Frankie and Joely Read Free Page B

There’s a few shops, a dam and there’s a pool.’
    â€˜And the farm?’
    â€˜It’s a big old house on land. They have cattle, potato fields and a shed.’
    Something zigzags past the train window.
    â€˜Look, Frank! That’s Mack and Thommo.’ Joely starts waving madly.
    Frankie swings around thinking how nice it must feel to be so excited about seeing your cousins. Two boys on motorbikes are chasing the train. They have no helmets and she can see their faces clearly as they pull up close to the window. She smiles, liking their tanned bodies and silly grins. One turns to look at her and then the other does too. Frankie feels a flutter of excitement and has to turn away for a second.
    â€˜Which one’s which?’
    â€˜The one with the red hair, that’s Thommo.’
    As if he heard Joely, Thommo tries to wave, but his wheel wobbles as he steers with one hand. Then Mack passes him and Frankie sees them yelling at each other. She wishes she could hear what they were saying.
    â€˜And that’s Mack.’
    Frankie takes in Mack’s bare brown shoulders. He’s big. Bigger than the boys she’s used to. She looks at his face. He’s looking straight at her and lifts both hands in the air, a crazy look on his face. Then he disappears.
    â€˜Where did he go?’ Frankie looks back down the track but she can’t see either boy. ‘Are they okay?’
    Frankie’s surprised when Joely laughs at her. ‘They’re fine. They’re just showing off. They’ve been riding like that for years.’
    â€˜Yeah course,’ says Frankie, disappointed they aren’t showing off just for her.
    In the carriage, a few people are standing up. Joely grabs their rubbish and pulls her bag onto her shoulder. She looks confident and Frankie wonders when that change happened. She doesn’t look like the girl who tripped at the station, or the girl Frankie hangs out with at school. She looks like someone who knows her way. Frankie feels a bit out of sorts. What if Joely leaves her?
    â€˜Come on, Frank.’
    Frankie doesn’t want to get up. She’s not sure about this holiday anymore. But Joely is already walking towards the doors, so Frankie grabs her bag and follows.
    There’s an awful screech of metal wheels dragging along the tracks. As the train slows Frankie tenses, expecting it to speed off again and take her away from Payne.
    But then the train stops, the doors open and people push through in front of them. Normally Frankie would push back, but today she’s happy to take as long as she can to reach Joely’s cousins.
    â€˜Joely,’ says Frankie. ‘Before it starts … This holiday … It’s about us. Right?’
    â€˜Yes, of course. Come on!’ Joely jumps onto the platform and walks off without looking back to check if Frankie’s following.
    Stepping off the train, Frankie swallows, feeling the sting of the hot air drag down her throat. Joely warned her about the heat, but she didn’t think it would be this bad. It’s so fierce she almost feels like she’ll burn where she stands. She tugs at her skirt and sees the two boys waiting. Frankie watches Joely reach them, expecting her to kiss them or something, but instead her friend stops and wheels around, pointing at Frankie.
    Mack and Thommo stare at her. It’s a look Frankie’s used to, but not like this. Not with Joely’s relatives. She glances at Joely, seeking comfort, but even she has a strange look on her face, and it makes Frankie want to run in the other direction.
    Instead, she decides that this is just like starting at another school; she can charm her way into this town and be fine. As Frankie walks along the platform, she feels her city skin shedding and feels relieved that she’s finally free from her mum’s boyfriend with his sleazy smiles and hands, free in a place where nobody knows her and she can be