A Hot Cold Summer Read online

  ‘Yeah. You were dancing with Ellie, remember? Didn’t look like you cared if I was there or not,’ I said, sounding hurt and angry.

  ‘Come on,’ he said, grabbing my hand. I let myself get pulled along through the garden, still wondering what he was doing. His hand felt so warm and soft in mine that even though I was cross and confused, I didn’t want to pull away.

  We walked all the way down the road to his house and neither of us said anything. I still didn’t know if he’d kissed Ellie.

  He led me through his house, out the back door and down the hill. It was weird being back in the same garden after last night. I almost expected to see people still dancing.

  We reached a set of little grassy steps that led out to a sort of platform. Luke led me to the very end. And the view was amazing. Standing on tiptoes I could peep down over the cliffs and see the beach. The sun was already super bright and the water was covered in gold light. It was beautiful.

  ‘Wow,’ I said, unable to help myself.

  Luke smiled at me, obviously happy that I was so impressed. ‘I tried to show you this last night, but it was too dark. See the waves? It’s a perfect break,’ said Luke.

  ‘Yeah,’ I said. I still had no idea what I was doing here. This was his spot. The place he came to check out the surf. The place he’d wanted to show me at the party. Just as I was about to ask him what had happened last night with Ellie, he turned me round to face him and slid his hands around my waist, pulling me close.

  ‘Hi,’ he said, his breath soft.

  ‘Hi,’ I said, smiling.

  Then he leant forward and kissed me on the mouth. A soft, sweet, warm kiss that went for ages.

  We broke apart, and neither of us said anything for a while.

  ‘Sorry, was that okay?’ asked Luke.

  ‘I’m just feeling a bit confused,’ I said. ‘When I left the party you and Ellie were together on the dance floor. I thought you two might have …’ and I trailed off because I didn’t really know how to ask him whether he’d kissed Ellie.

  Luke laughed. ‘Kissed? No way. I just kissed you, though.’

  ‘But you guys looked so close,’ I said, sounding a bit pathetic.

  ‘We’re friends, Frankie. It didn’t mean anything. I think she was trying to make Richie jealous because she likes him, and his girlfriend was there last night. I don’t know. But I’m not interested in Ellie. I’m interested in you. So can you stop ruining the moment?’ he said, sounding a bit put out.

  I smiled at him. He was right. Here was this gorgeous boy who had just kissed me in this amazing place and all I could do was talk about Ellie. I’d clearly lost my mind. There was plenty of time to ask Ellie what had happened. And I didn’t really care anymore, anyway. Luke had just kissed me.

  He went to say something, but this time it was my turn to lean forward and kiss him on the mouth. And this time it was perfect.

  Go back and choose all over again!

  ‘Owwwww!’ I yelled, gripping Ellie’s arm.

  ‘It’s not that bad,’ she said, as the woman checked to see if the earring had gone in properly.

  ‘Maybe one will do,’ I said, pretty happy to stop right there. If someone had warned me it was going to hurt so much, I would have been quite happy putting it off a while longer.

  ‘It’ll be over in a minute,’ said Ellie.

  I didn’t yell quite so loudly when my other ear was pierced, and Ellie was right, it was over in a minute.

  After the woman had sold me a special spray to avoid any infections, Ellie dragged me from the shop to go shopping for cool earrings. I’d have to wear the gold piercing studs for at least four weeks, but I’d be able to take them out before school started back and then I could wear some really nice ones.

  As we walked down the little row of shops, I kept touching my ears to check they were really pierced. ‘Thanks, Ellie,’ I said.

  ‘My pleasure,’ she said, smiling. ‘Now we just have to hide your ears from your dad!’

  Hmmm. My dad. I’d managed not to think about him since agreeing to get my ears pierced. He’d be cross. He might even ground me. I thought about trying to hide them from him until my birthday, but it seemed impossible. He was pretty good at sussing things out. Besides, it didn’t feel right, keeping things from him. I’d already lied to him once in the last twenty-four hours.

  Ellie took me into the shop she’d bought her earrings from. It was this tiny little place full of gorgeous things. I couldn’t decide between the green and pink studs, so Ellie told me she’d buy one pair for me as an early birthday present and I could buy the other. As much as I was enjoying hanging out with her, it was a bit odd that she was being so nice to me. Was it because I covered for her when she went off to the party?

  Walking back along the beach, we spotted Luke and Richie in their wetsuits and carrying their boards.

  ‘Hey! Let’s catch up with them,’ I said.

  ‘No, I just want to get home,’ said Ellie, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

  ‘Why?’ I asked.

  She shrugged. ‘No reason,’ she said.

  I didn’t feel like I could argue with her or chat to them on my own, so I sort of had no choice but to follow her up onto the path. But Luke must have spotted us too because he called out,'Ellie! Frankie!’

  Ellie waved but made no effort to head towards them.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ I asked again.

  ‘Richie’s got a girlfriend,’ she said. ‘I wanted to go to the party last night to see him. But it turns out …’ she trailed off.

  ‘Oh,’ I said, finally understanding. ‘That sucks, Ellie. I’m so sorry.’

  ‘Yeah, it does suck,’ she said. ‘Anyway, I just want to avoid him today.’

  I nodded. It was like what had happened with Tom, and I totally got it. Then I heard myself saying, ‘There’s this guy I liked at school. Tom Matthews. He’s so cute and I had such a huge crush on him. And it turned out …’

  ‘Girlfriend?’ Ellie arched an eyebrow at me.

  ‘Bingo.’ I laughed, and Ellie laughed too. We kept walking towards home. ‘Let’s go see how all my clothes look with my new earrings!’ I suggested.

  ‘Okay,’ said Ellie. ‘And maybe later we can get the ‘rents to take us somewhere.’

  I forgot all about hanging out with Luke and Richie that afternoon. Right now, it seemed like Ellie needed company.

  Within about three seconds of getting back to the house Dad asked, ‘Frankie, are they earrings?’

  Ellie shot me a look.

  ‘Yeah,’ I said, knowing I was in for a serve.

  ‘It’s not your birthday yet,’ he said coolly.

  ‘I know.’ I knew I really didn’t have much of a defence.

  Jan walked into the lounge and saw Dad staring at me. ‘Everything okay?’ she asked.

  Great. Now I was about to get her take on it as well. That was all I needed.

  ‘Seems Frankie went and had her ears pierced without permission,’ he said to Jan.

  The weird thing was, I’m pretty sure I saw Jan smile, which I didn’t understand, given how tough she’d been when I left my thongs near the walkway last night.

  ‘Oh,’ said Jan. ‘Ellie, do you know anything about this?’ she asked.

  ‘Yeah, it was my idea. What’s the biggie? She’s fourteen in two weeks,’ said Ellie.

  Jan nodded. ‘You know, maybe that’s the problem. John, we have different rules for the kids and they’re a bit confused about which rules count.’

  I was surprised. I hadn’t expected Jan to be on my side. Dad must have already spoken to her and she was trying to be more understanding.

  Dad shook his head. ‘No, Frankie knew the rule, and she ignored it.’

  ‘Yeah, you’re right. I did. But I’m on holidays, and Ellie and I had fun. That’s what you guys want, isn’t it? For us to have fun?’ I said, looking straight at Dad.

  Jan walked closer to Dad. She put her hand on his arm and said quietly,
‘You know, John, these two girls were probably the only two kids in the whole place who didn’t go to that party last night. They could have sneaked out, and they didn’t.’

  ‘That’s true’ said Dad. ‘But -’

  ‘Does it really matter if she got her ears pierced early?’ asked Jan.

  I waited for Dad to say something. I was expecting to be grounded anyway.

  But instead he nodded. ‘Okay, Frankie. Looks like you’ve been saved this time.’

  ‘Thanks, Jan!’ I was shocked she’d gone in to bat for me.

  She smiled at me. A big friendly smile. And I hoped it meant that we’d get along a little better than we had been.

  ‘And your dad and I were just talking about surfing lessons,’ she said, looking from him to me.

  ‘Yeah?’ I asked, my fingers crossed.

  ‘He said you’re a good swimmer,’ said Jan.

  Ellie answered for me. ‘She is. She used to swim squad.’

  ‘You can do the lessons, Frankie,’ said Dad. ‘But no more going off and getting things pierced.’

  ‘Can I have lessons too?’ asked Ellie.

  I looked at her, surprised.

  She shrugged in that Ellie way. ‘Might be fun watching you fall off a board,’ she said and then smiled. It reminded me of the way Luke and his sister were towards each other - teasing, but laughing at the same time.

  I grinned. I couldn’t believe I was getting everything I wanted. All in one go. ‘So can I get my tongue done next?’ I said to Dad.

  Dad laughed. ‘Don’t push it, kiddo.’

  Go back and choose all over again!

  ‘I’d better not. Mum and Dad have both said I have to wait till I’m fourteen,’ I explained.

  Ellie rolled her eyes at me. ‘You already missed out on a party. You’ll never have any fun if you don’t do anything wrong,’ she said.

  ‘I have fun,’ I said, like I was trying to defend myself. ‘Gen and I have heaps of fun.’

  ‘Well, it’s a pity Gen’s not here now, isn’t it?’ said Ellie, and she stormed out of the room.

  I didn’t really understand why Ellie was so angry with me. They were my ears and I’d be the one who’d get in trouble if Dad found out I went against his rules, so it was up to me. Besides, I wanted to get my ears pierced when it was a special occasion, with Mum or Gen, not with Ellie standing there and being all superior about it.

  ‘Frankie.’ Dad was standing in the doorway.

  ‘Yeah?’ I asked.

  ‘Um, is everything okay?’ he said quietly.

  ‘Not really,’ I said, tired of trying to pretend.

  He came in and sat on the edge of my bed. ‘Did you and Ellie …’ he sort of trailed off.

  I nodded. ‘She wanted me to go and get my ears pierced,’ I said, hoping I didn’t need to spell it out for him.

  ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘And you told her you weren’t allowed?’

  I shrugged. I didn’t really want to talk about any of this with Dad. ‘It’s fine, Dad. Just because you and Jan are together doesn’t mean Ellie and I are going to be awesome friends,’ I said.

  ‘Maybe you’ve just been together too much,’ he said, and I totally agreed.

  ‘Well, I saw in the local paper there’s an old vinyl market on today. It’s not far from here. Just a half-hour drive,’ he said with a smile. ‘Fancy going?’

  Dad and I spent a fair bit of time searching for old vinyl. It was sort of our thing. There was just one problem. I really didn’t want to go if Jan or Ellie was coming. I just wanted to go with Dad. I wasn’t sure how to say that without sounding like a spoilt brat or like I was being rude about his girlfriend.

  ‘Um,’ I said, pausing to try to work out what to say.

  Dad nodded. He must have understood, because he said, ‘Just you and me, Frankie. Jan’s not really into vinyl.’

  I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face at that news.

  ‘Meet you at the car in five,’ he said.

  The vinyl market wasn’t as big as some we’d been to in the city. It was a little country hall with a few collectors but still Dad and I managed to spend about three hours searching through all the boxes. Dad haggled over prices and between us we came out with Neil Young’s Harvest album, The Smiths’ The Queen Is Dead, a Bob Dylan classic, The Velvet Underground’s self-titled album, and a Blondie best of record that I’d wanted for ages.

  Then, just as we were leaving, he spotted an old record player under one of the tables. He dashed off and I saw him give the collector twenty dollars for it, and walk back to me beaming.

  ‘Not much point buying new records if we can’t listen to them,’ he said with a huge grin.

  ‘Awesome,’ I said, laughing.

  Neither of us could wait to listen to everything we bought, so we didn’t bother stopping for lunch. Dad just drove the fastest way back to the house.

  There was no-one home when we got there, so Dad went to work hooking up the record player to Jan’s stereo, and I made us some cheese sandwiches. It wasn’t quite up to Ellie’s food standards but it would do.

  ‘Neil first?’ asked Dad, not waiting for an answer. We sat down on the floor, sandwiches on our laps, and waited for the crackle of the record to start. The sound was pretty good, given how tatty the record player was.

  And that was where Jan and Ellie found us when they walked in with giant paper parcels of fish and chips. We were lying on the floor, our eyes closed, just listening to ‘Heart of Gold’.

  ‘Is that Neil Young?’ asked Jan. Dad tried to shoosh her, but I looked up and gave her a nod.

  ‘I love this song,’ she said, sitting down on the floor near Dad.

  ‘I’ve never heard of it. Sounds like old people’s music,’ said Ellie with a cheeky grin.

  Dad pretended to glare.

  Ellie sat down next to me on the floor. ‘Happy early birthday,’ she whispered, handing me a tiny parcel. I unwrapped the paper, and inside was a pair of earrings just like the ones Ellie was wearing but green.

  ‘Wow! Thanks, Ellie. They’re beautiful,’ I said, surprised. I’d been thinking she was still put out that I wouldn’t get my ears pierced, so it was doubly special getting a present. It meant she understood.

  She smiled at me. ‘Thought green was your colour.’

  ‘Yeah, they’re perfect,’ I said, smiling back.

  Jan opened the parcels of fish and chips and put them between us so we could sit around on the floor, having a picnic of fish, chips, potato cakes and dim sims, and licking the salt off our fingers.

  As we ate and argued about which records we wanted to listen to, I realised it was the first time we’d all been together when it wasn’t weird. Nobody was feeling upset or mad, no-one was jealous or uncomfortable. We were all just being normal. Like a family. And it felt good.

  Go back and choose all over again!

  A Hot Cold Summer

  published in 2014 by

  Hardie Grant Egmont

  Ground Floor, Building 1, 658 Church Street

  Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia

  www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au

  This ebook is also available as a print edition in all good bookstores.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders.

  A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia.

  eISBN:9781743581926

  Text copyright © Nova Weetman

  Illustration and design copyright © Hardie Grant Egmont

  Illustration and design by Steph Spartels

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