How To Lose Weight And Survive The Apocalypse

Chapter 21

"Yewse guys, I cannot believe we'll be in Melbs tomorrow night!" Nev was so excited, she could barely stand still as we packed up and prepared to leave the pink lake. She danced from foot to foot and tugged Simon's sleeve like a much younger girl. "We're nearly there!"

Simon smiled placidly at her. "It was nice here. If it weren't for you lot, I reckon I would have stayed here forever."

"Boring." Nev rolled her eyes. She threw a long leg over her bike. "At my place, there's real food – my nonna has a wood fire stove in the backyard, and my dad has a shed full of smoked meat. We'll feast and talk and drink and it will be awesome!"

She cast a shy glance at Bailey. "I think yewse will all love my fam."

Bailey gave a small smile, and I saw the doubt and concern in their cool eyes. "Looking forward to it."

"Bye pretty lake!" yelled Mischa, her little voice carrying across the salt flat. "Nevvie! Race you to the gates!"

"You're on!"

The two girls pedalled off. Bailey fiddled with their socks, and I approached them quietly. "How are you doing?"

"Fine."

"Did you and Nev talk about what happens when we get to Melbourne?"

"Not yet."

"Bailey, we'll be there tomorrow. And from the look of Nev, I think she thinks you're going to stay with her."

"Maybe I am."

That stopped me. My grip loosened on my backpack, and the straps slid through my fingers as the bag dropped into the dirt. "What?"

Bailey picked up my bag and handed it to me. "We should get on the road."

"Bailey, are you serious? You'd stay in Melbourne for Nev?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Do you want me to make a list?" Hotly, I counted on my fingers. "What happens if her family reject you or treat you badly? What happens if you break up? Where will you live? What if living together so soon is a bad idea?"

"Karla..."

"What if you change your mind and we're long gone and you have no way to get to Tasmania? What if-"

"Karla, she said she loves me." The quiet power in Bailey's statement stopped my arguments. "And I love her. If I don't take a chance on this, I'll regret it forever."

They rode away towards the gates, and I watched them forlornly. What about me? I wanted to cry. Nev and Bailey's love was new and shiny, but Bailey and I had been friends for years. How could Bailey leave me without a backward glance?

Rueben emerged from the bathrooms. "Everyone ready?"

"Just need to load up Chookie," said Simon. "I was letting her stretch her legs one more time."

Rueben and I shared a quick glance, the kind filled with context that only two people who have seen each other recently naked can have. He grinned. "Okay, I'll meet you up by the gates."

"Come on, old man," I said, calling to Simon who was loading Chookie into the carrier like a precious glass goblet.

He straightened up and stared out over the lake again. "This was good."

"Yeah, it was."

We cycled together up the road, following the ridge to the gates, chased by a lazy breeze.

That stage of the ride wasn't memorable; the road past the Shepparton turn-off that led to Melbourne was flat, straight and boring. It made for easy biking, but it was boring as batshit. Large gums flanked the road, casting cool shadows on the smooth bitumen, and ahead of us the road stretched as far as we could see, shimmering in the sun.