Page 32 of Nothing Without You

‘Are you sure?’ Peace screwed up her face and grabbed Evie’s hand.

‘No. No boyfriend.’

Thank goodness, at that moment Tim did a backflip on the sand and the conversation and questions were forgotten. He turned and yelled out to them. ‘Race you to the headland.’

Peace pulled on her hand, and Evie clutched her thongs tightly before getting her legs into action. She ran alongside the two girls and they pushed her playfully, making her shriek with delight as she stumbled, then regained her balance. The three of them giggled and raced each other, until they ran out of breath. The two boys sprinted ahead and waited on the rocks for the girls, making fun of them as they bent over, holding their sides, trying to get their breath back.

Tim stood on the highest rock, waves from the ocean splashing up behind him. ‘I beat the lot of you.’ He beat his bare chest like Tarzan. ‘Fastest runner in the world.’

Imposing boulders sculpted the headland, their shadows offering a welcome respite from the sun’s glare. Tim’s words about one day running at the Olympic Games were lost in the wind, and Evie looked at the seagulls that called out and circled above. Her gaze was drawn to the waves that pummelled the rocks, a fine mist of salt spray drifting up with each powerful surge. The headland’s crashing waves were a stark contrast to the calm waves of the beach they had just walked along, and she was reminded of the power of the ocean. Her thoughts wandered to memories of other headlands and lookouts she had walked to with Chris, on Stradbroke Island.

‘Oye,’ Peace called out. ‘Dreamboat.’

Evie dragged her mind back to the present, and she watched Sissy pull a small bag out of her pocket. She deftly made herself a cigarette and passed it to Tim. ‘He’s shit at rolling,’ Sissy said. ‘Wastes too much. Might be able to run, but can’t roll a joint to save himself.’

Tim grinned broadly as he took the smoke. ‘Thanks. You’d better light it for me too.’

Peace lit a match and held it to the smoke. The sharp, sweet smell of marijuana filled Evie’s nostrils, and she watched as Tim leaned back on a rock and closed his eyes. Before long, Peace had rolled them all a smoke. The last one she passed to Evie. ‘Welcome to North Queensland, where the birds sing and the weed grows tall.’

Although she had always steered clear of any drugs — worried what her father would do if he found out — now there was no one to discipline her. Mother had told her so this morning. ‘Make your own choices.’ And she would. Up here, she could be a free agent. Her father was thousands of miles away in Sydney, and Mother needed to sort out her own shit.

‘It’s good stuff,’ she said, drawing back gently, enjoying the taste swirling around her mouth. ‘Real good stuff.’

The others nodded, and she was pleased she had not told them about it being the first time she had tried marijuana. Layla would be proud of her. Her thoughts turned to her friend and then Chris. Drawing harder and deeper, she felt the smoke filling her lungs. It burned, yet she found pleasure in the pain that overshadowed other thoughts. It felt good.

By the time they finished the session and started to walk towards the waterholes, her entire body felt like it was floating. She linked arms with the other two girls, and the vivid colours of the trees and sunlight filtering through the branches formed patterns that made her stop and stare.

‘Wow. Check out the colours. The world is sparkling. Like a diamond.’ She started singing ‘Blinded by the Light,’ her voice sounding louder and louder as an echo seemed to bounce back from the trunks of the trees. What looked like a million birds flew up into the canopy, and she held her hand over her eyes, looking up at the small piece of sky visible through the trees. ‘Wow. I mean, wow. Look at that. It’s so bright.’

Peace and Sissy linked their arms through hers and sang with her, the strains of Manfred Mann’s song, loud and clear as they started to skip along the track.

Chapter Thirty-Four

They weren’t the only ones who thought the pool was a good place to cool off on a hot summer’s day. Sissy was elated when they arrived to find the drummer, Stoner, from the band she had been talking about, and the rest of the band, swimming naked in the pool. The group of men were older, maybe in their twenties, and Evie tried not to stare at the five of them standing up to their chests in the clear water. They waved as Evie and the others emerged from the rainforest. By now her senses were overloaded, and her feet felt as if they were walking above the ground, almost as if she was gliding over the earth.

Thankfully her new friends didn’t take all their clothes off. She followed what Peace and Sissy did, taking off her shorts and shirt, and leaving her knitted bikini on. The two girls wore similar togs to her, although their bodies were tanned which made hers look white in comparison. She was grateful the men stayed at a distance, although it didn’t take Sissy long to swim over to them so she could talk to Stoner.

The others didn’t appear to have any qualms about the men’s nudity. Although the effects of the marijuana had dulled her senses, she still did not feel comfortable being close to five naked men, talking and laughing just like this was a normal thing to do.

She turned her back as the men got out and put on their shorts, before sitting on the edge of the pool. They dangled their legs in the water as they passed a bong back and forth. Sissy swam over and was soon hanging onto Stoner’s leg as he bounced her up and down in the water. Eventually, he slid back in beside her and started kissing her. Evie looked away, aware that Stoner’s hands were moving all over Sissy.

Perhaps Peace sensed she wasn’t comfortable with the situation. ‘Sissy loves him,’ she told Evie. ‘I reckon she knew they were coming here.’

The two girls floated on their backs in the middle of the pool, giggling and making up stories about the clouds that floated above. Evie relaxed again, the water cool and refreshing on her skin. A couple of times she looked at the other men who were still sitting around the edge of the pool, smoking and talking. Who would have thought that, after leaving Beaudesert, she would be at a rock pool with new friends, as well as five naked musicians? And smoking dope.

One of the men dived back into the pool. Thankfully, he was now wearing shorts. His name was Bob, and he swam toward her and Peace. He was older, with long hair that hung down to his shoulders. He also had very blue eyes that looked straight into hers when he introduced himself. There was a rough edge to him and he spoke in the typical north Queensland drawl. Evie asked him about the band, and he talked about where they played and what their plans were. They had a regular booking at the main pub in Cairns, and in a month’s time, they had some gigs a bit further south in some of the bigger towns. ‘We’re on our way to the top,’ Bob said. ‘We’re going to be famous you know. Bigger than Pink Floyd. One day you’ll be saying, I know that band.’

Bob was paying Evie a lot of attention, and Peace soon became bored. She swam to the edge and soon she was lying on a big rock, sunbaking with her bikini top off, her tanned breasts bare as she shared a smoke being passed around.

Bob reminded Evie of Chris. His eyes and hair were the same, and although he was skinny and not as tall as Chris, there was something about him she liked. He was hot, and definitely flirting with her. Fancy someone of his age wanting to do that? Chris would get the shits if he knew someone was hitting on her.

The water was up to her waist and she ducked down a couple of times, cooling her body from the heat of the summer sun. ‘You know, you’re real pretty,’ Bob murmured. ‘I haven’t seen you before. Are you new here?’

His voice was deep and husky and she tried to keep her words even, averting her gaze as she adjusted her bikini top to make sure it was in place. His eyes followed her motions and she flinched as he reached over and picked something out of her hair. He laughed. ‘You’re jumpy. Just a leaf in your hair.’

She giggled, the effects of the marijuana still flowing strongly in her blood. ‘I’ve moved here with my mother.’

‘How old are you?’

---