Ms Morales told us we could use the Thursday’s Science period to continue working on our assignments. I knew I’d be in deep trouble if she asked to see my research, but my plans to prove myself to my teachers had been well and truly sidetracked in the last few days. I pulled out the crumpled gene wheel diagram and began filling in the blanks at random, so I’d at least appear busy.
Where most of the class had a few pages of notes, Simon had a whole stack of diagrams and illustrations to show Ms Morales. It turned out she’d kept finches herself when she was young, and was fascinated by Simon’s projections of the breast, head and body colour variations that might result from the different pairings of his birds. They were still at it when the bell went.
“Thanks for keeping Morales talking,” I said when she’d finally left our bench. “Also, I, uh, meant to thank you for setting Jamie Butcher straight on the gay gene thing the other day.”
“No problem,” said Simon. “It was worth it to see Butcher squirm, even if it’s not entirely true.”
“What isn’t?”
“That sexual orientation doesn’t run in families. I mean, the bit about not being able to reproduce the gay gene study’s findings was true, but other research has shown that if one sibling is homosexual the other is statistically more likely to be, even more so in identical twins. They think it may have something to do with the mother’s hormone levels during pregnancy.”
“You knew this and you didn’t think you should mention it?”
“Well, it’s not to do with genetics, strictly speaking, so I didn’t see any need to. Besides, it wouldn’t have done you any good, would it?”
I was trying to decide whether to thank him or let him have it when Sally came over.
“The board accepted our petition at their meeting last night. Whitlam’s gay–straight alliance is officially official!”
“Congratulations,” said Simon. “What happens now?”
“The first thing I have to do is find someone to be co-president. Al, I was wondering whether you’d be interested.”
“Me? Why would I? I’m not gay!” I said, perhaps a bit too forcefully, judging by the way Sally shrank away from me.
“Uh, I know – that’s why I’m asking you. It’s a gay–straight alliance. I figured since your sis–”
“You figured wrong,” I said, trying to shut her up before someone overheard us. I grabbed my bag and my botched gene wheel and walked out of the lab without waiting for Maz.
The sound of Simon’s heavy footsteps echoing down the hall behind me made me walk faster, but his legs were way too long for me to keep my lead.
When I realised there was no escape, I turned to face him. “What do you want now?”
“I think you should apologise to Sally. She was almost in tears when you took off.”
“Me apologise? She’s the one who should be saying sorry. As if people aren’t taking enough shots at me already without me becoming the face of gay pride at Whitlam. I may as well paint a rainbow target on myself and hand Jamie Butcher a bow and arrow.”
“I don’t understand you, Al. You had no problem signing Sally’s petition for the alliance, and you’re always going on about how Dylan and Jay are the best couple you know, but when it’s time to stand up and be counted, you act as if you have a problem with gay people.”
He still didn’t get it. “What I have a problem with is my sister overshadowing everything I do or say. It was bad enough when I was being compared to Larrie for things people admired about her, but now someone’s got it in for her and they’re taking me down too.”
“I can’t believe you still think this is all about you, Al. You’ve really changed.”
“Changed from what?” I demanded, furious that Simon thought he knew me well enough to even make such a statement. “The cute little girl you fell in love with on the first day of kindy?”
Simon’s face hardened. In all the years we’d known each other, I’d never seen him really angry before. “Do you know what made me like you? You probably don’t even remember it, but on that first day no one would sit next to me because Emily Peters told them that red hair was contagious and if they got too close to me they’d turn into a ranga. You were the only one who didn’t join in, and after you sat with me at playlunch the teasing stopped.”
He was right, I didn’t remember it, but I did remember Emily Peters, who remained the Kingston Primary School bully until her family moved to Singapore in Year Six. Somewhere thousands of kilometres away she was probably still tormenting her classmates.
“You used to be someone who stuck up for what you believed in, Al. What happened?”
Simon didn’t wait for me to answer his question. Maz arrived as he walked away in long, angry strides. “Why didn’t you wait for me after Science? And what’s up with him?”
“No idea,” I said, trying to regain my composure before Maz registered how shaken I was. “Maybe it’s pre-competition jitters.”
She sighed. “He’s not alone there. Yesterday was our worst rehearsal ever. You’re still coming this afternoon, aren’t you? Please say you are – the guys try harder when they’ve got an audience.”
Vertigo Pony’s final rehearsal was at Simon’s place, or – more accurately – in Simon’s garage. He had to keep the roller door closed so that the noise didn’t carry through to the pharmacy.
If Maz hadn’t been so desperate for me to be there, I definitely would’ve made up an excuse to get out of it. Things between me and Simon had officially hit an all-time low, and for once he was the one holding the grudge. I kept telling myself I should be grateful for the lack of attention from him, but it didn’t feel as good as I’d imagined it would.
“Before we rehearse I want to talk about styling again,” said Maz, who was so engrossed in her to-do list that she still hadn’t noticed anything was wrong between Simon and me. “Will you please reconsider some of the ideas I’ve put forward?”
“Not the feathers. No way!” Prad’s voice cracked in panic.
Nicko groaned. “Maz, we’ve been over this a hundred times. We’re not putting on make-up, we’re not wearing jumpsuits, and we’re most definitely keeping our shirts on. And buttoned up.”
“Not even the eye patches?” wheedled Maz.
Prad and Nicko shook their heads.
“Fine, but you’ll be sorry when all the photos on Whit’s Wit are of me.”
“It’s a risk we’re prepared to take,” said Nicko. “Now can we rehearse, please?”
They went through the full set three times, pausing between each one for Maz to ask what I thought.
I tried to concentrate on the music, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what Simon had said. It was true that I’d been a loudmouthed little kid, but that was back in the days of the Al and Larrie Show. When I got to Whitlam, I realised that being outspoken got you in trouble more often than not. Maybe Larrie had learned the same lesson.
By the time Maz’s mum arrived, even Maz was satisfied that Vertigo Pony was ready for the final competition.
“Are you sure you don’t want a lift?” Maz asked for the third time as I helped load her gear into the boot.
“Positive. I’m trying to delay getting home for as long as possible.”
I crossed Kingston Street, thinking Dylan or Jay might still be working. I’d thought a lot about what Dylan had said and I wanted to make sure things were okay between us. I peered through the locked door, trying to see if they were out the back, but there was no sign of them. My apology would have to wait until Saturday.
“Hi, stranger,” said a voice behind me. I turned and saw a smile that made my stomach flutter. “I’ve been trying to catch you at school all week. Where’ve you been hiding?”
“Oh, you know, here and there.” In the toilets, mainly, but no need for Josh to know that.
“Well, I’ve missed you! Promise me we’ll do something together tomorrow night, after the competition.”
Now it was my turn to smile. I nodded, not trusting my brain’s ability to form a coherent reply when Josh was standing so close to me.
“Excellent, I’ll see you then.” He leaned forward and gave me a light kiss on the lips before heading back the way he’d come.
I watched him until he turned onto Ormond Street before heading for home. It was the warmest night since spring had sprung and the air was thick with the scent of jasmine and cherry blossom. As I’d come to expect, Josh made everything better. It was as if his kiss had erased Simon’s words, and my doubts.
For the first time since the photo emerged, I felt like there was a tiny chance that my life was improving after all.
“There’s Thai takeaway in the kitchen,” called Dad from the living room when I got home. “Larrie and I already ate, so help yourself to what’s left.”
I filled a bowl with stir-fry and noodles and went to join him on the couch. “Where’s Mum?”
“In bed – she feels like she’s got a migraine coming on, so be a good girl and don’t start any noisy fights with your sister.”
“It’s not me who starts the fights, why don’t you talk to La–”
“I don’t care who starts them, just don’t tonight, okay?”
I bit my lip and stared at the floor.
“Sorry, Al-bunny. I didn’t mean to snap at you. These exams are as stressful for the rest of the family as they are for Larrie, aren’t they? Thank God it’ll be over in a couple of weeks.”
“One week and two days.” I picked up my bowl and went to my room.
How was it possible for my life to go from looking up to worse than ever in less than thirty minutes?
I was sneaking down to the kitchen an hour later to see whether there was any pad thai left when I heard voices coming from Mum and Dad’s room. In my experience, my parents speaking in low tones behind their bedroom door meant they were talking about me, so I stopped and tuned in. I was shocked to hear Mum crying.
“Yes, I’m sure it’s Larrie they were talking about,” she said between muffled sobs. “I forgot to forward the phone when I went to make a cup of tea, so I nipped back to reception. They must’ve thought I’d be away longer because they weren’t even bothering to whisper.”
Dad’s voice was consoling. “Okay, so a couple of local gossips in the waiting room were talking about Larrie kissing someone. If they think that’s a reason to expel her, then they’re ignorant prudes. There’s no way Masch would agree to it.”
“It wasn’t about kissing someone, it was about kissing a girl. You didn’t hear how horrible they were being, Max. And if those two know about it then the whole of Kingston does.”
Dad made the soothing “ssh” noise he used to whisper in my ear when he rocked me to sleep after a bad dream. “Larrie’s only got a little while longer at Whitlam and then no one will care who she’s kissing. All we can do right now is help her get through her exams. We’ll deal with this other stuff later.”
I snuck back to my room and closed the door silently behind me.
Al Miller has lost her appetite.