Read Online Darkwater by Georgia Blain - Free Book Online

it?’
    â€˜Sure.’ I hoped I sounded more nonchalant than I felt.
    â€˜Brought my old board with me.’ He tucked his long hair behind one ear, and waved his other hand towards the ground. ‘Just for you.’
    I looked at it, uncertain as to what I was meant to do.
    â€˜So, you a goofy or a natural?’
    I had no idea what he meant.
    â€˜Stand on it and let’s see.’
    I stepped on, wobbling precariously, and then as the board began to roll, I found myself clutching the shoulder of his Miller shirt, pulling myself towards him.
    â€˜Steady.’ He righted me with his hand in the small of my back. ‘You can’t just throw yourself at me like that.’
    â€˜Ha ha.’ I managed to keep myself still, trying to turn my face to one side so he wouldn’t see my blush.
    â€˜You’re a natural,’ he told me. ‘Left foot forward.’
    I jumped off.
    â€˜Had enough already?’
    A slight breeze had come up from the river, bringing with it the smell of rich mud, and from across the oval, the freshness of grass clippings. The day had begun its shift into evening, and as I looked behind me to the hill, I told him that I wanted to be able to skate that – I pointed to the steep dip – and if he wasn’t willing to help me, I was sure I could figure it out myself.
    He just looked at me and smiled. ‘One step at a time.’ And picking up the board, he began to walk towards the school gate.
    I followed him, ducking low as we passed the window of the staff room in case there were still teachers in there. School was out of bounds once the gates were locked, not that the rule was always obeyed.
    When we reached the netball courts, he dropped his board to the ground.
    â€˜Time for a demo.’
    He took long smooth pushes to gain momentum and then, turning sideways, he put his other foot back near the fishtail. He made it look simple, smooth and easy, his whole body moving in a single fluid motion.
    When I finally managed it, skating with a slight wobble from one end of the court to the other, he whistled.
    â€˜Crap,’ I sighed. ‘How am I meant to cope with any kind of slope?’ And I looked up at the clear expanse of sky in exasperation.
    He was sitting in the long grass by the side of the courts, legs stretched out in front of him, and he smiled slowly as I walked towards him, holding out the board for him to take.
    â€˜Next lesson will be the art of the tic tac toe.’
    Next? I didn’t want to remind him the deal had only been for one lesson. Instead I sat beside him, not too close, but near enough to see the fine golden hairs on his forearms, white against the darkness of his tan. He was tapping out a tune on his knee, jiggling one leg up and down in time, as he sang softly under his breath. I couldn’t let myself think about where I was. The rush of the breeze through the grass, the soft colouring of the sky, and the gliding sway of the jacaranda branches high overhead seemed to be part of an entire world in motion, one that was gently rolling towards evening with perfection.
    He stood up, taking his own board out of his school bag and putting the one he had lent me back inside. And then he changed his mind, offering it to me instead. ‘So you can practise.’
    â€˜Are you sure?’
    He told me he never used it. ‘Heap of shit,’ he grinned. ‘Perfect for girls.’
    I stopped with my hands on my hips. ‘What is there,’ I asked, ‘about my anatomy that makes me incapable of skateboarding?’
    Leaning against the school fence, he looked at me, his smile wry, his green eyes glinting in the afternoon sunlight over the river. ‘Doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with your anatomy,’ he finally said. ‘And your vocabulary isn’t bad either.’
    I’ve been known as something of a smart-arse for most of my life. It was a trait I’d inherited from Dee and we