Chapter Five Hundred and Twenty Four
Indi had barely slept. She felt sick. Today was the day that she, Romeo and Nicole were due to get their HSC results and she was terrified she was going to fail. She was also terrified that Romeo was going to fail. Because of her. She was distraught that her lovely boyfriend had thrown his future away just because he loved her.
Across town, Romeo had also barely slept. He knew he had failed his exams and he was furious with himself. He could have passed. Probably not very well but he could have scraped a pass and then he could finally have moved past the stumbling block of school and moved ahead with his future. With Indi. But now, she and Nicole were going to move onto University without him. He was going to be left behind.
Nicole was already awake. She was in the bathroom throwing up. She was sick with nerves. She had been for days. The funny thing was, she hadn't even realised she was so nervous about her results. She had thought it was only Indi that was losing her mind over the HSC.
"How are you feeling this morning?" Charlie asked Ruby, as they, Joey, Ross and Morag all had breakfast together.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Ruby said, although she seemed very anxious.
"What's happening this morning?" Morag asked.
"I've got my first counselling session," Ruby explained. "Joey booked it for me."
"Are you poorly?" Ross asked worriedly.
"I'm okay, Dad," Ruby assured him, touching his hand gently.
He smiled gently at her.
"I'll give you a lift to your appointment," Charlie offered. "And I'll come and pick you up again, okay?"
"Are you sure?" Ruby checked. "I don't want to put you out."
"It's not putting me out," Charlie promised. "We all want to support you, okay?"
Ruby nodded gratefully. She finished her toast and dashed off to get ready.
"So I've got some time this morning if you wanted to do some work towards Alf's case," Joey offered.
"Oh, is that okay?" Morag offered.
"Of course," Joey said. "Or… if you just wanted to chill or visit some people. Anything. You don't just have to work!"
The two women smiled at each other.
"Thank you," Morag said.
"What do I do today?" Ross asked.
"You can do anything you'd like to do," Joey told him.
"Can we go to the beach?" Ross asked. "It's been so long since I've seen the sea."
"Of course," Joey said.
"Well, how about Joey and I take you to the beach this morning then?" Morag said. "Then we could go for lunch at her lovely restaurant. Would you like that?"
"I'd love that," Ross said enthusiastically.
"Is that okay?" Morag asked Joey.
Joey gave her happy agreement.
"We could join you for lunch," Charlie suggested. "When I pick Ruby up from her appointment?"
"Perfect," Morag said.
Ross agreed wholeheartedly.
Sid and Marilyn drove Indi, Romeo and Nicole to the school to pick up their HSC results. Nicole couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. Her own father should be with her today. Instead, he was in jail and would be for the best part of the rest of his life. They kept in touch. They wrote letters and he phoned her once a week. They had arranged a phone call today so that she could tell him about her exam results. But it wasn't the same. It wasn't like what Indi had today, her father bringing her to the school to share her special moment. But then, she looked at Romeo who didn't have anyone with him either. At least she had had some time with her father before he had been jailed and at least he cared enough to call her. Romeo had never really had anything.
Ruby was nervous about her counselling appointment. She wasn't even sure why. It wasn't like she hadn't been to a million counselling sessions before. But it felt like a bit step to have to admit that she needed therapy again.
"Hey," Charlie said.
"Did you forget something?"
"Yeah," her mother said, sitting down beside her. "I forgot to sit down and wait with you."
"Haven't you got work?"
"I've told them I can't make it in," Charlie told her. "They owe me some time anyway."
"But aren't you going to be bored waiting here?"
Charlie pulled a book out of her handbag.
"Never go anywhere without entertainment!"
She grinned. Ruby hugged her and thanked her.
"I know you're nervous," Charlie said. "But you'll be okay. And please never forget how much we love you."
It was warm when Morag, Joey and Ross strolled out to the beach that morning. It felt nice to give Ross the opportunity to do what he really wanted, which was to visit the sea. Morag genuinely hadn't realised how much he had missed it. And for her part, it was doing Joey some good to get out of her own head for a short while. She was angry with herself for letting Will upset her so much. She shouldn't have let him get under her skin. He may have been a high flyer in high school but where was he now? Heading for a divorce, barely keeping it together, hardly parenting his child and unemployed. She had been nothing in high school and it may have taken a lot of trauma and a lot of time but she was happy with her life and everything in it now. She knew she shouldn't let him try to ruin it for her.
Charlie stood up when the door to Ruby's counsellor's office opened. She smiled encouragingly at her daughter who looked marginally better than she had when she went in. She said goodbye to the woman they had hired to counsel her and then hugged her mother tightly. Charlie hugged her just as tightly.
"How was it?" Charlie asked.
"It was actually really good," Ruby said as they walked out of the building together. "I think it'll really help."
At the school, Indi felt sick and Nicole actually had vomited. Romeo looked pale. Sid and Marilyn were doing their best to support them all. But now the moment had come. They were about to find out their fate and whether they had passed or failed and could move on with their futures or were going to be held back in the past. Gina appeared in the hallway.
"Nicole Freeman?" she called.
Nicole stood up shakily and followed the Principal into her office.
Angelo welcomed Ross, Morag and Joey to a table, pleased to see them, although anxious that he didn't think Morag had a very high opinion of him. He placed a jug of water and three glasses on the table.
"Could we have two more glasses please?" Joey asked. "Charlie and Ruby are joining us."
"Oh, sure," he said, hurrying away.
"Is that the murderer?" Ross asked a little loudly.
Joey cringed but Morag was used to it.
"That's Angelo, yes," she said. "Remember, it was an accident? He's a friend."
"Oh, yes," Ross said, nodding.
Joey poured water into the three glasses.
"How is Angelo as an employee?" Morag asked, glancing towards the bar where he seemed to be trying to find more glasses.
"He's great," Joey said honestly. "He works hard. Fun to be around."
"No longer inappropriate with your girlfriend?" Morag asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, that was a long time ago!" Joey said. "I don't feel worried there!"
She chuckled as Angelo wound his was back to the table and placed the glasses down. She thanked him and he walked away rather quickly.
The usually tanned Romeo walked out of Gina's office looking very pale. He sat down heavily on a chair. Indi quickly put her arm around him as the next student went in to see the Principal. Sid and Marilyn exchanged worried glances.
"What happened?" Indi asked her boyfriend.
"I failed," he said. "I knew I had but I… I guess I still hoped that somehow… maybe I… maybe I hadn't."
Nicole put her arm around his other shoulder, trying to encourage him.
"Hey, it'll be okay," she said when Indi didn't manage to say anything useful. "There are always resists. This isn't it, alright? This isn't over."
Romeo nodded but he had already been told it was too late. If he wanted to pass his HSC, he had to resit the whole year. And with this already being his second go at school, he wasn't sure it was even worth it.
Joey, Morag and Ross were sat at a table in the restaurant, waiting for Charlie and Ruby to arrive. Ross and Morag had been happily greeted by Angelo and various customers such as Kerri and Watson and also Leah, although she wasn't a customer – she just popped in to pinch some change!
"Hi!" Charlie greeted warmly, approaching the table with Ruby.
She ignored the brief moment of confusion on her father's face, aware that it was harder for him when he was over stimulated and that a lot of people would have been approaching him to say hello, some of whom he may not even know. He smiled broadly at her and hugged her and then Ruby.
"Did you have a good time at the beach?" she asked, kissing Joey and sitting beside her.
"Did you go to the beach?" Ross asked Joey.
"We did," Joey replied. "Remember? We picked up a couple of shells for Ruby and Charlie."
"Oh! We did!" Ross said.
He looked at Morag who promptly picked the shells out of her handbag and handed them over. Charlie and Ruby both looked pleased. It was a memory from when they were children.
"And how did your appointment go, Ruby?" Morag asked.
"It was good," Ruby confirmed. "Helpful."
Angelo approached their table to take their orders.
Indi and Nicole were both thrilled with their results. Romeo was trying hard not to cast a shadow on their special day with his complete and utter failure. He was furious with himself. This whole thing was completely unnecessary. The most infuriating thing was that he could have passed. He could actually have achieved his HSC. But he had thrown his whole future away on some misguided attempt at loyalty. And now everything was ruined. He felt like his whole life was imploding in front of his eyes.
"Well, shall we go for that lunch we booked at Bucktons?" Marilyn suggested a little awkwardly.
"Yes," Sid said, standing up. "Dex said he'd meet us there and Nicole, you're invited of course."
"Oh, thank you," Nicole said, touched to be included.
"I um… I don't really feel like celebrating," Romeo said, also standing up. "Sorry."
"Romeo…" Indi tried, reaching out to him.
"I'll catch you later."
He left the school. Indi sadly watched him depart.
"What happened?" Sid asked. "I thought he was doing so well at his studies."
Indi couldn't bring herself to explain. She felt terribly guilty.
"So, you're taking on Alf's case?" Charlie asked as the family tucked into their meals.
"Yes, if you're free this afternoon, I'm planning to visit him, as his lawyer," Morag said. "Then I can start tackling his case from the beginning and work out the best way to at least get bail. And then get him out of this mess for good."
"We're free this afternoon," Joey assured her.
"And any help you need," Charlie offered. "Obviously within legal boundaries."
"Obviously," Morag said.
"I know the case pretty well," Charlie said. "I've been through it and so has Watson. We're still trying to find anything we might have missed that might help him."
"Thank you," Morag said. "Between us all, I'm quietly confident. For starters, I am adamant that that Detective Robertson had it in for Alf from the start."
"I'd agree with you," Charlie said unhappily. "He never went for any other suspects."
"I'd call that victimisation if nothing else," Morag said.
They looked up as Sid, Marilyn, Dex, Indi and Nicole entered the restaurant.
"How did you do?" Ruby called.
Indi and Nicole hurried over, happily informing their table that they had passed and what their grades were. There were congratulations all round.
"Hang on, where's Romeo?" Joey asked, realising he wasn't with them.
Indi and Nicole's faces fell.
"He failed?" Joey asked, devastated for her friend.
Ruby and the rest of the table felt desperately sorry for him. They knew he would be upset.
"He didn't feel much like celebrating," Indi said.
Nicole's phone suddenly burst into life.
"Oh! It's my Dad," she said, hurrying off.
After disappointing her father several times over the years, she was delighted to tell him that she had passed her exams, could finish school with her head held high and would now be on her way to University. She chose to push away the nagging feeling of anxiety she had in the back of her mind and chose to be proud of herself for this one day.
Romeo sat on the beach, staring out to sea and trying to block out all the thoughts of devastation and disappointment out of his mind. He just didn't know what to do or where to go from here. He didn't know what his next step would possibly be. He did not want to go back to school. Not again. Not after failing his second attempt at getting an education. But without one, he hadn't managed to make a success of his life so far. How was he going to suddenly turn that around now?
"You look as miserable as I feel," said a voice.
He turned around to see Xavier approaching him. The younger boy sat down beside him on the sand.
"I don't know," Romeo said. "You look pretty sad."
"I still haven't heard a word from April," Xavier said. "Nothing. No text. Facebook. Nothing. Just radio silence."
"That's rough," Romeo said. "I'm sorry."
"I just don't know what to do," Xavier said. "I feel like we're in limbo. Are we still together? Is she coming home? Is she just… gone?"
He sighed heavily.
"What's up with you?"
"I just failed my HSC," Romeo told him.
"Wow," Xavier said. "That's… worse."
Romeo managed a small laugh.
"Thanks," he said. "That's helpful."
"Sorry!" Xavier said. "Headteacher's son!"
Romeo nodded.
"She wasn't very happy with me."
"I can imagine. What happened?"
"I just… really fucked up."
"Can you resit?"
"I can resit the whole year," Romeo told him.
"The whole year?" Xavier exclaimed.
"Seriously not helping, dude."
"Sorry," Xavier said.
"So, April abandoned you, hey?"
Xavier laughed and shook his head. The two of them continued to look out to sea.
It was the evening and it had been a long day of relief and celebration. However, Nicole couldn't deny it any longer. She couldn't stop that nagging voice in her mind anymore. It was driving her crazy. So now, she was sat in the bathroom at home with the door locked, waiting an agonising few minutes to find out once and for all whether she was pregnant or not. Her breath caught. The time was up. She stood up and picked up the stick. Pregnant. She was pregnant. With Penn Graham's baby.
Next time… Romeo makes plans for his future, Morag fights for Alf's freedom and Charlie confronts Will…
