School without April wasn’t the same, but with Evie by my side it was slightly bearable. I hated not being able to run to my big sister at lunch time when someone was mean or the teacher picked on me for an answer. I hated even more that I had to wait almost half an hour at the front of the school for April to pick me up before we could walk to Aunt Veronica’s. On good days, Evie would wait with me until April showed up.

Halfway into the school year, after April and I had walked into our Aunt Ronnie’s house, my sister decided it was time to change tactics.

Aunt Ronnie was mum’s older sister. Blessed with fertility, she had birthed her son long before April came into the family, and had also seen that son move out of home and gotten divorced before we had even thought about moving up here.

Ronnie was over the moon when we had moved to town, and was first to put up her hand to look after us if our parents needed it. I just assumed she got a little lonely in this big house by herself. 

Our aunt was a social worker with a pretty flexible schedule, often home by the time school was out. So instead of catching the bus home, April and I went to her house (a short walk away from my primary school and a little bit of a walk from the high school) and got picked up by mum on her way home. At our age, we were not legally allowed to be unattended by an adult yet.

“So, Ronnie,” April started, leaning over the kitchen counter while our aunt fixed us an afternoon snack of fruit salad. 

“What do you want?” she asked, not even looking at us.

“How do you know I want something?”

“You’re just like your mother in some ways. She always started her sentences like that back when she wanted to sneak out to see your father.”

“Sneak out?” A grin spread across April’s face as she realised she was gaining some strong leveraging power to use at home. 

“She never told you?” Ronnie cast a glance our way to gain the answer to her question. Laughing, she shook her head. “Typical Livia… Our parents forbid her from seeing your father at first. ‘No dating until you’re finished high school’ was your nonno’s rule. Livia couldn’t take no for an answer though, so she used to always ask me to cover for her. Every time it started with a battering of eyelashes, a sweet smile, and a false angelic tone to her voice.”

“She’s such a hypocrite,” April muttered under her breath. Clearing her throat, she slipped back the saccharine tone to her voice as she said, “Well I was just wondering if you would oppose to me and May going to see some friends after school every now and then.”

“See them where?”

“At the skatepark.”

She frowned and cast a glance over us. “Do they still smoke and such there?”

Brows frowning, April shook her head. “Not that I know of?”

She sighed and set our snacks in front of us. “How often?”

“Maybe every Friday?”

Nodding slowly, she replied, “I imagine this would be something I would have to keep from your mum?”

April pursed her lips and affirmed our aunt’s suspicions. “May and I each have a really good friend and mum doesn’t want us seeing them. Just because of who their parents are.”

“Always the picky person that sister of mine. Okay, we can do it. But if we are going to make it a thing, there’s some ground rules.”

“Okay.”

“If you get caught, I had no idea.”

“Of course.”

“The first time you go, I will drop you off. I want to get a look at the people who hang out there. If I don’t like the vibe, it doesn’t happen again.”

“Agreed.”

“And finally, you must be back at mine by 5:30. I don’t want you being even a minute late in case your mum manages to get here early.”

“Deal.”

“Alright. I’ll pick you both up from school tomorrow.”

Aunt Ronnie was waiting by the school gates the moment I got out on Friday. She motioned me over then told me to tell Evie to get in the car too. Buckled in the back, we drove across the highway over to the high school, swinging by to grab April and Anna.

Our aunt was very kind and welcoming to our friends, greeting them with smiles and understanding, the polar opposite of our mother. In the end, she deemed the skatepark suitable for us to hang out at (though did warn us to be prepared that she might do drive bys every now and then to be sure we weren’t up to no good). 

Excited about the approval, we clambered out of the car, giving Ronnie a quick thanks and hug, before heading over to the park.

“I wish I brought my board,” Evie grumbled as we sat on a patch of grass by the ramp, Anna and April heading off to hang with some other teens under the trees.

“You skate?” I mused, glancing at her. Evie’s hair was extra unruly today, clumping together in locks as she took it out of its messy braid. 

Grinning at me, she nodded. “Want me to show you?”

“How?”

Nodding over at the boys going up and down the ramp, she said, “I know one of those boys. He lives down my street. I’ll ask to borrow his board.”

At once, she got off the grass, leaving her backpack with me while she dusted the grass off her behind before she ran up the ramp. I watched Evie tap a boy with honey blonde hair on the shoulder. Next I knew he handed her his skateboard and took a step back.

Eyes focussed on Evie, I watched her line up the board with the ramp, then at once she leaned down, zooming past me before sliding up the ramp, twisting, and heading the other way. 

When she stuck the landing at the other end, a couple of the boys stopped her to chat about it, overly excited to see a girl who could skateboard.

The boy whose board Evie had borrowed then glanced my way.

I gave him a small wave, and he returned it. Looking back at Evie who went down the ramp once more, he then jumped down to the grass and came over to me.

“Sorry she took your board,” I said. “She might give it back.”

He sat down on the grass beside me and shook his head. “It’s all good. Did you want to have a go after?”

“Oh no… I’d fall on my face.”

He laughed at that comment. 

We sat in silence for a while, watching Evie go back and forth, doing a couple of trick shots, until I asked, “Do you go to the primary school across the road?”

“Yeah. Year 6. You?”

“Year 5.”

“Have you always gone there? I feel like I haven’t seen you before.”

“Nah. I moved up from Brissy at the start of the year.”

“Oh I see.”

The silence ensued again, us just watching Evie.

“Is Evie your best friend?” he asked.

“Yeah. Are you close to her?”

“Not really. But sometimes we see each other when we walk home. I would say sometimes we talk but…”

“But Evie does most of the talking?”

“Basically!”

I laughed and said, “Yeah, that’s Evie.”

“You don’t normally come to the skatepark.”

“No. We might be coming each Friday though. My sister convinced our aunt to let us.”

His brows furrowed as he looked behind us at the teens gathering under the trees, exchanging cigarettes. “Which one is your sister?”

I pointed at her. “The really pretty one with the brown hair. April.”

When I looked back at him, his green eyes were already on me. As our gazes met, a pink tinge spread across his face and he immediately averted his gaze. 

“What’s your name?” he asked me.

But before I could answer, Evie had rejoined us, handing the board back to the boy. “Thanks. Promise I’ll bring mine next time,” she said. Then she held a hand out to me, pulling me to my feet. “I grabbed some money from mum’s purse this morning. Let’s go get a drink.” Hand still in Evie’s, I let her drag me away from the boy who still sat on the grass where we left him. 

Glancing over my shoulder, I gave him another wave and called out, “Bye!” It was bold of me to talk to him. But Evie had inspired that courage in me. Talking to people got easier when she was nearby.

Eyes wide, he looked away, got to his feet, then ran back to the ramp, kicking off on his skateboard.

“How was it?” Ronnie asked when we walked in through the door.

“Very fun. Thanks auntie!” April called out, giving Ronnie a quick hug.

“I hate the walk home,” I frowned.

“Oh don’t complain,” April teased. “I have to do that trek every day to come get you and then go partially back the way I came to get here.”

“Yeah but you have longer legs than me.”

“Alright, alright. Enough bickering. Go wash your faces and make it look like you didn’t just run a marathon. Then I want you to pull out your homework and make it look like you’ve been model children before your mum gets here to pick you up.”