Free The Other Side of Nowhere by Stephen Johnston Page A

expecting,’ she said at last.
    ‘How do you mean?’
    ‘I don’t know exactly. He’s not as laid-back as you made him sound. More intense, I guess.’
    We’d reached the fallen tree and I leant against its damp bark, cooling my back. I could see the concentration on George’s face. I guessed she must be taking in everything I’d told her about Nick and trying to match it up to what he was like in person.
    Trying to figure out Nick was a pastime I had given up a long time ago. Sure, he was my best friend, but could I say that I really knew Nick Barnes? Could anybody?
    ‘I guess he is kind of intense. I’m just used to that. Anyway, Nick and his dad moved to Shell Harbour a few years ago, to look after the farm. That’s when he left the city for good.’
    George nodded, but didn’t say anything.
    ‘You know, I was talking with Dad about it,’ I continued slowly. ‘About Nick moving away to the farm. He said going back to the farm for Nick would be like going from a rooster to a feather duster. I didn’t get it at the time, but now maybe I do. Nick was the guy at school – smart, funny, captain of every team he played in – the one all the girls liked and the guys wanted to be friends with. Then one day that’s all gone and he’s slogging it out on some farm in the middle of nowhere.’
    George nodded slowly. ‘That must have been so hard. I mean, to have to drop out of school and just leave your whole life behind. I just can’t imagine what that must have been like. Have you ever asked him about it?’
    ‘What do you mean?’ I said quickly. ‘He can tell me stuff anytime he wants.’ But even as I said it I wondered if I really believed that. Nick and I had played together side by side since the day he moved into our street. And up until the day he moved away, I couldn’t name one memorable moment in my life that didn’t in some way involve Nick. So sure, we’d talked about stuff, all sorts of stuff. But did I really know how he felt about things that really mattered? Had Nick ever really confided in me?
    ‘But he wouldn’t volunteer anything,’ George said, as if reading my mind. ‘Maybe you should ask him sometime.’
    Suddenly I didn’t want to talk to George about Nick anymore. Or about how George thought Nick felt. I wanted to tell George how I felt. I wanted her to know about me, not Nick. But the very thought was too confusing. I felt a tingling flush of awkward embarrassment that caused me to turn away and climb over the tree trunk.
    ‘Yeah, maybe I will,’ I said offering her a hand as she climbed over the trunk. ‘C’mon. It’s not far now.’
    Matt was busy preparing our campsite when we arrived. He’d already cleared the ground between the four trees, so we got to work with the bed sheet. We propped it in the middle with a long stick and had enough rope to secure two corners to the trees. We found some creeper vine to secure the other two ends then pulled the sheet tight between the four trees, just high enough for us to stand without stooping. Underneath was a clean floor of sand and soft grass.
    ‘Luxury! This is so much better than the cave,’ said George, lying down with her arms behind her head.
    I winked at Matt. ‘Well if you’re happy, Princess Georgina, then your slaves’ work is done. May we have a swim, your ladyship?’ The sun was high in the sky, and even in the shade I was sweltering.
    ‘But I’m starving,’ moaned Matt, ‘and I need a drink.’
    ‘I would kill for a drink,’ agreed George.
    I nodded. My mouth was all clagged and dry, and when I tried to muster up spit there was none there at all.
    We all agreed to a swim first to cool off and then we’d hunt for fresh water and maybe some berries or something. Starting back along the path towards the beach, we were in high spirits. Matt was in fine form, chirping continuously about nothing in particular, encouraged by George. I was zoning in and out of the conversation and doing my best not to get