Starfish Sisters (21 page)

'Shit!' I gasped. 'Be careful.'

Megan came running over. 'They're calling off the
heat,' she shouted to us as the siren blew. 'Tahlia got a
big whack on the head when her board flipped.'

'Are they getting out the boat?' I asked.

'Carla didn't say,' Megan puffed. 'I just heard her tell
Jake she wants everyone out of the water now.'

Two out of three girls were on their way in. Georgie
wasn't one of them. She was there, in the moment,
totally absorbed. I knew, 'cause I could've been
watching myself out there.

Jake was on the loudspeaker calling, 'Georgie, come
in now. Come in now.'

Georgie made a precise turn on the inside. There
was so much speed behind her she was almost flying.
Then she
was
– driving off the bottom, digging in her
rails, carving up to the top, up, up, hitting the lip,
launching into the air and then . . . she landed! She
landed. Just a little wobble but she quickly recovered,
then stood upright in the foamball, her arms
upstretched in the air. She was stoked!

'Yeeeessss!' Kia, Micki and me – her Starfish Sisters,
grabbed one another screaming and shrieking.
'Number one! Number one!'

The four of us found a quiet spot near the tennis courts.
We sat in a circle and began to sign one another's blue
booklets. I wrote the same thing in all three of them:
'Starfish who surf together stick together.' I'd made it
up last night as I was falling asleep.

Micki was virtually writing an essay in each one. Kia
was leaning over, snooping at her words.

'This is a bit stupid, doing this, don't you think?
I do.' Kia was still big-eyed and talking fast.

'What else are we going to do?' Georgie said. 'The
parents aren't due to arrive till an hour and it's not like
we can have a surf.'

Then, with the widest mouth I'd ever seen, Kia
stretched out her lips and mouthed two words.
'Fashion' and 'parade'.

Just like that, Kia got up and walked away. I knew
what she was doing. She'd gone to find Carla. The
fashion parade had just been reborn. My heart started
pumping and my skin prickled all the way up to my
scalp. It was showtime.

Within fifteen minutes we were in the rec room
bathroom with Kia, Georgie, Natasha, Jaime, two hair
dryers, a straightening iron, all of my make-up – well,
what was left of it – and a bag full of bikinis.

Out of all of us, Kia was peaking the most. 'I just saw
my dad,' she was saying. 'Micki's going to stay for the
Easter holidays. Ace, you don't live that far away, you
should try and come down for a few days too. Dad said
that'd be fine. How cool would that be?'

Georgie and I exchanged a little smile as she raved
on.

'No offence to the others,' Kia continued, while
sorting the bikinis into piles, 'but there's no way we
haven't won the trophy. None of us got caught in the
inside like the other teams did. I bet we all get an eight-scoring
wave – and Georgie got air! Hello?'

'A teeny, weeny bit of air,' she corrected Kia.

But Kia wasn't listening. 'Okay,' she said. 'This is
how the order goes. Who's wearing what and who
comes out when.' She began to read from a list, 'Ace,
you're out first, followed by Jaime, then Natasha.'

A second later a handful of bikinis were thrust at us
and we were ushered away to try them on, listen to the
music Kia had chosen, and get 'our walks right', which
were her exact words.

Georgie was the compere. We'd gathered that fact
but we still weren't sure if Kia's role came further than
backstage. To be honest, it was making Georgie and me
nervous. Let alone Micki, who'd been ordered by Kia to
hang out with Reg and not come near the rec room
bathroom.

'Micki knows what's going on,' Georgie told me.
'Which is lucky, because I don't.'

'How does Micki know about the fashion parade?'

'She said she sussed it out a while ago.'

'Does she know it's for her?' I asked.

Georgie shrugged. 'That's not what I'm worried
about.'

'Are you thinking about Kia?'

'She's not going in it, is she?'

Georgie looked the way I felt. Kia couldn't, not with
those marks all over her thighs.

A couple of timid knocks rattled the bathroom door.
'Hello?' A lady's head appeared into the chaos. 'Excuse
me?'

'Mum!'

I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so happy
to see my mother.

'Everyone, this is my mum.'

'I hear there's a fashion parade,' she said to me. 'Was
this your doing?'

'It's kind of a group effort,' I explained. 'There's a
young girl out there who needs a new board. Badly.'

'Yeah,' answered Mum, 'that nice gentleman told us
that when we arrived. Do you remember?'

I felt my body shrink into itself. I wanted to tell my
mother that I was a different girl to the one who'd
arrived here three weeks ago.

'Five minutes,' announced Kia. 'Carla said we have
to start at a quarter past.'

The parents had arrived. From the door that led into the
rec room, I could hear them greeting their daughters
and finding their seats. This obviously wasn't what they
were expecting but there was a buzz amongst them.

'Parents, girls and special friends,' Georgie
announced over the pumping beat, 'welcome to a
parade of Bikina's bikinis. We decided at the last
minute to put this on today not because the beach was
closed but because one of the girls lost their surfboard
today and we reckon we should all help her to get a
new one. With every costume purchased, Bikina will
donate fifty per cent towards the cost of a new surfboard.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you Bikina!'

Up the volume went and out I came in the peacock-blue
bikini. My hair was dead straight, my foundation
was flawless. Whistles and cheers erupted. I could see
Mum in the crowd clapping and smiling. A row in front
of her was Kia's dad and Micki. I strutted through the
room, stopped where she was sitting and gave her a
wink.

Finally I'd got it. This fashion parade had never
been about me. It'd always been about Micki. It was
more than her needing a new board. It was because it
was Micki who'd found Kia first and kept her secret;
who'd nursed her through the night even though she
couldn't stand the sight of blood; who'd put up with
Kia being such a bitch. It was because her dad had
gone to hospital, because she was the youngest and
because she'd surfed those monsters today, got
mashed and went back in so she didn't let the Starfish
team down.

Jaime and Natasha were next, while I ran back to the
bathroom to Georgie, who held up the next cossie for
me to change into.

I was struggling into the top and Georgie was
untangling the strings when we saw Kia standing there
in the black-and-silver-striped bikini top and a tightfitting
pair of shorts.

'Wow.' Georgie froze. 'You look amazing.'

Kia was rocking back and forth on the soles of her feet.

'You look amazing,' I said.

'I'm on next.' Kia's palms were rubbing across her
thighs. '"Suddenly I See", that's the song I'm modelling
to. I picked it especially 'cos it's about being strong and
that's how Micki makes me feel.'

Georgie took a step towards Kia and hugged her. 'It
couldn't be more perfect.'

I wish it could have ended at the fashion parade but
announcement time was to follow. Every muscle in my
jaw froze and the panic began to tingle in my toes
when Carla said it was time.

Suddenly I wanted to shout and wail and throw
myself around. 'I want to go back to day one. I want to
do it all again. I'll do it different this time. I promise!'

As we walked in, Mum gave me a wink. Was it a wink
that said 'I know you'll be selected' or was it one that
said 'loved the parade'? Either way, it didn't help. I was
totally on my own now. No Starfish Sisters, no Mum,
no Tim or Jules to make it better.

'There are big huge flapping butterflies doing an
aerobics class in my tummy,' Georgie told me as we
took our places up the front. 'Do you think Carla will
mind if I do diarrhoea on the floor?'

'You do diarrhoea and I'll vomit,' I answered.

At least that gave us a giggle. Then Georgie did one
of her famous bush-pig laughing snorts and we were in
stitches.

Carla started the proceedings with a speech about how
great the three weeks had been; the friendships formed,
which were evident, she said, in the parade that just fell
together in an hour; the commitment that had been
shown; the stylish surfing; and the gruelling timetable.
She even included a word on Brian's cooking.

'Girls, it doesn't matter what happens in the next ten
minutes. Who gets selected, who receives an award,
what team wins,' she told us. 'You have all achieved
something great here and you know deep in your
hearts what that is.

'I would like to congratulate you all because every
single one of you deserves it. And I won't say any
more because I always get teary in this ceremony,' she
sniffed. 'But I wish you all the very, very best.'

Jake adjusted the microphone and began. 'There
will be two awards presented today. Then the trophy
for the winning team, and last but not least the training
team will be announced.'

Shyan held a white envelope. She looked out at us
and smiled.

'The rising star award of five hundred dollars,' she
said, 'goes to Micki Elvich.'

Eleven girls broke into a massive cheer. Micki's face
looked like she'd just surfed one of those semitrailers
out there today and couldn't quite believe she'd lived.
She could almost afford two boards now.

Next, Taylor handed over a small box.

'The award, which is an iPod nano by the way,'
Shyan said, 'for the most dynamic surfer goes to . . .'

Once it would've been me, but not today. Anyway, I
already had two iPod nanos.

'Georgina Elwood Ross,' she announced.

Before Georgie got up I gave her a hug. 'You deserve
it,' I said.

I meant it too. Everything I'd heard about Georgina
Elwood Ross was true. She was powerful, she was
dynamic and she could surf like a boy.

'Mums and dads, as you know, it was a massive
swell out there today. All three teams handled the
conditions with maturity beyond their years. You
should be very proud of them,' Shyan said. 'But, in the
most outstanding team effort we've ever witnessed at
this camp, I am thrilled to present the Chelsea Hedges
tag team trophy to the Starfish.'

Kia and I leapt off our seats and onto the stage.

The four of us embraced. Micki's arms were wrapped
tightly around ours like she never wanted to ever let go.
I think that was her way of saying thank you.

Micki and Kia gripped one handle and Georgie and
I the other. We held the trophy high above our heads
and in unison, almost like we'd rehearsed, we shouted,
'The Starfish Sisters!'

We jumped around and for a moment I forgot there
was still one more announcement to come. The big one.
The one that mattered.

But when Taylor told us to take our seats and Jake
started fiddling with the microphone again, I remembered.

Georgie held my hand, I held Micki's and Micki held
Kia's. I was sure I could feel our heartbeats pulsating
through the floor, united in one massive throb.

'There will be five girls named today in these selections.
The first four go to the Australian Junior Team
Training Camp, which will be held here, in June, along
with four other girls who were picked last month.' Jake
was smiling but he looked nervous. 'The fifth girl takes
the reserve position and must agree to prepare both
mentally and physically as she could be called up as a
replacement at any time.'

Georgie squeezed my hand. I couldn't look at her. I
couldn't look up. My neck felt locked and if I didn't
swallow soon I'd start choking on my own spit.

'The first name is Kia Braidwood.'

Kia screamed. It was one loud, long solitary shriek.
Then she was up the front waving at her dad, who had
jumped out of his seat and rushed up the front with his
video camera. Kia was grinning so hard it looked like
her cheeks would split.

'Georgina Elwood Ross.'

Georgie's sweaty palm broke our grip. Micki
squeezed my other hand tighter.

'Megan de Raile.'

I closed my eyes and felt my heart shrivel up into a
little ball. It was over. It didn't matter who was called
out next. The Starfish sisters had ended before we'd
really had a chance to begin. Thanks to me.

'The fourth name is Micki Elvich,' my head
announced in time to Jake's voice.

Micki buried her head into my shoulder and began
to cry.

'Hey, little one, you made it.' My voice was trembling.
'Go on. Up you go.'

Here was I, Courtney McFarlane, the Ocean Pearl
girl, one hundred per cent OP-sponsored, crossing my
fingers and hoping beyond all hope that I would hear
my name called for the reserve position.

I wanted it. I wanted it so badly.

There was a journey to go on with three other girls.
Didn't Jake and Carla understand that?

I smiled at Kia, Georgie and Micki. It was only a little
smile and it hurt so much. But when they smiled back
my heart unravelled, just the tiniest bit.

'And the reserve position goes to . . .'

I held my breath.

'Courtney McFarlane.'

A tear swelled in the very corner of my eye and
slipped down my face. Those who didn't know me
probably thought it was a tear of sadness or anger.

But it wasn't.

STARFISH
SISTERS

Starfish who surf together stick together . . .

Ace was the one who wrote that in Kia, Micki and
Georgie's blue booklets, on the last day of camp. Yet it's
Ace who's ended up ruining everything – ending the
Starfish Sisters before they've even begun.

How are they ever going to get back together?

Follow Kia, Micki, Georgie and Ace as the pressure
builds in the sequel to
Starfish Sisters
– coming soon!