Khaden Khaden listened to the hum of the wheels and the silence in the car, stunned that Stuart wasn"t yelling, but just driving, his jaw rigid.
As Stuart turned into Sas"s drive, Ruby unbuckled her seatbelt.
*I don"t think so, young lady. I"m taking you straight home," said Stuart.
Now she"s gonna cop it, thought Khaden, opening his door.
*I"m staying here." Ruby stepped out of the car and leant back in the open door. *I"m sure you won"t mind."
Khaden raised his eyebrows at Sas. She shrugged, eyes wide.
Stuart made a strange noise. *It"s here or home, and absolutely nowhere else. Is that clear?"
*Whatever." Ruby slammed the door.
*Umm, thanks, Stuart, for you know..." Khaden let the sentence float away.
*Yeah thanks," added Sas. *And we"re really sorry."
Stuart turned to face them, his arm resting on the back of the pa.s.senger seat. *Promise you won"t do it again. Ever."
*We won"t," said Sas.
Stuart nodded.
*See you then, Mr Martin," said Khaden, sliding out of the car to stand with Sas.
Stuart opened his window. *Ruby, home by five."
*Maybe." Ruby walked to the front door.
Stoney faced, Stuart reversed out the drive.
*What do you reckon is going on there?" Khaden kept his voice low.
*Beats me, but I"m going to find out," said Sas.
In the lounge room Sas stood over Ruby, who"d flopped in the corduroy beanbag. *Ruby, what gives?"
*What do you mean?"
*How come your dad lied for you and didn"t go off about us shoplifting?"
*I don"t know." Ruby wiggled further into the beanbag.
Khaden sat on the edge of the sofa he"d slept on. *Something"s going on with you two, Ruby."
*It"s pretty obvious," said Sas. *Stuart was so mad at the vets, but today, after we"d been busted and all, he was just, well, weird. You want to explain?"
Ruby plucked fluff from the beanbag. *We had a fight, after Mojo, and I told him he was too strict. He promised he"d ease up."
*I don"t buy it," said Sas, frowning.
Ruby shrugged.
*We came to an understanding, okay?"
*Nuh," said Sas, sitting on the sofa beside Khaden. *There"s something you"re not telling me, I can feel it."
Ruby wiggled her fingers in front of her. * Ooooh, Psychic Sas."
Khaden shook his head. *I"m with Sas, Ruby. Your dad just straight-up lied for you to a policemen. It doesn"t make sense, plus, you"ve been different lately."
*Yeah, right, it"s all about me," she said, folding her arms. *How about the stuff you two aren"t telling me, like how come Sas stole a man"s bracelet and you stole earrings?"
Khaden leant back and laughed.
*Psychic Sas and Paranoid Ruby. What does that make me?"
*Kissable Khaden," said Sas.
*Gross, Sas." Ruby shivered.
Sas and Khaden burst out laughing.
*It wasn"t even funny," Ruby said, sounding sulky. *Tell me about the jewellery."
*Duh!" said Sas wiping under her eyes with her index fingers. *It"s nearly Christmas. I stole the bracelet for Dad, and Khaden stole the earrings for me to give Mum."
*Oh." Ruby wriggled out of the beanbag. *Gotta pee."
Khaden and Sas didn"t speak until they heard the bathroom door close.
*Do you believe her?" asked Sas.
Khaden shook his head. *No way."
*So what do you reckon is really going on?"
*Beats me."
Sas sucked on her bottom lip.
*There"s something she"s not telling us."
*Yeah, well," said Khaden, *there"s something we"re not telling her, so we"re even."
They heard the flush of the toilet.
Sas stood. *I"ll bring in my dock so we can listen to music."
Ruby When I returned from the bathroom, Sas had set up her iPod dock on the coffee table and that music they loved, the indie, grunge stuff, filled the room. Sas lay on the floor, her calves resting on the seat of the armchair, feet tapping to the music. Khaden slouched on the sofa, eyes shut, playing air guitar.
I wiggled back into the beanbag and flicked through one of Lou"s House and Garden magazines, but instead of looking at the pictures of perfect homes, I tried to decide if I trusted Sas and Khaden enough to tell them about Dad.
The chorus of the song repeated: You stood and watched while I fell, Sinking, shrinking into a living h.e.l.l.
*Who sings this? I asked.
*Over Reaction," said Khaden.
The lead singer"s husky voice seemed to linger in the still air. I shivered and shut the magazine. *Let"s go do something."
Khade opened his eyes. *Nope. I"m staying here. And for the record, I am not, EVER, going shopping again. Got it?"
*Good luck with that," said Sas, grinning. *Especially with the way you eat."
Khaden pulled a face and leant forward to turn down the volume. It was a relief when the husky voice faded away. *I"m just saying..."
*I didn"t mean shop. I meant hang out." I sat forward, the beanbag beans squeaking underneath me. *You know, go to the park, or the pool."
Sas frowned. *Ruby, Stuart said-"
*Stuff Stuart," I snapped. An uneasy silence settled between us. *So, what"s the plan?"
Sas leant back against the armchair. *I don"t know. We could go for a walk, I guess."
*No way, Sas," said Khaden. *Ruby, after everything that happened before, and with your dad-"
*Like I said, stuff him." I stood and slung my bag over my shoulder. *Let"s walk."
As we wandered up the gravel path to the playground overlooking the railway line, I stumbled.
*Good trip?" asked Sas, giggling.
*Stupid slip-on shoes." I took off the right one and examined the toe.
*Why wear them?" asked Khaden, climbing the top of the monkey bars.
*Because they"re cool." I sat on the swing and pushed back until I was standing on my tiptoes.
Khaden shook his head. *I don"t get why you"d wear stuff that hurts."
*And we don"t get why you wear wrecked Volleys." Sas tapped Khaden"s feet dangling from the bars.
*They"re comfortable."
*And wrecked, but that"s right, you"re never going shopping again." Sas winked at me.
I pushed off the ground, pumping my legs to make the swing climb higher and higher. The chain looped and clanked. Eyes shut and hair trailing down, I leant back until I was almost lying flat, and soaked up the feeling of freedom. When I opened my eyes, Sas was sitting on the monkey bars with Khaden, not talking, just sitting there. I had to move, needed Khaden and Sas to move.
I jumped to the tanbark. *Coming?"
Khaden looked up. *Where?"
A train roared along the tracks to the city.
*Let"s play chicken."
*Are you serious?" said Khaden. *After Mojo?"
*Are you in or out?"
Sas grinned and jumped from the top of the monkey bars. *In."
Khaden scratched his head and stared into the distance.
*Too chicken for chicken, Khade?" asked Sas.
He jumped down. *Not a challenge. I"ll beat you two, easy."
*Is that right?" I play-punched his arm. *Twenty bucks says you run across the tracks before me."
*The train tracks?" Sas"s voice was high.
*Yep."
Khaden shook his head. *Come on, Ruby, the road is one thing, but trains? They can"t swerve or stop quickly."
In the distance a train horn blew.
*I figure you have two minutes to make up your mind." I jogged across the street and up the rise separating the road from the tracks. A twig jabbed me in the heel. Balanced on one leg, I brushed it from my shoe.
Sunshine flashed off the windscreen of the train charging around a bend in the distance.
Sas and Khaden caught up with me. I didn"t look at them. *So, last one to the other side gets twenty bucks from the other two. Each."
*There"s gotta be an easier way to make money," mumbled Khaden.
*We on?"
*Prepare to pay," said Sas, tensing beside me.
Khaden groaned, sighed and swore all at once.
The train horn blasted as it thundered through the level crossing towards us. The ground rumbled under my feet and the noise of the train pressed against my skin.
Khaden moved first, his feet skidding in the dirt as he sprinted down the hill.