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Annie
Tamsin sits opposite me in the library, perched on the edge of her seat, head strained in my direction. ‘I thought it was all just rumour?’ Her voice is as low as she can make it while still being audible.
I look around before replying, paranoid that Donna’s hiding behind one of the bookshelves, listening. ‘The other stuff is rumour. Nothing happened on the beach.’
A smile plays on her lips. ‘And then last night everything changed.’
I keep swinging between exhilaration and nausea. I’m praying for forgiveness one minute, then touching my lips, trying to recapture the sensation the next. ‘Not everything. We just kissed and stuff.’
She’s wide-eyed and needing more. ‘What stuff?’
While I don’t want to share every intimate detail, Tamsin’s also the only person I have to talk to about this. ‘Just some touching.’
‘Oh really?’ She’s drinking this up.
‘I mean, he touched, and I…’ Had no idea what I was doing. Hunter, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was doing, bringing me to a life-altering finish within minutes using only his hand. ‘I would’ve liked it to have been mutual,’ I admit.
‘None of us know what we’re doing in the beginning.’ Tamsin laughs. ‘You just have to tell Hunter that you want to learn. I suspect he’ll be an eager teacher when it comes to you.’ She rests her chin on her hands. ‘You know, this whole thing feels very Romeo and Juliet.’
I laugh. ‘Hardly.’
‘It’s the star-crossed-lovers story of our time.’
I stand, gathering my things. ‘I need to check these books out before the bell rings.’
‘The Jehovah’s Witness girl who falls in love with the troubled boy from the wrong side of the creek.’
I shake my head and look at her. ‘Romeo and Juliet might be a love story, but it’s also a tragedy.’ I pause. ‘You can’t say anything to anyone about this.’
She stands. ‘Don’t worry. I know what’s at stake, and I won’t tell a soul.’
As we walk to the front desk, I look around the library. ‘I can’t believe tomorrow’s our last day of classes. A few weeks of exams, and then you’ll be moving to the city with pretty much everyone else from our year level.’
‘Except Hunter.’ She gives me a coy look.
I don’t respond.
‘You could come, you know. You don’t have to stay here. You could still apply to a TAFE or get an entry-level job somewhere else.’
I could move to the city, but it would be a very different life to the one she’s describing. ‘It’s not that easy, unfortunately.’
Tamsin gives me a sympathetic look. ‘I wish I could say I understand, but I don’t.’
‘That’s okay. You don’t need to understand. You just need to not forget about me when you leave.’
‘Never.’
As I join the queue of students at the desk, I say, ‘You go. I’ll see you later.’
She presses a hand to her heart. ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow.’
‘Stop.’
She starts backing away to the door. ‘That I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.’
Hunter
I try to focus on other things, anything but Annie Wilson. But she pushes her way into every thought and every minute of my morning. I don’t know if seeing her will make it better or worse.
