Page 40 of Serenity Falls

‘Make it so you can’t do it.’

‘What? Throw a sickie or something?’

His good eye – the non-lazy one – gleamed. ‘I have a better idea.’

Mom was pissed as hell. She stared at me in horror, taking in my shorn hair, cut jaggedly to my chin and dyed jet-black. Then she burst into tears.

I enjoyed my victory for a week. And when I say enjoyed, I mean my mom refused to speak to me, Dad gave me confused, anxious glances and I was grounded. Literally confined to my room when not in school and banned from going outside so no one would see me.

It couldn’t last. Of course. Real life. On the seventh day, Mom bought me a wig, threatened to give away all my books and my TV, and I buckled. I stuck on the stupid wig, went out and smiled for the cameras till my cheeks felt like they had rigor mortis.

But something had changed. I had got a taste of rebellion. Of being someone different.

And I liked it.

11

Lunch is a muted affair. Lockhart suggests postponing again after my ‘dip in the lake’, but my ‘dip in the lake’ has left me hungry, and I presume Lockhart is paying so I smile in martyr-like fashion and say: ‘No, my shorts will dry. I’ll be fine.’

Sadie and Ellis turn up a few minutes after we’re seated at a table outside on the decking. My shorts haven’t dried, and I still smell vaguely of stale lake water. Neither of them seems to notice. Sadie is unusually quiet. Lockhart asks about their trip to the fairground and is greeted with vague, monosyllabic replies. Something is up. Maybe an argument, or something else.

There are only two other tables occupied. Both by older couples in their fifties and sixties. Lockhart waves a hand at both as we sit down. ‘How you doing, Jeff? Nice to see you, Carol – hope the grandkids are okay?’

That’s small towns for you, I guess. Everyone knows everyone. I’m trying hard not to feel claustrophobic about it. People knowing you is one thing. People knowing your business is another.

A pretty, auburn-haired waitress (Alice, her name badge informs me) brings our menus and a jug of iced water with lemon. She uprights our glasses and fills them.

‘Get you any more drinks?’

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say Peroni. But Lockhart gets there first. ‘Iced tea for me.’ He turns to Ellis. ‘And you two girls?’

‘Diet Coke,’ Ellis says.

‘Yeah, Diet Coke, please,’ Sadie answers.

He looks at me expectantly. I clear my throat. ‘Err, the same, thanks.’

I make a mental note to drop into a store on the way back to the house and pick up a six-pack.

‘I’ll be right back to take your food orders,’ Alice says, and walks away.

‘Lovely girl,’ Lockhart remarks. ‘Grade-A student all the way when she was at Serenity High. I believe her sister will be in your English class. A little cheeky, but very bright with it.’

‘Sounds like the sort of student I like. I guess Alice will be going to college in September?’

‘No. She works here full time.’

I frown. ‘Oh. You said she was a Grade-A student—’

‘Her parents run the hotel. Family business. She’s happy working here and supporting them.’

I nod, all the while thinking, what parent would hold their child back from achieving more? Not saying there’s anything wrong with waitressing. But most teens want to go to college or university to explore who they are, become independent, widen their horizons. Education is never wasted. Even if you choose to come back home and work as a waitress in your family hotel, be the best damn qualified and most erudite waitress you can be. I realize Lockhart is still talking:

‘The hotel was one of the very first buildings in Serenity Falls. Been in the same family ever since. She’s a little tired inside these days, but she’s due an upgrade soon.’

‘So, do visitors to the hotel have to wear the bracelets too?’ I ask curiously.

‘Oh no,’ Lockhart says. ‘We don’t allow people from outside the town to stay in Serenity Falls.’