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  She’d snuck in the door at five thirty and avoided waking her dad.

  After grabbing a few hours’ sleep, she met him in the back garden again.

  ‘Am I pushing my luck if I ask you to help again today?’ he joked.

  ‘No, not pushing your luck.’ Lizzie knew she’d probably have to lie to him if he asked about the previous twelve hours, and she already felt guilty.

  ‘Great. Go get a spade then. I’m planting some new shrubs.’

  Lizzie obeyed. She returned with a spade and started digging alongside her dad.

  ‘So what happened last night? You were already home when I woke up.’

  ‘When did you get up?’

  ‘I don’t know. I guess it would have been around seven.’

  ‘I must have gotten back just before that.’

  ‘Did you and Taylor have a fight or something? You don’t usually come home this early on a Sunday.’

  Lizzie could actually tell the truth here. ‘Sort of. She was just being a bit selfish, so I didn’t feel like hanging around for breakfast.’

  ‘I don’t know why you even hang around with her in the first place.’

  ‘You don’t like her?’ This was the first Lizzie had heard about it.

  ‘Not particularly.’

  ‘How come? Why haven’t you said anything before?’

  ‘Well, she’s your friend, not mine, so it doesn’t really matter what I think. But I’m not happy with the way she takes advantage of you all the time.’

  ‘You’ve noticed that, huh?’

  ‘I’m not blind, sweetie.’

  ‘Normally I would defend her, but she’s kind of getting worse.’

  ‘You probably won’t see much of her once school’s finished anyway. Unless you plan on going to the same uni. Please tell me you’re not going to the same uni.’

  ‘No. Taylor wants to travel.’

  ‘Ah. So have you given any more thought to what you want to do?’

  ‘Not really. I kind of like the idea of travel too. But not with Taylor,’ she quickly added when she saw her dad’s expression.

  ‘Well, you know if you wanted to go to Europe, or even Asia for a few months next year, I could pay for your flights.’

  Lizzie stopped digging and stared at her dad.

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yeah. And when you got back, you could work full time until second semester started and then drop back to part time or something.’

  ‘But I thought you would want me to go straight on to uni after school.’

  ‘Why? You’re just finishing up twelve years of education. You deserve a break before jumping straight back in.’

  Lizzie leaned over and gave her dad a hug. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I actually wish I’d done that myself,’ he mused. ‘Instead, I went straight to uni, met your mother and then settled down. I never really got a chance to experience life as a young single guy.’

  ‘But then you would have had even less time with Mum,’ Lizzie reasoned.

  ‘That’s true,’ he said reflectively. ‘I don’t actually regret how my life has turned out, but I do sometimes wonder what if.’

  ‘I think I know what you mean.’

  Lizzie’s phone beeped. She put down the spade and went over to check the message.

  Hey! You want to go out for ice cream this afternoon?

  It was Gabe.

  Sorry, pretty wrecked from last night. But see you tomorrow?

  He replied almost immediately.

  No worries. Miss you! XOXO

  Lizzie went back to her dad.

  ‘Anything interesting?’ he asked.

  ‘Nope. I think I’ll just hang out here today.’

  ‘Sounds good.’

  Lizzie lost herself in the soothing art of gardening.

  CHAPTER 11

  Taylor was waiting for Lizzie at the school gate on Monday morning.

  ‘Oh my God! We have to debrief. Why were you ignoring my calls yesterday?’

  Lizzie hadn’t been in the mood to indulge her friend. She still wasn’t, but she couldn’t escape now.

  ‘My phone was flat and I couldn’t find my charger,’ she lied. ‘But I don’t know if I want to hear about how you had sex with Brandon’s brother anyway.’

  ‘Shh! Don’t talk so loud! I don’t want everyone to know.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Because, despite what you might think, I don’t want to get Brandon in trouble.’

  ‘If you really meant that, you wouldn’t have gone back to his apartment in the first place.’

  ‘That’s not fair. Brandon can’t claim rights to who Jason sees.’

  ‘I’m sure there’s an exception where students are concerned. Especially because it was his apartment too. Not to mention he’s a twin.’

  ‘Whatever. Do you want to hear about my night or not?’

  ‘I’d rather not.’

  Taylor looked put out. ‘That’s not the answer I was hoping for.’

  ‘Sorry to disappoint you.’

  ‘Well I’m going to tell you anyway. Jason has a really big…’

  Lizzie covered her ears. ‘La la la… I can’t hear you!’

  ‘Fine. I’m just saying… I now have a pretty good idea what Brandon looks like naked. And it… is… beautiful.’

  ‘Taylor! Why would you compare them? That’s really wrong!’

  ‘I can’t help it. Because, as you so kindly just pointed out, they are twins.’

  ‘Yes, but poor Brandon has to teach you now while you’re superimposing him over his brother’s body. How do you think he’d feel if he knew?’

  ‘It’s not like I’m going to say anything to him. So I assume you went home after I left you?’

  ‘Yes.’ Lizzie didn’t say exactly how long after. ‘Thanks for that, by the way.’

  ‘Sorry Lizzie, but you know, I had to take advantage while I had the chance.’

  ‘Why? Why couldn’t you have taken it more slowly?’

  ‘I don’t think Jason’s that kind of guy.’

  ‘Well that should be a red flag right there. Are you going to see him again?’

  ‘I don’t know. I gave him my number, so I hope so.’

  ‘Just be prepared for if he doesn’t call.’

  ‘Yes, Mum.’

  ‘Can we change the subject now?’

  ‘Did you get in trouble with your dad for going home in the middle of the night?’

  ‘No. Thankfully I was able to sneak in without waking him up.’

  ‘No harm done then.’

  ‘Yes, but please don’t ditch me again.’

  Taylor pulled Lizzie towards her and kissed her on the cheek. ‘I’ll try not to.’

  Gabe appeared. ‘Woo! It looks like I got here just in time. A bit of girl on girl action is always welcome. How about a bit of lip action now?’

  ‘God, and you think I have bad taste in guys,’ Taylor said disgustedly.

  Gabe grabbed Lizzie’s hand. ‘Say what now?’

  ‘Never mind,’ Lizzie said. ‘How was your weekend?’

  ‘I’ll leave you two love birds,’ Taylor said. ‘Although, didn’t you have something to ask Gabe, Lizzie?’

  Lizzie shot her a warning look. ‘I’ll see you in class.’

  Taylor skipped off.

  Gabe looked at Lizzie quizzically.

  ‘Did you have something to ask me?’

  ‘Uh, kind of. Did you, er, want to go to the formal with me?’

  He beamed. ‘I would be honoured.’

  Lizzie wasn’t yet ready to confront him over the text. Hopefully he would explain it in his own time anyway.

  ‘You’re getting in early,’ he remarked. ‘But it’s nice to see that you’re planning for our future.’

  Lizzie hadn’t even thought of that. Crap. The formal wasn’t until the end of October, and that was eight months away. She wondered if their relationship would last that long.

  He kissed her on the top of the head. ‘Big weeken
d?’

  ‘You could say that,’ she sighed.

  They walked towards their lockers. Brandon came out of the staff room nearby and stopped Lizzie.

  ‘Do you mind if I have a word?’ he asked her.

  ‘Uh, sure.’ She turned to Gabe. ‘I’ll see you a bit later.’

  ‘Cool.’ He happily continued on.

  Brandon waited until Gabe was out of earshot. ‘Have you spoken to Taylor?’ he asked in a low voice.

  ‘Yeah, why?’

  ‘Did she say anything?’

  ‘More than I wanted to hear.’

  ‘Damn it. Do you think she’s going to talk to anyone else?’

  ‘Actually, no. She did say that she didn’t want to get you in trouble. So hopefully that’s it and it’s over. If your brother is anything like I think he is, he probably won’t contact her again.’

  ‘I hope so. But then I hope Taylor doesn’t do anything stupid if he doesn’t.’

  ‘She’s not that bad.’ Although if Lizzie really thought about it, she couldn’t be completely sure.

  ‘Oh, and I meant to say, it’s probably best if you get someone else to be the liaison for the formal.’

  ‘That’s fine. Taylor probably won’t like it, but I understand.’

  ‘Thanks Lizzie. Let me know if she causes you any trouble, and I’ll talk to her.’

  ‘Will do. See you after recess.’

  ‘Oh, right. Yes. See you later.’

  He walked off, and Lizzie smiled. This was definitely a weird year so far, and it was only the start of the second week.

  ***

  The next few days went smoothly. Lizzie worked in the afternoons again, so she was kept busy with her shifts and homework. She even snuck away to the library at lunchtime so she wouldn’t fall behind. Taylor didn’t seem to mind. She seemed preoccupied by daydreams of Jason, or increasing her efforts to impress Heather in anticipation for the committee get together on Friday night.

  ‘I told everyone to bring their PJs so we can make a proper night of it,’ Taylor told Lizzie on Thursday morning.

  ‘Did you now?’ Lizzie wasn’t overly impressed at the idea of hosting Heather AND Cara for a whole night. At least Zoe was coming. And despite Taylor acting all lovesick, she hadn’t been as selfish as usual.

  ‘Yeah, I’m going to bring pizza and something to drink. Do you have any requests?’

  ‘Maybe a double bacon cheeseburger pizza?’

  Taylor wrinkled her nose. ‘I honestly don’t know how you’re not the size of a house. But I wasn’t talking about the pizza. I was talking about drink.’

  ‘Oh. I’m OK, thanks.’

  ‘You’ll have to drink whatever I bring then,’ she warned.

  ‘Fine. Just some Bella.’

  ‘Is that even alcoholic? I suppose it’s better than nothing.’

  ‘I can’t believe your mum buys you whatever you want.’

  ‘She knows it’s better than me sneaking behind her back and writing myself off.’

  ‘But you still do that anyway.’

  ‘Not as much as I would if she told me not to.’

  Lizzie shook her head. ‘Oh, I forgot to tell you, Brandon said he can’t be the formal liaison.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Why do you think?’

  ‘He’s such a baby.’

  ‘I don’t blame him.’

  ‘OK,’ she huffed. ‘We’ll just have to get Mr Smart instead or something. Boring. You can sort that out if you like.’

  Lizzie was relieved Taylor wasn’t making a bigger deal about it.

  ‘Sure.’

  At lunchtime, Gabe whisked her away to a quiet corner of the school grounds for a private lunch.

  ‘I’m supposed to be working on an assignment,’ she protested.

  ‘It can wait. We’ve hardly seen each other this week. Are you alright?’

  ‘Just busy with work and school. Sorry.’

  ‘No need to apologise. Hey, look.’ He opened up his lunch bag and brought out two containers of a fancy looking salad.

  ‘I cooked for you,’ he said, pleased with himself.

  Lizzie laughed. ‘Really?’

  ‘I did. It’s roasted pumpkin and quinoa.’

  ‘Wow. You went all out. Thank you!’

  Lizzie opened one of the containers and took a bite.

  ‘It’s really good,’ she said, surprised.

  He pretended to look hurt. ‘You don’t have to act so shocked.’

  ‘Sorry, I think it’s just because you usually only bring vegemite sandwiches.’

  ‘That’s my mum. She works, so she makes me the same thing every day. I should probably start preparing my own stuff.’

  ‘You should,’ Lizzie scolded lightly. ‘Your poor mum would already have enough to do.’

  ‘Well I won’t have time to make masterpieces like this every day, but I could probably aim for at least once or twice a week. Hey, how about we turn this into a thing? We can alternate making a dish for each other each week. I’m dying to try some more of your amazing cooking.’

  She laughed. ‘OK. That might be kind of fun. I have to make my lunch every day anyway, so that way I’ll get the odd day off.’

  ‘Perfect.’

  They ate quietly for a moment.

  ‘Hey, do you know Chris Collins in Year Eleven?’ Lizzie asked casually.

  ‘I know who he is, but I don’t really know him,’ he said. ‘Why?’

  Lizzie studied his face carefully. She was pretty sure he was telling the truth.

  ‘Oh, nothing. I just thought I saw you guys hanging out the other day.’

  ‘Nope. Must have been someone else.’ He took another mouthful of salad. ‘So do I pass?’

  ‘With the salad? Definitely. With flying colours.’

  He seemed so happy that Lizzie couldn’t bring herself to probe further. For now at least.

  CHAPTER 12

  On Friday afternoon, Lizzie caught the bus home and prepared for the four girls to arrive. Taylor had promised to show up early for moral support. Lizzie quickly ran around, tidying up the living room and making sure everything was presentable. She didn’t want to give Heather an excuse to find fault with the house she loved so much.

  Her dad was working late again and then going to the gym. It seemed this was becoming a regular occurrence. Lizzie didn’t mind, as long as he wasn’t going too hard and wearing himself out.

  And it meant the girls would have the house to themselves at least until ten.

  Taylor showed up at five thirty with three pizza boxes and three bottles of champagne.

  ‘I’m here! We can start now!’ she joked.

  ‘You’re lucky my dad can’t see how much alcohol you’ve brought. He’d have a fit.’

  ‘What? It’s only just over half a bottle each. And with your lolly water, you’ll barely even feel tipsy.’

  ‘It just looks like a lot.’

  ‘Lizzie, I’m saying this as your friend. Please chill the fuck out.’

  ‘But…’

  ‘No buts. Just enjoy the evening.’

  ‘OK, sorry. It’s just… I don’t know. Someone has to be the voice of reason.’

  ‘Why? We’re teenagers! We’re supposed to be crazy!’

  ‘I just don’t think we have to get smashed at every opportunity.’

  ‘Well you can do whatever you like. But I’m going to drink.’ She went in search of some glasses in the kitchen. The doorbell rang.

  ‘Do you want to get that?’ Taylor asked.

  Lizzie took a deep breath and braced herself for the onslaught. She wasn’t sure she was ready for this.

  She opened the door and greeted Heather, Cara and Zoe, who had all driven over together.

  Heather pushed past her and headed up the stairs.

  ‘Nice place,’ she said dryly.

  ‘Thanks,’ Lizzie replied, unsure whether she meant it as a compliment or not.

  Zoe and Cara followed her up.

  ‘I like y
our paintings,’ Zoe said politely.

  ‘Yeah, they’re great aren’t they? My mum bought them before she died. Hey, are you guys hungry? Taylor brought pizza.’

  ‘I’m starving!’ Cara announced dramatically. ‘I haven’t eaten since breakfast because I was supposed to buy my lunch today, and then realised I left my purse at home. My stomach is starting to eat itself!’

  ‘You couldn’t grab something after school?’ Lizzie asked.

  ‘No. Thanks to this one,’ she gestured to Heather. ‘We had to go to Myer before it closed so she could buy some freaking perfume.’

  ‘I ran out of J’adore,’ Heather explained.

  ‘Okaaay,’ Lizzie said. She didn’t understand why they couldn’t have quickly stopped at one of the many food outlets at the shopping centre, but that was Heather and Cara for you.

  ‘Champagne for you and you,’ Taylor said, coming over and handing a flute to each of the girls. She went back to the kitchen to retrieve another two for Zoe and Lizzie.

  After getting her own, she held it in the air. ‘Cheers ladies! To a fun night of formal organising and hopefully some hot gossip!’

  They all clinked glasses, and Lizzie sat down. Zoe joined her. Heather and Cara continued to stand, looking around the house as if searching for something to pick on.

  ‘Hey, you girls should see my new holiday house in Noosa,’ Heather bragged. ‘We sold the one in Noosaville and now we have a place on the Sound. It’s so amazing, right on the water and really close to Hastings Street.’

  ‘That sounds awesome,’ Taylor said, clearly sucking up. ‘You should totally have a party there one weekend.’

  ‘Maybe I will.’

  Lizzie brought the pizza boxes and some plates over to the coffee table. She served herself a slice and noted that everyone else was ignoring the food. Even Cara seemed to have forgotten how hungry she was.

  Lizzie shrugged and started eating. She’d never understood that whole thing about pretending not to eat. Taylor ate around Lizzie, but when Heather was nearby, she pretended that she lived on salad.

  ‘So unfortunately, we don’t have Mr Thomas for our teacher liaison,’ Taylor explained. ‘But Mr Smart said he’d be happy to take the job.’