Eva lay with her eyes closed, the charm bracelet held tight in her hand. The mouth-watering smell of cooked eel and the musky scent of marijuana lurked at the edge of her consciousness, as did Rocky’s yelps as Devin inexpertly sewed up his leg with black cotton, the colour of the All Blacks. Eva blotted it all out, focused on where she wished she could be.
And there she was. Back wagging afternoon school with Mandy. A warm spring day, mild and sunny. Hot salty chips in a white paper parcel, the best kind – yellowy crisp on the outside, feathery soft in the middle. They were in the local playground, perched on the kids’ swings, pushing off with their toes in the hollowed dirt, laughing and chatting. It was Mandy’s smile that Eva lingered over, warm and sweet, and the way she’d reached out and held Eva’s hand right there in public as though it didn’t matter at all. Which of course it did, otherwise she would’ve told her mum all about Eva.
Eva sighed. Her bladder was prickling dangerously. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes in time to see Rocky jerk back his head in pain, yelping as his skull struck the boulder he was leaning against.
Devin sat back on her haunches, her forehead covered with sweat and her fingers stained with blood. She looked shaken, but her voice was light as she said, ‘All done.’
Rocky sucked in deep breaths and then popped the remnants of the joint in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. Devin fumbled in Mandy’s toilet bag and took out the little box of painkillers, her bloody fingers leaving prints on the plastic.
‘Can’t you wash your hands?’ Eva cried. ‘You’re getting crap all over everything.’
Devin spun around, spilling the contents of the bag everywhere. ‘Sorry. I was just getting the pills. Sorry.’
She dropped the pills on Rocky’s lap and quickly backed off down to the river.
Eva gathered up the spilled things, Mandy’s things, and replaced them gently in the bag, wiping Devin’s prints away with her shirt. She returned the toilet bag to the backpack and carefully tucked the charm bracelet back in its special pocket.
Rocky was glaring at her.
‘What?’ Eva said, belligerently.
‘Don’t speak to her like that.’
Eva was taken aback. ‘What?’
‘You heard.’
‘It’s just Dozy Devin. Who cares?’
Rocky fumbled for a stick and threw it at her, fast and hard. It whipped through the air and stung her across the leg. She gasped, partly in pain, partly in disbelief.
‘Dozy Devin,’ he said, through gritted teeth, ‘saved me from drowning, got you across the stream, built a fire, caught breakfast and has just finished sewing up my leg. Dozy Devin deserves a little more respect.’
‘This is Mandy’s stuff,’ Eva said, her voice breaking a little. ‘She was messing up Mandy’s stuff.’
‘So?’ Rocky said. ‘Mandy’s not stupid. She’d want us to use it. Besides, she’s probably dead anyway.’
Eva’s mouth trembled. ‘I hate you.’
‘Oh, piss off,’ Rocky said, closing his eyes.
Devin returned, wiping her wet hands on her trackpants. Eva retrieved the toilet bag and slammed it into Devin’s chest. Devin stumbled back a few steps, her eyes wide and hurt.
‘There,’ Eva said viciously. ‘Take it. Enjoy it. I hope you choke on it.’
She turned away and went off to the end of the beach where she sank to the ground in a crumpled heap.
The sound of her sobs floated back to Devin and Rocky.
Rocky opened one eye. ‘Hey, Devin. Thanks. I mean it.’
Devin ducked her head, blushed. It was the first time she’d ever heard him say her name.
