I baulk. ‘Come again?’
‘You should be thinking about where you want to go from here.’ Nick leans forward. ‘Amie, you know what I’m talking about. Since your mum died it’s like you’re glued in place.’
‘Hon, he’s right.’ Robbie nods, sipping her coffee. ‘You do seem a little rusted on.’
‘What?’ I stare between my two best friends. ‘Where’s all this coming from?’
‘Now who’s procrastinating?’ Nick levels a glare at Robbie.
She presses her lips before looking at me properly. ‘Amie, don’t be mad, okay? But me and Nick have kind of been scheming on your behalf.’
I frown at them warily. ‘You’ve been scheming to get me to Melbourne? I can’t do that. You know I can’t do that.’
‘This isn’t about Melbourne,’ Robbie admits. She reaches into her bag and pulls out a purple document folder, places it on the table. ‘It’s about this.’
I blink between them, blink at the folder. ‘Okay, I’m…confused.’
‘Remember all those AusArt scholarships and stuff the school guidance counsellor sent you links for at the end of last year? And you were all,Oh, this looks so cool but it’ll never happen? Well…’
‘Me and Robbie submitted your photos to a residency program.’ Nick gets it all out in a rush. ‘It’s an overseas study grant, and you would be awesome at it, and we really just want you to give it a chance.’
I gape. ‘You submitted myphotos?’
Robbie jumps in, pulling out sheets from the folder. ‘Yeah, check it out. It looks fantastic! You get to choose the place you want to go, and all you have to do is agree to an interview.’
‘An interview.’ I’m still gaping. ‘Are youkidding?’
‘Amie, come on.’ Nick looks at me sternly. ‘Your photos are amazing.’
Robbie nods. ‘Sweetie, we’re not trying to be the boss of you or anything, but youhaveto know you’re talented. And it would be sad if you wasted that because you weren’t given the right opportunity.’
‘I can’t…’ I really can’t. My brain just isn’t keeping up.
‘Robbie found the links from last year.’ Nick’s face turns pinker as he explains. ‘And she sent them to me, and…the whole thing kind of snowballed.’
‘First we joked about it, then Nick wrote an application for you, but we still weren’t really thinking about it like a realthing…’ Robbie says, taking up the story, ‘…until we got the email –’
‘Which said you’d been shortlisted,’ Nick finishes.
Robbie nods. ‘Which said you’d been shortlisted, yeah. So you just have to fill in the forms, and sign up for an interview, and you’ll be good to go!’
There’s a long pause as my head spins its wheels. Nick and Robbie are both looking at me expectantly. I don’t know what to say, or even if I can form words. My friends are nuts.Nuts. They’re so nuts, it’s making my eyes well up. And a residency. Ashortlisting. Ohmigod –
‘Ames.’ Robbie grabs my shoulder. ‘Amie, say something, you look like you’re going into shock. Oh my god, Nick, is she okay?’
‘Amie, I’m sorry.’ Nick holds my hand across the table. ‘We really didn’t mean to freak you out. But would you at least think about it?’
I try to clear my throat by taking a long slug of my coffee. ‘Guys, I appreciate you did this. Really. It’s…a surprise.’
‘A good surprise?’ Robbie looks so hopeful.
I hate to bring her down. ‘It’s lovely you did it. But –’
‘Here come the buts.’ Robbie looks at Nick.
‘ButI can’t just pick up and go overseas! With Dad’s condition, and my extended family here, and –’
‘It’s okay, it’s really okay.’ Nick shushes Rob with a raised hand. ‘I know you’re dealing with stuff, and you don’t have to make a decision right this second. We’re just asking you to have a go. That’s all.’
