|
"Laura's Dream" |
| Copyright Francis Blow, 1986. |
| CHAPTER 8 |
| Those of Laura's teachers who knew her from previous years noticed an immediate change in her attitude to school work. Laura was obviously applying herself with more determination and enthusiasm. On her second day, even though the heat was still oppressive, Laura worked well. |
| When others could barely stay seated, Laura had her head in the books. Occasionally, she scratched at an insect bite, or wiped perspiration out of her eyes. Morning recess found Laura in the library, making notes from the index files. She was back at lunch time to borrow a book on space colonisation. |
| Jem found Laura sitting on the verandah outside the class room. Laura had her legs folded under her, tailor fashion, book in one hand, sandwich in the other. |
| "Hello, stranger, my name is Jemimah Cheng." |
| "Huh? Hi, Jem, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. Guess what? I'm going to be an astronaut." |
| "Well... That makes sense. You're already off the planet." |
| "Oh, Jem! Be serious." |
| "Okay. Why an astronaut?" |
| "I don't know... That's the weird part. I just want to do it." |
| "Do what? Fly in space? Walk on the moon?" |
| "More than that. I want to go to Mars, and beyond," The visionary expression on Laura's face gave way to a wry smile. "Maybe it all sounds dumb, but I think I can do it, and I'm going to give it my best shot." |
| "Wonderful," Jem sat next to Laura, and pulled her own crossed legs under her. "Are you going to become an American citizen?" |
| "If that's what it takes. Though they take up people from other countries." |
| "When do you think all this will happen?" |
| "I don't know. There's a lot I need to find out." |
| "How are you going to do all this?" |
| "Read about it, talk to people, train myself. Maybe I'll need to join the airforce." |
| "What about really important stuff, like boys? Marriage? Babies?" |
| "That's a long way off, and I'm going to take that side of things as it comes. Speaking of boys, on Friday week there's a pool party at my place. Bring someone handsome. You can sleep over, but boys have to go home after the party." |
| "Now you're back to normal." |
| |
| After school, the two of them rode home to change and do an hour of swimming. The subject of Laura's career in space was not raised again that day, though as soon as Jem had gone, Laura was in her room, doing homework. Because Laura had a reason to study, the work went faster. It certainly was no easier, but Laura no longer made excuses to take a break. She just sat down and did what she had to do. It was all finished in time for her to change into a light frock, so she could help her mother get dinner ready. |
| An hour later, Laura was in the study, surrounded by her father's reference disks. She made notes, and that was all she did until her father opened the door at one o'clock in the morning. Laura's head was on her arm, where it lay on the desk. Gently, he picked her up and carried her around the landing to her bedroom, where he placed her on the bed, clothes and all. He slipped Laura's shoes off, kissed her forehead and turned out the lights. |
| |
| Laura slept through the alarm, and Carla had to wake her. |
| That day was almost a repeat of the last, except that John made Laura go to bed at ten thirty. Friday was the same, though Laura took her books with her to bed, and closed the door. She had no idea what time she slept, but she woke at nine o'clock on Saturday morning. When she went down to the kitchen, Laura found her parents and Jem waiting. |
| "Good morning, Astronaut Shell," John greeted her. "Did you sleep well?" |
| "Uh, yes, Dad," Laura took in the three faces. None seemed to be angry or disapproving. Quite the opposite, in fact. "Did I do something wrong? Why are you all staring at me?" |
| "Your training programme is about to begin," Her father announced. "Your Hygiene and Nutrition Therapist will commence by preparing a light breakfast, after which, your Fitness Instructor will take you on a ten kilometre run, before the heat is too much. Then your Technical Supervisor will discuss your educational needs." |
| "What?" Laura blinked, suspicion dawning. Three pairs of eyes regarded her from above evil grins. |
| Jem stood up. "I'm your Fitness Instructor. Go and get ready for a hard run. Your mum's making you breakfast while you change. I mean the Hygiene and Nutrition Therapist." |
| |
| Laura did as she was ordered, and breakfasted on fruit juice and toast. By then she understood what they were all doing for her. It might be a joke to them, but Laura would prove her determination. |
| "I'm ready. Let's go, Jem." |
| The last time they had raced together, Jem won convincingly. That was in the previous year's interschool marathon. Since then, Laura had improved. Dubbo had seen to that. Her life depended on it then. |
| After five kilometres, Jem was hard pressed to keep up. Laura did not wait for her. There was almost five minutes difference in their times after ten kilometres. Laura was having a fruit salad for morning tea when Jem staggered up the drive, too exhausted to speak a single word. |
| Laura helped Jem to a chair in the living room. |
| |
| "That was the fun part, Laura," her father said, once Laura had cleaned up. "What kind of astronaut do you want to be?" |
| "I want to walk on Mars and help build a colony. I want to see the asteroid belt, and fly through the rings of Saturn." |
| "Well, that lets out piloting a shuttle. Here, take this sheet of paper, and write down everything you're good at. Put down all your hobbies, every achievement where you succeeded," John told her. "Don't worry about order, or where you put them on the page. Just get it all down." |
| "You mean things like Guides, running?" |
| "Everything. I'll come and get you when it's time for lunch." |
| At one o'clock, Laura's father took the list down to the outside table, where a chicken salad was waiting. He had a red pen and another sheet of paper. |
| "Let's summarise this as we eat," he said, scanning the haphazard list. "You are exceptionally fit and athletic. You keep your head in emergencies. You tend to make quick decisions. You achieve what you set out to do... " |
| Laura felt herself go red as she listened to him announce her strengths, while her mother, Joey and Jem listened. Then it got worse. |
| "Now, let's look at where you can improve," he went on, making notes as he spoke. "Learn to take orders, even if you don't understand the reasons behind them. Give more consideration to other people. Learn to fix things when they break. Learn how machines work. Learn how to be constructively bored." |
| "I don't understand that part, Dad?" |
| "Learn how to be alone, doing nothing but using you brain to solve your problems," he replied, "and I don't mean reacting to things as they happen. Think things through before they happen, and make sure you have the answers." |
| Laura could not quite work out what he meant, yet she said nothing else. It would come clear in time. |
| "There will need to be money spent," her father continued. "I will provide some of it. You will have to get the rest." |
| "What do we need to spend money on, Daddy?" Laura was pleased; she liked shopping. |
| "Training equipment, books, maybe a computer and software. That costs thousands. You'll have to work out how to earn it." |
| "Okay. I can get a weekend job, I guess." |
| "Don't worry about that for now. You and Jem can go swimming. Why don't you go to the beach? You haven't been in ages?" |
| "Terrigal's always too crowded with tourists. Could you drop us off at Solitude Cove?" |
| |
| The beach lived up to its name. Few people knew of its existence, and it could only be reached by water, or by the narrow trail that Laura and Jem used. |
| There were two women sunbathing near the rocks at the southern end. A tarpaulin was set up for shade at the north end for a couple of surfers. |
| The two girls dropped their towels and bags above the high tide mark near the centre of the white sand strip; they covered each other in block-out cream. Neither of them was a suntan freak, and Laura had no need to be darker. |
| Waves were breaking only fifty metres out, yet there was a sand bar closer, in that provided a protected swimming area. Jem beat Laura to the water, dove in and surfaced, spitting sand. |
| "That was dumb!" Laura scolded her. "Next time, check the depth first. You could have broken your neck!" |
| "Yes, Mum. Race you to the south end, then up the other way, and finish back here... Go!" |
| Though Laura had become faster on land, Jem still had the advantage in the water, with her stronger arms and shoulders. Jem led all the way to the first turn. She was pulling away to the second, when she had to stop because an unusually high wave crashed over the bar, dumping tonnes of sand against her. Laura caught up with her friend, while Jem cleaned grit out of her eyes. She stood up, supporting Jem. |
| "G'day, Laura!" One of the surfers called from the beach. "Remember me?" |
| Laura did remember; Doug looked much better in a wetsuit than he did in street clothes, and he was a hunk in street clothes. |
| "Hi, Doug!" She called back, then took Jem's arm and whispered. "Come on and meet him. This is the guy Simone has the hots for." |
| "I can believe it. Who's the girl with him? She's beautiful!" |
| "I think it's his sister," Laura replied. "She's supposed to be a model." |
| They walked up to the tarpaulin, and Laura and Doug did introductions. The tall, attractive young woman was Doug's twin sister, Suzie; the corner of a bandage showed above the waistband of her bikini bottoms, where her appendix scar was hidden. |
| "How'd you find this beach, Doug?" Laura asked. |
| "I got carried in here just last week, when I was surfing out of Avoca Beach. The rip was unbelievable, and I thought I'd end up in Sydney Harbour. Do you guys swim here often?" |
| "Not very, mostly we swim in our pool." Laura replied. "Which reminds me, I'd like you and Suzie to come over next Friday for a pool party. And, Suzie, you can stay afterwards for a girls-only sleep over." |
| "We might just do that." Doug agreed, with a broad grin. "My sister needs to get out and mingle, now that she's over her operation." |
| Suzie kicked him hard in the backside. "Thanks, Bro. You're a real help. It's okay, Laura, we'll be there." |
| "You can tell she's feeling much better these days." He said. "I'm taking the board out... Laura, have you ever surfed?" |
| "Not really. A bit of body surfing, that's all." |
| "Come on, and I'll teach you." |
| Before she knew it, Laura was kneeling on the front of a board, with Doug behind her; they paddled out into deep water, where the swells were building. As he explained to Laura what he wanted her to do, Doug cracked jokes and kept her laughing. When he thought she was ready, Doug turned the board's nose back towards the beach. |
| Laura was too confused to see how he did it, but then Doug was standing, and they were moving forward, down the face of a wave! |
| "Start to come up!" He yelled. "I'll steady you!" |
| Carefully, working at keeping her balance, Laura began to stand. Just as she thought she was doing it, she was flying, straight into the sea. |
| After a moment of disorientation, Laura swam to Doug, who was paddling towards her. He dragged her back on board. Once more, they headed out to the deeper water. Laura had a better idea of what to do, and when they caught the next wave she stood, with Doug close behind her, a steadying hand on her shoulder. |
| Together, Laura and Doug rode the wave to a standstill on the sand bar, while Jem and Suzie applauded from the beach. |
| "That was fantastic!" Laura exclaimed, and hugged Doug. "Let's do it again. I loved it!" |
| "You've never ridden a board before?" He asked, his arms around her shoulders still. |
| "Never." Laura smiled. She put her hands on his chest and pushed gently away; she was a little embarrassed by her reaction. What really worried her was that, for a moment, she thought Doug was going to kiss her. |
| "Beginner's luck. Let's see you do it again." He challenged. |
| They went out several more times, with Laura falling off more than not, but she was as pleased with her accomplishment, as was Doug. She wondered, while they waited between waves, what it would have been like if Doug had kissed her. |
| Jem met them at the water's edge. "Your dad will be here in five minutes, Laura. Better come out." |
| Jem had moved their things to Suzie's shelter, so Laura did not have to go far for her towel. She did not notice Doug watching her dry herself, nor Jem and Suzie exchange knowing smiles. |
| When the two girls were ready to go, Laura reminded Doug and Suzie about the party. She hesitated a moment, then kissed Doug on the cheek. |
| "Thanks so much, Doug. I had an unreal time. Can we do it again some day?" |
| "Count on it. You're the best pupil I ever had." He grinned, then kissed her back, on the lips. |
| To her horror, Laura blushed, and she wondered what she had started. |
| "See you both on Monday." She stammered, and turned towards the trail out of the beach. |
| Behind her, Jem gave the "okay" signal to Doug with her thumb and finger. "See you guys later." |
| When she had caught up with Laura, Jem poked her in the ribs. "What was it like?" |
| "Surfing is absolutely unreal!" |
| "Dope! I meant him! When he kissed you." |
| "That's my secret." |
| "You greedy cow. What was it like? Come on, that was the first real kiss I've seen this side of the TV screen." |
| "It was nice." |
| "Nice! Chocolate covered almonds are nice. I saw you go from brown to red in half a second flat. You don't get that from just nice." |
| Laura giggled. "That's all I can tell you! It felt really nice. Kind of tingly. Oh, I don't know!" |
| When they got to the road, they sat down and waited for John to arrive. Their legs were crossed beneath them and their bags rested on their laps. |
| "Does this mean you're going to drop Josh?" |
| "Oh." Laura was stunned; she had completely forgotten everything except her time with Doug. |
| "You've noticed Simone hanging around lately? Well it's not Doug she's got the hots for. Haven't you wondered where Josh has been spending all of his time?" |
| "Sim?" Laura's eyes widened. "I don't believe it. She's such a quiet girl." |
| "So what? They're an item. Ask anybody. Talk to Josh about it and get it sorted out. Then you're free to attack Doug." |
| "Jemimah Cheng! I'm not..." |
| "Listen to you. Not fifteen minutes ago you were in his arms, suffering lip-lock. Just wait till I tell your dad what his precious...", Jem had no chance to finish, because Laura had grabbed her knee and tipped her over backwards. Towels, radio, magazines went everywhere. |
| Mr. Shell arrived to find the two girls rolling around on the grass, their stuff spread all around, and both of them laughing themselves silly. |
| "What on earth have you two been up to? Get yourselves cleaned up. You're not getting in the car covered in sand and grass." |
| |
| They were halfway home, when Laura's father gave her a message. |
| "Your Guide Leader called. She wants to know if you can help out a Cub pack as part of your test work. You'll have to get the details from her." |
| "I think I know. We talked about it before Christmas. It's part of my Service programme. I want to get it done before I leave Guides, and maybe get into Venturers. All I have to do is help for a few weeks with their games and stuff." |
| "Maybe the Cub leader will let you take Joey along, just to see if he wants to join." |
| "Oh, Daddy! There's bound to be a long waiting list. I explained that before. It's the same with Guides and Brownies. The only way to get in early is if one of your parents becomes a leader or assistant leader." |
| Jem, who had her headphones on, suddenly yelled, "Shush!.. There's been another kidnapping." |
| Mr. Shell turned on the car radio. |
| "...Narara. Gosford detectives believe the same gang is responsible for all the recent incidents, and are being assisted by Sydney police. The Premier has declared a pardon and reward be offered for anyone who can assist the police with their investigations. To repeat, ten year old Annie Stonner was kidnaped from outside her home in Narara." |
| Laura turned to face Jem. "Isn't Annie Stonner one of your sister's friends?" |
| Jem nodded, then burst into tears. "Liz was staying with Annie this weekend." |
