She caught it and smiled. *Ruby! Nice work." Her face collapsed into a frown. *Except for the receipt sticking out of your pocket."
*I paid for the one you"re holding." I pulled the stolen lip-gloss from between my shorts and knickers. *But I stole this one."
*That"s ten bucks, Sas," said Khaden, holding out his open hand, palm up.
*Pay you next week."
The pavement buckled under me.
*Did you have bet on whether I"d do it or not?"
They glanced at each other.
*When did I become such a joke to you two?" I yelled.
*Hey, Ruby," said Khaden, his eyes wide, *don"t be like that."
*How should I be? One minute you"re normal and the next it"s like you hate me. Like you don"t want me around."
Sas scoffed. *Paranoid."
*Paranoid?" My voice was screechy. *You"re always picking on me, laughing at me or blaming me for stuff, like Grace being hurt. How was that even my fault?"
Sas folded her arms, her eyes like steel. *You know what, Ruby, if you want to act like an idiot, fine, but I have stuff to do."
*Whatever Sas." I turned towards the tram stop.
*Hey, Ruby." Khaden reached for my arm. *We were just mucking around. We didn"t mean anything..."
*Yeah," I said, shrugging off his hand. *Gotta go."
On the packed tram, I sat on a backwards-facing seat beside an old granny who clutched her bag to her chest and hummed. As we lurched away from the junction, I kept watching the laneway, just in case Sas and Khaden came after me. But they didn"t.
Khaden Khaden had to trot to keep up with Sas. Every few steps, he looked over his shoulder, hoping Ruby would run after them. What had happened, sucked.
Sas took a sharp left turn and stopped at the traffic lights. She poked the b.u.t.ton, her right leg jiggling.
Khaden placed his fingers on the arms of his sungla.s.ses.
*Hey."
When Sas turned to look at him, he stuck out his tongue and wiggled the gla.s.ses, making them jump up down on his nose.
At first Sas frowned, then she laughed. *Idiot."
The lights changed. As Sas and Khaden crossed the street, Khaden"s hand brushed against Sas"s. He linked his finger around hers and felt the tension ease out of her.
*Feel like a shake?" he asked when they neared a cafe.
*Sure."
They ordered and sat at the window seat.
Khaden stirred his drink with the straw and watched Sas sip her vanilla milkshake. She flicked her hair back from her shoulder and sunlight sparkled on her nose stud. All the words he"d been piecing together jumbled.
Sas looked over her milkshake at him. *You going to drink that?"
*Yeah, just thinking."
*What about?"
Khaden took a deep breath. *Ruby."
Sas"s shoulders slumped. *Khade..."
*What"s going on with you two?"
*I don"t know." She leaned back in her seat and the words flowed from her in a rush. *Ruby always thinks she has it worse than anyone else. She complains all the time, about everything, but what has she got to complain about? Her life is dead easy. And what"s the deal with her being so scared all the time?"
Khaden poked a bubble with his straw.
*I"m trying, honest, Khade, but she"s so frustrating." Sas sighed and rested her chin on her palm. *Has Ruby said something to you?"
*Nah, it"s just there"s something up with her, and you." He looked straight into Sas"s eyes. *How come you don"t talk about your dad anymore?"
Sas ran her thumbnail along the edge of the wooden bench top. *It"s complicated."
*Complicated I get."
*Should I try harder with Ruby?" asked Sas, her brow furrowed.
*I reckon."
She finished her drink. *So, I"m being mean?"
Khaden took a deep breath. *A bit." He sipped his drink and waited for Sas to speak.
After a few minutes she looked up and smiled. *Ready to go?"
*Yeah, I"ll take this with me," said Khaden.
Ruby At home, I dumped my hat and bag on the bench and pegged out the load of washing still in the machine. I was folding the dry clothes at the kitchen table when Harrison came home, wearing his supermarket uniform. Mojo, who"d been moping at my feet, jumped on him, her tail wagging like crazy.
*Thought you worked until six," I said.
Harrison reached down and scratched Mojo"s ears. *Tomorrow"s shift is "til six. What"s it to you anyway?"
*Just making conversation."
*Or trying to work out how you can sneak out again tomorrow."
*Yeah right, I snuck out today and went shopping." I s.n.a.t.c.hed a towel from the basket and shook it with a snap. *And the fairies I employed did all the cleaning." I took another towel from the basket.
*I came home for lunch."
The blood drained from my face is a cold rush.
*I"m right! You did take off." Harrison"s voice was filled with delight. He"d been baiting me, as usual.
*I told you, I-"
*Don"t, Ruby, the guilt"s all over your face." He leant against the kitchen bench. *So where"d you go? Chadstone?"
I chucked his jocks, followed by the socks I"d already paired, at his face. *This is your job."
Harrison grinned. *Not for the next couple of weeks."
I growled deep in my throat and s.n.a.t.c.hed up the towels, tripping on the chair leg on the way to the linen cupboard.
*Karma." Harrison"s laugh was like tiny knives on my skin.
Khaden Khaden tossed the last load of timber into the industrial bin and began flattening tile and grout boxes for recycling. He was pulling packing tape off a large carton when Mr Neri came out the back.
*Eh, Khaden, take a break," he called. *Those boxes won"t run off." He sat on the cement step and took a pack of cigarettes from his top pocket.
Khaden bunched the tape into a ball, chucked it in the bin and sat on the step beside Mr Neri.
*Want one?" he asked as he held the lighter to the cigarette.
Khaden looked at the picture of the black teeth and scarred mouth on the back of the packet. *Nah, I"ll pa.s.s."
Mr Neri sucked on the cigarette. The end flared red. *So, Maria said you should come for dinner tonight." He blew out smoke in a steady stream. *She"s making lasagna."
Khaden"s mouth watered. *I"ll have to check with Dad."
*Bring him, and Taj."
*You sure? I-"
Mr Neri raised his right hand. Cigarette smoke drifted into Khaden"s face. *No arguments. Dinner tonight, all of us."
*Thanks." Khaden stared at the moss growing where the asphalt met the concrete steps.
*Khaden, you okay? At home?"
It was as though the smoke from Mr Neri"s cigarette had bunched in Khaden"s throat. *Yeah."
*It doesn"t sound okay."
Khaden glanced at his boss and neighbour, and let out a shaky sigh.
*Maybe Mike and I will talk, tonight."
A chill, like an electric charge, raced through Khaden. *You know what, it"s probably better if you don"t. Dad"s just worried about Taj, and-"
*Worried? Sounds angry-too angry, too often."
Joey stuck his head out the back door. *Dad, that new supplier is here."
Mr Neri dropped his cigarette, ground it into the asphalt and patted Khaden on the shoulder. *It"s not right, Khaden."
Sas As if things weren"t complicated enough, now I"ve gone and turned Ruby the Good into Ruby the Bad. Because of me, Ruby hung out with us, even though she was grounded, and stole a lip-gloss. Sure, I dared her to do both things, but I didn"t think she would.
What worries me more than Ruby sneaking out and stealing, is how she freaked outside the shop. She was all sweaty and paranoid, which was gross enough, but then she had this major hissy fit and caught a tram home without us. What"s that all about? She"s doing my head in.
If Dad had just trusted me enough to tell me the truth, to treat me like an adult, everything would be normal between Ruby and me, I know it.
Text Message-Khaden to Sas Khaden: Wa.s.sup?
Sas: Not much. U?
Khaden: Meh Sas: U ok?
Khaden: Reckon yr Mum would care if I came over?
Sas: Nah. She"ll be cool. I"ll check tho Khaden: K Sas: Told you! All okay. See you soon xoxo Khaden: Thanx Khaden Khaden stumbled out of the park and up the street to Sas"s place. He took a deep breath and knocked on her front door. While he waited, he stared at his bare feet. As the door opened, a slice of yellow light splashed across his grubby toes.
Sas gasped. *Your dad?"
Without looking up, Khaden nodded.
Sas"s mum Lou called down the corridor.
*Would you two like a Milo?" Her bright voice jarred in the silence.
Sas stepped aside to allow Khaden in.
*Oh my, Khaden," said Lou, rushing forward. *What on earth happened?" She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and guided him inside.
Khaden made a croaking noise, then started to cry. He hurt too much to be embarra.s.sed.
*Sas, bring the first aid box from the kitchen cupboard," said Lou, her voice gentle, but strong. *I"ll need towels, a face washer and bowl of warm water too."
As Sas ran down the hall, Lou led Khaden to the lounge room. He slumped on the sofa, bloodied face in his hands. Lou rubbed his back in slow circles.
Sas placed towels, a bowl and a plastic box filled with first aid stuff on the coffee table.
*Thanks, love," said Lou, dipping a face washer into the bowl.