Free Starfish Sisters by J.C. Burke Page A

classified as charity and I'm allowed
to do that,' Ace said. 'Maybe we should ask Carla about
it, 'cause we want to get it right. You know, make it look
professional. I reckon the last week of camp would be
the best time.'
    'What about the team trials?' My neck felt tight.
    'It's probably good to have something else to focus
on.' Georgie kept nodding. 'Lighten up the pressure
a bit.'
    'That's true,' Ace agreed. 'And if we had it in the last
week it'd give us plenty of time to plan and rehearse.'
    'Pick the right music,' added Georgie.
    Back and forth, back and forth their suggestions
flew while my fingernails pinched at the ridges on my
thighs. Suddenly, Georgie pointed towards Micki's
bed. 'Oh no! You don't think she's been listening, do
you?'
    'She's crashed for sure,' Ace whispered back,
turning off the lamp. 'It was a really good idea of yours,
Kia, giving Micki that space away from us chatterboxes
so she can get to sleep. Little one,' Ace crooned. 'No
wonder she doesn't talk much.'
    We said goodnight. Ace crawled into her bed and
Georgie turned over and cuddled up to her pillow. Me?
I lay there hating myself as my fingertips ran across the
inside of my thighs.
    I drifted in and out of strange thoughts that merged
into a strange dream of Micki standing over my bed,
watching me.

MICKI
    Soon the steady breaths floated up from Kia's bed. I
knew she'd been lying awake. That's what liars do.
    Quietly, I trod across the bungalow floor. For a little
while, I stood watching Kia's chest rise and fall. How
could she have done that? How could she have told the
others those things about my mother? She knew
nothing about me and my life.
    I hated her. Perhaps now I hated her more than she
hated me.
    You're not going to let her ruin the camp . I'd lay in bed
telling myself while she'd blabbed to the others. You're not. You're not. You're not. You're here to surf. Here to get picked for the Junior Team Training Camp. You're here to find a way out.
    Perched up on the toilet, my feet folded under me, I
began the second entry in my diary.
    Saturday 6 January: Day two
    The best eva free surf with Georgie and Megan. 8
turns I made on one wave – that's my record. But it
was small then. Once it pumped a bit more, the
paddling to get back out got harder and all my energy
was going into that.
    But Jake was really nice about it. 'We're going to
do a lot of upper body strengthening in the gym, Miss
Micki.' He said that without me saying anything to him.
It's like he just watches you surf once and then he
gets straightaway what you need to work on.
    I'm different to Ace, Georgie and Kia as I've
never had a coach before. I thought Ace ignored Jake
every time he opened his mouth but I wanted to write
down every word he said.
    Georgie's surfing was awesome, especially when it
picked up. I was so pleased for her coz Jake fully
picked her to bits in the video session.
    Megan cut herself and I got the wobbles with the
blood. All in all pretty embarrassing but Jake and
Megan were really sweet to me and Georgie did my
lunch roster.
    I'm not sure how long I'd been staring before I realised
I'd stopped writing. The starfish tiles were stretching
and climbing the walls like giant anemones. But I'd
been seeing something different.
    Mum was sitting on the couch and I was standing
there holding out my bottle to her. She'd forgotten to
give me my milk.
    Mum took the bottle and went into the kitchen. I
followed, my Dorothy the Dinosaur blanket dragging
on the floor behind me.
    'S'ere Micki.' She handed me my milk, staggering
back a bit as she closed the fridge door. 'Go t'sleep.'
    Mum went back to the living room where the
sleeping bodies lay, their breath steady but so light, like
they were about to float away.
    A packet of bread sat on top of the fridge. I was
hungry so I pushed a stool over, climbed up on it and
pulled the loaf to the floor.
    Cheese sandwiches were my favourite. Probably
because they filled my tummy for the longest. I
searched the fridge for