Over It (The Kiss Off #2) (3 page)

A couple of weeks later, the day
finally
arrived! It was Friday morning and I was all packed and waiting impatiently for the others to get here. I checked my phone for the time and stared out the window. We’d organized to meet at mine since it would probably be weird for the girls’ parents for a random dude to show up to take them away for the weekend. I was lying on my carpet, suitcase beside me, feet propped on the bed and my cell held above my face as I scrolled through Facebook when I heard Poo Bum downstairs. He started barking and scratching at the front door before the bell had even rung.

It was go time!

I ran down the stairs, my footfalls so heavy that picture frames rattled against the walls. Jumping the last two steps and landing with a bang, I heard Mom yell something from her office, but I didn't care what she said. I nudged the dog away from the door with my knees and threw it open with a big, excited smile on my face.

Mads stood there, her own smile a mirror of my own.

"Hi girlfriend," Mads said, doing her little jump on the spot with excitement thing.

"Hi yourself..." I stopped talking as my gaze drifted down from her super–cute side braid to her loose white tank with a dinosaur vomiting out a rainbow on it, to her mini denim shorts and rainbow platform wedges.

“That is the cutest freaking tee shirt,” I said, staring at the T–rex in all its vomitus glory.

“I know, right?” Mads said. As she stepped inside, wheeling a full–sized suitcase behind her. She knew it was just a weekend, right?

As I closed the door behind her, she pulled her tee away from her stomach and looked down at the rainbow. “Who knew that’s how rainbows were made?”

“Science has it all wrong.”

Before we even had a chance to sit down, Poo Bum woofed and his claws clickety–clacked across the floorboards to the front door again. Who needed a doorbell?

Mads gave an excited squeal and I responded with a shaky grin. She thought it was Van behind the door. Butterflies flapped and clawed with their little spindly feet at the walls of my stomach as she skipped excitedly ahead of me to the door. I was glad Mads had arrived first, because it would probably feel less like an ambush this way. At least I hoped it would. After a quick deep breath, before Mads could throw the door open herself, I kneed the dog aside and opened the door.

Nikki pulled off her huge sunglasses and smiled at me nervously.

"'Morning," she said.

I smiled warmly back. "Good morning yourself," I said. I took her in; her trademark red lipstick was gone, replaced with a more summery, coral gloss, her thick brown hair was loose and held back from her face by a bohemian–looking woven leather strap and she was wearing a denim mini skirt, brown flip–flops and a loose, white tank top with a dinosaur vomiting a rainbow on it.

Uh–oh.

"You've
got
to be kidding me,” Mads said. “What is
she
doing here?" Her expression shuffled from surprise through to shock to horror and settled on a scowl of anger. I saw her look Nikki up and down; the fact that they both chose the same awesome tank and had pretty much the same festival fashion sense was like a slap in the face to Mads.

I squared my shoulders and said, "I invited her."

"
Her
? God, why? Where's Van?"

"Van couldn't come. She's in New York with her nan."

"So you invited
her
?"

"Yeah."

“Her.”

“Well…
yeah
,” I said.

Nikki sank to her knees and patted the dog like her life depended on it. "I take it you didn't know I was coming," she said with the quickest of glances up at Mads.

"No, I didn't," Mads growled. “Why is that, Poppy?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't want to come anymore."

Mads scoffed. "You think?"

"I can go," Nikki said, standing again. She wrapped her hand around her suitcase handle and retreated back over the threshold onto the porch.

"Fine with me," Mads said.

"No!" I yanked her suitcase handle out of her hand and pulled it back inside, holding it hostage, I guess. She followed me in and I slammed the door shut and pressed my back against it, arms outstretched, barring the way. "No one's going anywhere. Except Bay Fest. To have the best time ever."

Mads balked at the sheer insanity of the idea. "With
her
?"

"Stop it, Mads! This is stupid!” I said. “Nikki is my friend.”

“When did this even happen?” Mads asked, incredulous. “You
hated
her. She went behind your back and stole your boyfriend, or did you forget that?”

“It didn’t happen like that,” I said. “Look, I apologized-”

“
You
did?” Mads asked, aghast.

“And
she
apologized.” I continued. “We've worked our shit out, haven't we Nikki?"

Nikki nodded, one corner of her lips turning up in a shaky, tentative smile.

I turned my attention back to Mads. "And you hated her on principle because she was the back–stabbing slut who stole my boyfriend..."

Nikki cringed.

"No offence."

She nodded. "I know, it’s fine."

"And you were like a rabid pit bull of a best friend. Fiercely loyal and hating her for me."

Mads crossed her arms and lifted her chin an inch. "Damn straight."

"Well you don't have to anymore. It's over. We forgave each other."

"Forgave
each other
?" Mads said.

She was so frustrating sometimes! It was like she refused to comprehend what I was saying.

"It's complicated, okay? Look, if things had been different, I really think you two would have gotten along. You're actually really alike."

I watched as both girls eyed each other off, trying to ignore the dog that wandered between them for attention, shoving his nose in their hands and between their legs.

“You have really similar taste in…things.” I looked pointedly at their matching tank tops. "So will you try?"

Nikki remained silent and we both waited for Mads to say something. Anything.

"It's going to be a really long couple of days if you don't."

Finally, she groaned and said, "I guess."

Thank God.

"Thank you, Mads," I said "Thank you–thank you–thank you."

Mads rolled her eyes and looked at Nikki's tank again. After a moment, grudgingly, she said, "I like your top."

Nikki looked like a weight had lifted from her shoulders. "Thanks." She smiled at the irony. "I like yours too."

"Where's this cousin of yours?" Mads said to me, changing the topic. "He’s late. What's he like, anyway?"

And just like that, a car horn honked twice outside, sending Poo Bum into a barking, jumping frenzy.

I guessed that was him.

"Please don't hold him against me," I said. I still couldn't believe we had to ride with Hamish. At least he'd agreed to stay away from us 'little kids'. God, what a tool. I placed my hand on the doorknob.

"Mo–om!" I yelled as I opened the door, "The babysitter’s here!"

Poo Bum ran out into the furnace–like heat of the day, bolting for the rusty Impala that idled at the curb. A tall, tanned guy with thick, shiny blond hair stepped out of the car, wearing an olive green Omega frat tee shirt that sat snugly against his athletic frame, a pair of cargo pants and flip–flops. He pushed his sunglasses up into his hair and leaned against the car door. He looked at us looking at him.

That wasn't my cousin.

"Whoa. You haven't changed a bit, Douglas," he said.

Yet, apparently it was.

"Hold it against you, Poppy?" Mads said under her breath.

Nikki agreed. "Not going to be a problem."

"Watch it!" Hamish said as I slammed the Impala’s trunk, the last of the luggage squeezed in beside his tent, cooler, eco bags of food and whatever other camping paraphernalia we had no doubt doubled up on. Or would be very thankful he remembered.

Dad had gotten so excited that I was going camping. He had actually been stunned at first, that I’d even contemplated spending three nights in the great outdoors. Before the parentals even needed to veto the idea of staying at the hotel (the same one my boyfriend was at – do I need to keep going?). I had decided on camping, anyway. My stomach had buzzed with excitement because I’d figured, yeah, there would finally, definitely, be alone time with Ty, unsupervised in his hotel room, but I also knew he’d be busy. Focused. And besides, I wanted the real summer music festival experience with my girlfriends and that equalled camping.

So when Dad got over the shock, he hurried me down to his basement man cave and loaded me up with camping gear. He and his college buddies, as well as having monthly poker nights, went off into the wilds once a year to pretend to fish but mostly to drink beer and talk about sports.

As much as he hinted and attempted to finagle himself an invitation,
no
, my dork of a dad was
not
invited.

Anyway, with the trunk crammed full and closed, we were good to go.

Hamish rubbed his hand along the panelling and gave me a glare in case of scratches with no evidence whatsoever to warrant it. No
new
scratches, I mean. His fingers came away dirty with dust.

Nikki waved a copy of
Cosmo
in front of her face as her skin shone with perspiration. "I'm getting in the car. Hamish do you mind turning the air on?"

Ah, the politeness of strangers. And politeness of girls when addressing hot boys.

"Me too," Mads said, "I'm dying out here."

Wow. First time they'd agreed on anything. Felt like progress. It had been a bit dicey to begin with, not to mention that Mads had promptly changed into a hot pink tank with a big, cracked white heart emblazoned across her chest. She gave me the evil eye when I noticed and it was clear there was going to be no discussion of the prior fashion faux pas. Her rainbow–vomiting dinosaur tank was left behind in my room.

Both girls opened the nearest back passenger door and climbed in, while Hamish leaned in the front, fiddling with the air.

In the back seat, Mads and Nikki were separated by a cooler and a couple of shopping bags full of food. They each had pillows and handbags piled on their laps.

Their separation was probably for the best, really.

Mom stood at the curb, arms crossed, a great big frown on her face. She didn't need to have taken the morning off work like this, but she said she wanted to see us off.

I knew what was really going on, though. Her trust issues were interfering with her ability to go to work.

"I don't know about this, Poppy," she said as I stepped over to say a final goodbye.

I gave her a quick, reassuring hug. Quick because mingling sweat was gross.

"It's going to be fine," I said. "It's just four days. And we have our chaperone, just like you wanted."

"Yes," Mom said, eyeing Hamish suspiciously as he leaned against the car, tapping away one handed on his cell. He pulled his tee shirt from his chest a couple of times, trying to make some sort of breeze. Hamish glanced up and flashed Mom a confident smile.

"Don't worry, Gemma, they're safe with me."

"Uh huh," Mom said, unconvinced. This Hamish wasn't even remotely what she'd had in mind when talking chaperones.

"We're going to watch some sick bands," I said, "I’m going to say hey to Ty, maybe go swimming at the beach, and we’ll come home with wicked tans, having had the best weekend of our lives. That’s all, Mom. You don't have anything to worry about, I swear."

"You'll answer your cell when we call, Poppy," Mom said.

"I know."

"Every single time. And you'll behave yourselves."

"Of course we will."

She looked pointedly at Hamish. "All of you."

"What?" he asked, startled. "Yeah, of course, I know."

"And girls..." She leaned down to the passenger window and rapped on the glass. Mads buzzed down her window and cool air wafted out into the humid, low hundred degree day. Whoa. Hamish’s air conditioning was bad ass. Maybe it wasn’t such a junker after all.

"Madeline," Mom said, "Nicola."

"Yes Mrs. Douglas?" they both responded, removing sunglasses and plastering solemn, polite expressions on their faces.

"I know you're both single at the moment..."

They both flicked carefully controlled, yet clearly mortified (it was all in the eyes) glances at me, then focused courteously on my mom again.

I cringed. After Cam, Nikki had been with that Greek guy for a couple of weeks and then dropped him, and I'd heard about two other guys but they hadn't been anything serious. Not like Cam. Rumor was, they'd hooked up again at a party a week and a half ago, but Nikki hadn't told me about it, so I didn’t ask. I got the impression maybe it had been a one–off kind of thing. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. As for Mads and Dev... well. She was single
today,
anyway.

None of this, however, I should have been sharing with my mother.

"I know what some people get up to at these sorts of events-"

"Mom, stop."

"So I just want to give you one little piece of advice. Are you ready?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Mads and Nikki exchanged nervous glances. “Sure.”

I said, “Please don’t.”

Mom continued: “Loose and easy gets you sleazy."

Whaaaaaat? I could not believe she just said that.

Unfortunately, she had. Hamish snorted and sniggered, and Nikki and Mads couldn't have looked more uncomfortable, like they both wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Right now, they probably wouldn't have minded if it was the same hole, either. Just a hole, any hole, away from my mom would do. At least she didn't give them the WWJD advice as well. I had to wrap this up before she got there.

I took my mother by the shoulders and backed her up a couple of feet away from the car. "Okay Mom, good advice," I said.

She raised her hands in the air as if in surrender.

"Okay? Remember that, girls. Loose and easy."

"They got it," I said. I patted Poo on the head and opened the front passenger door.

I paused, looking at the seat. “Dude.”

The seat and foot room was covered in papers, empty beer cans, a deodorant bottle and… “This is disgusting. Do you live in here?” I said. “Is that a jockstrap? Since when did you play sport?”

Hamish climbed into the driver’s seat, leaned over and shoved all the Lays packets, cans and store flyers off the seat and into the gutter. He tossed the deodorant and a water bottle onto the dash. Diverting his gaze, he stuffed the jockstrap into his pocket and said, “Just get in the car, Poppy.”

The engine roared to life. A rust bucket like this wasn't supposed to sound like a wild beast. Seemed somewhere along the line, he’d given his baby some plastic surgery. He was a rev–head, now? I guess it shouldn’t have been too surprising he was into cars. He’d always been into all kinds of machines. But still. This transformation in him was blowing my mind. Maybe at college in his astrophysics course he’d actually done it. Communicated with aliens or something and they’d done some sort of body snatching on his ass.

Hamish tapped his hands on the roof of the car and said to my mom with a smile, "Loose and easy. One can only hope."

Mom's mouth dropped open.

"Hamish-"

"Bye Mom! I'll call you from the camp site!"

With a toot of the horn, we propelled like a rocket down my quiet, suburban street.

The four of us sat in stunned silence for a moment. Though stunned for four different reasons.

Actually, Hamish wasn't stunned at all, it seemed. "Finally," he said.

Even with a rocky beginning, a rush of excitement shot through my belly. It was really happening. We were on our way.

I texted Ty to tell him so.

"I can't believe she just said that to us," Nikki said.

I couldn't believe the geeky science nerd Hamish had said that to my mom.

Nikki continued. "What have you been telling her, Poppy?"

"Nothing, I swear!"

"I'm so embarrassed."

"Nothing that's not true, is what she means," Mads said.

And just like that, my excitement vanished, sucked out through the air vent.

Nikki visibly bristled. "ExCUSE me?"

"Oh you heard me just fine," Mads said.

"Guys, knock it off."

"She said it to you too, slut bag."

"What did you just call me?"

"Oh Jesus," Hamish sighed.

Already? This was happening
already
? I fished my iPod out of my handbag, plugged it in and hit play on whatever song was good to go. Lexie De Graff. I cranked the volume to eardrum busting level on my all–time favorite rock chick and ignored their squabbling and complaints. They covered their ears and yelled at me from the back seat for a good thirty seconds. I pointed at my ear, shaking my head until they scowled at me. I think Mads was swearing. I lowered the volume and, before either of my friends could speak I swivelled in my seat and said, "Enough! You're both pretty!"

They exchanged venomous glances.

"She wasn't calling you sluts, she said the same thing to me last night and I've got Ty," I said. "Can you guys at least just
try
and get along?"

Neither of them said anything; it was like a Mexican stand–off surrounded by fluffy pillows. After a long stare–off, Nikki broke away first, pulled out her own iPod and stabbed the buds in her ears. They each turned their attention to the scenery out their closest window and watched our town fade away as Hamish headed for the freeway and Tallulah Bay.

Only six hours to go.

What I'd hoped would be an awesome girl–bonding experience of a drive in my sensational (and shiny) new–car–smell convertible had become a six–hour lesson in the art of passive–aggressive warfare in a rusted out Impala.

The temperature was not simply cool because of the air blowing out of the vent and straight into my face, but it was practically frigid as silent, yet blatant animosity blasted me from the back seat and bounced around the car.

Okay, so maybe inviting Nikki hadn't been my best idea. I just wanted us all to move on already. The drama was over. Cam and I were on – well – not good terms, but I'd apologized; he'd apologized; he'd accepted that we were done and that he and Nikki were also done, and the whole mess was finally, absolutely, finished with. I didn’t see much of him anymore, actually.

Nikki and I were in a better place and with a little effort on both our parts we were almost pretty much friends again. I’d missed her. And she and Mads were too awesome in freakishly similar ways to not be friends, if they could just get over stupid grudges from the past. Hell, if I could do it, surely they could woman up and work their shit out as well.

Two hours in, my Best of Babe Fest playlist was getting me down, as it hadn’t been interrupted by conversation. Not once. Unless you counted Hamish telling me to skip
Party Night
by DJ Ducky because he was sick to death of the song (which I didn’t).

The scenery had changed from suburbia to the city skyline, through more suburbia and outer suburbs that were quickly being overrun with fake lawn–filled housing estates and onward to long stretches of empty highway lined by empty paddocks. Actually, no. They weren’t empty, but the cows were all huddled together under the shade out of the harsh sunlight that beat down on the land.

My gaze shielded safely behind my sunglasses, I watched through the rear view and side mirrors as Nikki, in what could only be described as an expression of ennui, stared out the window at the world passing by. Mads was a mirror image on the other side, though her eyes were closed and somehow her expression was reminiscent of a sleeping, pissed off rhinoceros. Sleeping regardless of the music that pounded through the car's speakers right behind them, blasting something horrifically dub step. I wasn’t much of a fan of DJ Ducky anyway, but he was playing at Bay Fest so on the playlist he went.