‘The vet’s coming shortly for his weekly check-up and I want him to take a look at one of the koalas.’
‘What’s wrong with it?’
‘He’s been losing weight for a few days. Can you grab the record sheets from the office?’
‘Yes, of course.’
When I get back, the vet has arrived. Ben introduces me. ‘Lily, this is Dave. Dave’s an old friend of mine from uni.’
‘Hi.’ I shake his hand. He’s taller and lankier than Ben, with brown hair and a crooked smile.
‘Ben told me you want to be a vet?’ He speaks softly so as not to disturb the koala, but the question still catches me off-guard.
‘She said her grades weren’t good enough,’ Ben chips in, adding, ‘Lily’s still at school. She’s only fifteen.’
‘Sixteen tomorrow,’ I remind him.
‘You’ve got time to turn them around,’ Dave says.
I shift on my feet awkwardly.
‘Birthday tomorrow?’ Ben changes the subject as Dave lifts the koala onto a bench and starts to check him over. I notice his ears are back, one of the signs of ill health, as Ben informed me on my second day here.
‘Yep.’
‘Do you know what you’re getting?’
I give him a cheeky look. ‘Doyouknow what I’m getting?’
‘No.’ He quickly averts his gaze.
‘You bloody do, don’t you,’ I whisper loudly. ‘Does everybody know I’m getting a car except for me?’
Ben glances at me in shock and then stifles a laugh.
‘Whoops,’ I say under my breath as Dave looks up at us.
‘Who told you?’ Ben persists.
‘Josh. But keep that quiet.’
‘That dimwit,’ he mutters, then speaks to Dave, who’s making a note on the record-sheet. ‘Her mum’s hooked up with Michael Fredrickson. She’s living in the same house as Josh.’
‘Sheesh.’ Dave does a sharp intake of breath and bends down to zip up his black veterinary bag.
Will somebodypleasechange the record?
I don’t consider myself to be a particularly good actress, but I think I do a fine job the next morning of pretending to be surprised when Michael whooshes open the door to reveal a faded green Ford Fiesta sitting on the road in front of the house. My excitement, however, doesn’t have to be faked.
‘THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!’ I scream at the top of my voice, running down the veranda steps and onto the path. I barely register the sharp stones digging into the soles of my bare feet as I race towards the car and tug on the door handle.
‘WHEREARETHEKEYSWHEREARETHEKEYSWHERE-ARETHEKEYS?’
‘Here, here.’ Josh grins as he lopes down the path with a set of car keys dangling from a keyring. My mum and Michael beam at my reaction as they follow him. I hastily unlock the door and climb into the driver’s seat, sticking the keys into the ignition.
‘EEEEEEEEEEEEE!’ I squeal. ‘ILOVEITILOVEITILOVEIT!’
‘Do you think she likes it?’ Michael says to Mum and Josh.
