feel
Sophie T’s furious eyes on her back the whole way.
It wasn’t the best start to the weekend. It was bad enough worrying about whether
Sophie T would still be her friend by Monday, and trying to sort out in her own head
exactly how angry she should be with Charlie, but she also had to deal with Charlie being angry. And not just angry at Sophie T – he was angry with Amelia!
‘Me?’ she said. ‘What did I do?’
‘You,’ Charlie said bitterly, ‘took her side and told me to shut up!’
‘You were about to blurt out the whole thing! What do you think I should have done,
just stood there and let you yell out to the whole school that I live in a top-secret
alien hotel? That we have a gateway that connects to every known wormhole in the
universe? I should have let you wreck everything just to prove I’m on your side? ’
Charlie stopped walking and stared at her, aghast. ‘You think I was about to tell
her that? ’
Amelia frowned. ‘Yeah.’
‘Well, that’s just insulting. Yeah. Thanks heaps, Amelia. That’s great. You must
really think I’m as dumb as Sophie T says.’
‘All right, then.’ Amelia stood in front of him, her arms crossed. ‘What were you
going to say?
For your information, the hotel is –’ she prompted him.
‘Like living on a movie set,’ Charlie finished. ‘With a real hedge maze with a fountain
hidden in the middle, and an attic filled with cool junk, and an orchard with apple
trees big enough to climb in. That’s what I was going to say.’
‘Oh.’ Amelia bit her lip. ‘Sorry. I thought …’
Charlie shrugged. The worst bit was, Amelia knew he was really hurt by her not trusting
him.
‘I get it,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry. Everyone in Forgotten Bay thinks I’m an idiot.
I’m used to it.’
‘I don’t think you’re an idiot! I just thought Sophie T had made you so mad that
–’
Charlie snorted. ‘ She’s the idiot!’ He pulled a face and said in a high voice, ‘Do
you have a problem, Charles? ’
‘Yeah, that was horrible.’
‘No, that was the funniest bit,’ Charlie grinned. ‘She thinks she’s so great, but she doesn’t even know – my name’s not Charles.’
‘It isn’t?’
Charlie laughed. ‘Of course not. It’s Karolos. Karolos Vasilis Andreas Floros.’ It
rolled off his tongue impressively. ‘So now you know my secret. And believe me, if
I had to choose between news getting out at school about the aliens or my full Greek
name, I know which one would be easier to live with.’
A kind of peace settled between them. They continued walking along the beach road
toward the hotel. As they passed the shops, Charlie said, ‘You got the money?’
Amelia pulled out her wallet and nodded. ‘This is going to be … weird.’
They went into Archie’s Grocery and came out again with twelve jars of mayonnaise
loaded into four cloth bags. A bag in each hand, they began the slow, steep journey
up to the headland.
Amelia’s hands and shoulders ached from the weight before they were even halfway
up.
‘Surely Tom could have just driven here and got it himself?’ Charlie grumbled.
‘He said he was too busy working out what time the warriors of Brin-Hask would arrive.’
‘What kind of warriors eat mayonnaise? And why couldn’t they come and get their own?’
Amelia snorted. ‘They’re the guests, Charlie. We can’t get the guests to do the hotel
work. Plus, in case you’ve forgotten, aliens aren’t supposed to leave the hotel grounds.’
‘Yeah, I don’t get that either. I mean, you come all the way across space to Earth,
and you don’t even get to go surfing? What’s that about?’
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Amelia was sarcastic. ‘Maintaining the whole top-secret bit about
aliens existing or something, maybe.’
‘But they’re all wearing holo-emitters! What difference would it make? We have human
guests at the hotel, and they never know the difference.’
‘Just how it is,’ Amelia
said simply. ‘Rules of
Sophie T’s furious eyes on her back the whole way.
It wasn’t the best start to the weekend. It was bad enough worrying about whether
Sophie T would still be her friend by Monday, and trying to sort out in her own head
exactly how angry she should be with Charlie, but she also had to deal with Charlie being angry. And not just angry at Sophie T – he was angry with Amelia!
‘Me?’ she said. ‘What did I do?’
‘You,’ Charlie said bitterly, ‘took her side and told me to shut up!’
‘You were about to blurt out the whole thing! What do you think I should have done,
just stood there and let you yell out to the whole school that I live in a top-secret
alien hotel? That we have a gateway that connects to every known wormhole in the
universe? I should have let you wreck everything just to prove I’m on your side? ’
Charlie stopped walking and stared at her, aghast. ‘You think I was about to tell
her that? ’
Amelia frowned. ‘Yeah.’
‘Well, that’s just insulting. Yeah. Thanks heaps, Amelia. That’s great. You must
really think I’m as dumb as Sophie T says.’
‘All right, then.’ Amelia stood in front of him, her arms crossed. ‘What were you
going to say?
For your information, the hotel is –’ she prompted him.
‘Like living on a movie set,’ Charlie finished. ‘With a real hedge maze with a fountain
hidden in the middle, and an attic filled with cool junk, and an orchard with apple
trees big enough to climb in. That’s what I was going to say.’
‘Oh.’ Amelia bit her lip. ‘Sorry. I thought …’
Charlie shrugged. The worst bit was, Amelia knew he was really hurt by her not trusting
him.
‘I get it,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry. Everyone in Forgotten Bay thinks I’m an idiot.
I’m used to it.’
‘I don’t think you’re an idiot! I just thought Sophie T had made you so mad that
–’
Charlie snorted. ‘ She’s the idiot!’ He pulled a face and said in a high voice, ‘Do
you have a problem, Charles? ’
‘Yeah, that was horrible.’
‘No, that was the funniest bit,’ Charlie grinned. ‘She thinks she’s so great, but she doesn’t even know – my name’s not Charles.’
‘It isn’t?’
Charlie laughed. ‘Of course not. It’s Karolos. Karolos Vasilis Andreas Floros.’ It
rolled off his tongue impressively. ‘So now you know my secret. And believe me, if
I had to choose between news getting out at school about the aliens or my full Greek
name, I know which one would be easier to live with.’
A kind of peace settled between them. They continued walking along the beach road
toward the hotel. As they passed the shops, Charlie said, ‘You got the money?’
Amelia pulled out her wallet and nodded. ‘This is going to be … weird.’
They went into Archie’s Grocery and came out again with twelve jars of mayonnaise
loaded into four cloth bags. A bag in each hand, they began the slow, steep journey
up to the headland.
Amelia’s hands and shoulders ached from the weight before they were even halfway
up.
‘Surely Tom could have just driven here and got it himself?’ Charlie grumbled.
‘He said he was too busy working out what time the warriors of Brin-Hask would arrive.’
‘What kind of warriors eat mayonnaise? And why couldn’t they come and get their own?’
Amelia snorted. ‘They’re the guests, Charlie. We can’t get the guests to do the hotel
work. Plus, in case you’ve forgotten, aliens aren’t supposed to leave the hotel grounds.’
‘Yeah, I don’t get that either. I mean, you come all the way across space to Earth,
and you don’t even get to go surfing? What’s that about?’
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Amelia was sarcastic. ‘Maintaining the whole top-secret bit about
aliens existing or something, maybe.’
‘But they’re all wearing holo-emitters! What difference would it make? We have human
guests at the hotel, and they never know the difference.’
‘Just how it is,’ Amelia
said simply. ‘Rules of
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