Girls, Muddy, Moody Yet Magnificent (20 page)

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39

Having walked up and down the beach a dozen times, Chloe and I decided to revisit our childhood and make a sandcastle. It was very stylish, but we disagreed about turrets. Basically Chloe wanted a fairytale sandcastle with lots of shells and pinnacles and I wanted a minimalist sandcastle with very smooth everything. We do vaguely plan to share a flat somewhere, one day, when we’ve finished our education, but I have a feeling it could cause a few rows.

Some time later my mum and dad appeared. They were arm in arm. My mum’s cheeks had gone pink in the wind, and she was wearing a French sailor-type outfit of white culottes and a stripy T-shirt. Dad was wearing shorts. Thank God they reached down to his knees, and were a plain cream colour. Mum tries to keep a tight rein on his mad clothes sense.

‘We couldn’t sleep much,’ said Mum. ‘It’s going to be better if we have a little nap this afternoon. My body clock’s all wrong because of driving down through the night.’

‘How’s Tam?’ I asked. ‘What’s the latest?’

‘She’s fine,’ said Dad. ‘She sent us a text. We’re going to see her later. She’ll be turning cartwheels again by tomorrow.’

Just then Beast and his team came jogging up. My heart gave a frenzied throb. I felt ridiculously nervous. He grinned at us, looking as if he was planning to run on by.

‘Oh!’ I spluttered, ‘That’s Beast Hawkins – the guy who called the ambulance!’

‘We must thank him,’ cried Mum eagerly.

‘Beast!’ I called. He came over. The rest of the guys jogged on. ‘Beast, uh . . . Harry,’ I said, blushing, ‘this is my mum and dad. They want to thank you for what you did yesterday.’

‘Hello there!’ said Beast, extending a hand to Mum and then to Dad. ‘I didn’t do anything. It was Zoe who told me Tam had a tummy ache.’

‘But you realised what was happening! You called the ambulance and everything!’ gushed Mum. ‘And you went with Tam to the hospital! That was so important!’

‘Honestly, anyone would have done the same,’ said Beast, looking embarrassed.

‘I’m going to give them merry hell at our local hospital back home about this,’ said Mum, seething. ‘Poor Tam had such a bad pain we had to call an ambulance, only a few weeks ago! She spent a night in there under observation! And they missed it completely!’

‘I think a grumbling appendix can be kind of hard to diagnose, sometimes,’ said Beast thoughtfully. ‘How is she now?’

‘Recovering,’ said Dad. ‘We’re going to visit her again at lunchtime.’

‘It must have been a bit of a nightmare,’ said Beast. ‘The drive down and everything.’

‘Oh, awful!’ agreed Mum. ‘I’ve never been so terrified in my life! She could have died!’

‘But you told me nobody ever died of appendicitis,’ I gasped, staring at Beast. He gave me a strange, awkward smile.

‘I didn’t want to worry you, Zoe,’ he said. ‘You had enough on your plate.’

‘Anyway,’ said Dad cheerily, ‘she’s going to be fine!’

‘Are you planning to stay around for a few days?’ asked Beast.

‘Yes!’ said Mum. ‘We’ve found a lovely flat up there!’ She pointed to the distant cliffs where Blue Ocean Flats were visible with their sparkling white walls and blue-painted window frames.

‘Awesome!’ commented Beast. ‘Must have great views!’

‘You must come up and have lunch with us one day or something.’ said Mum. ‘How about tomorrow? There’s a wonderful balcony.’

‘If you can spare the time,’ added Dad, ‘from your busy schedule saving lives.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry, but I’m leaving today,’ said Beast regretfully. ‘I have to get back home. I start work again tomorrow morning.’

A horrid little squeeze of disappointment passed through my insides. Beast was leaving today! And I wouldn’t see him again for ages.

‘What a shame,’ said Mum. ‘Oh well, have a good journey home.’

‘Thanks,’ said Beast with a courteous smile. ‘I hope Tam gets better soon.’ He didn’t look at me at all. ‘It’s been a pleasure meeting you.’

‘Thanks again for what you did,’ repeated Mum. ‘I don’t think we’ll ever be able to repay you.’

Beast backed off, smiling and putting up his hands to fend off any more gratitude. Then suddenly, for a split second, he looked at me. It pierced my heart.

‘Bye, Zoe,’ he said. ‘See you later.’ Then he jogged off.

‘What a charming young man,’ said Mum as we resumed our walk. ‘Such lovely manners! What’s his name again?’

‘Harry,’ I said. It sounded glamorous somehow.

‘Hmmm,’ added Dad, ‘he’s going to be a doctor, you said? Don’t let Mum get hold of his telephone number – she’ll be pestering him day and night about her aches and pains.’

They started laughing together about Mum’s hypochondria. Suddenly I recognised Oliver and Morgan walking towards us. They waved and walked on.

‘Who was that?’ asked Mum.

‘Oliver Wyatt and his girlfriend,’ I told her. ‘You know, he worked at the farm with us.’

‘Wasn’t he a heart-throb of yours once, Zoe?’ asked Dad. His memory can be inconveniently sharp sometimes.

‘Oh no, Dad,’ I said. ‘That was a different Oliver.’

After a while my parents went back to the flat to try and have another sleep. We promised to join them later and maybe visit Tam. But right now, Chloe and I wanted a little bit more sea and surf. We didn’t talk much. We just sat on the beach and stared at the waves.

‘Everything’s sorted now, isn’t it?’ mused Chloe happily. I was drawing circles in the sand. ‘We’re going to have a terrific time.’ I nodded. ‘You know we were saying that we’re independent now and we don’t need boys in our lives and they just mess everything up?’ Chloe went on. ‘Well, we’re still allowed to fancy them, aren’t we?’ She grinned impishly. ‘Because I tell you what – I’d give Dave Cheng eight out of ten for sex appeal, wouldn’t you?’

‘Possibly,’ I replied evasively. I wasn’t thinking of Dave Cheng.

‘Just wait till you get over Oliver,’ said Chloe. ‘I bet you’ll fall for some new guy by the end of the week.’ I gave a kind of disbelieving smile, but it felt thin and false.

‘I don’t think so,’ I said.

Chloe threw herself back on to the sand and looked up at the sky. She gave a huge contented sigh.

‘Isn’t it absolutely brilliant being here?’ she said. ‘And everything’s sorted, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah,’ I agreed. Though to be honest, things seemed less sorted than they had ever been.

If only I’d known two months ago what I knew now: that Oliver was a waste of time, and Beast was some kind of superhero. But I’d had my chance with Beast, and I’d blown it. How could I have rejected him in that foul way? If only I’d known then how adorable he really was!

But might I have a chance with him, even at this late stage? Would Chloe buy it or would she be mysteriously furious? There was maybe just the tiniest chance . . . but I was going to have to transform myself utterly if any green shoots of love were to germinate.

‘Chloe . . . ?’ I ventured, ‘how about a nice little new project? I think I might try and reinvent myself, like, to be totally charismatic and stylish and grand. Unrecognisable, in fact.’

Chloe grinned. She looked interested. ‘Let’s go for it!’ she agreed. ‘Girls to goddesses in seven days . . .’ I wasn’t sure it could be done in seven days. I wasn’t sure it could be done at all. But it was my last little shred of hope, and I was clinging to it. Girls to goddesses! Why not?