The Wyld Girls

Chapter 2 - Kylie

Wyld Times, Episode six

Bruce stands on the darkened beach, a vivid tangerine sunset framing him. "G'day, and welcome back, Wyldlings! Today, me and me sister, Kylie, we're going to check out the little penguins here on Phillip Island. Are you ready, Kyls?"

Kylie dances with excitement. "I'm sooo excited! This is the best eleventh birthday EVER!"

As Kylie and Bruce walk along the sand, Michelle's voice plays as a voiceover. "Bruce and Kylie were raised by their mum after their dad walked out on them. There's fourteen years between them, but they're as close as twins. Their mother died when Bruce was twenty, and he's been Kylie's guardian and best friend ever since."

On screen, Bruce gently tickles Kylie, and the little girl giggles. Suddenly, she shrieks. "Bru! Look! I see them!"

She scampers along the beach towards a cluster of tiny penguins tripping up the sand. Bruce talks to the camera. "These little guys look like a mighty crowd, but their numbers have been dropping off in recent years. Warming ocean waters are making it harder for the Eudyptula Minor to find food. Add to that the impact of humans and predator populations, and you've got-"

"Bru! Bruce!" Kylie's voice rings out, high with alarm.

He runs over and the camera follows, shaky and lending a sense of urgency. "What's going on?"

"Look!" Kylie points to a tiny penguin, its sleek aubergine wing pinned to its side by fishing line.

Bruce doesn't hesitate. He flings himself forward, scooping up the little bird. With a flourish, he pulls a knife from his pocket. "Hang on, little mate..."

Kylie watches in adoration as Bruce gently cuts the penguin free from the tangled wire then places it back on the sand. As the bird waddles off, Bruce turns to the camera. "You see, Wyldlings? Sometimes you just need a bit of help from someone else to set you free."

"Kylie? Kylie?"

Someone is calling me. I think they might have been calling me for a while, but I've been in another world, watching an episode of Wyld Times on the big TV in the admin lobby. They play them on a loop in here, something for people to watch while they're waiting for an interview or to complain or whatever.

I've seen this one a million times; I can totally quote it by heart. I love everything about it: the way the little penguin looks so happy as he scampers off, how beautiful the beach is, how alive my brother looks. He was always more alive than everyone else. Which makes it even harder to believe that he's dead.

An old pang of hurt rips through me. It never really stops hurting, just that sometimes I can forget for a few minutes that Bruce is gone. And every time I remember, it hurts all over again.

Turning away from the screen I look for whoever has been trying to get my attention, forcing myself to smile angelically. I've got an image to maintain - I'm Kylie Wyld, people. I'm basically Australian royalty, according to the media, and I know my brother would always want me to represent him well and keep his legacy strong.

But I don't have to fake my smile when I see the big redhead coming my way. "Uncle Pee!" I race towards Parker and hug him hard, trying to shrug off my dark mood.

He rolls his eyes and they glint a happy green. "Am I ever going to convince you to call me Parker instead of Pee?"

"Nope," I say merrily. When I first learned to talk, I couldn't say Bruce or Parker. They were teenagers, my heroes and I followed them everywhere, calling them by the only thing I could say: the first letter of their names. Bee and Pee. I eventually started calling Bruce 'Bru' but I've never called Parker anything else, much to his dismay. "I saw you in the sound booth today! Aren't you too busy and important to run audio on shows these days?"