Chapter Nine


    Friday was plagued with heavy, windy rainfall, to the point where umbrellas didn’t do much except turn inside out and drag students away without notice. Elise and Grace had avoided speaking to Lila about the rumours. However, now that Lila was hyper-aware of the contents of those rumours, she occasionally caught snippets of her latest negative attributes between classes, in the locker room and during lunch.


    She tried her best to not pay it any mind, though it was proving to be just as difficult as everyone around her had warned. Lila found herself wishing almost every hour that there was an ‘off’ button for the rumours, but, in the absence of such a miracle button, rationalised that something new would happen soon and the heat would be off Lila. She would just need to be patient.


    And, as luck would have it, eventually the discussions in the hallways had begun to also be peppered with discussions of Valentine’s Day plans for next Tuesday. Some took the opportunity to sneer that Lila would definitely ask Asher to be her Valentine, not caring whether Lila was in the vicinity or not. Truthfully, Lila didn’t have anyone that she was thinking of asking to be her Valentine. Not that it was a requirement to enjoy an otherwise boring Tuesday. Besides, Asher was avoiding her at every chance he could now, short of bolting into the distance whenever he saw her roaming the school, so it wasn’t like she could ask anyway. He had even resorted to sending her formal emails during English instead of talking when it came time to work on their assessment per Ms Shard’s instructions.


    With the rain not letting up even a smidge, lunch meant sequestering in the library with the rest of the school. Luckily, it had been recently remodelled to a massive two-story structure with plenty of seating space, so it didn’t feel nearly as squashy in there as it could have been. Elise, Grace and Lila found the most secluded spot they could on the bottom floor, which actually meant that they sat in the middle of groups of Grade Eight and Nine students who didn’t know or care about them.


    Unwrapping her heated container of spaghetti, made with a Jollibee-inspired twist, Lila couldn’t help but notice Grace looking forlornly at her own creamy chicken pasta.


    “Everything okay, Grace?” Lila asked, a teensy bit grateful that she wasn’t the one receiving that question.


    “Huh? Oh. Yeah.”


    “Do you have any Valentine’s Day plans?” Elise asked conversationally as she tucked into her cup of yoghurt.


    “No,” Grace sighed. “Can’t really do anything then.”


    “Why’s that?” asked Lila through a fiery-hot mouthful of cheesy spaghetti.


    “Everything’s already booked,” replied Grace, stabbing at a piece of chicken. “Or 18-plus.”


    “Damn. I’m assuming you’re not up for sneaking into places you shouldn’t be?” Elise asked, sipping on a bottle of Coca-Cola.


    “No thanks. I happen to like not being in trouble.”


    “Agreed. Should we have a girls’ hang out, then?” suggested Lila, frantically blowing on her spaghetti. “I don’t have any plans.”


    “Sorry Lila,” replied Elise solemnly, shaking her head. “I’ve got a shift at Maccas until late.”


    “Boo,” huffed Lila, taking a bite.


    “And I’ve got to catch up on my music practice,” Grace said apologetically, the faintest trace of a blush across her cheeks. “Been slacking a bit.”


    “All good. I’ll just do the same old things I normally do on Tuesdays,” Lila replied, slightly dispirited.


    “And what would that be?” a voice from behind Lila queried. Lila turned around and saw Isaac pulling a spare chair to their table and sitting down.


    “Uh, why are you here?” Elise asked, staring at him with obvious disapproval, a spoonful of yoghurt halfway to her lips.


    “I’ve been wandering around the library all lunch trying to find a spot somewhere but it’s so packed,” Isaac replied, unzipping his lunchbox. Lila and Grace moved their respective lunches to give him some room.


    “Why aren’t you with Asher?” Grace asked, raising an eyebrow.


    “He’s been a slippery eel today,” shrugged Isaac. “Every time I lay eyes on the bastard, he sprints in the opposite direction.”


    Elise snorted. “Did you guys have a fight?”


    “Not exactly…” Isaac trailed off, glancing at Lila awkwardly before digging out a banana from his lunchbox. He began to peel it despite the stares from Lila, Grace and Elise. Lila shook her head and continued to eat her own lunch. At least Isaac was a friendly enough face.


    “So anyway,” Isaac asked through a mouthful of banana. “What’s this I hear about Valentine’s Day?”


    “You heard nothing good,” sighed Lila. “Looks like everyone has plans that aren’t romantic in the slightest. How boring.”


    “What’s your plans?” Isaac asked, sipping from his water bottle.


    “Should probably actually get cracking on my Bio assignment,” Lila said dejectedly. “I’ve been putting it off.”


    “Would you be able to put it off for one more night?” Isaac waggled his eyebrows at Lila. Grace and Elise looked at each other with bemused expressions.


    “If you’re asking me to hang out with you on a romantic dinner date, I’d like to politely decline,” Lila replied coolly. “I’m having enough trouble as it is fending off the current rumours.”


    “Fair enough,” Isaac said, raising his hands in surrender. “Just figured you might like to see what Asher is up to on Valentine’s Day.”


    Elise straightened up instantly, looking at Isaac with bright eyes brimming with interest. “Oh?”


    “Yeah, he asked me to help him book a place at a fancy restaurant and I accidentally booked twice, half an hour apart ‘cause I’m an idiot. So, there’s a spare table for two.”


    “How convenient,” murmured Grace.


    “I’m good,” Lila said nonchalantly. “But Grace was having trouble finding a place for Valentine’s Day.”


    “Oh,” said Isaac, perking up. “You can take the booking if you want. I seriously don’t need it.”


    Grace glanced at Lila before asking Isaac for more details. Eventually, Isaac began rapidly tapping on his phone to change the booking over to Grace.


    “Well, that was good timing,” Lila grinned, nudging Grace with her shoulder. “Will you still get time to practice?”


    “Y-Yeah, it’ll be fine,” replied Grace distractedly, looking through her own phone.


    Isaac’s phone buzzed and he jumped up. “Looks like Asher’s decided to stop avoiding me. You guys have fun, I’m gonna go find him.”


    Lila waved goodbye as Isaac disappeared into the throng of students milling about. Elise pulled on Lila’s sleeve.


    “Why’d you pass him up?” she asked, pouting. “Don’t you want to know what Asher and Holly are up to?”


    “Not particularly,” replied Lila, scooping up a bit of mince. “Besides, I’ve heard some people talking about seeing me with Isaac yesterday. No doubt I’d find myself in a mythical love square by Wednesday morning if I went. The restaurant is local, after all.”


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    “Fine, fine,” replied Elise, leaning back in her chair as she began to eat a sandwich.


    “That’s good for you though, Grace,” Lila said cheerily. “You get to have a romantic date with your partner!”


    “Yup,” replied Grace, biting her lip. Contrary to Lila’s expectations, her expression seemed to convey worry more than excitement.


    “Is everything all good?” Lila asked, scraping the last bits of her lunch into the corner of her container before spooning it into her mouth.


    “Peachy,” said Grace, looking down at her barely-touched pasta. “Um, you said it was local… have you been there before?”


    “Not personally, but I sometimes go past it when I go grocery shopping with my parents,” Lila replied with a shrug. “It always seems pretty busy and everyone who eats there looks pretty fancy.”


    “D-Do you think it would be weird for a teenager to be there? Without parents?”


    Lila contemplated this for a moment before shaking her head. “Nah, should be fine. It’s fancy but still in a shopping mall.”


    “Do you reckon a lot of people from our school will be there?”


    “Hmm, that’s a good question. Probably not. I don’t think anyone’s organised enough to book an actual restaurant experience for Valentine’s Day. I bet the cinemas are all packed, though,” Lila replied, eyeing Grace carefully as Grace resumed eating her lunch.


    “Okay.”


    “Why do you ask?” Elise asked, also eyeing Grace.


    “Well…” Grace pushed around her food with her fork briefly before leaning towards the table and whispering. “My partner’s a… female.”


    “Figured as much,” replied Lila quietly with a gentle smile. Elise looked between Lila and Grace as if watching a tennis rally before throwing her hands up.


    “Hold up. What?” she asked, her shock abundantly clear. “How did you know, Lila?”


    “I mean, Grace doesn’t make it much of a secret,” Lila replied awkwardly. “Plus… she may have cried about it to my Mum and I last year while you were in Sydney with your family.”


    “Oh,” replied Elise, looking a bit miffed. “And… you didn’t want to tell me because…?”


    “I asked Lila not to tell anyone,” Grace said quickly, dropping her fork to the floor. She picked it up, her face bright red. “I… haven’t told my family yet. Or anyone else, really.”


    Elise remained quiet for a few moments before sighing. “I guess that’s fine,” she said, aggressively biting into her sandwich.


    “If it was up to me, I wouldn’t have even told Lila and her Mum,” Grace said defensively. “But it just… came out in a rush.”


    “To be fair, you’re in the closet but the door’s made of glass,” Lila teased, grinning widely. Grace laughed in response and continued to eat, having wiped her fork on a tissue.


    “Okay,” replied Elise, seeming warmer than before. “Thank you for telling me. And thank you for keeping Grace’s secret, Lila, even though I would’ve liked to have known. But it’s not about me. I support you wholeheartedly, by the way. Thinking about it some more, Lila is absolutely right. You are terrible at pretending to be straight. Plus, who even says ‘partner’ at our age?!”


    <hr>


    Now that Lila was back at home, lounging on her back in front of the TV, which wasn’t even on, she found that she had no real motivation to do anything. It didn’t help that the sound of the rain splattering on their steel Colorbond roof was rapidly lulling her to sleep.


    Before she drifted away entirely, she heard Clare trod down the stairs. She appeared before Lila, hair wrapped in a towel and dressed in a black shirt and jeans.


    “What’s up?” Clare asked, sitting down next to Lila and grabbing the remote.


    “A lot, actually. But here I find myself, doing nothing.”


    “Ah,” said Clare sympathetically. “Classic.”


    Clare flipped through Netflix’s menu, pausing every so often to read the description of potential shows, but eventually turned the TV back off.


    “There’s nothing on,” she sighed, leaning back into the couch. Lila murmured her agreement half-heartedly. There were actually a bunch of shows that looked intriguing, but not enough for Lila to pick one out.


    “Do you feel better? About the rumours, I mean,” Clare asked, inspecting her manicured fingernails.


    “I wouldn’t say I feel better… It still bothers me.”


    “Is that why you’re just hanging out all limp on the couch?” Clare asked with a fond smile.


    “You caught me. I’ve transformed into a limp noodle. Woo,” Lila said emotionlessly, wiggling her arms briefly.


    “Are you at least al dente?”


    “Don’t think so, sorry. Maybe I’ll need to boil myself in some water.”


    “Lila,” Clare admonished. “I can’t have that. I have to pick up Mum and Dad from the airport tomorrow and I think they’d like to see an un-boiled Lila.”


    “They’ll survive,” Lila replied loftily. “I’m the spare child anyway. Are you going out again tonight?”


    “Sure am,” replied Clare, scrunching the towel on her head. “Why? Did you need something from me?”


    “No, just wondering.”


    “Are you sure?”


    “Yeah. Have fun. What’s it for this time?”


    “One of my Uni friend’s birthday party.”


    “I see.”


    As Lila was contemplating the next avenue of discussion, Daniel waltzed into the family room whistling, bright red wireless headphones covering his left ear.


    “Don’t have any Fortnite matches?” Clare asked Daniel as he took a seat on one of the couch’s matching armchairs.


    “Nah, no one’s on at the moment,” sighed Daniel, picking up the remote and turning the TV back on. He also began to flick through Netflix’s offerings to the same level of success as Clare had only moments before.


    “Why isn’t there anything interesting to watch?” he asked, clearly irritated.


    “I think you might just have high standards, the both of you,” Lila said lamely, watching Daniel pass by the same shows she was still interested in.


    “I don’t have high standards,” Clare and Daniel said in unison. They looked at each other for a moment before Daniel snorted, pulling the other side of his headphones onto his exposed ear. Clare gave a hearty laugh and started scrolling on her phone.


    “By the way Daniel… Where’d you get those headphones anyway?” Lila asked idly.


    “Huh?” Daniel exposed his right ear. Lila asked the question again.


    “Why’d you ask?” Daniel asked, a hint of combativeness in his tone, crossing his arms.


    “Well, you don’t work, and you didn’t ask me for money,” Clare said slowly, narrowing her eyes at Daniel, who was obviously avoiding looking at either of his sisters now.


    “Oh. Uh, got the money from Mum.”


    “That’s odd,” replied Lila, raising her upper body via her elbows to see Daniel better. “If someone asks Mum or Dad for money, they give the same to all of us so it’s fair…”


    Daniel immediately got up from the couch and went into the kitchen without saying another word, covering both ears with the offending headphones again. Lila could hear him opening various doors in there before pouring something (most likely juice) into a cup.


    “Nup, I’m going to go talk to him,” Clare said with a huff, taking the towel off her head and throwing it on the couch by Lila’s feet. Clare stalked into the kitchen, footsteps heavy in apparent anger.


    Sighing, Lila dropped back down so she was flat on her back and closed her eyes. She could hear muffled, raised voices and strained her ears in an attempt to hear what was being said.


    “… from?”


    “… told you… Mum… well in school.”


    “… didn’t tell… grades… still… term…”


    “LEAVE ME ALONE!”


    Daniel’s yell rang crystal clear. Sitting completely upright, Lila saw Daniel rush past her, holding a cup that was splashing slightly onto the tiles. He vaulted up the stairs before slamming a door shut.


    Lila waited for a moment to see if Clare would follow Daniel back out of the kitchen but saw no sign of her. Upon making her way into the kitchen, Lila saw Clare staring out the kitchen window into the driveway, breathing heavily.


    “Whoa, you good?” asked Lila tentatively. Clare jumped and turned her attention to Lila.


    “Oh. Yeah, sorry. He just… started yelling so quick. I think we need to cool down…”


    Lila nodded and poured Clare juice from the carton still standing open on the kitchen counter.


    “Here. I’ve heard drinking something can help you calm down.”


    Clare took the cup with both hands, smiling briefly. “Thanks, Lila.”


    Lila waved her hand, indicating to Clare to not worry about it before crouching down to rummage for some paper towels below the sink. Lila then cleaned up the trail of juice Daniel had left behind in the kitchen and living room before returning to the kitchen and pouring her own cup of juice. The sisters stood in silence for a short time before Lila suggested checking in on Daniel.


    “I don’t know if he’ll be receptive,” replied Clare with a sigh, rinsing her finished cup in the sink. “I don’t even know how to handle him these days, he’s changing so quickly. He’s never yelled at me like that before…”


    “Well, you are five years older than him. Do you even remember what it was like for you five years ago?”


    “Oh, piss off, I’m not ancient, of course I remember.”


    “I think we’ll need to organise an archaeological dig site for your memories,” Lila smirked. Clare batted at her playfully before becoming serious again.


    “I get it, I do. He doesn’t want to talk to me cause I’m the eldest. He might open up to you if you try, though. You guys are closer in age, anyway.”


    “I mean, he could’ve gotten them from Mum on the side,” Lila reasoned. “Instead of asking for money to buy them himself. That’s a loophole we’ve all exploited. Or Mum’s going to give us the money after they come back. Or maybe someone gifted it to him, but he doesn’t want to say. Like a girlfriend or something.”


    “Hmm…” Clare folded her arms, looking down at the kitchen counter in a pensive manner. “Any of those could be it, of course. But it’s weird. I mean, he’s still thirteen, so he can’t even start working even if he wanted to, so he’s definitely not got a job.”


    “Plus, he’d have to clear it with Mum and Dad anyway, since they’d need to drive him.”


    Clare shrugged. “I mean, if he’s got a way to get there and back, he might feel like he doesn’t have to tell them.”


    “Maybe we’re thinking too much about the headphones,” Lila said. “It is weird that he yelled at you about it, but the middle of the term is coming up. He might just be super stressed.”


    “Yeah…”


    “I think I’ll leave it for today,” Lila said finally after a heavy pause. “Give him some time.”


    “If you say so,” shrugged Clare. Glancing at her watch, Clare’s eyes widened.


    “Crap! I’m going to be late!”


    Lila could only blink before Clare exited the kitchen in a blazing rush.


    “I don’t have time to make dinner! Order some Uber Eats or something,” Clare called, taking the steps two at a time. Lila slowly made her way back to the living room and caught Clare yelling out, “I’ll send you the money!” before banging her door shut.


    “Dope,” Lila muttered, flopping back onto the couch unceremoniously. She grabbed the TV remote and clicked on a Netflix show that, having been teased with it twice now, she was now desperate to see.