PART I
Alex stepped onto the train and breathed a sigh of relief as the air-conditioned carriage cooled her down. She looked out the window and watched the platform turning into a blur. The noise of screeching cicadas faded.
Alex felt a hole boring into her stomach. She keeled over, ready to throw up on her school uniform, but she gripped the handle hanging overhead to steady herself.
‘It’s just a play. It’s just a play. You’ll be fine,’ she whispered.
‘Oi!’ a familiar voice called from behind.
Alex whipped around. Her dark curls flew into her eyes before her best friend Daphne tackled her to the ground.
They squirmed and wrestled on the ground while commuters shook their heads. Some turned up the volume in their noise cancelling headphones with no success.
After a few minutes, the girls picked themselves up and hugged each other.
Daphne tied back her blonde hair, ‘Good luck this arvo, Peanut.’
‘Thanks, Daph,’ Alex replied.
‘Butterflies beating up your guts?’
Alex nodded.
‘I couldn’t do it, aye,’ Daphne continued, ‘All those dickwads watching ya, laughing at every line.’
‘Thanks for the pep talk, coach. Feeling much better now.’
‘Soz, I meant it in a good way. You’re so brave.’
‘Thanks. Ready for your test?’
Daphne puffed up her chest, ‘Gonna make it my bitch.’
They burst into a fit of laughter.
Daphne continued, ‘Nah, seriously. They’ll think I’m Einstein. Who would’ve thought I would be good at physics?’
‘Gimme your confidence.’
Daphne held a lock of Alex’s brown curls and waved an imaginary wand, ‘My confidence hath bestowed upon thee.’
Alex held Daphne’s blonde hair and waved her imaginary wand, ‘And my courage upon thee.’
Daphne laughed, ‘We’re fuckin’ dickheads.’
‘Do you really think you’re gonna ace it?’
‘Nah. Didn’t even study.’
Alex pushed Daphne, ‘Bitch!’
‘Fake it till ya make it, babe!’
They looked out the window. The train was pulling into Winnalong Station.
‘We could stay on the train, you know? Fuck it all.’ Alex said.
Daphne raised her eyebrow, ‘I like your style.’
The girls watched their schoolmates tumble out of the train onto the platform. In the distance, students marched toward Winnalong High School like a trail of ants.
‘Where are we gonna go?’ asked Daphne.
‘Dunno, the last stop?’
‘You had me at “dunno”.’
‘Think we’ll get caught?’
‘Stand clear, doors closing,’ called the train announcer.
The doors shut. Alex and Daphne shared a smirk as the train continued on its journey.
PART II
Alex and Daphne had been on the train for over an hour. Most of the passengers had alighted, leaving the girls to rule the roost and preside over their newfound kingdom. This was their country. Their domain.
They walked between carriages, hid under seats to escape train guards, and screamed out open windows — on empty carriages, of course. Outside, they saw fields of sunburnt crops and tractors chased by the dust billowing behind them.
Daphne and Alex each took a three seater and lay across from one another.
‘When’s the last time we jigged, ya reckon?’ Daphne asked.
‘Dunno,’ Alex said, lazing deeper into the seat.
‘You’re full of dunnos today. Aren’t ya?’
‘Dunno.’
Daphne kicked Alex.
‘Oi!’ Alex shouted.
‘Talk shit, get hit.’
Alex curled back into her seat and closed her eyes, ‘Ms Macmillan’s gonna crucify me. I’ll turn into a saint. There’ll be a stained glass of me in the school cathedral and all.’
Daphne laughed, ‘Friggin’ idiot.’
‘How many more till the last stop?’
‘Another hour, I reckon? Brian saying it took him over two hours to get to the end of the line.’
‘Brian’s never been more than ten k’s from your place. Fuckin’ bullshit artist.’
‘Shicasso, I call him.’
They cackled in their seats.
‘Nah, but seriously,’ Daphne began, ‘I reckon he’s done it. Last stop’s Jerramundi, he said.’
Alex shot up, ‘You’re joking.’
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Just a chick I know… she lives there.’
Alex lay back down, lost in thought. The train hammered underneath them, giving them the occasional jolt.
‘Who is she?’ Daphne asked.
‘Just a girl I met in town once — Katie. We had a conversation at the fish and chip shop. I said I liked her shoes and the next thing I know she’s found out where I live and starts coming over at random times of the day. No calls or anything. She found me whenever I was in town. Only when I was by myself, though. Could you imagine travelling over two hours all the time to see someone who doesn’t really want to see you?’
‘Weird, aye. Why’d you never tell me about her?’
‘Didn’t want to bother ya.’
‘Didn’t want me to smack her?’
‘Nah, I felt bad for her. She was real shy. Seemed lonely as. She was really nice too, but I just didn’t want to see her all the time.’
‘Did you tell her to bugger off?’
Alex let out a long sigh, ‘One time, she came over at like ten at night, knocking on the door. Woke mum and dad. I shit you not. Mum ran to get a cleaver, thinking we were gonna get murdered. I went outside and asked why she was here. She said she just wanted to just hang out.’
‘What the?’
‘Yeah, I just snapped. I swore at her. Screamed at her. Told her to stop being a freak. We let her stay over because it was too late at night for her to be out alone, but we told her to leave the next morning. I never saw her after that.’
‘Shit…’
‘Someone told me later,’ Alex let out a sigh, ‘her home life was pretty bad. Her mum and dad have huge blowouts, like full on crazy ones. She was too shy to tell me.’
Daphne sat up, ‘Far…’
Alex sat up too, ‘Apparently, I was her only friend, so whenever they’d have a domestic, she’d try to see me.’
‘Did you call her?’
‘Yeah, I tried her number. I felt bad I never tried called her before that, but when I tried the number it went to some random guy.’
‘You’re kidding!’
‘Then I realised I never saw her get her phone out. Not once. She was always obsessed with mine.’
‘She gave you a fake number because she didn’t have her own.’
Alex nodded, ‘And that’s why she always just turned up without calling.’
‘Crap! Did you try to find her?’
Alex hid behind her veil of brown curls, ‘I felt so guilty about it. I didn’t even know her address. I didn’t think I’d be able to face her even if I did. It was too hard to think of other ways of finding her. Phone calls are easier. I know it’s a crap reason…’
‘How long ago was this?’
‘About a year.’
‘Shit, Peanut…’
‘Honestly… I’ve felt so shit about it ever since.’
‘Wish you’d told me.’
‘Me too.’
Daphne got up from her seat with a fist to the sky, ‘Let’s find her then!’
PART III
Alex and Daphne arrived at Jerramundi High School. They scoped the area and found the playground, feeling it was their best shot at getting a glimpse of Katie.
They hid behind a pair of eucalypts and watched the playground, waiting for the bell to ring for recess. It sounded after a short time, and the hungry students gathered in the playground. Alex and Daphne felt their stomachs rumble — reconnaissance was hungry work. They pulled out their sandwiches and began feasting.
‘Sheef really pale wif really red hair,’ Alex said through a mouthful of bread and Nutella.
They couldn’t see Katie through the crowds. The girls gobbled the rest of their sandwiches. There wasn’t much time left until recess was over.
‘I’m gonna ask someone to help,’ Alex said.
Daphne nodded.
Alex walked toward the fence. There was a group of girls, around Alex and Daphne’s age, sitting in a circle, secretly passing around a vape. One of them, a girl with freckles covering her face, noticed Alex approaching.
‘Whaddaya want?’ she asked.
‘Any of you girls know Katie Parker?’
The group of girls sniggered. The freckle face girl, obviously the leader of their little band of deviants, answered, ‘Pussy Parker? Why?’
‘Can you bring her here? I just want to talk to her.’
‘Not for free. I need a hazard pay to be near her.’
Her friends sniggered again.
Alex shot them a look, ‘How’s about you help me and I won’t tell your teacher that you’re smoking a vape?’
The girls turned to their leader. She glared at Alex. Her freckles wrinkled in a look of defiance over the girl’s face. Alex stared her down, and she succumbed.
The freckled girl looked at the one of her friends, a small girl with horn-rimmed glasses, and said, ‘She’s by herself at the bottom of A block. Get her.’
‘Hurry, I need to speak to her before recess is up,’ Alex added.
The small girl got up and ran around the corner of the nearest building.
The minutes crawled by.
Finally, the small girl returned, and behind her plodded a pale-faced girl with fiery ringlets.
Katie saw Alex standing behind the gate. A look of shock turned into anger. Tears were in her eyes.
‘Katie!’ Alex called. Katie turned and ran away, disappearing into the nearest building.
‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t know!’ Alex yelled.
‘Oooh! You’re her lover!’ the freckled face girl called.
‘Shut your fuckin’ pie hole!’ Alex spat.
The girl shut her mouth. Her friends trying their hardest not to laugh.
The shrill bell called for the end of recess. Some children continued their activities, extracting as much playtime as possible, while others lumbered into the class buildings.
‘What am I gonna do?’ Alex said, turning to Daphne.
Daphne put a comforting shoulder around her friend, ‘Let’s wait till lunch. We’ll try to sneak in.’
‘We’ll be spotted straight away!’
Alex and Daphne’s bright yellow Winnalong High School uniform was a stark contrast to the curt navy Jerramundi High School uniform.
A wry smile crept over Daphne’s face. She had a plan.
PART IV
The bell for lunch rang and the Jerramundi High School students piled back out into the playground. Teachers and students buzzed about. The frenzied movement was the perfect distraction for the girls to sneak in.
Alex and Daphne hid behind a bush in the soccer field at the rear entrance of the school, far away from the main buildings.
‘We should have just got some navy jackets from the op shop,’ Alex whispered to Daphne. ‘We’re definitely getting caught.’
‘Oh, shut up, you wuss. What’s the thrill in that? Plus, we’d surely get caught going into town.’
A group of boys ran toward their positions, balls in hand, ready to start their matches. There were no teachers in sight here.
One of the soccer boys was wearing a jacket. Alex darted out from the bush and ran toward him.
Daphne tried to grab her sleeve, but Alex slipped through.
‘What the fuck are you doing?’ Daphne hissed.
The soccer boys’ eyes grew wide when they noticed Alex.
‘Oi, can I have your jacket?’ Alex asked one boy. ‘I need to see someone in the school. I’ll bring it back in five minutes, I swear.’
‘Hell no,’ the boy said.
‘Get lost, Winnalong witch,’ one of his friends added.
The soccer boys laughed.
Alex snatched the soccer ball and before the boys could do anything. She kicked it over the three metre tall fence where it disappeared into the shrubs.
The boys charged at her. Daphne ran out from behind the bush to defend Alex, ‘Oi!’
Alex stood defiant, ‘Give me the jacket now, gronks, and I’ll get the ball back to you afterward. You’ll be busted if you step a foot outside before school’s out.’
The boys stopped. The boy with a broken nose said, ‘We’ll just get it after school.’
‘Fine. No game for today then.’
The boys looked at each other.
‘Just fuckin’ give it to the witch,’ the broken nosed boy said.
The boy with the jacket gave it over to Alex.
Alex smirked, ‘Nice dealing with you, gentlemen.’
She turned to Daphne, ‘Go and hide and I’ll come back.’
Daphne stuck up her nose, ‘No way. I’m doing this on hard mode.’
They shared a laugh while the soccer boys watched on, confused.
PART V
While Alex searched for Katie inside A block out in the open, Daphne ducked and weaved around the corridors, stairways, and doors.
They spotted Katie’s fiery red hair in the stairwell corner at the other end of the hall. She was facing the wall with her head down, writing in a book.
‘There she is!’ Alex whispered excitedly.
‘Go, go, go!’ Daphne said, moving her hands like a sergeant on a battlefield.
Alex dashed through the hall while Daphne darted between doors to stay hidden.
They heard footsteps and an adult voice coming up the stairwell where Katie sat, ‘Vaping is terrible for you, Lori. No matter what your friends say, it really is not cool.’
Alex and Daphne saw Lori walk up the stairway in front of the teacher. She was the freckled faced leader of the group of vaping girls by the fence at recess.
Lori locked eyes with them.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ Alex said.
Lori’s eyes lit up. She pointed at them, ‘Miss, miss! Those girls aren’t from our school!’
The teacher rushed up the stairs and spotted Alex and Daphne, ‘Hey! You girls get over here!’
Katie turned around to see Alex and Daphne, shock plastered on her face. Alex gave Katie an exhausted smirk before she and Daphne ran away down the corridor.
‘Get back here!’ the teacher called, running after them.
They neared the stairs at the other end of the hall. One set of stairs went down back to the playground and the other to the second floor of A block.
Daphne turned to Alex, ‘I’ll go down the stairs and distract the teacher. You go up.’
‘No way! I’m not leaving you.’
‘Don’t be a dumb arse. We didn’t come all this way, just to give up.’
The teacher was gaining on them.
‘Go!’ Daphne said, darting down the stairs.
Alex ran up the other stairs. The teacher fell for it. The bright yellow of Daphne’s uniform to her was like red for a bull.
Alex hid for a few seconds, waiting for the teacher’s hurried footsteps to disappear. As soon as she was sure, Alex ran back down the stairs toward the stairwell at the other end of the corridor where Katie was before.
But Katie was gone.
‘Fuck!’ Alex shouted, kicking the wall. Her rage numbed the pain in her toe. She ran down the stairs and found Lori leaning against the wall, smoking a new vape. She didn’t see Alex coming.
Alex stormed over to Lori. She put one leg behind Lori’s and pushed her over. Alex stood over her and shoved Lori’s vape into her mouth. With one hand, Alex pinched Lori’s nose and covered her mouth, and with the other, squeezed the girl’s throat.
Lori let out muffled screams as she struggled and scratched Alex’s face, but Alex didn’t budge.
‘You’re going to tell me where Katie is, or I’m going to kill you right here,’ Alex growled.
Fear set in deeper into Lori’s eyes. When Alex was comfortable Lori would respond, she moved her hand from her mouth.
Lori spat out the saliva covered vape. Spit went all over her shirt.
‘Sh-she went over to the gazebo by the teacher’s car park. It’s over there. I swear.’
Lori pointed to her left. Alex glared deep into Lori’s terrified eyes. She let Lori go and ran in the direction she pointed, leaving the girl to pick herself back up.
PART VI
Alex found Katie in the gazebo, like Lori had said. Katie was shocked to see Alex again.
‘Look, I don’t have much time,’ Alex began. ‘I’m gonna get caught any minute.’
‘Why are you trying so hard to see me? I’m just a freak, right?’
‘Katie, I didn’t know why you came over so late. If you had told me about your parents, I would’ve understood.’
Katie looked down at the ground.
Alex continued, ‘Hey, it’s okay. It’s not your fault. I’m sorry you have to deal with that shit. It’s honestly so fucked up. You’re welcome over mine any time.’
Katie looked up, ‘Really?’
‘Of course. I tried to call and tell you that, but I ended up getting a hold of some random instead.’
Katie grimaced.
‘Look, don’t worry about it,’ Alex said. ‘I’ll give you my old phone.’
‘You don’t have to.’
‘Shut up. You’re gonna take it and we’re going to hang out.’
Katie gave Alex a tight bear hug. Alex returned the embrace. Tears fell down Alex’s face, ‘I’m so sorry for what I said.’
‘No… I-I should have…’
‘I should have figured it out.’
The young women held their hug for a few more seconds.
‘Oi!’ a familiar voice called out.
Alex and Katie turned and dropped their jaws. Daphne stood before them, drenched in sweat. She held her chin up triumphantly with her hands on her hips.
‘You… legend,’ Alex hushed.
Daphne winked, ‘Hard mode, bitch.’
‘Katie, this is Daphne,’ Alex said, gesturing to her friend. ‘Daphne, meet Katie.’
‘Alex told me all about you,’ Katie said.
Daphne gave Alex a raised eyebrow, ‘Yeah?’
‘All good things!’ Alex said.
Daphne nodded, ‘Good.’ She looked back at Katie, ‘She told me about you too. Said you’re a fucking animal, real wild one.’
They all laughed.
‘You should get out of here. Teachers come here all the time,’ said Katie.
Katie pointed to the bushes behind Daphne. The bush covered a section of fence.
‘There’s a secret hole there,’ Katie said. ‘Everyone uses it.’
Alex and Daphne nodded. Alex hugged Katie again. Daphne gave Katie a fist bump.
Alex and Daphne turned and walked toward the bush.
‘Thanks for coming to see me,’ called Katie.
Daphne turned around, ‘About time, aye?’
Katie giggled. Alex punched Daphne’s shoulder.
Alex turned back to Katie, ‘I’ll see you soon!’
She crawled into the bush and Daphne followed behind.
***
Alex and Daphne stepped on to the train carriage, laid down on their three seaters, and let out a sigh of relief. The cold air con cooled their faces after being stuck in the afternoon sun.
They lay proud and rested their legs on the armrests and put their hands behind their heads.
‘Well done, Peanut,’ said Daphne. ‘You nearly brought a tear to this old crone’s eye.’
Alex laughed, ‘Your mum tried to call you yet?’
‘Yeah, got twenty missed calls. You?’
‘Got both mum and dad, haha. Thirty a piece.’
They cackled for a few moments.
‘Shit!’ Alex gasped and shot up.
Daphne shot up as well, ‘What?’
Alex tugged on the collar of the boy’s jacket she was still wearing. Daphne smirked, ‘Tough titties.’
‘Their ball, too.’
‘He should have been nicer.’
Alex sighed. They both laid back down.
‘You think we’ll make it back in time for your test?’ Alex asked.
‘Doubt it… but fuck it. When’s your play again?’
‘Dunno.’
They chuckled and lay back in their seats, and closed their eyes. Warm smiles grew on their faces.
Soon, they’d be at their houses, grounded and punished. But it didn’t matter. For the next two hours, Alex and Daphne lay back with contented grins on their faces as their train snaked in and out of the hills back toward home.
THE END
Thank you for reading! If you like this story, you can read more stories set in the Out of Bounds universe:
Isaiah Prasad 