Page 54 of The Pearl Sister
I woke up to see a really bright sun glaring in from the naked window. I showered, dressed and hurried downstairs to see if there was anything to eat.
‘Can I get some breakfast?’ I asked the lady on reception.
‘That was cleared away hours ago. It’s almost two in the afternoon, love.’
‘Right. Is there anywhere local I can get something to eat?’
‘There’s the Runway Bar down the road that does pizza and what have you. Best you can do this time of day. There’s more places open later.’
‘Thanks.’
I went and stood outside the hotel. Even for me, the sun felt searingly hot, as if it had moved a few thousand miles closer to the earth during the night. Everyone else who had a brain was obviously inside hiding from it, because the street was deserted. Further down, I saw four bronze statues next to a car park and went to take a look. Three were of men in suits, all old judging by the wrinkles, and the fourth – wearing a jumpsuit, heavy boots and a round helmet that covered his entire face – looked like an astronaut. There were plaques with tiny writing on them, probably describing what made these men so special, but I was beginning to feel sick in the sun and I knew I needed food. By the time I arrived at the Runway Bar, sweat was pouring off me from the humidity.
I went to the counter and immediately ordered water, gulping back the whole bottle as soon as it was handed to me. I decided on a burger, and took one of the free maps detailing the attractions in the town before finding a seat at a faded plastic table.
‘Youse a tourist?’ asked the young guy who brought the burger over to me.
‘Yeah.’
‘You’re brave, love. We don’t get many of you here at this time of year. It’s the Big Wet, ya see. My advice is don’t go far without an umbrella. Or a fan,’ he added. ‘Though both are pretty useless in the wet season.’
I ate my burger in about four mouthfuls, then studied the map of the town again. As usual, the letters in the words jumbled before my eyes, but I soldiered on and eventually found the place I was looking for. Going back to the counter to pay and grab some more water, I pointed out the spot on the map to the waiter.
‘How far away is this?’
‘The museum? From here, it’s about a twenty-minute walk.’
‘Okay, thanks.’ I turned round to leave but he stopped me.
‘It’s closed this arvo, though. Try tomorrow.’
‘I will. Bye.’
It felt like everything in Broome was closed in the afternoon. Back in my room, I remembered my dead mobile and plugged it in next to the bed to charge. While I was in the bathroom, I was surprised to hear it pinging again and again and I scurried back to look at it.
‘Wow!’ I grunted under my breath as the screen displayed messages from Star and my other sisters. I opened the text page on my phone and scrolled down, and the messages kept on coming. I saw there were a number of missed calls too.
I started on the texts first.
Star:Cee! OMG! Call me. Xx
Maia:CeCe, where are you? What’s going on? Call me! X
Ally:It is YOU, isn’t it? Call me. X
Tiggy:Are u okay? Thinking of you. Call me. Xx
Electra . . .
Electrahad texted me . . .
In a total panic as to why all my sisters were suddenly contacting me, I concentrated on deciphering Electra’s text.
You dark horse, you!
There was no kiss or a ‘call me’ at the end of her text, but neither did I expect it.
‘Something’s up,’ I muttered to myself as I scrolled down and saw a text from a number I didn’t know.
