemed that they weren’t in a hurry to test out their IDs just yet. Lizzie liked to think it was due to a show of solidarity for her and Zoe, but she knew better. They were either worried about taking in too many calories, or scared to try and pass for eighteen in a properly lit venue.

As soon as Taylor had finished eating and downed the last of her drink, she jumped up.

‘OK girls. Those who are coming with me, let’s go. To you other two, I’m sorry, but I must party.’

Lizzie waved her off. She didn’t mind, knowing she would be able to join them in a few weeks. ‘Have fun. I’ll see you on Monday.’ She was kind of glad that she had an excuse not to go. She was looking forward to seeing Gabe instead.

Zoe didn’t look quite so happy to be abandoned, but Lizzie smiled at her supportively.

‘It’s OK. I’ll have some dessert if you want to hang around. They have a peanut brittle sundae I’d like to try.’

‘I guess I could get the fried ice cream,’ Zoe conceded.

Taylor, Heather and Cara left without looking back, giggling excitedly.

‘Doesn’t it bother you?’ Zoe asked.

‘What exactly?’

‘That Taylor only ever really looks out for herself?’

‘To be honest, I don’t even really care anymore.’

‘So why are you still her friend?’

‘Habit, I guess.’

‘I’m so sick of hanging around with Heather and Cara.’

‘So why do you?’

‘Same reason I suppose.’

‘Did you ever see that guy you dated over summer again?’

‘Not really.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘I ran into him at a family lunch, but he was pre-occupied.’

‘Oh that sucks. Are there any guys at our school you like? Who are you going to the formal with?’

‘I’m not sure. I guess I should ask someone soon, but all the good ones are already gone.’

‘What about Nick or Josh?’

‘I don’t really know Nick. And Josh is going with Tina.’

‘Oh right. Well I’m sure something will work out. Are you heading straight home after this?’

‘Yep. You?’

‘No. I would normally ask if you wanted to come and watch a movie at my place, but I’m off to see Gabe. I had to work all week, so this is the first chance I’ll get to see him.’

‘How’s everything going with you two?’

‘Good. He’s a real sweetie.’

‘He is,’ she agreed.

The girls ordered dessert and chatted about school and their plans for next year. Lizzie still wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but she was starting to contemplate a few different options. The more sensible choice would be to do something in Business or Law, but she was also toying with the idea of something musical too. She was top in her class, and she really enjoyed composing both classical and digital music. But of course, that wouldn’t pay as well unless she somehow got really lucky.

Gabe texted Lizzie to say Jacques was out the front and ready to pick her up.

‘I have to go meet the chauffeur,’ Lizzie said, rolling her eyes.

‘Ha. Off you go then. Go and enjoy your rich boyfriend and his huge mansion.’

‘You’ll be OK to get home on your own? I could ask Jacques to give you a lift?’

‘Oh no, that’s fine,’ she said hurriedly. ‘I’ll just catch a cab.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, of course. I’ll see you Monday.’

Lizzie went out to meet Jacques, feeling bad for leaving Zoe. The poor girl was being ignored by the guy she gave her virginity to, and now she had to go home alone while her girlfriends were out partying or seeing their boyfriends.

Lizzie tried to relax in the back of the car. She couldn’t quite get used to the whole pampering thing, but it was easy to see how people did.

She hopped out at Gabe’s house and skipped up the path to the front door. He was already waiting for her and practically dragged her into his bedroom.

‘My parents are having a dinner with some of their boring old friends. I’m so glad you’re here. They’ve been treating me like a circus monkey.’

‘What have they been doing?’

‘Oh just the usual. Bragging about my grades. Making me talk about what it is we kids do these days in our spare time. But I don’t want to talk about them. I want to talk about you. Or more accurately, I want to do this.’ He grabbed her and started kissing her quite aggressively. He tasted like red wine.

‘Hey, slow down,’ she laughed, trying to pull away.

‘Why?’ he mumbled as he pushed her onto the bed and started unbuttoning her shirt. He buried his face in her chest.

‘Wait, stop,’ she said, squirming away. ‘You’re acting kind of crazy. Have you been drinking?’

‘Only a couple of glasses with dinner,’ he said while reaching down the front of her skirt.

‘Stop!’ she said more loudly and jumped off the bed. He started coming towards her again.

‘I said
no
!’ She opened the door and ran out. Gabe tried to follow her.

‘Don’t you dare!’ she yelled.

She bolted out the front door and into the driveway. She saw Jacques a few metres away.

‘Jacques, can you please take me home? Now?’