Starfish Sisters (4 page)

Courtney McFarlane was probably prettier than in her
photos. Although the amount of foundation and
bronzer on her face did make her look like she'd just
been baked in a tandoori oven.

She thought she was pretty hot too. It was like she'd
orchestrated this grand entrance. If it was so everyone
would stop and stare, she got it.

I had to give Kia a fat nudge.

'What?'

'Stop staring.'

'I wasn't.'

'You were.'

Micki was sitting on the other side of Kia. She
seemed really uncomfortable. I didn't blame her. Kia
was being so unfriendly. When we left the bungalow to
come down here, Kia grabbed my hand and started
running, dragging me along like we were a couple of
three-year-olds. It was embarrassing and I felt bad for
Micki 'cause it was so obvious what Kia was doing.

I wanted to tell Micki that Kia would eventually
thaw – like maybe on the last day of camp. But how
could I warn her that Kia was prone to mood swings
and psycho moments, let alone that she was on Kia's
hit list? As if I could ever say that. If Kia found out,
she'd have one of those little moments at me and she
hadn't had one for a while.

The last flip-out she'd had at me was back in April
when we were surfing in a competition down the
South Coast. I had to go with Kia and Reg as my
parents were at a wedding.

I don't know what triggered Kia's mood swing. I
never did; they always seemed to come out of
nowhere. This time, Kia locked herself in the surf
club's toilet. She would not come out. I waited and
waited. I asked her about a million times what was
wrong but she wouldn't speak to me. Eventually I had
to leave her 'cause the finals were called and I was in
them.

Back at school the next week, when Kia was
speaking to me again, she promised it had nothing to
do with me making the finals. She said she was feeling
sick and fed up with her dad telling her what to do. I
wasn't sure I believed her. She was pissed off with me
for getting further in the comp than she had. But she'd
never admit it.

At the time, I felt hurt. Back then I was focused on
competitive surfing and it meant a heap to me making
the finals. But if it happened now, I don't reckon I'd
care. I'd probably say, 'Take my spot, I don't want it and
all the crap that goes with it.'

Kia was still checking out Courtney, who had just
flicked her hair for the seventeenth time. The oldest girl
here, Megan de Raile, who was seventeen and from
Tasmania, had almost finished her meet and greet. My
turn was next.

I took the microphone and went to the middle of the
circle.

'Hi, I'm Georgie,' I started. 'I'm fourteen and I live
just an hour south at Lennox with my parents and two
younger sisters, who don't surf and think I'm their
substitute brother.'

A few giggled.

'I started surfing when I was eleven, with Kia, my
best friend. That's her over there.' I pointed. Kia went
purple. 'I didn't compete at first, but Reg, that's Kia's
dad, convinced me to go in the Grom Search and I
came third in the under-thirteens, which was pretty
cool. Then I ended up winning the regionals, which
was also pretty cool. So I kept competing. Um . . .' I
looked around. They looked like they were waiting for
more. 'Last year, no, the year before that I mean, I was
in the top five for the nationals and in the beginning of
last year I came second in the New South Wales Open
Schoolgirls Championship for my age group. After that
I kind of bombed out. And yeah, it's really good to be
here.' I had to say that. 'Oh, also I love soccer. Our team
won the Premiership and the Champion of Champions.
That was the best feeling ever. Um, thank you.'

Kia was chewing her bottom lip as she took the
microphone from me. She got all shy with these sorts of
things.

'I'm Kia, as you already know.' She shrugged. 'I'm
also fourteen and live in Lennox. I have a little brother
called Charlie who has got the best cheeks to squeeze.'
Kia giggled and for a second looked like she couldn't
think of anything else to say. 'Um, that's my dad, Reg,
over there and my mum is probably asleep 'cause she's
a nurse and does night duty.'

Kia was rolling back and forth on the soles of her
feet. That's what she did before competing. On the
nerve ratings scale, I'd say she was about a ten out of
ten at the moment.

'I've been surfing . . . forever. My dad taught me. My
first big win was when I was ten at the National
Gromfest. The last couple of years I've come mostly
second in the regionals 'cause Georgie's come first.'

Kia giggled. This time it wasn't spontaneous. I could
tell. She was still trying to make out it didn't bother her.

Kia had such high expectations of herself. Even
when we did gymnastics in first grade she wasn't
happy unless every one of her moves was perfect. 'My
dream is to represent Australia,' Kia continued, 'and
compete overseas in the ISA junior titles. I'd also love to
make the Pro Junior Series and eventually get on the
WQS. My mum says my studies are really important
and that's true. I wouldn't mind doing physiotherapy,
if I couldn't surf that is. That's about it.'

Micki stood up. Kia looked the other way as she
virtually shoved the microphone into her hand. Micki
almost dropped it and we all jumped at the loud noise
it made. Kia rolled her eyes.

'Hi everyone,' Micki squeaked. 'I'm Micki Elvich. I
come from Queensland, just near Maroochydore. My
favourite break is Keyong, but you wouldn't have heard
of it before. There's a right-hander there that really gets
pumping when the swell's big. You've got to go down a
bush track to get there and it's always pretty deserted.'

I could feel Kia staring at me. I turned and again she
rolled her eyes and made a little yawning gesture.

'Don't,' I mouthed.

'I'm thirteen soon.' Micki had gone bright red and
turned her back a little so she didn't have to see Kia.
Gradually her voice gathered some volume. 'I won the
state and the regionals last year in my age group. They
were probably the two best days of my life. I'm like
Kia.'

Kia coughed. I could've slapped her.

'I mean, I mean in that,' Micki stumbled, 'I also want
to compete in the ISA junior titles and become professional.
Thanks.'

We gave Micki an extra-loud clap. I wanted to get up
and hug her. She seemed so tiny and young yet at the
same time there was something about her face that
was old.

'Okay.' Carla, the director, took the microphone.
'Just a meet and greet from our latecomer now.
Courtney?'

Courtney moved into the centre of the circle. Her
legs were brown and long and super-slim. I uncrossed
my tree trunks and tried to pull my boardies over my
knees.

'Courtney's been to camp before,' Carla told us. 'Was
it last year?'

'The year before.'

'Are you happy with the changes?'

'It's like a totally different place.' Courtney was even
holding the microphone like she was being interviewed
on TV. 'I can't wait to have a look around.'

'That's good.' Carla nodded to us all. 'Especially
coming from someone who enjoys the high life as the
Ocean Pearl girl.'

'Ohhh!' Talk about a forced trying-to-be-modest
sound.

'Tell us the Courtney McFarlane story.'

Carla tiptoed away.

'Thanks, Carla.' Courtney grinned. She was almost
as good as Oprah.

'Hi, my name's Courtney but my friends call me Ace.
Long story,' she said, again flicking her golden tresses
to the other shoulder. 'I'm sixteen and I've been living
on the Gold Coast for the past three years. I grew up on
the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria but we moved to
Queensland 'cause it was better for my surfing career.'

Career? Hmmm.

'OP totally look after me. Which sounds really
good, I know, but it's not that easy. There are heaps
of modelling commitments and appearances that go
with it.'

Kia looked like she was about to slip off her chair she
was leaning so far forward, lapping up every word
'Ace' had to say.

'I've won state and national titles and I was picked
as the wild card last year for the Australian Junior
Surfing Squad but I stuffed my shoulder snowboarding.
I've only just started surfing again in the last
couple of months. That's why it's so good to be here
and getting back into my surfing. But I'm really going
to miss my boyfriend.' Courtney giggled, then whispered
a breathy, 'Thank you for listening.'

I waited for Kia to give her a standing ovation.
Praise the Lord, she didn't. But I reckon she came close.

'Thanks, Courtney, and thanks to all of you,' Carla
said. 'Just some house rules before we move off to
lunch. The bungalows have been allocated. I'm sure
you've all noticed how beautiful and freshly painted
they are. We'd like to keep them that way too. There
will be rostered jobs. They'll be pasted up in the dining
room the night before. So whoever's on breakfast duty
the next morning will need to check. Also the training
timetable will come out the night before. They'll be up
in this room, the dining room and the board outside
each bungalow.'

Carla's talk was interrupted by the 'beep beep' of a
text message coming through on someone's phone. We
all turned to where the sound was coming from. Ace.

'Oh my God!' Courtney squealed and threw her
hand over her mouth in the fakest attempt at looking
surprised. She then proceeded to read the text, knowing
every single one of us was watching. When she'd
finished she put her phone away, re-crossed her perfect
limbs and flicked her hair across to the other shoulder –
just for something different. She was loving this.

'It's probably a good time to bring up mobile
phones.' Everyone laughed at Carla's comment. But I
felt like yelling, 'You pack of suck-ups!'

'It's hard to completely ban mobiles.' Carla smiled,
mostly at Courtney, 'as there's only one payphone and
I know some of you are far away from home. But, I do
ask that they are used only when necessary and preferably
in free time. When we are having sessions in this
rec room I do not expect to see a mobile let alone hear
one. I think it all comes under the umbrella of respecting
one another. Okay?'

Nods and 'okays' followed from all.

'There are some obvious rules. Use of alcohol,
cigarettes or drugs will result in being immediately sent
home. That is not negotiable. For safety reasons you all
must stay within the boundaries of the camp. But as it's
so enormous I don't think you'll have any trouble with
that. Part of the beach is sectioned off for us and there
and only there is where we surf. Unless, of course, we
go somewhere else on a daytrip, which is unlikely as
most breaks are pretty crowded in the holidays. It took
a long time to persuade council into this, so if you want
to surf the right that's down the other end of the beach,
too bad.'

Megan from Tasmania had her hand up.

'Yes, Megan.'

'What time do we get up?'

'Six-fifteen am, except weekends, which are eight
am,' Carla replied.

Megan and a few others groaned.

A girl named Natasha called out, 'Is there a canteen
or shop?'

'No shop.' Carla shook her head. 'We're here to surf
and be healthy. We're pretty strict on that. Brian, the
cook, will make sure you have plenty to eat.'

My tummy was already rumbling. I knew I
should've had an extra bowl of cereal.

'Yes, Kia?'

For a second I wondered if Kia was going to request
in full public view for Micki to be moved from our
bungalow.

'Are we going to be graded?' she asked.

Carla nodded. 'We'll start this afternoon. If the wind
drops any more we'll have to finish tomorrow
morning.'

So they were chucking us straight into the deep end.
'What about a couple of games?' I felt like suggesting.
Weren't we meant to have a few getting-to-know-one-another
camp moments before the pressure was turned
up to full volume?

Jaime from Victoria, who was even paler than me,
called out: 'When do we get free time?' She seemed like
my kind of girl.

'In the evening and maybe an hour here or there in
the day, depending on the training timetable,' Carla
told her. 'There's a ten pm curfew which requires you
to be back in your bungalows and ready for bed. All
this stuff – rules, when the timetable's up, point tallies,
last-day selections – all of it is in the blue booklet we'll
give you after lunch.'

This was worse than gaol. I knew it.

'Okay, in a moment we'll move to the dining room
for lunch. Parents, you're invited to join us if you wish.
Otherwise, say your farewells beforehand.

'Last thing, girls.' Carla clapped her hands. 'Enjoy
this time but work hard too. It's a big opportunity.
There was a lot of talent and some exciting surfing to
choose from but only places for twelve. If you're not
serious about this, then you're not in the right place.'

I stared at my toes, wondering. Was I serious about
this? I used to be. Maybe if I was once, I'd find my fire
again here.

With those final words from Carla, I felt totally
pumped. I was going to take every opportunity. I was
going to work my butt off. I'd show them that I
deserved to be here. I would be the first up and into the
water, no matter what.

Courtney, or Ace, which I was dying to call her, was
just ahead in the lunch queue. This was a perfect
opportunity to introduce myself.

Dad called out from across the room. 'Kia? I'm
taking the trailer of boards down to the shed. Will you
give us a hand to unload them?'

Oh no, couldn't he find someone else to help him?
Like . . .

At the other end of the room, I spied Micki at the
water fountain, filling up her bottle. Dad was coming
towards me. Quickly, I slipped through the line and
headed over to her.

'Hi,' I said.

'Hello,' Micki replied, giving me a big droopy
puppy-dog look. 'Just getting some hydration. I try and
drink a few bottles a day.'

'Right.'
Well, aren't you the perfect one
, I thought. 'Oh,
here's Dad.'

'Kia!' Dad had the grumps. 'I've been calling you. I
want you to help me unload the boards. The staff have
to have their lunch.'

Courtney was spooning some salad onto her plate
and eyeing off the tables for a good place to sit.

'Kia?' Dad repeated.

'Dad, can't I have my lunch first? I need to eat and
digest before the grading session. Can't – can't
someone else help you?'

Micki went belly first into my trap. 'I'll help.'

'Have you had your lunch?' Dad asked.

So he asked Micki if she'd had her lunch! Didn't my
digestion rate?

'I had a sandwich while I was waiting at the train
station,' Micki the martyr replied. 'I'm really not that
hungry.'

'There we go,' I said.

'Kia!'

'Dad, Micki just said she's eaten.' Ace had just sat
down and there was one seat next to her. It wouldn't
stay vacant for long. 'Oh, don't forget to say goodbye
before you go, Dad.'

I wanted to bolt to the table, like in a game of
musical chairs when only one chair was remaining.
But I didn't. It would so not have looked cool.
Instead, I walked as fast as I could, without seeming
desperate.

'Anyone sitting here?' I asked, as I pulled the chair
out and sat down.

Ace looked up from her mobile. 'Looks like you are.'
She slipped her phone into her lap. 'My boyfriend
keeps texting me,' she giggled.

I felt the oxygen drain from my brain. This was
almost like sitting next to Tim Parker.

'I just told him I'm not allowed to use my phone,'
she told me. 'Knowing my boyfriend, that'll make him
call even more. If that's humanly possible.'

'You go out with Tim Parker, don't you?' I just had to
say it. 'I read an article about you two in
Dolly
.'

'Oh yeah, that's right,' Ace said, shrugging. 'I don't
really keep up with that sort of stuff.'

'It was really interesting. I read it about six times.
I've got a copy at home I could send you.'

'Oh, that's so sweet.' Ace smiled. She seemed so
modest. 'But honestly, my mum probably has about a
thousand copies stashed in the garage. You know what
parents are like.'

'They must be so proud of you.'

'I don't really ask them,' Ace replied. 'Anyway,
they're divorced.'

'Oh, I'm sorry.' How stupid could I get? The article
even said Ace came from a broken home! My fingernails
pinched at my skin. 'I'll be on the lookout if
you want.'

'Hey?'

'When you want to use your phone. When, um, Tim
calls you and stuff.'

'That's so nice of you,' she said. 'I'm Ace, by the
way.'

'Ace.' I almost had to grip the table to stop myself
from fainting off the chair. We were already on 'Ace'
terms. Suddenly I wished I had a nickname or a shortened
version of my own name. But Kia – you couldn't
really get any shorter than that.

'I'm Kia.'

'Ohhh. I met your dad before.' She took another
peek at her phone. 'Outside, with the board trailer. We
thought he worked here.'

'He thinks he does too.'

Ace sipped at her water. 'He said I brought too many
boards.'

I couldn't tell if she was pissed off or embarrassed by
Dad's nosey comment. But I wanted to kill him!

'How many did you bring?' I couldn't resist.

'Six,' Ace replied. 'Do you think that's too many?'

'No!' Wow, that was almost one for every day of the
week.

'It's just that your dad said a girl here only brought
one board.'

'I bet I know who he's talking about. Micki.'

'Is that the young, skinny girl?'

'Yeah.'

'I've seen her before,' Ace continued. 'At one of the
Gromfests in Coolum. I remember her, well, not so
much her as her dad.'

I shuffled around in my chair. It was essential I didn't
get lumped with being some family friend of Micki's.

'Do you know him?'

I went to reply but thankfully didn't.

'He's strange,' Ace continued. 'Really strange. They
didn't camp or stay in a motel, they slept in this total
bomb of a car. It was disgusting.' Ace put her fork
down, like she'd vomit if she ate and told this story at
the same time. 'One afternoon her dad fell asleep and
locked himself in the car with the windows up. It was
so hot. Micki was fully freaking out. I think one of the
other fathers had to break into the car. He must've
been dehydrated or something 'cause an ambulance
came and took him to hospital. After that, she didn't
compete again in the contest. Which was good,
because you just didn't feel safe with that creepy man
hanging around.'

For a second Ace stopped and looked at me. 'Oh!
Oh, he's not a good friend of your dad's, is he? Oh my
God, have I just been totally rude? Is Micki like a close
family friend? I'm going red, aren't I?'

This whopper I was about to tell was in the name of
self-preservation.

'We've just met him at the odd contest and stuff too,'
I lied. 'We're not close family friends or anything.'

'Thank God!' Ace almost squealed. 'Did you think
he was weird?'

'Really, really weird.' That wasn't a lie. I'd only met
Davo twice and that was years ago. But I remembered
there was something weird about him. When I asked
Dad he just told me not to be so judgmental. Now I
had a witness that he was weird!

'I thought I had really put my foot in it then,' Ace
said. 'Like you were old friends.'

'It's fine. Don't worry.' I forced the corners of my
mouth to turn upwards. 'We kind of know Micki 'cause
my dad feels sorry for her.'

'Sweet,' Ace crooned. 'Let's hope her dad doesn't
decide to drop in while we're here.'

'Who?' Georgie arrived at the table with a huge
plate of food. 'Who's going to drop in?'

'Micki's dad.' Ace giggled.

'Huh?' Georgie looked straight at me.

'How would I know?' I mumbled. It was Operation
Change the Subject. 'Hey, I wonder when the grading
session's going to start?'

'They're grading us by bungalows,' Georgie told us.
'The dolphins are first.'

'I don't even know what bungalow I'm in,' Ace said.

'Oh, you're with us,' I answered, 'in the Starfish
Bungalow.'

'So I'm being graded with you guys?' Ace asked.

'Looks like it.'

'I'm Ace, by the way,' Courtney said to Georgie.

So maybe she lets everyone call her Ace. Still, she
told me first.

'I'm Georgie, and I'm off to get some more bread.'
Why was Georgie being so rude? 'Do you guys want
anything?'

'No thanks,' Ace and I chimed together.

When she was gone, Ace leant forward and whispered,
'How much food is on her plate? You know the
nutritionists will get really stuck into her.'

Georgie arrived back at the table, along with Micki
the puppy dog.

'There's no bread left,' Georgie complained. 'I hope
this isn't going to be one of those camps where they
don't feed you enough.'

Ace gave me a 'See, I told you' look. I answered her
with a 'You sure were right' nod.

'I didn't know you made bikinis,' Micki butted into
our conversation. 'Your dad was just telling me how
good they are.'

'They wouldn't fit you,' I said, just in case she was
dropping a hint.

Georgie gave me a greasy. She was into anyone
wearing our bikinis. Free advertising, she called it.

'Don't worry, Micki,' Georgie grunted through a
mouthful, 'they don't fit me either. But for the opposite
reason.'

Ace gave me another nod.

'These old tree trunks,' Georgie continued, 'these
thunder thighs, don't really suit a bikini, I'm afraid to
say.'

Georgie had a habit of saying all the wrong things.

'I bet you carve up the big swell, though,' Micki the
crawler chimed in.

I watched Ace put her fork down and stare at
Georgie.

Georgie was blushing. But it was obvious she was
loving someone saying what a hot surfer she was, especially
in front of Ace.

'The other week when Kia's dad was up visiting, he
told me you were a really powerful surfer,' said Micki. 'I
wish I was but I'm such a shrimp.'

Quickly I gave Ace an 'I don't know what Micki's
talking about' shrug.

'They're taking away the lunch, Kia,' Ace
announced. 'You better grab something to eat or you'll
flake out for the grading.'

I'd forgotten all about eating. I took some slices of
turkey off a platter. Hopefully that'd be enough protein
to get me through the afternoon.

'Kia?' Dad came up behind me. 'I'm going in a
minute.'

'You're not staying for the grading?'

'No. I thought I'd pick up Charlie early from daycare.'

'Okay. Bye then.'

'Come outside for a minute.'

'Why?'

'Because I want to say goodbye to you.'

Something was up with Dad. I could tell from the
calm, but not really calm, sound of his voice.

We walked out of the dining room, across the lawn
and towards the garden that bordered the tennis courts.

'Where are we going, Dad?'

'This is a beautiful place, isn't it?' he said.

'Yeah.'

'You're all so lucky to have this wonderful opportunity.
You all deserve it too.' He was heading somewhere
with these words. 'Every single one of you girls
has worked hard to get here. So wouldn't it be disappointing
if it was ruined because of' – he paused –
'people being unfriendly to others.'

Surprise, surprise! Now I knew where these words
were headed.

Dad stopped. I wanted to keep walking but I could
tell he was on the verge of having a famous Dad
lecture. If I didn't stop and at least pretend to listen it
could end up with him shouting and that would be
embarrassing if not 'please shoot me now' humiliating.

'You've been really unfriendly towards Micki. I'm
shocked. I'm disappointed. I just don't see why you
would behave like that towards her. You don't even
know her.'

'Exactly.' I pulled leaves off one of the bushes. 'I
just can't act like we're best buddies all of a sudden just
because you and Davo are.'

'I'm not asking you to do that.'

'Besides, Dad, she's heaps younger than me. It's not
like we have stuff in common.'

'She might be younger in years, Kia, but she's more
mature than you.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Dad was really,
really annoying me now.

'She's been through a lot.'

'I know she has.' Dad had been ramming that fact
down my throat for years. When it came to Micki it was
hard to compete for a sympathy vote. 'I know her mum
died when she was three.' A rustling on the other side
of the garden interrupted me. I jumped and grabbed
on to Dad. I wasn't a very 'wildlife' kind of girl. 'What
was that?'

'Probably a bird.'

'Or was it a snake?'

'It would've been a very big snake if it was,' Dad
said. 'Look, Kia, I brought you up to be kind and
considerate. I'm not asking you to be best friends with
Micki. I'm asking you to be nice and maybe check in
every now and then that she's going okay.'

Back to the topic of Micki. I ground my toe into the
ground until I felt the gravel scratch the top layer off
my skin.

'You've got so much,' he told me. 'She doesn't. So be
kind. Please.'

I headed back to the dining room and even then
Micki was present, crossing the lawn like she'd
appeared from nowhere. There was no escaping her.