The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay by Rebecca Sparrow Page A

centre claiming to have psychic abilities?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜Where?’
    Zoë grabs my hand and leads me out the door – but not before flipping the ‘Back in five minutes’ sign on the shop door and locking it behind her. She proceeds to drag me to the games arcade two doors down. In between the motorbike game and the Space Invaders is a black machine with Psychic Lettuce written on the front. Stepping up to the machine I see that a cartoon lettuce complete with googly eyes and a mouth – a lettuce that frankly looks drug-fucked – is offering to tell me my future.
    â€˜Do it!’ Zoë pushes me in the arm. ‘Do it!’
    â€˜Alright.’ I rub my arm defensively. ‘What do I have to do?’
    â€˜Put in forty cents and then when it says, “Tell me my future, Lettuce” you hit the big red button.’
    I put in my forty cents. I click the big red button. The lettuce’s eyes begin to whirl. Within seconds up pops the following message: ‘ You will discover a new use for empty milk cartons and be the first self-made billionaire under twenty .’
    â€˜ Ohmygod ! How lucky are you?’
    â€˜Zoë, I am not going to discover a new use for milk cartons, believe me. And as for your prediction, you are not going to end up alone living with sixty guinea-pigs . . .’
    â€˜Who are all named Peter.’
    â€˜Right. You hate animals. And even if you did have sixty guinea-pigs, as if you’d call them all Peter.’
    â€˜Yeah. I hate that name.’
    â€˜Exactly. And you’re gorgeous. Do not listen to an allegedly clairvoyant vegetable. Okay?’
    And as I say that, Zoë pushes in another forty cents and smacks the red button again. ‘ Your grandmother will leave you a great big house . . . that’s haunted! ’ says the lettuce (who I suspect is doing tequila shots in between readings, because its eyes are becoming more bloodshot).
    â€˜ Ohmygod !’ Zoë pushes me over. ‘A haunted house!’
    â€˜Zoë! Zoë !’ I snap my fingers in front of her face. ‘That lettuce is on drugs. Think about it. Your gran lives in a unit in Toowong. This is a stupid game developed by some stupid guy in America who is trying to suck money out of people. It’s not real .’
    â€˜You’re right.’ We begin to walk out of the arcade and back to CopperWorld. ‘And the Psychic Lettuce isn’t half as accurate as The Destiny Book .’
    I bite my tongue.
    Zoë goes behind the counter of CopperWorld. I follow her.
    â€˜Here,’ she says, thrusting a hard-cover black book towards me. ‘Mum bought it for Megan’s birthday last week. Think of a question and then open it up at any page.’
    â€˜Alright.’ Against my better judgement I close my eyes. What I should be asking is, Will Nick and I get away with the forged Maths form ? But the question that keeps coming into my head is, What does Nick McGowan think of me ? I flip open the book.
    â€˜What does it say?’
    â€˜It says, ‘‘Probably tomorrow”.’ I try to keep the disappointment out of my voice. Stupid book.
    â€˜What did you ask?’
    I lie and say, ‘I asked, “Will Zoë shut up soon? ” ’
    â€˜ Ohmygod !That is tres spooky!’
    And just when I am about to prove The Destiny Book wrong by throwing it at Zoë’s head and rendering her temporarily unconscious, the bell above the shop door jingles.
    â€˜I just wanted to inquire about the sign on the window. The position vacant?’
    We both turn and see a young woman standing at the counter.
    â€˜What star sign are you?’ asks Zoë, in a tone that makes her sound like a poor man’s Nancy Drew.
    â€˜Oh, um, Cancer?’ she says, as though she’s not quite sure.
    â€˜Oh dear, well no . . . obviously . But thanks.’
    The girl looks confused. ‘Oh, right, okay.’ She wanders