The survivor

Fifteen

Courtney and Raine walked southward through the mall. Earlier in the day, both had dumped their St Patrick’s school uniform in their locker before getting into their usual attire — white Capris and a red half-top for Raine; standard blue jeans and a white v-neck for Courtney.

They stopped near an aisle kiosk. Raine pulled out her phone, tried to call someone, got no answer, then hung up.

Courtney’s face lit up when she saw the cell. ‘You got an iPhone?’

Raine raised an eyebrow. ‘Like, so totally not. My mom got pissed my minutes were over, so she put me on a shitty prepaid plan. Now my minutes run out, like, the first week of every month. So I got to use this one for the rest.’

‘But how’d you get that?’

‘It’s not mine, it’s a friend’s. Here, I’ll put the number in your phone.’

Courtney felt suspicion rise in her chest. ‘What friend?’

‘Oh my Gaaawd, look at those things.’ Raine gave Courtney back her phone then ran up to the aisle kiosk, grabbed a pair of earrings and held them up. ‘These will go perfect with my nurse costume!’

Courtney just nodded. Across the way from them, a group of twenty or more people huddled and murmured near the television sets at the Sony store. The news was on. The group made a collective shocked sound.

‘Something must be happening,’ Courtney said.

Raine shrugged and tried on the earrings. ‘Something’s always happening around here. It’s Vancouver, Court. How do these earrings look? Hot?’

Courtney looked. ‘Super-hot. Like everything looks on you.’

Raine smiled. She pulled out a wad of twenties and bought the earrings.

The jewellery kiosk sat across from a small Cinnabun shop, and the whole area smelled of sticky-hot, gooey cinnamon and melting cream cheese icing. It made Courtney’s stomach rumble, and she realised how long it had been since they’d eaten. She checked her watch. It was two.

She looked at Raine, who was holding a pair of black hoop earrings up to her ear and trying to see herself in the small mirror the kiosk offered.

‘Those cinnamon buns smell so good, we should get something to eat.’

‘We will be soon, we’re meeting someone.’

‘Who?’

Raine got frustrated with the mirror, turned to buy the earrings.

While waiting, and trying to divert her mind from the hell she was going to get from Dad when she got home, Courtney opened up the black Warwick’s bag and stared at the Little Red Riding Hood costume Raine had bought for her. A twinge of guilt fluttered through her stomach when she thought of the cost. Two hundred bucks was a lot of money; she shouldn’t have let Raine pay for it. It was too much.

Raine counted her leftover cash. Stuffed it in her purse. ‘You’re gonna look delicious in that costume, Court. Bobby’s gonna be drooling all over you.’

‘If I can keep him away from you.’

Raine laughed. ‘Bobby’s nice, but he’s yours. I’m into older boys myself. Men.’ She spoke the words softly, giving Courtney a quick sidelong glance.

And then Courtney caught on. The phone, the money, the avoidance. ‘Who are we meeting?’ she asked, almost cautiously.

Raine flashed a mischievous smirk. ‘What can I say? I’m weak.’

‘Oh Gaaawd no, not him.’

‘Uh huh.’

‘Quenton Wong?’

‘Uh huh.’

‘You’re with Que again?’

Raine let out a nervous laugh. ‘For real this time.’ She leaned closer to Courtney, then, and as if everyone else in the mall was eavesdropping, she whispered, ‘We did things last night. I did things for him.’

Courtney knew what things Raine was talking about, but she still had to ask. ‘Things?’

‘With our mouths. You know.’

‘You mean…’

Raine smiled. ‘We’re going all the way tonight.’

Courtney said nothing at first. Aside from her heart skipping a beat, she felt divided. Part of her was excited, turned on. She knew Raine was still a virgin — hell, she was a virgin herself, hadn’t done anything so far. And how depressing was that? She wanted to know more, to hear all about it, the things they did, how it felt, what he said to her, how he touched her. She wanted it all, too. Just thinking about it made her body hot and tingly, and her thoughts turned to her supreme fantasy.

Bobby Ryan.

But another part of her was scared about this whole thing. The first time was exciting and all, but this was Que Wong they were talking about. He was a dropout, and three years older than them. And you knew for sure it wasn’t his first time. Que had already broken up with Raine two times over the last three months, and Courtney had little doubt that the moment he got into Raine’s pants, he’d be gone for good, leaving her brokenhearted again.

‘You sure you want him to be your first?’

‘Come on, Court, don’t get all nerdy on me,’ Raine said impatiently. ‘You’re starting to sound like a man-hater. Like my mom.’

Courtney bristled. ‘Your mom?’

‘Yeah. She hates any guy I like. Hates my dad, too. She’s always trying to get me to go against him. That’s why she gives me so much cash lately. As if she could buy me. Right.’ Raine thought it over. ‘Man, I don’t even wanna go home now because of it. I’ll just sit there and listen to her bitch.’

Courtney said nothing for a moment, the image of Que intruding into her thoughts. Every time she saw the guy he was either showing off his new tattoos, or flashing the wads of cash he always had spilling out of his wallet, despite the fact he had no job. And he was always touching her, especially when Raine wasn’t around. Brushing his arm against her side. Touching her cheek with his hand. Just little things. Subtle things. But enough to creep her out.

Courtney opened her mouth to say more, but before she could speak Raine let out a squeal and waved. Coming up the walkway towards them was Que. He was a short guy, just a few inches taller than Raine, maybe five foot seven at most, but he was broad and muscular, built like a gymnast. On his lower body, he wore a pair of baggy black jeans with a Chinese dragon snaking down each side from the hip to the knee. Above, he wore a designer hoodie — white, with pistols and skulls stencilled in gold across the front and back.

Totally cheese.

Raine hurried down the walkway towards him, her quick skips seeming light and giddy in contrast to the determined strides Que was taking. He was always like that. Each thing he did seemed to have purpose, every movement calculated.

Courtney moved slowly up the walkway, keeping behind Raine and studying Que as he approached. His round face was divided only by the tuft of hair under his lower lip. A soul patch. His dark eyes were covered with bright green contacts. Last time he had worn blue. The contacts made his eyes stick out like little lights as he turned his head left and right, studying the mall like he was searching for something or someone other than them.

Raine finally reached him. She flung her arms around his neck and gave him a long hug, followed by a deep probing kiss. He gave her one back, his eyes never finding hers but instead roaming the mall.

When Courtney caught up to them, he said, ‘Hey, Creamy.’

She hated it when he called her that.

‘Quenton,’ she replied, because she knew he hated that, too.

‘We’re starving, babe,’ Raine said. She rubbed her fingers down the side of his face, then pointed at a small bamboo restaurant called Yoki’s. ‘Sushi?’

Que took less than a second to scan the place and shake his head.

‘I got a place,’ was all he said.

He steered them towards the east wing of the mall, his head constantly turning left and right, his green contacts searching for something that just wasn’t there. Courtney watched him closely, felt like bad news was on the way. Like something was wrong. Had it not been for Raine, she would already have left the situation.

But Raine was her best friend.

What was she supposed to do?