Read Online The Other Side of Nowhere by Stephen Johnston - Free Book Online Page A

‘You so would if you were starving.’
    George put her finger down her throat, pretending to gag. Matt saw me looking at her and he smirked and then his whole face lit up. ‘What about George? Bet you wouldn’t mind a little nibble on her –’
    ‘Shut up, moron!’ I said, pushing his stupid seaweed stick out of my face. I dug my foot into the sand and flicked up a spray at him. But he ducked behind George.
    ‘Get off me … you little cannibal!’ she shrieked, fending him off with a playful slap.
    ‘Anyway, cannibal Caruso, we’ll be home before you need to eat anybody,’ I said, trying to change the subject. ‘So why don’t you just man up and shut up about breakfast.’
    We all sat in silence for a few moments.
    ‘I guess we better get moving,’ said Nick, almost too quietly to hear. He was sitting next to me, doodling patterns in the sand.
    ‘What’s that?’ I asked half-heartedly, my eye on Matt, hoping I’d get a chance to whack him.
    ‘Well, it’s a fair walk,’ Nick said. ‘Sooner we get going, sooner we get there.’
    Something in the tone of his voice made me forget about Matt and pay attention. ‘Walk?’ I asked. ‘Walk where?’
    Nick tossed the stick away and, for the first time that morning, looked straight at me. His eyes were like slits against the glare of the sun. ‘To get to the other side of the island is probably a good half-day walk. Getting past this escarpment might be a bit tricky, but after that it’s mostly downhill all the way to the beach.’
    George and I glanced at each other questioningly. What was Nick talking about? I looked up at the sheer face of the rock wall, the escarpment as Nick called it. It was at least ten storeys high, an almost-vertical wall of solid rock. Trick y, he reckons? We’d be out of our minds to even try to climb that.
    ‘Nick, I don’t get it. How come we can’t just stay here?’ asked George.
    ‘Because it will be easier for someone to find us on the other side. We can light a fire on the beach there that’ll be able to be seen from the Harbour.’ I could hear irritation in his voice. I knew he didn’t like being questioned, but I felt torn. After everything that had happened, it seemed more important than ever to rebuild the bridge between Nick and me, like I’d done so many times before. But what he was suggesting made no sense. How could we not question him?
    ‘Sorry, Nick,’ I started, ‘but I don’t really get it. I mean your old man’s probably halfway here by now. And in any case it’s not like we’re a million miles from home. Someone’s gonna come by this beach, won’t they?’
    ‘And besides,’ added George. ‘Everyone knows the thing to do in situations like this is to stay put and wait for help to arrive.’
    Nick shrugged and he got to his feet. ‘Well, you stay then if you really want to. I can go.’
    ‘No way, that’s just dumb,’ I said more sharply than I meant to.
    Nick shrugged as he walked away. The three of us looked at each other, not sure what to do.
    ‘Your dad is coming, right, Nick?’ asked George suddenly.
    Where did that come from? I wondered, turning to her. ‘Of course he’s coming,’ I said, looking at Nick’s back. ‘We didn’t call. He’ll know something’s up.’
    Nick didn’t answer. He just poked a broken piece of shell half-buried in the sand with his toe, his eyes downcast.
    ‘Nick?’ George prompted.
    Nick shrugged, still looking down. ‘Of course he is. Maybe just not right away …’ His voice trailed off and was almost lost in the sound of a wave breaking on the sand.
    ‘What do you mean maybe not right away?’ asked George, leaning forward trying to catch his eye. ‘I mean, he’s got to be worried sick, right?’
    ‘I said he’ll come, didn’t I?’ Nick said abruptly.
    ‘Nick, you’re –’
    ‘Look, I don’t want to talk about my dad. All right?’ he snapped, his head lifting at last.
    George stepped away, taken aback by the anger in his voice.