RECAP:
"Baby, for you, I'd be that boy-girl."
He snorted and shook his head before losing control once more and they both collapsed together on the hot sand, rolling around in hysterics, eventually upgrading to a sand wrestle. This ended up causing a few couples to glare at them as they walked by and were sprayed with sand, however, neither really had eyes for anything but each other.
The beach trip had been thus far quite bizarre; Dan and Arden were in the midst of humour induced suffocation, Tom and Eileen were walking in (an unheard of for them) shy silence and Mark was trying to molest Rupert (not literally, He didn't really have any plan for when he caught the poor guy- just for the chase) while Az took reels of happy snaps. Some for the album for sure.
…
The sun was slowly falling to the sea and the beach was empty except for the seven dishevelled individuals seated in a sloppy line along the crest of the dune. Hair standing in all directions and, for the girls, knotted and still wet, they all relaxed not caring how they appeared to outsiders. Articles of clothing were strewn across the pale sand and towels lay abandoned behind them, tangled from constant disruptions throughout the day. Tom and Eileen had returned from their walk many hours after 'the incident'- as it had come to be known amongst the others, much to Az's distress considering HE had his own 'incident' that would now need renaming – their arms stowing fat parcels wrapped in shoddy butchers paper. The five who had remained at the beach were delighted, all thoughts of teasing quickly forgotten as they desperately snatched at the hot bundles and pulled them open.
"FISH AND CHIPS!" they had yelled excitedly, Rupert and Dan's British accents standing out like a red dress at a funeral. Dan had helped Arden inject her insulin into her hip- though she had protested that she could do it alone- and they all fussed over her until she swatted their hovering forms away. Finally, they all dropped to the sand and formed the line in which they now held vigilance over the long stretch of sand below. Their stomachs filled and fingers greasy, they thanked Tom and Eileen profusely, glad that they could spend a few more hours on the beach without needing to take leave to satiate their hunger. Arden, being in the middle of the small party between Aaron and Mark, leaned her head on Az's shoulder, sighing contentment as the hot breeze brushed past her- the last reminder of the blazing Summers day as its mascot slowly receded from view.
"Soooo…" Mark began drawing out the word with unnecessary length "LEENY AND THOMAS SITTING IN A TREE, K.I.S.S.I.N.G" he sang out in his now near-perfect impersonation of an intonationly challenged girl. Dan and Arden snorted into their hands suppressing their laughter quite well as Az and Rupert high-fived Mark.
"Markelina! For the LAST TIME MY NAME ISN'T THOMAS." Tom shouted, his face twisted with rage, though his laughter that interrupted the end ruined the effect he had attempted to create.
"Oooo adapting my name into a terrible girl's one- how clever!" Mark retorted, though quickly turned his head to look down both sides of the row, adding a nervous "No ones mum is named Markelina are they?" Arden laughed openly now.
"Darling, you care too much about people's feelings to be brutal, so leave the rude - yet hilarious -banter to the experts. Besides, if one of our mothers WAS named Markelina, I'm pretty sure we'd deserve to be insulted." She smiled triumphantly as her point was made, the others nodding their heads in mock solemnity. The sky was now blazing in the full height of sunset, softening the white of the sand to a pale pink glow. Arden admired the colour as one must in such situations- she wasn't much of a romantic- or even that sentimental- but sometimes one must indulge.
The group rapidly grew restless, the new change in mood lighting had made them all realise the nearing darkness. As the agitation became more noticeable Aaron cleared his throat, slowly standing and stretching obnoxiously in only his board shorts.
"Hey boys, lets do that man thing and go collect some wood to make a bonfire. Oh, and I suppose Markelina can come too- Dan you stay and watch the ladies, I don't want any pimp wrangling them up and whisking them away." Rupert, Tom and Dan laughed at his comment but the others were all silent.
"Err.. you were being serious weren't you?" Dan commented to break the awkwardness that had settled. He was only slightly relieved to see Az's lopsided grin crept onto his face.
"Kinda! .. About 50 to 70% serious in fact!" he stated cheerfully, chuckling as he sauntered off in the lead, the other guys fast to follow. As he walked off he could hear Dan in the background 'So was he being serious or not?' he asked Arden who just shrugged her shoulders from the spot next to him.
They trudged over the hill, descending down into a small dip behind where they had once been sitting. Their three remaining friends were still visible at the summit, though only their slowly shrinking backs. After walking for a few short minutes filled with joking and laughter, Az pointed towards a large patch of dry scrub just ahead.
"Onwards men!' he called dramatically, fully enjoying the ego boost his little manly expedition was providing. They all galloped forward, entertaining his deluded fantasy and began pulling at the dehydrated bushes (something Az and Mark continually reassured Rupert and Tom was normal in Australia- the dehydrated part, the pulling at the branches probably wasn't.) and made two large bundles of kindling.
"Now, all we need is some driftwood." Az muttered, the boys diligently following his lead with the large amount of sticks piled in their grasps.
Eileen, Arden and Dan sat in the sand in a strained silence. Arden had scooted closer to Dan and Eileen closer to her so that their line had diminished in length but still maintained a semblance of structure. They weren't talking themselves but could hear the rambunctious laughter of the minus four in the firewood party. Eileen looked across at the two next to her with interest. Considering the situation they were in- three friends alone on a deserted beach under a magnificent sunset- she decided that it was a good time for a discussion of the deep and meaningful kind.
"Do you guys ever get… well sick of being alone? I mean it's safer to be an island I suppose.." she paused for a moment before continuing- were it anyone but Eileen Arden would have been sure it was for effect rather than to gather her thoughts. She had never been very good at sharing her feelings openly.
"But then again, since when was safety really fun huh?" She laughed, looking to Arden, the question being angled more toward her than Dan. Arden's stare trained to her feet as she bit her lip- not in any coy fashion but more of a distracted habit that she had fostered during her years as a student. Eileen waited for an answer, nervous that perhaps she was the only one on this 'lets-share-our-feelings' page.
"Leens, safety might not be fun but taking risks is dangerous. You just have to decide if you can handle the worst- if you can then you'll be fine." She looked up from her pink sandy toes to her ally and smiled half-heartedly. Dan seemed to shift in his place uncomfortably and she dared not to look over at him. Eileen smiled genuinely back at Arden nodding her affirmative, signalling to her that a day soon would come when they all would have to endure the united front of their two most annoyingly witty friends. It was obvious that this was her indirect questioning of Arden's support towards her interest in Tom. Eileen had never been much of a dater- she enjoyed the freedom and spontaneous fun of the single life immensely, thus, hardly had boyfriends. However, Eileen's slightly wistful glee turned fast, snapping back to the thing Arden had hoped she would miss in her pleasure. Suddenly her eyes narrowed sharply at her Arden.
"I think perhaps you should take your own advice my dear." Eileen's words were more sly than cruel- a simple awkward nudge to a friend she thought needed it. Arden could tell Dan was now cursing Aaron's pimp-fear and wishing he wasn't privy to this little girl talk, though stayed with them nonetheless- something she was grateful for despite the embarrassing turn in the conversation. She did admit to herself that she too had a fear that the seedy underbelly Melbourne might rear itself to two teenage girls scantily clad and alone on the beach which practically bordered the city.
"Well perhaps I can't handle the worst." She uttered through clenched teeth at Leeny, hoping she might get the picture and drop it. She would not be so lucky.
"Oh be realistic rather than stuck in that demented world you call home- What's the worst that could happen!?" She asked rather harshly, Arden knew she was only taking this line because it was the last way Eileen could conceive to get through to her, but this knowledge didn't make it any easier. She sensed Dan's interest peak as his body turned slightly back in her direction. She felt guilty that he would have to witness this, though Eileen had pushed the boundaries and there was no turning back. Arden's anger writhed quickly up her oesophagus like a snake about to strike, burning all the way until she couldn't control it anymore- she had never been great at suppressing emotion once the barrier had been broken.
"Oh! Oh I see!" Her rage had manifested itself in some sort of twisted sarcastic glee "Perhaps you might tell me since you're so smart, you read the papers- after all I'm probably too demented to know!" She retorted almost manically, strength behind her voice one would not expect from someone as small as Arden.
"You KNOW I didn't call you that, I was saying what you are DOING is demented. The way you're living. If you're going to live then fucking LIVE." She stared pointedly at her target; the only betrayal of her frustration towards Arden's spontaneous outburst was in the slip-of-the-tongue swearing, though her breathing was erratic her voice remained calm throughout her speech. If she responded with equal rage she knew Arden would only become more defensive and irrational. Dan shuffled a little further away from Arden sensing impending implosion- that or just a violent explosion, but he was hoping silently for the first.
"Well, I guess that's easy for some of us isn't it Eileen." She said quietly- a melancholy defeat in her very tone that reverberated through the words she spoke. Dan exhaled the breath he had held- thoroughly confused by their conversation in general- he could think of a million better retorts than those that Arden had thrown back- and it was evident she wasn't controlling herself. Obviously there was a piece to the puzzle that was Arden Baker Dan was still missing- a big one. Eileen had wrapped one arm around her friends shoulder and squeezed it, Dan following her lead to make them in some sort of group huddle. It seemed the intensity of the fight had ebbed away as quickly as it had come like the tide they watched recede.
Arden breathed in deeply; she could smell the salt in Dan's hair and the sweat on all of their bodies in their humid close proximity. She lifted her hand subconsciously to the left side of her chest pulling at her bikini. It was a habit in bathers, just an old habit. The movement drew Dans attention, though once realising why she was wriggling around he looked away blushing. As he stared intently at the small figures of their friends behind them attacking some sort of midget trees he knew something wasn't right. His head suddenly snapped back to Arden. Peeking out from behind the midnight blue material was something he didn't expect to see. A tattoo. Arden had a tattoo. The curved edge was exposed and some small lettering within its boundaries. He knew already what it was but didn't really want to permit this into his reality. However, often we don't have a choice in what is real and what is not. This was real and it looked like a name encased in the black outline of a heart.
Sometimes things aren't always as they seem, then other times, they're simply exactly that. Dan knew this was one of those times. The letters spelt a name he quickly deciphered before she tugged the material more to fully obscure the little he could see- 'Billie'. Playing with the sand near his feet, he turned back to the small cluster of guy's now traipsing back, veering toward the quickest route to the ocean rather than up the hill. He might venture to ask Arden about her work of body art by the fire tonight. Now was not the time to test her patience.
By the time the boys returned Arden was laughing and smiling again. This was mostly due to Eileen and Dan's brilliantly accurate impersonation of Rupert running up and down the beach and screaming, something he too was privileged to witness as he dragged a log up the hill.
"Oh HA-HA Radcliffe, so this is how you ladies repay me for being the big man and building you a fire!" He said in an indignant huff. Dan however, was impervious to his joking gripe as he was still laughing with Eileen and just glad that Arden was smiling again. The other boys were quick to follow Rupert bringing the rest of their 'supplies' and building up the pile ready to be lit. Aaron seemed to think that building a fire was some sort of science so after the initial construction the others left it up to him to begin the inferno. He moved to his bulging beach bag, pulling from its depths a bottle of clear liquid and dousing the two large logs in it. Screwing the cap back on he looked pleased with himself.
"Oh, you thought to bring kero- that was pretty smart, hence why I'm shocked." Eileen said in clear bewilderment. The others looked equally sceptical about the fact that he seemed far too prepared for this.
"Oh no- god no. As if I would carry around Kerosene in my bag- that would be dangerous- do you guys KNOW how flammable that stuff is! Jeez. It was vodka." Simultaneously each persons left eyebrow rose accordingly- apart from Mark who could never really raise his eyebrow in scepticism- and they continued to stare wordlessly.
"You know you're all jealous." He stated smugly, unscrewing the cap he had only just refastened and taking a swig straight from the bottle.
…
Glancing back at the firewood he decided he had more pressing matters to attend to than his friend's reactions. He took a box of matches from his pocket and struck one up, flicking it from between his thumb and forefinger and landing it in a small pool of vodka on one of the logs.
"SCOOOOOORE!" He shouted jubilantly as he took another swig, planting his backside firmly on the sand next to his bag.
"Beer anyone?" He asked nonchalantly as he held up a six pack.
After laughing at the absolute randomness of Aaron's preparation, they each took one up and reclined next to the bonfire- which was now what is technically termed 'a code red bushfire hazard'- though the lack of surrounding bush was their main comfort. Ironically, it seemed in the end Az was right- lighting fires was a science- one that required careful planning and precise execution- or, he could have just lit some leaves, whichever was easier. It seemed a lot of life has become a science- the science of women, of men, of love and of hate- sometimes even the most simple things become one big experiment- a prediction and a product. But in this moment there was no time to hypothesise, the sky was now dark and they all sipped their beers, their faces aglow in the flickering light of the carefree flames as they found they only had time for a timeless silence.
