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Trisha rested her hands on the steering wheel and stared out the front
windscreen. Well fuck me Freddy, she said. From now on babe, you re
paying for dinner. She grinned and accelerated back onto the road. Well
fuck me. She was shaking her head in amazement. I have a rich
girlfriend.
112
Chapter 35
hey rode in silence for the next five minutes, and Michaela turned
T her attention back to the computer.
The options are endless, Trisha said.
What?
I said, the options are endless. Here I was thinking we had bugger all
choice about what we did next, where we went and so on, but all the
time, we had all these options I never dreamed of.
How s that? Caro asked from the back seat.
Michaela answered. The thing that having money really allows, she
said, are choices. If you have no money, your choices in life are severely
limited. She twisted around in her seat and looked back at Caro.
Trisha s just getting used to the idea, that maybe she won t have to work
in a diner all her life. She laughed.
You guys are really going to be together?
Michaela and Trisha looked at each other. Trisha snaked a hand over
and grasped Michaela s.
Yes, they both said at the same time and laughed.
Cool, said Caro. Don t forget you re taking me wherever you go.
Trisha grinned. What if we don t go anywhere? You need to finish
school, remember.
Caro pouted. I can go to school anywhere, she said. Let s get out of
boringsville.
Michaela was thinking. Come back to New Zealand with me, she
said. Both of you. She shrugged. I have to go back no matter what. I
really want you to come with me. We can decide what we want to do
after that, but in the meantime, I have the orchard to run. It s coming up
summer at home, fruit season.
Trisha was shaking her head. Mom will never let us take Caro away.
You re not going without me you promised! Caro looked totally
alarmed.
Michaela spoke up. No offense, Trisha, but it doesn t seem like your
mother is really worried about her daughter.
113
Trisha tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.
She s not around at the moment because you re here. She can t turn a
blind eye to the way I am if you re staying in the house. She cares about
Caro.
Not much, said Caro.
Enough not to let you move to the other side of the world. Or any-
where, for that matter.
Caro had her arms folded. I m going and she can t stop me. She s
hardly ever home and we all know it. I m sixteen in five weeks and
what re a few weeks? She s not going to do anything when she knows
I d just pack up and leave the day I turn sixteen anyway. Caro sat back,
a determined look on her face.
Trisha glanced around then back at the road. Look, she said. We ll
argue about it later, all right? We ll work something out, I m sure. Now,
are we almost there?
Michaela looked out the window. They were surrounded by farmland.
A grassy ditch ran on each side of the road and beyond it were pad-
docks, some with cattle, others showing the stubble from freshly harves-
ted crops.
Where are we? she asked with a laugh.
Trisha pointed to the map. You re the navigator.
Michaela picked up the map and scrutinised it. Wouldn t have a clue,
she decided after a minute.
Useless, Trisha said with a shake of the head and a quick grin. We ll
be there in about an hour.
Michaela nodded and looked out the window again. It looked a lot
like home, she decided. The land was fertile, good farmland. She startled
and saw a hare leap out of the ditch and dodge under their wheels.
There was no bump, maybe they didn t hit it. She shrugged and turned
to her computer again. This time no one interrupted her when she
clicked open the program and brought up the recording made by the
video camera in Caro s room.
It was strange. Michaela fast forwarded through the ten or so hours of
recording, then went through it again. And a third time. By now, Caro
was leaning forward again, watching with interest, and the same puzzle-
ment on her face that Michaela felt.
Trisha looked over. Well? she asked.
There s nothing on it, said Michaela.
Trisha frowned. What do you mean nothing? Didn t it record
properly?
114
Michaela slowed the recording to real time speed and watched. It re-
corded, she said. But it didn t record anything.
What are you talking about? asked Trisha. That doesn t make sense.
Michaela tried again. I mean it recorded, but the picture is just black.
Just darkness.
Caro was watching from the back seat. Stop it there a minute, Mi-
chaela, she said. Go back a tiny bit and play it in slow motion.
Michaela played it slowly forward, squinting at the screen. That s a bit
freaky, she said.
What s a bit freaky? Trisha asked, trying to see the screen despite the
fact she was driving.
Caro answered. It looks like faces, she said. Just faint faces in the
darkness.
Michaela replayed it again. They are faces, she said. And they re not
just faces, they re our faces.
From when we were in the room, right? asked Trisha.
Michaela shook her head, then realised she had to answer. No. Not
from then. The faces are looking right at the camera. We never did that.
In fact the camera shouldn t have caught our faces at all, not the way it
was positioned. And it doesn t show the lights going on and you getting
Caro out of her bed or me checking the wardrobe or anything. She
paused. It doesn t show anything that happened. It s just blackness ex- [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl szamanka888.keep.pl
Trisha rested her hands on the steering wheel and stared out the front
windscreen. Well fuck me Freddy, she said. From now on babe, you re
paying for dinner. She grinned and accelerated back onto the road. Well
fuck me. She was shaking her head in amazement. I have a rich
girlfriend.
112
Chapter 35
hey rode in silence for the next five minutes, and Michaela turned
T her attention back to the computer.
The options are endless, Trisha said.
What?
I said, the options are endless. Here I was thinking we had bugger all
choice about what we did next, where we went and so on, but all the
time, we had all these options I never dreamed of.
How s that? Caro asked from the back seat.
Michaela answered. The thing that having money really allows, she
said, are choices. If you have no money, your choices in life are severely
limited. She twisted around in her seat and looked back at Caro.
Trisha s just getting used to the idea, that maybe she won t have to work
in a diner all her life. She laughed.
You guys are really going to be together?
Michaela and Trisha looked at each other. Trisha snaked a hand over
and grasped Michaela s.
Yes, they both said at the same time and laughed.
Cool, said Caro. Don t forget you re taking me wherever you go.
Trisha grinned. What if we don t go anywhere? You need to finish
school, remember.
Caro pouted. I can go to school anywhere, she said. Let s get out of
boringsville.
Michaela was thinking. Come back to New Zealand with me, she
said. Both of you. She shrugged. I have to go back no matter what. I
really want you to come with me. We can decide what we want to do
after that, but in the meantime, I have the orchard to run. It s coming up
summer at home, fruit season.
Trisha was shaking her head. Mom will never let us take Caro away.
You re not going without me you promised! Caro looked totally
alarmed.
Michaela spoke up. No offense, Trisha, but it doesn t seem like your
mother is really worried about her daughter.
113
Trisha tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.
She s not around at the moment because you re here. She can t turn a
blind eye to the way I am if you re staying in the house. She cares about
Caro.
Not much, said Caro.
Enough not to let you move to the other side of the world. Or any-
where, for that matter.
Caro had her arms folded. I m going and she can t stop me. She s
hardly ever home and we all know it. I m sixteen in five weeks and
what re a few weeks? She s not going to do anything when she knows
I d just pack up and leave the day I turn sixteen anyway. Caro sat back,
a determined look on her face.
Trisha glanced around then back at the road. Look, she said. We ll
argue about it later, all right? We ll work something out, I m sure. Now,
are we almost there?
Michaela looked out the window. They were surrounded by farmland.
A grassy ditch ran on each side of the road and beyond it were pad-
docks, some with cattle, others showing the stubble from freshly harves-
ted crops.
Where are we? she asked with a laugh.
Trisha pointed to the map. You re the navigator.
Michaela picked up the map and scrutinised it. Wouldn t have a clue,
she decided after a minute.
Useless, Trisha said with a shake of the head and a quick grin. We ll
be there in about an hour.
Michaela nodded and looked out the window again. It looked a lot
like home, she decided. The land was fertile, good farmland. She startled
and saw a hare leap out of the ditch and dodge under their wheels.
There was no bump, maybe they didn t hit it. She shrugged and turned
to her computer again. This time no one interrupted her when she
clicked open the program and brought up the recording made by the
video camera in Caro s room.
It was strange. Michaela fast forwarded through the ten or so hours of
recording, then went through it again. And a third time. By now, Caro
was leaning forward again, watching with interest, and the same puzzle-
ment on her face that Michaela felt.
Trisha looked over. Well? she asked.
There s nothing on it, said Michaela.
Trisha frowned. What do you mean nothing? Didn t it record
properly?
114
Michaela slowed the recording to real time speed and watched. It re-
corded, she said. But it didn t record anything.
What are you talking about? asked Trisha. That doesn t make sense.
Michaela tried again. I mean it recorded, but the picture is just black.
Just darkness.
Caro was watching from the back seat. Stop it there a minute, Mi-
chaela, she said. Go back a tiny bit and play it in slow motion.
Michaela played it slowly forward, squinting at the screen. That s a bit
freaky, she said.
What s a bit freaky? Trisha asked, trying to see the screen despite the
fact she was driving.
Caro answered. It looks like faces, she said. Just faint faces in the
darkness.
Michaela replayed it again. They are faces, she said. And they re not
just faces, they re our faces.
From when we were in the room, right? asked Trisha.
Michaela shook her head, then realised she had to answer. No. Not
from then. The faces are looking right at the camera. We never did that.
In fact the camera shouldn t have caught our faces at all, not the way it
was positioned. And it doesn t show the lights going on and you getting
Caro out of her bed or me checking the wardrobe or anything. She
paused. It doesn t show anything that happened. It s just blackness ex- [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]