I knew I’d give in unless I did something different in the morning. When my alarm went, I got up before the boys woke up. I wanted to go back to sleep. It was hard getting up, but I did it.
Calvin was in the kitchen finishing his breakfast. He stood up and hugged me. ‘Don’t give in, Ruby. It’ll be hard for a day or two. But don’t give in. You hear me?’
I sniffed and nodded. ‘Thanks, Calvin.’
I put bread in the toaster. I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten anything last night.
Mum came in.
Before she could ask why I was up so early, I said, ‘Mum — what’s happening about the rooms?’
She frowned. ‘Leave it, Ruby. Things will work out.’
I headed for the door.
‘Where are you going? Don’t be long, darling. You know how much I rely on you in the mornings.’
Yeah, and evenings, days, nights as well. She was smiling at me — as if telling me that was giving me a present.
‘I do know, Mum. Thanks for saying it, though. But get Max to help. I’m on strike. Bye.’ I left but I saw her mouth hanging open in surprise.
I went to Tia’s. I hoped her mum would feed me. I was starving. And shaky.
I forgot Tia wasn’t talking to me. I hammered on the door.
She opened it, went to slam it, but she saw my face. ‘Hey! What’s up? You’re a mess!’ She dragged me inside.
‘I’m hungry,’ I sobbed. ‘And I’ve got the worst family in the world.’
‘Mum!’ Tia bellowed.
They were great. Mrs Manu cooked me a feed while I told them what had happened. ‘And I’m scared that Calvin will tell Mum off and they’ll fight and he’ll leave.’
Tia stared at me. ‘Wow! Ruby — that’s heavy. I’m sorry — should have kept my big mouth shut.’
I banged my fist on the table. ‘No! I’m glad you yelled at me. I’m sick of being a doormat.’ I wiped away yet more tears. ‘I just didn’t know how hard it would be to stop.’
Mrs Manu set a plate of scrambled eggs in front of me. ‘Eat. Things never look so bad when you’ve got a full stomach.’
Tia said, ‘But Mum — what can she do? It’s awful the way she has to do all the work.’
Her mother smiled. ‘Stay strong. Kia kaha, Ruby. The hard part’s done now.’
‘No, it isn’t,’ Tia said. ‘I want her to come shopping with me on Saturday.’
‘Yes, that’ll be hard,’ her mother agreed. She gave me a huge hug. ‘Don’t worry, Ruby. You’ve done all you can for now.’
I drank a cup of hot chocolate while Tia got ready. Just before we left, my phone went. I pulled a face. ‘It’s Mum.’ I took a deep breath. ‘Hello.’
I could hear the kids in the background. They were fighting and Theo was crying. Ouch. I felt so guilty.
‘Ruby — you’ve made your point. We’ll talk about it tonight and make a decision. Are you happy now?’
I stopped feeling guilty. ‘I’ll see you tonight.’ I disconnected before she could ask if I’d pick Davey up.
Tia stood watching me. ‘You know, I never thought she’d be like that.’
I sighed. ‘Me neither.’ Mum probably figured I’d give in, Max would be happy and everything would go back to normal.
The phone went again. ‘Will you pick Davey up?’
If she’d been asking Max, she’d have said please. ‘Sorry, Mum. Ask Max.’
Tia slapped a hand over her mouth.
‘Ruby!’ Mum said. She sounded like she was nearly crying. ‘I don’t know what’s got into you! For goodness’ sake — you know what Max is like!’ She still hadn’t said please.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I know what he’s like. Goodbye, Mum.’
I put the phone down. ‘I feel awful. Mean and guilty.’
Mrs Manu gave me another hug. ‘Your mum loves you, Ruby. It’ll be all right — you’ll see. Bye girls, have a good day.’
‘Don’t say anything to the others,’ I said to Tia as we rode off. ‘I want to forget all about it for a few hours.’
‘Okay,’ Tia said. ‘Shall I tell you about Jed?’
‘Jed?’ My voice squeaked. ‘Jed as in Watkins?’
‘That’s the one,’ she said. She had a smile on her face. Sort of happy and dreamy — a very pleased-with-herself sort of smile.
‘Tell!’ I ordered.
She laughed. ‘Nothing much. We’re going to the movies on Friday night. He’s sent me five texts this morning already.’
‘Woohoo!’ I yelled. ‘But when did all this happen?’ I hadn’t seen them together. Carly and Megan hadn’t said anything either.
‘He waits for me after kapa haka and we walk back to my house together.’ She grinned. ‘It’s kind of cool. He’s nicer than he is in class.’
That had to be good. He could be a total dick in class.
Then she said, ‘Tell me about Brazil. Are you going to hand in your form?’ Her voice had a challenge in it.
So she had noticed I’d taken a form.
‘You know,’ I said, thinking about it, ‘I wasn’t going to. I just took one because Megan wanted me to.’ And wasn’t that the sort of thing I always did? I shook my head. ‘But now — after all this, I’m going to do it. I’m going to try my hardest.’
We rode the rest of the way without talking. I heard her laughing every now and then. When we got to school, she said, ‘You know, Ruby — it’s great! Backbone suits you.’
Maybe. But it sure wasn’t comfortable. It wasn’t easy either. I didn’t want to go back to being a spineless doormat though. I didn’t want that at all.
Mr W collected our Brazil forms. Five of us handed them in. Megan said, ‘I’m so glad you’re applying too, Ruby. It’s scary.’
I didn’t go home after school. I stayed and watched kapa haka. Jed turned up too. He sat down beside me. ‘She’s good,’ he said, never taking his eyes off Tia.
Yes, she was. It was soothing, sitting there and listening to the beat of feet, watching the girls’ poi swinging. Mr T was tough with them. He made them sing the same verse of the waiata six times before he was satisfied.
‘You reckon this’ll scare the kids from Brazil?’ Jed asked as we watched the haka.
I shrugged. I just hoped it wouldn’t put them off. If they went home and said how scared they were, then that might be the end of the exchange.
I wondered what to do when the practice ended. I didn’t want to be piggy in the middle between Tia and Jed. I grinned at Tia when she came off the stage. ‘You look hot up there. See you tomorrow.’
She grabbed my arm. ‘Are you going home?’
‘Not yet. I have plans.’ I said it grandly. She believed me and let my arm go.
We picked up our bikes. Tia and Jed wheeled theirs. I jumped on mine and rode off.
I realised I did have a plan after all. I needed to earn four thousand dollars for the Brazil trip. I would look for a job.