Sail stopped by the big door, like he didn’t want to take another step.
Mae watched him, the careful way he moved.
The floor was stone, the mourners had lit candles. He glanced up and around. ‘This town, everything is so beautiful.’
His eyes dropped to hers, his pupils large.
Maybe she wanted to kiss him as the saints frowned down on them and the floor opened to fire.
Felix wore a hooded top, his face so drawn it was like he’d already crossed over.
Sail stood at the top of the pulpit as Mae took a bottle of communion wine and a silver goblet.
She stared at the cross. ‘Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned, and am likely to again.’
Mae passed the goblet to Sail, who drank liberally. ‘AD 30, that was a vintage year.’
‘You need to sleep,’ Mae said, glancing at Felix.
Felix rubbed his eyes on cue. ‘Two hundred and sixty-four hours – that’s the record. I’m closing in on sixty.’
‘At least take a drink.’
‘Can’t mix it with the pills. Damn near shat the bed last time.’
‘Felix is trying to stay awake long enough to learn everything. And I mean everything,’ Mae said to Sail.
‘Knowledge is power,’ Sail said into the microphone, then raised a fist.
‘At the moment I’m just looking for a way to get Candice to notice me.’
‘I thought we were Forevers,’ Sail said. ‘We’re not invisible anymore. Tell us the plan.’
‘Ten Things I Hate About You. Three years ago Candice rented that movie and kept it for six weeks, racking up a decent fine. You know what that tells me?’
‘That she lost it?’ Mae swirled the goblet.
‘It tells me she wants a grand gesture, an all-singing, all-dancing promposal spectacular.’
‘Shame you can’t sing or dance.’
‘Firstly, I’ve been listening to Barry White since I was a kid. The Walrus of Love is inside me.’
‘Jesus,’ Mae said.
‘And, secondly …’ Felix stood and began to gyrate.
Sail nodded.
‘She also rented Dante’s Inferno and Backdraft. You know what that tells me?’ Felix said. ‘The girl likes fire.’
They emptied into the graveyard, dodging the gravestones as night fell. Above they heard the steady buzz of electricity lines.
Felix led them to Ocean Drive, where Sail headed into the white house alone.
Mae and Felix leaned against the wall.
‘This kid’s richer than God,’ Felix said. ‘You chose well.’
‘I didn’t choose –’
‘You know it’s okay to actually like a boy, Mae.’
‘I don’t do boyfriends.’
‘You just do boys.’
‘Meaningless sex.’
‘That’s an oxymoron.’
‘Spoken like a true girl.’
He looked at the sky. ‘People are still working. We’re still at school.’
‘What’s the alternative?’
He shrugged. ‘It’s like we’re stuck in some alternate reality. One day the world is turning, and then next … damn. Why don’t I feel anything? When I go to church …’ Felix swallowed. ‘Why can’t I tap into the higher power. Maybe I’m too young. I’m emotionally retarded.’
‘You cry every time you read a book.’
‘I fell in love like you fall asleep.’
‘In forty-five minute bursts?’ Mae said.
‘Petrol, just like you ordered.’ Sail said, an apparition in the dark, he carried a small plastic jug. It sloshed as he walked.
‘You want to tell us the plan now?’ Mae said.
The smaller gate was open and Felix led them down the side of the large house and into the garden behind.
‘That’s her window,’ Felix said, and pointed.
‘I’m afraid to ask how you know that,’ Mae said.
Felix got to work. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and gripped a small penlight between his teeth. Then he set about carefully pouring the petrol over designated patches of grass.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ Mae said, as the rich smell of petrol filled the air.
‘I saw it online. Fire writing. Candice comes to her window and sees our names flickering beneath the stars.’
‘And then she runs out screaming as fire rushes towards her house.’
Felix waved her off. ‘Controlled burn. When she comes down I’ll drop to my knee and give her the flowers. Sound good?’
‘You don’t have flowers,’ Mae said.
Sail looked around, saw a rose bush and snapped it at the base. He handed the plant to Felix, who took a deep breath and nodded.
Mae and Sail crouched together, side by side, his arm touching hers.
She looked at the shape of his face, knew without question he fit.
Matches flared against the dark.
The letters ignited as Candice appeared at her window, mouth slightly open as her face glowed in the flame light.
‘She’ll see him now,’ Sail said.
‘Seeing him and actually –’ Mae stopped as she noticed the smell, kind of chemical, and then smoke, darker than she had ever seen. She bent down and touched the grass.
‘This isn’t grass.’
‘What?’
‘It’s fake grass.’
She felt the heat as sweat began to run into her eyes.
Felix glanced back at them.
‘It’s spreading,’ Mae said.
Flames grew high and gathered like a wall. A light breeze sent them rushing towards a timber summer house, which ignited in seconds.
‘Controlled burn,’ Mae said.
Felix puffed his cheeks out, a slight puzzled frown on his face.
Fire crawled and spread and thundered, thick smoke billowed, black against ink sky, the smother so thick not even moonlight could make it through.
They walked over to where Felix stood, the rose bush limp in his hand.
‘What do we do now?’ Felix said, panic creeping into his voice.
Sail surveyed the blazing shed. ‘We run, man. We run.’
They sprinted out into the street and separated. Felix and Sail headed back up Ocean Drive while Mae cut into the small copse outside another towering mansion.
Before long gates began to open as neighbours came out into the street and clustered around Candice’s house.
She could hear the crackle of the fire as people gasped. A dog ran by her, spooked as it bolted into the street behind.
She saw Hugo there in board shorts, the bruises on his body expertly hidden.
Mae watched as Luke Manton staggered up the street holding a half-empty bottle.
She watched in shock as he caught sight of someone in the crowd and began to shout. There was a struggle, and he dropped the bottle.
He looked wild, screaming and cursing.
A couple of guys held him back, but Hugo remained rooted to the spot.
‘If I see you again, I’ll kill you,’ Luke Manton said, as he was slowly led away.
It was only as the distant call of sirens was heard that the group thinned a little and Mae could see the person Luke had attacked.
He stood there, unflustered, his eyes locked on Luke as he trailed into the distance.
Jon Prince.
Hugo’s father.