Imago

Chapter II

When the lunch bell rings, I invite Emilia to come sit with us, but when she finds out who I'm sitting with, she declines.

"I don't sit with that group."

"Why not?" I am intrigued.

"I went to Hartly Primary, so I hang out with a few others that went there." She shrugs and opens the door for me again. "But, hey! If you ever want to come and sit with us, we sit by the art block, just down there." She points down to the end of the building where a few people are starting to gather.

"Okay, thanks."

"Donna will be near woodshop." I look at her in confusion and she chuckles. "Turn left at the end here and walk down until you see F block. Turn right and you won't be able to miss them."

"Um, okay, thanks."

I follow her directions, but I'm met about halfway by Donna. She hugs me enthusiastically and leads me the way to their hang out spot. When I get there, I can see exactly what Emilia meant. There are about thirty people and they are a different kind of people to what I imagine Emilia's group would be. Donna introduces me to everyone, their name almost gone from my memory as soon as I'm introduced to the next person.

The boys all seem to have BMX bikes and skateboards, some even have super gross scabs on their knees and elbows, and they all have longish and unkempt hair. The girls all have hair every colour of the rainbow and gnarly face piercings. Nearly everyone is wearing black shirts with band names on them.

I recognise Donna's boyfriend Chris right away and his best friend Jed, who also happened to be my first kiss last year. And one of the reasons I got detention at school. A long-haired lout on a bike with a ripped Guns N Roses shirt, riding around a Catholic school asking where his girl is, was bad enough, but when he found me and put me up against the wall in a passionate kiss, the teachers positively lost their shit. Poor, simple minded Jed couldn't understand why they didn't think of it as a romantic gesture like he did. Our – so called – romance fizzled out rather quickly after that.

I feel a little out of place and I'm wondering where Donna fits in all of this, too. She is one of the few without piercings, outlandish hair or a band shirt on. I wonder if, perhaps, her friends lead her, the way that she often leads me. My mother is always telling me to be a leader, not a follower. Maybe I should share that wisdom with Donna? Not that it's really worked for me, mind you.

Chris pulls her onto his lap and I sit gingerly on the edge of a raised garden bed nearby. I watch as Chris gropes one of Donna's boobs and she playfully slaps his hand away. I look away and find myself witnessing one of the BMX boys sticking his tongue down the throat of one of the girls with a rainbow for hair. Feeling like I may soon lose my appetite, I quickly look down and busy myself with eating my lunch.

"So, I hear you ran into my brother this morning?" I turn to see a girl I recognise from the many gatherings Donna has invited me to over the last couple of years. She's a petite girl, and her band shirt swims on her, but she is totally pulling off the brow piercing and blonde hair with blue ends.

"Isaac's your brother?" I can't remember her name, but I'm hoping that it'll come to me if I keep her talking. I do know that she's another year older than Donna and, I'm fairly certain, she went to our primary school, but, seeing as she's two years older than me, I didn't have much to do with her.

"Yeah, I know, shocker right. He's like a skyscraper and I'm five foot nothing," she laughs.

"I know the feeling. My little brother is already as tall as me," I sigh.

"So, how you finding Hillford? I bet it's a culture shock, coming from Saint Joseph's."

"A little," I admit. I look around at all the people in the group and back to her. "I'm not used to sitting with this many people."

"Ha! Yeah! This is like four different groups that just kind of slowly congregated into one in the last term last year. Have you met everyone?"

I nod and swallow the last bite of sandwich I had put in while she was talking. "Yeah, Donna took me around earlier. Not that I'll remember everyone's names," I laugh.

Thankfully, Izzy takes this as an opportunity to jokingly introduce herself and then she goes through most the people in the group again, only this time I'm also told what each person does and how they belong in the group.

There's Izzy's small group of friends that consists of boys in metal bands and the girls that go to their gigs to support them. The BMX and skater boys. They merged because Stacey – gig girl – and James – skater boy – are an item, as I witnessed earlier. Then there's the stoners, in which Chris and Jed belong to, who also like to go to the gigs and parties, if only to smoke and drink to oblivion. And then there are the girlfriends and boyfriends of those in the group that also come and sit here sometimes too. This is where I'm guessing Donna fits in. Oh, and then there's Gordon. He's repeating year twelve for the second time and he buys all the alcohol for the parties because he's over eighteen.

Talking to Izzy makes me feel less of a loner and I get a little excited when I find out that she lives just off my street. Which means so does Isaac. The thought makes my stomach flutter.

At the end of school, Donna says she's going for a drive with Chris and Jed to Chris's house and do I want to go. I decline and tell her I need to get home. She pouts and begs, pointing out that my parents are at work and they won't know that I'm not home. She promises to drop me off before they get back. I've been let down on that promise before (which led to a week's grounding), so I put my foot down ... by telling a little white lie. I tell her that my grandparents are away, so I have to look after Brody, my little brother.

When she finally huffs in defeat, I feel an immense sense of relief. I hug her goodbye and start the fifteen-minute walk home. I have just crossed the road from school when I hear my name being called. I turn to see Izzy waving me down. I stop and wait for her to catch up.

"Hey," she puffs when she reaches me.

"Hey." I smile in return.

We fall into step and get into a conversation about who else we know from primary and high school that live near us. Turns out we have a lot of friends in common, but with the age gap, she's more friends with my friend's older siblings.

"Isn't it strange how you meet people at different times in your life and they mean different things to you each time?" I ask, and then I feel totally stupid for how soppy it sounded. "Ugh, that was a weird thing to say," I add, hastily.

Izzy laughs. "A little. But it's so true." She stops walking and turns to me. "Hey, you want to come in and get a drink before you walk the rest of the way home?"

I realise that we're at the front of her house and I look around, feeling a little disorientated. How did we get here so quick? My thoughts are interrupted by the rumble of an engine, and I watch an old red car drive into next door's driveway. A guy in his late twenties with a goatee gets out and leers at us.

"Izzy," he grins widely.

"Fuck off, tosser!" she yells at him and pulls at my arm. "C'mon, let's go inside."

I sense an urgency in her voice and allow her to lead me into her house. Her house is about as chaotic as mine. There's signs that teenagers reign here, with dishes everywhere, an opened juice bottle left out of the fridge and cereal all over the kitchen counter.

Izzy finds two clean cups and pulls out a bottle of water from the fridge. I gulp down the whole glass in one go, and ask for another.

"Didn't realise I was thirsty," I laugh.

"It's fucking hot today." Izzy pushes my refilled cup towards me and takes a sip of hers.

I sip at my second cup slowly and watch Izzy as she slips into her own mind somewhere. We are both pulled from our thoughts by the sound of a key in the door and the door opening and closing. It's not until he's standing in the kitchen doorway that I remember I am in Isaac's house.