‘Then go back to your seats, please, and don’t do this again,’ she tells us.
Ethan and I skulk back towards our seats.
‘Well, that went well,’ he says with a laugh, now that it’s just the two of us again.
‘What that did was remind me why we need to keep things platonic,’ I tell him.
‘What?’ he says with a laugh. ‘Come on…’
‘No, I’m serious,’ I tell him firmly. ‘You plus me equals disaster. I can’t have a disaster while we’re here, okay? We really do need to just stick to being friends.’
‘Okay, well, if that’s what you want,’ Ethan says.
‘It is,’ I reply.
I sit back down next to Jake.
‘Kid, you really shouldn’t just repeat everything you hear,’ I tell him, semi-amused. I’m sure it will seem funnier when the embarrassment wears off.
‘Okay,’ he tells me. ‘Did you bring me more snacks?’
‘I’ll get you something,’ Ethan tells him. ‘I’m starving too.’
I slump down in my seat a little. I’m not crazy, am I? The two of us almost just kissed and, right on cue, disaster struck. Imagine if we had started kissing, if we’d started tearing off each other’s clothes – ugh, imagine that! – she could have caught us in the act and then what?
I know that I’m doing the right thing, keeping things friendly, I’m just really not sure how easy it’s going to be – for both of us. It definitely felt harder a moment ago…
26
There is something so magical about getting on a plane in the middle of winter and getting off again in the height of summer. Of course, it feels like the months have passed by in real time because the flight felt like it was never going to end.
Oh my days, it is boiling here. I think the screen in the airport said it was 26°C, which, yeah, I’ve felt that in the UK, but I think the fact that I’ve been living in winter (for what feels like a year) and then the plane being so cold – I was not ready for this at all.
It’s intense, but it’s lovely. I feel like the sun is seeping into my skin, warming my bones, thawing me out. I guess the downside is that, when I do fly back home, it’s going to be a more unpleasant shock to the system, going from summer to winter again.
As a big fan of a small city, I feel almost intimidated by the size of Sydney. I think when it comes to places you’ve only ever seen in the movies or in photos, it really builds them up, they feel almost fictitious. Seeing them in person, it’s uncanny.
I have to admit, I’m almost relieved to see the urban landscape shifting into something more coastal. This is what I need, for my shitty mental health, I need to see the sea.
‘I’m just going to come out with it,’ I begin, because if I don’t say it now, it will only be on my mind. ‘Is the spider thing true or is that just in the movies?’
The taxi driver stifles a laugh.
‘What do you mean?’ Ethan asks, laughing too.
‘Pop culture has taught me that Australia has lots of big, scary, dangerous spiders,’ I reply. ‘And I’m scared of daddy-long-legs, so…’
‘Well, yeah, there are spiders here, and some of them are bigger than back home, and some of them are dangerous, but it’s not going to be a part of your day,’ he says. ‘You’ve definitely seen too many movies.’
‘So, when you lived here, you never had any memorable interactions with spiders?’ I check.
I notice Ethan’s jaw tighten in a way his smile can’t mask.
‘Only once,’ he replies. ‘I can tell you about it?’
‘I would rather you didn’t,’ I quickly insist.
‘Everybody has one story to tell about a spider,’ the taxi driver chimes in. ‘If this fella has had his, I’d stick by him.’
