Summer Song - Chapter 1

‘It’s too hot to handle so I gotta get up and go1

It’s a cruel, cruel, cruel summer…’2

The heat was stifling. Sweat poured down Micki Jones’ face. The colour in her shirt was beginning to run, making her neck a rather unsightly shade of blue. The familiar Bananrama tune was blaring from the music system. Even that sounded over heated and exhausted. The afternoon brought a whole new meaning to the word summer. Gosh, someone should film this and use it in an ad for air conditioners or something. 3

Micki’s real name was Michelle. The last time she remembered her mother call her that was when she was three. After that, she went through a tomboy phase and refused to answer to anything else. She outgrew the crew cut after awhile, but the name stuck. Her mother had reverted to Michelle recently.4

‘It’s too close for comfort the air is so heavy and dry5

It’s a cruel, cruel, cruel summer…’6

Damn. All that does is remind me of the heat. She got up and turned the wretched thing off. It would have turned off in a couple of minutes anyway. The power had been fluctuating like this since the past week. Micki had even given up putting on the fan, because it seemed to tease her, going off every time she started to feel a little less hot. Grabbing a ribbon from the dresser, she tied her dark straight hair as high up as she could. Glancing at the thermometer, she gave a sigh. The alcohol seemed about ready to soot through the top. It hadn’t dropped below 38 °C for as long as she could remember (okay, so she liked to exaggerate a bit). 7

It was pretty pointless sitting in one place. She might sweat out her overalls beyond salvation. Micki couldn’t afford to sweat off too much weight, anyway. She was one of those unfortunate things whose height and encouraged most grownups to exclaim, ‘You’re fourteen? My, you look so much younger!’ lately Micki had taken to eating loads of spinach and hanging from anything her arms could reach. It helped that her friend Vicky had a younger sister who never ate her own spinach. Vicky once swore that Micki was getting greener around the eyes. 8

To make up for the lack of height, Micki was unusually pretty, as most fragile-looking people are. Her deep blue eyes were undoubtedly God’s way of telling those same grownups, ‘Yes, I do look younger, don’t I? Well, I am as innocent and charming as a fairy, so I can take full advantage of you.’ It worked. Her dimpled cheeks did help, though. 9

She never stuck to conventional fashions, always preferring colorful, wild clothes, but here in the small valley, she often stood out and was referred to as the ‘ratbag’ by the kids at the High School. But she didn’t care. Lots of people liked her, that’s what mattered. Right now for instance, she was wearing a plaid blue and green shirt, yellow overalls with a patchwork pig on the front, a long corncob earring in her left ear, and a grass green ribbon in her hair. 10

Groaning, Micki got up and changed into a pair of shorts and a pale blue t shirt. Her usual clothes were much too warm for this weather.11

Micki loved summers as a general rule, but this was a killer. Or maybe she was just feeling lazy today. I mean, come on! I should be out there, jumping, running, chasing Susanna! Summers are fun! Get out of bed, Micki! 12

Her life had revolved around summers, right from when she was a little kid. It had been a summer when she met Susanna. It was a summer when Vicky moved to the valley. It was a summer when she and her friends had accidentally set the burglar alarm in Mrs. Withington's house and the police were called. 13

On the other hand, it had been summer when Michael…her brother…‘disappeared’. That was last summer. But other than that, summers had been the best part of the year. Oh yes, and except for the summer when Susanna’s mum ditched her, but Micki didn’t remember that. Besides, it happened when Micki and Sue didn’t know each other, so it didn’t count. 14

Anyway, for whatever reason, summers were special. It was like an unwritten golden law. You did not just laze around in the summer holidays. You did things.15

Micki looked at the orange clock and gave a small sigh. Four thirty. This was ridiculous. At four, there was supposed to be a cool breeze blowing. She jumped off the bed, and went to the bathroom. Turning on the icy shower felt so good…when you had taken your clothes off first. Micki glanced down at her soaked shorts and shirt. Dang, how stupid am I? She stood in the shower for a while more, debating the wisdom of changing once again. She decided to change; she had read somewhere that you could get pneumonia easier in summer. 16

A half hour later, Micki was yanking her guitar out of her closet. She had a great respect for her guitar, and therefore wasn’t too keen on yanking it out, but she really had no choice. Her closet was like an earthquake site, and if anyone happened to walk in, they might never walk out again. Once her guitar was confirmed to be in one piece, she started a power chord. With no amplifier, it sounded more like a squeaking rat, but Micki didn’t mind. She could feel the music in her head. 17

‘I got my first real six-string, bought it at the five and dime,18

Played it till my fingers bled, was the summer of ’69…’19

By the time Micki stopped playing, her fingers really were bleeding. Well, not much, but enough to tell her to put the electric away. She stroked it, loving the feel of the cool metal against her skin. Feeling slightly less hot, she zipped the sleek snazzy blue guitar into its case. The case had been a somewhat drab black once, but Micki had gone wild with three pots of glitter when se was twelve. The result was something like a circus act. 20

She often dreamed of the day when she and he band would be performing onstage, their looks as good as their music, hundreds of spectators watching, applauding. She imagined the excitement of tours, the lights on the stage, the fun they’d have. But for now, she was stuck in the valley, jamming with her band mates. Not that she didn’t like the valley. In fact, she loved it. But sometimes living in a small town really got to her. Someone who had to be doing something all the time. I’m never going to become a prisoner of the valley. She envied Vicky, who had been a city girl for the bigger part of her life.21

Their still nameless band was doing pretty well, actually. It definitely had a chance. They hadn’t found a bass player, so Susanna sometimes played bass instead of guitar. Michael…Michael used to play bass sometimes to help them out. He had tried teaching Micki how to play the bass for a while, when she had been younger, but her neck couldn’t support its weight, and she eventually went back to lead guitar. His bass was still lying in his room somewhere. Micki hadn’t entered the room for a year now, but she still remembered what it looked like. It was original sixties make, with a bright yellow neck and a black body. 22

She stood the case against her bed ad pushed the though of the band out of her mind. Taking up another bottle of deodorant, she sprayed it liberally in the air and walked into the scented cloud. Yuck. The fumes were too strong for her taste. Vicky loves this one, I should give it to her! Vicky loved loud smells about as much as she did colours.23

Micki looked around her. Yes, life was good. Especially since that morning. Her mother had been overtaken by the crazy notion of ripping up the floor. Well, it wasn’t quite as bad as that. But she had been wanting to put in new panels for ages, and she decided she couldn’t wait till the local carpenter arrived. So now the kitchen was a complete mess, with wooden planks sticking out everywhere. Micki’s mother was not the best person to ask when you wanted floorboards ripped. However, Micki had discovered that the old owners of the house had lined their kitchen floor with newspaper. So Micki had been in Micki heaven, sorting through the old, insect eaten, yellow papers. And now, of course, she had found just the kind of article she wanted. Now things were bound to get exciting. This summer would be like no other. That she could promise herself. Look out valley, here I come! 24

Grabbing the ancient newspaper article she had been poring over some hours ago, she ran out the house and down the road, to Susanna’s home. 25

#26

Micki wanted to run down the road, but the sun reminded her about the dire consequences if she tried. Luckily, she didn’t have to go all the way. A tall slim girl came up to greet her halfway. She was holding a brown rabbit in her hand, and was wearing a pink shirt with shorts. 27

‘Micki! Guess what? I got this great new riff for that song we wrote! I was just going to call on you so we could try it together.’28

‘Huh? Song? What song? Don’t tell me it’s that awful one we wrote in July, our winter songs never turn out well, I hate that song, if you’ve written a riff for that you may as well burn it, I’ve already chucked out the lyrics’29

‘not that one, silly, I hate that too, though Vicky wont be too pleased when she hears you’ve trashed her beloved lyrics, she adored them…no, it’s the one that’s been lying with us for ages. You know, the nameless song’ 30

‘Oh yeah, that’s the one!’ Micki said, her face brightening. ‘You actually got a riff for that one? My gosh, you are a genius after all, sue!’31

‘Uh huh. Of course I am! And it’s perfect! I have it with me now, want to see?’32

Micki laughed. ‘Umm...no thanks! Not now. I know what you’re handwriting’s like, no offense! But show me later.’ 33

‘Oh, alright! Some Egyptologist you’d make if you can't even decipher your best friend’s handwriting!’ they both laughed. Micki slung her arm around Sue’s neck, which was slightly difficult, taking into account that Sue was at least a few inches taller. 34

‘How come you came to see me, though?’ sue asked, glancing at Micki. 35

‘What makes you think I wanted to see you?’ Micki asked, with a sly grin.36

‘Oh, right! I forgot! You’re psychic, that’s exactly why you came running up to me like you had discovered electricity or something, at exactly the same time I came running to see you!’ sue replied sarcastically. 37

Micki grinned. ‘Oh okay, I give up. You win’38

‘You’ve got something up your sleeve, haven’t you? What’s it this time? Another plan to protest about the tree cutting in gulley road? Or is it something to do with those battery hens they’ve got up the other side of town? Come on, tell me. I can take it!’ sue pretended to look grave. 39

Micki gave her a sheepish smile. ‘You’re right,’ she said.40

Sue rolled her eyes, but her smile was unmistakable.’ what’s it this time, little sis?’41

‘Oh, just this newspaper article I wanted to show you. Mum was ripping up our kitchen floorboards today, and guess what! I found a layer of ancient newspapers underneath! Some articles are really fascinating! I mean, there’s one with the winners of the horserace of 1954! And – and there’s one on the garden competition they had years ago! Oh yeah, there was one about your dad, that newspaper was about thirty odd years later, though I can’t remember, his name was only mentioned a few times. He must have been a teenager then…no, older…well, there was another about the floods of fifty – eight and some fete and -’ 42

Susanna grinned. Trust Micki to find thirty years worth of dirty, torn newspapers fascinating. ‘Uh huh. And which one do you want to show me?’ she asked, amusedly.43

Micki took out the crumpled paper from her shorts and flattened it out. The title read – “gold rush in the valley! Ten year old boy finds precious nugget on Pearson’s field.”44

‘Nice,’ said Susanna. ‘But how does that affect us? I mean, you’re forgetting this newspaper was probably printed in the sixties.’ 45

‘Sue! It was printed in the fifties! And anyhow, so what? Pearson’s field still exists! And that means, so does the gold! We could be famous!’ 46

Sue found that hard to believe. ‘Yeah, and Debbie Tenney could start to love eating her spinach. Mickers, get realistic for one moment, please!’ 47

‘Sure ill be realistic for a moment! Let’s pick a time next month!’ Micki was being anything was realistic just then.48

‘Get real! I mean, this valley is Dodge City, as Vicky so aptly puts it! You’re talking about gold here!’49

‘Oh, don’t be so boring, Sue! Think about it. It’s possible, really. I mean, there’s no reason not to believe it.’ She stuffed he article back into her pocket. ‘Just imagine…all the possibilities…’ Micki grabbed Sue’s hands and swung herself around. 50

Sue was still skeptical, but Micki looked so enthusiastic. She might s well plays along. Anyway, it couldn’t hurt to imagine the possibilities. 51

‘Well, yeah, I suppose it’ll be good…’52

‘Good? What do mean, good? It’ll be great!’53

‘Uh huh…and think of all the stuff we could buy…a new microphone…’ sue let herself get carried away. 54

‘A trip to Egypt, or L.A!’55

‘…Tickets to the Bangles’ concerts…’56

‘…a new drum set for Vicky…’57

The girls poured out possibilities, from being world famous, to touring Tasmania. 58

‘…And a frying pan for my mum, but heaven knows what she wants one of those contraptions for,’ Micki added as an afterthought. 59

It felt nice to get carried away and have fun like little kids sometimes. It was lovely to be messing about like this in the country near the bush, everything seemed happier here. Sue and Micki were giggling by the end of it all, and they were leaning on each others shoulders, trying to control themselves. Sue gazed fondly at her friend. Oh, Micki, I love you.60

The heat seemed to have subsided a little by then, and Micki spoke. ‘Race you to the meadow!’ and off she went, leaving a small cloud of dust behind her. 61

‘I get a head start since you’re faster!’ she yelled from ahead. Susanna laughed to herself, hugged her rabbit and ran after her. 62

You would not believe Susanna had an athletic bone in her body until you saw her run. She slender deer like legs and she was one of those lucky few who manage to look good while they were running, tired and sweaty. Come to thing of it, she looked good, pretty much all the time. She had beautifully soft dark hair and hazel eyes, and her nose and mouth looked like they were made of china. At fifteen, she gave the impression of being one of those girls who fooled around with makeup all day, gossiping and changing boyfriends at the drop of a hat. Truth be told, she had never had a boyfriend in her life, claiming that country girls ‘just took longer’ (much to her friend Vicki’s amusement, who had moved up from the city six years ago). 63

More truth be told, she had no real interest in makeup. Her real passion was music, and she hung around with people who fed that passion. She played rhythm guitar as part of a nameless band, along with Micki and Vicky, and they had only just begun to write their own songs a year ago. They were gaining quite a reputation around the valley with their unusual style and their ability to imitate popular songs, not to mention a couple of their own catchy melodies. . .64

Sue ran down the brown dusty dirt road, her hair flying behind her head, trying to catch up with the rest of her. Micki looked behind for a split second. Her head turned and she almost fell over in the process.65

‘Careful, Mick!’ Susanna remembered the fateful time she had dared to turn her head around when she was running… 66

The air had been slightly different that day. There had been a subtle amount of excitement mixed in with the winter frost. Susanna remembered how nervous she had felt, right from the moment the first ray of sunshine had hit her pillow. She couldn’t eat any breakfast that morning, regardless of how many times her mother had told her that it was no good racing on an empty stomach. It had been the first time in her life, at twelve, that she had actually been chosen for the school final, in the annual sports week. Victoria had tried out, too, but she didn’t make it. Michelle had never really been interested by racing, stating that ‘it was just a fast way to reach somewhere that you wouldn’t have wanted to go in the first place.’ Sue and Vicky had been highly amused, but Vicky suddenly had sided with Micki when she didn’t get selected for the big race.67

Susanna had tried to stuff some muesli down her throat, and then realized it wasn’t a wise idea. So she had gone to school empty-stomached, with her legs feeling like they had never run before in her life. She’d reached the school grounds twenty minutes late, much to the annoyance of her friends. Everybody was already seated, all the runners were on the field and the announcer was trying to kill time with corny jokes. When the kids saw Susanna, they all had let out a collective sigh of relief. Sue had actually turned red, seeing all of them watching her. She quickly located her best mates, gave them a small smile and raced to the track. 68

‘And here comes Ms. Elliot, the valleys fastest twelve year old! Finally, we may start!’ the announcer made a couple more corny jokes, and then announced the start of the race. Meanwhile, Susanna had been getting looks of deep admiration from her race mates. She was a bit confused, because she had never raced before, so how come everybody thought she was so good? She had asked someone why everybody was acting like she was a champ or something, and a girl told her that Micki had been telling the whole school that she had seen Susanna run before, and that she was so fast, she ran like the wind. Susanna’s nervousness had increased to bursting point. Now everyone thought she was some sort of wind-runner, and she wasn’t. Everyone’s eyes would be on her. She had felt her stomach rumble from lack of food. 69

When the whistle had blown, Sue really did run ‘like the wind.’ She was feeling great hearing the crowd cheering her on, knowing she was living up to their expectations. There was no one in front of her, and she knew she looked good while running, so she got a bit more confident. Then, of course, she had to go and do something stupid. She looked behind her, to see if anyone was about to catch up. Now if anyone is ever being coached for a race, the first thing the instructor will say is to never ever look behind. But Susie had never raced before.70

Before she knew it, her knees had buckled underneath her body. She remembered the sensation as feeling as if she was weightless for a split second. Her center of gravity went completely off mark. In a second, all hell had turned upside down. And so was Susanna. In a flash, she had found herself smack on her front, about two meters ahead. Her limbs were sticking out in all sorts of unpleasant directions, and her beautiful hair was covered in dust. Painfully, she watched all the other racers run past her, till she was the only one left in the track. She had been so embarrassed then. Later, she was taken to hospital and realized that she had broken her arm. She eventually learned to laugh it off, though, at that time, she had decided to give up racing forever. Micki had been kind of smug, because her point had been proved. Sue eventually did race again, and won lots of times, but since that day, she wasn’t ‘wind-runner’ anymore but ‘tornado-runner’.71

Sue laughed at the memory.72

‘Oops! Sorry, bunny, I wasn’t thinking’. Sue put down her bunny, which she had accidentally almost suffocated in her arms. As she lay down next to Micki in the grass, she began to sing one of her favorite tunes. Micki soon joined in. 73

‘He wasn’t what wanted, what I thought, no,74

He wouldn’t even open up the door,75

He never made me feel like I was special,76

He isn’t really what I’m looking for…’77

Sue loved those defiant, ‘girls don’t need guys’ kind of songs. Not that she hated guys or anything, far from it. It was just that because they were defiant, they were usually fast paced and catchy, and she liked catchy tunes. 78

Susanna soon felt the heat reduce and decided it was time to go home.79

‘See ya,’ she told Micki. 80

‘Bye! I think ill stay here a while longer. Shirley Davidson’s farm is near here, I want to go visit the pig.’81

Micki resorted to walking to the farm. She couldn’t run like Susanna. She thought about the riff still in Sue’s pocket. Our nameless band writes a nameless song. How lame can you get? Oh well, I guess it’s the music that really matters. But still, it would be nice to have a name. It’s just that nothing fits perfectly. 82