Piper Bancroft lifted her baseball cap and shook her head to loosen the knots in her long brown ponytail. The flight had been more than three hours, but the two-hour drive to the airport with her mum had seemed way longer in comparison. From the moment they’d pulled out of the driveway, Piper’s mum had started on her latest favourite theme. Grabbing the future with both hands. For good measure, she included a dash of onwards and upwards. Hugely motivational. Piper had especially enjoyed the thinly disguised digs about her relationship with Dylan. She’d been exhausted by the time she even got on the plane.

But now she’d arrived in Melbourne. Piper took a deep breath and stretched up tall as she walked down the airport corridor. She looked down at her pull-on sand-coloured Converse, watching each step.

This was it. Plan B.

The arrivals hall was crowded with people waiting to greet loved ones and passengers collecting their luggage.

Then Piper saw her godmother, who was actually very hard to miss.

Gaynor held a card in front of her ample chest. A series of glittering gold stars formed a kind of border around the edges of the sign, with Piper’s name taking centre stage. With her free hand, Gaynor snapped pictures of Piper, complete with blinding flashes.

Piper smiled and waved, and started walking towards Gaynor. She felt a little embarrassed about all the fuss her godmother was making – people were starting to look at Piper as if she might be a celebrity or something, even though she was just in her favourite pair of faded yellow trackpants and a T-shirt. It was pretty much the usual way she put herself together – she liked feeling comfortable.

Piper felt a little shudder down her spine as she thought of all the new clothes in her suitcase, clothes that were completely different from her normal ones. Not student-type clothes for uni. Not jeans and runners and hoodies. Not Plan-A clothes. Piper hadn’t taken clothing advice from her mum since her preference had been fairy dresses and tiaras, but she’d pretty much gone with her mum’s thinking on these ones. In her suitcase were outfits she hoped would be appropriate for her new job the next day.

‘Oh my darling girl, come hither!’

Piper put down her backpack and took in the sight of her godmother. There was a lot to take in. Gaynor was the kind of woman who believed more is more. Her make-up was caked on, the kind of make-up she used to wear when she was on stage. It might have looked subtle under stage lights, but it looked over-done up close. Her giant hoop earrings led the way south to a pink-and-gold caftan. From there, the journey down to Gaynor’s feet was billowing and flowy and ended at a pair of bejewelled sandals and rings-with-bling on most of her toes.

Piper moved into Gaynor’s outstretched arms and let herself be squeezed. Gaynor’s welcome card flapped against her face, threatening to knock out any air she managed to inhale.

‘I’m so looking forward to having a roommate,’ Gaynor enthused, finally freeing Piper from the bear hug. ‘It’s been …’

Gaynor’s voice trailed off and Piper bit her lip. She still couldn’t believe that Isaac was gone, even though she’d been at his funeral three years ago. It just seemed wrong.

‘But are you sure this is what you want, darling?’ Gaynor asked, changing the subject.

Gaynor had asked Piper the same question on the phone weeks ago, after Piper’s results came in – when she’d realised she might not get into the creative writing and editing course she’d had her heart set on for years. That she was right on the line and it could go either way.

The university had taken her folio and given her an interview. She could still hear the professor’s exact words. The words that had plunged her onto the wrong side of that line, into the abyss: Your marks aren’t quite up to scratch, Piper. And your folio, although quite good, doesn’t yet demonstrate the level of maturity we’re looking for. But you’re welcome to try again next year.

It still felt surreal that she’d stuffed up. Like she’d taken her hand off the wheel for one fleeting second and run off the road. Sure, she hadn’t been entirely focused around the time of her final exams. And a little bit before that, too, admittedly, while she was preparing her folio. But other than that she’d been a straight-A student forever. She’d figured that learning was like a bank account – that the years of saving it up, all those years of being focused, would pay off and get her where she wanted to go.

So much for that theory.

Now it was her two best friends, Sarah and Ally, who were about to start the uni courses they’d dreamed of. They would both be leaving Mission Beach after the summer holidays to go to uni in Brisbane. Ally, Sarah and Piper had planned to share a house.

Piper knew her friends had studied super hard at the end. They’d really hunkered down, rarely going out. But it was different for them; Sarah didn’t have a boyfriend and Ally’s boyfriend, Harry, was doing his final year too – he wasn’t out of school and working and living independently like Dylan.

Now Piper stood watching as luggage circled the carousel.

‘This is what I want, Gaynor. Absolutely.’ She hoped she sounded full of conviction. She leant her head on Gaynor’s shoulder. ‘Thanks so much for making it happen, Fairy Godmother. I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.’

‘You would have done something else,’ Gaynor said firmly.

Piper nodded and smiled. It was characteristically generous of Gaynor not to make a big fuss about helping her, but Piper knew that getting a job at Aspire would have been the first choice for loads of people. If the job had been advertised, there would have been hundreds of applicants.

Aspire was a fashion and lifestyle magazine. It wasn’t that Piper was averse to flicking through a fashion mag, getting the celebrity gossip and stuff. But to actually work in an industry that made women feel shit about themselves, and then sold them products to correct their imaginary faults? Well, it wasn’t exactly what she aspired to.

Still, she knew she should be counting her blessings. Maybe some time working for a mag like Aspire would help on her uni application next year. Magazine work was still in the realm of publishing, even if it wasn’t exactly up her alley. Hopefully it would be a stepping stone, another way of getting to where she wanted to go.

Gaynor was giving her was a second chance – since she’d stuffed up the first one so impressively.

Piper saw her suitcase emerge from the chute. She really had to stop thinking like this. Yes, it had been bad timing, meeting Dylan when she did. He’d moved to Mission Beach and into Lofty’s house halfway through her final year, and spending time with him became a priority pretty quickly.

But, like Dylan said, you don’t get to choose when you fall in love.

Luckily, Dylan had been there to comfort her when the exam results came in. He’d been there to point out that not doing so well in your final exams wasn’t the end of the world. In fact, he’d been there to love her, to comfort her, whenever she needed him. Even when she’d been stupid and insecure about other stuff.

Piper grabbed her suitcase by the handle and struggled to pull it off the carousel.

‘That looks heavy, darling,’ said Gaynor. Piper nodded and wished Dylan were here, lifting her suitcase as if it were light as a feather. But she wasn’t going to pine for Dylan. He was coming down to stay with her in a few weeks’ time. By then, Piper would be on track with her new job. Hopefully, she would ace it. And it wasn’t like Dylan had anything against moving to Melbourne. He might have to travel a bit to find good surf, but there was plenty of work for a builder’s labourer here. It was just a matter of lining everything up. Things were going to work out fine.

Absolutely.

Piper sipped on her second glass of champagne while Gaynor drained the rest of the bottle into her own glass. Between them, on the kitchen bench, were instructions on how to get to Aspire headquarters.

‘And you ask to see Rose McFadden,’ Gaynor reminded her.

‘What’s she like?’ Piper asked. Whenever she thought about what the editor of a fashion magazine might be like, she got stressed. She thought of silk scarves, perfectly coiffured hair and military attitudes.

‘Oh, she’s a force!’ Gaynor paused. Piper could see a little smile twitching around Gaynor’s mouth as she spoke. ‘In the best way.’

This didn’t make Piper feel any better. She put down her glass; she really didn’t need a hangover on her first day.

‘This is an awesome apartment,’ she said, getting up from her stool and moving into the lounge room. Gaynor followed her. It was the first time that Piper had ever been there. Gaynor had moved after Isaac died; it was part of her attempt to move on.

The penthouse apartment truly was amazing.

Amazing, as in: huge.

Amazing, as in: 360-degree views of the Botanical Gardens and city skyline.

Amazing, as in: decorated with more animal-fur print than Piper had ever seen outside a zoo.

The blinds were leopard print. There were zebra-skin rugs on the cream carpet. The modular couch was cream, but covered with faux tiger-print throws.

‘Yes, it is lovely,’ Gaynor said, sinking into the couch. She pulled a tiger throw from the armrest and wrapped it around her, as though she was experiencing a sudden chill. Piper couldn’t help noticing that Gaynor’s eyes had come to rest on a small photo of her and Isaac on the mantelpiece. The photo was taken onstage in a scene from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Piper had seen them in that play. She remembered her parents comparing Gaynor and Isaac to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who’d played the same roles in the movie back in the day. Her mum said that Gaynor and Isaac’s love was as powerful and passionate as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s was in real life. Four years ago, at fourteen, Piper had been grossed out at the thought of Gaynor’s love life. Too much information.

But now that she had Dylan in her life, she felt like she understood.

Piper’s phone buzzed on the coffee table. It was as though Dylan knew she was thinking about him.

Hey babe. You there yet? Miss you already xx

Piper started texting back.

‘Dylan?’ Gaynor asked.

‘How did you know?’ Piper looked at Gaynor, surprised.

‘The look on your face says it all.’ Gaynor patted the couch beside her, and Piper sat down obediently. ‘I thought you guys had decided to take a break for a while?’

‘I think your information source might be faulty,’ Piper replied quickly. ‘Neither of us wanted to take a break.’

Piper could hear the defensiveness, the terseness, in her voice. It wasn’t Gaynor’s fault she thought that. Obviously Piper’s mother had put the idea in her head, just like she’d tried to put the idea in Piper’s. God, her mum was so judgemental about Dylan.

Even though her mother would never admit it, Piper was sure her mum was being snobby about him. Just because he hadn’t finished school. Because he was a labourer and a surfer and he preferred to live a cruisy life rather than stress about everything. She’d never said it straight out, but Piper could tell her mum blamed Dylan for Piper’s results in year twelve. Which was totally ridiculous. If Piper had dropped the ball, if she’d been hanging out with Dylan a bit too much when she could have been studying, that was her choice.

‘Sorry,’ Piper tried again. ‘Dylan’s going to come down in a few weeks. Then we’ll figure out what to do next.’

Dylan was way more than just a labourer. And Piper had the song lyrics – lyrics he’d written just for her – to prove it. Not that she’d ever show anything that intimate to her mother.

Piper would have to fill Gaynor in on what Dylan was really like. He was gorgeous and kind and smart in his own way. But she didn’t want to start tonight. She didn’t want to start out feeling like she was defending him.

‘What about you, Gaynes? Is there anyone?’ Piper asked, diverting any more Dylan talk.

Gaynor gave Piper a narrow-eyed look. For the moment, at least, she allowed the detour. ‘Well, I have been doing some internet dating,’ she said.

Piper nodded, pretending she hadn’t heard all the disaster stories about Gaynor’s dating attempts from her mother. Her mum was probably being judgemental about Gaynor’s love life, too. ‘And how has that been?’

‘Good,’ Gaynor said quickly, like a reflex. ‘Well, it’s actually been … mixed,’ she admitted. She shrugged, a majestic gesture that shed the tiger throw from her shoulders. ‘But then,’ she said theatrically, ‘the course of true love never did run smooth.’

Piper smiled. She’d used that quote in her English essay on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But there had been other things she hadn’t included. Things that she realised later she should have studied more. Obvious things that had cost her marks.

But all that was over now. That was how Piper had to look at it. There had been a setback; now she was going forward.

Piper’s new bedroom was about twice the size of her room back home. It was lovely, though impersonal: wall-to-wall white and beige. The wardrobes were empty except for a couple of blankets and spare pillows. The blanket on the top of the pile was kind of cute: blue with little cartoon ghosts. Piper picked up it up and shook it out. It was a blanket with sleeves.

A Snuggie! thought Piper, giggling and spreading it out on her bed. Why would Gaynor have one of these? She’s so weird!

She sat down on her bed and checked her phone. There was a message from her mum to see whether she arrived safely.

Then a photo came up on Snapchat. Piper could tell from the background that Sarah and Ally were in Sarah’s bedroom, getting ready to go out. Ally was wearing Sarah’s stretchy black dress with the cutaway sleeves. Piper smiled, thinking about how that dress had done the rounds. Although the three girls had very different body shapes, the dress fit them all beautifully. Piper had borrowed it for one of her first dates with Dylan. When he’d met her out the front of her house that balmy night he’d looked at her for ages, and then, finally, said just one word: Smokin’.

Piper warmed at the memory, and looked back at the photo. Both Ally and Sarah held up cans of Pulse. A cask of wine was on the floor beside them, for when they ran out of the pricey stuff. It was weird to think that her friends were priming themselves for a big night out and she was the one going to bed early. It was a bit of a turnaround from the last months of high school, but, of course, they didn’t have to be up early tomorrow morning. They still had a month of holidays to go.

Her friends had included a message with the picture.

Gonna get loose. Wish u were here xx

She stared at the photo, milking the full ten seconds before it disappeared before her eyes. Ally and Sarah weren’t exactly party animals. Their version of getting out of it was pretty mild compared to what went on at Dylan’s place. But Ally was hilarious after a couple of glasses of cheap wine.

Piper bit her lip. Their last girls’ night together had been fun, but it was the type of fun when everything seemed loaded with significance. Where happy could change to sad in a blink. Sarah and Ally would be sharing a house soon – the house that should have been for the three of them. They would be going off to uni each day, and exploring a new life together. Without her. Piper tried to squash down the wave of feelings that arose when she thought about it.

Piper put on the ghost Snuggie and took a selfie to send back. She imagined them getting it and giggling at her Snuggied arm, held up high as though she was dancing, and the caption underneath:

Partying here too. Don’t be jealous xx

She quickly unpacked her suitcase and found the card Dylan had given her. She took it with her to the king-sized bed and flopped onto the crisp white sheets.

The card had Dylan’s song lyrics written on it. Of course, she knew them off by heart. But still, it was lovely reading Dylan’s handwriting and knowing he’d written it just for her.

Piper’s Song

Before I met you baby,

life was coloured grey.

There wasn’t any loving in my

ordinary day.

Your brown eyes make my heart pump,

it’s you that I adore.

If you tell me that you love me,

I’ll say I love you more.

Now life is bright and breezy,

you’re my one best score.

When you tell me that you love me,

girl, just know I love you more.

Piper slipped the card under the plump pillows and lay back, thinking about Dylan. The day he’d given her the song was the first time they’d gone all the way. She’d been considering it for a while. She’d known Dylan wanted it, but she’d wanted to be sure for her first time. The song had been the clincher.

Piper loved that her first time had been with someone so sensitive; someone she really loved.

Dylan had promised to put the song to music. Piper knew he’d get around to it one day – it didn’t matter when.

She had a little piece of him under her pillow.

She grabbed her phone and sent Dylan a bedtime text.

Night. Love u x

His reply came in seconds.

Night babe. Love u more x