Chapter two - Kim

It's so hot, ridiculously hot, so hot in fact, that while laying in Liv's back garden last week, Susie had the bright idea of us all learning to surf, stating that she doesn't want to go off to university next year and admit to people she lives by the beach but has never been surfing.

At the time I thought it was a brilliant idea, because really, how hard could it be?

Turns out it's quite hard. 

Admittedly we've only had two lessons so far, but I'm still looking less 'surfer babe' and more 'recently rescued from drowning'.

Even though it's not my forte, I'm having so much fun and I'm blaming the constant laughter for my serious lack of balance and coordination.

"Well done, you did great today." Jules, the surfing instructor, tells all four of us as we reach the shore. She manages to keep a straight face too, which is amazing considering none of us have managed to stand on our boards for more than a few seconds. "Same time again tomorrow?"

"We'll be here." Susie says. She's still convinced she's going to be able to do it by the end of this week.

"I think I'm done, I may lie on the beach and tan tomorrow while you carry on falling in the water." Ellie says when we're beside my car. Checking no one's around, she wiggles out of her wetsuit and then prods at the skin on her arms. "I think I've got friction burns from the water, is that even possible?"

"No, but I've got them too." I laugh, showing her the weird, splotchy rash on my arms that matches hers.

"You can't quit." Susie shakes her head vehemently. She looks so fired up, standing there in just her bikini, a wetsuit in one hand, her other pointing at Ellie like she's a naughty child. "I did that stupid bungee jump you wanted to do last year and I nearly died, so you can do this for me."

"Ok, dramatic." Ellie rolls her eyes as she pulls her shorts on. "You did not nearly die."

"I had a panic attack, it felt like I was going to die, but I still did it, because that's what we promised each other." Ellie looks over at Liv and I for help, but Susie's right, three years ago we saw this post online about living life to the fullest and having no regrets.

Somehow that ended up with us all swearing to stick together with whatever spur of the moment ideas one of us had, which has led to some wonderful and terrifying experiences ever since.

"Fine, fine, I'll carry on failing to learn to surf." Ellie huffs, turning her back on us to carry on getting dressed. "I'm so done with the beach right now though, can we go somewhere to get lunch?"

"Definitely, I'm hungry enough to eat all of you. Buffet?" I pull my jean shorts on and slide my feet into flip flops, shoving my towel and wetsuit into the back of my car for tomorrow.

"My mum said that Ms Redwood has got some boys living with her." Liv announces as soon as we've filled our plates and sat down around the table. Her eyes are alight with excitement, the way they always are when she's got gossip. "Mum's told me we need to stay away from them. She said they've already got criminal backgrounds, I'm not sure what they've done but she said she saw them in the supermarket last week and one of them has already got a bunch of tattoos, which as you know is already a crime in her eyes."

"How does she know they're criminals?" I ask, already doubting the story because Liv's mum tends to come up with her own opinions and then spread them as fact.

"Her friend told her that they stole some cars, got into fights and that one of them set their old school on fire so that's why they sent them here." Liv says, not caring if there's any truth to what she's saying. I can see Sally Matthews and her idiot friend's ears perk up from across the room. She gets up and they follow her over to us.

"Are you talking about the Alworthy brothers that have moved in opposite my house?" She asks with a smug grin. Without waiting for a response she carries on. "My aunt says the youngest, Kian, is a good kid and might not even be related to the other brothers. Which to be fair is probably true, he doesn't look anything like them. But it's the older ones who are dangerous, Lloyd, Mason and Jacob beat up their last foster father just for telling them they weren't allowed to go out to a party." 

"Uh huh and mum said the oldest one wouldn't stop bringing random girls to the house. He's already got two kids by two different girls and wants nothing to do with either of them." Despite not liking Sally or her friends, Liv loves gossip and drama, so she is in her element trying to tell the better story.

"Have you seen them?" Susie surprises me by asking. She's not usually one to indulge in gossip, unless it's factual, but she seems more than interested in the stories about these brothers.

"Of course I have." Sally rolls her eyes as though the question is ridiculous, then realises everyone is waiting for her to continue. "Ms Redwood brought them over to introduce us since they'll be going to our school. They're attractive, I guess, if you like that sort of thing. The middle two, Lloyd and Mason, are twins I think, they look like it anyway. They're not even legal and the first thing they did was wink at me and my sister and ask what we were up to later, so you know the only thing they're after." She scoffs as though she's the virgin queen, when we all know she's after my neighbour Nathan Graham and would do anything he wanted if he'd look at her twice. "The eldest, Jacob, the one with all the tattoos, was just plain rude to be honest, he said hello when Ms Redwood introduced him, but then just stood there like a statue, but he wouldn't sit down, or join in the conversation, he acted like being in our home was a waste of his time. The only one worth anything is little Kian, he and my brother got on really well and have been meeting up ever since. Obviously mum and dad are worried about his influence on Mark, but whenever he's been at ours, he's been nothing but polite."

"Well they can't be that bad then, if he knows how to behave with you. Let's wait and see before believing some silly rumours from bored old women." Ellie smiles sweetly despite the insult, then turns her back on Sally, effectively dismissing them from further conversation. She grabs a spring roll, taking a bite and mumbling through it. "So, Kim, how'd the talk go with your parents?"

"Amazing." I watch Sally huff and storm back to her table, Gail Anderson and Bethany Waller following closely behind her. "I am officially taking a gap year and seeing the world. Although I'm planning on doing vlogs and writing about the places, so my gap year might become a gap life if I'm lucky."

"So, you're really not going to uni?" Liv looks at Ellie and Susie for backup and they shrug, knowing better than to argue with me when I've got an idea in my head.

"I just don't see the point in studying for another three years when I know what I want to do." I grab her hand and squeeze it reassuringly. "I want to travel. I want to walk the Great Wall of China, climb the Lamanai Temple in Belize, swim with dolphins, see tigers in the wild. I want to do it all."

"Are your parents really ok with this? Mine wouldn't be." Snatching her hand out of mine and giving up on the others, Liv looks desperate to change my mind and I'm not sure why. She's never been very academic and nor have I, so this 'uni is everything' view she's got going on is weird. 

"Well, yeah, they just want me to be happy. Leanna'll be going to uni, but I just don't think it's for me." She looks on the verge of tears, so I shift closer, wrapping my arm around her. "You knew I was planning this, I've been saving up for years. Why's this bothering you so much now?"

"I know, I just thought we'd apply to the same place, all of us go off together and share a house." She sniffs sadly and I put my knife and fork down, looking at the other two to see them toying with the food on their plates. I knew they were all going to uni, but not that they planned to go together. 

We've been friends for so long and this is our last year together before we all go our separate ways, and I'm guaranteeing that by planning to go off on my own. "Sorry, I know it's not fair, I just had it all planned out in my head. Finally getting to live together, nights out, mornings in suffering from hangovers, study nights. Everything we do now, but in our own house. It just won't be the same without you." 

What a way to make me feel guilty!

"Oh Liv, that sounds amazing. I'm so sorry, I don't know what to say." She leans against my side and I sigh, wishing I wasn't letting anyone down, because whilst that does sound amazing, I'm already excited about travelling. I can't imagine postponing it and definitely not for three years. 

Refusing to waste our last summer together by being sad, I place my hands on her shoulders, pushing her up to look at me. 

"Ok. We've got a whole year, we'll make it the best year ever. We'll do loads, parties, days out, we can plan our futures. Uni for you lot, travelling for me. We've already made a start with our surfing lessons." I grin at the other two, who are finally looking at me. "Yes, we won't be living together, but that doesn't mean it's the end. We'll still keep in contact, we can video call all the time. It'll be great, the absolute best year ever. I promise."

"I agree." Ellie pipes up. "Ok, so I didn't want to be the Debbie Downer when you were talking about how great it'll be living together, but what if we don't all get in at the same place. Or want to go to the same place. My parents are putting so much pressure on me to apply to Oxford and Cambridge, there's no way I'm getting in, but if by some miracle I do, they're the only places they'll accept."

"What?" Liv looks like her brain is about to explode, all her plans going down the drain.

"Ok, ok, let's not worry about it yet, it's ages away." I pat Liv's hand softly, like I'm soothing a wild animal. "Let's focus on the summer and what we're going to do after we fail to learn to surf. Liv, why don't you pick the next one? Anything you want?""

"Are you sure?" She suddenly sits up, a sly smile slipping onto her face that I know will mean something bad for me, but I nod in agreement anyway. "Ok, so you know the Cat 'n' Fiddle, that grungy pub in town."

"Yes…" I say suspiciously, not wanting to assume the worst before she actually says it. She's using the same voice as when she got us to go skinny dipping in the sea a few weeks ago, but she's not completely stupid.

The Cat 'n' Fiddle is the one pub no one tries to get into, it's frequented by dangerous looking blokes and there's always trouble there over a weekend. Most of the kids from our school won't even walk past it on a Friday or Saturday night.

The devious smile she's wearing makes me think she wants to go there, Susie and Ellie must think so too, because they sit up straighter and stare at Liv, waiting to object to her ridiculous proposition.

"I wanna go." She says quickly, looking at all of us hopefully. "Friday night, please? Just so we can say we've been there."

"But it's really dodgy." Susie says, her voice much higher than normal as she looks at Ellie and I for help. "Why… why would you want to go there?"

"Because we've never been." Liv shrugs as though it's self explanatory.

"Are you serious? We'll die, like actually die. I can't fight." Ellie stares at her like she's sprouted a second head.

"We could do that instead." Susie adds hopefully. "We could do some self defense classes. That would be good for all of us, especially you Kim, if you're travelling all on your own."

"Come on, it won't be as scary as when we were in those caves and dropped the torch." Liv really wants to do it and I can feel myself joining her, because sure it's the dodgiest pub in town, but people do go in there, no one we know, but there are people in there. "Just one drink, it doesn't even have to be alcohol."

"Like they'd serve us alcohol in there." Ellie mutters, shaking her head and it's enough to show me she's at least considering it too.

"Ok, I'll do it, one drink." Three pairs of eyes turn to me, two filled with horror, one filled with excitement. 

"Really?" Liv squeaks, her hands clasped together like she's praying.

"Really?" Susie look at me as though I've told her I want to jump into a venomous snake pit.

"Yeah." I nod with more confidence than I feel. "Friday night, we'll go to the Cat 'n' Fiddle for one drink and hope we survive."

"This is amazing, I'm so excited, are you excited? What are you going to wear?" Liv gushes, digging into her food again.

"Terrified, more like." Susie says, laughing nervously. "And trainers, I'm going to wear trainers so I can run away."

"Good idea, me too." Ellie nods and her smile is back as she shakes her head. "I can't believe we're going to the Cat 'n' Fiddle, it's such a bad idea."