Dare You by Sue Lawson Read Free Book Online Page B

Grrrr. ’
    ‘Oh yeah, I forgot,’ said Khaden.
    ‘That would have been the best job. All those hot guys.’ Sweat trickled down my spine. ‘I’m boiling after the ride over. Why isn’t there an outdoor pool closer to home?’
    ‘I blame the economy,’ said Khaden, in a newsreader voice. That’s when I noticed the purple bruise on his cheek.
    ‘Khaden ... what happened?’
    ‘Make a fuss why don’t you,’ said Sas, scowling.
    ‘It’s okay, Sas.’ Khaden shrugged. ‘You know how I had gastro, Rube, well, I bolted to the toilet to spew, and I slipped. I landed face-first on the toilet.’
    ‘What part?’ I asked.
    ‘Does it matter?’ asked Sas.
    Khaden ignored her. ‘Bowl.’
    I pulled a face. ‘Ouch! Did you break anything? I mean, your cheek, not the toilet.’
    ‘Nah.’
    Sas stared at Khaden. ‘I thought you said your face hit the tank thing?’
    Khaden’s face turned pink. ‘Did I? I’m not sure, I might be concussed. Does it matter?’
    I felt bad for asking. ‘I just meant it looked sore.’
    ‘I’m fine,’ said Khaden.
    Sas studied his face. Khaden closed his eyes.
    To break the silence, I slipped my sunnies down my nose and scanned the crowd. ‘Anything hot?’
    ‘Other side of the pool, near the palm tree.’
    ‘That guy with the towel over his shoulders looks okay from the back,’ I said.
    Sas made a choking sound.
    ‘Keep watching,’ said Khaden.
    The guy turned and dropped his towel.
    ‘Gross!’ I squealed. ‘Man, he’s hairier than ... anything.’ I pushed my sunnies back up my nose.
    ‘Not so loud,’ hissed Sas.
    ‘Yeah, gorillas have excellent hearing and are easily spooked,’ said Khaden.
    Sas and Khaden laughed.
    I shuddered. ‘That’s put me off men for life.’
    ‘Yeah, right! For the next two minutes, maybe,’ said Khaden.
    ‘You make me sound desperate.’
    ‘Hey,’ said Sas, sitting up. ‘Speaking of desperates, Mum has a new boyfriend.’
    ‘Who is he?’ My voice caught in my throat.
    Sas frowned. ‘What’s wrong, Ruby?’
    ‘Nothing.’ I crossed my legs.
    ‘Soooo...’ Khaden drew out the word. ‘Who is he?’
    ‘Don’t know.’ Sas pulled a face. ‘She just said it was serious, and that he had things to deal with before we met him.’
    I fiddled with the cord on my boardies.
    ‘Anyway, because she’s all happy—and weak—I’m increasing the pressure. Operation Own Room is on, in a big way. Sharing sucks.’
    ‘It can’t be that bad,’ said Khaden.
    ‘No, it’s worse. Last night...’
    I could hear them, but their voices were muffled, as though they were under water, not next to me. The air around me became thick and the world seemed to sway and shrink away from me.
    ‘Ruby?’ Sas grabbed my shoulder. ‘Ewww—you’re sweaty.’
    ‘I told you, I’m boiling after the ride over. Let’s talk in the pool.’
    I leapt to my feet and ran across the grass. After a quick scan of the water to make sure I didn’t land on a little kid, I dived in. The icy water took my breath away, but the distorted sounds and the blue were calming. I’d have stayed there forever, cushioned from the world, but my lungs were about to explode. I pushed up to the surface and burst back into reality, popping up by the lane-ropes. Squealing,splashing and laughing mingled with the sound of the radio piped across the pool. The rhythmic strokes of the swimmers in the lap-lane were soothing. The air, the world, was normal again.
    ‘Better?’ asked Khaden, surfacing beside me.
    ‘Yeah.’ I stretched my arms along the ropes.
    Sas swam towards us, her stroke smooth and easy.
    ‘She should have kept going to squad,’ I said watching her.
    Khaden shrugged. ‘She had to look after her sisters.’
    For a second I felt sorry for Sas. She duck-dived and surfaced between us, sleek and smooth, her blonde hair as dark as mine. ‘So, as I was saying, I’m hatching a plan so I can have my own room, a plan so good Mum won’t be able to say no.’
    Seemed to me