Starfish Sisters Read Online Free Page A

wasn't my fault my mother had no
sense of direction.
    'What time were you meant to get there?' Mum
loved to stress over the boring details. Before Mum and
Dad got divorced, Dad always used to tell her, 'Doreen,
don't sweat the small stuff.'
    For the twenty thousandth time, I checked my
phone was on. Why hadn't Tim called or sent a text? I
was seriously beginning to feel pissed off. In less than
an hour he'd be on a plane to Indo. I hadn't got to see
him yesterday or the day before because he was flat out
getting ready for his trip. That meant it would be
almost six weeks until I saw him.
    'Courtney, if you look at your phone again, I'm
going to throw it out the window. Got it?' Mum was
changing lanes like a maniac. 'Now, what time is the
meet and greet?'
    'Eleven.'
    'We're going to be late!'
    'Well, that's too bad. What do they expect? I can't get
from a photo shoot in Brisbane to Coolina in thirty
minutes. It's a two-hour drive, minimum. They're not
exactly going to chuck me out if I'm late.' I checked the
car mirror. My hair was starting to sag so I turned up
the air conditioner. 'They knew I was committed to do
the shoot before they set the camp dates.'
    'What turn do we take off the highway?' Mum was
slowing down and the car behind was flashing their
high beams at us.
    'This is so embarrassing.' I slid down the seat as the
car overtook us.
    'Look, there are signs up ahead. What do they say?
Courtney!'
    'Coolina, fifty-eight kilometres,' I read.
    'Half an hour and we'll be there.'
    I shrugged. I was going to be there for three weeks.
An hour wasn't going to make any difference.
    'It's blowing a gale in here,' Mum complained,
again. 'Please, turn the air con down a bit.'
    'Mum, Tiffany took an hour and a half on my hair
this morning. Can't I enjoy it for a bit?'
    'You'll be getting it wet in an hour.'
    I put my fingers on the dial, pretending to turn the
air con down. I wanted my hair to look good for when I
got there. After that I didn't care.
    My mobile rang. The name 'Timmy' lit up the
screen.
    'Hey babe,' I said. I didn't want him to know that I
was mad. 'Are you at the airport?'
    'Nah.' He sounded like he was eating. 'Brent and
Rasta just got back from Brazil. So I'm going to hang
here for a couple more days.'
    'Oh?' I tried to make my voice sound light. 'I
thought the heats started on the weekend?'
    'Weekend after that.' He still sounded like he was
chewing. 'So me and the fellas thought we'd party a bit,
'cause I won't see them for a while.'
    'You know we're not going to see each other for six
weeks.' I couldn't help it. It just slipped out. 'Tim?'
    'Then think how much better it'll be when we do.'
    I checked Mum. She was concentrating on the road.
    'Will you miss me?' I whispered.
    'You betcha.'
    'Every night before I go to sleep' – I turned towards
the door and cupped my hand over the phone – 'I'll
look at the moon and think how you'll be looking at the
same moon too.'
    'Yeah, right. I'd rather think of you the way you were
the other night,' Tim replied. Straightaway, I wished he
hadn't said that. He'd been saying a lot of that stuff since
– since the other night, and it made me feel weird, like I
wanted to have a shower and scrub the grime off my
skin. 'That's all I'll be thinking about, you sexy thing.'
    Some shouting and whistles erupted in the background.
I sat up straight, almost knocking my head on
the windscreen.
    'Are Rasta and Brent in the room?'
    'Settle, Ace,' Tim laughed. 'They just walked in with
some beers.'
    'But it's the morning!' Yet that's not really what I
was worried about.
    'So? It's our breakfast.'
    'Tim?' I glanced at Mum. She was staring straight
ahead, concentrating on the road. 'Will you call me?'
    Away from the phone he yelled, 'Chuck us one,
Rasta.'
    I waited.
    'Sure, sweetie,' he answered. 'Okay babe, I've got
to go.'
    Tim wasn't good at saying goodbyes.
    Now Mum was looking at me and not the road.
    'What?'
    'I don't know, Courtney. You are still only sixteen.'
    'So? What are you