Chapter Seven

"I've missed you!" Brax declared when he spotted his girlfriend enter the school with Joey.

He pulled her in for a kiss. Joey hung back and tried not to look disgusted at such a public display of affection.

"Having fun?" Miles asked, appearing behind her.

"Not as much fun as they're having," Joey remarked.

Brax reluctantly released Charlie and grinned at her.

"How long am I losing you for?" he asked.

"Well, until Friday," Charlie said, as if he didn't already know the rules of the assignment. "And then you get Joey and I both next week."

Standing at his locker, Heath opened his mouth to make a comment but Charlie kicked him.

"Ow!" he complained, rubbing his shin.

"Then don't be gross," she replied.

"Are you sure you can't ditch her at lunch time or something?" Brax asked.

"No!" Charlie said. "I have a project to work on. Plus, she's really nice."

She looked back at Joey, who pretended to be busy at her locker.

"She's really nice?" Brax asked sceptically. "Come on, Charlie, she's hardly our kind of person."

"What kind of person?" Charlie demanded, a little irritated. "Funny, kind, intelligent, thoughtful?"

"Geeky," Heath put in.

"She's not!" Charlie said, just about to lose her temper. "Don't be so unkind."

Brax stared at her in surprise.

"You actually like her?" he asked.

"Yes," Charlie replied. "And so will you. She's fantastic."

"Whatever you say, babe," Brax decided.

He kissed her one more time before she went over to Joey, ready to go with her to her next class.

"Thanks for that," Joey said, closing her locker.

Charlie looked a little startled.

"Thanks?" she queried.

"For standing up for me," Joey said. "It was nice of you."

"Well, I am nice," Charlie smirked, referring to their late night conversation.

Joey chuckled and nodded.

"You are," she agreed.


"So, tonight we have self defence?" Charlie asked.

It was lunch time and the girls were sat on the beach again, like they had been the day before.

"Yes," Joey confirmed.

Charlie smiled.

"I'm really looking forward to it," she admitted.

"Well, the teacher runs it all year so you can join at any time," Joey said. "You know, if you wanted to take it up."

Charlie nodded eagerly.

"I think I'll do that," she said. "Plus, then you won't have to miss anything next week when you're in my life."

Joey chuckled.

"That's good," she said.

"And I was thinking that we could do the sailing class again," Charlie ventured. "I know it means a lot to you."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Joey said. "I don't mind. It was probably really boring for you."

"No way!" Charlie said enthusiastically. "I really enjoyed it."

The two girls beamed at each other. Both of them were pleased that they had bonded so quickly. Their blossoming friendship was making for a pleasant week so far.

"Brax seems to be missing you a lot," Joey remarked, opening a chocolate bar.

Charlie chuckled.

"Apparently so," she said.

"You guys have been together for a really long time," Joey mused.

"Yeah, since we were eleven," Charlie said.

"I can't imagine being in such a long term relationship at our age," Joey admitted.

"We kind of just fell into it," Charlie said. "You know, we all started high school together and I thought he was really hot. It just happened, really."

"Are you in love with him?" Joey asked.

"Yeah," Charlie said thoughtfully. "I mean, I must do or we wouldn't have lasted so long."

"Do you think you'll get married one day?"

"Maybe," Charlie said. "I haven't put that much thought into it really. But I suppose that would make sense. I mean, the first thing I'm doing when I leave school is train to be a cop but after that, I hope I can come back here and work at my Dad's station."

Joey nodded, amused by her sudden enthusiasm.

"But yeah, I guess marriage and stuff would follow that."

"What does Brax want to be when he grows up?" Joey asked with a giggle.

Charlie laughed.

"He wants to bum around surfing all day!" she said. "Seriously though, I don't know if he's put that much thought into it, other than he wants to run his own business. I just don't think he's decided what kind of business."

Joey nodded.

"Are all your friends planning to stay in the Bay?" she wondered.

"I think so," Charlie said. "Although Liam and Bianca are quite keen to save up and go travelling for a while or something. Anyway, what about you?"

"What about me?" Joey asked, a little anxiously.

"Are you planning to stay here? What would you like to do for a career?"

"No, I'm planning on getting out of here as quickly as possible," Joey admitted.

Charlie tried not to look too disappointed.

"And I'd like to work with boats," Joey added. "I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with them but I know they'll have to feature in my life."

"And what about girlfriends?" Charlie asked.

Joey looked a little confused.

"Like, have you had many? Is there anyone you like at the moment?"

Joey sighed.

"I've dated a couple of people but it hasn't really worked out," she admitted. "It's tricky to have a love life when you've got to hide it from the rest of the world."

"Is that why you'd like to move away?" Charlie asked. "So that you'll be free to blend in a bit more?"

"Pretty much," Joey confirmed. "Not that I don't do a wonderful job of blending in and getting ignored here but I know that would change if I came out. Well, with my family it would change, anyway."

Charlie studied her expression, trying to read her. If she'd felt the same way Joey did then she would be very upset about it. But Joey seemed to approach everything in a matter of fact way. She continued to find her fascinating.


Next time… Charlie and Joey attend a self defence class…